Slough And Composed Upon Westminster Bridge Essay Example For Students

Slough And Composed Upon Westminster Bridge Essay The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast the two poems Slough and Composed Upon Westminster Bridge. I shall be focusing on the structure, language, cultural contexts and the historical and social influences on the poems. William Wordsworth wrote Composed Upon Westminster Bridge on September 3rd 1802. Wordsworth expresses his inspiration about London where people were free from tyranny and oppression, and Wordsworth reflects upon this with enthusiasm and admiration. He was a romantic poet and looking at London restored in the goodness of mankind, which he witnessed and translated his faith into this beautiful poem. I found an extract of Dorothy Wordsworths (William Wordsworths Wife) journal, which she had written on July 31st 1802. Dorothy described the scene as she and her brother left London and headed for Calais early that morning. Dorothy wrote, It was a beautiful morning. The city St Pauls with the river and a multitude of little boats made a most beautiful sight as we crossed Westminster Bridge. The houses were not overhung by their cloud of smoke, and they were spread out endlessly, yet the sun shone so brightly, with such a fierce light; that there was something like the purity of one of natures own grand spectacles. This poem is partly what inspired Wordsworth John Betjeman wrote Slough in 1936. Betjeman too described his surroundings, which were set in a suburb of London. The difference was that Bateman described his surroundings in a horrible way. The poem Bateman wrote is a critical view of what he saw through his own eyes of how society was developing in all classes, and the effects that the First World War had upon society in general. Composed upon Westminster Bridge is a patriarchal sonnet which consists of fourteen lines and has a set rhyme scheme of a, b, a, b, b, a, c, d, c, d, c, d. The first eight lines of the poem are called an octet. This breaks down the rhyme. The last six lines of the poem are called a sestet. The rhythm that this poem uses is very regular and has an iambic pentameter. This makes the poem lyrical and much easier to read. The way that Wordsworth uses this throughout the poem adds to the feeling of control, balance and predictability. The rhyme scheme he uses works very well and is very effective. Slough in contrast is made up of four line stanzas in pairs. The rhyming scheme used is a,a,a,b,c,c,c,b,d,d,d,e,f,f,f,e. The last line of each pair of stanzas rhyme. This has the effect of flowing onto the next stanza. And soon the first three rhymes set the movement and lyrical quality of each stanza as in Slough now and cow. But the last line ends on death. The structure that I prefer is the structure used for Slough. I prefer this because it stays on one level until the very last beat of every line, which then is changed quickly. I particularly liked the way the first word of each stanza is emphasised. It is a negative word like hell and tears. The language that William Wordsworth uses consists of clever imagery. An example of this is used in his first line: Earth has not anything to show more fair: this line shows that there was nothing that could of compared to London. On Earth it was more beautiful than anything else. This is an example of my hyperbole. Another example that he uses is: Never did the sun more beautifully steep. By this Wordsworth means that at no other time had he seen the sunset rise as beautiful as it was. He also uses assonance. He uses this on his second and third line where he writes; Dull would be of soul who could pass by. This repeating of o and u help to give the lines a soft, calm feel. It appears the peoples lives are artificial and man-made. The way he describes the city as though it was a garment is the use of personification. He gives the city a human quality of looking glamorous. This city now doth like a garment wear. He includes the metaphor a sight so touching in its majesty; which makes the scene sound as if it were royal or blessed by God. He is saying the city is the King of all cities. I also like the metaphor he used at the end of the poem, Heart, to show that he saw the city as a living thing. He says the very houses seem asleep to emphasise this idea. .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27 , .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27 .postImageUrl , .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27 , .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27:hover , .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27:visited , .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27:active { border:0!important; } .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27:active , .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27 .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u8528317f172aeda2dce1ddba56b1cb27:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Discuss, compare and contrast 2 poems "I am" by John Clare and "Wants" by Philip Larkin EssayI cant imagine what London was like when Wordsworth described it. He said it was open into the fields and sky, and that the air was smokeless he must have been a real romantic to not have noticed the poverty and dirt. The language of Slough is very different. The opening sentence of Slough draws the readers attention as it says Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough. This is a bit paradoxical as bombs are far from friendly. He uses repetition too, to get his point across. Tinned fruit, tinned meat, tinned beans, tinned minds, tinned breath. The last two in the list are metaphors and are used to show that man is trapped in his environment. This environment isnt fit for humans now and there isnt grass to graze a cow. It appears the peoples lives are artificial and man-made. Through reading the text I got given the impression that his attitude was very bitter and condemning. An example of his bitterness is Mess up the mess they call a town. This is bitter because he thinks that Slough should be destroyed. The verse And get that man with double chin, wholl always cheat and always win, who washes his repulsive skin, in womens tears is very aggressive as it is about men who over indulge in the comforts of their wealth and abuse their wealthy status to manipulate the members of the under privileged in the society who look to him for comfort. Betjeman uses his words effectively to express his hatred for Slough. He says the ordinary workers; the bald young clerks have tasted hell. The ideas of artificial lives is cont6inued in his description of the peoples lives. They drink in Bogus Tudor bars; they have peroxide hair and they paint their nails. I preferred Composed Upon Westminster Bridge rather than Slough as I found that the poem was very calming and tranquil. It was short, easy to read and easy to understand. The ways that Wordsworth described the place made the poem shine because it was made to sound really peaceful and beautiful. I was able to create a vision of a place that seemed non-existent, or far out of our reach, but Wordsworth really captures the beauty.

Violent Music and Its Impact on children Essay Example For Students

Violent Music and Its Impact on children Essay Violent Music and it Impact on Children Causes and Impact of Emotional, Financial, and Physical Abuse of the Elderly Augustine Reeves Delaware Community County College April 16 2014 Introduction Does violent music really impact children life? We asked these questions every day, but do we get the right answers? This is unpredictable. No one knows what will be the outcome if we do not have music in our life. When I was a kid music was part of my every day activities. Rap, RB, Country etc. Was profanities used in those songs? Yes. Did I used them in the streets? Yes. We will write a custom essay on Violent Music and Its Impact on children specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now But does it really makes us who we are today. Different Medias Anderson, Carnage, and Banks(2003) emphasize the differences between Medias which one is more effective. Such as watching music videos and listening to audios only music. Is it more effective for a kid to do what he or she saw in the video, then saying what he or she heard in a music lyric. Music videos are more doable for children. Children will most likely take what they saw and transform it in their way of doing. The why Most parents who cares about their children behaviors will always block musical channels like B. E. T and M. T. V, and would rather allow their children to listen to amp music. In other to imitates a music lyric, you have to be a good listener, how to use to lyrics in different ways. Violent Music lyrics Impact on Children When listening to audio music with lyric, it increases thought, aggression, and emotions feeling on children. Most words that are used in lyrics are aggressive and nonaggression. According to Exposure to Violent Music, Craig A. Anderson, Nicholas L. Violent Music and Its Impact on children By Augustine Nonaggression words. Aggressive Words blood, fight hurt wound etcher gun choke hatchet knife Nonaggression Words alley drugs police stick animal movie red bottle night rock The experiment was to allow college students to listen to music with these aggressive words and nonaggression words and see what will be the outcome, and heir behaviors. The outcome was very clear that after the experiment was over the students who listened to the aggressive music had more negative feeling and aggressive thought of doing something, then the student who listened to the non- aggressive songs. Children have the mind of believing anything they hear or sees. Children who listens to aggressive music believe that they do not need to go to school, they believe they can sell drugs, become a rapper themselves, not listening to their parents because that what they heard while listening to aggressive music. That how aggressive music can impact children life. Violent Music video Impact on Children life According to helping to Curb Youth Violence, Jan L. Peterson and Russ Newman (2000) believed that youth between the age 12 and 24 year face the highest risk of being involves in violent acts and most likely involved in being kill. About nearly 60% of kid death are result of violent behaviors. Such as, homicide, accidents, gang fighting, dating assault etc. Because youth spend almost 6 to 12 hours a day watching MET, B. E. T, Youth, and other music channels. Musical videos is more about sexual oriented acts. It is said that teen who listen to rap video become more involve in violent dating. Musical videos are influenced and threaten to children. Conclusion I believe to that my thinking, my movement, my thoughts have something to do with music. As a youth I believe the image of music, the words, the videos act should be limited. But at the same time we cannot live without these things in our life no matter how risky it is. .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c , .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c .postImageUrl , .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c , .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c:hover , .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c:visited , .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c:active { border:0!important; } .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c:active , .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u34970e50e72f696d6c1b9e6347d6523c:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Music sampling EssayLife can be very stressful especially for the elderly. Sometime it is hard to imagine how life would be financially when getting older and knowing you wont be able to work and support your family. Situation like those can lead to depression, emotions, and can sometime lead to violent in the family. Most elderly realize that they cannot depend on social security tax anymore. Financial Exploitation on Elderly According to Shelley L. Jackson and Thomas L. Haberdasher (2012), financial exploitation s defined as the illegal or improper use of an elderly persons funds, property, or assets. It is said that elderly victims annually loss $2. 9 billion to financial exploitation in Midlife 2009. Those lost can be very effective on the elderly because these are something they worked for their life. Retirement is what every individual wants so a retire person it is hard to replace a lost assets. Therefore it can lead to loss of independence and security for an elderly person. With that situation the person have to rely on a family member, or even going far as getting on social welfare. For that season it can lead to self-decline, depression, even suicide attempt. What leads to Depression on Elderly? Depression does not really start with someone already at the age of 65. It can start with a person at age of 17 and follow till they are in their asss. According to The relationship between stress and depression, Vivian Kraal], Simms Seekers, and Ella Remains state that life events in relation to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and maltreatment during childhood. For example, a 16 year old girl lost both parents at that age she will most like be depress and might affect her life going forward. Elderly depression can also come from lack of financially assistance at a young age. A person who can work, or work and not save enough for the future can lead to depression. Because at the age of 50 they to worry about who will take care of them, theyll to worry about going to nursing home. Causes of Physical Abuse on Elderly Elderly people experience more physical abuse then others. Some causes of physical abuse on elderly are domestic violence and caregiver problem. Family issues come with domestic violence. The process of an elderly person living with a spouse can be trustful especially if the elder is sick or have mental issues. Sometime it can be financial problem. Buying all the medication, the food, and cloths. If the spouse not doing to responsibility it is consider as an abuse. The next one is caregivers. Sometime caregivers are having their own problem. It may be personal issues, psychological issues, and mental issues. The risk is very high when someone with these situation life with an elder. Physical Abuse can come when a sick elderly refuses to take his or her medication especially when it is at a consistence rate. The receiver can become to scream, names calling, and sometimes lead to hitting the elderly person.

Equal rights for all essays

Equal rights for all essays A constitutional ban on gay marriage is a declaration of war against gay America (Bumiller). It is an act of discrimination and intolerance solely based on religious perspectives. Allowing gays and lesbians the same rights as everyone else does nothing to harm or take away the rights of others. This amendment should not be allowed to pass, and the basic civil right to get married should be extended to all Americans. In the past the constitution has been amended to expand and protect the rights of Americans. This will be the first time it has been used to limit and take away rights. For example, a constitutional amendment expanded the rights of women to vote, and another gave African Americans equal rights instead of separate but equal rights as put on them by the Jim crow laws. These rights were separate but they were far from equal. In a sense the discrimination of gays and lesbians goes back to the old Jim crow laws of separate but not equal, by not allowing us to get married but instead letting the states decide if they will allow civil unions. Civil unions are a far step from marriage. They do not provide for 1,049 federal benefits that full marriage guarantees (Meade). Some of these rights that straight married couples take for granted are: Social Security survivor benefits, spousal privilege in a court trial, time off work if a partner is sick or has passed away, the ability to make medical decisions if there partner is unable to, and veterans survivors benefits. New York congressman Jerrold Nadler argues that an extremely important constitutional principal, is the right to ensure that all Americans are treated equally under the law. He also says that the passing of this amendment would permanently deny a large group of Americans access t ...

Long-Term Investment Decisions Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Long-Term Investment Decisions - Research Paper Example Internal factors are the factors that are influenced by the business establishment internally while external factors are factors that affect an investment where the business establishment has no control over. An example of such factors is government involvement. Why Government Regulation is or is not needed Normally, market structures and systems are formed by the various aspects of demand and supply. However, governments intervene in the market systems in various ways. Such ways include taxation, subsidies, allocation of rights, and rules and regulations among others. One reason why the United States of America government intervenes in the market economy is to ensure that there is free and fair competition. This, it does in various ways the notable one being putting various rules and regulation in the market economy. This is especially done to allow new business establishments entry into the market. Major corporations are known to merge or acquire another business establishment in o rder to ensure that they maintain their control over the market. This makes it hard for small business establishments especially new ones to enter the market thus discouraging entrepreneurship which repels investments. Another reason why there is the need for government intervention in the market economy is to ensure that indigenous companies and business establishments are safeguarded. This is especially the case when it comes to the farming industry where the United States of America government offers help to farmers through subsidies and tax exemptions to farmers in order for them to compete with International Corporation, which has an advantage of the farmers in terms of various factors such as availability of cheap labor. There is the need for government’s intervention in the market economy when it comes to goods and services which are sensitive to nature. For example, the government must control the production, sale, and buying of firearms and ammunition since this is a n issue which is sensitive. Another sector that the government intervenes as a necessity due to sensitivity is the provision of public services such as health, water, education, security, and electricity. There is need of government intervention is such instances due to the fact that these are human needs that when left to the private-sector control they might lead to chaos due to various factors. Finally, yet importantly, the government intervenes in a market economy to ensure that it has access to enough revenue to meet the country's needs. This is usually done through taxation where the government influences the market economy in order to generate its revenue. The rationale for the Intervention of Government in the Market Process in the U.S The need for government intervention in economic markets in the United States of America provides the rationale for the government’s involvement in the market process in the country. Firstly, the fact that government intervention in the market process in the United States of America results in social equity is a major motivator for the government to regulate the business processes in America.  Ã‚  

Project Management - Scheduling, Resources, and Budgeting (U3DB) Essay

Project Management - Scheduling, Resources, and Budgeting (U3DB) - Essay Example For example, when individual activities are assigned relevant human, material or other resources, they are treated independently and concurrency of resource usage is not assumed. It is only when resources are placed alongside activities inside the schedule that their over or under utilization becomes evident. Scheduling alternatives present varying levels of resource usage and optimization. In this phase, over or under-allocated resources can be identified and their usage smoothed out using techniques such as resource levelling (Heldman, 2005, p. 271). Resource scheduling is also important in that it can determine whether the project can be completed within the specified end date in the schedule. The project manager may not have enough resources to finish tasks on the critical path in time despite optimization in allocation. Tradeoffs between costs and time of completing the project have to be taken using techniques such as crashing. Important budgetary and business decisions can be taken including hiring of additional sources, outsourcing or negotiating a reduction in the scope of the project (Richman, 2002, p. 117) . Multi-project resource scheduling requires project management capabilities at a different and a more complex dimension. Lead project managers typically take an enterprise level view of the project rather than at each individual project within it. Project control also takes a new dimension with individual project managers taking larger responsibility for their own domains and coordinating through effective communication with the core group managing the project (Barkley, 2006, p. 62). For example, if 5 aircrafts are being manufactured for a single airline simultaneously in a manufacturing facility, each aircraft unit would be a separate project together forming one larger multi-project for that order. Outsourcing can also take place in various forms. It can be inter-departmental

Shipping companies listed on New Yorks Stock Exchange

Shipping companies listed on New Yorks Stock Exchange This study was based on 21 shipping companies listed in New York Stock Exchange, over the period of 2005 to 2009. On the table below the selected shipping companies are shown. Shipping Companies listed in the New York Stock Exchange DIANA SHIPPING INC NAVIOS MARITIME HOLDINGS INC 3 SAFE BULKERS INC 4 GENCO SHIPPING TRADING LIMITED 5 TEEKAY CORPORATION 6 TSAKOS ENERGY NAVIGATION LIMITED 7 EXCEL MARITIME CARRIERS LTD 8 DANAOS CORPORATION 9 AEGEAN MARINE PETROLEUM NETWORK INCORPORATION 10 FRONTLINE LIMITED 11 SEACOR HOLDINGS INCORPORATED 12 NORDIC TANKERS 13 GLOBAL SHIP LEASE INCORPORATION 14 GENERAL MARITIME CORPORATION 15 SEASPAN CORPORATION 16 SHIP FINANCE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED 17 KIRBY CORPORATION 18 OVERSEAS SHIPHOLDING GROUP, INC 19 DHT MARITIME INCORPORATION 20 INTERNATIONAL SHIPHOLDING CORPORATION 21 TIDEWATER INC This paper seeks to examine the relationship among three corporate governance mechanisms (board composition, chief executive status and audit committee) and some firm performance measures (return on investment capital, return on equity, Return on Assets and Current Ratio). Also, the essay examines the relationship among these three corporate governance mechanisms and the operating performance (Net Sales to Operating Cost) of the corporations. Part 1 Corporate Governance Corporate governance is the set of processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions affecting the way a corporation (or company) is directed, administered or controlled with the objective to enhance shareholders wealth. Corporate governance also includes the relationships among the stakeholders involved and the goals by which the corporation is governed. It is supposed that better corporate governance leads to better corporate performance by preventing the expropriation of controlling shareholders and ensuring better decision-making. Corporate governance is a priority along with financial indicators when evaluating investment decisions according to investors. The majority of them are prepared to pay a premium for companies having high governance standards. On the opposite, there are also bad forms of corporate governance that lead corporations to problems. Good corporate governance is considered to be a fundamental necessity to run a firm successfully. Moreover corporate governance is a process which can ensure growth for a firm and the economy in general. Most of the selected shipping companies are foreign private issuers established in Marshal or Bermuda islands. The minority of the selected companies are U.S corporations. Consequently most of them are not required to comply with the corporate governance practices followed by U.S. companies following the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listing standards. However, they are required to state any significant differences between their corporate governance practices and the practices required by the NYSE according to Section 303.A.11 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual.  Furthermore almost every chosen shipping company adopts NYSE required practices, such as having a majority of independent directors, establishing audit and compensation and nominating committees as well as adopting a Code of Ethics.   NYSE requires companies to adopt and disclose corporate governance guidelines.   The guidelines should address to the director qualification standards, the director responsibilities, the director access to management and independent advisers, the director compensation, the director orientation and continuing education, management succession as well as an annual performance evaluation. However,   most of the shipping companies trade in NYSE are not obliged to comply with these rules due to that they are foreign private issuers as well as most of them are offshore. For these companies there is no obligation of complying with any corporate governance guidelines or code of ethics. Shareholders can be informed via the annual reports and Code of Ethics, both of which have been publicly filed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission available on the companies web-sites. Corporate governance guidelines and shipping companies intend to publish an overview of the Companys gu iding principles which focuses on social issues. This Code cannot cover every applicable law or provide answers to all questions that may arise but it can set out general principles about an organization belief on matters such as mission, quality, conflicts of interest, internal reporting, privacy or the environment. Furthermore, it may define proper procedures to determine whether a violation of the code of ethics has occurred. Code of ethics and corporate social responsibility is a neglected issue in the shipping industry. Traditionally there is no reason for the shipping companies to invest in advertising or in any other activity that could improve their image. Consequently the main goal of the management of a shipping company is to attract as many as possible new clients. Any characteristic that can improve the reputation of the company is not a priority for the managers of a shipping company. Many years have passed and shipping companies were not obliged to follow some rules of social responsibilities. Fortunately, the last decade various regulations have been imposed to the operation of a shipping company, although the control mechanisms were not always efficient. Board of Directors An important aspect that influences the corporate governance is the board of directors. The board of directors plays an important role to the company operation. It oversees top management and is entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring and supervising the company resources and operation. Moreover, it undertakes the obligation of appointing a qualified person as the Chief Executive Officer and other management staff. Therefore, the board is seen as a team of individuals with fiduciary responsibilities of leading and directing a firm, with the primary objective of protecting the shareholders interests with high sense of integrity and commitment to the firm. The role of the Board is significant in designing efficient corporate monitoring and ratification mechanisms. With respect to reducing agency costs at the Board level, Boards of directors have three key decision rights: (1) Monitoring (2) Ratification (3) Reward and punishment rights. They may even remove top managers from their positions and sanction them for their decisions. NYSE rules require the size of the board of directors not to be smaller than three members. As it can be observed by the survey the size of the board of directors of the sample is between five and seven members. Although there are some shipping companies that have more than seven members in the board and some others that have less than five members. It can be concluded that the majority of the board members in the board of directors are outside directors (member of a company board of directors who is not an employee or stakeholder in the company). The role of independent directors on the board of directors is to effectively monitor and control firm activities in reducing opportunistic managerial behaviors and expropriation of firm resources. The majority of the board members are outsiders for most of the companies; some of them use relatives as well as acquaintances as board members. This indicates a tendency for the shipping companies to be governed by a closed team of people. In accordance to NYSE rules the board should have audit, compensation, and nominating committees made up entirely by outside directors. Almost all of them are consisted by the three obligatory committees opposed to the majority of the selected shipping companies that do not have the obligation to comply with the NYSE rules. The role of these committees is significant; they are assigned to evaluate the board The role of the Audit Committee The purpose of the Audit Committee is to: Monitor the integrity of the firm financial statements. Monitor the qualifications, independence and performance of the company independent auditors. Monitor the performance of the company internal audit function. The audit committee ensures that the books of the company are not fake and that shareholders are properly informed of the financial status of the firm. In this essay it is made an effort to examine the importance of the audit committee in shipping companies listed in the New York Stock Exchange. NYSE requires from a listed U.S. company to have an audit committee with a minimum of three members. But it is permitted by Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that audit committees of foreign companies can have less than three independent members in the audit committee. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Status The Chief Executive Officer position and the whole management team is an important position to hold in a corporation. They are responsible for Operating the firm in an effective way. Preparing the annual operating plans and budgets. Establishing an effective system of internal control. In this essay it is examined the role of the Chief executive officer (CEO) in the shipping companies. There are two types of leadership structure i.e. combined leadership structure and separated structure. Combined leadership structure happens when the CEO is also the chairman of the board. On the other hand separated leadership structure takes place when the Chairman of the board is a different person from the CEO. Many studies identifying the implications of CEO duality exist. It is thought that the operating performance may be improved as a result of less debate among the CEO and chairman and/or other directors. From the sample of the shipping companies that it was taken a significant tendency cannot be provided. In some of the shipping companies the CEO is also the chairman of the board while in others is not. Part 2 Methodology The aim of this research is to figure out if the corporate governance mechanisms have an effect on firm performance. Therefore, the measurement of firm performance is primarily comprised of two factors: operating and financial performance. The data used for this research were extracted from the audited financial statements of 21 shipping companies listed in the New York Stock Exchange. The survey covers the time period through 2005 2009. The sample consists of the annual observations for the board size of every company, for the CEO status and for the size of the audit committee of every shipping company. The aim of the research is to find if these corporate governance mechanisms influence the operating and financial performance ratios. Consequently regression models have been constructed in order to prove the association between the corporation governance in operating and financial performance. Microsoft Excel and the statistical package Eviews were used so as to collect the data run the appropriate regressions and identify the results. Moreover except from the companies annual reports a lot of information was extracted through the Thomson Database. In the end panel data methodology was adopted because it combined time series and cross sectional data. The method of analysis is that of multiple regressions and the method of estimation is Ordinary Least Squares (OLS). By running the appropriate regressions via Eviews and by using Return on equity and the profit margin as the dependent variables, the results were considered inadequate. Consequently it was considered integral to proceed to further research. That is why the below financial ratios were used as dependent variables. For the financial performance: Return on equity ratio: Profitability ratio, it can indicate the management effectiveness Return on assets ratio: Profitability ratio, it can also indicate the management effectiveness Return on investment capital ratio: Profitability ratio, it can also indicate the management effectiveness Current ratio: liquidity  ratio Finally in order to measure the operating performance: The above formulas contributed on calculating the ratios of the shipping companies for the time period of 2005 2009. Moreover, many independent variables were used to define the most accurate and specifically those that would give some results. Consequently as independent variables are defined the above: Out_Board = the proportion of the independent directors over the total directors. CEO = if the same person occupies the post of the chairman of the board and the Chief executive is defined by valuing with zero, otherwise value with one. Audcom1 = the proportion of the audit committee. In the end in order to run the regression, the economic models should be defined. For the return on equity: For the return on assets For the return on investment capital For the current ratio So as to measure the operating performance of the shipping companies the above economic model was used. Furthermore the above parameters should be defined. ÃŽÂ ²o:Constant term ÃŽÂ ²1:Coefficient of the regression ÃŽÂ ²2: Coefficient of the regression ÃŽÂ ²3: Coefficient of the regression eit: Disturbance term Empirical Results and Discussion It is important to mention some important data before continuing to comment on the outputs of the regression. First of all the regression outputs will be tested for all the three confidence intervals 90%,95% and 99%. In order to have a statistical significant output the t statistic has to be greater than 1.64, 1.96 and 2.576 respectively. Moreover so as to have a statistically significant variable the p value has to be less than 0,1 , 0.05 and 0.01 respectively. As it can be observed from the table below, the three independent variables are statistically insignificant because the t statistics are lower than the critical values. Moreover it can be confirmed because all the p values are greater than the level of significance. Dependent Variable: ROE Method: Panel Least Squares Total panel (unbalanced) observations: 99 Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic Prob. OUT_BOARD -0.00683 0.552604 -0.01236 0.9902 CEO 0.017437 0.17098 0.101982 0.919 AUDCOM1 -0.002796 0.101423 -0.027571 0.9781 C 0.18661 0.529641 0.352334 0.7254 R-squared 0.000114 Adjusted R-squared -0.031461 F-statistic 0.003613 Prob(F-statistic) 0.999698 S.E. of regression 0.791347 Dependent Variable: ROA Method: Panel Least Squares Total panel (unbalanced) observations: 99 Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic Prob. OUT_BOARD -0.095721 0.061678 -1.551956 0.124 CEO -0.032232 0.019084 -1.688972 0.0945 AUDCOM1 0.009389 0.01132 0.829387 0.409 C 0.140099 0.059115 2.369954 0.0198 R-squared 0.078318 Adjusted R-squared 0.049212 F-statistic 2.690791 Prob(F-statistic) 0.050602 S.E. of regression 0.088325 Dependent Variable: ROA Method: Panel Least Squares Total panel (unbalanced) observations: 99 Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic Prob. OUT_BOARD -0.104552 0.060653 -1.723773 0.088 CEO -0.028425 0.018493 -1.537033 0.1276 C 0.171387 0.045439 3.771807 0.0003 R-squared 0.071644 Adjusted R-squared 0.052303 F-statistic 3.704289 Prob(F-statistic) 0.028204 S.E. of regression 0.088181 It is evident from the tables above that there is a correlation between return on assets and the independent variables. On the first table it can be observed that the CEO independent variable is statistically significant on 10% confidence interval. Also R- Squared is 7.16% of the variability of the return on assets and is explained by the regression. On the second table one independent variable is excluded from the regression in order to prove that the proportion of the outside directors over the total number of the board is also statistically significant at the 90% confidence interval. It is evident that these two variables influence the financial performance of the shipping companies that are selected in the sample. On the table below it is shown the regression output between the return on investment capital and the independent variables. It can be observed that the proportion of the outside directors and the CEO are statistically significant on the 90% confidence interval. It implies that the majority of the sampled firms, in the period under study, have separate persons occupying the posts of chief executive and the board chair. Dependent Variable: ROIC Total panel (unbalanced) observations: 97 Method: Panel Least Squares Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic Prob. OUT_BOARD -0.108758 0.062348 -1.744367 0.0844 CEO -0.031869 0.019189 -1.660741 0.1001 AUDCOM1 0.00542 0.011377 0.476405 0.6349 C 0.199476 0.059341 3.361532 0.0011 R-squared 0.081182 Adjusted R-squared 0.051542 F-statistic 2.738981 Prob(F-statistic) 0.047783 S.E. of regression 0.088251 Dependent Variable: CURRENT_RATIO Method: Panel Least Squares Total panel (unbalanced) observations: 99 Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic OUT_BOARD 0.554821 1.498786 0.37018 CEO -0.636588 0.463736 -1.372737 AUDCOM1 0.538569 0.275082 1.95785 C 0.954122 1.436504 0.664197 R-squared 0.047648 Adjusted R-squared 0.017574 F-statistic 1.584356 Prob(F-statistic) 0.198271 S.E. of regression 2.146311 Another ratio so as to observe the financial performance of a company is the current ratio. By running a regression it can be concluded that the audit committee size is statistically significant at a 90% and 95% confidence interval. Because of the different financial performance ratio it can be observed a different correlation between the dependent and the independent variable. On the particular output the positive relationship between the liquidity ratio and the audit committee seems to be a very reasonable result. Shipping companies follow the corporate governance guidelines which are given by the NYSE for the audit committees. In the end a regression was run for the operating performance of the shipping companies. On the table below it is shown that the proportion of the outside directors is statistically significant at 90% confidence interval with t statistic greater than the critical values. Also it is shown that the audit committee variable is also statistically significant for all the confidence intervals. But the R squared of the output is very low which means that only the 8.76% of the variability of the dependent variable is explained. Dependent Variable: OPER_PERF Method: Panel Least Squares Total panel (unbalanced) observations: 99 Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic Prob. OUT_BOARD -0.951585 0.50254 -1.893552 0.0613 CEO 0.083654 0.15549 0.538005 0.5918 AUDCOM1 -0.23875 0.092234 -2.588514 0.0112 C 3.109729 0.481657 6.456321 0 R-squared 0.087671 Adjusted R-squared 0.05886 F-statistic 3.043024 Prob(F-statistic) 0.032629 S.E. of regression 0.719653 Descriptive statistics The table below presents the result of the descriptive statistics analysis between the dependent variables and the independent variables by measuring the mean, the standard deviation and the percentage of distribution range of the pooled years of the sample under study. Descriptive Statistics Oper_Perf Roa Roe Roic Cur_ratio Out_Board CEO AUDCOM1 Mean 1.741854 0.078202 0.18183 0.11603 3.243112 0.762211 0.474747 2.808081 Median 1.527139 0.072055 0.156449 0.110134 1.86132 0.777778 0 3 Maximum 5.409894 0.513177 3.84573 0.368966 70.57955 1 1 5 Minimum 0.889839 -0.42841 -4.60062 -0.41285 0.1406 0.428571 0 1 Std. Dev. 0.737746 0.090581 0.779185 0.09045 7.100746 0.153031 0.501903 0.816623 Skewness 1.867152 -0.45139 -1.94635 -1.54254 8.614659 -0.20659 0.101139 0.250996 Kurtosis 8.233289 16.32647 24.76835 14.17857 81.7566 2.085215 1.010229 3.44567 Jarque-Bera 177.3846 735.9403 2017.183 549.1192 27351.86 4.156112 16.50043 1.858795 Probabil. 0 0 0 0 0 0.125173 0.000261 0.394791 Sum 179.411 7.741993 18.00119 11.3709 327.5543 75.45889 47 278 Sum Sq. D. 55.51539 0.804091 59.49867 0.793579 5042.06 2.295021 24.68687 65.35354 Observ. 103 99 99 98 101 99 99 99 As it can be referred from the table above the number of the observations is all close to the hundred. This is because some of the data were not available and could not be extracted from the financial reports. Moreover another reason of the lack of some data is that some of the shipping companies were listed in the New York Stock Exchange after 2005. Conclusion The aim of this essay was to prove that there is a relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and firm performance using a sample of 21 shipping companies which are listed in the New York Stock Exchange from 2005 until 2009. The study used firm performance ratios and three mechanisms to prove the above relationship. Panel data methodology is employed; the method of analysis is multiple regressions and the method of estimation is Ordinary Least Squares. The study concludes to the followings: There is no significant relationship between ROE and none of the independent variables. There is a significant relationship among ROA and CEO status and the proportion of the outside directors. There is significant relationship among ROIC, board composition and CEO status. There is a significant relationship between Current ratio and audit committee. And there is a significant relationship among operating performance, board composition and audit committee. Concerning future research, efforts should be made to increase the sample size and the corporate governance variables to achieve a clearer view about the affection of the corporate governance mechanisms on the shipping companies. It can be said that shipping industry has been expanded all over the world from family to family. It is a closed industry which excludes many people. Consequently the nature of the industry makes it very difficult to perform an in depth research and establish an outcome. References Web Sites http://www.investopedia.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org http://www.dianashippinginc.com Home page

The Use of Steroids in Major League Sports :: Athletes Drugs Professional Baseball Doping

The Use of Steroids in Major League Sports There has been a lot of controversy about steroids in sports. The pressure has caused some sport stars to admit to their use of steroids. Some of these people are Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield, and Jason Giambi. Steroids though seem very helpful to professional athletes, it can very dangerous and can help people get advantage over other people. Steroids have been around for a long time. â€Å"The first people to use anabolic steroids for athletic enhancement were the Russians who discovered the drug and had great success.† They stared to use the steroids in the 1950’s. The steroids they used had many side effects. When they started to use them, they had a high chance to die of heart disease and many other things. During the Olympics in 1950 and a little beyond the Russians were know as the best weight lifters in the world. No one knew that they used steroids. After a while, their secret was out and the Bulgarians started to use them. Steroids can help but they do have very severe side effects. â€Å"Overall the usage of steroids is very damaging to the human body.† In men, the steroids can cause shrinkage to the testicles, decrease sperm count, sterility, impotence, prostate enlargement, and growth of breasts. Most of the side effects cannot be reversed. The most severe side effect of steroids is on the liver. It is called Peliosis Hepatis, which is a blood-filled cyst in the liver. If the cysts rupture, they can cause liver failure. That would most likely kill the person. In women, it can sue the growth of facial hair, shrinkage of the uterus, sterility, deepening of the voice, decrease in breast size, and irregularity in the menstrual cycle. In both men and women, jaundice, edema of feet and ankles (water retention), headaches, aching joints, reduction in HDL, high blood pressure, stroke, hair loss, liver ailments, acne, atherosierosis and cancer. When injected some of the risks are developing hematons a nd getting AIDS and HIV. Taking steroids shortens the life span up to twenty years and a chance of getting diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and hypertension. The side effects are reactions from using steroids are endless. There are many different kinds of steroids and the side effects are getting less severe but more people are taking them because of their immediate effect. â€Å"But, there are a host of new bodybuilding drugs such as GH, Insulin, IGF, PGF, TGF, DNP, beta agonists, etc.