Reflecting On Judaism As A Christian - 975 Words

Reflecting on Judaism as a Christian As I have learned about my Christian faith, I have always wondered why Christianity does not fall more in line with the Judaism, their traditions, and their celebration of their festivals. The Bible calls the Israelites God’s chosen people, and throughout the Old Testament He shows His love for them by the way He led them by a pillar of smoke by day and by a pillar of fire at night. Comparing the old covenant to the new covenant, the Bible says â€Å"not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by their hands to lead them out of the land of Egypt. I disregarded them, says the Lord, because they did not continue in My covenant† (Hebrews 8:9, Holman Christian Standard Bible), then states in Hebrews 8:10 â€Å"But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and the y will be My people†. These verses answered some of the questions on why Christianity didn’t follow the same traditions as in Judaism religion. While comparing the Old Testament to the New testament it becomes clear why Christians are different. One of the major problems is that we assume to understand Judaism, is we believe and read the Old Testament, in our journey to become stronger in our own relationship with Jesus Christ. Another misunderstanding is that as a Christian, we think that they need to have a savior.Show MoreRelatedJudaism Vs. Christianity And Judaism1303 Words   |  6 PagesSherri Hollingsworth Archie Fugate ANT 130, 75Z1 November 10, 1015 Judaism vs. Christianity Christianity and Judaism are two religions that have similarities as well as differences. I plan to explore beliefs, religious ceremonies, and religious authorities in both Christianity and Judaism. 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The Arabic word Islam which means â€Å"submission,† reflecting the faith s central tenet of submitting to the will of God (Islam). Muslims are the followers of Islam. Christianity’s is one of the most influential religions in history. It’s based on the teachings of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. Based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ approximately 2,000 years ago. This religion rooted from a small sect of Judaism during the first century in ancient Israel (Islam). Christian ityRead MoreA Brief Note On The Union Of Marriage1422 Words   |  6 Pagespracticing them do so with complete liberty and freedom. We are exploring the main forms of marriage. We will put the theme of marriage in the context of the other readings. Finally, we will include a further study on the theme of marriage while reflecting on the character and religious reasons behind them. Monogamy is a type of marriage that is widely spread and very popular. Almost every community practice this form of marriage union. A monogamous marriage refers to the form of marriage where twoRead MoreEssay on Matthews Christology1423 Words   |  6 Pages Matthew’s Christology is one that emphasises to a Jewish audience the Jewishness of Jesus. It will be the purpose of this paper to argue that the raison d’etre of Matthew’s Christology is to portray Jesus as entirely compatible if not with the Judaism of his day then with ancient Judaic tradition, namely the Old Testament. Whilst there are numerous titles given to Jesus that are exclusive/predominant within the Matthean account, such as that of Son of God, it is the writer’s assertion that theseRead MoreDifferent Religions, Different Practices, And One Aim Of Righteousness846 Words   |  4 Pagesdifferences they also share some common ground. Christians believe in the Trinity, which means that God has 3 forms: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. With Christianity having about 2.4 billion adherents known as Christians, it is the world’s largest religion. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God, who is fully divine and human, is the savior of humanity whose coming as Christ or the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. In the Christian Bible, the Old Testament is written about in theRead MoreThe Principle Teachings About Peace in Judaism and Christianity1971 Words   |  8 Pagesscripture and a variety of sources the principle teachings about peace in Judaism and Christianity and how these teachings impact on the life of each adherent’s tradition, as a means of achieving inner peace. Living and perpetuating a life of peace are central to the Christian and Jewish religious expressions. The teachings of peace which underpin both Christianity and Judaism are existent in their sacred texts; The Bible for Christians, The Torah and Mishnah Torah for Jewish adherents. Albeit peace isRead MoreDifferences Between Islam And Christianity941 Words   |  4 PagesAngel. Muslim’s believe in God, Angels, Prophets of Adam, Abraham, Moses and David. Also, the acceptance there will be a last day, the divine measurement of human affairs, and belief of the after life; Allah represents the word of God. (Christian answers, 2016) Christian religion was born in Palestine, in a small land on the Eastern Mediterranean sea. A promised land considered by the Jews due to, its location it was ruled by a succession of foreign powers. Throughout history, Egypt and Assyria foughtRead MoreUnderstanding Islam1309 Words   |  6 Pagesquoting a medieval Christian emperor’s descripti on of Islam as â€Å"evil and inhuman.† Remarks such as these can go such a long way especially with radical leaders making these insensitive comments. These comments support the aforesaid notions on how society acts as a whole when viewing an outside culture. Being part of the Jewish religion and all that its culture entails, I can relate to the Muslims’ struggle against prejudice. In the United States, 78.6 percent of the nation is Christian (Religious LandscapeRead MoreReligion Is An Arrangement Of Confidence And Love Essay2055 Words   |  9 Pagesdeath. What is a monotheistic religion? This one word is defined as believing in the existence of one god or in the oneness of God. Monotheism shows the traditions of Bà ¡bism, Cao Dai (Caodaism), Cheondoism (Cheondogyo), Christianity, Deism, Islam, Judaism, all believing in just one God. In our society you can voice your concerns, opinions and state your beliefs as to which religion you need to or want to serve. Religion is the confidence in and love of a superhuman controlling power, considerably a

Rebel W/out A Cause Essay - 871 Words

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Rebel Without A Cause is a movie about three troubled, identity-seeking teenagers alienated from the world of their parents (Jim Stark, Judy, and Plato). Each of the movie’s main characters is searching for understanding, companionship, and a sense of belonging, much like most of the teenagers today. Even thought the movie is dated, it depicts the main problems and concerns that teens currently face. This film offers no answers. It merely presents the problems and the viewer is left to ponder how theyll turn out. I could identify with this movie on many levels. And I think that much of the young audiences out there could as well.†¦show more content†¦The reason for this desire is because he feels the need to belong and interact. As a result, he changes his style of dressing to assimilate with the others. Nowadays the majority of the teenagers also feel the urge to comply with the various standards of a certain group to save them from alienation. A perfect example of such a case is clearly visible in the way the majority of teenagers today dress alike. Most of them state that it’s a matter of fashion and style and others say that they just want to be different. The fact of the matter is that the phenomenon of peer-pressure is involved one way or another. What teenagers do not realize is that they all end-up dressing the same exact way as the others, because the others want to be different too. On the other hand, the peer-pressure that teens face today is much more fierce and vicious than the one faced by teens in the 50’s. In our every day life peer-pressure induces teenagers to do drugs and alcohol, sex, and even criminal acts such as vandalism and murder. There are scenes in Rebel Without A Cause such as: kids shooting police officers, kids getting into fights with weapons, kids talking back to their parents and getting slapped in the face, kids running away, and kids not understan ding that they will be able to look back ten years from now and say, â€Å"How stupid of me!† The same types of scenes occur today, but the only difference is that they are beingShow MoreRelatedCuban Revolution: Success or Failure? Essay1466 Words   |  6 Pagesoverturning Batistas regime and would immediately lose power of the island and the second that they would fail and aside from being imprisoned or executed, at least they would get their cause known throughout Cuba (Goldston). It did not matter to them whether or not they would succeed. They were prepared to die in pursuit (W). When Castro and his followers began their mission, Batistas private police and army soon discovered them. The group was then imprisoned in a small island. 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A Night In The Rain Essay Example For Students

A Night In The Rain Essay There he stood, in amazement, gazing at, what a few moments ago, had been his ticket to freedom. Then flash, in the blink of an eye, the world was turned upside down. When I finally got myself together I was laying about 20 feet from the wreckage. I stood up and in front of me lay tons of graceful carnage strung across the field like a satin sheet after a restless night. Fire was everywhere illuminating the night with its delicate destruction. I could see through its glow about four or five train cars flung off of the tracks in such a matter that to the unknowing it would have looked like they had been placed for a special scene. Yet this was not the case for the victims of its random wrath. Scraps of tin and other metals of various makes had been coated to the surrounding forest. The night had been long and full of happiness. The concierge party had been attended by all of the of the most refined and had been an event of memorable proportions; however, compared next to the scene of silence with which I was now being forced to open up to it was just a ripple in an infinite pond. The sounds of the night had even been silenced. Not a chirp, a howl, nor any voices of and recognizable strength emanated for the attending darkness. I sat there in amazement for what seemed to be an eternity gazing at the beautiful bloodshed. Then out of the depth, darkness and despair that had so totally consumed me, there was the sound of a lone being. A howl that seemed to illuminate my soul with the hope of continuation. I turned and looked only to see a scene that I had only imagined lived in the fairy tales, and movies of our imagination. A lone white wolf perched on a cliff with only the stars behind him and the fire behind me shining upon his gracefulness. Then in an instant the flashback of it all slapped me. I dont really understand what totally happened. All that I could pull up into my conscientiousness was a few sparks and then nothing. My only guess at that moment was that something had either been placed on or had fallen onto the tracks and derailed us. But as I stood there and watched the earth burn with agony, I found it terrible hard to imagine that something as small as that could cause something that will cause so much pain, misery, and hatred.Bibliography:

The Effect of Corporate Governance Mechanism on the Quality of Earnings Among Nigeria Money Banks in Nigeria free essay sample

This paper examines whether corporate governance mechanism variable – Board Size, Board Composition, Ownership Concentration, Institutional Shareholders, Dividend Payment, Firm Size have significant impact on the quality of earnings of Nigerian deposit money banks as measured by modified (McNicols and Wilson, 1998), (Gred and Clarke, 2004) and (Chang, 2008) model of specific industry discretionary accruals as against (Dichow and Dichev, 2002), though widely accepted but is hardly industry specific. Secondary data are extracted from the annual reports of 15 banks that form the sample of the study within the period between 2006-2011. Multiple regression was used as a tool for analysis. The result reveals that corporate governance mechanisms affects earnings quality of Nigerian money deposits banks. All the corporate governance examined are positive except for the control variable firm size signifying that none of the explanatory variables is inversely related to quality of earnings amongst Nigerian money deposits banks. It is therefore recommended that amongst others that shareholders of Nigerian DMBs to ensure the inclusion of about 50% outside directors in the board and ensuring a good quantum of both institutional and block holders in the equity holdings of the banks. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effect of Corporate Governance Mechanism on the Quality of Earnings Among Nigeria Money Banks in Nigeria or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Keywords: Earnings, Discretionary, accruals, manipulation, monitoring, quality. Introduction The rising number of corporate failures, scandals and crises such as Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing, HIH Insurance, Ansett, Pan Pharmaceuticals, Lever Brothers, Cadbury, and Afri bank has precipitated the growing interest on the governance structures of firms by academics, practitioners, the investment community, regulatory agencies, policy makers, national and multilateral government bodies and host of other stakeholders (Tsegba, 2011). Corporate governance is about building credibility, ensuring transparency and accountability as well as maintaining an effective channel of information disclosure that would foster good corporate performance (Matama, 2008). Income smoothing and earnings quality popularly called earnings management can be regarded as two of the attractive and challenging issues in studies related to accounting because investors pay attention to amount of income as an important factor in decision making. It has long been recognized that financial statements play an important role in assessing managers’ performance by the board of directors outside investors and external regulators. It is therefore, not unlikely that managers will manipulate financial reports in order to produce a good image of themselves and the firms that they manage (Shehu and Abubakar, 2012). There are a lot of qualitative empirical studies exist on the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and earnings quality. However, quantitative studies supporting the existence of a link between corporate governance mechanisms and earnings quality are relatively scanty and inconclusive. Besides the scanty nature of quantitative literature, most of the existing ones are more concerned about the overall quality of corporate governance mechanisms rather than particular features or practices of such governance. In addition, most of the studies are cross-sectional in nature. There is none of these studies that examine either the overall or particular features of corporate governance mechanisms and earnings quality of the banking industry in isolation. The peculiar and sensitive nature of the banking industry as well as the reforms it has continued to undergo indicates the need for special attention. This study attempts to address that omission by examining the effect of corporate governance mechanisms on the earnings quality of Nigerian money deposit banks. The relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and earnings quality is important to the extent that good corporate governance builds confidence in the minds of existing and potential investors as well as other stakeholders of a bank. This in turn creates confidence in the banking industry. The implications of these on the economy as a whole are also obvious. Economic growth will be more sustainable, capital market will be boosted and become more developed and an egalitarian and corrupt-free society will be built. All these are essential for sustained economic growth and development. This study also contributes to the growing body of quantitative research on corporate governance and earnings management. The spate of well publicized corporate failures around the world call for high-quality financial reporting, which gives a proper record of stewardship, provides details of real costs of services and in which the informed individual can have confidence. Moreover, the recent number game amongst banks in Nigeria raises additional concern on the need for financial reports that meet today’s requirements (Bello, 2005). Earnings management involves the manipulation of earnings by companies using financial statement elements that are largely at the discretion of the managers to achieve divergent personal goals. These elements are peculiar to industries depending on their nature of operations and external regulatory framework. Researchers such as (Dockery and Herbert, 2000); (La Porta, Lopez-de-Silanes, (Yakasai, 2001); (Detomasi, 2002); (Fort and Schipani, 2003); (Bai, Liu, Lu, Song and Zhang, 2005); (Barako and Tower, 2006); (Achua, 2007); (Okike, 2007) and (Shehu and Abubakar, 2012) have identified that accruals arising from depreciation are used to manipulate earnings in manufacturing companies, claim loss reserve in insurance and loan loss provision in banking. Loan losses has been identified as one of the most important factors that lead to bank failures and its provision has a direct impact on reported earnings (Grey and Clarke, 2004). The issue of earnings quality arises because financial reports may incorporate adverse information about future cash flows in a more or less timely fashion (Francis et al, 2003). According to (Ball and Shivakumar, 2002), earnings quality is about timely loss recognition that requires estimates of future cash flows from assets or outflows for liabilities. In (Basu’s, 1997) view, accountants have tendency to require a higher degree of verification to recognize good news as gains than to recognize bad news as losses. He consequently relates earnings quality to the accounting concept of conservatism, which supposes that earnings reflect ‘bad news’ more quickly than ‘good news’. In theory, one measure of earnings quality is the relation between current accruals and cash flow (Jindrichovska and Kuo, 2000). Thus, prior researches document an association between earnings pattern and earnings quality (Hunt et al, 2000; Francis et al, 2003). Relating this measure to banking, earnings quality becomes a function of DLLP and earnings pattern. Accordingly, banks with abnormal DLLP are considered as having low quality earnings while banks with normal DLLP are deemed to have high earnings quality. Incidentally, there also, exists an inverse relation between smooth and increasing earning pattern and earnings quality: the higher the smooth earning pattern the lower the earnings quality (Francis et al, 2003). Shehu and Abubakar, 2011) opined that loan loss provision is an expense on the income statement which signifies managers’ assessment of expected future losses. This means that an increase in loan loss provision reduces net income, while a fall in loan losses increase net income. Since it is the result of managers’ assessment of the likely loss that the company would incure should the borrower fail to repay his obligations as at when due, the provision for it is considered to have two (2) p ortions: non-discretionary and discretionary portions. Non-discretionary is a function of specific quality determinants in the loan portfolio- non-accrual loans, renegotiated loans, loans past due over 90 days, specific analyses on troubled large credits, usually implying internal grading system. This means that the non-discretionary portion is the provision that is based on fair and objective analyses of the firm’s economic conditions. While the discretionary portion are those accruals that largely depend on the outcome of the managers’ future expectations of uncertain events. The components of it are both quantitative and qualitative. Grey and Clarke (2004) pointed that the qualitative components include political, economic, geographical and political factors, while the quantitative are statistical analyses of loans not individually analyzed for special reserve and therefore are largely at the discretion of managers. The reasons why banks manipulate earnings are supported by three arguments of signaling argument, income smoothing or earnings quality argument and capital management argument (Zhou and Chen, 2004). The signaling argument suggests that banks use discretionary loan loss provision to insinuate that earnings will be high in subsequent periods (Wahlen, 1994: Liu and Ryan, 1995: Beaver and Engel, 1996). Contrary to the signaling argument, earnings quality argument holds that managers increase the provision for loan losses in periods when earnings are high, under the assumption of income smoothing (Beatty, Chamberlain amp; Moglio, 1995: Collins, Shacklford amp; Wahlen, 1995: Rivard, Bland amp; Morris, 2003). This implies that earnings quality in this area improves bank’s cash flows, capital adequacy, market value and overall performance. While the capital management argument suggests that since increase in loan loss provision increases regulatory capital, management exercises discretion over its provision (Ahmed, Takeda amp; Thomas 1999, Beatty et al. , 1995). Regardless of the industry and the strings attached, managers’ discretionary behavior to achieve personal gains undermines the shareholders’ wealth maximization objective of the firm. Consequently, therefore, this paper examines the influence of corporate governance mechanisms on the quality of earnings among Nigerian Deposit Money Banks (DMBs). In order to achieve this, it is posited that corporate governance mechanisms- board size, board composition, ownership concentration; audit committee, institutional shareholding and dividend have no significant impact on quality of earnings among Nigerian DMBs. It is the constant fear in the banking industry in spite of introduction of new code of corporate governance to enhance the efficiency of the industry practices, and the recognition of the use of discretion by bank managers as well as earnings manipulation that make this work apt and imperative. This study contributes to the sparse of literature that studied the relationship between corporate governance and earnings quality. It also extended to the financial firms by raising and discussing issues on corporate governance mechanism and earnings quality of banks using discretionary loans loss provision in the circumstance of emerging economies like Nigeria. The paper is structured as follows. Section two reviews related literature on corporate governance mechanisms and earnings quality and theoretical framework. Section three is methodology and model specification. In section four, the results and findings of the study are presented and discussed. Finally, section five deals with conclusion and recommendations. 2. 1 Literature Review and Theoretical Framework Literature on corporate governance and quality of earnings is reviewed. Specifically the study concentrates on governance mechanisms of dividend, audit committee, board size, board composition, ownership concentration and institutional shareholding. The theoretical framework that underpins the study is then presented and supported. Earnings quality as the altering of financial statements through the use of judgment in structuring transactions to either mislead the firm’s stakeholders about the true economic picture of the firm or to achieve some contractual benefit that is based on accounting numbers (Healy and Wahlen, 1999). (Schipper, 1989), opined that earnings quality is the deliberate intervention in financial reporting process to achieve personal goals. Earnings quality is the manipulation of financial statement by managers, using accounting choices, estimates and methods, to achieve some objectives that are largely in conflict with the underlying economic status of the firm. Different incentives to manage earnings are widely discussed in the literature, (Bhat, 1996), linked it to the attempt to enhance shareholders’ value and to maximize executive compensation through income smoothing and earnings quality respectively. Income smoothing, occasional big bath, living for today and maximization of variability are identified by (Koch amp; Wall, 2000). (Chang et al. 008) note three incentives to manage earnings: capital market motivation, which includes initial public offerings, seasoned equity offerings, management buoyant plans and plans for mergers to meet earnings forecast, to smooth earnings, management compensation motivation, debt agreement or job security and laws and regulations such as import regulation, antitrust laws, also can serve as incentives. Managers use discretionary accruals for opportunistic earnings quality (Cornet et al. 2009) by attaining some level of performance and affecting stock prices to enhance managers’ wealth through restricted stock returns. . 1. 1 Board Size and Earning Management There are a lot of empirical researches that have documented that board size is related to earning management. The evidence on the role of board size is inconclusive. Yermack (1996) and Eisenberg, Sundgren, and Wells (1998) demonstrate that smaller boards are associated with manipulative accounting. In the analysis of 131 different study-samples with a combined sample size of 20,620 observations (Dalton, Daily, Johnson and Ellstrand (1999) documented a positive and significant relation between board size and income smoothing. These conflicting results provide no conclusive relationship between earnings management and board size. A smaller board may be less encumbered with bureaucratic problems and may be more functional. Smaller boards may provide better financial reporting oversight. Alternately, a larger board may be able to draw from a broader range of experience. In the case of earnings management, a larger board may be more likely to have independent directors with corporate in financial experience. If so, a larger board might be better at preventing earnings management. Small boards are less effective monitors and are easier for CEOs to influence (Jensen, 1993) and (Lipton and Lorsch, 1992). 2. 1. 2 Board Composition and Earnings Quality Board independence simply refers to non-executive external directors, who do not represent any particular shareholder interest and hold no special business interest with the bank, relative to total number of directors on the board (Shehu and Abubakar, 2011). Studies on impact of board composition on earnings quality have produce varied results. Cornet et al. 2007), examine the impact of corporate governance and pay-for-performance on earnings quality. By means of 100 largest firms in the U. S. as ranked by Samp;P between 1994-2003, they find that the presence of independent outside directors reduce earnings quality. Aggregate accruals were used to proxy for earnings quality. (Cornet et al. , 2009), investigate how corporate governance mechanism affects earnings quality at large publicly traded U. S. companies for th e period between 1994 2002. Large independent boards constraint earning quality was found by the study. Roodposhti and Chashmi, 2010) find that for the period between 2004-2008 in Iran, using 196 firms listed on Tehran Stock Exchange, revealed a negative association between board independence and earnings quality. On the contrary, (Hashim and Devi, 2008) examine the relationship between board independence, CEO duality and accrual management in Malaysia. Using 200 top non-financial companies listed on Malaysian Stock Exchange, they find that large percentage of independent executive directors is associated with higher income-increasing earnings quality. Also, (Shah, Zafar and Durrani, 2009), study the relationship between board composition and earnings quality in Pakistani listed companies for the period between 2003 and 2007. They find no significant relationship between board composition and earnings quality. Yet, all studies exclude financial firms, the inclusion of which might have yielded different result. (Macey and O’Hara, 2003) opined that governance structure is industry specific and there is a systematic difference between the governance of different industries 2. 1. 3 Ownership Concentration and Earnings Quality Ownership concentration, which is also referred to as blockholders. It is the proportion of shares (usually more than 5%) owned by a certain percentage of shareholders. There are arguments that the higher the number of shares owned by the blockholders, the more the pressure on managers to act in conformity with shareholders interest (Sanda et al. , 2005). (Ramsy and Blair, 1993) opined that large ownership concentration has more incentives to manage earnings because the expected benefit from equity holding in the firm outweighs the cost associated with monitoring managers If this is true, then we expect ownership concentration to be inversely related to earnings quality. Some researchers observe that high ownership concentration beyond a certain level may lead to abuse of power, which could be detrimental to the value maximization goal of the firm (Sanda et al. , 2005). Inconsistent results were yielded on the relationship between ownership concentration and earnings quality. (Roodposhti and Chashmi, 2010) find a negative relationship between ownership concentration and earnings quality, while they used 196 firms listed on Tehran Stock Exchange as their sample for the period between 2004-2008, to examine the effect of board composition and ownership concentration on earnings quality. In the same vain, (Klai and Omri, 2011), investigate the impact of corporate governance on financial reporting quality in Tunisia. The study used 22 listed firms for the period between 1997-2007. They find that ownership concentration is negatively associated with earnings quality. Conversely, Using top 200 listed non-financial companies, (Hashim and Devi, 2008), examine the association between board independence, CEO duality and accruals management. They find that ownership concentration is associated with high income-increasing earnings quality. Besides the exclusion of financial firms from all the studies mentioned above, economic differences of nations calls for an investigation in of similar problems in an economy like ours. 2. 1. 4 Institutional Shareholding and Earnings Quality Institutional shareholders have both the incentive and power to compel managers to act in consonant with value maximization objective of the firm. (Shehu, 2011) note that institutional ownership has emerged particularly in the banking sector as a tool for protecting minority interest. We, therefore, expect that institutional shareholding and earnings quality will be inversely related. (Cornet et al. , 2007), investigate how governance structure and incentive based compensation influence firm performance when measured performance is adjusted for earnings quality. The study used top 100 firms rated by Samp;P in U. S. , they find that earnings quality is significantly reduced by institutional shareholders whether institutional shareholders is measured based on the proportion of shares owned by all institutional shareholders or by institutional involvement in the firm. This finding is an extension of (Klein, 2002). The study might have revealed different result if carried out in the Nigerian context. (Shehu, 2011) examine the interaction between corporate governance and financial reporting quality in deposit money banks. Using all 21 banks quoted on NSE for the period between 2007-2009, the study reveals a positive and significant relationship between institutional shareholding and earnings quality. The major drawback of this research is that it uses (Dichow and Dichev, 2002) model, which though is widely accepted but is hardly industry specific. The presence of institutional investors with substantial shareholdings restrain managers from engaging in income increasing discretionary accruals when companies have high free cash flow, however, when there is no free cash flow agency problems. 2. 1. 5 Dividend Payment and Earnings Quality While many studies ignore this variable as corporate governance mechanisms, this study consider dividend payment as a n important parameter that measures the overall efficiency of the board. A board that has high frequency of dividend declaration may force earnings managers to have less discretion in manipulating earnings. This is because higher earnings will attract high dividends leading to free cash flow. Larger free cash flow payout reduces managers’ ability to make bad investment (Jensen, 1986). Likewise, high payment obliges managers to raise additional capital via stock market there by being exposed to specialist, financial analyst, investment bankers, regulatory authorities and the press (Goergen, 2007). From these views, apart from the fact that high dividend is a signal to management effectiveness; it serves as a disciplinary mechanism in limiting management discretion over cash flow. In absence of priority we hypothesized that firms with high level of dividend history will have less level of unethical accounting practice that has to do with earnings misrepresentations (Bello, 2013). 2. 2 Theoretical Framework and Model Development In order to link corporate governance with earnings quality, the study first looks at the theories that induced earnings manipulations. Two prominent are opportunistic and desirous. The first theory which embedded the philosophy of this paper is opportunistic tendency of managers to engage in unethical in absence of good governance structure. Secondly, from corporate legal point of view board are to act as trustees of shareholders. Infact they are like operating shareholders directly overseeing the affairs of management. Agency theory, postulates an inevitable conflicts. Whereas, managers will be targeting better performance for short term gains, the interest of shareholders would be that of long term benefit of capital appreciation and return (dividend). Within the agency framework, it is both logical and inescapable that management behavior will be self serving (Amat, 1996). The end result will be that of managers manipulating earnings. These two theories; agency theory and opportunisms theory provide a complete framework for understanding corporate governance and earnings quality. 3. 1 Methodology The research design is inclined to use ex-post financial data because of its empiricism as well as practicality. The period of the study is six (6) years (2006 to 2011) both years inclusive. The period is considered more appealing because all DMBs for which relevant financial data from 2006 to 2011 is obtained would have survived the distress syndrome of the early 1990s and 2005 consolidation saga in Nigeria. We believe also that the six-year period would provide an adequate time series of data (observations) to realistically identify Nigerian DMBs that have been managing earnings over a number of years. This is consistent with Michelson et al (2000) idea that adequate time series studies captures incidence of smoothing, whereas one period studies reflect attempts to smooth. The data is extracted from the consolidated annual reports of the sampled banks sourced in the Nigerian Stock Exchange fact book 2010/2011. The population of the study is all the 25 DMBs that survive consolidation exercise as at 31st December 2006. The ample is drawn using criteria of complete data availability in which 15 banks automatically formed the sample of the study. Two steps Panel regression is used as tool of analysis because it satisfies our purpose of predicting and explaining relations between variables and also providing residuals of the LLP model to represent the explained variable in the second regress ion model. A pre-requisite for the use of any variant of earnings quality detection models is computation of the smoothing instrument. Theoretically and in practice, the smoothing instrument relevant to earnings quality studies in the banking industry is the LLP. Previous studies have investigated earnings quality instruments such as dividend income, changes in accounting policies, pension costs, extraordinary items, investment tax credit, depreciation and fixed charges, and many others (Kamarudin et al, 2001). However, (Kanagaretnam et al, 2001), specifically conclude that banks use LLP and charge-offs to smooth income. 3. 1. 1 Estimation of Discretionary Loan Loss Provision and Variables Measurement Now, in order that we use LLP in detecting earnings quality, we need to estimate the LLP made by sample banks in the industry. Nonetheless, we begin by making distinction between regulatory LLP as per the requirements of the PGs and discretionary loan loss provisions (DLLP) that is used for earnings quality. The distinction is useful because, where banks provide only in compliance with the PGs (non-discretionary LLP), it would be wrong to conclude that it uses LLP for earnings quality. The DLLP therefore contains an element of provision in excess of PGs requirements. It follows that to conclude that banks smooth their reported earnings; there must be evidence of DLLP in the financial reports. Stated differently, the presence of DLLP is a prima facie pointer to the possibility of earnings quality behaviour among the banks. (McNichols and Wilson, 1998), (Grey and Clarke, 2004) and (Chang, 2008) adapted measuring earning management in banks with discretionary loan loss provision. Consistent with prior studies (e. g. , Kim and Kross, 1998; and Kanagaretnam et al, 2001), the beginning balance of nonperforming loans, change in non-performing loans and change in total loans to estimate the non-discretionary component of LLP is used. Because the beginning balance of nonperforming loans (NPL) is usually positively related to LLP, therefore, with a higher level of beginning nonperforming loans, banks will have to make a higher LLP. In addition, change in nonperforming loans (CHNPL) in the current period to have a positive effect on LLP is expected. The sign of the coefficient of change in the value of loan deflated by beginning loans (CHLOAN) is also positive. An increase in loan portfolio will most likely result in an increase in LLP. Equation (1) provides an estimate of the non-discretionary LLP: LLPit = 0 + 1NPLit + 2CHNPLit + 3CHLOANit + it[1] Where, LLPit = provision for loan losses deflated by beginning loans; NPLit-1 = beginning of period nonperforming loans deflated by beginning loans; CHNPLit = change in the value of nonperforming loans deflated by beginning loans; and CHLOANit = change in value of loans deflated by beginning loans. In equation (1) above, the independent variables account for the non-discretionary component of LLP, and consequently, the DLLP is given by the residual term. In order to explain the cross-sectional differences in the level of DLLP, it requires a two-stage analysis where the first stage explicitly models the non-discretionary portion of LLP using a model as per equation (1). In the second stage, the residual from the first stage regression, representing the discretionary portion, is subsequently used as the dependent variable. A drawback of this stepwise estimation procedure is that, it systematically underestimates the absolute value of the regression coefficients in the second stage (Kanagaretnam et al, 2001). Hence, to alleviate this potential problem, analysis using a single regression model is conducted including the three variables used in equation (1) to explicitly account for the non-discretionary component of the LLP. The empirical model is given thus: LLPit = 0 + 1EBTPit + 2L/DEPit + 3 WELLit + 4 LASSETit +5 CHNPLit + 6 NPLit-1 + 7 CHLOANit + it †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ [2] Where, EBTPit = earnings before tax and provisions deflated by beginning assets; LLPit = provision for loan losses deflated by beginning loans; L/DEPit = ratio of loans to deposits; WELLit = a dummy variable which equals 1 when industry capital ratio is well above the legal requirement (i. e. , when the total risk-based capital ratio exceeds 10% and the tier 1 risk-based capital ratio exceeds 8%), and equals 0 otherwise; LASSETit = the natural logarithm of total loan assets; CHNPLit = change in the value of nonperforming loans deflated by beginning loans; NPLit-1 = beginning of period nonperforming loans deflated by beginning loans; and CHLOANit= change in value of loans deflated by beginning loans. The first three variables (EBTP, L/DEP, and WELL) explain cross-sectional differences in DLLP; the third variable (LASSET) is a control variable and the last three variables (CHNPL, NPL, and CHLOAN) account for the non-discretionary component of LLP. The corporate governance variables of the study- board size, board composition, ownership concentration, dividend and institution shareholding are measured below: Board size (BS) is the total number of directors in the board Board composition (BC) is the ratio of independent or outside directors to total board size. Ownership concentration (OC) is the percentage of shares owned by blockholders (more than 5%). Institutional shareholding (IS) is the ratio of equity share owned by institutional investors to total number of shares issued. Dividend payment (DP) is the total amount of dividend paid. Firm size (FS) is the control variable which is the natural log (1n) of total assets. Such control is necessary because the bigger the bank, the larger the expected agency problem it will experience. Grey and Clark, 2004) note that large banks likely to avoid using discretionary loan loss provisions to manipulate earnings. A lot of researchers controlled for firm size in corporate governance studies including (Sanda et al. 2005), (Dabo and Adeyemi, 2007) and (Roodposhti and Chasmi, 2011). The regression model for testing the hypothesis of this study is presented below: LLPit = ? it + ? 1BSit + ? 2BCit + ? 3OCit + ? 4ISit + ? 5DPit + ? FSit + eit LLP= Loan Loss Provision BS=Board Size BC = Board Composition OC = Ownership Concentration IS = Institutional Shareholding DP = Dividend Payment FS = Firm Size 4. 1 Result and Discussion The analysis begins with a range of descriptive statistics on dependent variable and independent variables with mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum presented below: Table 1: Summary of Descriptive Statistics | BS| BC| OC| IS| DP| FS| Mean| 14. 5444| 0. 2644| 0. 3177| 0. 5608| 2. 6556| 11. 2100| Std. Dev. | 2. 65703| 0. 11349| 0. 10243| 0. 5267| 0. 33000| 0. 11000| Minimum| 9. 00| 0. 0| 0. 12| 0. 43| 10. 37| 68. 97| Maximum| 20. 00| 0. 50| 0. 60| 0. 68| 4. 15| 83. 20| Observation| 90| 90| 90| 90| 90| 90| Source: Output of data analysis using E-view The table 1 shows the average independent directors in the board composition of the Nigerian banks is 26%, board size accounted for about 14 directors, block holders and institutional shareholding averaging 56% and 32% respectively of the shares issued and N2. 66k is the average dividend paid by Nigerian banks. The control variable is a veraging 11. 1 billion naira worth of assets by the banks. The standard deviations of most of the variables are not far away from their respective means values. This indicates a favourable level of dispersion that the data is not skewed and good to produce a reliable result which is confirmed by the values of skewness and kurtosis though not reported but attached. The minimum and maximum number of both executives and non-executives directors are 9 and 20 and that of independent directors of the banks are 10% and 50% respectively. In addition, the block holders and institutional shareholders of Nigerian banks range from 12% to 60% and 43% to 68% respectively. The total assets of the banks range from 68. 97 to 83. 20 billion naira during the period of the study. Table 2: Correlation Matrix | FIQ| BS| BC| OC| IS| DP FS| FIQ| 1| | | | | | BS| 0. 25| 1| | | | | BC| 0. 21| -0. 025| 1| | | | OC| 0. 29| 0. 090| 0. 024| 1| | | IS| 0. 42| 0. 035| -0. 034| 0. 34| 1| | DPFS | 0. 170. 31| -0. 146 0. 70| -0. 015-0. 034| 0. 158-0. 071| 0. 4890. 415| 10. 74 1| Source: Output of data analysis using E-view The correlation results presented in table 2 shows that all the explanatory variables are positively and strongly associated with explained variable except institutional shareholders and dividend paid. Thus, there is a strong relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and loan loss provision of the Nigerian money deposit banks. On the other hand, most of the independent variables are negatively and not significantl y associated between them. This indicates an absence of multicolinearity between the explanatory variables of the study. The correlation matrix reveals the relationship between all pairs of explanatory variables involved in the regression model. High correlation among the independent variables point the possibility of multicollinearity (excessive correlation), a situation which distorts the standard errors of estimates and the validity of the result became questionable. The correlation coefficients showed that multicollinearity does not exist among the variables. Additionally, this study adopts further test for excessive correlation using the variance inflation factor (VIF) and tolerance values. The purpose of additional investigation is to provide adequate assurance that the research findings are robust to the model specification. Table 4:Multicollinearity Test Variable| VIF| Tolerance| BS| 1. 081| 0. 925| BC| 1. 003| 0. 997| OC| 1. 080| 0. 926| IS| 1. 407| 0. 711| DP| 1. 657| 0. 603| FS| 1. 440| 0. 694| | | | Source: Output of data analysis using E-view To formally substantiate the lack of multicollinearity between the independent variables, colinearity diagnostics are observed and that the variance inflation factors (VIF) and tolerance values indicate no multicollinearity in the data. The values for tolerance and VIF are shown in Table 4. The tolerance value and the variance inflation factor (VIF) are two advanced measures of assessing multicollinearity between the independent valuables. The variance inflation factors and tolerance values are computed and found to be consistently smaller than ten and one respectively indicating absence of multicollinearity (Neter, Kutner, Nachtsheim, and Wasserman, 1996 and Casey and Anderson 1999). In addition, the tolerance values are consistently smaller than 1. 0 thus further substantiates the fact that there is no multicollinearity between independent variables (Tobachnick, and Fidell, 1996). The following regression result of the study is presented and discussed. Table 3: Regression Results Variable| Coefficient| T-Statistic| Sig. | | BS| 0. 355| 4. 123| 0. 000*| | BC| 0. 196| 2. 360| 0. 021**| | OC| 0. 144| 3. 673| 0. 008*| | IS| 0. 186| 4. 890| 0. 002*| | DP| 0. 520| 4. 873| 0. 000*| | FS| -0. 488| -4. 908| 0. 000*| | R-sq uared| 0. 43| Adjusted R-squared| 0. 40| F-statistic| 10. 46| F-Sig| 0. 000*| Durbin-Watson stat| 1. 99| | | Source: Output of data analysis using E-view The results show that the estimated model of the study is fit because all the explanatory variables are significant in determining the dependent variable. It can also be observed that the coefficients of all the explanatory variables are positive except for the control variable firm size signifying that none of the explanatory variables is inversely related with quality of earnings among Nigerian deposit money banks. The cumulative influence of all the explanatory variables put together is able to explain the dependent variable to 40% as indicated by the adjusted R2 and the remaining 60% is controlled by other factors. Again, the value of the F- statistic 10. 46 and significant at 1% confirms that the model is well fitted. This provides evidence of rejecting the null hypothesis that corporate governance mechanisms have no significant impact on the quality of earnings among Nigerian deposit money banks. The Durbin- Watson of 1. 99 reveals that serial correlation will not pose a problem to the statistical result of the study. The result in respect of board size and board composition shows that both of them positively and statistically significant at 1% and 5% respectively. This implies that the more their numbers the better the quality of earnings among Nigerian DMBs. For board size, the result reveals that Nigerian banks should have a minimum of 9 and maximum of 20 executive and non-executive directors for their reported earnings to be of quality. The finding supported that of Jensen (1993) and Lipton and Lorsch (1992) who suggest that small boards are less effective monitors and are easier for CEOs to influence and contradicts those of Yermack (1996), Eisenberg et al. (1998) and Loderer and Peyer (2002). The findings related to board composition or independence is line with (Hashim and Devi, 2008; Cornet et al. , 2009), and contrary to (Cornet et al. 2007; Roodposhti and Chashmi, 2010; Shah, Zafar and Durrani, 2009). Therefore, the policy implication is for Nigerian banks to have atleast 10% and not more than 50% independent directors out of the total maximum number of directors of 20. Moreover, for institutional share holders the result reveals that institutional shareholding is positively significant in influencing the quality of earnings among the Nigerian DMBs. This implies that banks with high number of institutional holders, their managers are easily restrained to manipulate accounting numbers. Looking at the level of association between institutional ownership and loan loss provision, a positive relation emerged and supported statistically. This significant association indicates that institutional investors are a major consideration in managers aggressive earnings management strategy. This result is not surprising as it shows institutional investors in Nigerian banks are effective in constraining managerial behaviour of earnings management. Consistent with the argument that institutional investors in Nigeria create incentives for managers of their portfolio firms to manage earnings aggressively, these institutional investors focus excessively on current earnings performance (Koh, 2003). Interestingly, this study extends the findings of Shehu (2011) who used a sample of 63 firm-year observations to document a positive relationship between institutional investors and financial reporting quality in the Nigerian banking industry. It also supports Cornett et al. (2008) who used 24,005 sample of U. S. industrial firms to document a postive and robust relationship between institutional investors and firm performance even when performance is stripped of the discretionery accruals. However, it contradicts that of Dabo and Adeyemi (2009) who fail to establish a statistically significant association between institutional shareholding and managers’ opportunistic behaviour using 20 most active quoted firms on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Moreso, it conflicts with the finding of Al-Fayoum (2010) in their sample of Jordanian industrial firms. It can therefore be concluded that large institutional shareholding in the Nigerian manufacturing firms helps to allay the agency problem and leads to the protection of minority shareholders’ interest. In addition, the result in respect of ownership concentration and earnings quality reveals that ownership concentration is positively and strongly impacting on earnings quality at 1% level of significance among Nigerian deposit money banks. This is in line with our expectation, because given the fact that in most cases the institutions are the blockhoders of the company, therefore the results of the two variables would go in the same direction. The result contradicts the findings of Roodposhti and Chashmi (2010), Klai and Omri (2011) and supports the findings of Hashmi and Devi (2008). The implication of this finding is that the concentration of equity ownership in the hands of few individuals should be encouraged by the bank regulatory authorities. An equity ownership ceiling that should be raise. The result regarding dividend payment and earning management shows that managers will decline from managing earnings to enable them pay dividend to share holders. Statistically, dividend payment influences earning quality at 1% level of significance. This finding is in line with Bello (2013), Goergen,(2007) and Jensen (1986). Finally, the control variables banks’ size significantly and inversely affected the quality of earnings of DMBs in Nigeria. Size appears to affect earnings management inversely indicating that banks with larger assets have low earnings quality since they engage more in earnings management. This may be as result of the availability of much asset may motivate the managers to discretionary take selfish decisions to benefit their personal interest. 5. Conclusion and Recommendation Boards of directors, institutional and block holdings are responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and disciplining banks’ management. Perhaps one of the most important responsibilities of the board from a creditor’s perspective is oversight of earnings quality. Consistent with this idea, it is found that board size, board composition, ownership concentration, institutional shareholdings and dividend paid are all st rongly playing a prominent role in restraining management toward earning management.

America and Election 2000 essays

America and Election 2000 essays Unless you have been hibernating in a cave somewhere off the coast of Madagascar for the past six and a half months, you know about and have experienced the historical year 2000 presidential election. Since day one there has been mass coverage not only of the candidates, but also of their families, friends, and business associates. One periodical that did an excellent job of covering the facts about this election, especially between November 8th and November 19th, was the New York Times. The editorials and op-editorials in this newspaper were powerful opinion pieces that questioned political position, the Separation of Powers, and the responsibility of the candidates. These editorials and op-editorials finally gave the nation an inside look at what was going on behind the scenes and what was happening during the election. First I would like to discuss the responsibility of the candidates. What exactly is responsibility? Does Vice President Al Gore or Governor Bush display this quality of leadership? According to the New Lexicon Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language, responsibility is the state or quality of being in control or having to give satisfaction and through the eyes of Mr. Leon Panetta, neither candidate is truly worthy. After reading Mr. Panetta's article, I sensed that there seemed to be an aura of pettiness surrounding this campaign. That both candidates were taking issues and situations to the extreme. Basically, that no one was ready to take the role of the defeated. In turn a nation full of people are suffering from the egos of two men who want to be the leader of the country, but aren't giving satisfaction to the nation. Therefore are these two men living up to their "responsibilities," or are they only being selfish and looking out for themselves? Leon Panetta, former White House chief of staff under President Clinton (1994-1997), writes in his November 14th op-editorial that, ASo far both (A...

Biography of Audrey Hepburn, Elegant Actress

Biography of Audrey Hepburn, Elegant Actress Audrey Hepburn (May 4, 1929–Jan. 20, 1993) was an Academy-Award winning actress and a fashion icon in the 20th century. Having almost starved to death in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, Hepburn became a goodwill ambassador for starving children. Considered one of the most beautiful and elegant women in the world then and now, Hepburns beauty shone through her doe eyes and contagious smile. A trained ballet dancer who never performed in a ballet, Hepburn was Hollywood’s most sought-after actress in the mid-20th century. Fast Facts: Audrey Hepburn Known For: Famous 20th-century actressAlso Known As: Audrey Kathleen Ruston, Edda van HeemstraBorn: May 4, 1929 in  Brussels, BelgiumParents: Baroness Ella van Heemstra, Joseph Victor Anthony RustonDied: Jan. 20,1993 in  Vaud, SwitzerlandNoted Films: Roman Holiday, Sabrina,  My Fair Lady, Breakfast at Tiffany’sAwards and Honors: Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe for Best Actress (Roman Holiday, 1954), BAFTA (The Nuns Story, 1960), Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1993), Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement – Informational Programming (Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn, 1993)Spouse(s): Mel Ferrer (m.  1954–1968), Andrea Dotti (m.  1969–1982)Children: Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Luca DottiNotable Quote: The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. Early Years Hepburn was born the daughter of a British father and a Dutch mother in Brussels, Belgium, on May 4, 1929. When Hepburn was 6 years old, her father Joseph Victor Anthony Hepburn-Ruston, a heavy drinker, deserted the family. Hepburns mother Baroness Ella van Heemstra moved her two sons (Alexander and Ian from a previous marriage) and Hepburn from Brussels to her father’s mansion in Arnhem, Netherlands. The following year in 1936, Hepburn left the country and moved to England to attend a private boarding school in Kent, where she enjoyed dance classes taught by a London ballet master. In 1939, when Hepburn was 10, Germany invaded Poland, beginning World War II. When England declared war on Germany, the Baroness moved Hepburn back to Arnhem for safety. However, Germany soon invaded the Netherlands. Life Under Nazi Occupation Hepburn lived under Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1945, using the name Edda van Heemstra so as not to sound English. Still living a privileged life, Hepburn received ballet training from Winja Marova at the Arnhem School of Music, where she received praise for her posture, personality, and performance. Life was normal at first; kids went to football games, swim meets, and the movie theater. However, with half a million occupying German soldiers using up Dutch resources, fuel and food shortages were soon rampant. These scarcities caused the Netherlands child death rate to increase by 40 percent. In the winter of 1944, Hepburn, who had already been enduring very little to eat, and her family were evicted when Nazi officers seized the Van Heemstra mansion. With most of their wealth confiscated, the Baron (Hepburn’s grandfather), Hepburn, and her mother moved to the Baron’s villa in the town of Velp, three miles outside of Arnhem. The war affected Hepburn’s extended family as well. Her Uncle Otto was shot to death for attempting to blow up a railroad. Hepburn’s half-brother Ian was forced to work in a German munitions factory in Berlin. Hepburn’s half-brother Alexander joined the underground Dutch resistance. Working for the Dutch Resistance Hepburn also resisted Nazi occupation. When the Germans confiscated all the radios, Hepburn delivered secret underground newspapers, which she hid in her oversized boots. She continued ballet and gave recitals to make money for the resistance until she was too weak from malnutrition. Four days after Adolf Hitler ended his life by committing suicide on April 30, 1945, the liberation of the Netherlands took place- coincidentally on Hepburn’s 16th birthday. Hepburn’s half-brothers returned home. The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration brought boxes of food, blankets, medicine, and clothes. Hepburn was suffering from colitis, jaundice, severe edema, anemia, endometriosis, asthma, and depression. With the war over, her family tried to resume a normal life. Hepburn no longer had to call herself Edda van Heemstra and went back to her name of Audrey Hepburn-Ruston. Hepburn and her mother worked at the Royal Military Invalids Home. Alexander (age 25) worked for the government in reconstruction projects while Ian (age 21) worked for Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch food and detergent company. Rise to Fame In 1945, Winja Marova referred Hepburn to Sonia Gaskell’s Ballet Studio ’45 in Amsterdam, where Hepburn studied ballet for three more years. Gaskell believed that Hepburn had something special; especially the way she used her doe eyes to captivate audiences. Gaskell introduced Hepburn to Marie Rambert of Ballet Rambert in London, a company performing night revues in London and international tours. Hepburn auditioned for Rambert and was accepted with scholarship in early 1948. By October, Rambert told Hepburn that she did not have the physique to become a prima ballerina because she was too tall (Hepburn was 5-foot-7). Plus, Hepburn didn’t compare to the other dancers since she had begun serious training too late in her life. Ups and Downs Devastated that her dream was over, Hepburn tried out for a part in the chorus line in High Button Shoes, a zany play at London’s Hippodrome. She got the part and performed 291 shows, using the name Audrey Hepburn. Afterward, Cecil Landeau, producer of the play Sauce Tartare (1949) had spotted Hepburn and cast her as the girl walking across the stage holding up the title card for each skit. With her impish smile and large eyes, she was cast at higher pay in the play’s sequel, Sauce Piquant (1950), in a few comedy skits. In 1950, Hepburn modeled part-time and registered herself as a freelance actress with the British film studio. She appeared in several bit parts in small movies before landing the role of a ballerina in The Secret People (1952), where she was able to show off her ballet talent. In 1951, the famed French writer Colette was on the set of Monte Carlo Baby (1953) and spotted Hepburn playing the small part of a spoiled actress in the movie. Colette cast Hepburn as Gigi in her musical comedy play Gigi, which opened on Nov. 24, 1951, on Broadway in New York at the Fulton Theater. Simultaneously, director William Wyler was looking for a European actress to play the lead role of a princess in his new movie, Roman Holiday, a romantic comedy. Executives in the Paramount London office had Hepburn do a screen test. Wyler was enchanted and Hepburn got the role. Gigi ran until May 31, 1952, earning Hepburn a Theatre World Award and plenty of recognition. Hepburn in Hollywood When Gigi ended, Hepburn flew to Rome to star in Roman Holiday (1953). The movie was a box-office success and Hepburn received the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1953 when she was 24 years old. Capitalizing on its newest star, Paramount cast her as the lead in Sabrina (1954), another romantic comedy, directed by Billy Wilder and in which Hepburn played a Cinderella type. It was the top box-office hit of the year and Hepburn was nominated for Best Actress again  but lost to Grace Kelly in The Country Girl. In 1954, Hepburn met and dated actor Mel Ferrer when they co-starred on Broadway in the hit play Ondine. When the play ended, Hepburn received the Tony Award and married Ferrer on September 25, 1954, in Switzerland.​ After a miscarriage, Hepburn fell into a deep depression. Ferrer suggested she return to work. Together they starred in the film War and Peace (1956), a romantic drama, with Hepburn getting top billing. While Hepburn’s career offered many successes, including another Best Actress nomination for her dramatic portrayal of Sister Luke in The Nun’s Story (1959), Ferrer’s career was on the decline. Hepburn discovered she was pregnant again in late 1958  but was on contract to star in a Western, The Unforgiven (1960), which began filming in January 1959. Later that same month during filming, she fell off a horse and broke her back. Although she recovered, Hepburn gave birth to a stillborn that spring. Her depression went deeper. Iconic Look Thankfully, Hepburn gave birth to a healthy son, Sean Hepburn-Ferrer, on January 17, 1960. Little Sean was always in tow and even accompanied his mother on the set of Breakfast at Tiffanys (1961). With fashions designed by Hubert de Givenchy, the film catapulted Hepburn as a fashion icon; she appeared on nearly every fashion magazine that year. The press took its toll, however, and the Ferrers bought La Paisible, an 18th-century farmhouse in Tolochenaz, Switzerland, to live in privacy. Hepburns successful career continued when she starred in The Children’s Hour (1961), Charade (1963), and then was cast in the universally acclaimed musical film, My Fair Lady (1964). After more successes, including the thriller Wait Until Dark (1967), the Ferrers separated. Two More Lovers In June 1968, Hepburn was cruising to Greece with friends aboard the yacht of Italy’s Princess Olympia Torlonia when she met Dr. Andrea Dotti, an Italian psychiatrist. That December, the Ferrers divorced after 14 years of marriage. Hepburn retained custody of Sean and married Dotti six weeks later. On February 8, 1970, at age 40, Hepburn gave birth to her second son, Luca Dotti. The Dottis lived in Rome, but while Ferrer had been nine years older than Hepburn, Dotti was nine years younger and still enjoyed the nightlife. In order to focus her attention on her family, Hepburn took a lengthy hiatus from Hollywood. Despite all her efforts, however, Dotti’s ongoing adultery caused Hepburn to seek a divorce in 1979 after nine years of marriage. In 1981 when Hepburn was 52, she met 46-year-old Robert Wolders, a Dutch-born investor and actor, who remained her companion for the rest of her life. Later Years Although Hepburn ventured back into a few more movies, in 1988 her main focus became helping with the United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF). As a spokesperson for children in crises, she remembered the United Nations relief in Holland after WWII and threw herself into her work. She and Wolders traveled the world six months a year, bringing national attention to the needs of starving, sick children throughout the world. In 1992, Hepburn thought she had picked up a stomach virus in Somalia  but was soon diagnosed with colon cancer. After an unsuccessful surgery for colon cancer in November 1992, her doctors gave her three months to live. Death Hepburn, age 63, passed away on Jan. 20, 1993, at La Paisible. Her death was announced by UNICEF, the United Nations Childrens Fund, for which she had been a special ambassador since 1988. At a quiet funeral in Switzerland, pallbearers included Hubert de Givenchy and ex-husband Mel Ferrer. Legacy Though Hepburns film career was relatively brief, spanning mainly only the 1950s and 1960s, the American Film Institute named her among the greatest movie stars of all time. The AFI placed Hepburn in the third spot on its AFIs 100 Years...100 Stars  list of the 50 greatest screen legends, behind only Katharine Hepburn, at No. 1, and Betty Davis, at No. 2. (Katherine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn were not related.) Hepburn is still remembered for such films as Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffanys,  and to this day, she is still looked upon as a fashion icon for her style and elegance. Even decades after her death, Hepburn continues to be voted as one of the most beautiful women of all time on numerous polls. Sources â€Å"AFIs 100 Years...100 Stars.†Ã‚  American Film Institute.â€Å"Audrey Hepburn.†Ã‚  Biography.com, AE Networks Television, 22 Jan. 2019â€Å"Audrey Hepburn.†Ã‚  IMDb, IMDb.com.Friedman, Vanessa. â€Å"Givenchy and Hepburn: The Original Brand Ambassadors.†Ã‚  The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 Mar. 2018.â€Å"The Most Beautiful Women Of All Time.†Ã‚  Esquire, Esquire, 26 Nov. 2018.James, Caryn. â€Å"Audrey Hepburn, Actress, Is Dead at 63.†Ã‚  The New York Times, 21 Jan. 1993.Riding, Alan. â€Å"25 Years Later, Honor for Audrey Hepburn.†Ã‚  The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Apr. 1991.Roman Holiday. Filmsite.org.

Midterm Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Midterm - Term Paper Example Achieving dominance in technology can be measured in terms of added value to management activities and other business factors. Cell phones have provided several complex and unique processes that many competitors such as landlines do not have. Looking at the recent revolutionary breakthrough and the result of incremental changes, cell phone is leading the pack. Cell phones have encouraged instant communication and interaction thus making it a good tool in facilitating business communication. Cell phone communication is very effective and quicker compared to other alternatives. Looking at the management concept, cell phones used to improve the performance of the business through customer feedback and other interactive processes (Suarez 275-286). There are numerous advantages of cellphones that increase their compatibility within the business context hence promoting complex coordination. There is an expansive boundary and high level of interaction provided by cell phones. Firms utilizin g cell phones properly may gain competitive edge and assume superior position in the industry. According to Suarez technology can also be used in achieving strategic maneuvering which may be essential in acquiring new markets and building strong relationship with the clients (275-280). Cell phones have technological superiority compared to other technologies. Public relations are an important aspect of every organization and cell phones can be utilized in promoting an organization’s public relations. Cell phones have been very dominant in the communication industry and can be used in carrying out R&D, promoting business communication as well as gathering crucial information. There is also a high customer demand for cell phones thus leading to a huge installed base of the firm. Additionally, there are minimal regulations associated with cell phones and the government seems to promote its dominance in the market (Suarez 275-280). 2 Employees are treated and paid unequally since the wages are low. The company has responded to these issues by improving on their social responsibility and public relations. The company has also committed itself to improve working conditions and increase benefits such as health benefits. It has developed a very extensive code of business conduct which involves maintaining a positive work environment, representing the organization with integrity. Its culture emphasizes on upholding human rights in their operations around the globe, commitment to lawful, honest, transparent ethical behaviors, and they even expect their suppliers, agents, and business partners to follow their suit (Burchell & Jennifer 155-165). It would stand to reason that the leadership styles needed in this organization would be leaders that would be motivational, and encourage their employee’s creativity in driving innovation in the organization. Burchell & Jennifer posit that cultural â€Å"feel† of the organization is that â€Å"intrinsic† motivator encouraged in meeting the goals of the organization (160-170). Pride motivates employees, which in turn fosters creativity and eventually leads to innovation. Hence human resources and leaders in the organization would benefit from hiring people who evidence the motivation and creative skills needed in continuing the vision for the future success of the organization. Of priority is hiring individuals who demonstrate innovative thinking in their areas of specialization. Hiring these types of candidates would support the vision and mission of the organizatio

Future demographic change in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Future demographic change in the UK - Essay Example This paper explores the benefits associated with the demographic change to businesses in the UK. Wealth The older population is wealthier than present and former generations of retirees. Previous studies show that the increasing number of this population results to high rates of home ownership, investment and savings. This has positive impacts on the economy in general and the businesses enjoy increased stability (Davidson and Fielden, 2004:26). In addition to, there has been an increased grown in share prices and in the worth of superannuation. This provides increased disposable incomes that contribute positively to overall spending and investments (Hobbs, 2008:384). Older people have also been observed to make sound decisions while investing their money and this leads t increased economic growth and a better performing stock market. Work The UK is a difficult situation as the most populous age group is on the verge of retirement, wealthier and even healthier than other generations. The government has come up with policies to tap into the strength of this population to boost economic growth and allow their positive participation in the business sector. The current government policy is aimed at discouraging the trend of early retirement. This will lead to a stabilized tax revenue and productivity in companies (Davidson and Fielden, 2004:26). Most workers opting for early retirement find it difficult to fund a comfortable life for the remaining part of their life. This explains why the government and companies are coming up with incentives to make the older generation work for longer. Retaining or hiring mature age workers has numerous advantages to an entity. Allowing older people to work longer gives them the chance to share their vast experience and knowledge for the benefit of the business (Davidson and Fielden, 2004:26). Older people have a higher work experience and have been experienced a number of economic changes that have taken place over the years. Th ey can be instrumental in advising the company on how to deal with economic downturns crisis and any other challenges facing the company. However, for a long time older people have been undervalued and are deemed fit for the elderly homes instead of the current business environment. Companies in the modern times prefer hiring employees from the younger generation so as to give the company a positive public image. Additionally, the younger generation is techno savvy and owing to the increased use of modern technology, this is the appropriate work force to retain (Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: Science and Technology Committee, 2005:67). However, with this demographic change, companies will have to have hire mature workers. Contrary to popular belief, mature workers belonged to the baby boomer generation that was highly educated and competitive. The older workers can quickly adjust to the use of the cutting edge technology being adopted by companies in the modern world. Ag e advocacy groups have constantly asserted that early retirement is wastage of experiences, skills and knowledge that are much needed in the current business environment (Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: Science and Technology Committee, 2005:67). Most companies argue that older people have declined physical capabilities. However, it has been found that age does not lead

Iceland volcanic Essay Example for Free

Iceland volcanic Essay Natural disasters and their atrocities are but bitter facts of life: we keep hearing about natural disasters taking place all around our world. For example, two year ago in China, a deadly earthquake of magnitude 7. 9 left more than 80,000 people killed which included 18,000 persons officially missing. During this earthquake, many Chinese lost their families and homes. Moreover, in January 2010, Haiti had a 7. 0 Mw earthquake; between 217,000 and 230,000 people were identified dead and 1,000,000 people became homeless. The incidents of earthquakes like these have the tendency to frighten the world: however, the aggregate impact of these on the world is not as intense as in case of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull. The earthquake in Eyjafjallajokull resulted in the cancellation of more than 100,000 flights stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers in airport around the world. To worsen this, it happened to shut down a third of industry such as farmer, airline or other industries relying on the air transportation. According to TIME, it was the most severe global travel disruption since World War II. Although we have state-of-the-art technology to predict the incident of earthquakes and thus protect human life before the tragedy happens, we have to understand very well that the mother earth keeps surprising us: one of such reminders comes from the Iceland. Iceland is located on the both Iceland hotspot and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with highly geological active volcanoes. It has 130 volcanoes out of which 18 have erupted. In June 1783, Laki volcano erupted with devastating effects not only on Iceland but the entire world. To start with, it caused such a famine that became the reason of the death of nearly one fourth of the Iceland people. Furthermore, the ash and dust clouds kept covered most of the Europe and parts of Asia and Africa for several months. In addition to these, it also impacted the global climate, for instance, after the Laki eruption, North America had the longest and coldest winter. Eyjafjallajokull, meaning ‘island mountain glacier’ in Icelandic, is a smaller ice cup in Iceland. The volcanic events are considered to be a single eruption with different phases. In fact, it began to erupt since the Ice Age; whereas, according to available record, the recent eruption of Eyjafjallajokull occurred in 920, 1612 and from 1821 to 1823. The first-time eruption, anyhow, started on March 20, the volcano began to eject olivine basaltic andesite lava which led to a volcanic eruption of Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) 1. After almost a month, the earth didn’t get quite yet, instead the eruption became stronger and throwing a vast plume of glass- rich ash to over 7 miles into the atmosphere which rises to VEI 4. The ice and air are the main reasons for such devastating eruption. The weight of the glacier atop the volcano helps the magma inside build to a higher pressure. So when the mountain had eruption, the high pressure can send the volcanic gases and ash miles into the sky. However fortunately for the USA, the ash cloud is travelling east- southeast toward Europe even Asia. Since the eruption is very strong, the ash clouds have already reached North America, as the western part of Canada’s Labrador Peninsula, the Newfoundland Island and small islands. Besides, the volcanic melted a part of a glacier causing heavy and large flooding and, resultantly, 600 people living around the area had to move to a save place. Today, there is no such evidence to show the volcano has calmed down. Scientist said that, under the limited technology of volcanic, it is difficult to predict the development of the volcanic. According to the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, the Icelandic volcano eruption would last for two year and then the ash will stop until the glacier melted. As a matter of fact, no one can tell how long the eruption had lasted for as by May 14, the volcano eruption was still increasing. The scientists are concerned about the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull that it may lead to Katla erupted too as tested through events in the past. â€Å"There have been three Eyjafjallajokull eruptions and Katla has followed each time† said geophysicist Sigrun Hriensdottir, at the Earth Science Institute. Sigrun Hriensdottir believes that the volcanoes are directly linked underground in a way that the magma from one can flow into the other. Therefore, the eruption of Katla may cause heavier and larger flooding that can influence more Icelanders. The Icelanders are themselves worried owing to the fact that the Eyjafjallajokull eruption is a small rehearsal before the eruption of Katla and they fear that the eruption of Katla may take place anytime: on two months later or tomorrow. The airline industry, already pummeled by the recession, has lost nearly $2 billion. Almost 100,000 fearful customers marooned overseas and the industry lost $9 million a day that stranded vacationers would spend on their extra accommodation, catering etc. Thus in this very connection, Thomas Grindle, chief of aircraft maintenance at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif warns that the ash can definitely do some real damage to airplane’s engines; it can get sucked into the hot combustion chamber without being noticed by the pilots. Although the pilots can fly around or under the ash cloud, the problem is that it’s difficult to measure the amount of ash in the air and to worsen this we don’t have the complete measurement of the ash for flying. A deeper lesson, human learns from such disasters that we can’t fight nature. The only thing we can do is to wait for the earth to become quiet again. We also realize how limited knowledge we have about the volcano: we, resultantly, can’t do anything with the volcano and we cannot predict when it will stop or what will happen next. However, there are three things we can do: get prepared to deal with it, do more research, and above all, pray fro the best.

Soil Spatial Variability of Fluoride as Affected by Land Uses Essay

Abstract— Fluoride (F) is an essential element for life. At low concentrations, it is generally believed that fluoride deficiencies can arise, but at high fluoride concentrations other deleterious effects can certainly transpire. This study was conducted to evaluate F content and its spatial variability in Isfahan province. This area covers different land uses including agricultural, industrial, urban and uncultivated lands. Two hundred and fifty five topsoil samples (0- 20 cm) in a study area of 6800 km ² were collected. Total fluoride and water soluble fluoride were measured. The results of this research showed that two forms of soil F were controlled by intrinsic factors such as parent material and extrinsic factors such as fertilization. The total fluoride concentration in 96% of the data was less than the globule suggested average (200 mg kg†¾Ã‚ ¹) and water soluble fluoride concentration in 72 % of the samples exceeded the suggested averaged(0.5 mg kg†¾Ã‚ ¹). Key words- water soluble fluoride; total fluoride; kriging; spatial distribution I. INTRODUCTION Fluorine is one of the essential micronutrient for both human and animals. It is present in soils, rocks, water and the biological chains of animal and plant lives [13]. The F concentrations vary in relation to many factors such as geogenic and anthropogenic processes. A large number of industries emit F in atmosphere, including brick and tile manufactures, steel and aluminum manufacture and the production of phosphoric acid, super phosphate fertilizer and elementary phosphorus [9]. Application of phosphate fertilizers, sewage sludges and some pesticides also bring F to soil [6] but the majority of any added F becomes fixed by one or more of soil components [11] and F may... ...ater soluble fluoride in the soils were 100.7 and 0.9 mg kg†¾Ã‚ ¹, respectively. Also, the results of this study show that the urban and agricultural activities have significantly increase the concentration of F in surface soils of the study region. The application of phosphate fertilizers and sewage sludge and some pesticides in our study agricultural land bring fluoride to the soil. On the other hands, in urban and industrial regions, fluoride is brought to the soil surface by fall out of particulate fluorides and through absorption of fluorides in rain and snow. But the soils in central Iran are alkaline and calcareous. So, most of the added fluorides to the soil is either effectively fixed by the soil component such as clay, Ca and P. Anthropogenic activities were an important factor controlling the spatial distribution of soil F concentration.

Kudler Fine Foods Frequent Shopper Program Essay

Kudler Fine Foods is a local and upscale specialty food store with a total of four stores in La Jolla, Del Mar, and Encinitas California with their main base store in San Diego, California. Each store maintains and sells high quality bakery, pastries, fresh produce, meat, seafood, specialty condiments, packaged foods, cheeses, and dairy products. Kathy Kudler owner and founder of Kudler Fine Foods is looking to expand her company and market her products to new prospective clients, along with improving her services to her current clientele. Since the opening day of Kudler Fine Foods in June 1998 the business has become sustainable and profitable. Ten years later Kathy wants to implement a frequent shoppers program not only to reward her current loyal customer base but also to draw in new clientele. Installing a business system for this initiative would allow Kudler the ability to track purchasing patterns of individual customer’s. This would give the company a better understanding of what products are sellers and what products do not move or sell as fast. Alternatively this would give customers the opportunity to receive points from their past purchases geared toward rewards products. According to the Kudler’s sales and marketing departments research this type of system will increase revenue and cost reduction for Kudler. Kudler identifies that knowing exactly what the customers purchasing habits, supply needs, and preferences are would enable Kudler to purchase only what will be sold. Therefore, it will stop Kudler from stocking on items that do not sell and are not attractive to the customer. Kudler has different types of options on how they could advertise the new shoppers program. Because these types of programs are commonplace within any market, Kudler needs to develop a complete database system, with including current and former customers. This database is used specifically for advertising of the new program and data collection of sales. Kudler would need to update or create a new website to add this new program and help customers understand the benefits of registering for the program. Legally Kudler needs to stay within the boundaries set up for E-commerce. The rules for online business and e-mail advertisement are very far-reaching some of which include an opt-out link that allows any consumer to stop receiving e-mail advertisements. This must be easily viewable and verifiable to the recipient for online spam advertisement. Electronic contracts are legal and binding along with electronic signatures, these forms of agreements must have legal disclaimers visible for the customer to read. These are just a few of many other legal ramifications that Kudler would need to investigate and consider before moving forward. Ethical considerations are also vital to both the customers and Kudler Fine Foods when implementing the shoppers program. Any customers who register with Kudler’s shoppers program understand that all personal information given to Kudler will not be given or sold to another company without the express approval of the customer. Kudler has to take into consideration that registration online has to be implemented with the highest security software on the market. Protection of sensitive data is vital to the success of any online purchases or programs. Pornographic material and anything refereeing to pornography is prohibited by law. Breaches of contractual agreements are also considered unethical. Therefore, Kudler must have strict policy and procedures in place to alleviate any of the above issues. This would keep Kudler ethically stable and help with any other issues that will come into light. The main understanding that Kudler Fine Foods would have to embrace is that the company is fully responsible for what is placed on their website and also what they are offering to their customers as an incentive. Kudler Fine Foods has to identify within the scope of this project the development of the frequent shoppers program specific security measures. The main initiative is to secure private data and deter any unauthorized access. The main and formidable issue here is that the Frequent Shoppers Program will enable Kudler Fine Foods to still make a profit. The return on the investment with this new program has to exceed its monetary cost factor to stay viable. The stores have to identify other cost saving measures for this program to stay solvent for years to come. Keeping up to day records in a management system will also help save time and money while understanding where money is spent and where it is saved. Investing in the Shoppers program will take considerable money to start with. The long-term gain if managed properly can make Kudler Foods more lucrative in the future. Managing the marketing and advertising expenses must be a number one priority along with investing in upgrades of the website and possible market research. Concluding this program will rely on reports regarding expenditures, which should be collected over a period several prior years. This will give Kudler a baseline for future gains or losses. This will also let Kudler Fine Foods see if the program is profitable from each succeeding year. Gains and losses, extreme scrutiny and constant tweaking of the program its website and security infrastructure will have to be made in order for this program to be a success. Reference Apollo Group, I. (2007, 2010, 2011). Kudler Fine Foods. Retrieved November 26, 2012, from Sales and Marketing: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Kudler2/intranet/marketing-overview.asp

Analysis for the Movie ” Up in the Air” Essay

Ryan Bingham works for a company that helps and facilitates companies’ firing some of their worker. He and his colleagues make business trips all over the U.S and do their, in other words, they fire people. Ryan thinks that his job’s best side is to fly. He aims to save his frequent flyer miles until they reach one million miles and get the club card for his loyalty to the airlines. He also makes seminars for, with his words â€Å"awaking† people .He leads people to leave whatever been problem for them. He points out this situation with the example â€Å"backpack†. Ryan asks people to fill and empty the backpacks of their own life as metaphor and wants them to realize how much the problems are heavy. He even thinks about putting people that are one’s around in this backpack if they keep him/her in back or slow him/her down. For that reason most probably, he is not close to his siblings. Ryan’s life changes when the company hires Natalie who offers that instead of business trips for firing people face to face, to make remote computer access. But Ryan thinks that Natalie does not fully understand the nature of the business. For him it is kind of way of life and he does not want to lose his current life style The company’s owner Craig suggests Natalie to accompany Ryan on a business trip. In these trip Ryan meets a woman called Alex and because that their lives are almost the same they are getting along with each other. Alex also travels often and whenever their flight schedules matches they meet. After he tries to show her to difficulties of firing people, Natalie overcomes the difficulties and achieves firing people via remote computer access. Then the company initiates the remote computer access firing system in trail version and calls Ryan back to home like others. Ryan comes back to home and realize how much he is far away from the family. But he finally does something to heal the wounds†¦ American Dream shaped with the ideas of freedom , equality for all , social mobility and opportunities for achievement and success with hard work. The movie points out the American Dream with the character Ryan. The story of movie puts the individualism on the Ryan character and makes him â€Å" man of freedom â€Å" for his entire life . He likes travelling and being alone. He even leads people, in his seminars , to get rid of from their â€Å"weights† in their backpacks. He works too much to achieve his goal and this touches to the one the values of the dream too. Even the movie starts with comic issues which attracts us to story with Ryan’s telling his life story , it can be defined as tragicomedy because of family issues and Ryan’s disappointment towards the end of the movie. Backpack metaphor combined with the life’s weights metaphor shows that people have some barriers which slow down and stop them . The main character Ryan as a speaker wants the people to realize how these weighs are heavy and that’s why puts all these weights in a backpack. Because it is easy for us to remember to carry something with backpack is hard , imagination on that metaphor becomes much more easier. Personally , I don’t admit the hero’s backpack philosophy , because we have people who can help us for these â€Å"weights† , it is just about whether you want to be alone or not ? if you want to be alone all these stuffs in your life becomes â€Å" weight† for you. But if you don’t you can always can find some ones asking you for help. Having a patriarchal cultural background, US have gender roles dominated by man. In the movie characters have strong manners for these roles. Ryan does not give importance to set a family and his behaviors to women show his domination feeling against to women. Alex figure describes Ryan as â€Å"escape†. It is possibly an escape from ordinary mother figure life to free women figure. So it touches to women’s position in the society and reaction to it. References IMDb ( for critics and soundtracks) Wikipedia ( for the values of ‘American Dream’ ) http://ezinearticles.com ( for understanding and reviewing ‘American Identity’ )