Discuss the impact of the global financial recession on our lives Essay

Discuss the impact of the global financial recession on our lives - Essay Example Most of the countries today are still under the influence of the global financial recession that occurred. Apart from affecting a nation as a whole, the global financial crisis had an impact on people at the individual level. Today, most individuals still suffer under the effects of the global financial recession that have persisted. Therefore, the global financial recession continues to have an impact on the lives of people today. A major impact of the recession is that many people lost their jobs. The economic recession had a negative impact on companies, including small and big companies. These companies were a major source of employment for many people. When the companies became bankrupt and others broke down as a result of the economic recession, they were forced to lay off their employees (McKibbin W. and Stoeckel 2009). Therefore, many people were faced with the problem of joblessness. Today, most companies still struggle to improve their financial health after the recession. For this reason, these employ few or no new employees, and they have reduced benefits for existing employees. Therefore, most employees continue to feel the pinch of the recession today. The global financial crisis also led to reduced access to credit. During the recession, many people were unable to access credit, including loans for their personal and commercial uses. This was mainly because the recession had a negative impact on the banking and financial institutions that provide credit. This therefore, put a limit on how fast individuals could grow their business and personal lives using credit. The recession forced financial institutions to raise their interest rates, and this discouraged borrowing. Today, since the effects of the global financial recession have persisted, the interest rates on borrowing in financial institutions have remained relatively high. Therefore, most people still feel discouraged to borrow, in order to expand their businesses or build homes, among

How Increase in Fuel Prices are Effecting the Airline Industry Essay

How Increase in Fuel Prices are Effecting the Airline Industry - Essay Example This paper illustrates that since the fuel cost is one of the major costs incurred by the airlines therefore, the continuous increase in the fuel prices for the last years has been very threatening for all airlines. The major impact of increase in fuel prices is reflected in the increasing operating expenses and operating losses of airlines. Even the airlines which have been able to survive during this turmoil through their aggressive hedging options could not make targeted revenues. The rise in fuel prices has not only influenced the airlines individually but it has also influenced the entire world airline industry. According to International Air Transport Association, the profits of airlines will reduce with the rise in oil prices. The net profit of airline industry will be $8.6 billion in 2011 as compared to $16 billion in 2010. Moreover, if the unrest situation in Libya and Middle East persists then oil prices will further increase which will negatively influence the airline indu stry. At individual level, all airlines have been incurring huge losses for the last few years. The United States Passenger Airlines Industry faced a total operating loss of $4.3 billion in first three quarters of year 2008. According to the report of Government Accountability Office, the price of jet fuel was the major operating expense in 2008 and the major contributor of loss in 2008. The fuel costs were 25 percent of the total expense of the airlines in the first three quarters of 2007 however, in the first three quarters of 2008, the fuel costs became 32 percent of the total expense. In the third quarter of 2008, when fuel prices increased by 60 percent as compared to 2007, seven smaller airlines stopped their operations and many entered into bankruptcy. Today, the rise in fuel prices is continuously harming the operations of airlines around the world. Air India, the national carrier of India is facing a loss of Rs. 600 crore a month. The monthly income of the airline is Rs. 1, 100 crore whereas; the expense of airline was Rs. 1,700 crore and the increase in fuel prices was the major factor for this loss. According to Bob Herbst of AirlineFinancial, if the fuel prices remain at $105 per barrel in 2011 then the major eight airlines of the United States will have to pay more than $9 billion on fuel costs as compared to 2010. Moreover, these airlines will have to improve their revenues to breakeven to avoid any operating loss. On the other hand, a few airlines are also reporting the profits despite the high fuel costs. Korean Air reported a net profit of $29 million in second quarter of 2011 as compared to a huge loss during the same period in 2010. The airline claims that despite the high fuel prices, the airline has been able to make profits in the second quarter of 2011. Interestingly, the increase in fuel prices has also provided significant benefits to few airlines like Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines had the advantage over its competitors because of its hedged fuel prices. The company had hedged 70 percent of its fuel consumption at $51 per barrel when other airlines were paying $135 per barrel. However, the airline will ultimately go under the impact of high fuel prices because in 2012, the airline will be having only 15 percent of its total fuel purchases at $63 per barrel.

The Fox And The Grapes

The Fox And The Grapes A fox on its countryside stroll rests for a picnic under a tree intertwined with grape fruits and crow tries stealing his food without success. The crow discovers that foxes love grapes and offers to give them to him on the condition that he surrenders his picnic lunch (White Rojo, p. 1911). The fox ponders and thinks that he can get the grapes himself. He tries to the best level, but fails and sustains pains in the process. Finally, he surrenders his picnic lunch and the crow calls his a sucker. The fox finally gets the grapes only to be disappointed that they were sour grapes. Analysis of the story The fox does not want to surrender his meal easily, and although he is interested in the grapes, he tries to reach them by himself. After failing, he dismisses them claiming that they were not what he really wanted. The story is ethical underling the daily life of man. The eager to earn or attain something important makes him to be creative and come up with different ways of reaching the goals. However, failing each time makes them to give up and dismiss the issue with an assumption that it was not important. The story provides a case of adaptive preferences, which falls under the social theory because of the important incident of utilitarianism. The decision theorists have given various arguments on the question of preference changes, majorly in terms of logic. The tenacity of the story bears the moral view that the desires of the people changes with the changes in their whims, which negates the fact that it should be a matter of social choice. The story provides two choices in the sphere of choice and preferences: the first one is being the act of trying (without success), and the second one being the act of walking away in frustration, but providing a defensive excuse. The story also provides an appropriate stage for the analysis of attitude, their development, their role on decision making and acting, and their changes in classical situations. Rationalization on the basis of possibility becomes the basis of reasoning when one faces a choice among several alternatives. The consequences of the options that are available under the influence of the facts about the options at hand determine the direction of rationalization towards coming to the conclusion about the action. This makes the story tenable among the other stories. For instance, the fox considers several options for reaching the grapes by himself, which he fails before dismissing them as sour (Vicki, 1). The frustrations about the world inculcate several views about the world in man. The choices of actions are determined by the available options and the consequences of each action, as expressed in the story of the sour grapes. The fox has options, but considers trying to reach the grapes before easily handing in his lunch to the crow for assistance. Nevertheless, the fox ends up losing; hence, making it obvious that not all options taken end up positively. In the real world, the changes in the utility expectations may occur majorly for two reasons in the choice of actions. The first reason for utility change is the change in the playerà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s belief about the world. This is the case of the fox and the sour grapes. Having tried his level best without success to get the grapes, the fox changes his view about the grapes, signifying a change in the view of the world; hence leading to a change in the belief about the preference. The second possible reason for a utility change may be because of the expected consequence of the change in the utility. The sour grapesà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ story becomes the center of a debate in the utilitarianism theory of choice and preferences. The story illustrates that it is not just about the belief change but also a change in the utility choice. The utilities of the members of the society may not be stable, but the theory of utilitarianism relies upon the social utilities; hence, the theory is weakened if the utilities are unstable. This viewpoint challenges the tenacity of the story in a way that the utilities change and determine the actions, rather than the changes in the beliefs as the case of the fox and his beliefs about the grapes. Parable of the cave This story presents a metaphor of knowledge and ignorance. Plato was ardent about knowledge, and in the story, he gives the reader a vivid imagination of the prisoners who could only see shadows on the wall. The prisoners did not know anything since they had seen nothing; hence, they thought it was real. This presents ignorance prevailing at the expense of knowledge. Plato assumes that the ignorant perception of knowledge among the prisoners may cause the brain to move to a higher level of reasoning because the prisoners had no perception of right or wrong, and true and false. The writer, Plato, aims at depiction of not only ways of thinking, but also on the different ways of living. Derlin (46) writes that the understanding of a life concept, for instance, courage, may differ in each stage of living. Interpretation of different aspects of life in the imagination stage of life may only accrue to the personà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s notion of the images from a cultural point of view. Imagination leads to formation of perceptions, which guide individualà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s perceptions of situations. This does not depend on the available knowledge, rather on the formation of images from the cultural perspective. The story, therefore, bases on the stage of thought and definition of concepts in life, especially the concept of courage, for instance, Socrates defines it as the awareness of something that should be feared and what should not be feared (Biffle 76). However, an individual speaking or offering the definition from thought rather than reality is the fact that the person may not offer information to the viewers about the form of the concept under definition. Therefore, knowledge is undermined because a definition that does not offer the form of the good does not illuminate the understanding; hence revealing the satirical and metaphoric aspect of the story. In conclusion, the two stories outline human perceptions in terms of knowledge, attitudes and ignorance. The first story provides the ground for understanding human attitude changes and the underlying circumstances while the second story provides an illustration regarding knowledge and ignorance that are founded on perceptions of images. The story revolves around the ignorant prisoners in a cave having only been exposed to shadows and perceiving them as real. The images lead to perceptions of what they had not seen, but imagined; hence guided by ignorance. The other story, the sour grapes informs of the changes in attitudes basing on the consequences of the actions that the fox undertakes. According to the fox, the utility of the grapes became irrelevant after the unsuccessful attempts to reach them. This implies that the preferences and choices of actions in life depends on the perceptions of the consequences and the success of the attempts. It also applies to the story of the parable of the cave where the perceptions are only dependent on the extent to which the imaginations play trick in the minds of the prisoners. This implies that the perceptions of thoughts are influenced majorly by the images formed; which eventually influences ignorance and eludes it for knowledge. Knowledge is created dependent of the perceptions of the images presented to the mind. According to Plato, the mind creates its perceptions depending on what is presented to it is all situations. The two texts border on human perceptions in terms of utility, preferences, perceptions and attitudes. The sour grapes takes a look at perceptions and utility and their effects of preferences, while the parable of the cave centers on perceptions and their effects on knowledge and ignorance. Work cited Biffle, Christopher. The Allegory of the Cave. A guided tour of five works by Plato: with complete translations of Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo (The death scene), and Allegory of the Cave. 3rd ed. Mountain View, Calif.: Mayfield Pub. Co., 2001. 76. Print. Sauter, Vicki L. Systems Analysis Fables. University of Missouri-St. Louis. Version 1. UM-St. Louis, 12 Mar. 2004. Web. 6 May 2013. . Taylor, Derlin. The Parable of the Cave. Parable of the cave. S.l.: Iuniverse Inc., 2009. 46. Print. White, Mark, and Sara Rojo. The Fox and the Grapes. The fox and the grapes: a retelling of Aesops fable. Minneapolis, MN: Picture Window Books, 2004. 1909-1914. Print.

Analogy of Poetry Essay

The poem There Is Another Sky by Emily Dickinson was a poem written for her brother Austin. Emily uses nature to explain the message she is trying to provide for him. The poem provides a hopeful and positive feeling. The poem is full of optimism and inspiration. The pint of the poem is to provide encouragement and offer guidance. The lines â€Å"Here is a brighter garden† and â€Å"And there is another sunshine† demonstrate the optimism she is trying to portray. There are no stanzas or major events in the poem. The order that the aspects of nature are presented in provides. The last few lines of the poem further enhance the message. The poem ends with an open invitation for Austin to leave his gloomy state. Dickinson shows a sincere concern while providing inspiration for both the readers and her brother. She describes a utopia throughout the poem and uses words to describe a better place such as serene, fair, brighter, and unfading. The title there is another sky provides the since that there is an alternative option instead of a consistent negative outlook on life. There is a change in tone after the dash. Before the dash Dickinson states that there is a negative place and recognizes that everything in life doesn’t always work in your favor. She also uses â€Å"there is† creating distance. After the dash Dickinson implies that there in fact is another sky. She uses â€Å"here is† which implies that she can provide a better situation. Knowing that the poem is for her brother almost obligates you to feel sympathy for him and makes her message even stronger. Overall, Emily is trying to say that entering a new mind set and believing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel can provide you with a new attitude.

John Corvino and Glenn Stanton on Same Sex Marriage Essay

Same sex relationships have been a controversial issue now in 21st century and marriage is coming along the way. In the United States, when the issue of same sex marriage was brought up, many homosexuals are in a hurry to marry and become actual parents with legislative support but many states banned it. As a result, numerous gay activists and supporters battle in a debate for same sex marriage. John Corvino, gay activist, and Glenn Stanton, researcher and staff of Focus on the Family, have been travelling in the country and passionately fighting for the acceptance of gay marriage and parenting. In John Corvino’s Same Sex: Debating the Ethics, Science and Culture of Homosexuality, he presented different views from theologians, scientists, philosophers, historians, and lesbian and gay scholars. He showed a bigger picture of what is homosexuality, what is its history, and what are the factors that influence or hindrance it. In one of the chapters under Science and Identity, the possible biological origins of homosexuality are explained. Sexual orientation, as many argued is affected by biological foundations but is not merely determined by it but also but experiential factors. Many studies have implied results that some individuals are born with homosexual brains while others’ sexuality is later modified through experience. However, being homosexual should not about the lack of choice or heredity but of gay and lesbian rights in key areas: justice, privacy, equality, and liberty (Corvino 111). On Marriage on Trial: The Case Against Same Sex Marriage and Parenting, Glenn Stanton together with Bill Maier—another staff of Focus on the Family and also a child and family psychologist presented a strong argument on why same sex marriage should be allowed as a right for homosexuals. The two authors specifically designed the book as â€Å"equipping manual† or a defence toll to enable gays and lesbians in responding and reasoning to defend same-sex marriage (Stanton and Maier 9). The manual provided â€Å"accurate information† about homosexuality on how to answer the questions that may gay people are looking for. Questions such as â€Å"What’s wrong with letting homosexuals marry? ,† â€Å"How would homosexuals threaten other families? ,† and â€Å"Wouldn’t gay marriage make for a more open and equitable society? † are aimed to answer and guide same-sex couples into fighting for their right and actually having their families by understanding the nature of homosexuality first and by learning its historical evidences. Both authors fight for the same cause but used different attacks. Corvino presented a more wide and critical information through science and ethics without mixing the two. Although many studies revealed that sexuality is developed by genetics or experience, it is still an inconclusive matter since no one has ever seen how sexual orientation is represented on the brain. Corvino provided its readers such integrity, passion, and rationality by not mixing science and religion or to simply conclude that gays and lesbians become who they are due to violence they experience from gay community. Its approach to same sex marriage is not limited to debate and arguments by wide array of information such as its history, psychology, family, religion, and legality. Stanton, on the other hand, encourages and empowers gays and lesbians to fight for same-sex marriage not merely because they want to but because it is their right to marry and have a family as human beings. He gave sound political statements that could uplift the spirit of its readers and he also debunked the numerous myths about gays such as genetics, lifestyle, and threats. Both authors have provided arguments that are strong and critical assessment of sex-marriage and homosexuality without overly becoming biased on gays and lesbians. Works Cited Corvino, John. Same Sex: Debating the Ethics, Science and Culture of Homosexuality. Rowman and Littlefield, 1999. Stanton, Glenn and Maier, Bill. Marriage on Trial: The Case Against Same Sex Marriage and Parenting. InterVarsity Press, 2004.

Capital Punishment The Death Penalty - 931 Words

Capital punishment, commonly known as the death penalty, is one of the most controversial subjects that divides the nation. When, why, and how did this barbaric practice begin? Understanding the history of capital punishment, the methods used, and the con’s of this immoral act will prove this form of punishment should be forever abolished! First, in order to understand how morally wrong capital punishment is, we must understand the history of this practice. According to www.deathpenaltyinfo.com, â€Å"the first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon.† During that unforgiving time, almost every crime was punished by execution. To be more specific, the site goes on†¦show more content†¦The crime this man committed was spying for Spain. Most executions, at that time were considered public. In an article, â€Å"The Death Penalty: An American History,† written by Ferrall, Bard R, it is stated that â€Å"Execution was highly public and was regarded as a function performed by the people and the community.† This means all men, women, and even children were witnesses. Thankfully, it was finally decided that executions should be only carried out in private! During the 19th century, Pennsylvania became the first state t o move executions into the privacy of a correctional facility. Currently, there are two commonly used methods of execution that are the go to for the death penalty. These methods include the electric chair and lethal injection. Richard Cavendish’s article, published in History Today, Volume 65 (2015), it is stated that â€Å"the electric chair was invented by employees at Thomas Alva Edison’s works at West Orange, New Jersey in the late 1880s†. Apparently, Edison was embarrassed and â€Å"wanted to see capital punishment abolished altogether†.(Cavendish, 2015) If the creator of this form of punishment was embarrassed of it, why aren’t we? He goes on to say the first victim was actually a horse, which is also immoral, but the poor animal was just a test subject. The first human being to be executed by electrocution, on August 6th, 1890, was William Kemmler for murder. Now, most states have switched to lethal

Greg Lynn, Binary Large Objects, and Blob Architecture

Blob architecture is a type of wavy, curvy building design without traditional edges or traditional symmetric form. It is made possible by computer-aided-design (CAD) software. American-born architect and philosopher Greg Lynn (b. 1964) is credited with coining the phrase, although Lynn himself claims the name comes from a software feature that creates Binary Large Objects. The name has stuck, often disparagingly, in various forms, including blobism, blobismus, and blobitecture. Examples of Blob Architecture These buildings have been called early examples of blobitecture: Selfridges Department Store (pictured on this page) in Birmingham, United KingdomGuggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain (designed by Frank Gehry)Xanadu Houses in Kissimmee, FloridaThe Sage Gateshead in Newcastle, UK (designed by Norman Foster)Admirant Entrance Building in Eindhoven, Netherlands (designed by Massimiliano Fuksas)Galaxy SOHO in Beijing, China (designed by Zaha Hadid)The Experience Music Project (EMP) in Seattle, Washington (designed by Frank Gehry) CAD Design on Steroids Mechanical drawing and drafting changed radically with the advent of desktop computing. CAD software was one of the very first applications to be used in offices transitioning to personal computer workstations in the early 1980s. Wavefront Technologies developed the OBJ file (with the .obj file extension) to geometrically define three-dimensional models. Greg Lynn and Blob Modeling Ohio-born Greg Lynn came of age during the digital revolution. The term Blob modelling was a module in Wavefront software at the time, says Lynn, and it was an acronym for Binary Large Object — spheres that could be collected to form larger composite forms. At the level of geometry and mathematics, I was excited by the tool as it was great for making large-scale single surfaces out of many small components as well as adding detailed elements to larger areas. Other architects who were the first to experiment with and use blob modeling include the American Peter Eisenman, British architect Norman Foster, Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas, Frank Gehry,  Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher, and Jan Kaplickà ½ and Amanda Levete. Architectural movements, such as the 1960s Archigram led by architect Peter Cook or the convictions of the deconstructionists, are often associated with blob architecture. Movements, however, are about ideas and philosophy. Blob architecture is about a digital process — using mathematics and computer technologies to design. Mathematics and Architecture Ancient Greek and Roman designs were based on geometry and architecture. Roman architect Marcus Vitruvius observed relationships of human body parts — the nose to the face, the ears to the head — and documented the symmetry and proportion. Todays architecture is more calculus-based using digital tools. Calculus is the mathematical study of changes. Greg Lynn argues that since the Middle Ages architects have used calculus — the Gothic moment in architecture was the first time that force and motion was thought of in terms of form. In Gothic details such as ribbed vaulting you can see that the structural forces of the vaulting get articulated as lines, so youre really actually seeing the expression of structural force and form. Calculus is also a mathematics of curves. So, even a straight line, defined with calculus, is a curve. Its just a curve without inflection. So, a new vocabulary of form is now pervading all design fields: whether its automobiles, architecture, products, etc., its really being affected by this digital medium of curvature. The intricacies of scale that come out of that — you know, in the example of the nose to the face, theres a fractional part-to-whole idea. With calculus, the whole idea of subdivision is more complex, because the whole and the parts are one continuous series. —  Greg Lynn, 2005 Todays CAD has enabled the building of designs that were once theoretical and philosophical movements. Powerful BIM software now allows designers to visually manipulate parameters, knowing that Computer Aided Manufacturing software will keep track of the building components and how they are to be assembled. Perhaps because of the unfortunate acronym used by Greg Lynn, other architects such as  Patrik Schumacher have coined a new word for new software — parametricism. Books by and About Greg Lynn Folds, Bodies Blobs: Collected Essays by Greg Lynn, 1998Animate Form by Greg Lynn, 1999Composites, Surfaces, and Software: High Performance Architecture, Greg Lynn at the Yale School of Architecture, 2011Visual Catalog: Greg Lynns Studio at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, 2010IOA Studios. Zaha Hadid, Greg Lynn, Wolf D. Prix: Selected Student Works 2009, Architecture is PornographyOther Space Odysseys: Greg Lynn, Michael Maltzan and Alessandro Poli, 2010Greg Lynn FORM by Greg Lynn, Rizzoli, 2008 Sources Greg Lynn - Biography, European Graduate School website at www.egs.edu/faculty/greg-lynn/biography/ [accessed March 29, 2013]Greg Lynn on calculus in architecture, TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design), February 2005, https://www.ted.com/talks/greg_lynn_on_organic_designPhoto of The Sage by Paul Thompson/Photolibrary Collection/Getty Images