Great Gatsby And American Dream Essays (1932 words) -

Great Gatsby And American Dream Picture this, a person graduates from high school with honors, goes to college and graduates at the top of his/her class. After college, he/she is offered a job in the field he/she wants with an annual salary of about $400,000 a year. He/she marries the person of his/her dreams, has two children and moves into a large, elegant house. Forty years later that person retires with a pension and lives the rest of his/her life in luxury. This is the American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald had this dream and worked his entire life to fulfill it, with no avail. Fitzgerald was a sensitive young man who idolized wealth and luxury. He fell in love with a beautiful young woman named Zelda while stationed at a military camp in the South. Several years after meeting Zelda, he reached a high enough social standard that she agreed to marry him. Shortly after the wedding, Fitzgerald published his first big novel. He became a celebrity and fell into a wild, reckless lifestyle of parties and decadence. Fitzgerald thought he had achieved his dream. Unfortunately, his beautiful wife was the first part of his dream to crumble. In 1930, Zelda had her first of many mental breakdowns. Soon after Zelda's breakdowns began, Fitzgerald published his novel Tender is the Night. When this novel was not a success Fitzgerald also started to have mental problems. When his novels started failing, he retreated to Hollywood where he began writing screenplays. On December 21, 1940, Fitzgerald died as a drunk in his lover's Hollywood apartment. Throughout his career, Fitzgerald published many books, but The Great Gatsby is the one that became a classic. The fourth paragraph from Encarta's Encyclopedia on F. Scott Fitzgerald best summarizes his novel: Written in crisp, concise prose and told by Nick Carraway, it is the story of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby becomes a bootlegger in order to attain the wealth and lavish way of life he feels are necessary to win the love of Daisy Buchanan, a married, upper-class woman who had once rejected him. The story ends tragically with Gatsby's destruction. Although the narrator ultimately denounces Daisy and others who confuse the American dream with the pursuit of wealth and power, he sympathizes with those like Gatsby who pursue the dream for a redeeming end such as love. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, the upper class's carelessness with their money, the myth that hard work always equals success, and the lack of true love in marriage all show a distortion of the American Dream. One would think that people with money should know how to use it properly. Unfortunately this is not so of the upper class characters in The Great Gatsby. The following paragraph from the novel is an excellent example of how Gatsby wasted money on his upper class friends. There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars. On Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairing the ravages of the night before. (Fitzgerald 89) The previous quote shows how Gatsby went through much turmoil just to make it seem as though he had enough money to do as he wished. In the upper class, one person would try to outdo another by buying gifts that are more lavish and by throwing parties that are more extravagant than their friends last one. Robert Douglass wrote an article in 1938 about society at that time. In it, he described how people took so much for granted. The following is an excerpt from his article: The people living in the little town have a richer life than their parents did. They can reach a motion-picture theater by a twenty-minute drive, they have radios, and they think nothing of jaunts to Atlantic City, Boston or Canada that many of the old residents never made in an entire lifetime. (19) As one can see, people throughout the Twentieth Century have thought nothing of the modern day conveniences they now have. The same is still true in today's society, but people seem to be more aware of luxuries than people of the ?20's. One of the largest and most talked about parts of the American Dream, is that when one enters the real world he/she will enter the workforce as an employee in his/her desired career. In this career, he/she

Study Guide Exam 1 fin 317 Essay

Study Guide Exam 1 fin 317 Essay Study Guide Exam 1 fin 317 Essay Study Guide Exam 1: FIN 317 PPSet 1: ïÆ'˜ï€  List the four steps of the traditional risk management process. 1. Identify risk 2. Evaluate risk 3. Select a RM for each risk a. Risk avoidance b. Loss control c. Risk retention d. Risk transfer 4. Implement and review ïÆ'˜ï€  Understand Evolution of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) from Traditional Risk Management (TRM) at a very simple level. Enterprise Risk Management - ERM - It considers all risks simultaneously and manages risk in a holistic or enterprise-wide (and risk-wide) context ïÆ'˜ï€  Where does insurance fit into the Risk Management Process? At the base of the financial pyramid ïÆ'˜ï€  Understand parts of the Personal Financial Planning Pyramid. Covers life, health , loss of income and property-liability income Wealth distribution wealth accumulation risk management (protection) Wealth accumulation: Speculation: investments like futures and commodities and real estate Growth and diversification: investments like bonds and stocks Savings and accumulation: regular savings and ownership of your house and education Risk management: Life, health, disability , long term care, property , liability insurance ïÆ'˜ï€  What professional exams is this course useful in preparing you for? Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) exams Associate in Risk Management (ARM) exams Certified Financial Planner (CFP) exams Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) exams ïÆ'˜ï€  What is Gamma Iota Sigma (GIS)? An international business fraternity Promotes student interest in insurance, risk management, and actuarial science A place for students to gain leadership experience Prepares students for employment in the insurance and risk management professions. Provides networking opportunities for students to meet with various insurance and risk management professionals. PPSet 2: ïÆ'˜ï€  Risk Definitions Risk – uncertainty concerning loss, 2 types speculative and pure. ïÆ'˜ï€  Understand different classes of risk: pure, speculative, subjective, objective, diversifiable, and un-diversifiable Pure – Exists when there is uncertainty as to whether loss will occur Two possibilities: loss or no loss. Home and car, fire and flood risk Speculative – Exists when there is uncertainty about an event that can produce either a profit or a loss. investment risk, reputational risk, strategic risk Subjective – refers to the mental state of an individual who experiences doubt or worry as to the outcome of a given event It is essentially the psychological uncertainty that arises from an individual’s mental attitude or state of mind Objective – differs from subjective risk in the sense that it is more precisely observable and therefore measurable Often measured as probable variation around expected loss. Diversifiable – Un-Diversifiable - ïÆ'˜ï€  In general, what kinds of risk are insurable? Pure objective risks Risks covered: possibility that one of these perils may interrupt the individual’s income or cause medical expenses. Perils: death accidents and sickness living too long unemployment ïÆ'˜ï€  What are the Two Main Categories of Insurable Risks? Property can include all your land, house, apartment, contents (your stuff), car and so on. Liability is coverage for law suits you or your property may cause to others. When you insure your home this is how the property policy is layed out. Everything is a percentage of the dwelling or structure so what you have for a property limit on the structure affects everything else. Any you have deductibles you have to pay in a loss and the company wants you to insure close to the value and cost to rebuild that is co insurance usually about 80% or greater of the home’s cost to rebuild is required. Coverage A - Dwelling Coverage B – Other Structures 10% of A Coverage C – Contents 50% to 70% of A Coverage D – Loss of Use 10% of A Coverage E - Liability Coverage F – Medical payments Property liability risk - hazards such as wet roads, oily rags or things that might lead to a peril or loss

As you complete your first semester at ASU and at the W. P. Carey Essay

As you complete your first semester at ASU and at the W. P. Carey School, take some time to reflect on what youve learned and how far you have come - Essay Example The great diversity had significant impacts on me because my former environment was almost homogeneously populated. I have as a result learned to appreciate people in their diversity and to accommodate their opinions as opposed to my previous orientation. While I initially failed to accommodate people’s diversity in expression leading to conflicts, I have learnt to pay attention to people’s backgrounds, traditions, and to accommodate them. As a result, I have been able to develop and retain trust based friendship that is free from selfish motives. Another significant lesson that I have learnt while in the institutions is the importance of socialization. While I came in as a reserved person who was concerned about personal business only, I have learnt to open up and to be part of a wider society in which people interact with friends to share experiences, opinions, and advice. My initial introversive nature that can partly be associated with my family background as a smal l family with working parents trained by to be ‘self-reliant’ and restrained. I however with the help of counseling changed and gradually opened up to invite people into my life. This has further helped me to learn a lot about other people, their experiences, and traditions, giving me insights to a developing vision and focus on my goals in life. This is because sharing with other people opens up a person’s intellect to a more open opinion about the environment and life as a whole. Similarly, and most importantly, I have learnt of the power of peer influence, its negative impacts, and the possible way of avoiding or getting out of negative peer pressure (Colostate, n.p; Pickthebrain, p. 1). Based on my experience in the institution, I plan to be more open to the environment to learn more from members of the society. I also intend to play a role in other people’s lives by positively influencing peoples based on my past

Evaluation of a research design Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evaluation of a design - Research Paper Example Rape victim interacting with men in public). Several studies show high comorbidity between PTSD and SUD, which suggested that a client suffering from one disorder also suffered from the other. It is said that a reduction in PTSD symptomatology reduces SUD symptoms as well. The authors begin with a discussion on the prevalence of PTSD-SUD comorbidity and the mechanisms between the two. Several laboratory-based studies that incorporated exposure therapy and SUD treatments are then discussed. These studies reported that exposure therapy significantly reduces symptoms of both PTSD and SUD. The authors recommended conducting randomized controlled trials to test the effectiveness of exposure therapy in treating clients with PTSD-SUD. Methods For this qualitative study, the authors conducted a secondary research about PTSD-USD comorbidity and analyzed four clinical studies that incorporated exposure therapy with SUD treatments. The authors reviewed the literature to show the prevalence of h igh comorbidity between PTSD and SUD. As a background, the authors discussed imaginal exposure and in vivo exposure as the two most common types of exposure therapy. To provide evidence about the effectiveness of exposure therapy in treating PTSD-SUD, the authors analyzed four clinical studies. For each clinical study, the type of exposure therapy and accompanying SUD treatment were identified.

PBGC Company Profile Essay Example for Free

PBGC Company Profile Essay PBGC is an abbreviation of a Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. The purpose of this federal corporation is to protect American’s pension. Its mission is related to protection: Forty four million American workers retirement income is currently being protected in more than 30000 benefit pension plans of private single-employer and multiemployer. Its formation is the result of an act of 1974 by the name Employee Retirement Income Security Act. It has the following objectives: First It helps private-sector define benefit pension plans to be continued and remain well maintained. Second is to provide pension benefits payment time to time, without any interruption. Its third objective is to keep minimum pension insurance premiums. The defined benefit pension plan gives pension on a monthly basis to the retirees but the pension amount is depended upon the salary and the year of services the retirees have rendered. The corporation does not only give monthly payments to retirees up to the guaranteed maximum but also the multiemployer plans participants and one who have not retired yet get financial assistance from it. General Tax Revenues don’t give any kind of fund to this corporation. Insurance premiums financed the operations of this federal corporation which was being set by Congress. Insurance premium is being paid by the sponsors defined for each benefit plan that are basically employers. The recoveries are being made from the companies which would be responsible for the plans in the past. Earnings come from investments for this corporation. According to the plan ended in 2008, workers will get $4,312. 50 monthly when they will get retire at the age of 65. It serves the range of customer’s e. g. general public, media and so on. Board of directors including the Secretaries of Labor (Chair), Commerce and the Treasury guided the operations of PBGC. The two highest priorities of this administration is to reform the defined benefit pension system and bring improvement in retirement security. It contributed in the development of Pension Protection Act of 2006. Since PBGC has worked over the last 33 years for the protection plan of participant’s interests and also to support private pension system’s growth; millions of American workers can now think about secured retirement along with their families. Both the benefit plan and the guarantee by PBGC have made a difference in the lives of the diligent Americans. Annually about $4 million is being given by this corporation to 44 million Americans. The development of the 2006 act not only improved the status of funding of many defined benefit plans but also pension system is being strengthened. Competitive advantage: The corporation has been very effective throughout in managing change over the past few years,’ pension insurance programs have faced many unexpected challenges. The corporation also won an award of managing its work force superbly in this changing business environment. The executive director said: â€Å"We are pleased to be recognized for having the right people, processes and systems in place to manage a doubling of our customer base with no diminution in the quality of our customer service. † (www. pbgc. gov,2008). It was being a first federal agency which got the full certification for its executive evaluation system. It got plenty of awards presented in magazines. These are as under: General Excellence, Service, Competitive Advantage, Global Outlook, Innovation, Managing Change, Financial Impact, Partnership, Ethical Practice and Vision. Weaknesses of PBGC: Weaknesses of PBGC’s certification and accreditation (CA): This would impact the accuracy and completion of information which would affect the credibility of the corporation. It also affects the capability of the corporation to take and manage risks. It compromises agency’s personnel and assets too. There should be an effective CA system to assure security of assets, personnel and operations and that could assure that the corporation is capable enough to meet its functional requirements. The National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-37, Accreditation of Federal Information Systems and Guide for the Security Certification provides the framework under 2002 act named as the Federal Information Security Management Act, Public Law 107-347, for how CA program of this corporation should be implemented. Inadequate security policy and plan: The security policy and plan of the current information of PBGC are not according to the guidance provided by National Institute of Standards and Technology Special (NIST) under Federal Information Security Management Act. NIST has developed guidance and standards. It also includes minimum requirement to provide sufficient security of information for all agency assets and operations Change in organizational structure: In 2006 the reorganization of the OIT i. e. ffice of information technology had badly affected the Information System Security Officer’s ability to ensure appropriate operational security for PBGC’s information system. It affected the clarity for officer in terms of his responsibilities and accountability. It made it hard for the officer to establish security standards and procedures. Internal control weaknesses: High risk is being involved in the PBGC’s single-employer pension insurance program. The program had an accumulated deficit of $5. 4 billion in 2003 which was the largest one in history of the corporation. Under funding also increased dramatically in private pension system. The deficit was due to the following reasons: bankrupt firm’s under funded pension plans were ceased, there was a drawback in funding rules, stock market and interest rates decline, companies went global and economy is turned into knowledge based economy. The company had taken steps to improve the internal control for premiums. This is being done for two reasons. First Safeguard of assets: controls must be establish to ensure that cost and obligation are according to the law applicable and assets are safeguarded against any loss or related factors. Second reason is Financial Reporting: it is to ensure that proper reporting is being done of all the revenues and expenditures so that documentation and reports can be made and are accurate. Data Quality Weaknesses: Incorrect data entry, adjustments, and system-generated balances generate errors. Because of the data quality issue, the corporation is unable to ensure the accuracy and completeness of premium data by utilizing Past Due Filing Notices and Statements of Account. The 1st one used to notify plans which had not yet submitted premium filings and 2nd one is used to ensure that underpaid/overpaid premiums from a plan sponsor could be sort out effectively. During auditing it was being noticed that these two tools are not being used timely as it requires significant resources before mailing. Due to this, premiums could not be collected and errors could not be detected. Additionally policies and procedures have not been documented, communicated, or implemented throughout PBGC which is related to the premium accounting cycle. www. pbgc. gov,2008). Business Strategy: The new investment strategy is being formulated to balance risk and return and to improve chances of reaching full funding over the long run. According to this strategy diversified set of fixed-income investments and diversified equity investments both will be given 45% of its assets each and 10% will be given to alternative investment. Financial Information: A deficit of $18. 1 billion was being posted by insurance program for single-employer pension plans in fiscal year 2006. Due to the airline relief provisions in the Pension Protection Act, the corporation managed to reduce its probable liabilities. This led to a $4. 7 billion net improvement. It announces maximum insurance benefit for 2009. The amount would be higher for those who retire later and vise versa. The corporation had a peak year in 2000 when they had a surplus of $10 billion almost which was followed by surplus of $8 billion in 2001. The corporation got the calls in order to stop charging premiums. It got around $9 billion claims in 2002. The claims were because of airline and steel industry. (www. soa. org, n. d. ).

Comentary On Line Training Essay -- Training Job Workforce Essays

Comentary On Line Training Constant training, retraining, job-hopping, and even career-hopping, will become the norm, predict Mary O'Hara-Devereaux and Robert Johansen (qtd. in Pritchett 45). This makes the trainer's position all the more valuable in the work place. The demand for training will continue to increase as employees move more frequently from job to job. It is important that trainers realize and act upon this fact. Training programs will need to fit the changing needs of the work force. Many of the employees will enter a new position with prior experience and need to be brought up to speed quickly. Optimization of resources, in this case the resources each new employee brings to the company, will be important. The implementation and use of training programs within companies is many times a vital resource that assists in the overall success of the company. "Industrial leaders have made it clear that one important factor for attaining economic competitiveness is adequate levels of knowledge and skills in the work force" (Gordon 2). Training departments strive to prepare employees to optimize their potential for success within the company. At the same time, these training programs should be optimizing the potential of their department. In order to do this, training departments need to reassess their training programs. There are numerous opportunities available through multimedia such as the Internet, online training programs, CD-ROM training, and many more. Trainers need to continually to be aware of their surrounding and the environment they work within. Many facets of the corporate world impact the workplace environment, and these facets continue to change at ever-increasing rates. As part of the Informa... ...f the training experience. Works Cited Bunn, Bill E. "Multimedia Scripting." Intercom April 2000: 14-18. Chu, Francis. "Don't Train in Vain." PC Week April 2000: 1,20,22. Coleman, Mary Ellen and Carol Bahruth. "Animation." Intercom March 2000: 6-8. Gordon, Sallie E. Systematic Training Program Design. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: P T R Prentice Hall Mason, 1994. Mason, Robin and Anthony Kaye, ed. Mindweave: Communication, Computers and Distance Learning. Oxford: Pergamon P, 1989. O'Hara-Devereaux, Mary and Robert Johansen. "Global Work: Bridging Distance, Culture, and Time." Pritchett, Price. "New Work Habits for a Radically Changing World." Dallas, TX: Pritchett, n.d. Rosenberg, Nils A. "Communication for the World". Intercom May 2000: 6-9. Webb, Wendy. A Trainer's Guide to the World Wide Web and Intranets. Minneapolis: Lakewood Books, 1996.

Responsibility of Ethics Essay

Ethical standing among community members and business persons is held in high regard.   The matter of trust needs to be had at all times so that people know that their information is safe.   When ethical issues arise, somewhere, somehow there has to be someone who is able and willing to stand up and report the unethical issue.   All professionals are bound by ethics and the responsibility to report wrong doing. In this case, the widow’s attorney is charging the widow 12-14% more than his average percentage with respects to his other clients.   Normal everyday ethics suggest that not only is he acting in bad ethics but obviously is taking advantage of this widow.   Charlie, even if not mandated by law or administrative rule, should inform the widow.   This would be the right and respectful thing to do but is Charlie mandated by any code of ethics to act on this information and inform her is the real question. Charlie, even though he is not the person creating the ethical situation, is bound by ethical codes to inform this widow at the very least but more appropriately the governing agency, of the actions of her attorney.  Ã‚   As stated in the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct for CPA’s â€Å"members should act with integrity, guided by the precept that when members fulfill their responsibility to the public, clients’ and employers’ interests are best served.† (ET Section 53 – Article II—The Public Interest, ET Section 52 – Article I—Responsibilities, ET Section 54 – Article III—Integrity &    ET Section 56 – Article V—Due Care of the AICPA). The biggest ethical issue is honesty, integrity and the personal gain issues.   The attorney stands to gain a substantial amount of money, well more than what he should for his services.   The code of ethics for attorney’s alone is violated is drastic ways.   Some states have statutes on how an attorney charges their client and some rely of good ethical behavior but this aside, attorneys are to charge only what is fair and consistent with how they charge everyone else. This attorney is violating a huge public interest and the widow can file a complaint and the attorney stands to lose his liscense to practice law.   Charlie can also intervene and simply make a phone call to the governing agency as this particular information that he knows, is not bound by the confidentiality laws as this information was derived not by the widows words but by the admittance of the attorney in which there is no confidentiality as there is no client issue due to the fact that Charlie is not asking for advice and the lawyer is not giving it. Works Cited AICPA Code of Professional Conduct.   2006-2008.   http://www.aicpa.org/About/code/sec50.htm New Jersey Judiciary. Office of Attorney Ethics. 2001 http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/oae/OAEEthicsPamphlet.pdf