Thesis Project Essay Example for Free

Thesis Project Essay My senior year of college required me to do a thesis project.   As a drama major I had to choose and direct a full length play.   From the moment I began choosing this project, until its completion; I learned a lot about myself, mainly how I approached and solved problems.   I had two primary goals to focus on while working on this.   The first and biggest, I had to satisfy the panel of reviewing professors before opening night.   The second, I had to please a college audience of savvy theatergoers, in addition to making good changes requested by the professors.    As one might imagine the road to completion came with some bumps. First off, I had to choose my play, and then the cast of characters.   Choosing it came more easily to me than most.   I wanted a contemporary play and found one I liked very much in the library quite easily, David Rabe’s Hurlyburly.  Ã‚   Finding the right cast proved more difficult than I imagined.   We had a few good actors who I knew I wanted for the principal roles.   Generally the department frowned on having more than one set of auditions. However, I could call myself a friend of several of these key players; so I approached them before auditions and begged them to try out for the play.   I had an open mind to any surprises, and some occurred, but I ended up casting my preconceived choices in the main roles.   I never had high hopes for some of the lesser roles, but luckily the right people auditioned for those.   So with some luck and begging, I had my cast. It turned out that casting the play was the easiest thing I had to do, next part editing.   If I had not edited this play it would have gone on for well over three hours, which I could not accept, nor could the professors.   I had an editing assistant who simply started crossing out pages haphazardly.   I basically ignored her recommendations and made edits of my own.   I stubbornly kept the play too long, which I regretted later. Lastly, came directing.   I quickly found that conceiving an entire play differed greatly from directing a single scene for a class.   Mainly, with all the time on our hands until opening, I had to get the most out of my actors.   At the same time, actors do not enjoy a director telling them how to do their job.   One simply needs to elicit more out of them.   I learned to do that over the course of rehearsals, by asserting myself more, coupled with having a clear vision of how I wanted things to look. Luckily the play opened to good reviews.   I learned a lot about myself in the process.   I met each of my challenges choosing a play, casting, editing, and directing head on.   I enjoyed it, but would give serious thought before doing it again.

The Role of Women in Shakespeares Tragedies Essay -- Tragedy Plays Sh

The Role of Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies In Shakespeare’s tragedies and his plays in general, we can come across several types of female characters. Their influence with other characters and their purpose or role, often underestimated like women themselves, will be this essay’s main subject. Women in Shakespearean plays have always had important roles, sometimes even the leading role. Whether they create the main conflicts and base of the plays, or bring up interesting moral and cultural questions, they have always been put in challenging situations. Some women are stronger than others, and their effect on the play is different for each one. They often even surpass the male heroes. It’s almost unbelieveable, if we take into consideration the status of women, of course with its discrimination and cruel conditions, in Shakespeare’s days - sixteenth century Elizabethan England. But there could have been many reasons, why he gave his characters such qualities. It could have been the Queen Elizabeth I. on the throne, or a certain influence of his marriage with older woman. Some modern critics claim, he was a feminist, or on the contrary it is historically incorrect, because we shouldn’t forget that he wrote maily for a male entertainment. Particulary in h is comedies we frequently see a woman take on the strongest character, while often in his tragedies he has a male play the isolated tragic hero. It’s highly necessary to know the context to fully understand it. The women couldn't do much of anything but cook and clean for their husbands. They were also spoken to and commanded like they were common dogs. Also the women did not get to choose who they married. They were supposed to act like dolls. Their loyalty belonged first to their fathers and then to their husbands. This patriarchal structure has forced them to become repressed and helpless, not only in the eyes of men and society. Overall women were treated horrible compared to today's time. There’s evident inspiration and writer’s reaction. Nevertheless, in the midst of this male-dominant society Shakespeare portrays women with strengths at least equal to those of men. Shakespeare's views on women clearly define his plays and how, by using the women as some of the most powerful and stage dominating characters, and he shows a remarkable gift for breaking down the barriers that held women captiv... ...ve. Lady Macbeth’s behavior certainly shows that women can be as ambitious and cruel as men. Whether because of the constraints of her society or because she is not fearless enough to kill, Lady Macbeth relies on deception and manipulation rather than violence to achieve her ends. Beyond doubt, three witches, as supernatural characters in â€Å"Macbeth†, embody an unreasoning, instinctive evil. They represent Macbeth‘s evil ambitions and aspirations. It is evident the women’s role in Shakespeare’s tragedy is unlike his comedy. In comedies the women are empowered, that means they are mostly strong, independent, and capable, despite the male-dominant society of Elizabethan England. But in fact, women who were gifted and imaginative were not given the chance to develop their skills to become better in their craft. are often depicted as meek, obedient, and vapid creatures who stand behind their husbands. Their biggest role is usually one as wife or sister, hardly ever straying to be different. And that reflects exactly on Shakespearean tragic female characters, along with all difficulties, struggle and despair. Unfortunately, some of these characters survived not only in drama...

Capital Structure Essay

Capital structure is how a company finances its overall operations and growth by using funds from equity or debt (Investopedia, 2012). Of course, every company must determine its preference on its debt-to-equity ratio and determine which capital structure works best for them. Some approaches to analyzing capital structure are: 1.EBIT – EPS: This analyzes the impact of debt on earnings per share (EPS). Optimizing shareholder’s wealth is the optimum goal and therefore, this approach analyzes the high EPS based on an expected range of earnings before income taxes (EBIT). 2.Valuation: Determines impact of debt use on shareholder’s value by determining the level of debt at which the benefits of increased debt no longer outweigh the increased risks and expenses associated with financing (Wenk, 2012) 3.Cash Flow: Analyzes a firm’s debt capacity by using the weighted average of cost of capital (WACC). The WACC is a calculation of a firm’s cost of capital in which each capital source (bonds, stock and other long-term debt) are proportionally weighted to determine how much interest the company has to pay for every dollar it finances (Investopedia, 2012). Look more:  capital budgeting examples essay Part of Competition Bikes’ (CB) main consideration in the decision to merge or acquire Canadian Biking is working capital. Lets use the EBIT – EPS approach to determine how to maximize shareholder return while minimizing the cost of capital. We currently know Canadian Biking’s moderate sales forecast of EBIT figures for the next 5 years (Year 9 – 13), therefore we can apply the EBIT – EPS approach to choose an optimal capital structure. The total of capital sources in each of the 5 years is $600,000. We will use EBIT – EPS to determine which assortment of bonds*, preferred stock, and common stock is the best option to increase Canadian Biking’s EPS. The five alternative capital structures include: Option 1: 100% Bonds (fully financed) Option 2: 50% Preferred Stock & 50% Common Stock (no bonds) Option 3: 20% Bonds & 80% Common Stock Option 4: 40% Bonds & 60% Common Stock Option 5: 60% Bonds & 40% Common Stock *Annual bond interest rate is 9% After using the EBIT – EPS approach using the forecasted EBIT amounts for Years 9 through 13, we can average the EPS for each of the 5 years to determine which capital structure produced the highest EPS. The EPS averages computed for the capital structure options are: Option 1: Average EPS = .0452 Option 2: Average EPS = .0542 Option 3: Average EPS = .0526 Option 4: Average EPS = .051 Option 5: Average EPS = .0494 Based on the EBIT – EPS approach, the recommended capital structure is option 2, â€Å"50% preferred stock & 50% common stock†. This is the best capital structure mainly because there are two things to consider: 1) long-term debt and associated interest expense and, 2) equity and # of common shares. Option 2 is the best capital structure because there are no bonds and therefore, no interest expense. For example, if we look at option 1 in Year 9, and the bond interest is 9%, then the bond interest expense is $54,000 (.09*600,00). This lowers the income before taxes by $54,000. Although companies can finance debt and use the interest expense deduction to lower their taxable income, it doesn’t make sense for Canadian Bikes to fully finance their capital, because the interest expense costs outweigh the benefit of the tax deduction, resulting in a significant decrease in total income available for common stock. Additionally, because the capital structure consists of 300,000 shares of preferred stock, the company must pay dividends of 5%, reducing the company’s total income available for common stock by $15,000 (.05 * 300,000). Although this reduces the total income available for common stock, the company will maximize its EPS by only having 50% capital in common stock. This reduces the total number of common shares outstanding, which means less shares to divide the total income among. Therefore, Option 2 is the most optimal capital structure that considers minimizing long-term  debt expenses and the optimal number of common shares in order to maximize shareholder return. CAPITAL BUDGETING: Competition Bikes’ is considering building a manufacturing facility in a new Canadian location. The total investment for this project would be $600,000 USD. This consists of $400,000 to build the facility and an additional $200,000 in working capital to support operational costs. The company has projected cash flows over the next five years; therefore we can use cash flow budgeting methods such as net present value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) that consider time value of money for long-term investments (Pearson Education, Inc., 2008). Net present value analyzes the profitability of a project by determining the difference between the present value of the project’s cash inflows and outflows followed by subtracting the initial investment. (Investopedia, 2012). The decision rule applied to NPV is fairly simple, if the NPV is positive, invest; if the difference is negative, do not invest. Competition Bikes applies NPV to forecasted low and moderate sales for the next 5 years. After using the forecasted sales for low demand, the total present value (after subtracting cash outflows from inflows) is $560,719. If we subtract the initial investment of $600,000 from this amount, the NPV is -$39,281. This is a significant warning that the company should not proceed in building a manufacturing facility. On the other hand, if we use the forecasted sales for moderate demand, the total present value is $608,447. If we subtract the initial investment of $600,000, the NPV is $8,447. Therefore a positive NPV indicates the company should proceed with building the manufacturing facility. The biggest concern is determining which NPV to lean towards based on low or moderate sales. Unfortunately, the risk of having low sales outweighs the profitability benefit of having moderate sales. It is too risky for CB to move forward with the investment based on the NPV of low sales (-$39,281). In order for the company to profit from this investment, CB would need to have a moderate sales demand at minimum! The present value in NPV is calculated using an interest rate, also known as the required rate of return. CB’s required rate of return is 10%. When this interest rate is altered or calculated to make the total present value equal to the initial investment, the NPV becomes equal to zero; this is called the internal rate of return (IRR) (Pearson Education, Inc., 2008). The IRR is what a company can expect to earn from investing in the project and the higher the IRR, the more desirable the investment. The calculated IRR for low demand cash flows is 8.2% and the IRR for moderate demand cash flows is 10.4%. Based on these IRR figures, the company should not pursue the capital investment because the average IRR between both low and moderate sales is 9.3%. This is below the company’s required return on capital (hurdle rate) of 10% to pursue a capital investment. Again, the company would need to have a moderate sales demand, at minimum for this capital investment to be profitable and should therefore not pursue building a new manufacturing facility. WORKING CAPITAL: CB must effectively obtain and manage working capital for the expansion of the operation. CB must first look at their operating cycle, cash conversion cycle and free cash flow factors in order to improve production and management of working capital. Let’s discuss the company’s current status of each of the working capital and cash flow factors and determine how the company can improve in these areas. First, the operating cycle involves CB sending the distributor a monthly invoice for all raw materials ordered with terms of net/30 days. This can be improved by renegotiating the payment terms will distributors to net/15 days. This would increase cash flows by improving payment turn around time and accounts receivable collections. Additionally, the company can improve its relations with its distributers to increase effectiveness of its collection process. Another operating cycle factor is ordering and paying for inventory. Currently, the company pays for inventory in the month following production and all inventory ordered for the month is used leaving inventory levels (at the end of each month) at consistent levels. In order  to improve working capital the company should utilize and lower its year ending inventory balance. For example, at the end of Year 8, the company had $91,573 worth of inventory left over. The company should utilize the current inventory on hand before ordering similar raw material items. This will decease cash flows and leave fewer inventories on hand at the end of the year. Currently the average time in inventory is 25 days. This is a substantial turnaround time currently, however in the future, the company can consider replacing labor workers with fixed asset items to improve production time. This will satisfy customer demand by decreasing delivery time and improve cash flows by invoicing customers more frequently than 25 days after production. CB’s cash conversion cycle factors also impact working capital. Currently, the CB’s suppliers invoice at the end of the month for orders that month with terms of net/15. CB does an excellent job of preserving its cash flows by paying the invoices on the 15th of the month following the order.. CB can improve its working capital by negotiating for longer payment terms, i.e. net/30 days, allowing for more time for the company to earn money to pay their invoices. If this is not possible, the company can improve its forecasting measurements for ordering supplies and order the majority of the supplies needed for the month at the beginning of the month. This would increase the amount of time the company has sufficient supplies on hand without having to pay more money, (because the suppliers will still invoice for the orders at the end of the month, regardless of how early in the month the supplies were ordered). This can increase working capital because it acts as a contingency plan, to reduce the likelihood of running out of supplies, avoiding delays, or ordering supplies in excess. Free cash flow factors also affect CB’s working capital. Currently, the company recognizes depreciation in both manufacturing overhead and as depreciation expenses depending on the fixed asset. The company can use their depreciation data to increase management of cash flows by predicting when the company will have to spend a significant amount of money to replace an asset when its useful life expires. This will prepare CB for those unwanted – although necessary – fixed asset costs. Currently the  corporation’s marginal tax rate is 25%. The company can consider obtaining working capital by financing debt. This will leave the company with an interest expense at the end of the year, which is deductible from gross earnings and results in paying lower taxes. After CB improves its working capital, let’s discuss how CB can use its working capital for the lease vs. buy option for a factory building in Canada. CB can use its working capital to cover the $50,000 down payment (or buy out option if they decide to lease) and $200,000 for operational costs of the new factory. According to the data provided for the lease vs. buy option, the lease option will preserve cash outflows of $12,339, (purchase cash outflows are $333,999 and lease cash outflows are $321,660). Therefore, the company should lease the manufacturing facility to preserve cash outflows. Leasing the facility will also allow CB to deduct annual interest payments (6% interest) from the gross earnings to lower their tax payments. This will increase the company’s net earnings at the end of the year, also resulting in higher retained earnings and increased shareholder value. MERGER OR ACQUISITION: CB should consider many factors when deciding to merge or acquire Canadian Biking. Let’s analyze the pros and cons between a merge vs. acquisition and determine what the best move would be for CB. First off, if the company were to merge with Canadian Biking, the potential EPS would increase by approximately .021. This shows potential for increased ownership earnings, but is it significant enough? At the same token, the price/earnings ratio for Canadian Bikes at the end of Year 8 was 9 and CB’s was 70. This shows that CB’s current investors are expecting greater earnings in Year 9 and are willing to pay $70 for $1 of current earnings. This is not the case with Canadian Biking’s investors. Unfortunately a low P/E ratio of 9 indicates that investors are not expecting a significant growth in company earnings. This raises a concern if the merge will result in a potential increase of .021 in EPS. On the other hand, a merge would result in lower costs because CB would not be purchasing Canadian Biking outright. Canadian Biking also has a lower cost competition bike that can decrease production costs and complement CB’s current bike model being offered. This will result in  greater net earnings and cash flows. If the company were to acquire Canadian Bikes, CB can expect a gradual increase in cash inflows over the next 5 years. However, the current offered sales price for Canadian Biking is $286,000; this is 30% more than what the company was valued at, at the end of Year 8. Although CB has enough working capital to make the purchase, it would take 5 years of gradually increasing cash inflows to recoup the price tag of $286,000. This means it could take approximately 5 years, before shareholders saw a significant increase in earnings per share. Based on the pro and cons, CB should merge with Canadian Bikes to lower their production and delivery costs, increase net income, EPS and cash flows, and preserve working capital. The price to acquire Canadian Biking is simply unreasonable based on predicted cash inflows over the next 5 years. The merger will enhance CB’s market position in Canada by having a local distributer to handle all customer orders and provide cost effective and great customer service to the growing Canadian market. References Investopedia. (2012). Capital Structure. Retrieved from http://www.kotzinvaluation.com/articles/capital-structure.htm Investopedia. (2012). Weighted Average Cost of Capital. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/wacc.asp#axzz2Azkq4E2V Investopedia. (2012). Net Present Value. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/npv.asp#axzz2Azkq4E2 Pearson Education, Inc.. (2008). Horngren Accounting. Retrieved from http://wpscms.pearsoncmg.com/wps/media/objects/6716/6877765/hha08_flash_main.html?chapter=null&page=1042&anchory=null&pstart=null&pend=null Wenk, D. (2012). Using an optimal capital structure in business valuation. Retrieved from http://www.kotzinvaluation.com/articles/capital-structure.htm

Related Literature to the Cash Flow Management Essay

The role of cash flow information in discriminating between bankrupt and non-bankrupt companies remains a contentious issue. In a number of literature reviews on bankruptcy prediction (e. g. Zavgren, 1983; Jones, 1987; Neill et al. 1991; Watson, 1996) the common view is that cash flow information does not contain significant incremental information content over accrual information in discriminating between bankrupt and non-bankrupt firms. (Divesh S.  Sharma, Senior Lecturer, School of Accounting, Banking & Finance, Faculty of Commerce & Management, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia) A cash flow statement is an important indicator of financial health because it is possible for a company to show profits while not having enough cash to sustain operations. It is a financial report that shows to the user the source of a company’s cash and how it was spent over a specific period of time. A cash flow statement counters the ambiguity regarding a company’s solvency that various accrual accounting measures create. It also categorizes the sources and uses of cash to provide the reader with an understanding of the amount of cash a company generates and uses in its operations, as opposed to the amount of cash provided by sources outside the company, such as borrowed funds or funds from stockholders. The cash flow statement also tells the reader how much money was spent for items that do not appear on the income statement, such as loan repayments, long-term asset purchases, and payment of cash dividends (Ryan 2007). Read more: http://www. ukessays. om/dissertation/literature-review/literature-review-on-cash-flow-statements. php#ixzz2WGgTfcVF Review of Cash Flow Failure Prediction Studies The relevance of cash flow information for predicting bankruptcy was highlighted by Beaver (1966). Beaver (1966) reported that cash flow from operations (CFFO), proxied by net income plus depreciation, depletion and amortisation, to total debt had the lowest misclassification error relative to common accrual measures of financial health. However, his univariate approach to analysing financial distress was seldom followed because while ne ratio would indicate failure another could indicate non-failure. Altman (1968) overcame this problem through the use of multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) that simultaneously considers financial ratio indicators of corporate health. Altman (1968) did not examine the value of cash flow information though. Deakin (1972) demonstrated employing MDA that cash flow to total debt was a significant predictor up to three years prior to failure. Like Beaver (1966), Deakin (1972) defined cash flow as net income plus depreciation, depletion and amortisation. While other researchers (e. . Blum, 1974; Norton and Smith, 1979; Mensah, 1983) have shown that cash flow information contains information content in predicting corporate bankruptcy, they are not frequently cited. The rare citation is probably due to the measure of cash flow employed by these researchers. These researchers used Beaver’s (1966) definition of CFFO. Table 1 summarises the research findings of the cash flow failure prediction literature to date. Largay and Stickney (1980) recognised the limitation of using net income plus depreciation, depletion and amortisation (NIDEP) as a measure of CFFO. They demonstrated based on the infamous W. T. Grant Company bankruptcy that NIDEP more correctly reflected working capital from operations. To determine CFFO one had to adjust for changes in current assets and current liabilities other than cash. Largay and Stickney’s (1980) more refined measure of CFFO indicated that W. T. Grant’s cash from operations was negative in eight of the ten years prior to failure while NIDEP was relatively steady until the year immediately prior to its demise. This finding renewed interest in CFFO as an indicator of corporate failure. Lee (1982), a strong advocate of cash flow reporting, showed that the fall of Laker Airways was foreseeable on a cash flow basis. His analysis of CFFO revealed that Laker Airways was in financial trouble three years prior to failure while profits were increasing as failure approached. A stream of multivariate modelling studies began investigating the information content of this refined measure of CFFO. Using an estimation sample and a validation sample comprising 60 bankrupt and 230 non-bankrupt firms and three measures of cash flow information, viz. CFFO, CFFO/Current Liabilities and CFFO/Total Liabilities, Casey and Bartczak (1984; 1985) concluded that none of the three operating cash flow variables significantly improved the classification accuracy of the six accrual ratios model. Casey and Bartczak (1985) reached this conclusion on the basis of the number of firms correctly classified into their respective groups. While their conclusion is valid, there are grounds to argue that cash flow information has significant information content over accrual information in assessing the predicted probability of failure. Predicting the probability of failure extends the mere classification into either the failed or nonfailed group and is practically more useful. For instance, the classification of a company into a non-failed group does not provide information on the likelihood of this group membership. Consistency Principle Consistency Principle is one of the four major principles that are used for estimating the project cash flows. According to this principle, consistency in the cash flows is very necessary. At the same time, consistency in the applicable discount rates on the cash flows should also be maintained. There are two important factors that are related to the Consistency Principle. These two are the investor group and the inflation. Investor Group: The Consistency Principle holds that while estimating the project cash flow, it is also important to consider the investor’s opinion or view. There are different types of investors in a firm like the lenders or the stockholders and so on. Again, if it is not possible to consider every kind of investors’ view, then the stockholder’s view regarding the cash flow may be considered. According to the investor’s standpoint, the project cash flow denotes that amount of cash that is provided to the investors. The payable taxes must be deducted from this amount and if there is any need for investment in the ongoing project then that amount should also be deducted from the amount allotted for the investors. At the same time, if the stockholders standpoint is regarded then the project cash flow is that amount that is offered to the stockholders. This amount should not include any kind of payable tax or any such amount that is necessary to invest in the particular project. Again, before offering any money to the stockholders, the firm is required to clear all the debts. Now, the next important factor is the consistency of the discount rate that is to be applied on the project cash flow. There are two types of discount rate known as the weighted average cost of capital and cost of equity. Inflation: In case of inflation, there are two ways of estimating the project cash flow of a particular project. The first option is to merge a likely inflation in the project cash flow estimates. After this, a nominal discount rate is applied on the amount. Another way of handling the inflation factor is to calculate the project cash flows of the future in real terms with real discount rates. Cash flow estimation is a must for assessing the investment decisions of any kind. To evaluate these investment decisions there are some principles of cash flow estimation. In any kind of project, planning the outputs properly is an important task. At the same time, the profits from the project should also be very clear to arrange finances in a proper way. These forecastings are some of the most difficult steps involved in the capital budgeting. These are very important in the major projects because any kind of fault in the calculations would result in huge problems. The project cash flows consider almost every kind of inflows of cash. The capital budgeting is done through the co-ordination of a wide range of professionals who are going to be involved in the project. The engineering departments are responsible for the forecasting of the capital outlays. On the other hand, there are the people from the production team who are responsible for calculating the operational cost. The marketing team is also involved in the process and they are responsible for forecasting the revenue. Next comes the financial manager who is responsible to collect all the data from the related departments. On the other hand, the finance manager has the responsibility of using the set of norms for better estimation. One of these norms uses the principles of cash flow estimation for the process. There are a number of principles of cash flow estimation. These are the consistency principle, separation principle, post-tax principle and incremental principle. The separation principle holds that the project cash flows can be divided in two types named as financing side and investment side. On the other hand, there is the consistency principle. According to this principle, some kind consistency is necessary to be maintained between the flow of cash in a project and the rates of discount that are applicable on the cash flows. At the same time, there is the post-tax principle that holds that the forecast of cash flows for any project should be done through the after-tax method. What is Time Value of Money? Time value of money is the basis of discounted cash flow analysis in finance. It is one of the core principles of small business financing operations. It as to do with interest rates, compound interest, and the concepts of time and risk with regard to money and cash flows. The underlying principle of time value of money is that the value of $1 that you have in your hand today is greater than a dollar you will receive in the future. Time value of money includes the concepts of future value (compounding) and present value (discounting). For example, if you have money in y our hand today, you can save it and earn interest on it or you can spend it now. If you don’t get it until some point in the future, you lose the interest you could earn and you can’t spend it now.

Free Essays on The Image Looking Back

The Image Looking Back The poem â€Å"Mirror† is wrapped up in the idea of reflections. The author Sylvia Plath uses reflections to explore images that are not always pleasant. Plath examines the shortcomings and self-esteem issues that all people encounter time and again upon reflection. Looking at an image of ones’ self often brings questions of self worth and approval. The mirror and the lake as used by Plath are both effective ways of revealing her self-esteem issues by their constant reminder of faults in appearance and life, their brutal honesty about the aging process, and their ability to show the distorted way we tend to see ourselves. The mirror hangs as a constant reminder of our faults. It does not care that we have feelings, needs, or emotions. The mirror does not lie, no matter how long we stare at our reflection the image will not change. The mirror shows us each wrinkle as a cut into our once innocent beauty. The reflections that we see often bring us memories of hardships and pain we may have endured along the way. A bad haircut or severe acne as an adolescent that brought laughter and ridicule from our peers. The mirror reflects hair out of place like all the things that have gone astray in our lives. Looking at that unruly hair that no matter what will not fall into place brings an image to all the things we cannot control in our lives. The bills always exceed the income, loved ones will die, marriages will fail, and we shall all grow old. The aging process can be brutal and there is nothing like true reflection to point that out. The way Plath uses the lake to demonstrate this is very powerful. â€Å"In me she has drowned a young girl†(line 17) creates the notion that she is feeling old and useless. The young girl she had once been is now dead along with many hopes and plans that were made for the future. Looking at one’s aged and tired reflection one can no longer see the young vigorously a... Free Essays on The Image Looking Back Free Essays on The Image Looking Back The Image Looking Back The poem â€Å"Mirror† is wrapped up in the idea of reflections. The author Sylvia Plath uses reflections to explore images that are not always pleasant. Plath examines the shortcomings and self-esteem issues that all people encounter time and again upon reflection. Looking at an image of ones’ self often brings questions of self worth and approval. The mirror and the lake as used by Plath are both effective ways of revealing her self-esteem issues by their constant reminder of faults in appearance and life, their brutal honesty about the aging process, and their ability to show the distorted way we tend to see ourselves. The mirror hangs as a constant reminder of our faults. It does not care that we have feelings, needs, or emotions. The mirror does not lie, no matter how long we stare at our reflection the image will not change. The mirror shows us each wrinkle as a cut into our once innocent beauty. The reflections that we see often bring us memories of hardships and pain we may have endured along the way. A bad haircut or severe acne as an adolescent that brought laughter and ridicule from our peers. The mirror reflects hair out of place like all the things that have gone astray in our lives. Looking at that unruly hair that no matter what will not fall into place brings an image to all the things we cannot control in our lives. The bills always exceed the income, loved ones will die, marriages will fail, and we shall all grow old. The aging process can be brutal and there is nothing like true reflection to point that out. The way Plath uses the lake to demonstrate this is very powerful. â€Å"In me she has drowned a young girl†(line 17) creates the notion that she is feeling old and useless. The young girl she had once been is now dead along with many hopes and plans that were made for the future. Looking at one’s aged and tired reflection one can no longer see the young vigorously a...

9 Ways To Avoid Being The Office Jerk

9 Ways To Avoid Being The Office Jerk We all have crazy coworkers- and that’s not even counting the guys going AWOL on the printer in an abandoned field. But you don’t have to be the office psycho to make an enemy of yourself at work. Here are nine things not to do on the job- or really ever.1. Don’t lieEven if it’s a little white lie with good intentions, it can easily get out of hand. Getting caught up in a lie, however, will only make it harder for your coworkers to trust you†¦ and for you to respect yourself.2. Don’t gossipBut†¦ work is dull, and that secret is just so juicy Still,  hold on to your schadenfreude and keep quiet about your coworkers’ misery. You won’t hurt anybody’s feelings, and no one will think you’re a spiteful grump.3. Don’t  be a downerEverybody hates their job a little- at least once in a while. But don’t be the one who’s constantly complaining. It’s a bummer and will bring the whole group do wn, plus it will make you look like a total downer. Remember how replaceable you are!4. Don’t ExplodeNo, seriously. We all want to go AWOL on the printer. Or occasionally even our boss. Before you pick up that stapler to hurl it at your coworker, remember: it might make you feel better, but it’s really just an easy way to get fired. Once you become the office crazy person, there’s no coming back.5. Don’t  hog all the creditEven if you feel you did the lion’s share, taking credit for someone else’s work or ideas is just a jerk move, plain and simple. Keep it classy, and focus on what you can accomplish.6. Don’t bragPlaying it cool is the strongest possible move when you’ve done something excellent. Give the impression that you’re that good all the time, rather than crowing about every small success.7. Don’t  backstabBe sensitive to the climate you work in, and the hierarchy. Don’t go over anybody’ s head or talk about anyone behind their back. (And just hope your coworkers do you the same courtesy.)8. Don’t  eat gross stuffNo, really. That leftover flounder your boyfriend made you is just going to stink up the microwave, the kitchenette, your cubicle, and the entire office. Don’t be the one who brings in smelly leftovers and makes everybody nauseous. If you wouldn’t eat it on an airplane, don’t bring it into work.9. Don’t burn bridgesEven if you do have to peace out, resist the urge to do it in dramatic fashion. You’re invariably hurting your coworkers more than your boss, and you never know when you might need the connections you have made.These sound like outrageous behaviors, but it’s quite easy to be driven to them gradually. So check your ego, stay calm, and make sure to keep your head above the fray.

Raising the Minimum wage in the state of Illinois Essay

Raising the Minimum wage in the state of Illinois - Essay Example Most agree that employees who work full-time hours should be paid a wage sufficient so as to allow them to provide for their most essential needs which current minimum wage in Illinois does not accomplish. For workers in Mississippi, for example, $7.50 may be enough to subsist but the cost of living is substantially lower in Vicksburg than in Chicago. Opponents to further increasing the minimum wage in Illinois argue that prices to consumers will increase, workers will lose their jobs and the inflation rate will rise. This paper demonstrates that raising the minimum wage is practical for all concerned, workers, employers and the economy as a whole. It also reduces criminal activity and slows the adverse effects of outsourcing which ships American jobs overseas. The minimum wage law was established by the federal then some state government to assure that this ideal was a realization. The rationale behind a minimum wage, intended for the least skilled and educated persons in the workforce, is to raise their earnings in order to offset the forces that drive the market down which would otherwise reduce their buying power. The welfare system, workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance established by the 1930’s New Deal to provide assistance to the poor, in part, still exist today. The economic conditions of the time demanded that the solutions foster relations between the oppressive capitalist class and the working class. Labor unions lobbied for minimum wages and other worker benefits including employers’ liability laws, social reformers worked for maximum hours for women workers, factory inspections, child-labor laws, and anti-sweatshop laws† (Baker, 2003). Backed by the ‘New Dealers,’ these issue s were addressed on the federal level. Raising the minimum wage allows those who make minimum salaries to keep up with inflation. It will also help those that need it the