Constructing a motorway (civil engineering project) Essay

Constructing a motorway (civil engineering project) - Essay Example This essay discusses that a motorway can be defined roughly as a main road or highway, with two or more lanes on opposite direction, and where fast motor traffic occurs. A motorway has to be well constructed with all the required plans, materials and skilful engineering needed to provide a long-lasting use for motorists. As the Junior Site Manager of a 30-mile motorway, my job is to provide the plan and the necessary activities to have a smooth flow of construction, maintenance and completing of this motorway. But before going on an analysis of the construction parameters, I deemed it necessary or compulsory on my part to study history and the great accomplishments of the engineers and architects who made the British Motorway System, on how it was visualised, planned, and made to action to provide the future generation with a quality highway for the vast land transportation that we have today. First, the planners used geographic and topographic maps. Although technology and computers were not yet very effective at that time, the information the planners had was enough to make them achieve their great objective. Present planners and engineers have all the information from computers and databases before they embark on such a gargantuan task. The vision that the planners had is mastery itself, considering that in the nineteenth century, motor vehicles were just beginning to be invented. Engineers and builders of motorways are faced with multiple and complicated tasks. In the initial steps, they are concerned particularly of the volumes of earth to be moved during embankments and cuttings. There is also the concern of the cost of moving those volumes of earth. Present engineers try to balance these two activities – the cut and fill. The aim is to avoid borrow or spoil, which adds costs to construction. Formation of cutting and embankments Cuts and embankments are needed in constructing a motorway or an elevated highway. In doing this, there are excavations a nd earthworks involved. Earth movement will involve a lot of activities in road construction. The first job of a builder of a motorway is to balance the cut and fill by calculating quantities to be moved. Calculating the volumes to be moved will involve measuring the horizontal and vertical sections using a planimeter, and in order to be accurate about this step, it has to be done at least three times. (Gallagher, 2004, p. 415) The principle in calculation is analogous to measuring the volume of a ship, which is measuring the displacement and tonnage. To do this means to measure the area of vertical cross section in successive lateral points. This technique of measurement was first introduced by Matthew Baker when he applied it in a cross section of a ship in 1586. The series of measurements were then compiled by George Parker Bidder in a paper titled â€Å"Table of Cutting and Embankments† on the construction of the London and Birmingham Railway in 1836. (Gallagher, 2004, p. 415) An important factor to be considered in earth work or excavation is to determine the material a junior site engineer like me will be working with. I will have a lot of site investigation and analysis of the materials. A lot of information from our databases regarding the site, the materials and equipment that we will be using, will help a lot in the success of the motorway project. A common way of classifying the soil to determine its ease of excavation is known as the Ease of Digging scale. This is common in the United Kingdom. According to this theory, the soil is classified into four categories: E – for Easy digging, e.g. sands, fine gravels, etc. M – for Medium, example is cohesive soil like clay, gravel, etc. M-H – for Medium to Hard – refers to rock broken to pieces, heavy clay, gravel with boulders, etc. H – Hard refers to hard materials that require blasting. (Durham. Ac.uk.) Foundations Foundation engineering involves an analysis of the soil mechanics and judgment on the part of the engineer on the complex blend of the

Madness in the Tales of Poe and Hawthorne Essay Example for Free

Madness in the Tales of Poe and Hawthorne Essay With madness and confusion dominating short stories such as some of the tales written by Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne, the psychological states of their main characters are of the utmost importance. The meanings of the stories depend on whether the characters are truly insane, suffering from a physical ailment or merely intensely angry and hungry for revenge. Poe’s tales â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† and â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† both explore themes of madness and premature burials. However, while Roderick Usher seems to be suffering not only from a physical illness but also from insanity which may have stem from a â€Å"history of mental disorder† (Poe, The Fall of the House of Usher), Montresor seems to have been under the grip of intense hatred that have been caused by his victim’s previous insult on his person. It may be argued that Montresor is demented like Usher, but his well-planned crime contradicts the supposition of an unhinged mind. Meanwhile, the psychological troubles of Hawthorne’s characters in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† and â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† are apparently milder, but not subtler. People may regard Goodman Brown as a recluse and a snob and Minister Hooper as someone mourning over his or other people’s sins. Hawthorne explores isolation in both stories, highlighting the possible self-destruction that may result from intensely reclusive lives. Though the stories may vary and the level of mental disorder may differ, both Poe and Hawthorne present people with emotions that are overly sensitive and with mental faculties that are more distraught than most. Poe is fascinated by madness. His stories are sometimes even narrated by persons whose mental and emotional facilities are questionable. This results to a more interesting reading of each of the stories. The reader is left to wonder if he or she is able to extract the accurate account of the story or a deranged version of it. In â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† the narrator observes what goes on in his host, Roderick’s house. He â€Å"rejects evidence of the supernatural†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ He is predisposed to regard Roderick as mad and therefore to reject any explanation Roderick suggests† (Bailey 446). The narrator of the story depends on the accounts of his host, Roderick but he does not trust his friend’s sanity. This creates a tension that is experienced by both the narrator and the reader; this tension is the uncertainty of what is unfolding because it is through the guidance of such an unreliable source like an apparently mad Roderick. Montresor of â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† may not have the gaunt and unhealthy look of Roderick Usher but what he has done to his enemy, Fortunato, is exceedingly cruel. The deed may have seemed perfectly planned and efficient but someone who can avenge an insult received by murder must be somehow unhinged. The criminal’s mind is exaggerated as is evident in his narration: â€Å"THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge† (Poe, The Cask of Amontillado). My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so. I hastened to make an end of my labour. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat. (Poe, The Cask of Amontillado) Though Montresor displays some strong emotion over what he has done to Fortunato, he continues with the crime methodically. Moreover, this contradiction, along with uttering â€Å"Rest in Peace† to his victim seems to suggest that Montresor is indeed insane. In the two short stories, Poe illustrates insanity that has been passed through generations and then insanity that has been triggered simply by an insult. Nathaniel Hawthorne shows some concern about the fate of souls in his two stories â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† and â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†. While Poe illustrates madness that has resulted from being either inherently insane or predisposed to mental illness, Hawthorne explores zealous religiosity that can result to madness. Minister Hooper’s strong sense of religiousness has driven him to an extreme means of discerning the pious from the hypocrite. â€Å"Why do you tremble at me alone? Tremble also at each other! Have men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled, only for my black veil? † (Hawthorne, The Ministers Black Veil) The man has decided to put a black veil on his face. Not even his fiancee has been able to persuade him to take off the veil which in turn has given him a continuously mourning persona. Though he is mentally capable to continue his duties as minister, he does them with a somber aura which the veil produces for him. The insistence on constantly wearing the black veil displays obsessive behavior related to his faith despite the fact that he has not actually stated what his real reason for wearing the veil is. In â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†, Hawthorne again tackles the effects of the perception of sin. Here, the main character is oppressed by what he thinks is the real knowledge of other people’s sins. What he is not aware of is that the Devil, which he has consorted with in the woods, has made him believe that every single person in his community is involved in atrocious deeds. â€Å"†¦elders of the church have whispered wanton words to the young maids of their households; how many a woman, eager for widows weeds, has given her husband a drink at bedtime and let him sleep his last sleep in her bosom; how beardless youths have made haste to inherit their fathers wealth; and how fair damsels†¦ have dug little graves in the garden, and bidden me, the sole guest to an infants funeral† (Hawthorne). Having believed the Devil’s lies, Goodman Brown is continually suspicious of his neighbors’ intentions. He even believes their good deeds to be merely pretentious displays of piety. Because of this behavior, Goodman Brown isolates himself from the rest of the community and dies a lonely death. Hawthorne explores the themes of isolation and zealous religiousness in his two short stories, expressing the dangers of the two themes. Both Poe and Hawthorne have effectively expressed the psychological terrain that their main characters are in. Through using a narrator that is either the character with the questionable mental state or one that distrusts that character, the stories become more mysterious and subject to individual interpretation while the intensity of emotions coming from the main characters are able to shine through. The two authors explore mental instability in different forms; Poe’s stories are about inherent, maybe even genetic tendencies to lose one’s mind while Hawthorne’s two tales are about isolation that has resulted from obsessive spirituality.

The Arrogance of The Lie by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Essay -- Kurt Vonnegut

The Arrogance of The Lie   The Lie, written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., is a story that stands as a mirror to reflect the ugly image of a condescending faction obsessed with grades and numbers, not actual learning.   Even though it took place years ago, the sickening mind frames still exist in some of today’s people.   They are namely the â€Å"elite group† or middle to upper class families.   In the story, Doctor Remenzel is obsessed with Eli having a high standard of excellence, Eli getting special treatment because he is part of the higher group, and for those reasons, Eli is ashamed of himself, and terrified of telling his father and mother that he failed the entrance examinations.   All of these things are examples of what happens in the arrogant sub culture which exists today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      During the beginning of the story, Doctor Remenzel is obsessed with the idea of his son Eli looking good.   An example of this would be when Doctor Remenzel meets his friend Tom on the way to the school.   â€Å"Doctor Remenzel pointed to the chaos of the back of Eli’s head; beamed that his news was the same.†Ã‚   The word beamed, and the whole fact that the Doctor had to point out that his son was too going there implies that he is proud and wants to show him off.   A comment that Doctor Remenzel makes that implies his son is â€Å"better† than others is when referring to another person getting in, he makes the remark of, â€Å"If he’s smart enough.†Ã‚   The Doctor is obviously saying that Eli is much smarter than some.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This relates to the condescending faction because the parents of these... ...d constitute â€Å"failing† in their case) they feel ashamed because they did not meet the expectations created by their parents or other authorities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion the whole idea is alarming.   How could anyone possibly get so egotistical and self-centered?   The Lie is one prime example of how our culture has been divided and distorted.   Some put their own well being into others, perhaps because of a missed opportunity, or maybe just because of their state of mind.   Image, special privileges, and fear of disappointing are just some of the things that classify both the story and our sub culture.   It is a wonder if we will ever stop putting so much on numbers and grades, and start focusing on what is really important: learning.   The sub culture sure needs to.      

What works in America :: Culture Cultural Essays

What works in America Jennifer Mancini's parents were born in Italy and immigrated to America just before they had two daughters, Jennifer and her sister. They left a country whose culture stressed close family ties, traditional food, traditional ways of preparing food, and strict social customs. It is Italian tradition that family stick together through the hard times; parents are always there for their children and children are always there for their parents. When the Mancinis came to America, they were forced to abandon many of their customs; in fact, all they held on to was a bit of the old language and their Italian food. Through the experiences she and her family have endured, Mancini believes that "people eventually will assimilate to a more mainstream culture over time, even if they didn't plan to or want to.Just like the old saying goes: 'When in Rome do as the Romans do.'" Although most immigrants are reluctant to stray from how they have learned to live, it will help them to give up much of the ir old ways and accept the dominant culture America has to offer. Rejecting or simply not being able to stray from one's previous culture results in negative responses from the mainstream American culture. Ronald Takaki, a professor and historian at the University of California at Berkeley, shared his view of immigration along with personal experiences in his essay entitled "A Different Mirror" Takaki, a second generation Japanese-American, describes how his appearance erected a barrier between himself and an "American." His experience begins inside a cab on the way to a conference on multiculturalism. The driver and Takaki chat for a few minutes until the middle-aged white man in the front seat notices something odd, his passenger looks foreign yet speaks perfect English. Takaki explained to the driver that he had lived his entire life in The United States and is a true-blooded American. Takaki tell us that, "Somehow I did not look 'American' to him; my eyes and complexion looked foreign" (589). The cab driver immediately assumed that a foreigner had entered his car because Takaki did not look like all the other "Americans" that ask for a ride. His eyes were slanted and his complexion a little darker than the norm, too dark and slanted to be from this country. That is the difficulty with immigration in America today. The American people often are not open enough to get past the differences found amongst ethnic backgrounds.

The Insurable Interest Doctrine- Indian Perspective

DR. RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY ______________________________________________________________________________ The Insurable Interest Doctrine __________________________________________________________________ Name: Sukriti Guha Roll No. : 142 Semester: VIIIth Class: B. A. , LL. B. (Hons. ) Subject: Insurance Law Submitted to: Ms.Aparna Singh TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction II. Can there be any valid insurance agreement without insurable interest? III. Creation of insurable interest IV. Wager and insurance V. Types of insurable interest VI. Time or duration of insurable interest VII. Insurable interest vis-a-vis life insurance contract VIII. Insurable interest vis-a-vis marine insurance contract IX. Insurable interest vis-a-vis fire insurance contract X. Conclusion Bibliography I. INTRODUCTION The aim of insurance is to shift risk from one person (the insured) to another (the insurers).In insurance contract as a matter of public policy, certain insurable require ments must be met, to make it valid. Insurable interest is one of the basic requirements of the insurance. Without it the insurance contract is a mere wagering agreement. In India it is strange that the Insurance Act 1938 does not contain a definition of insurable interest. The only section, namely section 68, which makes a passing reference to the words ‘insurable interest’ stands repeated by section 48 of The Insurance Amendment Act 1950.Briefly stated there is no legislative guidance in Indian law on the subject but still marine insurance defines under section 7 of the marine insurance act 1963 defines insurable interest. Insurable interest is also defined as a legal right to insure an asset or person. In theory, therefore, nothing more is payable than the amount of actual loss. It follows that unless the assured has a pecuniary interest in the thing insured, no question of loss or indemnity shall arise. A person cannot therefore insure a thing, the loss of which can not cause him any financial loss.A policy of insurance, therefore, is void if the insured has no such pecuniary interest in the subject matter of the insurance. Any person, who would suffer from destruction or loss of a thing, has insurable interest in that thing. The insurable interest must: * Be definite * Be capable of valuation * Be legally valid and subsisting * Involve the loss of legal right * Involve a legal liability II. CAN THERE BE ANY VALID INSURANCE AGREEMENT WITHOUT INSURABLE INTEREST? The existence of insurable interest is an essential ingredient of any insurance contract. It is an important and fundamental principle of insurance.It can be defined as the legal right to insure arising out of a financial relationship recognized under law, between the insured and the subject matter of insurance We find that the meaning of the term insurable interest is liberally interpreted. It is not always the legal interest or a full interest that's required by the courts but it shoul d be such that it would be sufficient if it is recognized by court of law or equity as such interest. The following points may be gathered: 1) The interest should not be a mere sentimental right or interest, for example love and affection alone cannot constitute insurable interest. ) It should be a right in property or a right arising out of a contract in relation to the property. 3) The interest must be pecuniary that is, capable of estimation in terms of money. In other words, the peril must be such that its happening may bring upon the insured an actual or deemed pecuniary loss. Mere disadvantage or inconvenience or mental distress cannot be regarded as an insurable interest but this rule not strictly followed in life insurance cases. 4) The interest must be lawful, that is, it should not be illegal, unlawful, and immoral or opposed to public policy and does not harm any others legal justified claim.In the case of Brahma Dutt v. LIC, one Mukhtar Singh a petty school teacher on sa lary of Rs 20 took a policy for Rs 35,000 on his life making false statements in the proposal and nominated a stranger Brahma Dutt for the policy. The nominee paid the first two quarterly premiums by which time the life insured died. The nominee intimated the insured's death and claimed the sum assured. It was found on evidence that Brahma Dutt had taken the policy without any insurable interest in the life of the deceased for his own benefit and that therefore it was void being a wagering agreement.The Supreme Court in the case of Suraj Mal Ram Niwas Oil Mills (Private) Limited v United India Insurance Company Limited held that the objection of the insurer about the non-disclosure of dispatch of each and every consignment, as pointed by the second surveyor, learned counsel submitted that the said condition has to be understood in the context of the fundamental condition that the insurance cover was intended to secure only the â€Å"insurable interest† of the appellant in the dispatches.It was urged that the appellant had declared only those consignments in which they had an â€Å"insurable interest† as in relation to dispatches which had not been declared, the consignees had desired that their consignments should be dispatched without an insurance cover. In all such cases, the purchasers took the risk of loss to their goods, and hence the appellant had no â€Å"insurable interest† in them, unlike in the consignment in question for which due declaration was made. Reference was made to the decisions of this Court in New India Assurance Co. Ltd v. G. N. Sainani, and New India Assurance Company Limited v.Hira Lal Ramesh Chand , wherein it was held that â€Å"insurable interest† over a property is â€Å"such interest as shall make the loss of the property to cause pecuniary damage to the assured and under this case it will make a damage to the interest of the insured. III. CREATION OF INSURABLE INTEREST There are a number of ways in wh ich insurable interest will arise or can be created. Few main ways are: 1) By Contract -In some contracts a person will agree to be liable for something, which he or she would not ordinarily be liable for. A landlord is normally liable for the maintenance of property he owns rather than the tenants.A lease may, however, make the tenant responsible for the maintenance, repair etc. of the building. Such a contract places the tenant in legally recognized relationship to the building. This gives him an insurable interest, which would not be present if the contract had not been entered into so these kinds of special contractual relationships give arise to the insurable interest on something on which otherwise one does not have any kind of insurable interest. 2) By Common Law – Where the essential elements of insurable interest are automatically present, the same can be described as having arisen at common law.The most straight forward example is ownership. One can own a house, and there is therefore entitlement to insure it equally the common law duty of care which one owes to the other, may give rise to a liability which again is insurable. Like the use or driving of a motor vehicle in a public place is sufficient insurable interest for the purpose of effecting insurance in the favour of the third party. 3) By Statute – Some time an act of parliament will create an insurable interest either by granting some benefit or imposing a duty.While the statute may create insurable interest where none would otherwise exist. There can be some statutes which can restrict liability and thereby also restrict insurable interest. IV. WAGER AND INSURANCE In a contract of wager all the parties do not have any interest in the happening of the event other than the sum. This is what marks the difference between a wagering agreement and a contract of insurance because every contract of insurance requires for its validity the insurable interest. Insurance affected without insurable interest is no more than a wagering agreement and therefore void.Insurable interest means the risk of loss to which the assured is likely to be exposed by the happening of the event assured against. In a wager on the other hand neither party is running any risk of loss except that which is created by the agreement between two or more than two parties. We all also know that wagering is illegal in India and against to the norms of society or in short wagering is against public policy and distinction between a insurance and a wager is this a insurance is properly speaking a contract to indemnify the insured in respect of some interest which he has against perils which he contemplates it will be liable to.In the case of Alamani v. Positive Govt Security Life Insurance Co. , the plaintiff’s husband took a policy of insurance on the life of Mehbub Bi, the wife of a clerk working under him and about a week later got the policy assigned in the favour of the plaintiff, Mehbu b Bi died a month later and the plaintiff as assignee claimed the sum assured and in this case court find that there was no insurable interest present in this case and hence this insurance contract held to be contract of wager and held to be void.V. TYPES OF INSURABLE INTEREST There are basically two types of insurable interest (1) Contractual (2) Statutory. As we have seen in some cases that interest in the subject matter of insurance is required by law itself for the validity of the policy, whether by express statutory law as in the Marine Insurance Act 1906 or as by section 30 of the Indian Contract Act which merely declares that all contracts by way of wager is void. This is the interest required by statue r the statutory shareholder. If this agent is absent, the insurance is illegal or void and no agreement between the parties dispensing with this requirement can be effective. In an action upon such a contract if the insurer does not raise the plea of want of interest neverthel ess the court of its own motion may refuse to enforce the contract. Courts however, lean in favour of the existence of a valid interest as far as possible, so as to render the contract enforceable.It has also been held in some cases that there is nothing illegal about the insurer paying on policy without interest as the objection or want of insurable interest is purely technical and has no real merit as between the insurer and the insured. Let's take a case law in detail that will clear the picture of the difference between these two kinds of insurable interest. In the case Macaura v. Northern Assurance Company, one Macaura insured timber in his estate against fire. He sold timber to a company of which he was the sole substantial shareholder.Thereafter most of the timber was destroyed by fire and he demanded that he should be indemnified. The insurer succeeded in refusing to comply with the demand. The insured had no statutory interest in the assets of the company though too he woul d suffer loss on the company losing its property, nor he had any contractual interest under the policy because he could not prove interest at the time of the loss. Though the insured had no statutory interest the policy was held to be not a wagering contract because even being the sole shareholder he had an interest or better call insurable interest in the property.VI. TIME OR DURATION OF INSURABLE INTEREST The time when the insurable interest must be present varies with the nature of the insurance contracts. The question is whether insurable interest should exist at the time when the contract is formed or should it also continue to exist until it is discharged but as we have seen in life insurance the presence of insurable interest is necessary at the commencement of the policy although it is not necessary afterwards, not even at the time of occurrence of risk.So it should be there in life policies at the time of taking the policy it need not exist at the time when the loss takes p lace or even when the claim is made under the policy. Life insurance contracts are not strictly speaking contracts of indemnity. In fire insurance, it's required both at the commencement of the policy and at the time when the risk occurs. In a sense, therefore it may be said that insurable interest is doubly insisted upon in fire insurance.The insurance interest is necessary at both the times because it is treated as a personal contract and also a contract of indemnity. And even the onus that the fire was intentional is on the insurer and not the insured. In a marine insurance contract the presence of insurable interest is necessary only at the time of the loss. It is immaterial whether he has or does not have any insurable interest at the time when the marine insurance policy was taken. VII.INSURABLE INTEREST vis-a-vis LIFE INSURANCE CONTRACT Life insurance contract is not a contract of indemnity and a person affecting a policy must have an insurable interest in the life to be assu red. In the life insurance policy persons having relationship by marriage (example, husband and wife), blood (example, father and son) or adoption (example, adopted son and his mother), have been recognized as having insurable interest. Few examples of relationship which have insurable interest in the life of other: * Child has the insurable interest in life of parents and vice versa even the illegitimate child. Wife has an insurable interest in the life of husband and vice versa * Debtor has an insurable interest of the life of creditor and vice versa * Master has an insurable interest in the life of servant and vice versa * A company has an insurable interest in the life of manager or director or partners or other employees and vice versa * Husband or wife have a insurable interest in the life of father-in- law or mother in law and vice versa * Insurable interest in the life of grandparents and vice versa * Insurable interest of a person on his own lifeInsurable interest in India need not be confined to a pecuniary interest. Sentimental interest or an interest based on close family relationship may constitute a sufficient insurable interest. The closeness of relationship operates as a protection to the life of the insured and does not place him in the danger of being murdered. But when a person seeks insurance on his own life, the question of insurable interest is immaterial. There can also be no element of wagering, for whatever gain may accrue, will be by his death and that is no gain.No man will gamble on his own life to gain a pyrrhic victory. And if somebody commits suicide to get the benefit of claim for his beneficiary or relatives his claim will not be entertained. VIII. INSURABLE INTEREST VIS-A-VIS MARINE INSURANCE CONTRACT Insurable interest is a special requirement of the marine insurance contract and any valid contract of marine insurance can be entered onto by person only if he has insurable interest in the marine adventure. And what is importan t for insurable interest is that: ) There should be a physical object which is exposed to the marine perils 2) The assured must have some legally recognized relationship with that object in consequences of which he benefits by its preservation and is prejudiced by its loss or damage. Few instances which show insurable interest in a marine insurance policy: 1) The insurer under a contract of marine insurance has an insurable interest in his risk which he may re-insure. 2) The lender of money on bottomry or respondentia has an insurable interest in respect of loan . ) The masters of the crew of a ship have insurable interest in their wages. IX. INSURABLE INTEREST vis-a-vis FIRE INSURANCE CONTRACT Few instances of persons who can have insurable interest in any insured property by fire: 1) Owner of the property , joint owner, sole owner, or a farm owning the property 2) Lessor and lessee both have insurable interest on any property 3) The vendor or the purchaser both have the right 4) T he mortgagor and mortgagee 5) Trustees are legal owners and beneficiaries the beneficial owner of the trust property and each can insure it. ) Bailees such as carriers, pawnbrokers or warehouse men are responsible for the safety of the property entrusted in them and so can insure it. X. CONCLUSION To be legally enforceable, all insurance contracts must be supported by an insurable interest. Insurance contracts must be supported by an insurable interest for the following reasons. * To prevent gambling: Insurable interest is necessary to prevent gambling. If insurable interest is not required, the contract would be gambling contract and would be against public interest. For example you can insure the property of another and hope for an early loss.You can similarly insure the life of another person and hope for an early death. These contracts would be gambling contracts and would be against public interest and public policy and so need to be checked and stopped. * To reduce moral hazar d: Insurable interest reduces moral hazard. If insurable interest is not required, a dishonest person could purchase a property's insurance belonging to someone else and then deliberately cause a loss to receive the proceeds; but if the insured stands to lose financially, nothing is gained by causing the loss.Thus moral hazard is reduced. In life insurance, insurable interest requirement reduces the incentive to murder the insured for the purpose of collecting policy claim or anyone can set fire his home to claim the fire insurance claim or one can kill any third person insured by him. * To measure the amount of the insured's loss in property insured: Finally in property insurance insurable interest measures the amount of the insured's loss. Most of the property insurance is contracts of indemnity and the measure of recovery is the insurable interest of the insured.In the event of loss, payment cannot exceed the amount of one's insurable interest as the principle of indemnity shall apply. The object of insurance in such a case is to indemnify the assured to the extent of the commercial value of the thing lost. It follows that unless the assured has a pecuniary interest in the thing insured, no question of loss or indemnity shall arise. A person cannot therefore, insure a thing, the loss of which cannot cause him any financial loss.A policy of insurance therefore is void if the insured has no such pecuniary interest in the subject matter of insurance. Any person who would suffer from the destruction of loss of a thing has insurable interest in that thing. Therefore, we can conclude that an insurable interest is essential for making any insurance agreement a legally binding insurance contract. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Emmett J. Vaughan & Therese Vaughan, Fundamentals of Risk and Insurance (9th Edn. 2003) 2. Dr. Rakesh Agarwal (Ed. , Guide to Practice of General Insurance (Paper No. 11 of I. I. I. ) (Key for Licentiate Examination), (2nd edition, 2011) 3. Centre of Public ations, Handbook on Opening of Insurance Sector – Policy, Regulations, Guidelines and List of Foreign Companies (2011) 4. H. Narayanan, Indian INSURANCE – A Profile (2008) 5. C. L. Tyagi & Madhu Tyagi, Insurance – Law and Practice (2007) 6. India Brand Equity Foundation http://www. ibef. org/ 7. Investopedia

NAFTAs Deceit essays

NAFTAs Deceit essays On January 1, 1994, Canada, Mexico and the United States passed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Promoted to Congress by the Clinton administration, with the assurance that it would give rise to more jobs - exactly how many though, is not precisely known. Yet, according to the Journal of Commerce, the U.S. went from having a $5.5 billion trade surplus with Mexico before NAFTA, to having a massive $16 billion trade deficit today. At the same time, it is estimated that 400,000 Americans have lost manufacturing jobs because of NAFTA within the treaty's first three years, that's about the same number of jobs which have been created in the Mexican maquiladoras. Instead of sharing of the wealth and profit, one might think that there has been a big transfer of wealth from north to south of the border and that Mexican laborers have profited at the expense and torment of their American counterparts. The reality is that working conditions, wage, health and safety standards in Mexico have deteriorated. One American employee for a steering-wheel plan made approximately $10.46 per hour, compared to his Mexican counterpart, who makes about $0.75 per hour. Within the agreement, it stated "...the government of Canada, the government of the United Mexican States and the government of the United States of America resolved to establish a free trade area." In addition, NAFTA also determined to: Strengthen the special bonds of friendship and cooperation among the nations; Contribute to the harmonious development and expansion of world trade and provide a catalyst to broader international cooperation; Create an expanded and secure market for the goods and services produced in their territories; Establish clear and mutually beneficial rules governing their trade; Create new employment opportunities, improve working conditions and living standards in their respective territories; &...

Life on Top Is Hard Essay examples

Life on Top Is Hard Essay examples Life on Top Is Hard Essay examples Children and Psychiatric Medications I. Introduction A. According to the Surgeon General, one in five children has symptoms of a behavioral or psychological disorder. About 5 million children in the US. B. The number of children diagnosed and treated with psychiatric medicine has risen dramatically over the last several years. C. Psychiatric medication includes stimulants for ADHD (Attention Deficit –Hyperactivity disorder), anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, anti-consultants, and mood stabilizers. D. ADHD is more common in the U.S than any other country, primarily diagnosed in children. II. What are commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorders in children? A. Anxiety Disorders B. Attention-Deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) C. Disruptive Behavior Disorders D. Pervasive development disorders E. Eating Disorders F. Elimination Disorders G. Learning and Communication Disorders H. Schizophrenia I. Tic Disorders J. Mood Disorders III. What are commonly prescribed psychiatric medications? A. Stimulants: Ritalin, Focalin, Methylin, Adderall B. Non-Stimulant: Strattera C. SSRIs or SRIs (specific serotonin reuptake inhibitors): Prozac, Serefam, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Celexa, Lexapro D. Antipsychotics E. Second generation (atypical) antipsychotics F. Anxiolytic (benxodiazepine): Xanax, Clonopin G. Hypnotics (sleep): Ambien, lunesta H. Mood Stabilizers: Lithium I. Anti-Convulsants (anti-seizure) J. Off Label Use 1. Based on clinical experience and medication knowledge, a physician may prescribe to young children a medication that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in adults or older children. This use of the medication is called "off-label." Most medications prescribed for child mental disorders, including many of the newer medications that are proving helpful, are prescribed

Patrice Lumumba †Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo

Patrice Lumumba – Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo Free Online Research Papers Patrice Émery Lumumba was born on July 2nd 1925, and was assassinated January 17th 1961. Lumumba was an African anti-colonial leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo. He was elected because he helped to win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumbas government was deposed in coup during the Congo Crisis. He was subsequently imprisoned and assassinated under controversial circumstances. In my opinion, Patrice Lumumba served as a great martyr for the Congolese people. According to dictionary.com, a martyr is a person who is put to death or endures great suffering on behalf of any belief, principle, or cause: a martyr to the cause of social justice. As shown is the movie, Lumumba fought for what he believed in. He sacrificed many things to accomplish freedom for the Congo. Lumumba was not afraid to challenge white supremacy and denounce the oppressive way Europeans treated Africans. One thing I noticed in the movie was that Lumumba was very family oriented and cared a lot not just for his family, but his followers also. As I said above, Lumumba was elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo in June 1960. Sixty-seven days after he came to power, Patrice Lumumba was dismissed by state president Joseph Kasa-Vubu. Lumumba was placed under informal house arrest at the prime ministers residence. UN troops were positioned around the house to â€Å"protect† him. After he was arrested, Lumumba made the decision to escape out of his residence at night in a visiting diplomats car. Mobutus troops were in hot pursuit, they followed him. At this point in the movie, a Congolese civilian stopped Lumumba’s vehicle and warned him that Mobutu’s troops were very close behind. He was told to â€Å"Get off the main road†, so they decided to cross the Sankuru River. The scene in the movie shows Lumumba looking back at his family, with terror in his eyes. From the expression on his face you can tell he won’t be seeing his wife and family ever again after that day. He was captured that day near the Sankuru River by soldiers loyal to Colonel Mobutu. Lumumba was then transported on January 17, 1961, from the military prison in Thysville near Leopoldville to a â€Å"more secure† prison in Jadotville in the Katanga Province. There were reports that Lumumba and his fellow prisoners, Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito, were beaten by provincial police upon their arrival in secessionist Katanga. Lumumba and his fellow prisoners were taken into the woods and shot one by one. The guards tied them to a tree and shot them. As they dragged his followers, they resisted. All but one. Lumumba walked himself to the tree, and immediately pressed his back against the tree. He was not afraid to die for what he believed in. It wasn’t enough that these three men were shot and killed; they were cut into pieces and then burned. There is no evidence of their death and no ashes. One thing I learned from this film is that Lumumba had faith that his message would live on after his death. This is very hard to believe, especially when he was treated so badly by Mobutu and his army. Research Papers on Patrice Lumumba - Prime Minister of the Republic of the CongoQuebec and CanadaWhere Wild and West MeetAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Unreasonable Searches and SeizuresPETSTEL analysis of IndiaCapital PunishmentAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeThe Hockey Game19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraMind Travel

Student with pervasive developmental disorders Essay

Student with pervasive developmental disorders - Essay Example st of them are not able to combine words into meaning by this age, while others are able either to repeat same words or phrases over and over or speak single words only. Various studies have indicated that PDD can considerably affect the progress of children in their academic, social, and personal development particularly within a standard environment where other normal students are growing and developing in (Syriopoulou- Deli, 2011). In order to have a better understanding of PDD and its impact on children, this paper will discuss the condition in respect to students suffering from the disorder. It is important to begin by noting that PDD is not a single disorder but rather it’s a category that comprises a range of delays in children of varying magnitude in various domains. The most severe of PDD is autism which indicates a primary or chief disturbance in the ability of a child to relate to others. Cognitive and language delays are the other primary characteristics of autism (Delfos, 2005). Students suffering from PDD may not be able to achieve academic and co-curricular success that students with normal abilities can achieve. For any student to be successful he or she needs normal abilities and cognitive skills. Nonetheless, if corrective measures are taken in time, students suffering from PDD may be able to achieve success in classroom and outside classroom. In particular, cognitive skills training can help a student with PDD to develop the necessary skills and abilities to succeed in classroom. Numerous studies have indicated that cognitive skills training in a gr eat way deliver essential skills and abilities to students with PDD (Holzhauser-Peters and True, 2008). There are symptoms associated with pervasive developmental disorder and parents and teachers should take immediate action once they notice them in a child. The first one is a child having difficulty in understanding and using language. Secondly, a child suffering from this disorder may display

Public Opinion & Responding to Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Public Opinion & Responding to Crisis - Essay Example These stakeholders can present diverse sources of ideas and opinions that can improve the quality of analysis and problem solving processes. 2. What is a command center and where should it be located? A command center is a place where emergency management team members convene to make decisions during times of crisis and to communicate with others. It is a place where people know who the responders are and what they have to do during times of crisis. It should be located at a room, where there is access to communication lines, such as a telephone or wireless internet. There should also be a secondary command center, in case the primary one is damaged. The secondary command center should be far away from the primary one, so that damage in one school area cannot affect the secondary command center too. 3. Detail information first responders should receive prior to any crisis. First responders should receive detain information about the resources of the school, resources of the community, contact information of different community and public agencies in all kinds of crises, contact information of students and parents, and information about the communication system during times of crises. They should know where all phones are located and what to do when primary communications are all down. First responders should know where command centers are and who its primary members are, as well as their contact numbers. a. Do you think the parents are being unreasonable? The parents are not being unreasonable, because they are thinking only of the welfare of their children. They are also paranoid already and lack trust in the public and school officials. They need something tangible to hold on to, even when their demands may border lack of justifications. They also need to establish communication lines that will help them make better decisions and to earn their trust. b. What is your personal

PMM Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

PMM - Coursework Example (d) If John would have produced dressings in house, the net loss would have been less as compared to outsourcing. He would have incurred a net loss of ?25,600 rather than ?30,000 leading to an eventual profit of ?74,000 (the working for this is shown in table 2 below). In house production would have not damaged the costs like it did with outsourcing and the prime reason for this could be the quality control. Above this whether the product was being made in house or was outsourced, it is a product, either way, that is lowering the adversely affecting the profits of the company. Question 2 "Discuss the decision situation regarding the American enquiry. Your discussion should be supported by financial information which Mary would be likely to produce, and also briefly consider strategic issues." The company is currently incurring a loss from dressings and above this, the quality of the mirrors has been deteriorating over the 6 months since the outsourcing. The company has been saving ?2 0,000 after outsourcing of mirrors. However, the in house production, although the cost is higher than the outsourcing, leads to a net loss of ?25,600 while the outsourcing leads to a loss of ?30,000. In this situation the American enquiry demands 50 chests at a 70% price of the normal price. It would be easier to analysis if the discussion is on micro level. The normal price per piece is $1500 and the demanded price is at 1050 a difference of $450. This difference could not be covered by the way company is operating right now. Not to forget the delivery charges to the docks is $18 on each chest, which adds to the existing loss. The final price of the chest stands at $1148 which is $98 more than the demanded price. As stated in the case there is a over load of work in the company already, so handling this project would be very tough for everyone. Then comes in the travel issue, the distance between the countries will give rise to the probability of the project being damaged. The onl y way the company can achieve breakeven on this enquiry is to change the place they buy the raw material from or their labor costs, or any of their expenses.    Chest per piece American enquiry/piece      (?000) (?000) (?000) Sales revenue $300 1.5 1.05 Direct materials 90 0.45 0.45 Direct labor 53 0.265 0.265 Variable workshop over head 15 0.075 0.075 Apportioned fixed workshop overheads 68 0.34 0.34 total manufacturing cost 226 1.13 1.13 Gross profit (loss) 74 0.37 -0.08 Selling & distribution costs 7 0.035 0.018 Net profits 67 0.335 -0.098 Question 3 Mary has suggested to John that the company would benefit from a management information system to aid him in planning and controlling the activities of the business and to assist in organisational decision making. Join is not sure what Mary means. (a) Illustrate the types of planning and controlling activities that are likely to take place at High Street Reproduction Furniture Ltd. High Street Reproduction Furniture Ltd needs p lan its activities along with the production and expected sales of the company. With the over burdening of the employees, important data is being ignored like in the case of dressings. The company should also check its product at each and every production stage. This product quality check will allow John to anticipate issues in quality before its effects are felt in the net profit. Above this,

Critical Thinking and Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critical Thinking and Technology - Essay Example Critical thinking also enhances the communication and presentation skills of employees, students and even employers as the information presented is thoroughly thought over and researched. With critical thinking, our ability to express our ideas, opinions and beliefs to other people is enhanced and this promotes cooperation and productivity in organizations that are dependent on technology. Creativity is important in success of individuals, organizations and institutions across the globe in this technology age. According to Plato (Pinliucci, 2011), critical thinking increases the inventive ability of people and this enhances entrepreneurship and business growth. To think critically, an individual must be able to develop a strong purpose and develop a problem upon which different questions will be used to understand it. The position of critical thinking in modern day world has remained a major issue as a result of the emergence of technology and more so, the internet (Whitney, 2010). Information technology and especially the internet improve critical thinking ability of students and employees as it enhances judgment and decision making processes. With information technology, data processing is enhanced due to the massive sources that readers are subjected to and this enhances critical thinking. The development of critical thinking skills is essential in the development of students and employees as it enhances the process of gathering information and developing skills. As a result, the questioning information presented to an individual enhances their understanding of the area and improves their discussion skills. The global economy is currently reliant on technology, an aspect of development that is dynamic and influenced by the level of knowledge of an individual. As a result, the development of flexible skills is essential, a process that can only be achieved through developing strong analytics skills found among critical thinkers (Taylor, 2012). Technology

Yala Swamp Conflict Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Yala Swamp Conflict - Term Paper Example The aim of the project was to prevent degradation of the wetland and improve the lives of local people (Davenport 4). However, despite the project’s endeavor, it raised conflicts between the local communities on one side and county councils and the Dominion, founders of the project, on the other side. This, therefore, led to the emergence of Yala swamp conflict from the year 2003 to present.  It has caused a great attention and concerns that many African countries experience conflicts especially as a result of resource depletion and environmental degradation. As the U.S. United Nations delegate, I have been assigned a Judy to arbitrate an aspect of dispute in the Yala swamp conflict that exist between two sides, the one on the local community and the one on the Dominion and country council. After conducting my research on the disputing issue, I realized that the development project meant to improve the condition of Yala swamp was the main source of conflict (Davenport 11). I have been able to analyze and gain an understanding of the nature of the moral dimensions of conflict in the region. The conflicting parties are actually the stakeholders of the project where one party, the local community, is affected by the development project while the other party of both dominion and country council are the exploiters.  I also understand that conflict has emerged as a result of incompatible goals, which depend on contested natural resources. I realized that the local community feels deprived of the right to use land for farm by the development project hence contesting for the natural resources. Furthermore, this community lives in extreme poverty and therefore desire to acquire more land. Land conflict result to environmental degradation when a community is squeezed into a limited area and cause pressure on it.  

Critical Thinking and Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critical Thinking and Technology - Essay Example Critical thinking also enhances the communication and presentation skills of employees, students and even employers as the information presented is thoroughly thought over and researched. With critical thinking, our ability to express our ideas, opinions and beliefs to other people is enhanced and this promotes cooperation and productivity in organizations that are dependent on technology. Creativity is important in success of individuals, organizations and institutions across the globe in this technology age. According to Plato (Pinliucci, 2011), critical thinking increases the inventive ability of people and this enhances entrepreneurship and business growth. To think critically, an individual must be able to develop a strong purpose and develop a problem upon which different questions will be used to understand it. The position of critical thinking in modern day world has remained a major issue as a result of the emergence of technology and more so, the internet (Whitney, 2010). Information technology and especially the internet improve critical thinking ability of students and employees as it enhances judgment and decision making processes. With information technology, data processing is enhanced due to the massive sources that readers are subjected to and this enhances critical thinking. The development of critical thinking skills is essential in the development of students and employees as it enhances the process of gathering information and developing skills. As a result, the questioning information presented to an individual enhances their understanding of the area and improves their discussion skills. The global economy is currently reliant on technology, an aspect of development that is dynamic and influenced by the level of knowledge of an individual. As a result, the development of flexible skills is essential, a process that can only be achieved through developing strong analytics skills found among critical thinkers (Taylor, 2012). Technology

Maths and Excel exercise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Maths and Excel exercise - Essay Example The horizontal dotted line indicates that the blue curve and the green curve have the same maximum. The vertical dotted lines indicate the maxima for the three curves, respectively. g) The weight of the heads of household appears to be normally distributed. Wages however are extremely skewed, resulting in many households with low wages and a few with high wages. The education level is a symmetric, discrete distribution, with both highly educated and less educated heads of households being rare. Since weight is the only symmetric distributed variable in the table, only in its case are the sample mean and median close to each other. Another indication that weight is indeed normally distributed is the proximity of the actual percentages of weights falling within the three given intervals to the empirical percentages. This is because the empirical percentages are calculated assuming normality of the data. An interesting observation is that the size of the 95% confidence interval for clothing and recreational expenses is actually much higher than that of more basic expenses such as food and housing. It is also interesting to note that clothing and recreational expen ses are more tightly correlated with net income than food and household expense are, as indicated by the marginally higher correlation coefficient of TOTEXP2 with FINC than TOTEXP1 with FINC. ... TOTEXP2 10.82 109.38 Note: 95% Confidence Interval has been calculated for the left tail, since all 3 variables show skewed distributions. e) Correlation coefficient r = 0.9927 Correlation coefficient r = 0.9979 f) The regression equation for TOTEXP1 Vs FINC is y = .59x + 1.5, while the regression equation for TOTEXP2 Vs FINC is y = .16x + .088 g) The weight of the heads of household appears to be normally distributed. Wages however are extremely skewed, resulting in many households with low wages and a few with high wages. The education level is a symmetric, discrete distribution, with both highly educated and less educated heads of households being rare. Since weight is the only symmetric distributed variable in the table, only in its case are the sample mean and median close to each other. Another indication that weight is indeed normally distributed is the proximity of the actual percentages of weights falling within the three given intervals to the empirical percentages. This is because the empirical percentages are calculated assuming normality of the data. An interesting observation is that the size of the 95% confidence interval for clothing and recreational expenses is actually much higher than that of more basic expenses such as food and housing. It is also interesting to note that clothing and recreational expens es are more tightly correlated with net income than food and household expense are, as indicated by the marginally higher correlation coefficient of TOTEXP2 with FINC than TOTEXP1 with FINC. One possible interpretation is that spending on less basic needs is more constrained by income than spending on more basic needs

Motivational Theories and Factors Essay Example for Free

Motivational Theories and Factors Essay Stress and conflict in the workplace can cause major emotional and physical damage to the facility and workers. In the past, there have been reports of tragedies caused by disgruntled workers who may have clocked in with a gun in hand. We are going to look into ‘three motivational theories including the relationship of stress and conflict in relation to individual motivations. ’ Many factors can motivate employees while at work. Some of the motivating factors could include the structure of the lives of the employees before they became employed. Personality is a big factor in employee performance and motivation. Someone that is an introvert may not have the same mind set as an extrovert. This will definitely dictate how that employee behaves and responds to directives at work. Turmoil has happened in recent years in workplace settings. Let us take a closer look at a tragic workplace incident. Omar Thornton was a thirty-four year old black delivery driver in Manchester Connecticut. On August 4, 2010, he signed his resignation papers in front of witnesses after he saw video footage of him stealing beer from his company. Before leaving the room he reportedly pulled a gun and started randomly shooting workers he came across. In the end, he killed eight, leaving two wounded before he killed himself. Thornton’s relatives and girlfriend said he had been harassed in a racial manner. This story is not the only one we have seen in the news. It proves that motivation can be a source of good behavior or negative. In Thornton’s case he was motivated by what he thought to be racially aimed mistreatment from his white co workers. This caused him to become stressed and it reached a deadly point of conflict, a him against them scenario. In the real world, no employee should allow their job stress to motivate them to take lives or destroy property. Stress can lead to serious consequences, whether it becomes a health issue or affects performance in a negative way. If employees are in constant conflict over management issues, pay working conditions or other concerns, this can lead to low moral among the employee congregation. It won’t matter if all employees are involved in the struggle, dissatisfaction can spread like sand into each individual’s boundaries. It will be the main topic around the water cooler each day. The job for management is to keep employees motivated in the right direction for the good of the company and its productivity. Management can help decrease the incidents of job dissatisfaction by following these steps. Positive reinforcement should always follow an employees job well done. When problems or disagreements arise the discipline should fit the crime. All persons who live up to their expected performance should be treated in a fair respectful manner. Goals should always be well pronounced so that no employee will say they didn’t know what was expected of them. Some jobs may need to be restructured to generate better productivity. All employees who perform in an acceptable capacity should be rewarded fro their compliance. Increased pay or a truck load of benefits may not always be at the top of the list when it comes to employee motivation. People want to feel needed and appreciated on the job. They want to know that their work is worth something. So, to decrease the incidents of stress, unfairness which can lead to conflict and disgruntled or dissatisfied employees, companies need to place value on employees who are doing what they are asked. When conflicts arise, there should be a procedure in place to allow every voice to be heard. When I am involved in stressful work situations, I bring it to the attention of my department manager. I do not attack an individual, I attack the cause of the problem. I follow the company’s guidelines for resolution, it has always worked for me. Since I started this class, I have learned that positive external motivation can also decrease or prevent stress in the workplace. So there should be a plan already in place to head off negative incidents.

Entry Strategy Used By Wal Mart Commerce Essay

Entry Strategy Used By Wal Mart Commerce Essay This report examines Wal-Mart as a case study. An introduction of the history, objectives and strategy was first examined. It later went on to determine what motive the company into international strategy using secondary data obtained through Websites and journal articles. Taking into consideration Wal-Mart operates in about 15 different countries its entry into Brazil was investigated. The entry strategy used by Wal-Mart was examined using the four categories of timing of entry, market choice, and investment scale and entry mode. The companys corporate strategy was examined and it was discussed in terms of whether Wal-Mart strategy was Global, Multi-domestic and Transnational. Wal-Mart strategy was concluded to be more on the transnational strategy as it took into account its global strategy and local strategy as well. Wal-Mart is known for being a company that has competitive advantage in logistics and customer service which are among its functional analysis. The logistics was examined in full as the main functional analysis affecting Wal-Mart in its entry into Brazil. Finally, recommendations were given on what Wal-Mart could do better when entering another international Market and a conclusion was made. Introduction This report discusses the Wal-Mart was first established in America in 1962 by Sam Walton .Wal-Mart is known as one of the Worlds Largest retailers serving more than 200million customers and members per week (Walmartstores.com). As at 2010, its fiscal year sales was $405 billion and is one of the Worldss most admired Companies Survey. Wal-Mart has over 8400 stores in 15 different countries (Wal-Mart.com) due to its need for globalisation. In this report, Wal-Mart entry into Brazil would be looked upon enabling the discussion on what motivated the firm into globalisation, its entry strategy into Brazil, its corporate strategy that enables it success and its functional analysis. Secondary datas would be used for this analysis. Firm Motivation In order to be able to analyse Wal-Marts entry strategy, it would be worthwhile to understand what motivated the firm into globalisation. Management realised, that by the 2000 the market in the United States would become saturated and reduce their market share and decided to expand global. Also in 1990s, Wal-Mart was facing stiff competition from key players such as K-Mart and target (Angela da Rocha 2002). These two companies were taking up Wal-Mart market share and expanding their global strategy. The competition strategy used by Target and K-Mart left Wal-Mart with no choice than to enter the international market with the aim of increasing market share and sales of the company. Wal-Mart believed in its strength and technology development to help in markets abroad. Wal-Mart was also motivated in terms of thinking about the benefits of economies of scale and scope obtained through globalisation. Wal-Mart deals with major international firms like Unilever (food products) which has its own international operations thereby using its large size to demand deeper discount on items (Hills 2008). Also, another reason Wal-Mart might have decided to entry Brazil could be because of the knowledge and expertise to be gained by other firms competing in such a country and be able to integrate the knowledge obtained into other operations in the future. Diagram derived from: http://www.themanagementor.com/kuniverse/kmailers_universe/mktg_kmailers/wal-mart.htm The diagram above details the competitive advantage that Wal-Mart has in order for it to internationally encourage to enter different markets. Entry Strategy According to Hill 2008, there are four categories of entry strategies used by firms they are as following using Wal-Mart as analysis. Market Choice In 1994, Brazil experienced a new thrust in the economy where there was implementation of lower inflation. This improved the purchasing power of Brazilians and also enhanced economic growth, Wal-Mart saw this as an opportunity to invest in the country. In 1995, Wal-Mart began operations in Brazil; Wal-Mart entered Brazil in order to be able to obtain the benefits to be derived from the potential demand of the population and potential the economic growth Wal-Mart did not use one single strategy to enter different countries. The selection of market choice was based on the detailed information of the business, competitive and economic environments of the country of operations. Govindarajan and Gupta stated After choosing the country, and understanding the environment, the management at Wal-Mart would decide on the best entry strategy. The selection varied from starting new stores from scratch (to acquisitions), joint ventures, and alliances. Wal-Mart establishes its presence in local markets by first understanding the uniqueness of each market, and then by adapting its business model to suit that market. Entry Mode Wal-Mart, through partnership with Lojas Americanas which one of Brazils leading discount store chain entered Brazil. Wal-Mart chooses to own 60% whereas Lojas Americanas would retain 40% which is a joint venture. Wal-Mart holds 60% makes decision making easier has they control a larger percentage of the company and can make quick and managerial decision compared to if it was 50:50. According to the data founded by Hill 2008, UN estimated that some 40-80% of Foreign Direct investment were in form of mergers and acquisition. It is easy to execute joint venture than to start a company from scratch .Within the time taken to start a company from the beginning a competitor might have acquired another company within the country and limit the market share to be obtained. Joint Venture makes it easier for Wal-Mart to meet its objective of becoming a globalised company in international market. The logic behind this partnership and its success is that Lojas Americanas brings in the cultural integration whilst Wal-Mart brings in the managerial skills and resources needed for the partnership to work. Wal-mart decided to open Supercenters (50,000 different items) and Sams Club stores (buyers club which required a fee for membership) because it believed its discount operations would work. The idea of the Supercenters was to provide a new product mix and varieties for the Brazilian market at lowest price. Timing of Entry Wal-Mart entered Brazil as a first mover advantage as technology was not readily available in Brazil at the time of entry given them a competitive advantage against Carrefour. This helped the economy to imitate the technological advancement and incorporate them into other businesses. Although, the sharing of technology was an advantage it could have also been a disadvantage as Wal-Mart was sharing its knowledge with its competitors and this could have been used against them. Investment Scale Wal-mart entered with Lojas Americanas which was known for its aggressive strategy in dealing with businesses thereby helping Wal-Mart gain an advantage. It entered with US$120 million to construct its stores with one in the largest city (Kotabe 2003).It entered at a large scale in order to gain competitive advantage this could have also been a problem if Wal-Mart failed in Brazil thereby losing the revenue used in entry. According to Kotabe 2003, it was stated that Wal-Marts objective was to achieve number one retailer position in Brazil and in order to do that they setup a logistics and communication system competent of supporting no less than 80 units in the Brazilian Market Wal-Mart also employed Brazilian executives who understood the market, cultures, and customers and would be able to manage the company effectively. Wal-Mart continued investing into Brazil has the demand was becoming more than the supply for their manufactured goods and services. Corporate Strategy According to Sam Walton, Wal-Mart strategy is low prices always. Wal-mart is known as Wal-Mart greeters where customers enter the store and they are greeted with a sweet face a, huge smile and a shopping cart (Burbano 2004). Wal-Mart also offered attraction of employees at disposals of consumers helping them as they enter into the stores. Wal-Mart company strategy is based on four pillars cost leadership, customer orientation, logistics and information technology (Angela da Rocha 2002). Fig 1 explains the reasons such as pressure from local responsiveness and pressure from global integration helps in determining the corporate strategy of the firms. When a company such as Wal-Mart chooses a corporate strategy it needs to decide how strong would the pressure of global integration or the pressure of local responsiveness affect its overall objective? Global Strategy In terms of Wal-Mart being a global strategy based in the beginning they prided themselves on being global. It brought the cultures, product, ways and products of the United States into Brazil and thought it could work since Brazil could not be different from America. It was later realised that it would not work and it revised it strategy by incorporating the culture of the Brazilians and the product to satisfy customer needs. Multi-Domestic Strategy In terms of localization strategy, Wal-Mart could not be seen as being localised because it never forgot its strategy of lowest prices and it incorporated some of its American product as well as Brazilian products in the market. Wal-Mart had to change its product from being USA focus and included variety of product that was an attraction to the Brazilian people. Wal-Mart prides itself on being a customer oriented in terms of good service, product at lowest prices. Wal-Mart boasts that it has a global strategy but it is also locally focused we people the people first (Walmartstores.com) Transnational Strategy Wal-Mart could also be seen as a transnational company in terms of the striking the balance between global standardization of operating strategy and local customization of store layout and stocking practices. Wal-Mart took into account what the Brazilians want by buying product from the local manufactures thereby integrating the cultures and customer needs. Also Wal-Mart adjusted to the situation of Brazilian market by increasing the deadlines of delivery by manufactures, it did not use the United State to bring in the products. Functional Analysis In order for Wal-mart to be successful in its chosen country it needs to work as a team with different departments. The departments such as Marketing, Purchasing, HRM, Logistics and Distribution etc come together to analyse the details and decide what is best for the companys operation in the chosen country. Wal-Mart prides itself on its logistic systems being that it enables the company have competitive advantage over its competitors. As Wal-Mart began operation the demand of their merchandise was increasing compared to the supply that they had in store. The checkout lines were longer than expected; there was storage of parking space, traffic congestions and aggressive reaction from Carrefour its competitor. In accordance with Kotabe 2003, Wal-Mart experienced an alarming 40% stock out rate in Brazil, as compared to 5% in the United States. Although the stock out rate has decreased since, the problem is far from being completely eliminated. Brazilian suppliers are lagging behind the U.S. counterparts in logistics technology as that level of technological advancement has not been reached, thus making computerized inventory management systems useless. Additionally, the presences of traffic congestion present another major challenge to consistency and predictability in supply of both Wal-Mart stores and distribution center. At the time of entry, Brazil was in no comparison to the United States in terms of technological advancement. Wal-Mart believed that its logistics was good enough to help them in Brazil; what they failed to consider was the population of the Brazilian people and the demand for their merchandise. Consumers were eagerly interested in the lower prices of merchandise sold by Wal-Mart, and there was no indication of stress of traveling long distance to obtain merchandise. Wal-Mart had a flexible logistics, which enabled it realize the problem the problem of distribution and transport costs from the United State into Brazil. It decided to set-up alliances with local suppliers to deliver some goods that the store needed. This enabled reduced costs due to reduce transportation and fuel by drivers of their trucks and due to the technology it had it was able to determine the quality of the products. Recommendation When Wal-Mart decides to enter into an international market it needs to fully understand the market and the potential demands, political and suppliers issues in order to be fully prepared for adverse reactions. Wal-Mart believes in its logistics as one of its competitive advantage and believes it could help them in any market. It is recommended, that they put into account the tastes and cultures of consumers and how they would be able to adapt to the countries ways of doing things. It is recommended that Wal-Mart could go a long way in benefiting internationally if the above recommendations are considered. Conclusions In this report, the motivation of Wal-Mart into internationalisation was analysed. Also, the entry strategy which included the market choice, the timing of entry, the type of entry mode and the investment scale was analysed. The corporate strategy of Wal-Mart whether it being multi-domestic, global or transnational was analysed. Its functional analysis was examined as well taking into account its logistics system. It was finished with a recommendation on what the company could do better in fir the next entry into another market.

Acid Rain :: Free Essay Writer

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Acid Rain   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Acid rain is a serious problem with disastrous effects. Each day this serious problem increases, many people believe that this issue is too small to deal with right now this issue should be met head on and solved before it is too late. In the following paragraphs I will be discussing the impact it has on the wildlife and how our atmosphere is being destroyed by acid rain. There is evidence that the rain is destroying the productivity of the once rich soils, like an overdose of chemical fertilizer. The damage of such overdosing may not be repairable or reversible. On some croplands, tomatoes grow to only half their full weight, and the leaves of radishes wither. Naturally it rains on cities too, eating away stone monuments and concrete structures, and corroding the pipes that channel the water away to the lakes and the cycle is repeated. Paints and automobile paints have its life reduce due to the pollution in the atmosphere speeding up the corrosion process. In some communities the drinking water is mixed with toxic metals freed from metal pipes by the acidity. As if urban skies were not already gray enough, typical visibility has declined from 10 to 4 miles, along the Eastern seaboard, as acid rain turns into smog. Also, now there are indicators that the components of acid rain are a health risk, linked to human respiratory disease. Not only is acid rain killing our plants and animals, it is killing our budget, in addition to contributing to acid rain, nitrogen oxides can react with hydrocarbons to produce ozone, a major air pollutant responsible in the United States for annual losses of $2 billion to 4.5 billion worth of wheat, corn, soybeans, and peanuts. A wide range of interactions can occur many unknown with toxic metals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the beginning of the 20th century most rivers/lakes like the river Tovdal in Norway had not yet begun to die. However by 1926 local inspectors were noticing that many of the lakes were beginning to show signs of death. Fish were found dead along the banks of many rivers. As the winters ice began to melt off more and more hundreds upon hundreds more dead fish (trout in particular) were being found. It was at this time that scientist began to search for the reason. As the scientists continued to work they found many piles of dead fish, up to 5000 in one pile, further up the river.

Prejudice In West Side Story :: essays research papers

In the book West Side Story by Arthur Laurents there were many prejudices. Prejudice is a favoring or dislike of something without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge. There were prejudices in West Side Story that had to do with the types of people, their races and sex. Sometimes prejudice can be in small doses and can be meaningless, other times prejudice can be very serious and cause death. Prejudice was the theme of this story, there are many examples.For instance, an act of prejudice in West Side Story was the Puerto Ricans disliking the Americans and vice versa. The PR's diskliked the Americans because the first day, Bernardo (leader of PR gang) was jumped by one of the Jets. The Jets wouldn't let the PR's come on their turf, such as Doc's store. The PR's were not wanted in the U.S. and they were given a hard time. The American's were prejudiced of the Puerto Ricans, so they did cruel things to them.Another act of prejudice in West Side Story was the Jets having prejudice against Anybody's joining their gang. They told her to go wear a dress, she wittily replied that she had scabby knees. She told them that she lurks in the shadows and even provided the Jets with important information. She had a haircut like a boy's and wore boy clothes. This could be a prejudice beyond having a girl in a gang, it could be that they have a prejudice against homosexuals, the fact that the stereotype of lesbians play a role in the character of Anybody's.There were little prejudices passed around in West Side Story. Some people saw through that, some people tried to stop that foolish behavior. Glad Hand, the administrator of the dance, he tried to get everybody to stop acting that way. Glad Hand made everybody split up across the room, and then whoever was directly across from each other danced together. Doc tried to stop the gangs from having the war council, he told them basically to grow up and stop their childishness. Doc and Glad Hand couldn't stop the fighting. Tony saw through the prejudice though, he loved one of the PR's and when the Jets found out, they were ashamed. Tony's love for Maria was so real, he didn't care what happened. He died.Prejudice plagues this world now and forever, as long as there is a difference in people there will discrimination and prejudice.

Best teacher Essay

My best teacher that I have had thus far in my academic teacher would have to be Elias Semaan. Professor Semaan taught the upper level Finance courses here at JMU and his intelligence as well as his passion captured my attention and made me want to absorb the knowledge that he was preaching. I had Professor Semaan my sophomore and junior year and he was great. He taught a difficult course, FIN 360 Analytical Methods in Finance but he made difficult concepts and equations seem easy by going through the logic behind them and why and how we use them. He added in humor to lighten the heavy load of the courses content and keep the class happy. He was also very creative and used his own little real world examples while explaining bigger critical concepts. Professor Semaan did an excellent job of keeping the class active and participating. He was open to the student’s opinion and always asked at the beginning of class if anyone was having trouble with anything in the course or had any questions, if they did we would discuss it as a class until everyone was caught up. At first I had difficultly grasping some of the concepts as I had switched my major from Management to Finance, but he sat down with me one on one in his office and walked me through any questions I had with clear cut explanations until I had them down. He used tests as assessments for the class and they were tough but fair. If you paid attention and did all your work, the problems would seem familiar and if you slacked off in class or did not attend it would show through the grade of his tests. He was not an easy teacher by any means and you had to work hard for a good grade but he made you want to succeed and motivated me to reach my full potential more than any other of my teachers had. I liked him so much in FIN 360 that the next year I took his other class, FIN 450 Financial Risk Management. I grew a close relationship with Professor Semaan as we shared stories, went over new and challenging concepts, and he served as a role model for me through my College career. Professor Semaan said I remind him of a younger version of himself and I take that as a great compliment. He is very intelligent, he received his PhD in Finance at George Washington University and has been teaching at a University level for over 10 years now. He is in his early 50s and has had a hard life with many ups and downs but continues to push forward and motivate his students to succeed and reach their highest potential. He is dedicated, ambitious, intelligent, funny, charismatic and strong-minded and I admire him and respect him tremendously as a person and mentor. He has made me want to put in all of my effort and work as hard as I have to until I understand what I am learning. He pushed me in the right direction and offers me priceless career information as to what paths to go into and how to make myself look good to employers. He even gave me his cell number to call him if I have any questions or problems at any time. He has my back and I respect him for all that he has done for me and all that he has accomplished throughout his life. I believe Professor Semaan’s teaching philosophy is to have his students maximize their learning potential and focus on their strengths to pick a career path where they will ultimately be happy as well as successful. He has done a great job abiding by his philosophy and has helped me through College and the job searching process. He held office hours by schedule and by appointment and was very flexible and would work with you and do whatever he had to ensuring that his students learned. He also pushed his students to succeed through his charisma and charm and worked one on one with students who went out of their way to learn. He was my best teacher and I feel very lucky that him and I were able to cross paths and establish such a great relationship as teacher/student, mentor/role model, and friends.

Intellectual Heritage Essay

Intellectual Heritage is one aspect in my life that I really value most. For one, this helped me in understanding things I wasn’t aware before. It also helped me in dealing with things I haven’t been conscious of like how diverse the philosophy of different people known world-wide are. I can say that this particular program, Intellectual Heritage, somehow made me think of something that I haven’t thought of before. The texts that we have dealt with are more of the Western texts which honestly have made me think of things that I wasn’t able to think before. In the book The Republic, Plato said, â€Å"They will never intentionally receive into their minds false-hood, which is their detestation, and they will love the truth†. This main particular text of Plato have made me think in a different way, in a sense that I had realization when that particular was discussed. Being truthful in different things is quite important because it is a fact universally acknowledged that no one wants deception. Before, I haven’t dealt with much importance on telling the whole truth, and that speaks for most of us, I guess. But after discussing the text in the book The Republic, I have become more sensitive of what lying or dishonesty will bring me. And I can proudly say that it will not and will never bring a positive impact or effect in us. Lying just made us capable of hurting other people. It just makes things complicated and help us not to build a healthy community, rather a decaying one. I began to realize that a lie wouldn’t help anyone in one way or the other. It breaks the bond that people have made without us being conscious of that fact. Moreover, even some of us are aware of the consequences it may bring but opted not to give any attention to that matter. Selfish people lie for their own benefits but what they don’t know is that it causes them to be destructed little by little. As Plato have said, it is a detestation to tell a lie not only for a certain person, but to the whole mankind for that matter. Truth undeniably is what people need. As for my learning, I have learned a lot but the topic about falsehood and truth has a biggest influence to me and definitely changed various perspectives in my life. And in that case, Intellectual heritage as a whole apparently gave me a big opportunity in thinking in a different way, in a way of realizing important matter that life brings yet usually disregarded. In line with the course Intellectual Heritage, I can say that I have experienced a variety of connections between Intellectual Heritage and another course, which is the Philosophy course. Although, Intellectual Heritage is a one of a kind course, I can say that it somehow has a connection in Philosophy because it also deal with different thoughts of different known persons in the world. In Philosophy, we are all aware that it tackles mainly on the philosophical thoughts certain people have. In fact, there are many known philosophical figures even at this point in time. Among others were Socrates and Plato. Socrates, as we all know is the teacher of Plato. Plato, on the other hand is the one who had great influence on Augustine, who was a major shaper of Christian theology. â€Å"A philosophy is a comprehensive system of ideas about human nature and the nature of the reality we live in. It is a guide for living, because the issues it addresses are basic and pervasive, determining the course we take in life and how we treat other people, (William Thomas)†. Basically, Intellectual Heritage and Philosophy deals with similar issues. In Philosophy, it primarily talks about the fundamental nature of existence, of man, and of man’s relationship to existence as a whole. In Intellectual Heritage on the other hand, it is somehow the same. Only, it deals with the main texts of the people who have dealt with the issues in the nature of existence, of man, and of man’s relationship to existence. Although the two courses differ in some way, I can say that it is both helpful in just the same way. It enhances and help me improve my line of thinking, in a sense that I am being critical with the things in my life. I can relate being critical in Philosophy in a way that whenever a certain philosopher has an idea, I first think deeply and asses his beliefs. In that way, I have the opportunity whether to agree with his ore her ideas or not. Intellectual Heritage on the other hand, somehow helped me in focusing intently with the texts presented to me. So as to speak, both of the courses, Intellectual Heritage and Philosophy have a connection in someway that it both benefited me in various ways, especially in the aspect of my critical thinking skills. In this semester, it is evident that we have dealt with many different texts in a rhetorical manner. As for me, I must admit that at first, I had a hard time dealing with this course because I’m not used to deal with rhetoric aspects of things, especially in the texts we have used in this course. But later on, I learned how to cope with the topics being discussed and came to know numerous lessons about the texts we have dealt with. As a whole, the things I learned from the experience of dealing with the rhetorical aspect of the texts discussed were all exceptional. I said that it is exceptional because honestly, the course made me think in ways I have never thought I would be able to. My line of thinking now differs in someway from the line of thinking I have now. I am more critical with the things being laid to me and felt happy about it. In this particular course, I have learned to read with more attention focused in the text I’m reading because deep focus is an evident requirement for this particular course. My reading skills were trained and was improved because of the approach of this course. Another is that I also came to know the essentials in demonstrating verbal argumentation. I realized that in order to survive an argument verbally, one must have a strong conviction in what you stand for. Being able to stand for what you believe in is a powerful evidence that you have a really strong will to win the argument. Also, demonstrating listening skills is one of the main learning I have acquired in this actual course. I learned to listen intently, carefully, keenly, and attentively. Listening skills is very important especially when dealing with the rhetorical aspect of the text because it will help you to understand better what the text is all about. The most essential thing that I have learned in this course is the demonstrating the skills in written communication. We are taught of the necessary things to consider to be able to expound our ideas in the written form and helped us build up our ability to communicate in written form. In general, the lessons I have learned in the experience of dealing in rhetorical aspects of the texts are that one must be able to the essential things in life such us being truthful, courageous, being fair, and the likes. I also learned to be keen in every detail of the texts I am reading so that I will not grasp the wrong idea from the text.

INVESTMENT PROJECT INFORMATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

INVESTMENT PROJECT INFORMATION - Essay Example Table 2: Table of the 52-Week High and Low Company 52 Week Low ($) 52 Week High ($) daily closing prices for each stock ($) Microsoft 24.30 32.95 26.95 Dell Computer 8.69 18.36 9.06 Apple Inc. 363.32 705.07 561.70 Coca Cola 32.37 40.67 37.39 Procter and Gamble 59.07 70.83 68.30 Toyota Motors 61.94 87.15 84.43 McDonald 83.31 102.22 86.01 IBM 177.06 211.79 190.29 III. Latest Press Release for the Eight chosen Companies Dell computers announced that they have been selected by MedRisk, one of the health care service providers to provide the support of the company’s application development, expansion of the infrastructural activities, and their security system as part of the 10-year deal agreement. Microsoft on the other hand announced pricing of $2.25 billion (senior unsecured notes). Which consist three trenches; $600 million due Nov. 2017, $750 million due Nov. 2022, and $900 due Nov 15, 2042. The proceeds Microsoft says will be used for corporate purposes. Apple Inc. Company af ter launching their fourth generation ipad in March announced selling three million of the product in three days (MarketWatch, 2012). The Coca Cola Company released their 125 years old secret formulae in Atlanta where they took the initiative to make one of the very many homes of Coca Cola in the world. The y shared their rich history in the Coca Cola industry for the last 125 years. Procter and gamble also hosted a meeting in Cincinnati with its analyst in which they provided the P&G results, the outlook of the fiscal year and specific growths and improvement on strategic productivity. The Toyota Motors company this November has also introduced a new product, the seven-seat Kluger (MarketWatch, 2012). The new vehicle has added features that cost $8,000 but this does not affect significantly the price as it retails at additional $2,300. McDonald in October this year announced the third quarter of the 2012 performance. In the announcement, the company realized higher revenues and sha re earnings compared to the previous year but the operating income was not improved. IBM recently signed an agreement to help the Indonesia’s Bank Ekonomi Raharja realize rapid growth. They agreed on the provision of infrastructural activities based on servers and storage of enterprise to enable the banks effectively serves the growing client’s base (MarketWatch, 2012). IV. General Information about the Companies Microsoft Company Microsoft’s company website is Microsoft .com. the chairperson of the company is Bill gates and the CEO is Steve Ballmer though Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded it. The company serves worldwide. Currently, the company’s employees stands at 94, 000, 2012 figures. The company revenues is as follows; total Revenue is US$ 73.72 billion, operating income is US$ 21.76 billion, Net income; US$ 16.97Â  billion while the total assets is US$ 121.2Â  billion (MarketWatch, 2012). The company’s home office is in Washington US, Micr osoft Redmond Campus in Redmond. With reference to the company’s products, they are ivied into divisions, which include server and tools, windows, Microsoft business, entertainment and devices and online services. Started in 1975, Microsoft prides of being one of the leading software developers in the world. Dell

The Differences between First Degress Murder, Second Degree Murder, Research Proposal

The Differences between First Degress Murder, Second Degree Murder, Third Degree Murder, Voluntary Manslaughter, and Involuntary - Research Proposal Example This paper examines the differences between the aforementioned categories of murder and manslaughter in addition to justifiable homicide. In United States, different states have various definitions for murder and manslaughter crimes. First-degree murder is considered as unlawful killing of a person by another with malice and premeditation (Milgate 199). To convict an offender for this crime, the court of law must prove that the perpetrator had planned or contemplated about committing the crime, had evil intent and conducted the crime with severe malice (Milgate 204). Under Illinois law, a person is guilty of committing first-degree murder if in undertaking the action fulfils one or all of the three conditions. The first condition is the intention to kill, cause severe bodily harm, or be ware that the action has the potential of causing death to a person or a group of people (The Legal Defenders). The second condition is that the person undertaking the action is knowledgeable that the act causes death or has the capacity to cause grievous bodily injury to the targeted individual. Finally, the third condition under Illinois law when a person is culpable of first degree murder is when he or she commits or attempt to commit a violent crime besides the second degree murder(The Legal Defenders). Under the Illinois law, a person is culpable for second degree murder if the action fulfils the definitions of first degree murder accompanied by one or both of the following conditions. First, the accused person should be acting out of intense emotions that originate from being provoked by another person leading to accidental death of the aggressor (The Legal Defenders). The second condition that a person could be liable for committing second degree murder under the Illinois law is unjustifiable use of force under the guise of self-defense (The Legal Defenders). According to Ressler et al (203), a person is justified to use force on another where there is sufficient reason to believe that the conduct of aggressor is likely to cause grievous bodily damage to him or another person. In situation where there is no sufficient reason to prove the existence of a serious threat presented by the killed person, the person who killed can be held liable for second degree murder. In most situat ions, second degree murders arise from spontaneous actions such as fights. The legal penalty for the crime is less severe than first degree murder (David, et al 305).