Finance Essays Tax Havens

Finance Essays Tax Havens Tax Havens Critical Analysis of Tax Havens within an International Context The following paper will offer a critical analysis of tax havens within an international context. Specifically, this paper will argue that there is both good and bad to tax havens and that favourable tax policies can both assist the host country and multinationals eager to optimize their earnings and savings. In particular, this paper will note how tax havens are often accused of creating unfair advantages for companies that are competing for public contracts; at the same time, tax haven policies in Bermuda have made that country a leading destination for e-commerce and technology firms. Moving onward, there is evidence that the offshore financial services offered by these states have given them an unimagined degree of affluence – even if it is true that tax haven status is frowned upon international organizations like the OECD. Moreover, being a tax haven is no guarantee that overseas companies will actually take the time to establish legitimate business activities in the country. Furthermore, the tax haven policies that grant generous tax rates to overseas operations have been accused of depleting the tax base of nations that are seeing their revenues drop as corporations flee for greener pastures; needless to say, this has grim consequences when one pauses to consider just how many social services are dependent upon public money for their survival. There are, of course, additional points that warrant a hearing, as well. Individuals – at least in the United States – who think they will profit from flocking to overseas tax havens may find that the long arm of the American tax code will track them down wherever they may settle; on an even more serious note, the lack of institutional transparency found in tax haven lands not only allows criminals to avoid paying taxes but allows them to carry out their nefarious money laundering schemes. Not least of all, this paper will also take the time to ponder how tax haven policies have facilitated tax avoidance on the part of the wealthy and have directly imperilled social services at the exact same time as they burden the middle class and lower class with a monumental tax burden; similarly, the generous tax policies of developing lands vis-a-vis foreign multinationals can unhappily deprive them of much-needed resources which can be put towards essential social services. Staying with the notion that there is both good and bad to be found in tax haven policies, this essay will embark on a brief discussion of the consequences upon corporations of utilizing the services of tax haven states. On one hand, tax haven states indubitably serve as a means of protecting the savings of corporations during difficult periods; on the other hand, the hidden costs associated with moving from a western land to a third world nation (all because of the tax benefits to be realized) can bear with it unexpected hidden costs that can harm valuation. One last thing this paper wishes to bring to the attention of its readers is that tax havens are not always found in developing lands – and these first-world havens can become the resting places for the savings of individuals who may not always have the best of reputations. In the end, tax havens certainly have a place in the world – but they will function infinitely better once definitive guidelines on their regulation can be drawn up by the international community and enforced rigorously by that same community. Critics of international tax havens often point to the fact that they create unfair advantages for companies competing for government contracts elsewhere. To put it another way, concerns (in the United States) have been raised that these contractors (those who have subsidiaries in tax haven countries) are at an unfair cost advantage relative to their competition insofar as they are able to lower their United States tax liability by shifting income to what is commonly referred to as ‘tax haven parent’. In a real sense, this means that powerful US corporations are shifting income from affiliates in high-tax countries to affiliates (subsidiaries) in low-tax countries so that they can reduce their overall tax burden. In 2002, the GAO revealed that 59 of the 100 biggest publicly-traded federal contractors were incorporated in a so-called ‘tax haven’ country that either did not tax corporate income or taxed the income at a rate below the American rate. Clearly, these countries have tax policies that attract American multinationals – with the technological and human resources they possess – but they also siphon money away from the US treasury at the same time as they give contractors prohibitive advantages during the bidding process. One notable example of how contractors who exploit tax haven policies in other countries have excited the wrath of American legislators can be found by looking at the case of Accenture and its ugly fight only a few years ago with Illinois law-makers. During 2004, at least four contracts awarded to Accenture were attacked by legislators because the company had taken full advantage of a loophole in the Illinois tax code that permitted corporations to shift profits to overseas locations so as to avoid paying taxes in the state of Illinois. The matter escalated in no time at all to the point where the State Comptroller was actually asking the Illinois Procurement Policy Board about the feasibility of blocking all payments to four Accenture contracts adding up to more than $2 million. On an even larger scale, the US House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to the homeland security spending bill that effectively blocked Accenture from being a participant in the $10 billion US Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program. One country that has an excellent tax policy (if you are a wealthy corporation) is Bermuda. The British island dependency has no corporate income tax and is ‘tax-neutral’ in terms of how it treats holding companies. A holding company that is actually incorporated in the United States and which receives cash dividends from overseas affiliates/subsidiaries can see its gross dividends pass directly to shareholders. Because of its generous tax policies, Bermuda is now marketing itself as an e-commerce center that is perfect for international technology companies located all over the world. Not surprisingly, the Bermudan approach to attracting technology firms (and the jobs and expertise they offer) has been picked up in countries like Ireland that are keen on targeting ‘preferred’ firms. The benefits that accrue to tax haven states are sufficiently appealing that the countries employing this practice are extremely reluctant to part ways with it – even if it curries the disfavour of the international community. Most of all, the provision of what are called ‘offshore financial services’ has given these countries a measure of affluence they could not have achieved otherwise; indeed, many small island economies (referred to most commonly as simply SIEs) view the emergence of an Offshore Financial Center (OFC) as a panacea for economic disadvantage – possibly because (though it is not stated explicitly in the articles this writer has encountered) the employment opportunities that become available within the financial sector of the SIE courtesy the arrival of multinationals looking for attractive tax and financial services are undeniable. Because examples give force and vigour to any argument, it is necessary to glance at the case study of Malta. Here, the tiny nation – which does not have an over-abundance of natural or human resources by any means – has become renowned for its status as a tax haven; more significantly, it has parlayed its generous tax concessions to foreign investors and companies into a situation wherein its financial services sector is burgeoning at a robust rate. Specifically, 12 percent of Malta’s GDP was to be found in the financial services sector in 2004 and the sector employed about 6,000 local residents. Another good example of a country that has rescued itself from a troubling financial situation by turning itself into a tax haven is the Isle of Man. Other research reiterates the idea that tax haven policies have a beneficial impact upon a country’s economic health. For example, whilst major tax havens have actually less than one percent of the world’s population (excluding the United States), and whilst they have (as of 2005) only about 2.3 percent of the globe’s gross domestic product or GDP, they nonetheless ‘host’ 5.7 percent of the foreign employment and 8.4 percent of the equipment, plant and property of American companies. At the same time, the per capita real GDP in the tax haven nations grew by a healthy rate of 3.3 percent in the years 1982-1999 – almost 2.5 times the world average. Furthermore, in spite of fears that the combination of small populations and relative affluence in these lands would precipitate the creation of even larger governments, the reality is that the ratio of government to GDP in these locations is fairly reasonable. Possibly prompted by the Bermudan example and by a few other states identified as ‘high priorities’, the OECD set about defining a tax haven in a seminal 1998 paper that continues to reverberate to this day. Most significantly, a tax haven country has a policy of not imposing taxes (or only nominal ones); offers itself or is viewed as offering itself, as a place that permits non-residents to escape taxation in their homeland (or nation of residence); does not have an effective exchange of information with outside parties; lacks transparency; and attracts businesses with no ‘substantial’ activities – these last two criteria, especially, will be touched upon at various points later in this paper. In the defence of these two states, each one does impose indirect taxes; for instance, Bermuda has a fairly hefty payroll tax and also places taxes upon on all goods purchased on the island. Nonetheless, only the most ardent supporter would suggest that these two countries fail to rise to the level of tax-haven states. In terms of attracting foreign multinationals, tax haven policies are difficult to beat. However, critics charge that countries like Bermuda do not simply attract ‘real’ economic investment but also ‘brass plate’ or ‘booking operations’ that are characterized by a lack of actual business activity; in other words, international organizations like the OECD become suspicious when they see companies locating to places like Bermuda (or even Ireland) which do not have a lot of business-related action taking place. For countries that are trying to attract jobs as well as foreign capital, it would seem as though having tax haven policies can be a bit of a double-edged sword in the sense that a) other countries are sharply critical towards their ‘preferential’ taxation practices and b) these policies may not attract the jobs the aforementioned countries are hoping for. In fairness, tax haven policies in the United Arab Emirates (specifically, in the port city of Dubai) have attracted plentiful foreign investment on a scale that has (amongst other things) allowed the city to develop its communication and infrastructural capabilities while simultaneously wooing upscale tourists. One other problem with tax haven policies that offer low or non-existent tax rates is that international organizations like the OECD have asserted that they undermine the tax base (presumably of the countries that are seeing businesses flee elsewhere) and erode public services; in fact, ‘harmful’ tax competition has been compared to competitive devaluations and to tariff wars. To expand on this last point, the OECD (in 1998), released a study which argued that tax haven countries divert large amounts of foreign direct investment and ‘taxable income’ away from OECD member states. The tension between the OECD and tax haven nations has long threatened those lands trying to give corporations and individuals advantageous tax rates as well as the benefits of greater privacy. However, there is some sense that this tension is dissipating as more and more tax haven states belatedly embrace international best standards of practice. Be that as it may, only the most wildly optimistic person would dare say that the current hostility between the OECD and small tax haven states is not problematic; the willingness of the above-mentioned countries to cut multinationals ‘slack’ in terms of what they pay in the form of corporate taxes has raised the ire of the OECD and the powerful western nations which comprise its membership to such an extent that real political and even diplomatic problems could still linger in the future. To get to the heart of the problem, the OECD’s penchant for naming transgressors and then ‘shaming’ them in the court of international opinion has been perceived as bullying in some quarters; certainly, the nations that are targeted – or have been targeted – by the OECD are small, politically and economically weak and burdened with limited economic prospects, save for the financial services and tax breaks they offer to foreigners. One can maintain that a lot of this tension would simply go away if the countries engaging in tax haven policies and practices would cease their current practices – but that ignores the reality that these countries need the financial benefits that accrue from such activities; moreover, it is worth asking what the financial implications will be for multinationals and for the communities in developing lands that benefit – even if indirectly – from their presence. Individual Americans who think that tax havens are the perfect thing for them should give the idea a bit more thought: tax haven nations may be enticing in many respects, but US tax law makes it hard for individuals to spirit money somewhere else in the expectation they will not have to pay. For instance, US citizens are taxed on their world-wide income: the tax breaks found in places like the Caribbean, Luxembourg, or the Caymans do not apply to individual US citizens – just corporations. Furthermore, an offshore partnership aimed at mitigating the tax burden will not work for US citizens: the ‘rules’ simply assume that the private citizen earned so much money each year and do not view any profit from the partnership as being a simple long-term capital gain; as such, interest is added onto the taxes that the private US citizen must pay the government. As if that is not bad enough, the capital gains arising from the partnership is taxed as regular income and not as capital gain – which means higher tax rates in the end. Beyond what has been discussed above, individuals and companies using tax havens to avoid paying taxes may not simply be doing this sort of thing to spare themselves at tax time: money launderers like tax haven countries like the Bahamas because of the fact they disclose little information about the companies or individuals doing business within their environs; additionally, money launderers tend to exploit tax havens to the fullest extent possible. For all intents and purposes, tax haven policies really make life easier (though not trouble-free) for criminals eager to avoid the prying eyes of government. As an addendum, it must be mentioned that the United States government has recently taken action to reduce the ‘pay-off’ for wealthy individuals eager to exploit tax shelters. Remaining with America for just a while longer, the matter of off-shore tax havens has become so important to the United States government that exhaustive legislative hearings on this very matter have become de rigueur in recent years. Yet another challenge posed by tax havens is that they are so difficult to tackle from a legal point of view – something that clearly favours criminals at the same time as it grossly disadvantages law enforcement. To elaborate, at least one noted scholar has commented that it is well-nigh impossible to formulate a universal definition of a tax haven that can be used to effectively combat the fiscal abuses associated with this global phenomenon. Until such time as the international community comes to a universal understanding of the concept of a tax haven, criminals can feel reasonably secure that there will be at least a few places on earth willing to embrace them and their tawdry ‘business’ pursuits. Despite the conceptual challenges posed, the United States – as much as any nation – has decided that it has had quite enough of the tax evasion and money-laundering activities characteristic of tax haven nations with their generous tax avoidance policies. Recent court decisions in the US have expanded the power of US states to tax the income of corporations that do not have a ‘physical lexus’ with the state. In essence, the courts have taken the position that an out-of-state corporations so-called ‘in-state economic presence’ renders the absence of a physical presence (headquarters or office buildings or any kind of physical structure at all) entirely irrelevant as to determining the state’s capacity to pursue that corporation for money. Another problem that tax haven policies bring is that they give the wealthy one more means by which they can avoid paying their full weight in taxes. In essence, tax havens provide tax avoidance options to companies and to wealthy individuals; as a result, the tax burden ultimately ends up being borne (more and more) by the middle class and by those with fewer financial resources. Suffice it to say, as the rich grow richer while the poor grow poorer (courtesy onerous tax burdens), the ability of the poor to invest in education plummets. Over time, this can lead to a general decline in productivity – a decline causing great harm to the country that is unable to keep the rich from exploiting one tax avoidance scheme after another. The grim consequences of tax havens upon nations that are seeing the ‘flight’ of capital resources to far-off places reaches beyond just imposing a greater burden upon those ill-equipped to shoulder that burden; tax havens also imperil social services that are already under attack in an age of neo-liberalism. For example, in early 2005, it was reported that Canada’s top 5 banks shifted about $10 billion to offshore tax havens in the period from 1991 to 2004. According to the academic who headed up the study, the utilization of offshore tax havens and shelters is tantamount to engaging in economic terrorism insofar as the monies lost make it difficult (with the potential to be impossible) for the government to finance social programs that need public funds to survive. Despite the protestations of the banks in question that their foreign-based subsidiaries located in tax-haven lands such as Malta, Barbados and the Cayman Islands are simply a means of taking advantage of the competitive tax policies located overseas, the report stresses the aforementioned dollar figure and the fact that the total number of subsidiaries for the ‘big five’ stood at 73 as of the end of 2004. Nor is the problem of tax avoidance confined just to wealthy western nations that are finding it increasingly difficult to provide appropriate social programs in an era when their populations are aging at an alarming rate: in countries that feature (or have featured in the past) tax haven policies, the government is often unable to collect all the taxes it would like to service all the social programs it would like. For instance, whilst Chile has long been the most attractive country in the world when it comes to mining and direct investment in this field, the world’s leading copper producer also does not charge a royalty on the extraction of its most precious natural resource and its taxes are incredibly low – and sometimes non-existent because of legal accounting loopholes that allow for generous write-offs for things like equipment. Tax haven policies appear to offer many positives and more than a few negatives – something this paper has noted time and again. While it can be argued a number of different ways, one would be remiss not to point out that private equity firms (or maybe any firm) doing business in a country in the midst of a financial downturn can – and certainly have – used offshore tax havens to shelter the profits on their investments; American equity firms, as a matter of fact, did precisely this during the late 1990s to protect their investments in Korean financial institutions. Given what has been described in the last paragraph, it is tempting to say that companies which move their operations abroad to escape paying taxes at home benefit handsomely from the transfer; after all, why leave the technologically-advanced, human resource-rich and affluent west for a small or developing peripheral economy unless (amongst a few other reasons) the organization’s senior thinkers were intent upon saving as many dollars as possible from the taxman? Unfortunately, the expected tax savings do not automatically exceed the non-tax costs associated with the above-mentioned move; if anything, the decision to set up new subsidiaries (or to pick up stakes and move elsewhere) has manifested negative repercussions in the form of hidden and unexpected costs that negatively impact firm valuation. Proceeding along, it is commonly heard – maybe less so than in the past – that tax haven nations are predominantly nations that are less developed than those countries found in the west; the truth, though, is rather more different. Difficult as it may seem, even affluent western nations can properly be described as tax havens – the United Kingdom being the best example. In London in particular, the favourable tax laws are such that many Russian elites – who, in some instances, have reputations that warrant a bit of polishing – have injected vast sums of capital into the local economy. At the same time, London (and the United Kingdom in general) is not alone: Switzerland has also attracted plenty of Russian capital and it seems as though the two are responsible for the staggering flight of roughly $102 billion from Russia between 1998 and 2004. Again, the money that flows out of Russia now is the kind of money that could be directed towards such things as social programs and the like.

Its Time to Lower the Drinking Age :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

In the United States, it is illegal to consume alcohol until the age of twenty-one. At the age of eighteen people are considered adults. â€Å"The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen-years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age (Amendment 26, Section 1 of the Constitution). At the age of eighteen, a person can get married, vote, drive, take out loans, pay taxes, buy tobacco, have sex, be tried as an adult, have children, use credit cards, buy real estate, act independently of parents and be in the armed forces and die for their country. If we look at Vietnam War, half of the soldiers that fought in that war were under the age of twenty-one, and a lot of them were 17 to 19 years old. Yet that person still can not drink alcohol. Also we can smoke when we are eighteen. Smoking kills just as many people if not more than drinking. Smoking causes cancer, and many more conditions compared to drinking that causes liver problems only after sever abuse of it. Smoking has many chemicals including carbon monoxide which is so poisonous that we have alarms in our house that detect it, but we can smoke and not drink. We can vote when we are eighteen. We vote for bills and bonds that change our lives. We can vote for the senators and the entire Congress that propose laws that govern our society. We vote for the President who is the commander of millions of troops whom he can send to their deaths in a minute’s warning. It is imperative that the drinking age be lowered to the age of eighteen. The drinking age must be lowered t o the age of eighteen because this age would be consistent with other responsibilities that the government ____ grants eighteen-year-olds. For instance, at the age of eighteen, a person is liable to be in the armed forces. If a person is being trusted to fight or even possibly die for their country, it seems a lot less crucial to trust them with an alcoholic beverage. To add to the fact of dying for their country, these people are being counted on to kill other humans. This seems unreasonable that a person is liable to take on an adult’s job, that involves the future of the country, and still be unable to enjoy an activity that other adults are allowed to participate in.

Poet’s childhood Essay

â€Å"In Mrs. Tilscher’s Class† by Carol Ann Duffy deals with one central theme. The theme of growing up is the main idea within the poem and is repeatedly imprinted throughout the poet’s childhood. This theme leads on to the more abstract idea of the child already maturing into a great poet. Her mind’s eye is unbounded as she transforms her classroom into a place of riches and resides in her own world of imagination. Written improbably through the 2nd person viewpoint, the poem expresses these ideas personally to the reader, hence allowing us to empathise with the poet. The poet is able to recall several aspects of her primary school days, and is consequently able to paint a picture of her memories from the viewpoint of a young child. The writer not only conveys an inviting warm atmosphere of a 1960’s classroom, but also unveils a liberal outlook to her childhood. A colourful classroom with numerous displays is made known to the reader: â€Å"The classroom glowed like a sweet shop. † The classroom is made into a place of riches with this visual simile, used to radiate wonders of the child’s mind. The word â€Å"glowed† in this line is a metaphor all on its own. The metaphor allows the reader to visualise the sweetshop gleaming due to the light refracting through the glass jars and translucent sweets. The poet can also bring to mind the teacher’s blackboard, as she informs the reader of how â€Å"the chalky Pyramids rubbed into dust. † In a literal sense the chalky lines on the board became chalk dust. The poet imagines this to be great pyramids and monuments being eroded inevitably by time. The bell signifying the end of playtime is remembered as: â€Å"The laugh of a bell, swung by a running child. † This auditory image incorporates the personification of the bell, to compare its sound to an incessant laugh of a child. The bell’s laugh is a transferred epithet from the child, as the children too were laughing, overwhelmed with joy as they returned to their classroom for another dose of Mrs. Tilscher. The poet’s joy is so intense and infectious, that it reaches out and transforms the whole scene. Such is the magnitude of the poet’s emotion. The laugh is also a visual image, as the reader can see a smile as the arc of the bell, and the clapper hitting the sides of it is almost comparable to a tongue. However other images such as a â€Å"skittle of milk† are more informative and suggest the time setting of the poem. The poet also remembers a music room next door to her classroom, though only by means of â€Å"a xylophone’s nonsense† heard. This auditory image describes the noise of the xylophone next door and this is further expanded by the use of the single metaphoric word â€Å"nonsense† which implies the vague unclear noise heard and the fact that the primary school children are producing uncoordinated music. The â€Å"enthralling books† were not to be forgotten to the poet, as they had made her a slave to them continually, due to their alluring influence. All the images used to recall aspects of the poet’s primary school principally focus on an emotional and sensual level. The primary school classroom may have been a place memorable to the poet through various images, but the definitive piece of the poet’s 1960’s school life was Mrs. Tilscher. Mrs. Tilscher’s voice is not even forgotten, as the poet reminisces her voice as she â€Å"chanted the scenery. † Mrs. Tilscher’s chanting brings about connotations of music in her voice and melodic speech. It also brings about a sense of religion, as she is made comparable to a pastor in a church chanting a sermon, enlightening and entrancing us all. Mrs. Tilscher is portrayed as a compassionate teacher: â€Å"Mrs. Tilscher loved you† and shows kindness and care. The terms around the lines focused on Mrs. Tilscher also have an implication on how she is illustrated to the reader. Words with intense connotations such as glowed, sweet, sugar and coloured have associations with moods of joy, brilliance, love and bliss which all elaborate on Mrs. Tilscher’s image. The teacher is also illustrated to be appreciative: â€Å"Some mornings you found she’d left a good gold star by your name. † Although it seems that the poet finds aspects of the classroom just as unforgettable as Mrs. Tilscher, the poet essentially portrays the classroom’s essence to be the work of Mrs. Tilscher, through her tone of voice. Choices of words or diction such as â€Å"could† have connotations of possibility. When put into context and further developed on, the implications go as far as unconstrained and limitless possibility. The teacher opens up a whole world of possibility, and it is because of this the poet remembers so much about her classroom, a boundless environment. It is because of Mrs. Tilscher that the poets classroom surroundings were made to be so memorable. The poet’s tone of voice and language varies throughout the poem, and strong distinction is made between the first two stanzas and the last two stanzas. The language in the first two stanzas is exceptionally exuberant, more child-like in an emotional sense and the imagery is much more pleasant to envisage, filled with colour, vibrancy and liveliness: â€Å"Sugar paper. Coloured shapes. † Each individual phrase builds up an atmosphere full of warmth. However the last two stanzas are less joyous in their atmosphere, as the poet makes her transition to a state of being overwhelmed by hormones. The word connotations also vary greatly in these two stanzas, bringing suggestions of anger, accusation and dismay: â€Å"You kicked him, but stared at your parents, appalled. † The stanzas are also bleaker in description and imagery is uninviting: â€Å"The air tasted of electricity. † The poet’s feelings in stanza four are troubled, after being introduced to topic of how she was born: â€Å"A tangible alarm made you always untidy, hot, fractious under the heavy, sexy sky. † Such sentences furthermore use more mature and sophisticated language, which coincide with her growth as the language also develops. Therefore the poet’s outlook and tone of voice changes as she becomes much more interested in growing up than going to primary and learning in a high-spirited vibrant classroom. The reader of the poem is invited to personally explore the main ideas within the poem. This personal involvement of the reader seems appropriate, as the main theme conveyed, the journey of growing up, is your own personal exclusive journey. This personal involvement is due to the narration of the poem from the second-person viewpoint. This is shown through the excessive use of the second-person pronoun â€Å"You. † By using this narration style, the experience of the young poet is made universal and common. We can all be subjected to her experiences of growing up from the second-person narrative perspective. Although the reader finds it easy enough to face the poet’s experiences, Mrs. Tilscher feels that she should have no influence in the young child’s journey of growing up, and that such a journey should proceed at the person’s own pace. When the child asks the teacher about how she was born, â€Å"Mrs. Tilscher smiled, then turned away. † Mrs. Tilscher may have believed that the poet would learn in her own time, but the poet nevertheless encourages the reader to enter her journey. The poem illustrates two worlds in which the poet resided during her childhood days. The reader is able to capture not only the essence of the classroom, but also the limitless realm of the child’s imagination. Both these worlds exist alongside each other agreeably as the classroom is made into a creative place itself due to the influence of Mrs.Tilscher. The foremost apparent world presented by Carol Ann Duffy is the classroom. The classroom conveys images of riches, sweets, colour and joy. However beyond this, the classroom is seen to be a sanctuary. The classroom was a safe house against the world of murder and crime outside, as suggested by the mention of â€Å"Brady and Hindley† of the 1960’s. The real world begins to force an entry into the child’s reverie as she slowly begins to become conscious of the world outside. This is the first occasion in which the poet shows signs of growing up, which enforces the main theme of the poem. The girl learns that the real world isn’t to be trusted. The classroom however is portrayed as a world of its own, not troubled by the likes of such horrific murderers. The fear fades away in the classroom, and along with this so does the little hint of adulthood. She postpones her transition into adulthood for the meantime, as the poet shows us by using a child-like image after the allusion: â€Å"Brady and Hindley faded, like the faint uneasy smudge of a mistake. † This second component to the sentence indirectly illustrates the use of a pencil, and the occurrence of â€Å"silly mistakes. † It is because of this implication that the poet moves back into the state of childhood. The growth of the poet is exemplified in this classroom world, and therefore this world is very significant to the theme. Conversely, on a more abstract plane, the poem portrays another world within the child’s mind. A whole world of imagination and vision. The poet expresses that she â€Å"could travel up the Blue Nile with your finger tracing the route. † The poet is tracing her finger down the Nile, and is in her imaginative world of Egypt. On the other hand, in reality the teacher is demonstrating sketch maps on the board. The word within the poem, which establishes both worlds within and without, is a metaphor on its own. The word â€Å"travel† is the single metaphor, which suggests that the poet is on a journey within her mind, when actually she is stationary within her school seat. The poet also conveys the main theme in this imaginative world, as the child not only travels with her finger and during her daydream, but she furthermore travels through her journey of growing up. The child is beginning to grow into a great poet, and this is shown through various lines within the poem. A very strong contributor to this idea of the girl growing into a great poet is an example of synaesthesia: â€Å"The scent of a pencil, slowly carefully shaven. † This image appeals to all of the senses at once, and incorporates kinetic, olfactory, visual and tactile aspects. This line shows how the poet â€Å"carefully shaved† her pencil, just in the same way she carefully crafts sentences. This is extended even further by the link made between the writing tool and the writing process. The child poet is even able to link this image full of senses to the main theme of growing up. The act of the girl carefully shaving the pencil, symbolises how she is shaving or peeling off her childhood as she makes the transition into adulthood. The poet gradually conveys to the reader that there are two states of growth within the poem, and that the girl is maturing both into adolescence and into a mind of an exceptional poet. The last stanza of the poem focuses the atmosphere and the attitude of the poet into an uninviting overcast, but also centers in on the theme. It illustrates the â€Å"feverish† month of July, oppressed by the summer and heat. Alongside this are the hormones of the child, felt almost within the air. These hormones amplify the effect of the afflicting heat. The air also â€Å"tasted of electricity†, which conveys the anticipation of summer thunderstorms due to the heavy air. However â€Å"electricity† also relates with the hormones to suggest that the child will spark at random times and also that the growth of the child is full of charge, energy and excitement. Further along, the use of the phrase â€Å"a tangible alarm† portrays an almost touchable fear within the air. This fear made the girl â€Å"fractious under the sexy sky. † This expresses to the reader that the girl had many sudden outbursts of anger due to her hormones. These hormones influence her thoughts and are the causes behind the poet using the term â€Å"sexy† to describe the sky. The last line of the poem communicates how this adolescent phase is like a thunderstorm. The thunderstorm represents her feelings of puberty, as she feels as though the whole world is coming down on her, just as in a thunderstorm. The lightning of a thunderstorm also links to the connotations of the â€Å"electricity. † The lightning of the thunderstorm could symbolize the mood swings awaiting the child. The lightning also illustrates the fact that there is an unsettlement within the child, as if an electric current was continually running through her. The rain of a thunderstorm conveys the downpour of gloom upon the child throughout the hard times to come. On an overall view the experience of puberty and growing up is just a phase and in time will pass. Soon the child will be entirely in adulthood. Likewise the thunderstorm is just an unpleasant phase in the sequence of weather and in time shall pass. Before long the sun will overpower such a ghastly occurrence of weather. Overall, â€Å"In Mrs.Tilscher’s Class† by Carol Ann Duffy is a poem which allows the reader to personally identify themselves with the poet. The poem is contrastive between the stanzas and thus the poet is able to isolate the main idea. Two worlds are created expressing the wonders of the classroom, but also illustrating the unconstrained world of the girl’s imagination. Through these two worlds we see signs of the girl growing into a great poet. However the most essential idea of the poem is the theme of growing up and maturing. It is a journey through adolescence: â€Å"You ran through the gates, impatient to be grown. â€Å"

Use Fake Facts on Explorers to Teach Internet Research

Use Fake Facts on Explorers to Teach Internet Research If you Google the explorer Ferdinand Magellan, one of the top results youll get is a web page from the website  All About Explorers  that states: In 1519, at the age of only 27, he was supported by  several wealthy businessmen, including Marco Polo, Bill Gates, and Sam Walton, to finance an expedition to the Spice  Islands. While some facts in this information are accurate -namely the year of Magellans expedition to the Spice Islands- there are others that might set off alarms. Educators would know that Microsofts Bill Gates or Wal-Marts Sam Walton would not be around for another 500 years, but would students? There is recent research that suggests that many students in our middle schools, high schools, or  college would not question the information given about the life of this 15th Century explorer. After all, this website  looks  like a credible source! That is exactly the problem that the  Stanford History Education Group  (SHEG) discovered in a report titled  Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning. This report released November 2016 tracked the research skills of students in middle, high school or college using a series of prompts. The study prototyped, field tested, and validated a bank of assessments that tap civic online reasoning. (see 6 Ways to Help Students Spot Fake News) The results of SHEGs study indicated that many students are  not prepared to distinguish accurate from inaccurate accounts  or  decide when a statement is relevant or irrelevant to a given point. SHEG suggested that  when it comes to evaluating information that flows through social media channels, they are easily duped  pronouncing  our  nations  students ability to research in one word: bleak.    But that   AllAboutExplorers website  is one bogus website that  should not be shut down. Use The AllAboutExplorers Website  for Internet Research Practice Yes, there is plenty of misinformation on site. For example, on the webpage dedicated to Juan Ponce de Leon, there is the reference to  an  American multinational cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care company that was founded in 1932:   In 1513 he was hired by Revlon, a cosmetic company, to search for the Fountain of Youth (a body of water that would enable you to look young forever). In truth, the  misinformation on the  AllAboutExplorers  website is intentional, and all of the misinformation on the site was created to serve  an important educational purpose-to better prepare students in intermediate and middle schools to understand how to research accurately and completely using evidence that is valid, timely, and relevant. The about page  on the site states: AllAboutExplorers  was developed by a group of teachers as a means of teaching students about the Internet. Although the Internet can be a tremendous resource for gathering information about a topic, we found that students often did not have the skills to discern useful information from worthless  data. The AllAboutExplorers  site was created in 2006 by educator Gerald Aungst,(  Supervisor of Gifted and Elementary Mathematics in the Cheltenham School District in Elkins Park, PA) and Lauren Zucker,(Library Media Specialist in Centennial School District). Their collaboration 10 years earlier confirms what the SHEG research has recently concluded, that most students cannot tell  good information from bad. Aungst and Zucker explain on the website that they created  AllAboutExplorers in order to develop a series of lessons for students in which we would demonstrate that just because it is out there for the searching does not mean it is  worthwhile. These educators wanted to make a point  about  finding useless information on a site that was designed to look believable. They note that  all of the Explorer biographies here are fictional and that they purposefully mixed facts with  inaccuracies, lies, and even downright absurdities. Some of the absurdities that have been mixed with facts on famous explorers on this website include: Lewis Clark:...in 1795, they became the charter subscribers to the National Geographic Magazine. Both were so mesmerized by the stunning color photographs in the glossy publication that they determined–completely separately–to become world-famous  explorers. It wasn’t until 1803, when Thomas Jefferson saw an intriguingly brief posting by Napoleon Bonaparte on Craig’s List for a large tract of  land:  For Sale:  Louisiane, a tract of land in the middle of the North America. Acreage unknown. Contains the fourth longest river in the world. â‚ ¬60,000,000 OBO, local shipping included. Serious inquiries  only.Christopher Columbus: He  knew he had to make this idea of sailing, using a western route, more popular. So,  he produced and appeared on infomercials  which aired four times daily. Finally,  the King and Queen of Spain called his toll-free number  and agreed to help  Columbus. The authors have provided readers the cautions not to  use this site as a source of reference for research. There is even a satiric  update on the site that mentions a lawsuit settlement on a   (fake) claim that the information unfairly caused failing grades for students who used the information via the website.   The authors can be followed on  Twitter: aaexplorers.  Their website confirms SHEG reports that states there  are scores of websites pretending to be something they are not. In addition to the elaborate hoaxes on explorers there are more serious and credible  lesson plans designed to introduce students to the skills and concepts of good Internet researching: Just Because Its Out There Doesnt Mean Its GoodSo How Do You Find the Good Stuff?Google, What?Where Exactly Am I?How Could They Be So Wrong? Research Standards for Social Studies Research is not exclusive to any discipline, but the  National Council for the Social Studies has outlined specific standards for research in their  College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History   There is the standard:  Dimension 4, Communicating Conclusions  for grades 5-12,   the intermediate and  middle school grades levels (5-9) that could benefit from the lessons on the  AllAboutExplorers: D4.2.3-5. Construct explanations using reasoning, correct sequence, examples, and details with relevant information and data.D4.2.6-8. Construct explanations using reasoning, correct sequence, examples, and details with relevant information and data, while acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses of the explanations.D4.1.9-12. Construct arguments using precise and knowledgeable claims, with evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging counterclaims and evidentiary weaknesses.   The European explorers are generally studied in grades 5 as part of American Colonial History; in grade 6 7 as part of European exploration of Latin and Central America; and in grades 9 or 10 in the study of colonialism in global studies classes.   The website AllAboutExplorers provides educators an opportunity  to help students  learn how to negotiate the Internet in research. Teaching students to better explore the web can be improved by introducing students to this website on famous explorers.

Case Analysis Costco Wholesale

Case Analysis Costco Wholesale Introduction Costco Wholesale Corporation is a membership club founded in 1983 and headquartered in Issaquah, US. The company deals in a variety of merchandise including televisions, computers, camcorders and phones.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Case Analysis: Costco Wholesale specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, the firm provides services such as website and online solutions, mortgage purchase and financing, business prescription insurance as well as payroll services. The corporation was formed with a mission of offering quality products as well as services to its members at achievable economical prices. Current situation The company’s competitive advantages are the business strategies, customer approach and the diversified trade model. Strategy elements Low pricing as well as limited selection of products are the foundation of the corporation’s strategy. Further, Costco’s treas ure-hunt merchandising is also an invaluable tactic applied by the firm in operations. Through treasure-hunt merchandising, the company is capable of purchasing high-end products and services on the gray economy from the vendors with the motive of eliminating surplus stocks. Competitive approach The company’s price leadership tactic attained through reduced handling and warehouse expenses, the utilization of just-in-time stocking principle and maintenance of in stock has proven invaluable in the reduction of prices and increased purchases. The corporation also maintains preeminent value packs that contribute hugely in attracting large numbers of customers. The company undertakes minimal promotional activities resulting in minimal number of expenses incurred. The business model The firm currently utilizes business model that focuses on the provision of restricted categories of trademarked national stock while anticipating high proceeds from vending as well as prompt stock retu rns.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In fact, the company’s just-in-time stock, minimal handling of stock, volume purchases as well as efficient delivery channels has enabled the firm to generate higher revenues from its operations. Further, the corporation’s treasure-hunt merchandise has created a process that attracts large number of clients. Analysis The macro-environment Costco Corporation uses PEST analysis in the examination of the macro-environment in which it operates. Political aspects The corporation recognizes the significant roles played by both the political and the legal sectors in ensuring excellent status, success and trust in its operations. As such, the firm adheres to business morals as well as the legal provisions provided by the international business organizations. The company offers goods and services that meet the standard s as well as gratifies the customers’ needs across the globe. Economic aspects The company’s repute appeals to large number of clients leading to increased sales. Additionally, the firm continues to offer superior goods and services to its clients. Further, the firm has spread remarkably across different states in the globe by opening various businesses causing an increase in its economic power and competitive position over similar firms in the industry. Socio-cultural aspects Culture influences the performance and productivity of Costco Corporation in a number of ways. First, the corporation recognizes the worth of its personnel’s ideas and beliefs without prejudice. The company also satisfies its client social assurance by the provision of high quality goods and services. Technological aspects The utilization of contemporary technology in businesses ensures efficiency and competitiveness. Costco is at the forefront of utilizing the current progression in exper tise to come up with innovative products that suit the needs of the customers. Further, the company’s website enables the clients to familiarize with the firm’s products and services. Key success factors The company’s business model is instrumental in defining its achievements. The firm recognizes cultural perspective by seizing opportunities in different locations. In addition, the firm’s circular vision is instrumental in the reinvention of innovations leading to efficient delivery of products.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Case Analysis: Costco Wholesale specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The corporation’s passion has been imperative in the designing of a collaboration-propelled paradigm enabling innovations of current value models. Moreover, entrepreneurial spirit and working for a purpose is invaluable in sharing ideas that deliver greater achievements. Strategic group ma p Corporation Business Model Revenue (billions) Comparable store sales(decline) Number of store locations Current strategy Costco Low costs and high volumes $70 6% 513 International economy Sam’s Club Low cost and high volume $45 4.5% 490 20 club locations nationwide BJ Club Low cost and high volume $10 3.5% 170 Retail shoppers and provision of more grocery The company relates with other two competitors including the Sam’s Club and BJ’s wholesale club. The map exhibits the stiff competition that Costco faces in the market from rivals. Based on the business model, all the firms apply low cost and high volumes model. In terms of revenue, Costco leads with $70 billion followed by Sam’s Club $45 billion and BJ†s Club at $10 billion. Costco’s sales have declined by 6%, Sam’s by 4.5% and BJ by 3.5%. The firms have diversified their stores all over the globe with the Sam’s Club leading with the number of stores at 590 foll owed by Costco’s 513. BJ Club has 170 stores. The firms are employing a number of current strategies to gain competitive advantage. For instance, Costco has diversified operations in the global economy while the Sam’s has opened up 20 new locations nationwide. The BJ’s Club focuses on retail shoppers as well as presenting volume groceries. Porter’s five forces New market entrants The corporation has a competitive advantage over rivals due to high barriers of entry into the market, low threats from new firms and diversified products at low-costs.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Competitive rivalry The company faces stiff competition from other firms such as the Sam’s Club. The firm’s delivery series is effortlessly duplicated leading to enjoyment of economies of scale. Low-cost strategies by many firms have resulted into meager proceeds to the firm. Supplier power The firm enjoys good working relations with its vendors who supply large quantities of products at low prices Purchasing power The firm enjoys high purchase bargaining power, high concentration and mobility of buyers Substitutes There is insignificant pressure of substitute and the customers get towering worth from the economical purchases as well as elevated membership maintenance. Internal environment SWOT analysis Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Strengths The firm maintains devoted and rich clients, towering stock proceeds and consistent return on sales as well as resources together with incredible remunerations policy. All the aspects have enabled increased re venues. Weakness The company diminishing profit levels, weak promotion activities, lack of self-checkouts and the primary focus on the club’s members opposed to the general customers make Costco less attractive to many potential customers. Opportunities Higher growth prospects are presented to the firm due to operations in high GDP states, expansion in membership, good repute regarding employee remuneration and societal responsibility as well as the augmenting trademark among the masses. Threats The firm faces stiff competition from competitors such as the Sam’s Club and BJ Club. Additionally, the firm’s geographical diversification is insignificant compared to the Sam’s Club. Financial ratios Liquidity ratios The current ratio showed a decreasing trend from 116% in 2010 to 110% in 2012. The quick ratio and cash ratio were 60% and 47% respectively in 2010 and declined to 52% and 40% respectively in 2012. Profitability ratios Costco’s profitability ratios have remained constant over the years. For example, gross margin has been at 13%, operating margin at 3% and profit margin at 2%. Return on investments after tax has been increasing from 12% in 2010 to 14% in 2012. Value chain The Costco’s CRX program enables clients to obtain inventory requests in time. In addition, the program enables the firm to measure performance and productivity against competitors thereby increases priceless insights in the viable economy. The system has also provided efficient delivery series solution to the clients through updating stock information, forecasting and demand planning leading to enhanced business operations and reduction in costs. Key strategic issues The critical tactical aspects of Costco encompass low prices, limited product lines and selection as well as treasure-hunt shopping experience. In fact, the firm strives to offer quality goods and services to its members at economical costs achievable. The company operates a limited number of products approximated to be 4,000 through volume buying, effective delivery procedures and abridged inventory managing. Recommendations The firm should modify its strategies to address the shortcomings in its operations. For instance, the corporation should diversify selections of merchandise instead of limiting choices to only 4000 to expand the customer base. Secondly, the firm should build many warehouses across the globe to counter the rising number of competitors like the Sam’s Club that may attract a large share of the market. Thirdly, the company should also diversify applied cost and pricing strategies since competitors are utilizing the low-cost tactics.

East Asian Co-Production in Film Industry Research Paper

East Asian Co-Production in Film Industry - Research Paper Example Various scholarships have been offered on popular culture that is conventionally exploring the meaning of texts. This has resulted in popular culture co-productions and collaborations in East Asia, drawing on empirical studies of cultural industries in Korea, Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines (Yau, 2003). This has consequently employed the usage of a regional framework in order to analyze the consequences of collaboration and co-production. In Asia, particularly East Asia, the rapid growth of the creative industry has induced a severe shortage of talented professional working force that includes the director, producer, and the scripter. The search to secure human capital is very significant to the success in this highly competitive field of creativity and artistry. However, the structure and dynamics of human capital development in this creative industry are yet to win the full understanding of its assessors in matters of a provision of efficient programs meant to accelerate human capital development. The resultant lack of understanding is caused by the complexity of work, as well as the fact that fostering creative talent requires a relatively long time that the rest of non-knowledge intensive industries (Chua, 2004). Japan is currently the nation under a considerable critical spotlight in the continuing debate on the Asia imaginary. Japan’s long history of cultural and economic hegemony in the region has always been challenged by Korea and China as from the early 1990s.

The Mind-Body Connection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Mind-Body Connection - Assignment Example It should be understood that our physical health is strongly connected to our psychological health. This is because it is the nervous system and brain which is the principal co – coordinator in the physical functioning of our body. All the bodily organs function with the aid of brain and nervous system. Moreover our mind’s balance is what makes us an healthy person. The negative emotions like anger, aggression and fear can destroy mental and physical health. In case of stressors, the most effective tool to control it is physical activity. Everybody come across stress in their daily life and physical activity releases hormones to stabilize the stress factor in people. While exercising the body produces endorphins which act as a natural painkiller and also energize a person. The exercise impacts the brain and decreases the fatigue and increase the concentration and alertness of a person. Exercise increases the blood flow to the brain and this refresh the brain and nervous system which give rise to healthy mental