Tuesday, January 28, 2020
The Tyranny of Choice Essay Example for Free
The Tyranny of Choice Essay Happiness is a long standing abstract concept. It starts from choosing the best options there is, induced by properly allocating and utilizing resources, and maintained when one can truly enjoy the gains from it while accepting the imperfection of his or her choices. And as such, every individual is always in search for happiness and well-being.            Utility and happiness are two intertwined notions (Verme, 2007, p. 2). The quest for attaining true happiness starts with choosing which options are best and what things should be utilized. The result of which comprises a persons well-being. The choices that an individual makes greatly affect the level of satisfaction one attains.            However, the relationship between well-being and choice is ultimately complicated and not at all predictable. In making a choice, a person is usually thwarted by the abundance or lack of choices. Sometimes, the wideness of choice varieties creates a great amount of confusion for the person and as such it also increases the probability that the choices he or she might make will become regretful. The same way that the lack of choices gives a person a limited space of discovering better options. As such, opportunity costs engraved in every option open for an individual contribute to confusion, thus making it harder to choose and at the same time increasing the chances of regretting whatever choice that was made (Schwartz, 2004, pp. 2-7).            Making choices is immensely complex. Thus it causes people to become weary and conscious on selecting their options in order to avoid making choices that they will soon feel sorry about in the end. Individuals develop a false sense of looking for the â€Å"best option†, or settling down for a â€Å"good enough†choice. These kinds of individuals are labelled as either maximizers or satisficers (Schwartz, 2004, pp. 4-7).            Maximizers are individuals who are most keen on looking for the best option. They tend to strive hard in achieving this goal at the expense that in the process of their quest for looking for the best possible choice present, they are being daunted by the appearances of more choices. In the end, they become less satisfied of the choices they have made and they are more prone to experiencing regrets and depression (Schwartz, 2004, pp. 2-7).            On the other hand, satisficers are individuals who aim on ending up with a choice that is â€Å"good enough†for them. They seek not the best there is, but on finding something that can adequately meet their standards and is equally useful and worthy of their choice. These people experience less depression on the event that the option they chose did not work out as satisfying as possible. They are more probable to be happy with their choice because they do not expect too much from it, and hence are quite surprised when they gain positive effects from it (Schwartz, 2004, pp. 4-7).            Given the complexity of making choices, the people are still and always keen on the gift of freedom of choice. Even though the process of choosing makes people vulnerable to regret and depression, the right to choose what people think is best for them adds to the happiness and well-being that a person can attain. The freedom of choice and how it is always linked to peoples fulfillment is always an integral factor in measuring happiness (Verme, 2007, p. 3).            As such, it is a false notion for maximizers that the absence of choices will make them less prone to regrets. The same goes for satisficers that more choices will make them more happy. Being happy and satisfied rests on the individuals choice. To become truly happy, a person should know how to appreciate what he or she has; being contented with the choice he or she has made and stop thinking of what might have been if he or she decided to chose another option; and most importantly, do not expect too much out of something. Choosing something that is good enough can become the best choice if a person knows how to handle his or her priorities well. References Schwartz, B. (2004). The Tyranny of Choice. Retrieved June 27, 2008, from www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bschwar1/Sci.Amer.pdf Verme, P. (2007). Happiness and Freedom. Retrieved June 27, 2008, from www.ppdoconference.org/session_papers/session15/session15_paolo.pdf
Monday, January 20, 2020
James Weldon Johnson :: Essays Papers
James Weldon Johnson (1871 - 1938) James Weldon Johnson was born on June 17, 1871 in Jacksonville, Fla. He is best known as being a poet, composor, diplomat, and anthologist of black culture. James was trained in music and other subjects by his mother, a schoolteacher. Johnson graduated from Atlanta University with A.B. in 1894. He later obtained a M.A. in 1904 while studing at Columbia. For several years he was principal of the black high school in Jacksonville, Fla. He read law at the same time, and was admitted to the Florida bar in 1897, and began practicing there. During this period, he and his brother, John Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954), a composer, began writing songs. In 1901 the two went to New York, where they wrote some 200 songs for the Broadway musical stage. In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him U.S. consul to Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, and in 1909 he became consul in Corinto, Nicaragua, where he served until 1914. He later taught at Fisk University. Meanwhile, he began writing a novel, Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (published anonymously, 1912), which attracted little attention until it was reissued under his own name in 1927. From 1916 Johnson was a leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, (NAACP). It was during this time period when James became a distinguished member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. joining fellow members of the time like George Washington Carver. One of his most famous poems was "Lift Every Voice and Sing." His brother later added music to the poem. It is considered to be the unofficial "Negro National Anthem". It was a bold piece of work that spoke of the struggle of the African American in America and his optimistic hope for a better future. Some of his other works include Fifty Years and Other Poems (1917) which was followed by his pioneering anthology Book of American Negro Poetry (1922) and books of American Negro Spirituals (1925, 1926), collaborations with his brother.
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Bernard Lawrence
 Describe the three types of illegal behavior alleged allegations against Mr. Madoff and for each of the behavior explain why it is illegal or unethical in the conduct of business? Ans) Bernard Lawrence Madoff was a stock broker, investment advisor and the non executive chairman of the NASDAQ. Bernard has been found guilty for 11 federal crimes for which he has been sentenced to imprisonment for 150 years and had to pay $170. 179 billion as a penalty. He was convicted for 11 federal crimes which included security fraud, money laundering, perjury, theft from an employee benefit plan, wire fraud and mail fraud.In order to further clarify three of the crime would be explained in details which are as follows: Money Laundering: Bernard Lawrence had been convicted for 2 International money laundering crimes. He had been using the money of his investors for his own purposes and was showing false accounts. His company was convicted of tax evasions and taking advantage and showing false ac counting in his books. This is a serious crime in the whole world as this is a way of misinterpreting and misleading the investors and the government officials.This is an unethical business practice because it refers to concealing important details of the business from the various stakeholders and thus taking undue advantage from that. The companies seem to misguide the public and the government and save million dollars by evading taxes and buying assets from the money that they have actually stolen from the investors. Securities fraud: The victim was convicted of securities fraud where he was guilty of doing illegal sale and purchase on the trading floors. He had broken various securities laws and embezzled millions of dollars.This is an illegal practice because the investors by doing so start manipulating the stock exchange and the stock prices. This is considered a crime because by this the stock prices can be over stated or understated which would harm the small investors. Theft from Employee benefit plan: He was alleged of stealing $10 million from the pension fund assets. This is a plain act of stealing where he took the money that was the right of 35 labor unions. Due to this the labor union would not have been able to get the money that was basically their right by law. (Voreacos, 2009)Question 2: Name three types of parties who were impacted by the practices of Mr. Madoff and describe how they were impacted? Ans) The scandal had impacted the lives of various people which included people from all walks of life. From various celebrities to huge investment companies and banks have had an impact on their balance sheets due to the scandal. Some of the parties involved were: Universities: Various universities and schools which include the New York University and Maimonides school had invested their idle funds with the company which they lost due to the scandal.Investment Funds: Various investment funds had their assets managed by the company. The investment companies lost the money that they had invested with the investment fund of Lawrence Bernard. Various investment companies had even bought the shares which brought them loss of billions of dollars. Charity organization: A lot of Non profit organizations and charity organization of celebrities and other people had invested the charity’s money. The charities had to lose billions of dollars due to the fraud as they did not get their invested money back. (Madoff's Victims, 2009)Question 3: Describe three business safeguards that may have prevented the harm caused by Mr. Madoff? Ans) The ponzi scheme was a major negligence from the respective authorities. The SEC authorities did not have complete check over various factors due to which people had to face losses of millions of dollars. Some of the ways the debacle could have been prevented are: Strict policies from Securities Exchange Commission (SEC): This scandal had been in practice for almost over a decade but was not detected by the SEC. Thus the SEC was not too active in its practices.The organization was giving a high return which was an unusual activity. Thus in such an abnormal situation SEC should have been more diligent and transparent in fulfilling its duties. If there had been cross checking of the accounts and financial transactions this loss could have been prevented. Transparent practices by the external auditors: It is something very pungent that such a massive scandal had hit the financial world despite of the strict financial standards and the constant audits by the licensed auditors. The external auditors would have to be more ethical and transparent in their activities.If they would have identified small symptoms of unethical practices to the state earlier, millions of dollar could have been saved. Forensic Accountants reactive attitude: The forensic accountants have been silent over the issue until it was the news all around the world. The forensic accountants are trained to identify an y sorts of fraud symptoms in the economy. There was a reactive approach by these accountants which caused this fraud to go on for too many years. The forensic accountants could have prevented the loss by actively reporting them on time. (Herrerra, n. d. )Question4: Describe three ways the private investors could have prevented themselves from risk? Ans) The investors could have been prevented from the debacle by knowing the investment practices and the basic rules of investment. Generally the investors are not aware of the practices due to which they are not able to identify if the investment is done in the right manner. Second, the loss could have been prevented if the investors have been careful in selecting the investment company. The investors would have been saved if they would have not selected the company for investment.The investors could have managed their funds properly by not investing huge amount in just one avenue. The risk could have been mitigated if they had invested at various avenues due to which they would not have to bear such a huge loss. (Herrerra, n. d. ) Question5: Describe three legal actions that possibly may be brought against Mr. Madoff under criminal or civil law? Ans: Mr. Madoff had been convicted of 11 serious federal crimes to which he was sentenced to imprisonment for 150 years. The three legal actions against him are as follows: Securities fraud: 20 years of imprisonment with 3 years supervised release.Along with this there would also be a fine of $5 million or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Money Laundering: 10 years of imprisonment with 3 years of supervised release. These would also be a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Perjury: 5 years of imprisonment with 3 years of supervised release. These would also be a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. (Department of Justice Press Release, 2009) References Department of Justice Press Release. (2009, Ma rch 12). Retrieved June 7, 2010, from Federal Bureau of Investigation New York: http://newyork.fbi. gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/nyfo031209. htm Herrerra, C. (n. d. ). Ponzi Schemes and Forensic Accountants. Retrieved June 7, 2010, from Accounting Sites: http://www. bellaonline. com/articles/art49196. asp Madoff's Victims. (2009, March 6). Retrieved June 7, 2010, from The Wall Street Journal: http://s. wsj. net/public/resources/documents/st_madoff_victims_20081215. html Voreacos, D. (2009, March 11). Madoff Criminal Charges: Summary of the 11 Counts Against Him. Retrieved June 7, 2010, from Bloomberg: http://www. bloomberg. com/apps/news? pid=20601087&sid=a6Osnj. SoYdM&refer=home Bernard Lawrence Bernie Madoff was born on 29th April, 1938 in New York. His parents were Jewish, namely Ralph and Sylvia Madoff. In 1956, he had graduated from the Hofstra University where he had studied political science. He then became a plumber, and later on founded the Madoff charitable Foundation. His career in the investment field began after he married Ruth Alpern, his high school sweet heart, who worked at a stock exchange market in Manhattan. In 1960, he founded the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, (now NASDAQ) and has ever since acted as its chairman until he was arrested.Before the discovery of the fraud, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities seemed like the kind of firm that every stock broker would want to work with. The investors and the employees all believed in Bernie. It was for this reason that he was appointed as the chairman of NASDAQ, and was also appointed to industry channels by the SEC. Madoff is said to have been a philanthropist who worked with many nonprofit institutions. He was a man of great influence, and many people had entrusted him with their wealth.Madoff is known to have committed the biggest fraud through a Ponzi plan which he had carried out for at least 20 years. He confessed his crime to his sons, Andrew and Mark last year. This is an essay covering Madoff’s, big Ponzi plan that led to his incarceration. (Lenzner) The Ponzi plan Even as Madoff was still in studying law at Brooklyn Law School, he was in involved in the securities business. On of his first investments was with a company, called the Electronics Capital, where he had invested $200. According to what the SEC disclosed, his stocks had grown from the original $200 to $16,140.At that time, this was a lot of money, and this must have captured his interest in the securities market. His scheme to get involved in illegal operations to make more money must have been in his mind for some time. This is because in the 1990s, Madoff would boast to some of his investor s that he was using a different strategy from the split-strike conversion method. This must have been what led to the fraud. An investigation revealed that there were clues in his office, but it was very hard to catch him.For example, there was an IBM server, and an AS/400 which dated from as early as the 1980s; reports said that it was so old, that some information was keyed in by hand, but Madoff was reluctant to have it replaced. This machine is said to have been the centre around which the fraud was schemed. Thousands of statements that were printed from it revealed trades that had never been made. (Bandler etal) According to those who played roles in the early electronic trading and the company, Madoff’s company was successful only in the 1970s and the 1980s.They further said that the success could only be attributed to the fact that his security business was the first to have used the electronic software to trade stocks. He was also able to attract many consumers becaus e the software was not only cheap, but also fast. Instead of taking a fee for trading stocks like the NYSE did, Bernie paid some firms like Charles Schwab a few dollars a share for every order they made. Though the software used by Madoff, his company had the expertise to hedge the risk that resulted form the imbalance in the buy and sell orders and hence were able to preserve its profit.This means that even if he paid the client, he still remained with enough money to make a huge profit. During the early 1990s, his firm had succeeded, in that it was responsible for executing at least 9% of all the stocks traded every day at the NYSE. His firm specialized in trading other shares from big companies outside the exchange. In the history of trading stocks, no other company could outdo NASDAQ, which got its advantage from the use of electronic means. He was respected among his peers, except those of the NYSE, who likened his orders to kick backs.They viewed Madoff’s trades as shab by, but they had no way to prove any illegal activities. The payments that he paid for the orders were all legal, and Madoff ensured that they remained so. NASD and SEC insisted that the securities industry’s self regulated body bring together a panel to investigate NASDAQ. Being the chairman NASDAQ, Madoff challenged his investigators by suggesting that they go ahead to include witnesses in the panel. He was able to talk himself out of the problems that could have possibly befallen him. (Bandler etal) He successfully talked the investigators into his line of thinking.In fact, some of the members in the panel said that he was not pushy during the interrogations. Although his main aim was to protect his business, he never suggested that in any direct way. He was just determined to make the panel â€Å"understand†the way his business operated. At the end of it all, Madoff prevailed. He had managed to convince the panel that his practice of offering payments was all the same as that applied by the Wall Street. Things however changed in 1997, when the rules that governed the trading spreads changed. That year, they were slashed from 12. 5? a share to 6.25? , and later on in 2001, dropped to just a penny. NASDAQ’s profits started decreasing. Madoff was able to continue committing his fraudulent acts because he now started marketing his investment business by convincing people through word of mouth. Those who learnt of it spread it to their friends. It became a private club, and Madoff’s plan not wanting to admit new members, attracted even more attention from those who knew of it. His private investors were urged to keep quiet, and not to mention the matter to an outsider; if they did, they risked losing their investments.In spite of his efforts to keep his investments secret, they somehow surfaced, but he was determined to keep covering up any act that would arouse suspicion. Two publications that were directed at arousing suspicion on Madoff’s operations went ignored. Even the employees who worked within the organization ignored them; after all, they had no clue of what was going on. It later turned out that Madoff’s illegal investments were interfering with the legal ones. In fact, during the trial, Madoff admitted hat he transferred millions of dollars from his fraud businesses in London to his legal firm in New York.His fraudulent schemes were so complicated; it is said that it would not be easy to understand his operations in details. He also lied to defend or cover up his acts. For example, in May 2006, he was interviewed by the SEC, and asked whether the equities were traded in Europe, he admitted that they were. The truth was that he always said that he had several trades in Europe, whenever he could not explain the nature of the businesses. There were also no equities being traded in Europe. In many occasions, Madoff’s lies paid him off. Madoff’s accompliceAlthough Madoff was the mastermind schemer, he obviously had an accomplice. Employees confessed that Frank DiPascali, acted as Madoff’s deputy and was responsible for running the business on the 17th floor, the floor where Madoff’s office was. A former trader said that the he was aged 33, but people neither knew what his work really was, nor his title. One employee said that, â€Å"Everyone knew he was a big deal, but he was like a shadow. †(Bandler etal) DiPascali, when arrested, showed his involvement in Madoff’s plan when he started to negotiate a plea deal with federal prosecutors.He offered to uncover the whole scheme and to name names, in exchange for a reduced sentence. However, he had no evidence that there were other family members involved in the Madoff scheme. DiPascali was the facilitator of Madoff’s schemes. He admitted to have manipulated phony returns on behalf of several major investors in Madoff’s business. Some of them include Frank Avellino, is said to have been running the â€Å"feeder fund†and Jeffry Picower, who had to shut down his foundation as it was affected by the losses associated with Madoff.For example, if one of such important clients earned more money on other investments, Madoff would tell DiPascali, who then fabricated a loss with the motive of reducing the tax bill. In my opinion, I would ay that the United States was able to produce such a person as Madoff because besides the fact that he had strong connections, his firm was performing well enough; in fact it offered job opportunities to Americans, while in many ways contributed to the economic development of the United States.Madoff was also able to cover up his shoddy operations effectively, protecting himself from the authorities. An example of such an instance is when he was able to defend himself from the panel in 1991 during the investigations. (Paltrow) He had a clever way to get himself out o trouble. The fact that most people knew him as a philanthropist was enough defense, at least to the mercies. His generous acts like giving donations were just for show, including his donations to the 2008 presidential campaigns, where he funded both candidates.The Madoff case was one of the hardest to be completely uncovered, given that it had been schemed for at least 20 years. It could also be enough reason that Madoff was a clever man since he was able to commit the fraud on his own. If Madoff could have had more funds to pay off his investors in December, then he would have been able to carry on with his Ponzi scheme. His scheme has led to the collapse and closure of several organizations that had invested in his operations. Works cited 1) Bandler J. Varchever N. (April 30, 2009) Ho
Saturday, January 4, 2020
Overview of French Interrogative Adverbs
Interrogative adverbs are used to ask for specific information or facts. As adverbs, they are invariable, meaning they never change form. The most common French interrogative adverbs are: combien, comment, oà ¹, pourquoi, and quand. They can be used to ask questions with est-ce que or subject-verb inversion or to pose indirect questions. And some can be worked into to nimporte (no matter) expressions. 'Combien (de)' Combien means how many or how much. When its followed by a noun, combien requires the preposition de (of). For example: Combien de pommes est-ce que tu vas acheter ? How many apples are you going to buy?Combien de temps avez-vous ? How much time do you have 'Comment' Comment means how and sometimes what. For example: Comment va-t-il ? How is he doing?Comment as-tu fait à §a ? How did you do that?Comment ? What?Je ne vous ai pas entendu.   I didn’t hear you.Comment vous appelez-vous ? What’s your name? 'Oà ¹' Oà ¹Ã‚ means where. For example: Oà ¹ veux-tu manger ? Where do you want to eat?Oà ¹ est-ce qu’elle a trouvà © ce sac ? Where did she find this bag? 'Pourquoi ' Pourquoi means why. For example: Pourquoi à ªtes-vous partis ? Why did you leave?Pouquoi est-ce qu’ils sont en retard ? Why are they late? 'Quand' Quand means when. For example Quand veux-tu te rà ©veiller ? When do you want to wake up?Quand est-ce que Paul va arriver ? When is Paul going to arrive? In Questions With "Est-Ce Que" or Inversion All of these interrogative adverbs can be used to ask questions with either est-ce que or subject-verb inversion. For example: Quand manges-tu ? / Quand est-ce que tu manges ?  When do you eat?Combien de livres veut-il ? / Combien de livres est-ce quil veut ?  How many books does he want?Oà ¹ habite-t-elle ? / Oà ¹ est-ce quelle habite ?  Where does she live? In Posing Indirect Questions They can be useful in indirect questions. For example: Dis-moi quand tu manges.  Tell me when you eat.Je ne sais pas combien de livres il veut.  I dont know how many books he wants.Jai oublià © oà ¹ elle habite.  I forgot where she lives. With 'N'Importe' Expressions Comment, oà ¹, and quand can be used after nimporte (no matter) to form indefinite adverbial phrases. For example: Tu peux manger nimporte quand. You can eat whenever / anytime. And the Literary Why: 'Que' In literature or other formal French, you might see an additional interrogative adverb: que, meaning why. For example: Quavais-tu besoin de lui en parler ? Why did you have to go and talk to him about it?Olivier et Roland, que nà ªtes-vous ici ? (Victor Hugo) Olivier and Roland, why arent you here?
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