Are Bull Markets Supported By Rational Growth in Stock Valuations? :: Finance Financial Economics Essays

Introduction â€Å"The rich get richer† is a frequently heard adage in the United States, a country quickly associated with capitalism. US financial markets make headline news on a daily basis, so people are well aware when the domestic stock market’s indices rise or fall. Given the widespread distribution of information on the stock market’s performance, much excitement can easily be generated during a bull market, broadly defined as a trend during which stock prices are climbing. Does the publicity and excitement surrounding a bull market further perpetuate rising stock prices? A look at historic daily closing values for the S&P 500 index from January 2, 1997 to December 31, 1999 reveals overall growth of 99.35%[i], which on average indicates similar growth in the stock prices of the companies included in the index. Clearly, this three year period falls within a bull market, since the S&P 500 is commonly utilized to represent average performance of the stock market on the whole. A return of 99.35% on an investment is excellent and far exceeds the general return on â€Å"risk-free† investments like FDIC insured savings accounts or Treasury bills. [i] Percent change calculation derived from widely published market data Examination of Common Stock Valuation to Account for Rising Share Prices Like most economic evaluations, the decision to purchase a share of a company’s stock is based on an individual’s willingness to pay versus the current selling price of the share. Fundamentally, the willingness to pay is determined by a valuation of that share of stock. For a given share of common stock, the willingness to pay is, or should be, linked to the present value of the stream of future cash flows that the investor will receive from expected dividends and through any expected capital gain for selling the share at a higher price than at which it was purchased.[i] Thus, there are three main factors the affect the valuation of a share of common stock: future dividends, future market price of the share, and the discount rate used. [i] Fundamentals of Financial Management, Eugene F. Brigham & Joel F. Houston, Harcourt College Publishers: Forth Worth, 2001. (p. 409) Future Dividends Are Bull Markets Supported By Rational Growth in Stock Valuations? :: Finance Financial Economics Essays Introduction â€Å"The rich get richer† is a frequently heard adage in the United States, a country quickly associated with capitalism. US financial markets make headline news on a daily basis, so people are well aware when the domestic stock market’s indices rise or fall. Given the widespread distribution of information on the stock market’s performance, much excitement can easily be generated during a bull market, broadly defined as a trend during which stock prices are climbing. Does the publicity and excitement surrounding a bull market further perpetuate rising stock prices? A look at historic daily closing values for the S&P 500 index from January 2, 1997 to December 31, 1999 reveals overall growth of 99.35%[i], which on average indicates similar growth in the stock prices of the companies included in the index. Clearly, this three year period falls within a bull market, since the S&P 500 is commonly utilized to represent average performance of the stock market on the whole. A return of 99.35% on an investment is excellent and far exceeds the general return on â€Å"risk-free† investments like FDIC insured savings accounts or Treasury bills. [i] Percent change calculation derived from widely published market data Examination of Common Stock Valuation to Account for Rising Share Prices Like most economic evaluations, the decision to purchase a share of a company’s stock is based on an individual’s willingness to pay versus the current selling price of the share. Fundamentally, the willingness to pay is determined by a valuation of that share of stock. For a given share of common stock, the willingness to pay is, or should be, linked to the present value of the stream of future cash flows that the investor will receive from expected dividends and through any expected capital gain for selling the share at a higher price than at which it was purchased.[i] Thus, there are three main factors the affect the valuation of a share of common stock: future dividends, future market price of the share, and the discount rate used. [i] Fundamentals of Financial Management, Eugene F. Brigham & Joel F. Houston, Harcourt College Publishers: Forth Worth, 2001. (p. 409) Future Dividends

Leviticus Essay -- essays research papers

Leviticus 11 is dealing with the subject of cleanness and uncleanness, specifically, with the subject of clean and unclean foods. The word "clean"has a lot of different meanings today depending upon the context in which it is used. For one thing, the expression clean and its counterpoint unclean is one of the prominent themes of Leviticus. Unclean and its cognates occurs 132 times in the Old Testament; over half of these are in Leviticus. So the sense of uncleanness is a predominate theme, and the word clean, along with its related terms, occurs 74 times in Leviticus, which is over one-third of the uses found in the Old Testament. When we come to chapter 11, it is stated that cleanness and uncleanness has to do principally with food. It deals secondarily with cleanness or uncleanness that is the result of contact with a dead animal, but it seems the reason the dead animal is called unclean is because we couldn't eat it. Even a clean animal, a bull or a sheep, could not be eaten if it were not killed in a sacrificially prescribed way. So it has to do with food or that which is touched when dead.we find first the land creatures, the animals that roam about through the earth (vv. 1-8); then we find in verses 9-12 the water creatures, those that live under water or in the water, and finally we have the flying creatures. First, there are the land animals. There are two basic stipulations which must be met bef...

Jacques Cousteau :: essays papers

Jacques Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau was born in St. Andre de Cubazac, France in 1910. The son of a lawyer, Jacques was warned by doctors to avoid strenuous activities due to chronic enteritis and anenemia. This did not affect his sense for adventure. At age 11, he built a foot working model of a two hundred ton marine crane. At age 13, he made a battery powered automobile. In 1930, at the age of twenty, Jacques entered the French Naval Academy. Form 1933 to 1935 he served in the Far East aboard the cruiser Primaguet and ashore in Shanghai. He trained as a Navy flier until a serious automobile accident ended his aviation career. For his war efforts he was awarded two medals. One for honor and the other, A Purple Heart. Afterwards, he took part in mapmaking study along the Indochina Coast. In 1936, near Toulon, he tried underwater goggles for the first time, and his future course was set. In 1943, he and Emile Gagnan developed the first regulated compressed-air breathing device for sustained, unencumbered diving. After World War II, he created and organized, in conjunction with Commander Philippe Tailliez and Frà ©dà ©ric Dumas, an underwater research unit to carry out technical experiments and laboratory studies in diving. In 1950 he founded "Campagne Oceanographique Francaise". Also, in the same year, Captain Cousteau acquired Calypso, a retired minesweeper of American construction. Over the next year, she was transformed into an oceanographic vessel, and the adventures of the now-famous ship began. In the four decades since, she has sailed literally around the world and has explored many of the planet's major rivers. In collaboration with engineer Jean Mollard, Cousteau designed the Diving Saucer in 1959, a round, highly maneuverable, two-person submersible capable of diving to a depth of 350 meters. In 1965, twin one-man submersibles, the Sea Fleas, were launched by Cousteau. He also directed three experiments in saturation-diving techniques: Conshelf I off Marseille (1962), Conshelf II in the Red Sea (1963), and finally Conshelf III (1965), near Nice, in which six men breathing a helium- oxygen mixture lived and worked at 100 meters for three weeks. This was the first of its kind. Not only is Captain Cousteau a oceanographer, he is also a author and documentarian. Jacques Cousteau has produced more than seventy films for television, films which have won numerous Emmys and other awards. He has also produced three full-length theatrical feature films, The Silent World, World Without Sun, and Voyage to the Edge of the World. Cousteau has written, in collaboration with various co-authors, more than fifty books,

Teenagers’ Addiction

It's 12:30 a. m. YouVe spent your entire night doing your late-night homework and now you have a craving for the munchies. Your mouth waters as you spot a box of Oreos, a bag of Doritos, and yes, even a bag of popcorn. However, what you don't know about these seemingly harmless, delicious snacks is that they contain loads of fats that, on the log run, will surely harm your health!I have put both my time and energy to research about this topic (fast food consumption among teenagers) not only because of its personal influence (considering I'm a teen who used to be a sucker for Junk food), but also because this issue has been strongly prevaling and has been increasing potentially harmful effects on us teenagers as we're growing older, uch as diabetes, high blood pressure problems that can come with even worse complications, like heart diseases and fatal storkes.With only very few exceptions, fast foods have exceedingly high content of saturated fat and trans fat that can easily increase the level of bad cholesterol in a person's body. In addition to fats, sugars and salts that are found in Junk food like candy bars and burgers, respectively, also can have negative impacts on teenagers' healths. Also, some of my school friends have known persons that are currently suffering from the results of constant consumption of fast food.These teenagers suffer from not only evident damages to their physical health, but also those damages to their intellectual health. Moreover, seeing as we are such a school community, I hope that we must be vigilant and take notice for each other as we all wish our friends to stay healthy, Joyful, and successful individuals with long healthy lives. 2. Overview of the subject: Teenagers are becoming immensely absorbed into the theme of today, as their transforming lifestyles are bringing about a lot of challenges in the world.The rapid, untiring, and nervous lifestyles of teenagers today are bringing them towards more ast food consumption rath er than healthier and home cooked food. This has very important problem faced by many countries as the instances of heart diseases and diabetes being observed among teens are growing daily. Teenagers undergoing obesity can have long term sicknesses which will be discovered sooner or later in their lives. In Canada, over 26% of teenagers (1. 6 million teenagers) are considered overweight or obese. Frood, 2009). The same phenomenon has occurred in the United States. The prevalence of overweight teenagers in the United States has increased dramatically in the past few years. Recent reports have reached epidemic levels, with approximately 16 percent of teenagers, 12 to 19 years old, classified as overweight (Bellows ; Roach, 2009). According to Novikova, there are three major causes why so many teenagers are attracted to fast food consumption (Novikova, 2009): The first factor is that of time constraints.This means that Junk food is addictive due to its simplicity and students prefer it as it is very quick to purchase. Students save themselves the hassle of preparing a lunch the night before or even eating breakfast, because some find it tedious and time consuming. In fact, they prefer to grab a quick bite in between classes or to have a quick lunch from the cafeteria so that they can continue with their tasks being almost uninterrupted, hence making Junk food utterly convenient for students to purchase.The second main reason Junk food is hard to resist is the delicious taste. However, the truth is that Junk foods get their taste from large amounts of oils, salts, and sugars, mostly resulting in empty calories (providing energy without any real nutrients needed by the body). Junk food is also tempting, especially on bad days; ome studies suggest that carbohydrates, which are present in most Junk foods, increase serotonin levels, prompting one to feel happier. A third factor is the increasing availability of Junk food.The increase in availability is mostly within d istricts lacking funds to supply nutritious food; therefore, they turn to the cheap, efficient, and tasty alternative that appears to keep everybody content. In general, a â€Å"10 percentage point increase in the proportion of schools with Junk food is correlated with about a 1 percent higher BMI for the average student,† according to National Bureau of Economic Research. This means the more Junk food available, the more weight gain–showing a large disregard for the health risks associated with it; if it's there, students will eat it (Novikova, 2009). 3.Methodology section: This research, which studies the estimations and views of teenagers, examines a rank of fast food-related themes. Using measuring survey approaches, I have polled 15 high school students, all of which ranged between 13 to 18 years of age. Each questionnaire paper was composed of four carefully chosen questions, all of which ere multiple choice questions (refer back to Appendix A for questions). As it can be and straight to the point, in order to meet my research's critical needs successfully. After the data were obtained, information was examined methodically using content analytic approaches.In general, I found that most, if not all, teenagers were well- enlightened about good health and home-food cooking, but they did not translate this knowledge into food behavior; they prefer fast food consumption. Teenagers felt that there were many obstacles and limits to changing their fast food consumption – pecifically, lack of time, absence of discipline, and absence of the sense of urgency. Time was regarded as the most important aspect – students realized themselves as being too engaged to worry about food, nourishment, meal cooking, and eating properly.The next remarks were typical: â€Å"We prefer other ways to spend time and we do not have enough time to change bad habits. † â€Å"We do not have the time with all this school work – a lot of problems . † â€Å"There's a lot more than food that is actually important to us. † 4. Analysis and interpretation: While the greater number of students in the questionnaire said that they found ome kinds of healthy foods agreeable (few of them even suggested their addition in the school food schedule), there was omnipresent and ubiquitous endorsement of temperance in consuming foods of minimal nutritional value.The primary attraction of fast foods, according to the pupils, is the taste. Most noticed that they preferred and ate such foods without noticing the consequences, which involved â€Å"getting fat,† â€Å"occurrence of inflamed glands,† â€Å"bad state of mind† â€Å"bad health,† â€Å"poor feeding† â€Å"laziness,† â€Å"cavities,† and â€Å"getting ill frequently'. The other most popular cause given or consumption of fast food is its practicality. At all times, seeming to be in a rush, teenagers find fast food, in spite of its negative values, to be an essential part of their busy lives.The most important obstacle that these teens cited in the questionnaire was the unsuitability and expenditure involved in developing their diets. Since many teenagers are becoming conscious of themselves as leading lively, energetic, busy individuals, they sometimes trust that it is too much trouble to prepare a meal from scratch, thinking it would be a waste of time. More precisely, they can't seem to stop escribing how much they are tempted to fast-food places and well-timed and favorable foods (such as chocolates, sweets, and chips).Such food selections are easy to reach and involve no planning or trouble in shopping for. The prevailing opinion among the teenagers I polled is that healthy food is â€Å"too large of a bother† and they are too engaged and pressured to consider much about healthy food. 5. Conclusion: Teenagers require to learn the skills obligatory to make dietary transformation. They nutrit ion facts, and to reckon up dietary and food information. Moreover, training in ields such as solution making, assertiveness, and opposition to peer pressure required to be involved into programs purposed at producing food changes.During this questionnaire pupils put forward for consideration that many teenagers' absence the self-discipline required to eat healthy foods since their priority is for fast food consumption. Ultimately some of the teen respondents put forward for consideration that practicing good food habits had little hurry to teenagers. While self-confessing the significance of healthy eating practices, teenagers thought they ould concern later in life about eating better.It took me a while to think about an issue that I would have loved to read about, learn more about, and know how to deal with. After that, it only seemed convenient for me to research about the hazards in Junk food and how to prevent them as much as possible, for l, myself, am someone who needs a die tetic wake-up call! I was glad that I have found a topic that I was completely absorbed in, and from there, my Journey of researching began. Digging more into my topic, by reading as many relevant articles as I could, slightly overwhelmed me, especially with the uncountable number of articles that I could use as references.However, with constant elimination, I finally succeeded to narrow down my options. Another challenge was choosing the 5 questions for my interview. At first, it took me a while to choose whether the question should be multiple choice questions or free- subjective ones. However, I knew for a fact that if I received a survey form to fill out, I would have preferred to have fast and easy-to-answer questions due to my typical eenage busy schedule and lack of patience. Therefore, I made sure to keep my survey questions easy to relate to and quick to answer.Of course, I also made sure to keep a varied set of answers available in order for them to meet everyone's opinion s. all. It took me a while to put my words together and make the best out of all the sources. To be completely honest, I never felt like I was burdened to the extent where I was so close to NOT doing this research. Despite the fact that I've been exempted from the final exams, I umfortunately still have to study for two difficult SAT subject ests, and to practice for the musical performance that I will be performing on my graduation night , all that in a matter of 2 and a half weeks!Not to mention, of course, that I still haven't bought my graduation dress! (that alone is a girl's worst nightmare, believe me! ) Nevertheless, I was able to finish this ever-so-stressful mission, and I couldn't be more relieved! It made me realize that my hard work and perseverance never fail to pay off and make me outdo myself everytime. I am so pleased to say that I have officially broken my record of deligence against Dar Jana's stressful assignments!

Alexander the Great Essay 9

Alexander the Great Alexander the Great was a king and conqueror. He is commonly referred to as â€Å"the most powerful leader of all time. † What is it that makes him such a powerful leader? What has he accomplished that has made him so significant? Were his accomplishments positive or negative? These are all questions that when combined as one create a debate that has been going on for decades. There are those who admire Alexander’s military achievements and ability to carve out the largest empire the world has seen. Then there are those who perceive him as a selfish, cruel madman with drinking problems. This paper will outline the different sides taken on Alexander and the question as to what his significance/influence was and whether it was good or bad. Alexander the Great was the son of Phillip II, king of Macedonia. Phillip had always done much to prepare him for a military and political future (Lewis 48). Alexander served as a regent for his father at the young age of 16 for the start of his military career. After the assassination of his father he obtained the throne in 336 B. C. E. and leader of the League of Corinth. In 335 B. C. E he crushed Macedonia’s borders and destroyed the city of Thebes. This caused Athens to join the league with no fight. 334 B. C. E. was the year of his first great victory, which opened Asia Minor to conquest. He then, in 333, met the Persian King for the first time and caused him to flee by charging even though Alexander was outnumbered. This was the beginning of the end for Persia. Alexander went on and in his 13 year reign was conquering the Mediterranean, forming new cities, and producing an empire touching on 3 continents and encompassing 2 million sq miles (O’Brien 44). Such work is something one should be proud of and many agree that conquering all of Persia in such a short amount of time is Alexander the Greats biggest accomplishment. Balcer obviously agrees with that stating that Alexander succeeded in forming the largest western empire of the ancient world and removing Persian intervention in Greek affairs (Balcer 121-122). Sacks obviously agrees as well saying that his â€Å"principal achievement was the conquest of the empire of Persia,†(14). The perspective of many scholars is that Alexander really was â€Å"the greatest leader† and through the conquering he undertook he achieved many great things. This is the side of the debate in which scholars find Alexander’s significance to be a positive thing. It is argued he was a â€Å"military genius with iron will and boundless ambition,† (O’Brien 45). Scholar Edmund Burke clearly supports this idea in saying that in his accession to the Macedonian throne his foundation of Alexandria, conquest of the Persian Empire and his strategic and tactical genius makes him a â€Å"legend† (Burke 67). He was not the only scholar to refer to him as a legend for a professor at Boise State notes that Alexander exhibited tremendous bravery, didn’t let a wound stop him, never lost a battle, had those around him believe he was invincible, and knew and loved his men. Combining all these factors created an army that could not be stopped and its accomplishments outdid anything that had been seen yet. Alexander and his troops had become a â€Å"legend,† (Knox). Alexander had also been seen as the reason for successfully spreading Greek culture that still exists today. Oriental and Greek cultures blended and flourished as a result of the Empire, making Greek culture his true legacy (Balcer 124). The Hellenistic Era took place right after Alexander’s death and he is said to be the one who ushered this fascinating era. (O’Brien 46). The scholars are right, Alexander truly is a legend for he was the finest battlefield commander of the ancient world and remade the map of the ancient world (Sacks 14). Not just anyone can achieve such success, there seems to be something extraordinary about this man. Yet, not everyone agrees that he was so extraordinary. Yes, he did carve out the largest empire and at an amazingly rapid pace but his aims and ambitions were different than spreading Hellenism throughout the western Mediterranean and near the east. He was a self-confident man who only wanted to conquer for self-pleasure. Alexander is the reason that corruption and peculation were treated with casualness during this time. His pleasure was when his peoples were loyal to him and that was all that was necessary for his approval. It was because of him that Macedonia lost its manpower through the strenuous battles he continuously fought. He left it as a weakened kingdom. His empire is given so much credit but it was only based on rapid military conquest and died right after his death (Stoneman 92-94). It is believed that Alexander conquered to rule, not to blend cultures. Heavy drinking led to disastrous incidents and hastened his death. An example of such a disaster was the burning down of Persepolis in a drunken revel. This is not an attribute of a good leader. He also lacked long-range planning and neglected his kingdoms future by exhausting himself in warfare while he delayed fathering a royal successor. His selfishness is proved by his act of casually killing any threats to the throne at the beginning of his reign (Sacks 15). Those who see Alexander in a negative manner obviously have quite strong opinions about it. They see him as more of a madman than the most powerful leader. It is easy to see where they get their assumptions from for they look at the bloodshed part of Alexander’s reign. Instead of focusing on the rare ability he had to conquer so successfully the use the old journals and other texts used to learn about Alexander and don’t see past the drunken stories and jump to the negative side of his actions to make them cruel. Those who make assumptions about him being the greatest military leader of all time look at the historical records we have of them and analyze his tactics realizing they really are extraordinary. No other person has conquered so much, so fast and left such a legacy. I agree with those who see him as a significantly positive influence so its easier to see where they are coming from. I look at the whole picture; his achievements were unlike anyone else’s in history and as a King he was only trying to do the better for his country. He deserves the credit he has received for spreading Greek culture; there is no other way it would have happened. Scholar Burke put it perfectly when in his article he states, â€Å"when mention is made of a man of action and genius, there is perhaps no one of the ancients who so quickly comes to mind as Alexander the Great† (Burke 67).

Is drug addiction a disease or a choice Essay

Is drug addiction a disease or a choice? Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Have you in any way contemplated whether drug addiction is a disease or a choice? This topic has been very controversial and has brought about many debates to ascertain the whole thing. Many researchers have taken a stand that being a drug addict is completely a disease that only can be cured by taking drugs. On other side, there are other researchers who are for it not being a disease but just a matter of choice. Having considered and carried a lot of research on this controversial issue, my stand remains that drug abuse or drug addict is wholly a matter of choice and not a disease.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The time one is born, he/she does not know anything. You are introduced into the new world with your own will. The things that one chooses to do at any age are solely his or her own choice. There are many things that happen in this world that may directly or indirectly involve oneself. Everybody has the will to make his or her own decision, to say yes or no to indulgent into some activities. In whatever case, any time that these boundaries are crossed, it becomes a choice that has been made.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the world of today, it is very impossible for someone to say that they have never come across or know anybody who is in one way or the other involved in drug abuse or addiction. One could know a person who is a drug abuser, addict or is even contemplating usage of drugs. Though, nobody at any point gets involved with drugs when he/she has not chosen to do so at the startup. When the first decision to either test or use drugs, the decision leads to severe drug addiction or abuse. There are many people who do not know that there is a difference between being a drug addict and a drug abuser. The only fact is that neither of the two is better than the other. Drug addiction is when somebody uses any kind of a substance that is deemed to be dangerous or comes with many dangerous and negative effects. Carl L. et al. on the other hand, Drug abuse is when someone uses a substance or a drug excessively or when they apply it into the purposes that it was not medically intended to. (Hart, Ksir, Ray). According to the researches that have been carried, it is true that one can abuse drugs and he/she has not been addicted to the same but one cannot be addicted to drugs without being an abuser of the same. When a person makes a decision to first use a drug substance, the spiral downward trend begins to take effect on one’s life unless the involved person makes a decision to stop being an addict because also quitting drug usage is also another choice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Like all the other choices, drug addiction or abuse is influenced by goals and preference. Drug addiction is not gender based and can affect anybody regardless of his/her economic status. The first decision that is made to first start abusing drugs leads to a direction of making decisions that are not right according to other people who are not drug addicts. These decision could involve making a decision to drive a car sometimes even in uncontrollable speed, indulging into unprotected sex, or even take part in some activities that one would not have done normally if they were not under the influence of drugs. The ones who are completely addicted fail to fulfill their obligations at work, home, at school and even to his/her friends. To cite an example of this I shall use a woman who indulged into drug addict only because she had a small fight with her husband. The woman has been a drug addict but now she has fully quitted to be one for more than twenty five years. In an interview, she recalls the time that she firstly made a decision to try cocaine. She states that because of the feeling that resulted from her and her husband she easily made a decision to let someone convince her to take cocaine. From that time, she wanted to try the drug again and again so that she could feel the highness that she had felt the first time she took the drug. For five years, she constantly chased the high feeling. For another one year, she was struggling with the idea of wanting to quit drug but still the high feeling drove her back into the trap. The woman remembers getting some money from her family member and blowing more than two thousand dollars on one day. She became very neglectful towards her kids and also the other family members. Due the circumstances she passed through, ranging from being involved in a drug raid many times, the fear that her kids were going through hard times, she decided to go for a rehab. This is a decision that she also made to herself without being forced by anyone to do so. In the interview with the woman, she was asked whether she believed that drug addiction was a matter of choice or a disease. She responded by saying that it was solely a matter of choice because on her case nobody had forced her to became an addict each time that she used the drug she knew of the adverse effect that comes with the same and also she realized how her family were being affected yet continued taking cocaine. When she was asked if she accepted the full responsibility for all her actions, she responded â€Å"yes†. She said that it could be wrong to blame other for her own choices and she put it clear that it was her choice to start using the drugs as it was in quitting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The drug addiction support group suggests that no matter the drug of choice, counseling, treatments and other kind of intervention are necessary for any addict to return to their normal and healthy lifestyles. It is clear that there are some other factors that need to be considered by the drug addicts so that they can not only remain clean but also drug free. One should make it clear to choose on the friends that he/she hanged up with, the places that one spends his/her leisure time, and the things that one does that could lead them to become drug users or rather abusers and addicts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, drug use is a willful commitment or a choice just like choosing or dedicating oneself to complete a college education or choosing to join a certain club. Even though heavy consumption of drug is self destructive and foolish, it is a matter of choice. The addiction has no specific people who are affected, no matter whether a person is nice, weak, educated, rich or poor they can all be tempted to make the choice of becoming drug addicts by merely being convinced by what they may think is a high and good feeling but undermining the fact that they are destructing their bodies. When some individuals try to label the drug addict as the ones who have some kind of a brain disease, it is a big insult to the ones who truly have the disease but have not chosen to indulge in drug abusing activities. All the people that are drug abusers should accept the responsibility for their own choices. Every time that a person decides whether to ac quire the drugs for money or by use of other means, they have not been forced by anybody, it is xjust their own choice and no one else should be blamed for this. The ones that have decided to stop drug addiction; they have done so because they chose to do so. Owing to all these arguments, my stand remains that drug addiction is a matter of choice and not a disease. Reference Hart, Ksir, Ray (2013) Drug, society, and Human Behavior: McGraw-Hill Source document

Philosophy Of Life And Education Education Essay

The delay and grueling hours of survey and fulfilment of academic demands will shortly be over. I meet the chance of graduating from this University with a grade in Business Finance with assorted feelings. First, there is alleviation that all the hours that I have put in order to accomplish this stepping rock into the universe of concern have eventually paid off. Second, there is pride that I was able to carry through so much non merely academically but besides for my ain personal development within the continuance of my class in the University. Third, there is besides the fright that I feel comes of course to every alumnus as he steps out of a familiar environment and into an unfamiliar one. I know, along with every alumnus this twelvemonth, that the existent universe of work will be much tougher than the academia. However, I am confident that with my strong background in broad instruction and in my field of specialisation, I will be able to see my ends to fruition. There are three primary ends in my life at this peculiar clip which emphasize on household, personal, and societal duties. My first end is to take a successful calling as a man of affairs as I fulfill the household duty of pull offing the household concern. Having come from a traditional Eastern household, I am expected to take over the reins of the concern which my ascendants have labored to set up in order to procure the demands of the household. When I graduate, I will apprentice under my male parent until I have adequate experience to personally run the palm oil concern that my household owns. In my civilization, household ever comes foremost. This is my manner of honouring all the forfeits that my parents have done for me in order to supply me with a nice life and an first-class instruction. As my parents progress in age, it is the duty of the kids to take attention of them in their retirement. This is why my first major end at this point in my life is to instantly use all that I have learned to back up my household and prolong our support. My 2nd end is of a personal nature. Finally, I want to prosecute a alumnus grade in order to heighten my cognition in concern direction. Obtaining a maestro ‘s grade in concern disposal in the close hereafter will be of great aid to me professionally. On a personal degree, I recognize that larning does non stop and must be pursued continually. In add-on to executing the duties that one ‘s household expects of you, one should besides see one ‘s personal growing and development as a major end. My 3rd end relates to societal duty in relation to concern as a profession. During several categories I attended, I learned and appreciated the duty for concerns to do a positive impact to the community. I consider it an duty particularly for concerns rooted in the environment, like the oil concern. I had frequently considered puting up a scholarship fund for qualified yet disadvantaged kids in my community. There are many who are deprived of the basic demands in life such as instruction that need aid from those who can supply it for them. I do non believe that the impact of my instruction should interpret into doing the most addition for the benefit of the household concern I will shortly pull off. Rather, as Wood ( 1999 ) stated, the societal duty of concerns includes the designation and rating of concern results non sole of fiscal profitableness or a company ‘s wellbeing but by rules such as moralss and societal desirableness. I believe that ethical behavior of concern and profitableness are non reciprocally sole. Ethical motives and societal duty encouragement concern while at the same clip lending positively to the society in general. I recognize of class, that the universe is undergoing several societal, economic and political turbulences. The recent planetary crises and the outstanding dirts affecting planetary corporations Enron and AIG have had several deductions for the universe of concern. Political differences all over the universe – the Israeli-Palestine struggle, terrorist act, the atomic menace posed by Iran and North Korea, and the crude oil wars – affect lives and concerns around the universe. Peace remains elusive. Without peace, the chance of economic and societal development becomes even dimmer. Furthermore, the job of clime alteration besides presents several deductions for concerns including the concern that I will shortly take. Erratic conditions forms lead to drought, torrential rains, landslides, storms and works disease which will impact the palm oil concern negatively. My hopes for the universe within the following five decennaries are many. First, I look frontward to a more sus tainable and greenish universe. Because of my engagement in the palm oil industry, I feel that I can make my portion in conveying this about. In the palm oil concern, the environment is ever a primary concern. Palm oil companies are invariably pressured by environmental groups to cut down their environmental impact, which I think is merely fitting since the industry itself relies on sustainable environments to do their concerns grow. I believe that palm oil concerns should endeavor to implement schemes that would do palm cultivation work harmoniously and non negatively with the environment. Aside from saving and re-afforestation attempts, there should besides be clear waies in research and development to come up with ways for sustainable palm oil cultivation and to develop environmentally-friendly fuel. The palm oil industry presently presents an alternate to ozone-harmful crude oil energy with biodiesel and oleo-chemicals. It is of import that these attempts are carried on for the benefit of a greener universe. Second, I besides hope for a more socially responsible concern sector. One of the most dramatic realisations I had while in college is the judgement that most concerns operate with net income as the lone end. Several industries around the Earth have left devastated environments, deforested lands, and polluted Waterss. Furthermore, corruptness and maliciousness besides hound the corporate sector following the recent batch of dirts affecting the top foreman of fiscal corporations. I feel that supplying an illustration to other concern leaders and concern proprietors on working ethically in the behavior of one ‘s concern will be important. In this mode, I feel I can someday lend to making a more socially responsible concern sector. However wishful I am to see this hope realized, I recognize that most business communities refuse to take the ethical position. I believe that the perceptual experience of many in the concern sector is that net income is the primary purpose, the societal duty ends are simply optional. I believe that non being able to determine future concern leaders to go more socially sensitive is a defect of modern twenty-four hours instruction. Education in the schoolroom has failed to interpret into work forces and adult females who care about the universe and who are capable of looking at things from a larger position. This is one of the chief grounds I am thankful that my college instruction has become an empowering experience for me. In the past, I used to be apathetic to the events that form and reshape the universe. My involvement has merely been self-preservation and self-advancement. The twenty-four hours I stepped into the university, I resolved that I will make everything I can to stand out and do my household proud of me. However, the lessons and classs I have taken have forced me to re-evaluate my ain ends and positions in life. As C.S. Lewis stated, the emancipating character of instruction transforms a pupil from â€Å" an stubborn small package of appetencies â €  toward â€Å" the good adult male and the good citizen † ( qtd. in Dunn 1 ) . As I graduate, I hope to go that adult male C.S. Lewis was mentioning to. A college instruction has done so much in pitching me towards that way. First, a college instruction has developed my ability to believe independently. Because of the diverse lessons that I have learned inside the schoolroom, from the humanistic disciplines, doctrine, political scientific discipline, and economic sciences, I have become person who can believe for himself. Before, I used to organize no sentiments about most things or issues. Yet, a college instruction has made me more opinionative and comparatively free from the confines of traditional or conventional thought. Second, it has made me more critical of the sentiments of others as good. The inclination for pupils or kids is to trust on the wisdom of those who are more experient than they are. As I learned more and endeavoured to educate myself on issues that impact me as a citizen, I found that I no longer cleaving to what my parents or equals say and think. The more sceptered my head has become, the more I can show myself. Third, a college instruction has besides led me to appreciate diverse ness in assorted signifiers. The authorization that comes from instruction allows us to see the universe from a wider lens. By larning about different civilizations, theories, and contexts, I have become more occupied to the survey of history and civilization. I admit that, being of Eastern descent, I carry with me several biass and preconceived impressions about people, events, and issues. The more I learned, nevertheless, the more I realized that I was incorrectly in most of these beliefs. I have besides developed the accomplishment to set things into the proper context and justice with an unfastened and critical head. A college instruction has besides helped me understand the universe better. It has opened my eyes to a diverse set of doctrines and accounts of phenomena that I have ne'er even dared to cognize approximately. Before I started college, many things remained cryptic or dazing to me. For case, I failed to understand why Islamic extremism exists and why people would make hideous Acts of the Apostless such as suicide bombardment. I besides could non appreciate why there are feminist motions around the universe and why generative rights is such a immense issue. Because these subjects were discussed in category, my eyes were opened for the first clip. Although I admit that taking it all in posed a great trouble, the of import thing was, unlike in the past where I was blind to such issues or phenomena, I have now learned an account for them. I enjoyed most of the assigned readings and besides exhausted clip reading books that were of a personal involvement to me. Possibly the most memorable book and philosopher I greatly appreciate and find inspirational is Nobel Prize laureate Bertrand Russell and his books, including his autobiographies. I admire his glare and his echt concern for the human race, with this quotation mark from The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell: Three passions, simple but overpoweringly strong, have governed my life: the yearning for love, the hunt for cognition, and intolerable commiseration for the agony of world. These passions, like great air currents, have blown me hither and thither, in a contrary class, over a deep ocean of anguish, making to the really brink of desperation. aˆÂ ¦ This has been my life. I have found it deserving life, and would lief populate it once more if the opportunity were offered me ( Russell 3-4 ) . Russell ‘s eternal captivation with the human spirit is something I wish for myself. With all my experiences in college, I feel the demand to construct on that cognition more and more. In the past, I could see myself a inactive scholar. Largely, I take in whatever is being taught but ne'er truly do an attempt to understand or appreciate it. I besides consider myself a lazy reader, sing it a load to bury myself in a few pages of books and analyse its contents. My strong suit has ever been in Numberss and mathematics. My life in college has changed the manner I take in cognition. When I majored in finance, I was able to appreciate how Numberss and mathematic calculations are being applied in concern. This made me more interested and more committed to my specialisation. Furthermore, I have found myself prosecuting others when discoursing societal issues and showing my sentiment when I have something to state. These betterments with myself and my methods of larning I can impute to the broad instruction provided to me and the inspiration I derived from the books and philosophers I have read. A broad instruction creates the all-around person. This is what it means to me. Broad instruction plants under the premiss that the ultimate end adult male is to go â€Å" to the full human. † To be to the full human requires non merely that work forces can be able to believe but to interpret this thought into the public presentation of our responsibilities as members of society. Hence, broad instruction does non restrict itself to the remarkable undertaking of preparation persons for the work force. While fiting people with the accomplishments they need for future employment, broad instruction, harmonizing to C.S. Lewis ( 1999 ) , â€Å" conserves civilisation by bring forthing sensible work forces and responsible citizens † ( p. 18 ) . This is after all, what sets us apart from the animate beings. Men should move non merely out of the demand for self-preservation and needs satisfaction, they should be able to be free from basic appetencies and utilize their head to ju dge what is right and incorrect for them and for society. Before, I failed to appreciate why I need to take classs in political scientific discipline or sociology or doctrine – topics which I felt were irrelevant to my major in concern finance. I realized subsequently on that an instruction with a strong background in broad humanistic disciplines provides a more comprehensive position of the universe and completes the partial position provided by one field of specialisation. If I focused on one country of cognition, my position of the universe is uncomplete. My capacity to believe critically, justice, and move upon that judgement would be limited because I lack the information demand to do wiser determinations. Hence, I began to look at my major as merely one piece of the mystifier and that cognition requires several pieces to be patched together. Several of these pieces could merely be completed with general cognition provided by a broad humanistic disciplines instruction. Broad humanistic disciplines provides all-around instruction by giving pupils a diverse organic structure of cognition and the critical thought, analytic and scrutiny accomplishments to set these thoughts into their proper context and do sense out of them. Decidedly, the broad humanistic disciplines classs I took had a liberating consequence on me. As I earlier stated, I used to look at the universe in mere Numberss and mathematics. I cared less for what was go oning around me – in the societal and political environment. As a consequence, I had several prejudices and biass which were a contemplation of my hapless background in general cognition. In this mode, instruction as a whole has become non merely necessary, but meaningful to my future profession and to my personal life. After I graduate from college, I intend to prosecute a maestro ‘s grade in order to go a fiscal analyst. I expect to read several books in finance and concern disposal. Along with these required books, I besides intend to read on moralss, doctrine and the environment to assist me accomplish the three major ends I have set for myself as I graduate from college. I want to be a good man of affairs non merely in footings of the profitableness and productiveness of my concern but because of how ethically sound I conduct my concern. My personal mission statement in one sentence is: To go to the full human and being a positive force in society by populating with honestness, compassion, and duty. In the professional sense, I want to be able to take the household concern with efficiency and profitableness while adhering to the ethical criterions and rules required of socially responsible concerns. I want to lend, in my capacity as a future man of affairs and fiscal analyst, to a greener and more sustainable Earth by advancing environmental-friendly policies and researches. Furthermore, I want to put an illustration for the concern sector in making concern responsibly.