Frankenstein Kickass Paper -- essays research papers

The daughter of an active feminist, Mary Woolstonecraft Shelley eloped with the famous poet Percy Bysshe Shelley at the age of 15, and after was continually and profoundly influenced by his words and writings. Her novel Frankenstein is named among the best written and most meaningful of the gothic works, and is one of the few still popularly read today. A precursor to the Romantic trend in art and intellect, gothic novels rejected of the precepts of order, balance, idealization, and rationality that typified Classicism in general and late 18th-century Neoclassicism in particular. The gothic tradition grew out of disillusionment with the Enlightenment and 18th-century rationalism and physical materialism. Romanticism as a whole emphasized the individual, the irrational, the imaginative, the spontaneous, the emotional, and the transcendental. Shelley herself defines "gothic" as a story "which would speak to the mysterious fears of our Nature, and would awaken thrill ing horror--one to make the reader dread to look around, to curdle the blood and quicken the beatings of the heart." By infusing moral and social concerns into the gothic style, Shelley achieves more than a simple horror story, however. The universal societal and psychoanalytical questions raised in Frankenstein secure its place in world literature and promise decades of similarly fashioned gothic writings. As stated above, the gothic genre developed as a harsh reaction to the predominant Neoclassic ideals of the time; the emphasis shifted from the whole to the solitary, and from society to nature. The "Graveyard Poets," one of whom is Thomas Gray, are attributed with having ushered in the new philosophy and are often termed "Pre-Romantics." Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" has all the elements of the gothic: graves, overtones of death, a rural setting, and a desire for return to a more simplistic, natural time. Simultaneously, Jean-Jacques Rousseau preached a similar creed which presented society as evil, and called for a "natural state of man." Shelley was schooled in both writers, and took their words to heart. In 1776 and 1789 Revolutions swept America and France, indicating that the Neoclassic ideals were not as stable as was previously thought. News of these ... ...; and "Fall of the House of Usher" and Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" use many gothic conventions and themes, such as the ominous tone, dream-like or surreal sequences, and warnings about interdependency and the manipulation of one's mind. The gothic novel revolves as part of the literary cycle, periodically returning for a brief period in the public's eye and then again disappearing into obscure circles of its few disciples. In this scientific age, the gothic is viewed as being overly sentimental, predictable, and implausible. As the ages change, readers, like Victor, are forced to "exchange chimeras of boundless grandeur" which the gothic inspires for "realities of little worth" (Shelley 46). The gothic, the fantastic, is a necessary balance for logic and reason as much as light is to dark, and good to evil. Without one, the other is undefined and therefore has no purpose in its existence. Frankenstein will live on as a brilliant insight into both the political environment of the 18th century and the eternal condition of man as an extension of nature.

The Role of Financial Institutions and Markets

Technology, globalization, competition, and deregulation all have contributed to the revolution of worldwide financial markets and the creation of an efficient, internationally linked market. However, these developments have created potential problems (Brigham 1995: 111). As the worldwide financial crisis, which started in the early summer of 2007 in America and spread globally, still shapes the headlines of newspapers and the political agenda of developed countries. These recent economic developments drew back societies’ attention to the importance of the world economy and financial markets. A financial market is considered as â€Å"a market in which financial assets [..] can be purchased or sold† (Madura 2012: 3).Here, any kind of marketplace, where buyers and sellers participate in the trade of financial assets such as equities, bonds, currencies and derivatives, is meant. Mostly financial markets have transparent pricing, basic regulations on trading, costs and fees , and market forces that determine prices of securities that are traded. There are three relevant classifications of financial markets in the context of the financial crisis: money versus capital markets, primary versus secondary markets, and organized versus over-the counter markets (Madura 2012). The money versus capital market distinguishes in various points: The money market is only short- term oriented, a maturity of less than one year, and the trading objects are referred to as money market securities, which are debt securities.These have a â€Å"high degree of liquidity† and therefore offer a low return; however, they are less risky (Madura 2012: 5). In contrast, capital markets promote the sale of long-term securities, called capital market securities, which are most often bonds, mortgages and stocks. These are often bought with the intention of financing the purchase of capital assets such as buildings, equipment, or machinery. Capital market is composed of primary m arkets and secondary markets: In the primary market only the trade of newly issues securities occurs, whereas in the secondary market previously issued – so existing – securities are traded (Madura 2012). The organized versus over-the counter markets differentiate in the location factor.Whereas the organized markets represent true visible marketplaces, where member meet to trade and securities are listed like the New York Stock Exchange, the over-the-counter markets are a wired network of dealer, which do not need a central and physical location to trade, because it is a direct trade between the two participants (Madura 2012). Telecommunication and Internet allowed businesses to trade all over the world in every financial market. However, this global interconnection of financial markets also has its side effects as the fall of the Lehmann  Brothers and following economic developments have shown.In 2008 and 2009 there has been a worldwide crisis in the international f inancial markets, which has lead to an extreme high number of credit defaults and amortizations on speculative assets of banks and financial institutions. The financial crisis has been triggered by the lending practice, the insufficient collateralisation of mortgages and securitization of credits in the real estate market in the United States of America. The speculation on rising real estate prices bursted and risky bonds lost their value dramatically.The financial crisis developed to a liquidity crisis, because the credit lending of banks, which are equipped with liquidity, to banks, which need cash and cash equivalents in form of credits, stopped despite the fact that the most important national banks decreased the discount rate under 1 %. Due to lack of trust between the banks, the interbank credit lending decreased dramatically, so that the liquidity crisis turned to a bank crisis. Henceforth, this crisis covered the goods market, in result unemployment rates increased, internat ional trade decreased and the recession settled. Due to the dimensions the economic slump took it is considered as the new world economic crisis (bpb 2013).2. Financial InstitutionsFinancial Institutions are firms that provide access to the financial markets, both to savers, who wish to purchase financial instruments directly, and to borrowers, who want to issue them (Cecchetti/ Schoenholtz 2010). In fact, financial institutions – also referred to as financial intermediaries – are like most other businesses: the primary business is to generate profit by minimizing the costs and maximizing the revenues. Additionally, financial intermediaries design and sell financial products and services in accordance to customers demand at a reasonable profit level (Pilbeam 2010: 46). A financial intermediary interacts with savers or lenders and borrowers simultaneously; thereby it produces a set of services, which facilitate the transformation of its liabilities into assets such as l oans, which is referred to as intermediation (Madura 2012: 12).2.1 Types of Financial InstitutionsGenerally, there are three classifications of financial institutions: depository institutions, contractual saving institutions, and investment institutions. Firstly, depository institutions such as commercial banks and savings banks accept and manage cash deposits as well as make loans (Pilbeam 2010: 46). Furthermore, deposit-taking institutions strive to make a profit in the way of ‘spread income’ between the cost of the deposits that they accept and other sources of funding, and the return that they receive on their investment portfolio in the way of loans, equity stakes and other investments (Pilbeam 2010: 46).Depository institutions underlie default risks, regulatory risks as well as liquidity risks (Pilbeam 2010: 46). Secondly, contractual savings Institutions attain funds under long-term contractual arrangements and invest them largely in the capital market especially in long-term equity and debt instruments such as life insurances, private pension funds, and funded social pension insurance systems. Due to the agreement’s requirement of regular payments from for example policyholder and pension fund participant, contractual savings institutions have relatively stable inflows of funds.The stable cash flows – both inflows and outflows – are relatively stable as well as predictable, so that liquidity is not a predominant factor in the asset management of these institutions (Impavido/ Musalem 2000: 3-5). Thirdly, investment institutions are commonly known as investment companies, corporations, or trusts. An investment company issues securities and is predominantly engaged in the business of investing in securities.Hereby, it aggregates funds of a large number of investors into a specific investment in compliance with the objectives of the investors. Individuals invest in diversified, professionally managed portfolios of securiti es, whereby they have access to a wider range of securities and a guaranteed spread of risk than without the investing company as intermediary (Pilbeam 2010: 53-54).2. 2 Role of Financial Institutions in the Financial MarketAs previously described in reference to the financial crisis, financial markets are imperfect; participants in the market do not have full access to information (Madura 2012: 10). For example, an investor is not able to verify the creditworthiness of potential borrowers and there is a lack of expertise to assess this creditworthiness. Here financial institutions’  function is to resolve the limitations caused by market imperfections.Therefore, financial institutions are involved in the information processing (Madura 2012). Thereby, they investigate the financial conditions of the potential customers to figure out which have the best investment opportunities (Cecchetti/ Schoenholtz 2010). Consequently, financial intermediaries are saving information costs as well as transaction costs, because financial institutions â€Å"assist in the transfer of funds from surplus to deficit units in the economy† (Pilbeam 2010: 63). For example, there are many lenders/ surplus units, who all strive to lend various low value money market securities for different periods of time, or there few borrowers/ deficit units, who wish to borrow capital market securities for a fixed period of time – here financial institutions are useful as an intermediary.Lenders do not have to search the markets for suitable borrowers and vice versa. Financial institutions borrow various amounts of money from surplus units, reform these into an amount suitable for the final deficit unit, and transform them into a maturity suitable for the final borrower. Thereby financial institutions serve the special needs of the deficit units and surplus units (Madura 2012: 10-11). Overall, flexibility is existent for all participants, because lenders can change the terms a nd conditions of lending to the intermediary without the intermediary or final borrower being at disadvantage.While financial institution act as intermediary, they bear the risk and in result, the risk is reduced. By diversification meaning offering various bundles of financial assets, financial intermediaries spread the risk and thereby, transform risky assets to less risky ones (Madura 2012: 10-11). In fact, individual investors are capable of diversification, however, they may not do it as cost efficient as financial institutions and therefore, they possess a crucial role in financial markets.In conclusion, financial institutions â€Å"ensure that the costs and risk are lower than if the surplus and deficit agents dealt directly with each other, and thereby ensure that there is greater flow than in the absence of financial intermediaries† (Pilbeam 2010: 63). Pilbeam means with greater flow that intermediaries increase investment as well as economic growth (Cecchetti/ Schoe nholtz 2010).2.3 Role of Financial Institutions in the Financial CrisisFinancial crises mainly manifest themselves at the level of financial institutions; especially, the role of banking institutions in the occurrence and transmitting of financial crises is a deciding one for the recent financial crisis (Andries 2009: 151). Financial Institution such as banks can facilitate the financial crises through their activities in the financial markets. Their activities can influence the interest rates, the uncertainty on the market and the price of assets (Andries 2009: 152).The worldwide financial crisis of 2008 was subject to several developments of banks’ practices: Financial innovations and risky speculations such as in subprime mortgages and collateralized debt obligations have been practiced, loans have been expanded and the prices of assets increased without economic basis and unexpectedly decreased, so the orientation changed towards liquidity (Andries 2009: 149). Overall, ba nking institutions have overdone diversification and practiced financial innovations meaning structured finance, which were new complex products, whose risk could not be assessed by the rating agencies (Fratianni/ Marchionne 2009: 8-9).While the crisis there has been uncertainty among market participants and default risk increased, so that borrowers increased the interest rates to all borrowers (Fratianni/ Marchionne 2009: 13). Simultaneously, â€Å"banks reacted by selling assets to reduce leverage, setting in motion a vicious circle of asset liquidation and price declines across a vast range of assets. Financial integration and made possible for the crisis to spread virtually worldwideâ€Å"(Fratianni/ Marchionne 2009: 21).3. ConclusionIn conclusion, financial institutions possess a vibrant role in the financial markets and accelerate the development of financial crises, because of their activities. Furthermore, financial institutions act as an intermediary, thereby they decreas e transaction costs and risk, and simultaneously increase efficiency through information processing. However, besides economic growth financial institutions encourage side effects: Especially the banking institutions’ practices are responsible for the development of the recent financial crisis. Their striving for more profit with practices under the theme of no risk, no reward lead to the downturn of  the worldwide economy. In the future, governments and international institutions meet certain requirements and establish regulations, in order that such practices and activities are restrained.

Case: Valley Wide Utilities Company Essay

Problems A. Macro 1. The company faced with financial inefficiencies resulting from an expansion of its facilities. 2. President Delgado appointed John Givens and Hilda Hirsh to provide a broad outline of MBO performance standards, identify key standards controlling performance, and more specifically, isolate goals not easily attained. B. Micro 1. During the past year, performance evaluation problems are surfacing, dissatisfaction is emerging, managers are stating MBO standards are too tight and unfair, and workers are threatening to leave. I. Causes 1. John and Hilda may not have the knowledge or skills to evaluate and change performance levels of individuals or teams. 2. Hirsh was only looking for failure to report under the cover of the MBO system II. Systems affected 1. The company just increased the performance level on several items, bur they didn’t set a specific goal. 2. When the problems appeared, the company should talk about it together, and find out what they should do next, but they didn’t. III. Alternatives 1. Lower the standard of the system. 2. The manager should make a plan or goal from the review, then tell the employees how to do next. IV. Recommendation The company should do what I said before. Case: valley wide utilities company Problems C. Macro 3. The company faced with financial inefficiencies resulting from an expansion of its facilities. 4. President Delgado appointed John Givens and Hilda Hirsh to provide a broad outline of MBO performance standards, identify key standards controlling performance, and more specifically,  isolate goals not easily attained. D. Micro 1. During the past year, performance evaluation problems are surfacing, dissatisfaction is emerging, managers are stating MBO standards are too tight and unfair, and workers are threatening to leave. V. Causes 3. John and Hilda may not have the knowledge or skills to evaluate and change performance levels of individuals or teams. 4. Hirsh was only looking for failure to report under the cover of the MBO system VI. Systems affected 3. The company just increased the performance level on several items, bur they didn’t set a specific goal. 4. When the problems appeared, the company should talk about it together, and find out what they should do next, but they didn’t. VII. Alternatives 3. Lower the standard of the system. 4. The manager should make a plan or goal from the review, then tell the employees how to do next. VIII. Recommendation The company should do what I said before. Case: valley wide utilities company Problems E. Macro 5. The company faced with financial inefficiencies resulting from an expansion of its facilities. 6. President Delgado appointed John Givens and Hilda Hirsh to provide a broad outline of MBO performance standards, identify key standards controlling performance, and more specifically, isolate goals not easily attained. F. Micro 1. During the past year, performance evaluation problems are surfacing, dissatisfaction is emerging, managers are stating MBO standards are too tight and unfair, and workers are threatening to leave. IX. Causes 5. John and Hilda may not have the knowledge or skills to evaluate and change performance levels of individuals or teams. 6. Hirsh was only looking for failure to report under the cover of the MBO system X. Systems affected 5. The company just increased the performance level on several items, bur they didn’t set a specific goal. 6. When the problems appeared, the company should talk about it together, and find out what they should do next, but they didn’t. XI. Alternatives 5. Lower the standard of the system. 6. The manager should make a plan or goal from the review, then tell the employees how to do next. XII. Recommendation The company should do what I said before. Case: valley wide utilities company Problems G. Macro 7. The company faced with financial inefficiencies resulting from an expansion of its facilities. 8. President Delgado appointed John Givens and Hilda Hirsh to provide a broad outline of MBO performance standards, identify key standards controlling performance, and more specifically, isolate goals not easily attained. H. Micro 1. During the past year, performance evaluation problems are surfacing, dissatisfaction is emerging, managers are stating MBO standards are too tight and unfair, and workers are threatening to leave. XIII. Causes 7. John and Hilda may not have the knowledge or skills to evaluate and change performance levels of individuals or teams. 8. Hirsh was only looking for failure to report under the cover of the MBO system XIV. Systems affected 7. The company just increased the performance level on several items, bur they didn’t set a specific goal. 8. When the problems appeared, the company should talk about it together, and find out what they should do next, but  they didn’t. XV. Alternatives 7. Lower the standard of the system. 8. The manager should make a plan or goal from the review, then tell the employees how to do next. XVI. Recommendation The company should do what I said before.

Importance of International Finance

International Financial Management is unique primarily because the firm must deal in more than its own currency. [2] A multinational is a corporation that has operations in more than one country. [3] It is also called an International Corporation. It ordinarily consists of 1 parent company and about 6 foreign subsidiaries, typically with a high degree of strategic intervention between them. E. G. The Coca Cola Company is a multinational company, selling in more than 200 countries and having net sales of $7169 million in the 1st quarter of 2009. 4] Financial advantages of foreign operations An overseas market provides a larger market and thus, a potential increase in the sales of the firm's products. For some corporations, it might mean a fall in production costs if their opening a subsidiary in a country that offers cheap labor, raw materials or machinery. Also, instead of only exporting goods to other nations, once an NC starts operations in another country, the risk of detrimental laws restricting the sales of their products as well as an increase in the tax on their products, decreases considerably.Exchange rates and their effects An exchange rate is the expression of the value of one currency in terms of another amounts currency. [5] There are two ways of expressing this value: 1. Direct quotation: Domestic Currency / Foreign Currency 2. Indirect quotation: Foreign Currency/ Domestic currency The two methods are different ways of expressing the same thing. Throughout the project, ERE is quoted in direct quotation. Banks in most countries use a system of Foreign Exchange Market and its Fluctuations The volume of international transactions has grown considerably in the past 50-70 years.Trade and investment of this magnitude would be impossible without the ability to buy and sell currencies. The latter must be done for one currency is not the acceptable means of payment in all countries engaged in trade. The foreign exchange market is one of the largest in the world which facilitates the buying and selling of currencies, whose price is determined by the ERE. The market is over-the- counter, I. E. Trade is carried out using computer terminals, telephones, telecoms devices and SWIFT; an international banking communications network that electronically links brokers and traders.It is not confined to any one country but is dispersed throughout the leading financial centers of the world. Participants The major participants are large commercial banks that trade with one another, channeling most currency transactions through the worldwide interbrain market. Their transactions are conducted through foreign exchange brokers, who specialize in matching net supplier and demander banks. The brokers charge a brokerage fee and in return, offer anonymity to both parties and minimize the contact of banks with other traders.Small banks and local offices of major banks have lines of credit with large banks or with the home office. Customers deal with the b ank, which then makes use of the line of credit. Other players are brokers, international money centre banks, central banks of many countries, portfolio managers, foreign exchange brokers, hedgers, traders and speculators. Another actor in the market is the arbitrageur, who seeks to earn risk-free profit by taking advantage of difference in interest rates between countries and make use of forward contracts to eliminate ERE risk.If the value of home currency A decreases relative to the value of currency B, A is a weakening or depreciating currency and B is a strengthening or appreciating currency. ERE quoted indirectly will fall. For the importers of country A, ore of their home currency is required to purchase goods of country B. The vice versa is true for country B. Therefore, the attractiveness of a country's goods and services abroad is Judged by the relative values of the currencies of the importing and exporting countries. Types of Transactions 1 .

Movie Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Movie Assignment - Essay Example This paper shall candidly and comprehensively elucidate on virtue ethics and the issues that surround it by considering its application and/or violation in the movie â€Å"Iron Man 2." One of the scenes that can adequately be used to describe virtue ethics in the movie â€Å"Iron Man 2† is Iron Man (Tony) and his Stark industries. As an industry that engages in the production of weapons for the American military, Business in this sector can be a persistent quandary for those involved. As the movie begins, Tony Mark has no doubts and strongly believes that the missiles that he creates protect and support American paramilitaries (Casey et al., 12). When Tony goes to Afghanistan to exhibit a newly created missile, a terrorist cell bombs his caravan. Tony looks at the grenade and sees the label â€Å"Stark Industries† before it explodes. After its explosion, Tony ends up interspersed with shrapnel and the terrorists easily apprehend him. Even after arrest, Tony does not face the anticipated sufferings. He is saved because the terrorist wanted Tony to create a similar missile for them. Eventually, Tony seepages and returns to his home country where he takes time to essentially reason about what his business does. Through his statements, Tony expresses embarrassment. â€Å"I never got to say good-bye to my father†¦.I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did if he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts† (Casey et al., 24). It had dawned on Tony that the terrorists acquired his weapons and were fully using them against the Americans; whom the weapons were meant to defend and safeguard. After this recognition, tony wonders what to do with the company; ethical dilemma skulks in. Despite the sheer fact that his company engages in other activities, weapon production was the main income generating activities. Tony attributes most of his

Do you think high school students should be required to serve one year Essay

Do you think high school students should be required to serve one year of community service - Essay Example I feel students who volunteer may perform better in school. Looking at statistics I found that students who were required to do volunteer work in high school were twenty-two percent more likely to finish college. Twenty-two may seem a small number, but when it comes to being able to complete college I think it matters greatly. The same study also found these same students were able to improve their grades in several academic areas, such as reading, science and math. Being able to perform well in school is very important as it can affect a person’s future career (CIRCLE). The second reason I feel community service in high school is important is because it will bring about a good work ethic for students. Some students have part time jobs during school, while others do not. I would think it could give a student a sense of accomplishment. The student would be able to see firsthand what it is like to work and help others. Students would not be paid for their work, but it would help them appreciate payment all the more when they do someday have a job. I think it would be good if the schools would give students a wide range of choices regarding where they would volunteer. Students who are considering what careers they are interested in may have the opportunity to volunteer at a place that may be in relation to their career aspirations.

Testing of biomolecules Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Testing of biomolecules - Lab Report Example This research will begin with the statement that biomolecules are molecules that are produced by living organisms and which play certain roles in the life of the organism. They include proteins, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids and lipids. Â  The knowledge of the organic molecules forms the basis in the study of biochemistry and medical sciences together with understanding how the body works. The body has a mechanism for ensuring that the molecules are regulated in the body and any deficiency is detected through various clinical manifestations. Some of the biomolecules are synthesized in the body while others are acquired through the food that we eat. For instance, when we come to amino acids which are the building blocks of proteins, they are divided into essential and non-essential ones. The essential ones are not synthesized in the body and so the body has to get them from the environment through the food that we eat. The various biomolecules play different roles in our bodies. T he carbohydrates serve as the primary source of energy. They are divided into three groups, the monosaccharaides which are the simple sugars, the disaccharides which are formed by the dehydration process when two monosaccharide molecules are brought together. An example is the formation of lactose from glucose and galactose. Proteins are important in growth and repair. They also form the enzymes and hormones which are important in various catalytic metabolic processes in the body.