The Glass Menagerie Discuss the symbolism used in Scene Five Essays

The Glass Menagerie Discuss the symbolism used in Scene Five Essays The Glass Menagerie Discuss the symbolism used in Scene Five Paper The Glass Menagerie Discuss the symbolism used in Scene Five Paper Essay Topic: Literature The Glass Menagerie Before I look into the symbolism used in scene five of the Glass Menagerie I have to look at the actual name of the play The Glass Menagerie. Tennessee Williams has used this choice of title to show how delicate and fragile Laura is in this play. She cares for these glass animals and polishes them with great care, protecting them from dangers that dont necessarily exist in the Wingfield household. This is also how Lauras mother Amanda acts towards her only daughter who is terribly shy, withdrawn from the outside world and also crippled which Amanda chooses to ignore. Williams set this play in a poor quarter of St Louis in the 1930s, a time of great change in more ways than on. In Spain Guernica was bombed by the Germans in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War, this created a lot of unrest between governments of the world. There was a lot of uncertainty about everyones future. Also the 2nd World War was immanent and in everyones minds. Tennessee Williams use of names to symbolise certain things is done in an interesting and clever way. The Wingfields apartment block is opposite the Paradise Dance Hall; the use of the word paradise triggers of lots of thoughts in my mind, one of these is the biblical reference to the Garden of Eden. God created a perfect place for Adam and Eve to live but Eve persuaded Adam to take liberties and were banished from their perfect world. The people attending the dance hall have no cares in the world; this is far from reality as I stated before. There is a loss of innocence about to take hold of the innocent American nation that no one can expect or plan for. This Symbolism also shows how Amanda feels, her optimism about finding her young inexperienced daughter a husband to care for both Amanda and Laura. Since Amanda doesnt accept the reality of her situation its like she is living in a fools paradise. She ignores the fact that her daughter doesnt have the correct social skills to entertain gentlemen callers, as she is very reclusive and terrified of the opposite sex and also that Laura is crippled, Amanda must realise the more she ignores the fact it wont just disappear. Tom tries to point this out to Amanda and she doesnt want to accept the truth. As she had lots of gentlemen callers in her youth she keeps reminiscing about her days as a beautiful and well sought after southern belle. This behaviour although she doesnt realise is damaging her already very fragile and frail daughters outlook on life. The use of music in this scene has a large impact onto what the audience feels, as the stage is not laden down with props the music sets the scene and also makes the audience aware of the characters feelings at that moment in the play. The titles of the songs are very symbolic and emulate the characters actions. When the dance music All the world is waiting for the sunrise! is played it is done so when Amanda is gazing at the picture on the wall of her estranged husband, who ran away to Mexico. He only sent the family a postcard, this was no use as all it contained was hello, goodbye. Amanda often just daydreams about the past it is almost as if she would rather be living in the past than actually in the present day full of uncertainty and worry. The choice of music is very well selected as when the directions for the music change the dance-hall music changes to a tango that has a minor and somewhat ominous tone This represents what is to come in the next chapter, the arrival of the gentleman caller, Jim. He doesnt know what is in store for him, and that he was invited under false pretences by Tom. This change in music also symbolises the change in mood of the whole American population with the uncertainty about the war and life in general. Most people would visit these dance halls as a way of escaping, just as Tom escapes to the movies every night to escape the harsh reality of his life. When Williams was actually writing this play he already knew about the war and the trouble in Spain so keeps including these different types of music to make the audience actually think about the time that the play was set. Tom was just keeping his side of the bargain with his mother though, as soon as he brought back a gentleman caller for Laura, who was working and could provide for his mother and sister he could leave and follow his dreams of becoming a writer. Tom was going to invite anyone round as long as it meant he could leave his boring mundane life just working to keep his family and not actually enjoying the quality of life. At the end of scene five a single violin rises and the stage dims out, this suggests the optimism of both Amanda and of Laura regarding Jim the gentleman caller. This could on the other hand symbolise something totally different and relating back to the ominous tango could symbolise the devastation that the people, the country and economy would suffer in the coming years. This play makes clever use of legends on the screen. At the back of the stage these words have real meanings, which the audience can relate to the play. The beginning of this scene opens with a legend on screen reading Annunciation this is relating back to the bible when the Angel Gabriel told Mary that she was pregnant. This is like Tom telling Amanda that they will be expecting a gentleman caller, it is something that Amanda has always wanted for her daughter. It manifests the imminence of the gentleman caller. The use of the portrait hanging in the dining room of Tom and Lauras father is a constant reminder of his disappearance. It is also a reminder to Tom of what his aims are, to leave the family, and hopefully never come back. To Amanda the picture is a constant reminder of her failed marriage and almost makes her even more insistent on finding the correct husband for Laura, which Laura does not appreciate at all. She would prefer just to sit at home fussing over her delicate glass menagerie. Their fathers portrait represents the reality of life, there isnt always a happy ending and make Amanda even more worried that Tom will leave in search of bigger and better things. As he always goes to the movies he will have seen how the other half live and want those things for himself and the only way he thinks he will ever get them is if he leaves his mother and sister. The set itself symbolises a lot of different things for instance, the only way into the Wingfields apartment is through the fire escape. Amanda has romantic fantasies and imagines this rusty old fire escape being a Mississippi veranda with a swing chair on it, which is so far from the truth it is ridiculous, which emphasises Amandas resilience to facing the truth in the here and now. For Tom, the fire escape symbolises his desire to leave the apartment and make his way on his own doing what he wants to do and not complying to what his demanding mother wants him to do. He also uses this fire escape every night to escape from the harsh reality of life by going to the movies that seem to be his sanctuary. The symbolism in this memory play exists on many levels not only is it in the dialogue but the visual as in the fire escape, the legends and the music. As Tom is looking back onto his life some aspects are fairly vague but all of the different props and dialogue used help create a more vivid picture of the Wingfield household in the audiences eyes.

The interview about communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The interview about communication - Essay Example The first question I asked my friend is related to his view regarding the relations between communications and culture. He believes that communication and culture are closely intertwined with each other. In fact, my friend holds that the lack or non-existence of culture would result to the impossibility of the development of communication, historically and vice versa. He gives an example of the development of the human species. He explained that the earliest days of human beings were close to the culture of communication. Communication first started out as a necessity for collective survival of human tribes. Eventually, culture was developed as humanity developed communication skills. It came to a point wherein human beings formed different societies, created their own culture, and produced cultural distinctions and differences. This leads to the next question regarding the method behind communication as a means to bridging cultural differences. My friend answers that finding a bridge between the cultural differences of people requires understanding the culture of others. Man must look and understand another culture for what it is without any preconceived judgments or prejudices. There is no such thing as a general application of one cultural aspect to another. Each culture has its own perspective regarding different matters or points of view. According to my friend, there is a tendency for many prevailing cultures to insist that their point of view regarding any matter applies, or should be applied and adhered to by other cultures.

Improving Pharmacy Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Improving Pharmacy Services - Essay Example The second issue, sustainability is equally important in securing the quality of products and services in pharmacy. One way of achieving sustainability is through keeping indicators which can be used for predicting future trends of the industry. These may include new drugs or practices which outdo the existing methods. This would, for instance, ensure that patients get the best treatments when they become available. Again, sustainability can be achieved by being connected to the global pharmacy community through which innovations and emerging issues can be shared. In so doing, the pharmacy can be interconnected, informed, and universal (Lesko & Anderson 16). The advantage in this is that relevancy and effectiveness would be assured.The final means of improving pharmacy is by having well-structured organizational layouts. Layout covers all the areas from when a patient goes through a health center to the time they emerge, having received treatment. Pharmacies should ensure that their staff receives optimum working conditions, free from distraction, stress, or any negative influences. For instance, there should be training to sensitize staff on proper (good) health habits. Healthy and happy staff is likely to be best in disseminating services to the people than stressed, underpaid, or sickly staff. Concisely, the comfort of the workforce determines the quality of services and products.As the above findings state, there are many channels through which pharmacy can be improved.

A Critical Review Essay Politics Essay

A Critical Review Essay Politics Essay Arend dAngremond Lijphart born in Apeldoom, the Netherlands is a world renowned political scientist specializing in comparative politics, elections and voting systems, democratic institutions and ethnicity and politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behaviour within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporation, academia, and religion institutions. He is currently Research Professor Emeritus of Political Science Political science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior.at the University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego is a public research university in San Diego, California, California. The schools campus contains 694 buildings and is located in the La Jolla, San Diego, California community.His work has focused on the broader contrasts between majoritarian and consensus democracies. The origin of this article under review was an invitation Lipjhart received to deliver at the Stein Rokkan Lecture, Joint Sessions of Workshops of the European Consortium for Political Research in Leiden on April 3rd, 1993 (Lipjhart 1994a). He uses this opportunity to present a report at that time on the latest phase of his work-in-progress a large-scale project, on which he has been working since the early 1980s, that attempts the systematic mapping of the worlds democracies in terms of their principal institutional characteristics. My purpose is to demonstrate if there is one best model of democracy while evaluating the approach Lipjhart has taken. Part of the argument has already been offered by Lipjhart (1994a), and this paper builds on his work. I will demonstrate his strengths while explaining the various forms of democratic methods proportional representation, consensus and majoritarian including implications of his weaknesses. Sartori (1968:273) adequately summarises the electoral system as the most specific manipulative instrument of politics. Democracies: Forms, Performance and Constitutional Engineering Lipjhart (1994a) argues that the choice between majoritarian electoral systems and proportional representation (PR) systems, there exists an exchange, as both are good forms of democracy but there is better minority representation in proportional representation systems and with the majoritarian system it leads to effective government. While Lijphart advocated consociationalism primarily for societies deeply divided along ethnic, religious, ideological, or other divisions, he sees consensus democracy as appropriate for any society. Lipjhart (1994a) strongly suggested that the government by the people or, democracy, as stated by Abraham Lincoln, is an ideal rather than a precise form of governmental procedures and goals. Lijpharts (1994a) article compares the two basic models of democracy: majoritarian or Westminster as used in the United Kingdom and New Zealand and consensus which is used in major Western European nations such as Switzerland. He goes on to state that each of these models use a different approach of an electoral model at how to best represent the citizens. In consequence one may ask, is it more democratic to delegate policy-making power to the majority only or is it better to include minorities, as well? (Lipjhart, 1994a:2) Lipjhart (1994a:2) defines the majoritarian model is characterized by a one party majority executive; an executive that predominates over the legislature; a two party system; a one dimensional party system (in which the two main parties differ primarily on socio-economic issues); a disproportional electoral system; and a pluralist interest group system. This maintains that majority rule comes closer to the democratic ideal than a government responsive to a minority. Furthermore, Lipjhart (1994a:2) states that the other type of electoral system, the consensus democracy has the opposite six characteristics: multiparty coalition executives; executive legislative balance; a multi party system; a multi-dimensional party system (in which the parties differ on issues in addition to socio-economic issues, for example, on religious, rural-urban and foreign policy issues); more or less proportional electoral outcomes; and a corporatists interest group system. He contends that majoritarian system when compared to the consensus form of government is a result of the more divided a country is, the more it is a plural society- the more consensual its form of democracy tends to be (Lipjhart 1994a:2) while countries with a British political colonial past adopted the majoritarian model. Lipjhart (2000:4) then extends his comparative analysis to plurality versus proportional representational systems. Here he analyses 13 advanced industrial democracies with parliamentary systems of government, contrasting four that use majoritarian election methods and nine that use proportional representational methods. He argued three main points: He then goes on to use the same performance variables comparing consensus versus majoritarian democracy where he concludes that Western European democracies with their consensus democracies have superior political representation while arguing that the majoritarian democracies are not performing better economically and that concentrating political power in the hands of a narrow majority can promote unified, decisive leadership and fast decision making (Lipjhart 1994a:11-12). Lipjharts findings are in a particular time period and he argues (1994a:12) the special advantage because of the 1990s are not only the decade of democratization but also the decade of renewed ethnic conflict, and because ethnic divisions are generally deeper and more severe in the democratizing world than in the world of established democracies. In the end his evidence points to consensus oriented political cultures are a strong counterforce to the majoritarian institutional conservatism and they provide fertile soil for the consensus model of democracy (Lipjhart 1994a:15). There are many good arguments that Lipjhart (1994a) makes using his methods of analysis and illustrated evidence. The first benefit of Lipjharts paper, Schmidt (1997) agrees with Lipjhart and what he addresses to be a truly significant topic of political science, comparative politics and that the article focuses the attention with a precisely stated and highly relevant research question Lipjhart (1994a:1) what can the new democracies of and democratizing countries of Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa learn from Western Europe?. Schmidt (1997) supports Lipjharts claims, which centres on the concentration of the relationship between constitutional structures and forms of democracy while Lipjhart measures political performance. Schmidt (1997:194) comments that this question is related to a recurrent topic in political science: which political system is more advanced than others in coping with social, economic and political problems and why? Lipjhart (1994a:1) answers this indispensible task in representative democracies is performed by the electoral system- the set of methods for translating the citizens votes into representatives seats. Thus the electoral system is the most fundamental element of representative democracy. Lipjhart (1994a:3) further states the conventional wisdom is that there is a trade off between consensus and majoritarian democracy where he goes on to comment consensus democracy provides more accurate representation and in particular, better minority representation and protection of minority interests while majority governments produced by majoritarian election methods are more decisive, and are more effective policy-makers. Similarly, Sartori (1997:8) states that the major factor establishing the proportionality or disproportionality of the proportional representation (PR) is the size of the constituency, where size is measured by the number of members that each district elects. So and regardless of the mathematical fine points, the larger the constituency, the greater the proportionality. Hence allowing for better representation. While Schmidt (2002:148) agrees however, the view that the English-speaking democracies (regardless of whether the Westminster model or the checks-and-balances model is concerned) are superior is no longer regarded as tenable. The second argument in favour of this (1994a) article, Schmidt (1997:195) applauds Lipjhart on the quality of the research design, the methodology and the empirical results. Schmidt (1997:195) argues in contrast to more traditional case-oriented theories of the ideal state, Lipjhart (1994a) addresses the research question within the framework of an empirical comparative analysis of 21 constitutional democracies. Moreover, the work builds on extensive research, such as his 1984 book, Democracies, not to mention numerous articles on related topics. In substantive terms, Lijphart demonstrates significant commonalities as well as differences between various democracies, such as those between consensus democracies and majoritarian democracy. The third merit of the article By Schmidt (1997:195) is due to the successful effort on the part of Lijphart to bring work on more formal institutions state structures and constitutional structures back into the investigation of public policy and policy outcomes. Following his own impressive research in comparative politics, Lijphart does this within the context of a comparative framework. Lijpharts article inspires other scholars in the field to follow more closely the avenue of a more fully integrated comparative analysis of the relationships between institutions and public policy choices. Finally, Schmidt (1997:195) states that the author derives relevant recommendations for purposes of constitutional engineering from his analysis. Pointing to the weaknesses and strengths of the various forms of democracies, the author has lessons to offer not only for constitution building in established democracies, but also for new political systems such as the new democracies in Central and Eastern Europe. This demonstrates in a particularly convincing manner that high quality political science can generate high quality policy advice. However, this discussion is not without flaws and by careful examination and review of perspectives which might have been neglected by Schmidt (1997) support for Lipjhart (1994a), the following will include theoretical perspectives ignored and exaggerated claims not fully supported by argument or evidence. As Geddes (1990:132) states the effort here is not to discredit arguments or belittle authors, who are, after all, working within accepted conventions-but to demonstrate the deficiencies of the conventions. Discussion First, Schmidt (2002:148) states majoritarian democracies were long regarded as more stable, fitter for survival even under adverse circumstances such as during the interwar period and World War II, and better at problem solving. That belief largely mirrored the survival of the English speaking democracies in the 1920s and 1930s as opposed to the breakdown of a wide variety of democratic states and the rise of Fascism in Italy and of National Socialism in Germany and Austria in this period. Questioning this statement, according to consociationalist empirical democratic theory, such as that put forward by Lijphart (1999) and Lehmbruch (1975), negotiation democracies are often of equal strength and sometimes stronger than their majoritarian counterparts. There is little evidence and inaccuracy to state one is better than other from the evidence that is put forward by Lipjhart (1994a). Infact Satori (1997:69) states the necessary condition for the successful working of a consociational democracy is an elite cooperation whose intent counters the disintegrative tendencies of their society; but this necessary and most crucial condition disappears in the definition of consensus democracy. Second, Sartori (1997:69) argues there is a false belief that proportional systems are inherently superior to majoritarian systems and therefore that they are always to be preferred. He (Satori 1997:73) also states that in the pure form of PR generally backfires; and in the extremist package recommended by Lipjhart its defects boomerang and PR may turn out to be the kiss of death. Sartori (1997:28) thus as a result states once an electoral arrangement is in place, its beneficiaries protect their vested interests and struggle to go on playing the game by the rules they know. Third, another unproven claim by Lipjharts (1994a) article about the two types of electoral systems, he does not go into detail on the discussion of Duvergers laws and is very uncritical of those laws. Maurice Duverger was the first author to address the effects of electoral systems. Duverger as stated by Sartori (1997:29) formulated two laws, the first one states that plurality (majoritarian) systems tend to party dualism while the second law asserts that PR tends to mutlipartism, i.e., that it has a multiplying effect. Saroti was setting up his evidence to show the weakness of Duvergers laws in relation to Lipjharts views in the (1994a) article under review. Sartori (1997:30) goes on to demonstrate that weakness by stating Duverger assumes that a causal relation can be deduced from a correlation; that is to say, he misses the difference between cause of and associated with' while in the second law, he states a causal generalization is verifiable if and only if, the cause and the effect are clearly specified, whereas the effect of Duvergers first law (party dualism) defies underpinning, and the effect of his second law (multipartism) also suffers from excessive imprecision. Sartori comments that Duvergers laws are not consistent and that he can be easily use his evidence to fit his purpose. Sartori (1997:31) states the bottom line is, then, that a law is required to declare more than a regularity and cannot consist of a mere generalization. Furthermore, since a law stands so long as it is not falsified, it must be formulated so as to permit empirical confirmation or refutation. Fourth, consensus democracies are not necessarily better at policy formulation and implementation. Schmidt (2002:150) argues they are also faced with certain problems such as challenges requiring swift response, the rapid development of political alternatives and rapid decision making tend to overburden the consensus democracies. And so, too, do challenges which require the capacity to design and implement significant policy changes. Due to the large number of participants in policy deliberation and decision making, consensus democracies usually need longer periods of time to reach a consensus or initiatives may even get stuck in a blocked decision-making process. Schmidt (2002:150) adds a further weakness of consensus democracies lies in the lower transparency of the process of deliberation and decision making as well as the indistinct accountabilities of the participants in the negotiations. These deficits often are overlooked in the comparison of political performance levels of majoritarian and consensus democracies. Sartori (1997:72) argues if you reward divisions and divisiveness (and this is precisely what proporz and veto power do), you increase and eventually heighten divisions and divisiveness. In the end, then, Lipharts machinery may well engender more consensus-breaking than consensus-making. Fifth, in contrast to majoritarian democracies there is incomplete arguments made, Lipjhart (1994:11) argues that consensus democracy with regard to minority representation and democratic quality is not surprising because consensus democracy may be said to be designed so as to achieve more accurate representation of interests and broad participation in decision-making. While Powell (2000:234) comments that concentrated power is valued by majoritarians for enabling elected governments to carry out their promises (mandates) and for giving voters clear information about responsibility for government actions (accountability). Unless public opinion is very homogenous, however, concentrating power in the hands of the government will be detrimental to the normative principle of giving proportional influence to agents of all the electorate, which is the process most valued by the alternative vision. Sixth, another factor against consensus democracy is that some perform better than others. Schmidt (2002:149) argues other blind spots also include the asymmetric availability of performance data, with less systematic coverage of democracies in economically less-advanced states as a major gap, as well as the tendency to overlook both the imperfections of all consensus democracies and the wide range of variation in policy performance among consensus democracies. Powell (2000:52) argues clarity of responsibility is greatest when a single, unified political party controls both the national legislature and chief executive. If control of these critical policy-making points is dispersed among various parties or among individuals not firmly connected by political parties, then it will be much harder for citizens to determine who should bear the responsibility for policy success or failure and to use their electoral resources effectively as instruments for reward or retribution. Seventh, another weakness of Lijphart, is that he uses different concepts of democracy. Van Schendelen (1981:8) states in his first book, he refers to the election process, in the second (Democracies of Plurality) to Dahls concept of polyarchy. Between the two there exist, of course, important differences: for Dahl elections are only one element of polyarchy among many. Van Schendelen (1981:8) further states in his first conceptualization Lijphart leaves open the possibilities that political parties fully control the recruitment of candidates for an election; that in the interelection period the relationships between electors and elected are almost non-existent or antagonistic; that elites opinions and behaviour are non-representative of the peoples demands; and that elite-politics is full of secrecy and immune to popular control. Eighth, while Lipjhart focuses on certain countries for his research, Barbara Geddes (1990:131) states that there is a problem with selecting cases for study when the dependent variable originates from the logic of explanation. She (1990:131) further states when one sets out to explain why countries A and B have, say, developed more rapidly than countries C through G, one is implicitly looking for some antecedent factors X through Z that countries A and B possess, but that countries C through G do not. Geddes (1990) argues that the crux of the difficulty that arises when cases are selected on the dependent variable is that if one studies only countries A and B, one can collect only half the information needed, namely what A and B have in common which is what Lipjhart (1994a) does. She (1990:131) goes on to state unless one also studies countries C through G (or a sample of them) to make sure they lack factors X through Z, one cannot know whether or not the factors identified are cruc ial antecedents of the outcome under investigation. Countries A and B may be the only countries that have X through Z, in which case the hypothesis seems plausible. But many other countries may also have them, in which case the hypothesis would seem dubious. Schmidt (2002:148) clearly states one result of comparative studies of the behaviour, output and outcome of democracies has been that simple generalizations do not fit. According to Lijphart (1994a), no significant difference exists between the two types of democracies with respect to macro-economic policy outcomes and law-and-order-management. However, when it comes to softer political issues, consensus democracy turns out to be the winner. As a group, consensus democracies, Lijphart (1994a) argues, they perform better than majoritarian democracies in the protection of minorities, voter turnout, income equality and ratings of democratic quality. Schmidt (2002:151) continues with his discussion stating this finding is undoubtedly preliminary, and future work will require more detailed analysis of the impact of alternative explanations and control variables. However, the major point in this context is that Lijphart (1994a) has asked the right questions, such as do forms of democracy make a difference to policy outputs and policy outcomes and, if so, to what extent? Moreover, Schmidt (2002:151) continues his discussion the research published from many academics thus far has already produced fresh evidence on the costs and benefits of governmental systems with different political arrangements and different forms of democracy in particular. In contrast to this, policy deliberation in a non-majoritarian democracy is frequently characterized by extended bargaining, time-consuming searches for compromises and circuitous attempts to develop a political consensus such features are not at all suitable to politics as a spectacle (Edelm an 1988). Finally, Schmidt (2002:151) says the higher level of transparency and accountability of majoritarian democracies also weighs in their favour. Political leaders in a majoritarian democracy are more exposed and accountable to the general public, while responsibility and accountability in non-majoritarian systems often tends to evaporate in the countless networks typical of a negotiation democracy. Satori (1997:72) adds consociational democracy is a cross-pressured system held together by countervailing, solidaristic elites bent upon neutralizing the centrifugal pulls of their societies; consensus democracy is, instead, a one way slope that leads to a self-reinforcing system of minority appetites. CONCLUSION The catalogue of collected criticisms raised against Lijpharts views demonstrates at least one thing: his views are widely and fundamentally contested. But it also demonstrates that Lijpharts views have been taken seriously and that they have at least provoked critical debate and analysis among scholars. This critical inquiry attests to the substance and importance of Lijpharts efforts. I agree with Sartori (1997) where he states Lijphart seems to be more concerned about the applicability or the engineering potential of his theory than about its political science validity. If, along the basic lines of his essential views, democratic stability could be realized in highly unstable countries, then the theory may be weak, but not wrong. In consequence, Edelman (1985:2) states in their obsession with the state, men are of course obsessed with themselves. If politics is as complicated and ambivalent as the men who create it, it is to be expected that its institutions and forms should take on strong meanings: meanings that men cue and teach each other to expect and that are vital for the acquiescence of the general public in the actions of elites and therefore for social harmony. I support Lipjharts consociational democracy as it presents us with a challenging and provocative point of view. But, at the present time, it provides less than is needed for solid prescriptions for deeply divided societies anxiously searching for stable democracy. Perhaps, after rigorous analysis and evaluation, it might lead us to answers for problems confronting such societies. Any answers it might provide would certainly be highly valued by those who seek a stable, democratic political system.

U.s. And Swedish Trends In Tax Reform :: essays research papers

U.S. and Swedish Trends in Tax Reform Tax reform has become a major governmental policy issue in the United States as well as in the rest of the world. Countries are attempting to balance both economic efficiency and provide equity in taxation. Governments are looking to rewrite tax codes to minimize their impact on economic growth. Specifically, governments throughout the world are attempting to preserve incentives built into taxation to maximize economic efficiency. At the same time, these governments are trying to cope with the growth in social welfare programs throughout the past three decades. In this paper I shall discuss two nations which dramatically overhauled their tax systems, and whether or not their goals with tax reform were achieved. In the article "The tax reform act of 1986: Did Congress love it or leave it?", Randall Weiss discusses the attitudes about taxes in the United States. He details the events and attitudes leading to the Tax Reform Act of 1986, and shows how public perception about taxes has changed since then. He also discusses some of the tax reform proposals that are now currently being thought about in Congress. In 1986 the United States Congress enacted the Tax Reform Act (TRA-86). The act passed with a great deal of bipartisan support. This support was made possible by two features of the act. The first was that federal income tax rates were to be cut dramatically. While this would lead one to believe that federal government receipts were cut substantially as well, it was the second important feature of the bill that allowed it to be revenue neutral. This feature was that the bill was to improve horizontal equity in the tax system. This would be accomplished by eliminating many of the deductions that many individuals, particularly the well to do, were allowed to make. Many of the complains about the tax system in the United States that preceded the Tax Reform Act were about the gross horizontal inequities that it allowed. A great deal of press preceding TRA-86 showed the public how many of the country's wealthiest individuals were able to get away with paying little or no federal income tax. Eliminating many of these tax deductions and loopholes had been the goal of several liberal Democrats for some time. In addition, conservatives in Congress wanted to reduce the escalating federal budget deficit at the time. Also, a prevailing attitude of the time was that reducing marginal tax rates would benefit the economy. It was believed that specific tax breaks and deductions to support economic growth would not be needed with the greatly reduced tax rates.

COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM Essay

Systems techniques are tools used in the analysis, design, and documentation of system and subsystem relationships. They are largely graphical (pictorial) in nature.  Systems techniques are used by accountants who do systems work. Documentation includes the following types of tools: Narratives (written descriptions) Flowcharts Diagrams Other written material For this subject, we only need to discuss two (2) of the most common documentation tools: Data flow diagrams Graphical descriptions of the sources and destinations of data. They show: Where data comes from How it flows The processes performed on it Where it goes Include three types: Document flowcharts describe the flow of documents and information between departments or units. System flowcharts describe the relationship between inputs, processing, and outputs for a system. Program flowcharts describe the sequence of logical operations performed in a computer program DATA FLOW DIAGRAMS A data flow diagram (DFD) graphically describes the flow of data within an organization. It is used to: Document existing systems Plan and design new systems There is no black-and-white approach to developing a DFD. Data sources and destinations Appear as squares Represent organizations or individuals that send or receive data used or produced by the system An item can be both a source and a destination Data flows Appear as arrows Represent the flow of data between sources and destinations, processes, and data stores As you probably surmised(GUESS) from the previous slides, if a data flow is two-way, use a bi-directional arrow.If two data elements flow together, then the use of one data flow line is appropriate.

Whered You Go, Bernadette Book Club Questions

Is your book club is looking to dig into the comic mystery of Whered You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple? This book has over-the-top humor laced with social commentary. Its a fun and quick read that brings to mind several questions, although none of them are very deep.  Whered You Go, Bernadette? is a quick, fun read that has enough discussion for a book club but is light enough for a beach bag. Its good for anyone who wants to disappear for a little while. If you find your book club has been reading too many books that leave you emotionally wrung out and intellectually challenged, its a nice change of pace. Spoiler Warning: Finish the book before reading on as characters and situations are included in the questions. If you dont want your reading experience spoiled, stop right here and come back when you are done! Book Club Questions for Whered You Go, Bernadette?   These questions will help jump-start the discussion. You can add more questions to the list as well as any insights you gained while reading. What was your favorite scene in Whered You Go, Bernadette?Did you think Bernadette had died?Were you surprised by Audreys turnaround? Was it realistic?Do you think Elgin and Bernadette can have a happy future?Are you familiar with TED Talks? What did you think of Elgins TED Talk?Were there any cultural jabs that rang particularly true for you, especially if you have lived in Seattle or the Pacific Northwest?Did this book make you want to go to Antarctica?Do you like the over-the-top style of the book or not, and why?Do you like books that include emails and other items, and what other books does this style remind you of?Which of Bernadettes antisocial attitudes and actions do you identify with, if any?Rate Whered You Go, Bernadette? on a scale of 1 to 5. Give a one to two sentence explanation of your score. Preparing for Your Book Discussion As you read the book, bookmark pages and underline particular sections that interest you or that you found humorous. If these provoke specific insights or cause you to start musing about something, write those down. After you finish the book, return to the bookmarks. What further questions and musings are brought to mind? Is there a character that you particularly identify with, and why? Is there a character you truly dislike and what about them incites these emotions? Maria Semple was one of the writers of Arrested Development, and some of the characters and events in Whered You Go Bernadette? reflect the over-the-top style of the show rather than being realistic. But this style can certainly bring out a laugh.