Old Life in Hangzhuo China and the Modern Life in New York City Essay

Old Life in Hangzhuo China and the Modern Life in New York City - Essay Example Similar to the modern day New York City, Huangzhuo is one of the most important cities in China in the 13th century. Huangzhuo is the capital of the Southern Song dynasty making it a major cultural and political center. The account of Marco Polo describes this city as "magnificent" and "beyond dispute the finest and the noblest in the world" (Yule 185). Being surrounded by bodies of water, the city is surrounded by twelve thousand bridges in order to facilitate travel to and from it. This physical structure is also present in the modern day New York even though the number of bridges is far smaller. The Staten Island is connected to Brooklyn by the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (New York City). Being the capital of a dynasty, Huangzhuo has also been a seat of entertainment which is performed in what Marco Polo describes as "a rich, beautiful and spacious edifice, furnished in such style as to seem fit for a palace of an Emperor (Yule 186)" in one of the city's island. Within this structure, important celebrations and occasions are held. In the modern day New York City, this can be likened to the Coney Island which is one of the earliest amusement ground in the US, the Madison Square Garden, and the Broadway theatre district (New York City). The economic significance of the two cities is also comparable

Banking and Finance Essay Example for Free

Banking and Finance Essay Introduction The automated teller machine (ATM) is a machine that acts as a teller in an institution by receiving and issuing money to and from the ATM account holder or user. The growth and evolution of at ATMs was not only due to, but rather as a result of general global concentration in the technological revolution. This came due to challenges of multiple bulk of daily complex information that arise from existing difficulties like; increase in competition, increase in customer’s demand for both services provision as well as efficiency , expansion due to increase in demand and all the likes just to name a few. The ATM system used by micro financial institutions today is an inherited system from banking system therefore brought in efficiency in different micro financial institutions in terms of speed, data processing and storage. Thus, it brought in enormous improvement in queuing in institutions in use of the ATMs. Despite all the merits of ATMs, customers still bring up complains on the demerits of the system such as; breakdown of ATMs, long queues at the ATM service point, retention of customers cards. In this light, this research entails to find out why all these cries after all the goods incurred in the system. 1.1 Background of the study. 1.1.1 Historical background. The history of micro financial institutions can be trace as far back as the 1880s when the theorist Lysander Spooner was writing over the benefits of from small credits to entrepreneurs and farmers as a way of getting people out of poverty. Today, the use of the expression ‘’micro financing’’ has its root in the 1970s when organisatons were sarting and shaping the modern industry.At that time,many microfinance ini tiatives introduced many new innovations into the sector.Many entreprises began experimenting with loaning to the under served people. The main reason why micro financing is been traced back to the 1970s is that, the programme could show that people can be relied on to pay their loans and that it’s possible to provide financing services to poor people through market based enterprises without subsidies.

Mexico in South Phoenix :: Arizona Mexican Culture Essays Papers

Mexico in South Phoenix â€Å"It’s like going to Mexico without ever leaving Phoenix.† This was a quote by Mr. Virgil, the Manager of the Ranch Market. A tour of the Ranch Market showed his statement to be true, hence the title of this paper. The following will discuss the Ranch Market and Mexico in South Phoenix. To begin, the tour was absolutely intriguing. The class was introduced to Mr. Virgil. Then we proceeded to get a really in-depth insight into what was up with the Ranch Market. While the Ranch Market is really just another store to purchase canned food, fruit, personal hygiene products, and even a meat department, the real attraction is the food service department. The class and I learned about the revenue intake of the entire Ranch Market; and as things go, the food service department accounted for over 40% of the income. I thought the food was awesome, as did the several hundred patrons. The food service department consists of several components. The most prosperous of the components is the Mexican food deli, followed only shortly by the bakery. The Mexican food that is prepared right in front of you consists of tacos, burritos, tostadas, quesadillas, nachos, and about any other type of Mexican food one could think of. The bakery is awesome. The prices are very appealing to the frugal, but the availability of all types of bread (donuts, to loafs, to cakes and pies) is appealing to basically everyone. However, the whole Ranch Market seemed to be focused on appealing to the Mexican culture. This type of environment reminded me of a reading that was assigned; it was titled American Apartheid, Segregation and the Making of the Underclass. This reading addressed the segregated society. A few sentences really interested me, such as â€Å"†¦extreme racial segregation did not just happen; it was manufactured by whites through a series of self-conscious actions and purposeful institutional arrangements that continue today.† This reminded me of how South Phoenix has been shunned by the Valley of the Sun and a haven for illegal immigrants who do not speak English. Another reference from American Apartheid is â€Å"Although poor black neighborhoods still contain many people who lead conventional, productive lives, their example has been overshadowed in recent years by a growing concentration of poor, welfare-dependent families that is an inevitable result of residential segregation.

Super Project

The Super Project Case Study FIN 3717 Braden Eddy, Lauren Gear and Dakota Conravey The Super Project Case Study FIN 3717 Braden Eddy, Lauren Gear and Dakota Conravey Statement of Facts General Foods is a large corporation organized by product lines. They are evaluating Super Project, the manufacture of a new powdered dessert. Crosby Sanberg, a financial analysis manager, must determine the value in accepting the proposal, along with J. C. Kresslin, the Corporate Controller. The Super Project will increase profit with a payback period of less than ten years.The proposed capital investment for the project is $200,000 ($80,000 for building modifications and $120,000 for machinery and equipment) and production would take place in an already existing building in which Jell-O is manufactured using the available capacity of a pre-existing Jell-O agglomerator. Sandberg has analyzed the different investment proposals based on three different capital allocation techniques. The three different cash flow evaluation alternatives (Incremental, Facilities-Used, and Fully Allocated) differ in the way that the cost of existing facilities and future increases in overhead are allocated.The acceptance or rejection of the project relies on the project’s costs. As Sanberg looks to compare Super Project with current profit criteria, recent discussion has brought about what the proper evaluation technique is for their cash flows; specifically, in concern to the relevancy of sunk costs. The problem for General Foods is to decide what the best method for evaluating the Super Project was since each method produced drastically different returns. Issues General Foods has quite a few factors to consider when determining relevant cash flows in their analysis of the project.Multiple factors for consideration are whether or not to account for test market expense, the allocation of overhead expense, the allocation of charges for agglomerator and capacity use, and erosion of Jell-O sales. Under the analysis of an incremental basis, management included the incremental fixed capital of $200,000, which included packaging equipment. Sanberg also advocates that Super should be charged with the â€Å"opportunity loss† of agglomerating capacity and building space that could be used for future production of Jell-O or other products.Management also analyzed the project based on the amount of facilities-used. Recognizing that Super will use half of an exisiting agglomerator and two thirds of an existing building, Sanberg added Super’s pro rata shares of these facilities to the incremental capital. Overhead costs directly related to these existing facilities were also subtracted from incremental revenue on a shared basis. Sanberg felt this analysis was a useful was of putting various projects on a common ground for purposes of relative evaluation.Lastly, management included a fully allocated basis of the project in their projections. They recognized that individu al decisions to expand inevitably add to a higher overhead base and therefore an increase to the costs and investment base were added. Overhead expenses included manufacturing costs plus selling and general and administrative costs on a per unit basis equivalent to Jell-O. Overhead capital also included a share of the distribution system assets. AnalysisUpon review of management’s case, we broke down the relevant cash flows separately according to test-market expenses, overhead expenses, erosion of Jell-O contribution margin and allocation of charges for the use of excess agglomerator capacity. The four capital budgeting techniques appropriate for review are NPV, IRR, ARR and payback period. The accounting for test-market expense yielded the following results: Exhibit 1| Net Present Value| $671. 98 | Internal Rate of Return| 24. 73%| Average Rate of Return| 216. 34%| Payback Period. | 5. 4 years| The accounting for overhead expense yielded the following results: Exhibit 2| Ne t Present Value| $704. 30| Internal Rate of Return| 28. 83%| Average Rate of Return| 207. 70%| Payback Period. | 4. 55 years| The accounting for erosion of Jell-O sales yielded the following results: Exhibit 3| Net Present Value| $182. 33| Internal Rate of Return| 14. 63%| Average Rate of Return| 125. 62%| Payback Period. | 6. 39 years| The accounting for including the excess capacity expense yields the following results: Exhibit 4| Net Present Value| $375. 5| Internal Rate of Return| 16. 11%| Average Rate of Return| 71. 55%| Payback Period. | 5. 80 years| After review of the independent costs, we found that each one produces a positive NPV, an IRR above the discount rate and a payback period within the required ten years. However, it is unrealistic to consider these on an independent basis. For our realistic case, we included overhead expenses and the excess cost of capacity for the agglomerator. We did not include the erosion of Jell-O sales and the test market expense, as this is a sunk cost.Under these circumstances we produced the following results: Exhibit 6| Net Present Value| $350. 32| Internal Rate of Return| 15. 98%| Average Rate of Return| 58. 91%| Payback Period. | 5. 74 years| In this analysis, we included the overhead expense for 1972-1977 because as the project begins to gain a foothold in the market it will acquire a larger market share and will become a larger portion of General Foods’ overall dessert sales. Also, the agglomerator and excess capacity was charged as an incremental investment, which brought the initial investment to $653,000.Since 70% of the initial $200,000 was depreciated over the 10-year period, we applied the straight-line depreciation method to compute 70% of $453,000 that added an extra $32,000 of depreciation to each year. We did not include the erosion of Jell-O sales because an external competitor could easily acquire the 20% of market share currently held by Jell-O in the future. This would take away profit that would hinder Jell-O regardless of whether it is internal or external. Since we also believe this a mature market, it is a cost that seems to be irrelevant in this analysis.We did not include the test market expense as well since this was a sunk cost. It did not seem logical to include, because it was almost double the value of the initial investment of $200,000 and roughly half of our adjusted initial investment of $653,000. Since General Foods has a limited amount of product lines in the dessert market, the test market expense should not be accounted for. Conclusion Under our assumptions, we conclude that General Foods should accept the project due to its positive NPV, IRR above discount rate and the attractive payback period within six years (exhibit 6).When compared to Crosby Sanberg’s view (exhibit 5), which resulted in a negative NPV of -$575. 32, IRR of . 28% and a payback period of just about 10 years, our assumptions lead to a more accurate portrayal of the Super Pro ject. Although we do recommend that General Foods take on the Project, they must be cognizant of increasing test expenses and the initial impact that the addition of Super will have on Jell-O sales. The benefits will be an increase in overall sales for the company, and the chance for General Foods to become a leading producer in the dessert market.

Moving to Another Country Essay

Tradition is existing knowledge. A tradition is a group of related ideas that have lasted for a long time. In some cases people have spent that time trying to improve the ideas. We’ll call that a dynamic tradition because it changes over time. In other cases, the focus has been on keeping the tradition exactly the same over time. We’ll call that a static tradition because it does not change. Although these approaches are contradictory, some traditions are mixed. Dynamic traditions are important because they contain some of our best knowledge. Today, they contain only the best ideas any participants have thought of in the whole history of the tradition. I don’t mean they are perfect, but if they missed a good idea, it was despite people’s efforts, not intentional. They do a pretty good job of gathering the best ideas, and keeping those around, and discarding ideas that are discovered to be mistaken. The reason dynamic traditions are especially valuable is the sheer amount of thought, criticism and error correction that has gone into them from many people. Just because traditions contain valuable knowledge doesn’t mean they are always right. Sometimes they aren’t. I shouldn’t defer to traditions just because a lot of smart people didn’t see any way to improve them further. I should defer if I don’t see any way to improve them further. If I make up a new idea, and I don’t see any way to improve it further (in 20 minutes of thought), then it’s not particularly reliable. I could easily have missed something. With a tradition, perhaps thousands of people put in twenty minutes of thought, and some others put in years, so even if I don’t see any way to improve things, and even if I don’t know much about the subject, it has an advantage over just making something up myself. All the knowledge in traditions can be intimidating . And no one has time to carefully and critically go through all the details of all the traditional knowledge they use. That’s OK. But one should bear in mind two things. First, if something goes wrong — if there seems to be a problem — then relying on tradition isn’t good enough. It’s not working, and you’ll need to tweak something or find another tradition. And second, a thoughtful person should critically evaluate some traditions. It’s your choice which, but everyone ought to be good at something and have the experience of trying to improve some knowledge. Everyone should put some serious thought into some area. There isn’t much point to life if I don’t seriously think about some parts of it. In the case of a disagreement, an  appeal to tradition is invalid. The tradition might be wrong and someone thinks it is. To address that disagreement, I have to consider their criticism of the tradition, any alternative ideas they have, and any arguments in favor of the traditional idea, and then try to work out what is true. Traditions containing people’s best ideas of the past won’t always be the best ideas anyone thinks of in the future. The biggest value of traditions is they can often give useful ideas that are not controversial, or starting points which partially solve problems. In a disagreement, although we can’t say, â€Å"This is true because a lot of smart people didn’t see anything wrong with it, and who are you to say they missed something?† the fact that something is a tradition is not irrelevant either. Dynamic traditions have, over the years, faced a lot of criticism. They often already include explanations of why common criticisms of the tradition are mistaken. Major traditions have existing literature that provides arguments and ideas on the subject. This literature can answer many disagreements, which are often made in ignorance. When we find something wrong with a tradition, if at all possible we should improve the tradition, not abandon it. We should seek a way to modify the tradition but also retain existing knowledge. To keep the most existing knowledge, our change should be as small as possible to solve the problem. If we were to start over from scratch, we may avoid the flaw we found, but we’re not perfect and our new ideas will contain other flaws. And new ideas won’t have the benefit of decades or centuries of people trying to find and correct flaws. We should consequently be respectful of tradition even as we find errors in it, and try to improve it with new ideas of our own. Static traditions are different. Although they’ve been around a long time, no one has been trying to find mistakes in them, so they aren’t very useful. Nor are they innocuous. Consider: why does the static tradition still exist? Why didn’t it disappear after its original advocates died? With a dynamic tradition, it’s passed on to the next generation because people find it useful, and teach it. A static tradition, too, must have some mechanism for being passed on. But it canâ€⠄¢t be that people voluntarily learn it due to its usefulness. Because it never changes, and never corrects errors, it’s not very useful. Instead, people must in some way be tricked or fooled into it, or indoctrinated, or forced, or brainwashed. Often they are pressured, and made  to feel bad, sinful or guilty if they do not follow the tradition. But controlling people’s emotions is difficult. Because people are creative and will try to defend themselves, it takes a lot of knowledge to reliably control or manipulate them. Where does that knowledge come from? Static traditions are not actually entirely static. The main ideas, doctrine or dogma is kept constant. But the way of passing it on changes. The more people try to preserve the tradition unchanged, and make sure it will last forever, the more creativity they put into mechanisms for transmitting the tradition to the next generation. All traditions face a selection effect. For a tradition to last, it has to be passed on from older people to younger people. But only so many ideas can be taught to the next generation. Children are only in school, and in their parents’ home, for so many years. The amount of ideas is large, but it’s limited. Only a certain amount of tradition can fit. Only the ones that are better at being passed on will make the cutoff. D ynamic traditions compete by being as useful as possible. Thus the selection effect pushes them to be better and better. They try to be true, and people like the truest ones so much that they teach them to children. Static traditions compete differently. They can’t compete with good ideas directly, so they use other approaches such as manipulating or controlling people. In short, in some way they disable the person’s creativity so he doesn’t realize the tradition is low on useful truth content, and doesn’t think of alternative ideas against which a static tradition can’t compete. The selection effect for static traditions makes them worse, not better. Any static tradition that fails to create a permanent blind spot in the person runs a serious risk that one day he’ll realize it’s not a great tradition and doesn’t have a lot of useful knowledge. And if he realizes that, whether he ever changes his mind or improves himself, what he won’t want to do is teach it to his kids. There will never come a time when his children have some problem or qu estion, and he thinks if he teaches them this tradition it will help them, since he knows it is not useful. Traditions are important because they contain our best knowledge collected over the years. But they can also be dangerous. Static traditions that induce blind spots in people and are useless at everything except getting themselves taught to children. It is up to us to consider which traditions are which.

Spanish Verbs Meaning to Begin

Spanish Verbs Meaning to Begin Spanish has two everyday verbs that can be used for to begin or to start: empezar and comenzar. They usually can be used interchangeably. Although empezar is more common than comenzar, comenzar doesnt come across as conspicuously formal like its English cognate, commence. Both empezar and comenzar are conjugated irregularly. Correct Way to Use Empezar and Comenzar To say to begin to do something, you can use either of the verbs followed by the preposition a and an infinitive: El web empieza a generar dinero. The website is beginning to generate money. ¿A quà © hora empezà ³ a nevar? At what time did it begin to snow?Cuando llegamos a Quito, comenzaba a llover. When we arrived at Quito, it was beginning to rain.Uruguay comienza a estudiar la produccià ³n de energà ­a nuclear. Uruguay is beginning to study the production of nuclear energy.Empiezo a pensar por ti mismo. I am beginning to think just like you.La inflacià ³n va a empezar muy pronto a bajar. Inflation is going to begin to drop very soon. Each verb can stand by itself without an object: La lluvia empieza a caer ms y ms fuerte. The rain is beginning to fall harder and harder.El mitin comenzà ³ finalmente a las 10 de la noche. The meeting finally began at 10 p.m.Bueno, pues sà ­, empezamos con esto. Good, then, lets get started with it. (Literally, with this.)La boda comenzar a las 12:30 hora local. The wedding will begin at 12:30 local time. When either verb is followed by a gerund, it often has the meaning of to begin by or to start out: Empezà ³ estudiando en el taller del escultor famoso. She started out studying in the famous sculptors studio.Comencà © trabajando 10 horas por dà ­a como limpiadora de casa. I started out working 10 hours per day as a housecleaner.Empezamos corriendo juntos el primer kilà ³metro. We begin by running the first kilometer together. Although probably not as common as in English, the two verbs can also take direct objects to indicate what is getting started: Tiene muchos consejillos para comenzar un negocio. He has many tips for starting a business.La ciudad empezà ³ la reparacià ³n de la calles en abril. The city began the street repairs in April. Other Verbs for To Begin As just shown, you often can use the verbs to refer to beginning an activity with the activity as the object of the verb. But it is also common to use the verb emprender for that purpose. Emprender is especially common when referring to the beginning of travel. No quiere emprender la tarea sin ayuda. He doesnt want to do the task without help.Dentro de unos minutos emprendo el viaje. Within a few minutes I begin the trip.Emprendieron el reto de construir un proyecto conjunto. They began the challenge of building a project together.Emprendà ­ el vuelo en direccià ³n hacia donde el sol se pone. I began the flight in the direction of the sunset. The verb originarse often translates to begin when it is used to mean to originate: El problema se originaba cuando navegaba ciertas pginas web. The problem started when I was going to certain web pages.La crisis econà ³mica mundial se originà ³ en EEUU. The world economic crisis began in the U.S. Use of Verb Tense To Indicate Beginning Often, when speaking of events in the past, the preterite tense is used in preference to the imperfect to indicate that an activity began. A form of begin isnt necessarily used in translation, however. A common example is the verb conocer, which often means to know a person. The difference between Conocà ­a a Katrina and Conocà ­ a Katrina is roughly the difference between I knew Katrina and I began to know Katrina. Typically, the second sentence would be translated as I met Katrina. Other examples: Yo tenà ­a calor. (I was warm.) Tuve calor. (I began to be warm. I got warm.)Ella sabà ­a la verdad. (She knew the truth.) Supo la verdad. (She began knowing the truth. She found out the truth.) This concept is further explained in the lesson on using the past tense with certain verbs.

SAT Subject Test Dates 2018-2019

SAT Subject Test Dates 2018-2019 SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips At PrepScholar, we pride ourselves on using the best data to keep you posted about upcoming test schedules and registration deadlines. It's essential to plan ahead and choose wisely when selecting Subject Tests and test dates. You can see the SAT test dates for previous years. Refer to this information to get a general idea of when College Board has its test dates for the SAT and how long after the test you can view your scores. In this article, I’ll give you the SAT Subject Test dates for 2018-2019 and explain what you should consider when choosing your test date and Subject Tests. Test Dates for the 2018-2019 School Year SAT Subject Tests are given on the same dates and in the same locations as the SAT, but there’s an additional test date in March for the SAT that isn’t offered for the SAT Subject Tests. Subject Test Dates The College Board lists these dates on its website, but they’re still subject to change. Not every test is offered on every date. For example, the language with listening tests are only offered in November. Subject Test Aug 25, 2018 Oct 6, 2018 Nov 3, 2018 Dec 1, 2018 May 4, 2019 Jun 1, 2019 Literature X X X X X X US History X X X X X X World History X X Mathematics Level 1 X X X X X X Mathematics Level 2 X X X X X X Biology E/M X X X X X X Chemistry X X X X X X Physics X X X X X X French X X X X X German X Spanish X X X X X Modern Hebrew X Italian X Latin X X French with Listening X German with Listening X Spanish with Listening X Chinese with Listening X Japanese with Listening X Korean with Listening X You can take chemistry on each testing date. Registration Dates The registration deadlines and score release dates are projected by PrepScholar. Test Date Normal Registration Late Registration Score Release Aug 25, 2018 Jul 27, 2018 Aug 10, 2018 Sept 13, 2018 Oct 6, 2018 Sep 7, 2018 Sep 21, 2018 Oct 25, 2018 Nov 3, 2018 Oct 5, 2018 Oct 19, 2018 Nov 22, 2018 Dec 1, 2018 Nov 2, 2018 Nov 16, 2018 Dec 20, 2018 May 4, 2019 Apr 5, 2019 Apr 19, 2019 May 23, 2019 Jun 1, 2019 May 3, 2019 May 17, 2019 Jun 20, 2019 How Accurate Are the Tables Above? The test dates are the anticipated dates provided by the College Board, and the registration and score release dates are our estimations. Even though all the dates are likely to be correct, because the test dates are provided by the College Board, those dates may be somewhat more reliable. The test dates won’t be confirmed until within a year of the test. If any of the dates change, they’ll probably be a week earlier or later than the anticipated date. You can use these dates to help determine when you'll take your SAT Subject Tests. If you know your available options, you can select the date that works best with your schedule. Also, you can factor in the specific tests you're taking and the time you need to prepare for them. The tables are pretty accurate. How to Choose Your Subject Tests? Here’s what you should consider when selecting your Subject Tests: What Do Your Colleges Require? Know the requirements of the schools you're considering applying to. Do they require Subject Tests? If so, how many and which ones? Are you applying to a school or program that requires you to take science and math? Do you have to take Math II? Are you applying to colleges that want to see your skill level in a variety of subjects? Furthermore, are you applying to test optional or flexible colleges that allow you to use Subject Tests in place of the SAT or ACT? Call the admissions office if you have any questions about a school's policies. What Are Your Best Subjects in School? Typically, you'll do the best on the tests related to your best subjects in school. If you thoroughly enjoy US History and you're excelling in your AP US History class, you'll probably do well on the US History Subject Test. Are You Fluent in Another Language? Many non-native English speakers take the Subject Test in their native tongue, even if they’re not taking a class in that language. Often, they're able to get a high score and show off their language prowess. However, make sure you review the content for the Subject Test even if you're fluent. I scored higher on my Spanish Subject Test than some of my friends who are native Spanish speakers because I was more comfortable with Spanish grammar rules and written Spanish even though they were much more adept at conversational Spanish. For more guidance and study resources, read our articles on SAT Subject Tests. How to Choose Your Test Dates Review this article on how to select SAT Subject Test dates. When picking your test date, remember that you can take one, two, or three Subject Tests on a single test date. Here are the most important factors to consider. When Your Skills Are at Their Best Generally, you want to take your Subject Test in a particular subject when you’re studying the highest level of that subject. If you're taking AP Chemistry in your junior year, you may want to take the Chemistry Subject Test in May or June of that year right after you've spent a full year studying chemistry and preparing for the AP test. When Are Your College Deadlines? For most schools, the December test of your senior year will be the last time you can take the Subject Tests, and if you're applying early, the October test may be the last possible date for you. Make sure you have enough time to retake the tests, if necessary, and know your deadlines. Check Your Personal Schedule Give yourself ample time to study, and try to avoid taking the test when you have possible conflicts. If your'e particularly preoccupied with school and extracurricular activities in a certain month, you may want to avoid taking your Subject Tests then. What's Next? Find out how to register for SAT Subject Tests and send your scores. Also, learn more about how SAT Subject Tests are scored. Finally, if you're deciding between taking Math I and Math II, check out this article. Need a little extra help prepping for your Subject Tests? We have the industry's leading SAT Subject Test prep programs (for all non-language Subject Tests). Built by Harvard grads and SAT Subject Test full or 99th %ile scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Learn more about our Subject Test products below: