World Culture :: essays research papers

Africa   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Africa is a continent of natural resources both living and non living. These resources affect how African countries deal with other countries and how it works internally. One example of this is diamonds. Sierra Leone is a country in Africa that has gone through various political regimes and has gone through great conflict. Various war factions want to have control over the diamond mines and they force workers to perform this backbreaking work. These diamonds that these factions control are called conflict diamonds because of the atrocities these groups inflict to control diamonds and make money. In Africa there are many things to do. The most interesting would be to go to the Pyramids of Egypt and see the creations of this magnificent group of people. While visiting the pyramids going to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo would greatly improve your understanding of the ancient Egyptians. Another place to visit would be a national park where you could see the animals that are indigenous to this continent. Middle East The Middle East is the birthplace of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. But it is also the birthplace of conflict between countries in that region and the West. The major reason for dispute is over the regions most valuable resource: oil. In this region wars were started because of oil. Iraq invaded Kuwait for control of there oil fields and this triggered U.S involvement. It isn’t just oil that has shaped this region. Spices have made a huge contribution to this region. Arab merchants spread their goods throughout the world along with their culture. Other cultures then seeped into the Middle East from other trading nations. This region’s resources shaped its culture. The Middle East is the birthplace of the major religions and the city to visit would be Jerusalem. In Jerusalem you can visit The Wall, which is one of the most significant places for the Jews. You could also travel to Mecca to visit the Holy Mosque, which is the most famous for the Muslims. It is so important that they are required to make a pilgrimage to here at least on time in there life. India India is rich in spices due to its climate and its relationship with other spice producing regions. Spices like black pepper have been grown here for thousands of years and with trading with South America Chile peppers were introduced into their diet. As a result of this the most famous Indian food is curry.

Oedipus The King Essay

Oedipus is written as a play, there is no narrator, Sophocles explains the story line and then runs the story into playwright. I like this point of view because it can sometimes be more clear to the reader. There are many points of view in this play. That is there are many different individuals addressed this playwright. Thus there are many different points of view. I think that Oedipus generally speaks in place of a narrator, because he is the main character. I believe he expresses some of the things that Sophocles is trying to say to the audience. An example of this is when he says: â€Å"Speak out, speak to us all. I grieve for these, my people, far more that I fear for my own life.† (Sophocles, 395) I think that Sophocles is trying to get people to speak their own mind, come together, and establish a community. He is saying this through Oedipus. Oedipus goes through many changes. He goes through a state of innocence or ignorance, then through a state of denial and finally a state of acceptance and guilt. Throughout these different stages in his life, he reveals to his audience who he really is. Oedipus believing he is innocent is part of the form in this play. Oedipus has come to the throne of Thebes by solving the Riddle of the Sphinx. There is a plague upon Thebes which Oedipus desires to heal. Creon returns to the palace after his visit to the Pythian House of Phoebus, an oracle. The oracle has said that the only way to cure the illness in Thebes is to find the man whom killed Laius, the previous king of Thebes. Odeipus tries to discover the murderer and requests that the murderer come forward and promises that instead of being killed, he will be banished from Thebes. If any man comes forward with the murderer he will be rewarded and if any guilty man is found and has not confessed, the murderer will be banished from all aspects of society. Tiresias, an aged, blind prophet is brought to Oedipus to reveal the murderer. Tiresias says that Oedipus unknowingly killed Laius. Disbelieving this, Oedipus blames Creon for plotting this against him to gain the throne  of Thebes. Tiresias states his innocence and before he leaves the palace, he gives Oedipus a riddle: The murderer seemed an alien is really a native to Theban, was once poor and now is rich, is the brother of his children and the child of his wife, the heir to his father’s bed and the cause of his father’s death. The form in this part of the play, plays into the certain buildup of the plot. Now Creon comes to the palace after hearing of Oedipus’ charges against him. Oedipus questions Creon as to why Tiresias didn’t come forward when the initial investigation of Laius’ death occured. Creon says he is happy with his position in court and has no desire to take the throne from Oedipus. He tells Oedipus that for proof he can go to the oracle at Pytho and ask if Creon is telling the truth. Jocasta, Oedipus’ wife, tells him that an oracle came to Laius saying that he would die by the hand of his child. Learning this Laius has his newborn son tied at the ankles and taken away to be killed. She says that Laius was killed by robbers on his way to the oracle at Delphi at the place where three roads meet. The content of this play is that of Greek tragedy, son of Laius, king of Thebes, and his wife, Jocasta. Laius had been warned by an oracle that he was fated to be killed by his own son; he therefore abandoned Oedipus on a mountainside. The baby was rescued, however, by a shepherd and brought to the king of Corinth, who adopted him. When Oedipus is grown, he learns from the oracle that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He fled Corinth to escape this fate, believing his foster parents to be his real parents. At a crossroad Oedipus encountered Laius(his father), and killed him. He continued on to Thebes, where the Sphinx was talking and all who could not solve her riddle. Oedipus answered it correctly and so he won the widowed queen’s hand(his mother). The prophecy was fulfilled. Two sons, Polynices and Eteocles, and two daughters, Antigone and Ismene, were born to the unwittingly incestuous pair. When a plague descended on  Thebes, an oracle declared that the only way to rid the land of its illness was to expel the murderer of Laius. Through a series of painful revelations, the king learned the truth and in an agony of horror blinded himself. His daughters, Antigone and Ismene, are left in the hands of Kreon, who proves to be a true friend of Oedipus. The content of this play regarding time is that the time wasn’t very specific, but it does say that Sophocles lived from 496-406 BC. The place on the other hand is very specific, it introduces you saying: â€Å"The royal house of Thebes. Double doors dominate the facade, a stone altar stands at the center of the stage. Many years have passed since Oedipus has solved the riddle of the Sphinx and ascended the throne of Thebes, and now a plague has struck the city. A procession of priests enters†Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Sophocles, 392) I think that this introduction leads the reader into a world of curiosity. We really don’t know what is going to happen to Oedipus, all we know is there is a plague across the town that Oedipus must do something about. This leads the reader into Oedipus’ stages of innocence or ignorance, denial and finally guilt. The content in the choice of setting affects the theme because it makes this story more believable, in a time unfamiliar to us, long ago.

Guide Question Dragon Soup Essay

For Case (A) 1. Using Excel sheet provided, and the recommended consequential disclosures as a basis for your analysis, what recommendations would you give Phillips on each of the items listed below? In each case, justify your recommendations and estimate how much the decision will change the true value of the company and its value in the eyes of an investor in a private company. a. The lease or buy decision, including whether to structure an operating lease. b. The regular price of the soup, whether or not to run an end-of year promotion or target end-of-year inventory level. c. Whether or not to ask Dunwood to guarantee accounts receivable. d. Whether or not to reduce the end-of-year provision for bad debts due to recent strong collection experience. e. Whether or not to sell different investments and, if the recommendation is not to sell the mortgage-backed securities, how to value them on the end-of-year balance sheet assuming market conditions do not change. Given your recommendations, how m uch do you think a potential buyer will offer based upon a valuation earnings multiple of ten times sustainable earnings, plus the value of cash and marketable investments on the balance sheet? 2. In the case, Phillips questioned how far he should push the envelope. Why should he be concerned if all the actions you recommend are legal? Do you think the associated disclosures satisfy the SEC requirement that a company provides a narrative explanation of its financial statements that enables investors to see the company through the eyes of the management? For Case (B) As stated in the case, Kerr had given the task of valuing Dragon’s equity for possible acquisition, assuming a valuation of ten times sustainable earnings, plus the value of cash and marketable investments on the balance sheet. He understood that most companies preparing for the sale would â€Å"window dress† their financial statements. However, he had no reason to believe Dunwoody  and Phillips would do anything deliberately dishonest. In any event, it was Kerr’s job to try to unwind any such behavior to establish Dragon’s true value. 3. Using the Excel spreadsheet provided and the footnote disclosures it contains as a basis for your analysis, estimate the true value of the company in the eyes of an investor in a private company. 4. Assuming Phillips had prepared the forecasts for you, would you want him to join your team? Please justify your decision. Assuming you want to hire him, would you offer a similar payment structure to the â€Å"Tomato Farm† deal? Please describe how you think such a transaction should be treated in accounting terms. 5. The footnote disclosures in Excel spreadsheet are designed to generally satisfy the SEC requirements to provide a narrative explanation of a company’s financial statements, which enables investors to see company the through the eyes of management. What additional information would you like to see in the so-called â€Å"standard† disclosures? As part of your submission, please provide an Excel spreadsheet that justifies your answers. To the extent that you change any assumptions from those contained in the Excel spreadsheet provided to your group, please provide a detailed explanation of the reasons for these changes and details of the magnitude of their impact on the valuation you propose. If your valuation includes information and/or calculations that cannot easily be incorporated into the spreadsheet provided, please provide additional explanations with your submission MW PETROLEUM (A) JETBLUE AIRWAYS IPO VALUATION KOHLER (A) CONSOLIDATED RAIL For Case (A) For Case (B)