Luck Club Essay Example for Free

Luck Club Essay Published in 1989, The Joy Luck Club is the first novel written by Amy Tan that narrates about the lives of four Chinese-American immigrant families who are living in the United States. â€Å"Two Kinds† is one of the chapters in this book that focuses on the conflict between a mother and a daughter as a result of generation gap and cultural differences. Shu-Huei Henrickson, an instructor of English at Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois, wrote a criticism on the novel and explores the reasons for the popularity of The Joy Luck Club and the various narrative techniques used by the author to give life to the conflict and resentment that arise between a mother and a daughter in the novel. In his criticism, Hendrickson initially introduced the background of the author and listed the novels that she has written. A comparison was also made between Amy Tan’s narrative style and that of other ethnic authors in the Asian American Literature. He believes that the success of the novel is due to Tan’s excellent treatment of the mother/daughter relationship. Normally texts of mother/daughter focus on the daughter’s struggles for identity and the mothers supporting role position. In the case of this novel, the central focus is on the lives of the mothers. Hendrickson quoted another critic, Maria Heung’s description of The Joy Luck Club who said, â€Å"What distinguishes Tan’s text from other ethnic novels is the ‘foregrounding of the voices of mothers as well as of daughters’. † This unique style makes The Joy Luck Club an outstanding Asian American literature. Hendrickson further analyzes Amy Tan’s narrative techniques. He pointed out that the author’s first narrative technique uses multiple points of view in recounting the stories. In these four pairs of mothers and daughters’ stories, there are sixteen interlocking tales. The stories are divided into two parts, one for the daughters and one for the mothers. â€Å"The mothers are all depicted as strong and determined women who play significant roles in the daughters’ lives. † Hendrickson considers this as a unique technique. In Jing-Mei Woo’s story (Two Kinds), a high standard of maternal expectation is manifested as Jing Mei’s mother forces her to practice playing the piano. This vivid depiction shows the significant role of the mother in the story. Through the significant presence of the mothers, Tan reinforces the conflict between the mothers and daughters that stems from their cultural and generation differences. In addition, misunderstanding arises due to their linguistic differences. Hendrickson believes that the central theme of The Joy Luck Club is the lack of shared languages and cultural logic between the Chinese immigrant mothers and the American-born daughters. Nevertheless, the mothers are not given any insignificant roles in the stories and their concerns are noteworthy in this novel. The second narrative technique that Hendrickson pointed out is the presence of realistic dialogues. In the story, the mothers are speaking imperfect English. Tan directly captures these dialogues and clearly shows it to the readers. Thus, the linguistic and cultural differences between the mothers and daughters are directly felt throughout the story. This is one of the remarkable features of the novel. Hendrickson also criticized the racial identity and the concluding part of Jing-Mei’s story. However, this part will not be discussed since it is no longer related to the chapter, â€Å"Two Kinds†. Hendrickson considers the mothers in The Joy Luck Club as â€Å"heroines†. They are different in comparison with other Asian American literature that has portrayed them as discreet and modest. Because of their significant presence and Tan’s unique narrative techniques, The Joy Luck Club is considered as a special and excellent literary work. Response: The chapter, â€Å"Two Kinds† may provide us with a minute idea of the existing conflict between two generations of women who were raised in two different environments – the mothers in an oriental country and the daughters in a western environment. However, without the benefit of viewing the film and reading the novel, one would not be able to imbibe the conflicting reality of seeing families of the same race living in conflict as a result of generation and cultural differences. Fortunately, I have seen the film, â€Å"The Joy Luck Club† a few years ago and without a doubt, the movie is great. Although I have not read the entire book, I could only imagine the novel to be as good if not better. Personally, I agree with the critic, Shu-Huei Hendrickson’s opinion in the conflict between Suyuan (mother) and Jing-Mei (daughter). The daughter, Jing-Mei was born in the United States while the mother, Suyuan was born in China, and later immigrated to the US. In most family situations, mothers and daughters tend to establish a close bond but this kind of relationship was not present between Suyuan and Jing-Mei. Both were emotionally apart and they have not developed a close relationship. Since Jing-Mei was raised in a country where freedom of choice abounds, her young mind could not accept her mother’s desire to have a daughter who is willing to obey and follow everything that a mother says. Forcing her to take piano lessons against her wishes only made their relationship worst. On the other hand, Suyuan does not understand her daughter’s desire to establish her own identity and independence. For Suyuan, the road to success in the US requires one to speak the American language fluently. Hence, she compelled Jing-Mei to speak in perfect English. Suyuan desires the best for her daughter as she does not want her to experience the painful life that she had in China. This however was not fully accepted by Jing-Mei. Language barrier and cultural gap has widened the difference between the mother and the daughter. Suyuan’s dream of giving Jing-Mei the best of life is often misunderstood by her daughter who wanted to be free from the clutches of her mother. Since I am a student from China, I can relate to the story than most American readers. Suyuan’s hopes and dreams for her daughter are common among parents in my country. In China, people do not enjoy the freedom to do whatever they want. We are not given the opportunity to achieve our dreams. When we set foot in the United States, we want to identify with the Americans and embrace the country that is known as the land of freedom and hope. Our thirst for freedom is so intense. Chinese-American people who were born in the US like Jing-Mei have never experienced the life of those who lived in China during the nineteenth century where freedom never exist and people’s lives were in the hands of the communist government. I agree with Hendrickson’s view that Amy Tan uses the first narrative technique in writing her novel effectively. She uses many dialogues that project the voices of mothers and daughters. I can also relate to the challenges of trying to speak English fluently while thinking and translating Chinese words into English when I saw the scene where Suyuan speaks imperfect American English while shouting these words to Jing-Mei, â€Å"Only ask you be your best. For your sake. You think I want you be genius? Hnnh! What for! Who ask you! † Amy Tan has mastered the use of narrative technique in ways that many writers could not imagine. Her unique and effective techniques have drawn many readers to read her novel, watch the movie and relate to the challenges of two generations of women who are living in the land where freedom abounds and dreams turn into reality.

Design and cost analysis to build a 3 storey new offices with construction

Design and cost analysis to build a 3 storey new offices with construction 1.0 INTRODUCTION This report is presenting two vacant sites which are located at Aberdeen City, Grampian (the edge of the city) and the other one at Edinburgh City, Scotland (city centre). This report content is the design and cost analysis to build a 3 storey new offices with construction to start as soon as possible. This new office will be approximately 1,500m ² which included offices, reception area, all ancillary spaces to accommodate staff, a board room to sit 50 and five meeting rooms to sit 10 15 people. The facilities required is air- conditioning offices and CCTV protection, and the proposed construction is steel frame with pitched roof. 1.1 Aim This report is to: Ø Decide whether city centre or outskirts which more suitable for cost saving. Ø Provide an outline cost plan for the project site mentioned. Ø Advice on sustainability aspects of the proposed project. Ø Provide breakdown by comparing few location before any decision taken. Ø Achieve a firm price by looking into the design of the offices. Ø Recommend the strategic location to the client. 2.0 BACKGROUND OF PROPOSED OFFICE BUILDING Proposed 3 storeys high quality offices block together with external works including reception area, a board room to sit 50, five meeting rooms to sit 10 15 people, services, security and CCTV protection and site lighting. Besides, solar heating panels are proposed for this project. Slimdek steel system is selected for frame work with steel pitch roof with aluminium standing seam cladding is proposed. 3.0 BCIS DATA DISTRICT PROFILES Based on BCIS historical data, analysis and the details of selected six (6) similar project of (new office building) are as below: i) Elemental analysis number 24828, A-3-1,253, this is 3 storey office block together with external works including precast concrete and macadam paving, steel mesh fencing, brick walls, landscaping, services, drainage, site lighting, cycle racks and bollards at Wilmslow, Cheshire, Massclesfield. ii) Elemental analysis number 23877, 3-7,600, this is 3 storey office block together with external works including paving, enclosures, landscaping, services, drainage and minor buildings at Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glamorgan, Merthyr Tydfil. 3.0 BCIS DATA DISTRICT PROFILES (Contd) iii) Elemental analysis number 25344, A-3-2,045, this is 3 storey office block together with external works including block paving, fencing, walls, landscaping, services drainage, site lighting, cycle store and bat roost at Banbury, Oxfordshire, Cherwell. iv) Elemental analysis number 25163, A-3 (2) -718, this is 2 and 3 storey office block together with external works including landscaping, services and drainage at Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, Aylesbury Vale. v) Elemental analysis number 22434, A-3 (4) -3,887, this is 3 storey office block together with external works including access roads and car parking, landscaping, services, drainage, bin and cycle stores at Oxford, Oxfordshire, Oxford. vi) Elemental analysis number 22437, B-3-6,652, this is 3 storey office block together with external works including macadam and block paving to provide 167 parking spaces, extensive landscaping, services and drainage at Uxbridge, Greater London, London Borough of Hillingdon. Item Location Analysis Index/yr quarter Original Cost per m ² ( £) Preliminary (%) Contingency (%) GFA (m ²) /Storey Location Factor 1 Wilmslow, Cheshire, Macclesfield 247 / 2Q2008 1,125.98 21.68 2.93 1,253 / 3 Storey 0.97 2 Mid Glamorgan, Merthyr Tydfil 221 / 1Q2005 1,607.93 14.52 3.04 7,600 / 3 Storey 0.98 3 Banbury, Oxfordshire, Cherwell 246 / 3Q2008 1,482.95 19.24 1.06 2,045 / 3 Storey 0.99 4 Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, Aylesbury Vale 241 / 2Q2007 1,726.46 16.93 6.88 718 / 3 Storey 1.06 5 Oxford, Oxfordshire, Oxford 195 / 4Q2003 1,211.53 12.53 3,887 / 3 Storey 1.07 6 Uxbridge, Greater London, London Borough of Hillingdon 200 / 1Q2004 1,290.13 15.79 0.37 6,652 / 3 Storey 1.15 3.0 BCIS DATA DISTRICT PROFILES (Contd) Note: i) Cost per m ² excluding contingencies. ii) The cost plan of the above 6 projects are enclosed in Appendix (I) and (II) (Analysis 1 and 2). iii) The detail specifications are enclosed in Appendix IV. 4.0 COST PLAN ANALYSIS AND PROPOSAL Based on this report, location factor below 1.00 is considered as outskirt of city and above 1.00 is considered as city centre. One of the BCIS data Merthyr Tydfil Mid Glamorgan, Merthyr Tydfil is banned in this report for analysis and comparison due to the following reason: i. The cost per m ² is too high comparing to others project and the location factor is only 0.98. ii. Many element cost is undefined in details, example floor finishes, wall finishes, ceiling finishes, internal and external doors, roof, etc. iii. The preliminary is only 14.52% of the contract sum (excluding contingencies) compare to others 5 projects. Therefore, this elemental cost is not analytical. Price Design Risk is assumed as 7.0% and contingencies assumed as 2.5% for the two proposed project. 4.1 Element cost adjustment The rational adjustment for element cost as below: i. 2A Frame Proposed steel column and beam frame for this building. This element is cost 5.36% of the project and 2.30% lower if compare with Merthyr Tydfil project. ii. 2C Roof Proposed steel pitched roof with single ply waterproofing membrane for this building. This element is cost 4.43% of the project and 1.44% lower if compare with Merthyr Tydfil project. iii. 2G Internal Wall / Partitions Proposed metal stud and cubicle partitions is because a board room and two meeting room are required by client. iv. 2H Electrical Installation The percentage distribute to this element is 12.43% and is the highest compare to other five projects. Therefore, we proposed to cut down the uses of electricity to this building by 5.97%. 4.2 Cost analysis plan for city centre Edinburgh City, Scotland Refer to the above BCIS data, location factor above 1.00 is Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, Aylesbury Vale, Oxford Oxfordshire, Oxford and Uxbridge, Greater London, London Borough of Hillingdon. According to the current cost index of 212 (1Q2010) for the Proposed 3 Storey New Office Block at Edinburgh City and location factor is 1.09. The updated cost per m ² for Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, Aylesbury Vale is  £ 1,561.69, Oxford Oxfordshire, Oxford and Uxbridge is  £ 1,341.77, Greater London, London Borough of Hillingdon is  £ 1,296.19. Oxford Oxfordshire, Oxford and Uxbridge and Greater London, London Borough of Hillingdon is not selected because the updated cost per m ² is lower than Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, Aylesbury Vale. The low price for these two areas may be due to the location that nearby the edge of the city and it is unable to achieve a high class office building. However, the updated cost per m ² of  £ 1,561.69 for Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, Aylesbury Vale is selected for budgeting purpose only and this is current cost and not includes construction inflation and interest rates. The current cost limit is  £ 2,322,729 and the projected tender amount is  £ 2,300,817 as apply  £ 1,401.38 as current cost per m ² in analysis 3. 4.3 Cost analysis plan for outskirts of city Aberdeen City, Grampian Refer to the above BCIS data, location factor below 1.00 is Wilmslow Cheshire, Macclesfield, Merthyr Tydfil Mid Glamorgan, Merthyr Tydfil and Banbury Oxfordshire, Cherwell. According to the current cost index of 212 (1Q2010) for the Proposed 3 Storey New Office Block at Aberdeen City and location factor is 0.96. The updated cost per m ² for Wilmslow Cheshire, Macclesfield is  £ 956.47, Merthyr Tydfil Mid Glamorgan, Merthyr Tydfil is  £ 1,510.97 and Banbury Oxfordshire, Cherwell is  £ 1,239.27. Wilmslow Cheshire, Macclesfield and Banbury Oxfordshire, Cherwell is not selected because the updated cost per m ² is lower than Merthyr Tydfil Mid Glamorgan, Merthyr Tydfil. The low price for these two areas may be due to the market condition and the competitive between them make the tender price on lower side for this two projects. Nevertheless, the updated cost per m ² is adjust to  £ 1,510.97 for Merthyr Tydfil Mid Glamorgan, Merthyr Tydfil is selected for budgeting purpose due to the market condition is buoyant and not competitive that mean the tender price will on high side. The current cost limit is  £ 2,045,718 and the projected tender amount is  £ 2,026,419 as apply  £ 1,234.25 as current cost per m ² in analysis 3. 4.4 Cost comparison for city centre and outskirts of city Based on the cost plan for this 3 storey new office building at Edinburgh City and Aberdeen City, the projected tender amount for 2Q2010 is  £ 2,300,817 and  £ 2,026,419 respectively. The cost between this two distinct is  £ 274,398 or 13.54%. 5.0 SUSTAINABILITY OF BUILDING Building owners, designers and builders face a unique challenge to meet demands for new and renovated facilities that are accessible, secure, healthy, and productive while minimizing their impact on the environment. The main objectives of sustainable design are to avoid resource depletion of energy, water, and raw materials; prevent environmental degradation caused by facilities and infrastructure throughout their life cycle; and create built environments that are livable, comfortable, safe, and productive. In UK, Green Building, also known as green construction or sustainable building, is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a buildings life-cycle: from sitting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction. 5.1 Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emission In UK, annual CO2 emission is 568,520 in thousands of metric tons. Buildings are responsible for more than 70 percent of electricity use; therefore, reducing electricity use in buildings directly affects carbon emissions in electricity production. Therefore, solar panels and heat exchange system are proposed in this project for space heating and air-conditioning. 5.2 Whole life cost of the building Solar energy is renewable and essentially free. There are two factors that influence the amount of money solar panels will save you on your electricity bills: 1) the amount of money you spend on your current electric bill, and 2) the amount of electricity your solar panels will be providing. The demands of solar energy get well known because of the high prices for electricity bill using conventional source. The worldwide of demand for solar energy is greater than its supply. This is due to it will cut energy consumption and pollution sources like they have lower heat loss, less air leakages, warmed window surface that improve comfort and minimize condensation. Automatic lighting and air conditioning control system is proposed, example it will automatic off and / or change to some low voltage lighting after working hour. 6.0 COST SAVINGS PROPOSAL The cost plan is for estimation budgeting only but not final contract sum for this project, so to control the final cost within budget and / or gain additional profit from the saving, the following cost savings for this project are proposed: i. Proposed Slimdek extends the range of cost-effective steel options for modern buildings. Ease of planning and servicing, combined with a reduction in building height, gives significant cost and speed of construction benefits. Slimdek is especially economical for highly serviced buildings. Flexibility of routing services without constraint and the ability to accommodate services between the ribs can lead to substantial savings in the cost of services. ii. Proposed to commence work at month April 10 because the frame work and roof covering able to finish when winter season, this help to save additional cost when construct in winter season, examples heating for curing concrete, protection of new work (concrete and brickwork), etc. This assist contractor to save additional cost and will reflect to overall development cost for client. iii. Solar heating panels is a the usage of solar energy to provide process that depends on the solar radiation, surface area, surface reflectance, surface emissivity, ambient temperature, and thermal convection from wind. 7.0 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO ACHIEVE A FIRM PRICE We required additional information which will have impact on costs in order to prepare a firmer estimation cost as below: i. Ground condition ii. Site topography iii. Site existing structure, accessibility and protection iv Market condition v. Type of contract for the project 8.0 CONCLUSION / RECOMMENDATIONS The quality of the building is more important for offices than for other development like retail. It should provide necessary services and enable flexible sub-division of floor space. While location (address) is important, congestion is reducing efficiency and encouraging out of town office parks. Therefore, Proposed 3 storey office block at Aberdeen City, Grampian instead of Edinburgh City due to the following reasons: i. Based on the comparison, the cost is too high build at city centre, i.e.  £ 274,398 or 13.54% higher rather use the money for upgrade the building quality. ii. Office building is encouraging to build at outskirts of city due to the congestion is reducing efficiency and the quality of office building is more important than location. iii. The land value at Edinburgh City is more expensive compare with Aberdeen City, Grampian. This 3 storey small office cant fully utilize the land value at Edinburgh City. iv. according to CB Richard Ellis, Market View Scottish Office H1 2008, completion of office at Edinburgh City are set peak in 2009 when 611,400 sq ft (56,799 sq m) is anticipated to be delivered mean the market of office development at Edinburgh City is competitive. 9.0 COST PLAN SUMMARY Appendix I Aberdeen City, Grampian (Proposed to develop) Appendix II Edinburgh City, Scotland Note: Each Appendix including Analysis 1, 2 3. Cost comparison for Aberdeen City, Grampian and Edinburgh City, Scotland

Corruption Probe against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

Corruption Probe against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Panama Papers and Corruption Probe against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif A case of tax avoidance Panama Papers[1] or Panama leaks refer to information based on 11 million documents involving more than two hundred thousand off shore companies. These documents contain confidential information about financial affairs of various affluent individuals and families across the globe. While some of the offshore entities are legal, some of the shell companies have been used for money laundering, tax evasion and fraud and hiding corruption money. The Panama leaks have led many governments to initiate investigations and legal proceeding against individuals whose names were found to be part of these papers. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif belongs to the most prominent and one of the richest families in Pakistan. The Sharif family has been actively involved in politics since last 30 years. Nawaz Sharif has served as a 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999. He is now serving under his third terms as a Prime Minister since June 2013. His brother, Shahbaz Sharif is the current Chief Minister of the province of Punjab. Their third generation is also actively involved in the politics. Panama Papers do not implicate either Nawaz or Shahbaz Sharif. However, these papers do identify in-laws of Shahbaz and children of Nawaz to offshore companies. Nawazs children have been tied to four offshore companies, Nescoll Limited, Nielson Holdings Limited, Coomber Group Inc., and Hangon Property Holdings Limited. The companies acquired luxury real estate in London during 2006-2007. The real estate was collateral for loans of up to $13.8 million according to the Panama Papers. The prime ministers children[2] say the money came from the sale of a family business in Saudi Arabia[3]. The Panama Papers have identified Maryam as the joint owner with her brother Hussain of Coomber Group. The three companies obtained a  £7 million mortgage from the Swiss bank, Deutsche Bank (Suisse) SA and purchased f our appartments in at 118 Park Lane in London. Hassan, the other brother, bought Hangon Holdings and its stock in 2007 for  £5.5 million. Hangon, bought property, financed through the Bank of Scotland, at 1 Hyde Park Place in London.[4] Nawaz Sharif and his family used the services of a law firm, Mossack Fonseca[5], to create their offshore companies. They help their clients in creating complex shell company structures that, while legal, also allow the firms clients to operate behind an often impenetrable wall of secrecy. These offshore or shell companies help the owners to avoid any corporate taxes, withholding taxes, income tax, capital gains tax, local taxes, and estate or inheritance taxes, including gift taxes.   This arrangement is ethical and legitimate as long there is no secrecy or corruption money involved. However, this issue becomes questionable when it involves money laundering by corrupt politicians, public officials and criminal organizations. In Nawaz Sharif s case, few questions arise; what is the real source of this money and did Sharif family paid tax on this money? Recently, opposition parties have filed several petitions in the Supreme Court of Pakistan to investigate charges of corruption against the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in connection with Panama Papers disclosures. The Supreme Court has appointed a commission to probe corruption charges against the prime minister. The Court has issued notices to his daughter Maryam, sons Hasan and Hussain, son-in-law Muhammad Safdar, finance minister Ishaq Dar, director general Federal Investigation Agency, chairman Federal Board of Revenue, and the attorney general. The case is still being heard in the court and the court has not reached to a decision as yet. Our paper will focus on ethical issues around undeclared offshore assets and tax evasion and then we will try to reach to a conclusion whether Sharif family can be implicated for tax evasion or not. Lets first examine the ethics of tax avoidance and tax evasion. For our ethical analysis, we will apply Utilitarianism[6] approach and the Deontology[7] approach. The Utilitarianism approach states that ethics of tax avoidance cannot be determined theoretically because this evaluation depends, ultimately, on the quality of the government. The latter approach states that tax avoidance is an unethical behavior, since the result of this evaluation creates an irrational outcome. Despite the fact that the Utilitarianism and the Deontology approaches do not bring a unique result, this examination indicates that, in general, tax evasion is unethical. The only possibility in which tax avoidance would be ethical is when the government is expected to spend the tax revenue in a not good way.   Despite the existence of other relevant approaches on Ethics, these two represent the most studied and examined methods, which usually bring trustworthy results in an ethical investigation, and for this reason, they are appropriate to achieve the objectives of this paper. We will discuss the differences and similarities between tax avoidance and tax evasion, and will depict two recent cases of tax avoidance. Then we will use the theory about Utilitarianism and Deontology, and how these theories can be applied to different approaches of tax avoidance. Before we proceed further, we have to define tax avoidance and tax evasion. Tax avoidance is defined as the use of legal methods to modify an individuals financial situation to lower the amount of income tax owed. This is generally accomplished by claiming the permissible deductions and credits[8].   In 1873 case, US vs Isham, the court gave a ruling that a company cannot be held liable for the activities that are undertaken to reduce the tax burden while following a legal process[9]. This opinion outlines the boundaries of tax avoidance, which is the acceptance that this is a legal way to reduce tax payments; therefore it is a perfectly legal tax structure. However, when an individual or a company exploits the gaps in the tax law and minimizes the tax burden through legal but opposite to the purpose of tax law, then such act is construed as unethical. The offshore or shell companies are a perfect example of clever tax planning to minimize or totally avoid the tax liability. H ence, we can say that tax avoidance is unethical since it uses the gaps in the tax structure that were not expected or perceived by the government. Tax evasion is defined as an illegal practice where a person, organization or corporation intentionally avoids paying his true tax liability[10] .   Tax evasion is unethical as well as strictly illegal. It involves deliberate act of avoiding taxes through violation or circumvention of tax laws. In order to establish whether tax avoidance is a kind of conduct considered ethically right or wrong, it is necessary to make use of the ethical approaches. For the purpose of this work, as indicated above, the Utilitarianism and the Deontology approaches will be applied to tax avoidance. The Utilitarian approach[11] to tax avoidance, the means used to attempt the tax reduction is not taken in consideration. All taxpayer motivations and concerns are not contemplated; the only thing that will be evaluated is the result that a scheme would produce. Hence, to determine whether tax avoidance is a kind of conduct ethically right or wrong, it is necessary to evaluate the amount of utility or disutility it brings to the taxpayer, the State, or the society. A preliminary approach is possible to consider the taxpayer as a winner, and the State, representing the society, as a loser. Following the framework presented, the first duty is to evaluate the gain or loss of utility for taxpayers who undertook a tax avoidance arrangement. For this matter, it is necessary to assume that, for the taxpayer, less tax is always desirable. Thus for the taxpayer there is an inverse relation between its amount of tax liability and its perceived utility. Taken this assumption, and considering no other consequences, when a taxpayer makes use of a tax avoidance arrangement his utility grows considerably compared with his former situation. Therefore, taking the Utilitarianism criteria, for this taxpayer, the use of tax avoidance is an advantageous action and the right thing to do. After establishing that the tax avoidance arrangement increases the taxpayers utility, then it is necessary to investigate whether this scheme also increases the utilities of the State and society. In this case, the State results should be considered as society results, since the tax collected by states is assumed to be appropriate by the entire society, and, as a result, a good for the State is a good for the society. Tax avoidance arrangements as defined in this work reduce taxpayer liabilities and, therefore, reduce State revenue. States are expected to use revenue to pay their current obligations, but also to invest in State equipment to provide better lives to its citizens. However, there not have been any guarantees that the amount of revenue States collect will indeed be used in a desired way for society. In this case, the quality of public administration and state politics are the keys of the utility measure.   So to define if tax avoidance creates more or less utility for the society, it is necessary to evaluate whether this supplementary revenue (that which is paid by the taxpayer in the event he or she does not use the tax avoidance scheme) is expected to have a good use or not. It is not possible to define whether tax avoidance increases the societys utility without defining in advance if the resources obtained will be well spent by the government. As a matter of conclusion, it is possible to settle on the fact that the reduction in State revenue due to the use of tax avoidance schemes led to a reduction in societal utility. Although it is not possible to determine how governments would use the portion of tax avoided, even a little part of the supplementar y money received by the State can be applied in a good way, bringing some marginal benefit to the society. So, according to this reasoning, tax avoidance has a disutility to society, but the extent of its disutility will depend on the specific case analyzed. The question at this point is to weigh the benefit created by a tax avoidance arrangement to the taxpayer, versus the loss it brings to the society, hence determining whether tax avoidance in ethically right or wrong based in a Utilitarianism view. As seen above, the taxpayer views tax avoidance as creating utility and ought to be the right thing to do, but for the society the ethical judgment over tax avoidance relies on the expected quality of the State, and the effective return the revenue can bring to society. Consequently, it is not possible to define in a Utilitarianism view whether tax avoidance is ethically right or wrong, since the consequence of this conduct cannot be applied to all cases, but merely in specific cases under analysis. In short, using the Utilitarianism approach, the ethics of tax avoidance depend on the specific State where tax avoidance is supposed to happen. If the State tends to perform well with the tax revenue, tax avoidance is wrong, because this revenue will bring more utility to the society, even though the taxpayer will lose some utility. On the other hand, if the State manages tax revenue in an undesirable way, the utility created for the taxpayer will overcome the little disutility generated to the society. Using this arrangement will result in the presence of more utility, and therefore an ethical behavior. 44 4.2.2 The Deontological Approach to Tax Avoidance Deontological ethics, or Kantian ethics, points out that an individual ought to observe a moral norm before executing any action. Under this viewpoint, the intention of the individual ought to be in accordance with a moral norm, regardless of the expected and the effective consequences of this act. To apply the Ka ntian ethics is necessary to transform the situation under analysis in a maxim, and then this maxim should be evaluated as if it is a categorical imperative. As showed before, there are three formulations for the categorical imperative, but to analyze this kind of question, only the first formulation has adequacy to the characteristics of the maxim derived to the taxpayers behavior. This first formulation is one in which Kant pointed out that: Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law. From this formulation, a given situation has to be transformed into a maxim, and this maxim has to be examined in such a way that the subject of maxim would desire that all actors would apply the conduct described in the maxim as a natural and universal law. Thus to value the ethics of tax avoidance, a maxim must be defined. This maxim should represent the conduct of a taxpayer while using this arrangement, and has to be a general statement that could be used in any situation, not only in the specific case. As previously observed, the use of a tax avoidance arrangement is the legal use of the loopholes or the methods not expected by the legislator to reduce taxpayer liabilities. This scheme is broadly considered within the law, nevertheless it is not a desirable scheme for the States due to the reduction in States revenue and for its anticompetitive consequences. In light of these issues, the maxim related to the use of tax avoidance by taxpayers could be defined as: taxpayers always make use of tax avoidance arrangements in order to reduce its tax liabilities. 45 This maxim generalized the taxpayers behavior as if it is a natural law to be applied to all possible actors. It is now necessary to test this maxim faced with the first categorical imperative formulation: Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law. Under this first formulation, the tax avoidance maxim should be analyzed as if a taxpayer would desire that all others taxpayers in an economy make use of tax avoidance arrangements as a natural law. So, from the standpoint of the taxpayer it is necessary to evaluate if will be it desirable that all others taxpayers use the tax avoidance arrangement in the same way it is using the scheme. As a result, in examining this formulation, this maxim is an undesirable situation, because if all taxpayers reduce their tax liabilities by using a tax avoidance scheme, the total revenue received by a State will decline significantly, forcing the State to act harshly against this situation. For instance, this response can go from increasing the existent tax amounts to creating new taxes to support the obligations. Apart from this consequence, if all taxpayers reduce their liabilities[12], no one will have a competitive advantage, demonstrating that the scheme fails in benefiting any market participant. Therefore, the widespr ead use of tax avoidance arrangements will reduce State revenues to an insufficient level, leading to efforts to somehow increase their revenues, the most common way being elevating the amount collected by the existing tax or to create new taxes altogether. As a result, applying categorical imperatives over the tax avoidance maxim brings the particular taxpayer and others to a situation equal or inferior than before, which denotes that this is not a rational maxim and thus not an ethical action. CONCLUSION Since the beginning of the twentieth century, societies around the world have been demanding more goods and service from states. Aside from demands in goods and services, demands for health care, transportation facilities, energy supply, among others, can also be observed. Also as an important issue, there has been a large and constant claim for more welfare spending. 46 Notwithstanding these demands, people in general refuse to pay more taxes to fund this increasing spending by States: They want more from the State but want to avoid paying for the higher presence of States in their lives. But to refuse to pay these taxes is, as a rule, an illegal act. Although people and organizations do not like to pay taxes, they pay in order to be within the law. As demonstrated in this work, tax avoidance is a kind of arrangement in which someone can reduce his or her tax liability in a legal way. For this reason, this arrangement has become increasingly common, resulting in very impr essive amounts of tax avoidance, and resulting in a reduction in States revenues. In view of these questions, States have been fighting against tax avoidance with real persistence but have not been very effective, mostly because taxpayers tend to have tax specialists ready to take advantage of an inevitable new tax rule that tries to combat tax avoidance. Even when States are truly efficient in setting a tax framework, taxpayers are usually more efficient than States. The most common methodology used by States to tackle tax avoidance is called GAAR, or General Anti Avoidance Rules. As viewed, almost all capitalist countries have some kind of GAAR to deal with the taxpayers who intend to make use of tax avoidance schemes. In this regard, the U.S. anti avoidance system is based in judicial decisions that constructed a framework of tests and theories applied to situations in which illegal tax avoidance is supposed to be perpetrated. In Brazilian cases, although there is not a totally o perational legal framework, the federal and local tax authorities have been using this law structure to fight against these arrangements. Hence, from the legal standpoint, there are not any remaining and relevant questions related to the legality of tax avoidance arrangements. It is recognized by the doctrines and judicial systems that tax avoidance arrangements are within the law. Nevertheless, from the ethical viewpoint, there has been different opinion about the ethics of tax avoidance, namely that it is unethical. 47 Society, in general, tends to consider tax avoidance as an unethical conduct, mainly when confronted with cases related to companies like Apple and Caterpillar, both studied in this work. However, Ethics as a subdivision of Philosophy has methodologies to deal with these kinds of questions. These methodologies are known as Ethical Standards, and among the Ethical Standards there are two that represent the strongest fields in the history of Ethics: the Utilitarianism and the Deontology approaches. In short, Utilitarianism tries to evaluate the ethics of an action by measuring the result of this action, while Deontology is concerned with the intent of the actor not with the result of its action. So, to analyze the ethics of tax avoidance, these two approaches were applied to this kind of tax arrangement. This work found an inconclusive answer using the Utilitarianism approach, but a conclusive answer when using Deontology. By employing the Utilitarianism approach, tax avoidance ethics will depend on the expected quality of the government. The arrangement will be considered ethical if the revenue that the State did not collect would not be used in a good and responsible way. On the other hand, if this revenue that the State did not collect was expected to be used wisely by the government, the use of tax avoidance arrangement by taxpayers will be unethical, morally reprehensive. Using the Deontology approach, after applying the categorical imperat ive to the maxim related to tax avoidance, the result is that tax avoidance is an unethical action. This is considered unethical because its use is not a rational behavior, since the final result does not bring any advantage for this taxpayer and probably results in cost without any return. As stated above, the ethical analysis using the framework developed by Utilitarianism and Deontology philosophers offered an answer to the question asked in the beginning of this work, but this answer was not consistent. These ambiguous results, however, do not invalidate the objectives of this research; they in fact emphasize the necessity to consider both approaches together in other to have a deeper perspective of the question at hand. Despite the differences in the results for countries where the government has a good historical use of the revenue obtained from taxation, both methodologies deny the use 48 of tax avoidance, declaring that this is an unethical behavior. Only in the countries wh ere the government has a bad historical use of the revenue obtained from taxation prompts the Utilitarianism approach to indicate that tax avoidance is an ethical action, but even in this case from a standpoint of Deontology, tax avoidance is still not ethical. The use of different ethical approaches can, as in this case, result in different ethical viewpoints, but, more importantly, the reasoning for this result can clarify the question under scrutiny. Another possibility to better deal with these questions is to extend this work by using others kinds of ethical approaches, like Virtue Ethics and Common Good Ethics. These two approaches, by using distinct methodology and theories, can exam the question here from different viewpoints, achieving maybe dissimilar results, but certainly improving the understanding of the topic The Article 62 of constitution of Pakistan requires a member of the Parliament to be righteous and honest[13]. The Panama Papers have raised a serious question about the integrity of Nawaz Sharif and his family. Final Page Grade: _______ [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Papers#Asia [2] Maryam Nawaz, Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz (three children of Nawaz Sharif) [3] http://www.wsj.com/articles/pakistan-prime-minister-upgrades-probe-into-panama-papers-affair-1461344499 [4] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36092356 [5] https://vgsomnews.wordpress.com/2016/04/29/panama-papers-leak-and-ethics-of-tax-havens/ [6] The utilitarian approach, also called utilitarianism, is essentially a moral principle that asserts that morally correct actions are those that provide the greatest volume of benefits over harms for the majority of people [7] Deontology (or Deontological Ethics) is an approach to Ethics that focuses on the rightness or wrongness of actions themselves, as opposed to the rightness or wrongness of the consequences of those actions (Consequentialism) or to the character and habits of the actor (Virtue Ethics) (http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_deontology.html) [8] http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tax_avoidance.asp [9] Assaf Likhovski (2008, p. 52) [10] http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taxevasion.asp [11] https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Muel_Kaptein/publication/228174813_Three_General_Theories_of_Ethics_and_the_Integrative_Role_of_Integrity_Theory/links/543196ad0cf27e39fa9f93ea.pdf [12] http://eml.berkeley.edu//~saez/course/Slemrod,Yitzhaki%20PE%20Handbook%20chapter.pdf [13] http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1333523681_951.pdf

Overview of Women’s History in Korea Essays -- Culture Asia Essays

Overview of Women’s History in Korea In modern day Korea, women are actively involved in many career fields, such as education, law, literature, sports, medicine, and engineering. However, it wasn’t too long ago that women were confined only to the home and family. The introduction of Christianity to Korea helped elevate women’s roles through schools ran by missionaries. Some were even specifically for educating women. (Korean Overseas Information Service, 2001) Many of the educated women began getting involved in religious work, teaching, the arts, and of course, the enlightening of other women. But it wasn’t until the establishment of the Republic of Korea in 1948, when women began gaining constitutional rights for equal opportunities in the work force, education, and public life. The economic growth that Korea has experienced at this time, and even today has contributed to the large amount of women going into the work force. The high amount of women in the work force, in professional jobs influenced the government to pass the â€Å"Equal Employment Act† of 1987 to prevent discrimination against females regarding hiring practices and promotion opportunities. However, with this added freedom, many Korean women feel highly pressured because they are burdened with both earning a living and their traditional roles as housewives. Modern Korean women are facing both physical and mental exhaustion due to the demands of society and their families. Add to that, childcare is a major problem in Korea. Although laws have been passed to promote the employment of women, and facilities for childcare should be provided, the reality is that childcare is sadly lacking. Recently, the government further suppo... ... capitalistic industrialization established of the 1960’s on the other.† (Chung, 1997) In other words, due to Confucius beliefs, women have not experienced total freedom in their private or public lives. Yet overtime, things will improve for Korean women due to the recent legislation set up to help further strengthen their roles in the workforce, education, and hopefully, in their private lives as well. Resources: 1. Women’s Contemporary Roles in Korea. Retrieved from the Internet on September 15, 2003. (http://www.askasia.org/Korea/r15) 2. Nugent, Sookja Chung. Korean Women’s History- An Overview. Korean Quarterly. (Fall, 1998). 3. (http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/heroine7.html) 4. Chung, Connie. Korean Society and Women: Focusing on the Family (1997). (http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~yisei/backissues/spring_95/yisei_95_30.html)

The Struggle of EZNL In Modern Mexico Essay -- Culture Mexico Mexican

The Struggle of EZNL In Modern Mexico Introduction In so few words, the Zapatistas are a people united in the struggle for the rights and dignity of the indigenous people of Mexico. They are a group composed of the natives to the land of the state of Chiapas, the southernmost and poorest state in Mexico, which primarily consists of the tribes of the Mayan peoples. The conditions that these indigenous people live in are a testament to the injustices caused by the spread of colonialism and capitalism and the blind eye that its institutions and governments have turned to the people who inhabit the land from which its profits are made. The suffering has given these people a voice, and the collective struggle has given rise to an organized army of the people: the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). The motives, actions, and origins of the EZLN are either misinterpreted or misunderstood by many. Often times my research has uncovered contradictions as to the purpose of this group, which shows that they are not fully known on a larger scale. However, their methods of non-violence after some initial violent uprisings have led to their sustenance, and the message they preach is spreading throughout the world and gaining them much support. They are both War and Peace in their existence, and in their ends have stated that they will bring War in order to finally attain Peace. What follows is a brief introduction to the setting of which the EZLN was born: the history of Mexico, the conditions and peoples of Chiapas, the shrouded origins of the EZLN, and the legend of the man from which they took their name: Emiliano Zapata. Following this is an account of the uprising that announced their presence to Mexico and the worl... ...municados. Ediciones Era, Mexico. 2003 VIDEO RECORDINGS Storm from the mountain: Zapatistas take Mexico City [videorecordng]. Colombo, Santiago. Big Noise Films, New York. 2001. The Silence of the Zapatistas. [videorecording]. Paco. Chiapas Media Project, Chicago. 2001. WEB RESOURCES http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/mexico/0311Zap_March.htm http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/mexico/ezln/2000/fzln_10thesis_july.html http://www.geocities.com/alt_politics/EZLN.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EZLN http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/mexico4.html http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.chiapaslink.ukgateway.net/Mexicomap.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.chiapaslink.ukgateway.net/ch0.html&h=384&w=492&sz=51&tbnid=TNzEGG5d_Z4J:&tbnh=99&tbnw=126&start=19&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmexico,%2Bchiapas,%2Bmap%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN

Hauroun and the Sea of Stories Compared to Lord of the Rings

Hauroon and lord of rings Frodo Baggins and Haroun Khalifa are both heroes, both from different stories but have a very similar journey. Frodo Baggins from J. R. R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is a hobbit of middle earth who keeps to himself and likes to be alone, he goes on an adventure that changes his life. Haroun Khalifa from Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the sea of stories is a 10 year old boy living with his father in an imaginary sad city. Both characters go on a journey that changes there life forever, the characters quests have many similar stages to the journey.Both begin there quest with a call to adventure, neither characters are expecting it but both seem eager to go. Both characters battle between good and evil and both characters become masters of two worlds, and achieve apotheosis or god like status and then have the freedom to live. Both heroes are called to the adventure in many different ways, Frodo Baggins is called to adventure during his uncles 111th birthday party when his uncle Bilbo disappears. Bilbo left a gold ring for Frodo so Frodo speaks to the wizard Gandalf who says to keep it safe and not to put it on.Years later the wise wizard Gandalf returns to tell Frodo the ring is extremely dangerous and was forged by the dark lord, Sauron and must be destroyed, that is when his journey began and Frodo begins his journey heading towards Rivendell to talk to the elves about how to destroy it. Haroun is called to his journey when he returns home one day to find out his mother has run away with the upstairs neighbor who has always been critical towards Rashid Khalifas story telling which effects Haroun greatly.Haroun argues with his father about the usefulness of stories and why they are important, this crushes Rashid. Haroun struggles with school due to his mothers absence so his father takes him on a story telling trip for some fancy politics, they travel to the Valley of G and when Rashid goes up to tell a story and nothing come s out, this is Haroun's call to adventure, to help his father. Good VS evil. Thats what fairy-tails and stories revolve around, both Frodo's and Haroun's adventure revolves around it.In Lord of the Rings the evil that Frodo is fighting is the darkness of the ring and the evil that dwells within Mordor. Saruman, the evil wizard tries to make Frodo change from good to evil but did not succeed. In Haroun's story the evil that he fights is someone named Khattam-Shud, Khattam-Shud is polluting or poisoning the stories so they can not be told. Rashid and Haroun travel to the Land of Gup to try and figure out what is going on. They get there and the entire land is preparing for war, the guppies Vs the Chupwalas.The war ends with the victory of the Guppies and they reward Haroun with granting his wish that his father can tell stories again. At the end of each story the heroes reach the stage of apotheosis, Frodo reaches apotheosis when he destroys the ring by throwing it in the lava, all th e evil goes away and the good takes over. Frodo is the master of two worlds the world of the non existent Mordor and the Shire, he is looked at as a king and everyone will forever be grateful for his victory over darkness.Haroun reaches apotheosis after the war ends, he is overwhelmed with joy that his father can tell stories, Haroun returns to the sad city with his father to find that the city is no longer sad, the once forgotten city name has been remembered and when Haroun returns home he finds the last person to be there waiting for him, his mother. Haroun's story ends happily ever after as does Frodo's. Both of the heroes were from a classic fairytale , the stories had a call to adventure, both very different calls to adventure but they both fulfill there goals and reach apotheosis, i guess you can say Haroun and Frodo both lived happily ever after. Hauroun and the Sea of Stories Compared to Lord of the Rings Hauroon and lord of rings Frodo Baggins and Haroun Khalifa are both heroes, both from different stories but have a very similar journey. Frodo Baggins from J. R. R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is a hobbit of middle earth who keeps to himself and likes to be alone, he goes on an adventure that changes his life. Haroun Khalifa from Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the sea of stories is a 10 year old boy living with his father in an imaginary sad city. Both characters go on a journey that changes there life forever, the characters quests have many similar stages to the journey.Both begin there quest with a call to adventure, neither characters are expecting it but both seem eager to go. Both characters battle between good and evil and both characters become masters of two worlds, and achieve apotheosis or god like status and then have the freedom to live. Both heroes are called to the adventure in many different ways, Frodo Baggins is called to adventure during his uncles 111th birthday party when his uncle Bilbo disappears. Bilbo left a gold ring for Frodo so Frodo speaks to the wizard Gandalf who says to keep it safe and not to put it on.Years later the wise wizard Gandalf returns to tell Frodo the ring is extremely dangerous and was forged by the dark lord, Sauron and must be destroyed, that is when his journey began and Frodo begins his journey heading towards Rivendell to talk to the elves about how to destroy it. Haroun is called to his journey when he returns home one day to find out his mother has run away with the upstairs neighbor who has always been critical towards Rashid Khalifas story telling which effects Haroun greatly.Haroun argues with his father about the usefulness of stories and why they are important, this crushes Rashid. Haroun struggles with school due to his mothers absence so his father takes him on a story telling trip for some fancy politics, they travel to the Valley of G and when Rashid goes up to tell a story and nothing come s out, this is Haroun's call to adventure, to help his father. Good VS evil. Thats what fairy-tails and stories revolve around, both Frodo's and Haroun's adventure revolves around it.In Lord of the Rings the evil that Frodo is fighting is the darkness of the ring and the evil that dwells within Mordor. Saruman, the evil wizard tries to make Frodo change from good to evil but did not succeed. In Haroun's story the evil that he fights is someone named Khattam-Shud, Khattam-Shud is polluting or poisoning the stories so they can not be told. Rashid and Haroun travel to the Land of Gup to try and figure out what is going on. They get there and the entire land is preparing for war, the guppies Vs the Chupwalas.The war ends with the victory of the Guppies and they reward Haroun with granting his wish that his father can tell stories again. At the end of each story the heroes reach the stage of apotheosis, Frodo reaches apotheosis when he destroys the ring by throwing it in the lava, all th e evil goes away and the good takes over. Frodo is the master of two worlds the world of the non existent Mordor and the Shire, he is looked at as a king and everyone will forever be grateful for his victory over darkness.Haroun reaches apotheosis after the war ends, he is overwhelmed with joy that his father can tell stories, Haroun returns to the sad city with his father to find that the city is no longer sad, the once forgotten city name has been remembered and when Haroun returns home he finds the last person to be there waiting for him, his mother. Haroun's story ends happily ever after as does Frodo's. Both of the heroes were from a classic fairytale , the stories had a call to adventure, both very different calls to adventure but they both fulfill there goals and reach apotheosis, i guess you can say Haroun and Frodo both lived happily ever after.

Is Banning School Soda Machines A Good Idea

Is banning school soda machines a good idea? It's not the government's Job to make decisions about what we drink and where we drink it. That's why I think it's a bad idea to ban soda machines from schools. Taking away soda machines will take away the students ability to learn how to make healthier decisions for themselves. If they don't learn how to make healthy choices as a kid, they won't be able to make those good choices as an adult.The New York Times states that anyone who has tried to lose weight is likely to tell you that going â€Å"cold turkey' and avoiding tempting foods and drinks is setting ourselves up for failure, and that is exactly what banning particular foods and drinks will do. Removing unhealthy choices is setting you up for failure, and it's not a way to teach students on how to make healthy choices. Keeping soda machines in schools will allow students to ask themselves, â€Å"Is this a good choicer, â€Å"Is this healthy? Soda machines in schools will teach t hemselves on how to make good and healthy choices. Although soda is high in calories and sugars, there Is no evidence that it Is the direct cause of obesity. If schools carry only diet and zero calorie sodas such as diet eke and coke zero, the students would be drinking calorie free sodas with less sugar. That would allow the schools to still make profit and the students to get a healthier version of their favorite sodas.Another more beneficial way to decrease childhood obesity Is by dally exercise. This way your lungs and heart will get In better shape, while you are losing weight. Nobody wants to set kids and students up for failure. Banning soda machines In schools will set them up for that failure. That's why I believe that schools shouldn't ban their soda machines from students. Source The New York Times Upfront. † The New York Times Upfront I The News Magazine for High School. N. P. , n. D. Web. 4 Novo. 2012. Is Banning School Soda Machines A Good Idea By crimsoning will allow students to ask themselves, â€Å"Is this a good choice? â€Å", â€Å"Is this healthy? † Soda Although soda is high in calories and sugars, there is no evidence that it is the Another more beneficial way to decrease childhood obesity is by daily exercise. This way your lungs and heart will get in better shape, while you are losing weight. Nobody wants to set kids and students up for failure.