SENIOR ENGLISH - RESEARCH PAPER ON a topic of inte Essays

SENIOR ENGLISH - RESEARCH PAPER ON a topic of interest from the Middle English period: The Hundred Years' War; The Black Prince, son of Edward III; Weapons and warfare in the Middle Ages; Richard III; Feudalism; Thomas Becket; The Black Death; The Crusades; Education in the Middle Ages; Entertainment in the Middle Ages; Joan of Arc. Date assigned : Thursday, October 12 ; Date due: Thursday, November 29-30 Your BLOCK DAY ( 7 weeks) Paper requirements : Total number of pages in the paper One title page One outline page Body pages 3-4 One works cited page All pages must be typed. 12-point font, Times New Roman font, double spaced, one inch margins - MLA Format ; https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ Required sources 3 Internet sources 1 other source (books, periodicals, interviews, text book, etc.) Direct quotes may be used following guidelines One direct quote must be no longer that two typed lines Five separate direct quotes are the maximum to be used. Bible verses are considered direct quotes Cliches, slang, etc., requiring quotation marks are not considered direct quotes Proper introduction of each quote is expected in addition to proper citation A udience : classmates informing them of pertinent information regarding the topic of your choice. Make your paper interesting to your audience. WHAT SHOULD IT INCLUDE? CITATIONS - Although most of the paper is to be written in your own words, the use of properly written citation is necessary. For every direct quote, a citation is needed. For every paraphrased information segment, citations should be used. -103517-12350 4286885323431 SLUG Source # (PARENTHETICAL REF.)0 SLUG Source # (PARENTHETICAL REF.) Notecards: write only on the front of the card , however each card should be filled completely with bulleted information and NEATLY written . They should be placed within the envelope banded or clipped together in order when turned in. BIBLIOGRAPHY CARDS : write only on the front, NEATLY written, in order, handed in an envelope with your complete name on the front of the envelope. 4 Bibliography notecards (sources you are using) ONE SOURCE PER CARD formatted according to MLA guidelines https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ Outline: basic outline with main ideas and sub points neatly written; Thesis statement should be well developed in the outline and designated so that I can clearly see it. Rough drafts : Must be double spaced with legible r evisions and editing marks used. Wed/Thurs, Oct 17-18: Media Center for research November 1-2 : 10 note cards; 2 bibliography cards N/A : Progress viewed; produce the beginning of paper, outline, works Cited November 15- 16 : Draft to be teacher edited (outline works cited page included) W./ Th. , November 29-30 : Final paper with works cited page, RUBRIC, edited draft to be included with the final - Graded on appearance , MLA format , compo sition (strong plan, details relate to main idea , cited information correctly done ), Written expression (vocabulary, tone, sentence structure varied and well-constructed, paragraphs well-constructed with unity and coherency), mechanics (punctuation, capitalization, spell ing, subj/verb agreement, etc.) Outline Topic :_ ____________________________________________________ Thesis: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___ Outline ___________________ ____________ ____________________________ A. B. C. II. ______________________ __________ ______________________________ A. B. C. III . ______________________________________ __________ ____________ __ A. B. C. IV. ______________________________ ________ ________________________ A. B. C. Composition (composing) WRITING RUBRIC 4 = 7-9 checks 3 = 4-6 checks 2 =2-3 checks 1 =0-1 check The main idea clearly stands out (Thesis statement clearly stated in the first paragraph) Thesis is incisive and directs the structure of the paper A balance of concrete details with commentary (COHERENCY) Has several important examples, reasons, or details Shows a strong plan (ORGANIZATION) ; introduction, body, conclusion All details relate to the central idea (UNITY) Transition words used adequately and correctly (COHERENCY) Correct point of view and consistent ; 3 rd person narrative consistent Strong opening and closing Written Expression 4 = 6-7 checks 3 = 4-5 checks 2 = 2 -3 checks 1 =0-1 check Precise information and vocabulary that creates images Highly specific word choice Has tone and voice ; formal and academic tone; no personal interjections of opinion Includes simple, compound and complex sentences correctly Paper has a rhythmic flow Logic is clear; no awkward sentence formation due to word choice or syntax

Army Rangers History Until World War Ii Essay Example

Army Rangers History Until World War Ii Essay Example Army Rangers History Until World War Ii Paper Army Rangers History Until World War Ii Paper Essay Topic: Orlando United States Army Rangers are elite members of the United States Army. Rangers have served in recognized U. S. Army Ranger units or have graduated from the U. S. Armys Ranger School. [1] The term Ranger was first used in North America in the early 17th century; however, the first ranger company was not officially commissioned until King Philips War (1676) and then they were used in the four French and Indian Wars. Rangers also fought in the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War. It was not until World War II that the modern Ranger concept was conceived, authorized by General George C. Marshall in 1942. The six battalions of the modern Rangers have been deployed in wars in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and saw action in several conflicts, such as those in Panama and Grenada. Of the current active Ranger battalions, two- the 1st and the 2nd- have been in service since reactivation in 1974. [2] The 3rd Ranger Battalion and the headquarters of the 75th Ranger Regiment were reactivated in 1984. The 75th Ranger Regiment is now a special operations combat formation within the U. S. Army Special Operation Command (USASOC). The Ranger Regiment traces its lineage to three of six battalions raised in WWII, and to the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional)- known as â€Å"Merrills Marauders,† and then reflagged as the 475th Infantry, then later as the 75th Infantry. The Ranger Training Brigade (RTB)- headquartered at Fort Benning, GA- is an organization under the U. S. Armys Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and is separate from the 75th Ranger Regiment. It has been in service under various names and Army departments since World War II. The Ranger Training Brigade administrates Ranger School. Successful completion of this 61-day course is required to become Ranger qualified and to wear the Ranger Tab. When the American Revolution began, Major Robert Rogers allegedly offered his services to General George Washington. Fearing that Rogers was a spy, Washington refused. An incensed Rogers instead joined forces with the Loyalists and fought for the crown. Not all of Rogers Rangers went with him, however, including such notable figures as Israel Putnam. Later on during the war, General Washington ordered Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton to select an elite group of men for reconnaissance missions. This unit was known as Knowltons Rangers, and is credited as the first official Ranger unit (by name) for the United States. This unit, however, carried out intelligence functions rather than combat functions in most cases, and as such are not generally considered the historical parent of the modern day Army Rangers. Instead, Knowltons Rangers gave rise to the modern Military Intelligence branch (although it was not a distinct branch until the 20th century). [ The most famous Rangers of the American Civil War fought for the Confederate States Army. In January 1863, John S. Mosby was given command of the 43rd Battalion, Partisan Ranger. Mosbys Rangers became infamous among Union soldiers due to their frequent raids on supply trains and couriers. Their reputation was heightened considerably when they performed a raid deep into Union territory and captured three high-ranking officers, including Brigadier General Edwin H. Stoughton. Weeks after the surrender of the Confederate Army Mosby disbanded his unit rather than formally surrender. Also a famous Confederate commander, Turner Ashby led a cavalry company known as the Mountain Rangers, who became known for their ability to harass Union soldiers. The most successful attacks against Mosbys Rangers were carried out by the Union Armys Means Rangers. Means Rangers became famous when they successfully captured General James Longstreets ammunition train. They later fought and captured a portion of Mosbys force. In January 1941, during World War II, Colonel Dudley Clarke met American Colonel William J. Donovan during a strategic tour of the Mediterranean. During the Second World War, Major General Lucian K. Truscott, the US Army Liaison, saw the capabilities of the British Army’s SAS (Special Air Service) Commandos. He immediately sent a proposal stating We undertake immediately an American unit along the lines of the British Commandos on 26 May 1942 to General George Marshall. The US Army then began a program to make a commando unit for the US Military. The telegram Truscott sent out was received by Major General Russell P. Hartle, the commander of all US Army forces in Northern Ireland. Now that the first battalion of commandos was authorized, a name for the new commando unit would be chosen. Truscott picked Rangers because â€Å"The name Commandos rightfully belonged to the British. † Rangers were a part of the earliest stages in colonizing America so it seemed to be an exceptional choice. [11] Now the General was tasked to find a commander worthy enough to lead the Ranger battalion. General Hartle decided that his own aid-de-camp, Captain William Orlando Darby, a graduate of West Point with amphibious training, was the ideal choice. This decision was highly approved by General Truscott who rated Darby as outstanding in appearance, possessed of a most attractive personality. and filled with enthusiasm†. [11] Thousands of applications poured in from the Army in Northern Ireland. Most came from units such as the 1st Armored Division and the 34th Infantry Division. The Officers would be hand picked by Darby to ensure maximum unit efficiency. He then brought in the applicants he chose. After a stressful and grueling weeding out of his new applicants at Carrick Fergus, NI, the first battalion officially activated on 19 June 1942. In May 1942, the 1st Ranger Battalion was sanctioned, recruited, and began training under the British Commandos in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland. Their courage is evident from the observation that of 500 volunteers who first formed the Rangers at Carrickfergus, only 87 were alive by the end of the war. [12] 80 percent of the original Rangers came from the 34th Infantry Division. Together with the ensuing 3rd and 4th Ranger Battalions they fought in North Africa and Italy commanded by Colonel Darby until the Battle of Cisterna (29 January 1944) when most of the Rangers of the 1st and 3rd Battalions were captured. The remaining Rangers were absorbed into the Canadian-American First Special Service Force under Brigadier General Robert T. Frederick. They were then instrumental in operations in and around the Anzio beachhead. [13] all info on this paer is courtesy of http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/United_States_Army_Rangers#American_Revolution

Web activity 2 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Web activity 2 - Research Paper Example The value proposed by these scientists is higher than VAP measure because the VAP measure does not account for increased number of immigrants along with convicted felons while calculating the total population that can vote in presidential elections. This is why the VEP has been able to calculate a higher rate of turn around as compared to the VAP. While calculating the figures of voting population one should use the VEP measure because it takes into consideration the demographics of the population that is technically eligible to vote. The population that passes the eligibility test is the ones who are registered to vote. It eliminates those who can not register or vote which includes those who are non citizens and those who are considered as felons (United States Elections Project 2008). VEP is more appropriate than VAP because the registration has become easier than before; new programs such as mail services have been used by the US to register voters. Due to introduction of technology in voting registration, the numbers have increased and should be clearly taken into account. The total turnaround rate of US is higher than the total turnaround rate of Texas even though several new ways of voting have been used such as the mailing and online registration system. This is due to several reasons which mainly include socio and economical reasons. One of the main reasons is that the education and literacy rate of Texas is quite low and a huge number of the population is below the eligibility age. Secondly due to lower literacy rate, the population of Texas has failed to use the advance ways of registering and voting. The total population of Texas is heavily covered by minorities who do not get a chance to vote or fear

Isalmic Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Isalmic Studies - Essay Example Be it in-law or in blood. Thus, Shi'ites could have descended from the bloodline of the prophet Muhammed, peace upon him. This poetic piece of the Qur'an is quite glaring substantiation to the idea of the Shi'ite. Their shadows may mean descendants, mornings may mean children and young ones, and afternoons may mean the middle and old aged. "And to Allah (alone) falls in prostration whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and so do their shadows in the mornings and in the afternoons (Surah 13:15), and "whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, such are they who will be the successful" (Surah59:9) In the 7th century, after the death of the prophet Muhammed, peace upon him, a void was left to his position as a leader of a Sunni community. It is a population of believers in Islam. This was initially filled by his friend and father-in-law Abu Bakr. He is the father of Aisha who is the second wife of Muhammed, peace upon him. After Abu Bakr, the leadership was passed on to three more unidentified Muslims. The same post was accepted by Ali the son-in-law of Muhammed, peace upon him. He is the husband of Fatima. Fatima was the daughter of Muhammed, peace upon him, with Kadija. Kadija was the first wife of Muhammed, peace upon him. ... al, 1989). Khawarij in Arabic Kharijite meaning one that departs, dissenter, a member of a Muslim secessionist sect establishing a radically democratic reform community in the 7th century (Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged). It can then be synonymous to Shia. It is a group originating in the controversies over leadership of the community (The Encyclopaedia Americana International Edition USA, 2002).There were two contenders to the Caliphate then. First the Umayyad's who were a family of power (Perry, 1989). They succeeded in assuming the leadership. Second the Shi'a, Shi'ites, proponents of ascendancy (Perry et. al, 1989). They must be the descendants of the prophet Muhammad, peace upon him. They tried but failed to retake the post (Perry et. al., 1989). Eventually they turned out into Khawarij because they departed. They established a radically democratic and puritanical reform community (Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged). They adopted some philosophies. They evolved practices different from those of traditional Muslims, known as the Sunni. They did not acknowledge the Umayyad's (Perry et. al. 1989). Over the years, the Umayyad's held the highest position of the caliphate. It gained the support of the greater part of Muslims who were all Arabs (Perry, 1989). So, they to all intents and purposes made extensive triumph escalating Muslim dominion. However, the Umayyad's never saw their inaccuracy. First, it repositioned the Muslim seat of power from Mecca to Damascus in Syria. Second, it gave only Arabs the holdings of prominent positions in the hierarchy. This was to the bitterness of its new members. They were

Epistemology and Skepticism Essay Example for Free

Epistemology and Skepticism Essay * Epistemology and Skepticism: How does The Matrix illustrate the challenge of skepticism about the external world? Explain, discuss, and critically evaluate the hallucination argument for complete epistemological skepticism. Be sure your essay includes a discussion of either Hospers or Crumley IIs criticism of complete epistemological skepticism. Is complete epistemological skepticism a logically coherent theory? Support your answer with a well-reasoned argument free of any major errors of fact, fallacy or logical contradiction. I. Introduction * The matrix questions the nature of reality. * How can we know for certain that the world is how we perceive it and not just a veil over our eyes? * Explain movie- trapped in virtual world believing they are in 21st century * Explanation proposes question, what is real? II. Main Points. * Main Character Morpheus: â€Å"What is ‘real’? How do you define ‘real’? If real is simply what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then ‘real’ is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain. † * Consequently, â€Å"How can we be sure our brain isn’t being tricked by some simulation to believe things are real, when they aren’t? This is how matrix proposes the challenge of epistemological skepticism. * Hallucination argument: Modus Tollens, question soundness (valid) 1. If we posses knowledge (K) we must be able to rule out the possibility of systematic hallucination (S). K S 2. ~S (the matrix hypothesis. ) (MT 1) 3. ~ K ( MT 1 2) * One arguer against skepticism: John Hospers * Merely verbal * Skeptics take strong sense of the word knowledge, must have proof at all times * Others use weak sense, meaning we only need proof or evidence only when someone is proving otherwise. * Doubt is an empty word. * Basic point: once a test has been done to remove doubt we have a good reason to believe it is true, thus we have knowledge. III. Conclusion * Skeptics believe knowledge is unobtainable, in this case the hallucination argument proves the premises are true through Modus Tollens. Although the argument is sound, it is self-defeating because skeptics believe they know that they don’t really â€Å"know† anything. Moreover, complete epistemological skepticism is not a logically coherent view because the argument being claimed would require the person to have knowledge to conduct such argument.

Ethics In Business: The Bernard Madoff Investment Scandal

Ethics In Business: The Bernard Madoff Investment Scandal The organizational leadership of Bernard Madoff Investments Securities LLC was held by Bernard Madoff himself. Madoffs charismatic leadership style included seducing friends, those in secluded groups, and even his own employees. He seduced his clients by making them to believe they were investing in something special. He would often turn people away, which helped Bernard in courting people and charities with more assets to offer. Bernard Madoff created a system which was promising high returns in short terms and was nothing else but the Ponzi scheme. The systems idea relied on funds from the new investors to pay misrepresented and extremely high returns to the existing investors. He was doing this for years; tempting billions of dollars from wealthy individuals, charities by getting them to invest in his hedge fund. And they did so because of the extremely high returns, which were promised by Madoffs firm. But if anyone would look deeply into the structure of his firm, it would defin itely show that something is wrong. This is because nobody can make such big money, especially if no one else could at the time. How could one person, Madoff, who held all his clients assets, priced, and managed them. It is clearly a conflict of interest. His company was showing profits year after year, despite most of the companies having looses. In fact, Bernard Madoffs case is absolutely amazing, both in its range and in its list of investors who got caught up in it. Bernard Madoff Case Summary Bernard Madoff opened his firm in 1960. His business began to grow when his father-in-law Saul Alpern, who was an accountant, came to the firm. Because there were a lot of competitive firms at that time, Madoff decided to use innovative computer information technology to spread its quotes, which later on became the NASDAQ. This technology provided his firm with a really good income and at this point his securities become the largest buying and selling market maker at the NASDAQ. Eventually, his scheme reached a staggering 50 billion dollars under his management. It came to an end after market conditions let to a considerable amount of redemptions when investors started to take their money back. After Bernard Madoff, former NASDAQ chairman, was arrested on December 11, 2008, he acknowledged that his performance was nothing but the Ponzi scheme. He pled guilty to the biggest investor fraud ever committed by anyone on March 12, 2009. On June 29, 2009 Bernard Madoff was put in jail, and will spending there long 150 years. Stakeholders Madoff was able to align himself with government, rich individuals, and businessmen. This empowered him to have an unlimited access to different groups of investors. Among Madoffs Ponzi scheme victims, it is easy to find wealthy individuals, charitable organizations, and its stakeholders, such as employees, communities, vendors, and government. Investors that took the biggest losses, which was billions, because of this scheme are marked in the Wall Street Journal; among them are Fairfield Greenwich Group, Tremont Capital Management, Banco Santander, Fortis, and others. Investors lost their money because of their lack of conscious and unwillingness to understand or realize that it is impossible to have such high returns in a legally managed investment operation. They also failed to understand that one day they could lose everything. They would rather believe in a fairy tales about high returns in short terms, without any consequences. 7 Steps 1. What are the facts of the case? Madoffs business had obvious facts that showed he was doing a scheme. First of all, because he was being a pioneer in electronic trading, he refused to provide his clients with the on-line access to their accounts and sent out statements by mail. Though, most hedge funds in that time were e-mailing statements to their investors, in order to provide its customers with convenience and the ability to analyze their account. It should have been an important signal to investors, but it was ignored. Secondly, Madoffs firm processed all of its trades and appeared as its own broker-dealer. This made impossible for the outside investors to verify their actual holdings. In fact, one of Madoffs unusual tactics was to get rid of his holdings by selling them at the end of the period. It helped him to avoid filing disclosures of his holdings with the SEC. As well, he was always refusing to talk to any outside audit for the reason of secrecy of his firm. This should raise questions and concerns amongst its investors, but again it did not. The fact that Madoffs fund only had five down months since 1996 could have shown investors that Madoffs business was at least suspicious and warned them to avoid investing in his hedge fund. It is, for sure, impossible in investment or any business to have only a couple down months in more than 10 years of a companys performance. Besides, there are some known factors that helped Madoff to commit his fraud for years, including the following: Madoff had a good reputation in the investment field over the years. Madoff knew how to create the aura of trust. Madoff constantly promised high and stable returns to his investors. 2. What are the ethical issues? In 1980s Bernard Madoff was providing payments to his brokers to perform the customers orders through his brokerage. Later this system received a name, a legal kickback, and because of this he became the biggest dealer in the U.S. stock market. When academics questioned the ethics of these payments, Madoff replied that those payments did not change the price that the customer received, and were a legal business transaction. The SEC investigated Madoffs fraudulent practices and they had concerns that his firm did not show its customers orders to other traders, but they could not find anything illegal in the period from 1999 till 2000. As well, Madoff was too secretive about his investment performance and kept all financial statements closely protected. He usually refused to meet directly with his investors. After some time, he decided to invent a new investment method that was promising constant returns to selected investors, rather than supplying all new investors with high returns. This new innovation was too complicated for outsiders to understand. That should, for sure, raise some questions in his investors, but they did not demand any information and explanation. Of course, there were some investors in the Madoff case that used caution and could see that something is not really clear in his business, and as well because they did not want to lose their money, they removed it. And it was their best decision in regards to this fraud. 3. What are the norms, principles, values related to the case? The culture of a company is heavily influenced by the actions of upper-level management. Their actions are seen by workers throughout the organization and help develop a cultural norm within the company. When lower level employees witness those above them acting unethically, they will think that those actions are acceptable and the norm. This can lead to all types of unethical actions like, fact concealing, budget twisting, and many other unethical actions that were prevalent in the Madoff case. Ethical boundaries arent always clearly defined. The ethical action is not always perfectly obvious, placing investors money into risky investment while trying to gain in the short term is illegal. However, if not done carefully, it could be viewed as unethical. Because of this, it is necessary to train employees in ethical decision making processes. Then they will be able to make the right decision when the ethical thing to do is not completely obvious. In addition, an ethical environment must be set by management, in order to promote good ethical decision making processes. Making the correct decision in an ethical dilemma requires good judgment. Having a good example to follow definitely helps. However, a persons values and beliefs are important in making an ethical decision. If a decision does not seem morally right, then it is most likely not an ethical business decision. Promoting strong values and internal judgment helps employees at all levels of a company behave ethically. 4. What are the alternative courses of action? a) It is very important to provide education to board members about financial and operational matters, as well as analyze and modify all procedures in governance policy and investment policy areas, and always to remember to avoid conflicts of interest in business practice. b) It is also important to provide investors with companys records, for the purpose of due diligence. Inform and explain to the investors about each companys performance, even though it is a time consuming process. This effort will demonstrate a companys commitment to its investors. 5. What is the best course of action? The best course of the action is definitely to be open and clear with investors and committed to the best practices in governance and operations. This will help the company to succeed in the competitive investment environment. 6. What are the consequences of each possible course of action? These actions will open new horizons to interest new investors and will lead the company to profit and success. 7. What is the decision? The shocking Madoff scandal and an unfavorable economy created challenging times for stakeholders. In order foster a competitive environment that will interest new investors, a company needs to legally make profits and always provide clients with all the information. Laws are the minimum code of conduct to which the company has to abide by. The company can always take further actions, beyond what the law requires, in order to ensure investors confidence. What recommendations would you make to your client about the existing 35% investment with Bernard Madoff? I would explain to the client that keeping 35% investment in one investing company can be very risky, especially if the company is Bernie Madoffs which is not regulated or publicly traded. I would further advise my clients the following: Sell off 30% investment with Bernard Madoff. Invest 20% in equity mutual funds. Invest 5% in equity exchange-traded funds. Invest 5% in individual stocks. What recommendation would you make regarding the $100,000 they currently have in cash? I would advise that the $100,000 in cash cleverly would be to invest in different areas, such as in hedge fund the $15,000, Treasuries $25,000, mutual fund $10,000, Madoffs fund $10,000, and the rest $40,000 to spend on buying fixed asset. How would your recommendation be affected if your client tells you that they would like to give the additional $100,000 to Madoff to invest? My recommendation would not change if my client tells me that they would be interested in investing additional money in Madoffs fund. This is because my recommendation is based on the fundamentals of investments. However, I would spend more time explaining to my client the excessive risk they are taking by putting a significant portion of their eggs in one basket. With the information you have at this point in the case, is there anything else that you should do? Definitely, I have to inform the client of a possible risk of investing in Madoffs fund. I will present one some arguments, such as: Bernard Madoff denied outsiders access to records. The company hedge fund was not registered until 2006. Madoffs fund rarely lost its value, even in times of economic downturn. Should you mention to your client that the $5 million in sales may draw the attention of the IRS, because of the relative size of that number compared to the rest of the return? Based on the AICPAs Statements on Standards for Tax Services (SSTS) and Treasury Department Circular 230, which provides authority to the Treasury allowing disbarment or suspension from practice before the IRS, it is not considered unethical to mention to my client that the $5.0 million investment sales can interest and raise questions of the IRS. Though, I should make the client aware that $5 million in sales will be a red flag for the IRS because of its relative size to the rest of the return. At the same time I would need to let the client know that any sales number must be supported by proper documentation that would unquestionably prove its validity. As a professional tax practitioner, I would refrain from making those kinds of comments without any valid evidence. It can even be misleading to the client to give this kind of unsubstantiated advice. Should you discuss with your client the possibility that their account is being churned? I would not discuss with my client the possibility of the account being churned because it is beyond the scope of regular tax preparation. Additionally, churning, if proven can lead to prosecution of the broker since it is considered a fraudulent practice. Churning has been labeled as a falsified practice in 1934. Churning is when stock-brokers execute a large volume of sales on their customers accounts. Since those brokers are earning a commission on each transaction, they get paid more if they execute more transactions. So, those fraudulent brokers would carry out excessive amounts of small transactions, in order to earn their commissions, which would slowly drain the customers account. After awhile, the investors account would be reduced because of the constant charges. Eventually, the customers account would be drained and they would not know how it occurred, or that they had been defrauded. In fact, if I would have suspicion that the clients account is being churned, I should disclose that to the client. Churning is illegal and unethical, and suspected churning should be addressed. I should share with the client that sometimes brokers and traders maliciously trade securities very actively in a brokerage account in order to increase brokerage commissions rather than customer profits. And in this particular case Madoff may be tempted to churn the clients account because Madoffs income is not transparent and could be directly related to the volume of trading of the clients account. Based on the information you have thus far in the case, what further information do you believe you need in order to prepare the tax return with regard to the Madoff investment? I would need following information: The investment sale prices in order to estimate and accurately report capital gain/losses, and include the result in the gain/loss report. The investment purchase prices in order to correctly calculate and report capital gains/losses, and include the result in the gain/loss report. The date of the investment purchase and sale is also important in order to determine if the capital gain is short-term or long-term. As well, I would need the following data to complete the return: Investment sales price. Investment purchase price. Description of the securities purchased and sold during the year. Gain/Loss from the options. Market value of the open options at year-end. For sure, in order to prepare tax return to the Madoffs investment I should obtain all necessary tax forms from Madoffs accounting firm, including a 1099B for sales, 1099DIV or 1099 INT. I cannot just rely on his accountants explanation on how to calculate dividend and interest. Moreover, since options trading is a very complex subject I must do additional research on how to report income on options trading, and be sure that all the necessary tax forms are provided by Madoffs firm. We now know the Madoff investments for some period of time have been fraudulent. Were there indicators that might have caused you to react differently with regard to your clients investment? There were the following indicators: There was no online access to accounts. There was no issuance of forms a) 1099B (for investment sales transactions), b) 1099 DIV, and c) 1099 INT. David G. Friehling, a sole CPA practitioner, audited the hedge fund. Madoff did not file any disclosures of his holdings to the SEC, because he was easily selling his holdings. The business cannot have only couple down months when operating for years, it is impossible. In other words, the Madoff case was filled with signs of fraud that could have led one to think that something was going on and changed the way the average investor feels about investing. Fraud comes in many forms, it can be as simple as taking money from a companys account, or it can become as complex as the Madoff case. In order to catch fraud in companies as complex as Mr. Madoffs, one must pay attention to more subtle signs that could point to fraud. The transparency of Mr. Madoffs company was minimal and should have alerted someone that something was wrong. Mr. Madoff repeatedly denied outsiders access to records, which should have been available. The companys hedge fund was not registered with the SEC until late in 2006, which should have been another sign that something was amiss. This shows that Mr. Madoff had something to hide, because he did not want the SEC evaluating his hedge funds. In addition, the companys auditor was Mr. Madoffs brother-in-law, which opens the door for fraudulent activity. Auditors are supposed to be independent and definitely not family members of the company that they are auditing. This situation becomes more alarming when you consider that Mr. Madoff was frequently opposed to outside audits of any type. A family member as an auditor and a strong resistance to all other audits should have been the first sign that something fraudulent was occurring. Funds managed by Mr. Madoffs company performed so well, that it could have been another clue to the fraud that was taking place. Forecasts were matching outcomes, in areas like earnings per share, to the point that it became unrealistic to be able to forecast that accurately. Earnings per share figures have so many variables that it is nearly impossible to predict them accurately time and time again. In 2008, one of Mr. Madoffs hedge funds, which invested in the SP 500, gained almost 6% in value, while the SP 500 itself was down over 35%. This was yet another clue that something in this company wasnt right. Mr. Madoffs funds rarely lost value, even in times of economic downturn. So, while most investors were losing money in the market, Madoffs funds continued to profit. With the advantage of hindsight, what additional due diligence could you have performed? In regards to Financial Planning: A quick search on Google could have shown that Madoffs practice starting 1990s was exposed to accusations that he was front-running his investors, and the idea of this practice was to buy or sell shares before filling investors orders. All of the articles and complaints about Madoff in the early 2000s would have been revealed as well. Independently investors have to check the stock prices and trades on a daily basis. Dig into the small accounting Firm that audited Madoffs Fund. To check any Web sites in order to gain more information about his practice, such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA. I would quickly come to the conclusion that my client should divest 100% of their investments in Madoffs fund. In regards to tax preparation: Dig further into the multi-page printout of listing of hundreds of transactions. Request for a formal 1099B (for investment sales transactions), 1099 DIV, and 1099 INT. Recalculate the gain/losses reported on the summary sheet. If you run across a similar situation in the future, do you feel any more comfortable about how to handle it? Yes. Would you report such situation to SES, IRS, or other regulatory body? Yes. Madoff stopped trading and has been fabricating investment return of his clients during middle 1990 till 2008. He and his accomplices have committed fraud. The crime was committed based on the value of greed and a get rich quickly scheme. From the investors position, greed is also what fueled billions of dollars to be invested in Madoffs Hedge Fund. Investors should have avoided the following: Invest into an unregulated hedge fund. Too little due diligence. Higher than average returns usually cannot always be realistic. Absence of the audit of financial statements. Now that we know how Madoff performed his Ponzi scheme, we will able to figure out and try to avoid scheme in future, and do not forget to: Broadly analyze the company performance. Watch closely for warning signs. Verify filing with the SEC. Check for the company reputation. 6 Pillars Applied: Responsibility: Though Madoff was performing the investment operations as a Ponzi scheme, but when his investors wanted to have their money back, they got it without any delays. Of course, this does not show his responsibility to all the investors, but a little percentage to those who were smart enough to withdraw their investment from his fund. Those investors definitely were aware that Madoffs firm does not conduct its business transactions according to law and ethics. In fact, Madoff has violated mostly all 6 pillars, such as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. His only goal was to benefit himself and his family, while completely ignoring the well-being of others. Madoff cared little about those he harmed and only worked to better himself at the expense of others. Therefore, from an ethical perspective, Madoffs scam was a white color crime. White color crime creates victims by establishing trust and respectability. As in this case, victims of white-color crime trusting clients, who believed there were many checks and balances certified the Madoff investment operation as legitimate. Madoff appears to be the classic white-collar criminal. He was an educated and experienced individual in a position of power, trust, respectability, and responsibility, who abused his trust of personal gains. From the inception of his investment business, he knew he was operating a Ponzi scheme and defrauding his clients. As a result, he is serving jail time and will be paying restitution for the rest of his life. In the end, he knew this day would come.

Arms and the Man Essay

G. B. Saw’s Freedom actually is one of the series of radio talks delivered in 1935 on the B. B. C. As it was intended for the larger circles in their capacity as listeners, the lecture seems to be free from theoretical jargons. But Shaw can be very much deceptive in what he says. For, behind his homour lies the satire of the contemporary social condition. Not only that, his simple talk was actually a denunciation of the conventional and capitalist view of freedom. Politically Shaw conformed to democratic socialism, a variant of Marxism, according to which the society should try to reach the socialist political condition gradually by the democratic means. The concept of freedom, which Shaw satirises, was the fundamental principle of Enlightenment, and he does so because in a capitalist society, according to the Marxian view, freedom of the individual can never be realised. Shaw begins the essay with the proposition that a person can be called completely free in such a condition, in which he will be able to â€Å" do what he likes, when he likes, and where he likes, or do nothing at all if he prefers it†. He firmly denies the possibility of the existence of such a person as human beings are all slaves to nature: â€Å"†¦we must all sleep for one third of our lifetime__ wash and dress and undress__ we must spend a couple of hours eating and drinking__ we must spend nearly as much in getting about from one place to place. † From this funny yet inexorable condition of human life, Shaw very cleverly moves on to the fact that some of the â€Å"natural jobs† can be placed on others’ shoulders: â€Å"What you do to a horse or a bee, you can do to a man or woman or child†¦sort†. With this Shaw, however, comes to the immediate social and political condition of the time, in which the concept of freedom __ derived from the grand idealistic project of the Enlightenment, and nationalistic bias produced by the First World War __ was being glorified and used by the upper class as a means to achieving their self-interests. According to Shaw the farce of the democratic system in a capitalist state lies in the fact that â€Å"most actual governments†¦enforce your slavery and call it freedom†. But the citizens of the state continue to be duped by the system instead of rising to protest. Shaw terms this unequal relationship â€Å"the unnatural slavery of man to man†. Shaw points out an important difference between the â€Å"natural slavery of man to Nature and the unnatural slavery of man to man†. According to him, the first, though unavoidable, provides pleasure after its fulfilment; for instance, if nature forces us to drink, she makes drinking pleasant. The same is true of eating, drinking, sleeping and other activities. Shaw introduces this difference and cites examples more importantly to explain the evils of the former in more acute terms. He refers to few thinkers like Karl Marx and Thomas Moore, who denounced this slavery and tried to abolish it. At this point his explanation of the capitalist mechanism, that is, the means by which the system tries to dupe people and establish, legitimize and perpetuate itself approaches the ideological theories of Althusser and Gramsci. â€Å"Ideology represents†, Althusser tells us, â€Å"the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real condition of existence. He points out that there are found a number of ideologies – namely, religious ideology, ethical ideology, legal ideology, political ideology – all of which operate invisibly in the superstructure. Shaw strikes at the very root when he says, â€Å"Naturally the master class, through its parliaments and schools and newspapers, makes the most desperate efforts to prevent us fro m realizing our slavery. † He explains historically how the British capitalist system has established itself by propagating the so-called glorious events as the Magna Charta, the defeat of the Spanish Armada and Napoleon. Then he explains how â€Å"ideological apparatuses†, to quote Althusser, manipulate the common mass to cast votes in favour of the capitalist leaders. What is more alarmingly effective, according to him, is the educational system, which operates in the superstructure and â€Å"ends in deluding the master class much more completely†. Thus Shaw explains the difference between two kinds of slavery and conclusively tells the listeners/readers: â€Å"Wipe out from yours dreams of freedom the hope of being able to do as you please all the time. For, according to him, people have to remain occupied doing the natural slavery for at least twelve hours a day, while their unnatural slavery is controlled and regulated by the legal and administrative system of the country. Character of Louka in Arms and the Man Shaw conceived of Louka as a strong willed woman, necessary for his dramatic purpose of exposing the vanity of the upper-class and the political purpose of showing the socia list principle of showing equality among individuals in a society. It must be said that it was daring attempt on Shaw’s part to lead and raise a maidservant to the status of an aristocratic lady. But he does not do this as a kind of poetic justice or as a matter of mercy; he makes her capable of realizing her aims and object by her worth as a human being and by her strong will power. In the beginning of the play Louka is presented as a maid-servant having some sort of tension with the lady she serves. She behaves in defiant manners and her physical movements, gestures and postures produce the impression of haughtiness and discontent. The audience ascribes this to typical feminine jealousy of a servant for the lady of the same age, but in Act II they understand that she is Raina’s rival in love and is eyeing something above her position. Her confidence is generated from some of the secrets she knows about the ladies of the house. Always on the lookout for those sorts of things, she discovers a terrible truth about the fugitive in Raina’s chamber at night and keeps it for use in future. In Act II Louka is given a loud voice justifying her position. While being instructed threateningly by the middle-aged maid servant Nicola, she scornfully rejects his advice and brands him as a person with â€Å"the soul of a servant†. From Nicola, however, we come to know the predicament of Louka and her father â€Å"on his little farm†. Shaw here brings out the conflicts between rich and the poor, fuming in the backyard of patriotism and nationalism. Shaw makes this explicit by making Nicola fully aware of the effects any confrontation with the aristocracy will bring about. It is not that Louka is not conscious of this; in fact, her defiance of the upper-class people can be ascribed to the angst deposited in her. But while Nicola chooses to reap profit by serving the upper-class and thereby cashing on their weaknesses, Louka resorts to using her youth and feminine skills backed up by her will-power to trap an upper-class gentleman. In Act II Louka employs her youth and charms when she finds Sergius posing as a playboy. From the familiarity of their conversation we can understand that this is not the first time that Sergius engages himself in relaxation from the pressure of higher love† for Raina. As soon as Louka detects his susceptibility or vulnerability, she proceeds to break Raina’s pose of higher love by informing him of the presence of another man in her chamber at night. She does this in order to bring her down to her level of an ordinary human being before Sergius. Even she goes to the extent of saying â€Å"I am worth six of her†, meaning that she is capable of serving or satisfying the six different persons in Sergius, which Raina, according to her, is not capable of. But it would be an injustice to the character if we say that Louka uses only her youthful charms; we find her possessing subtle power of observation, by which she can surely foretell Raina’s move away from Sergius in the case of the fugitive’s return. No other person, including Raina could have this kind anticipation because Louka observes her from a pragmatic position: â€Å"I know the difference between the sort of manner you and she put on before one another and the real manner. Thus she creates agitations in Sergius’s mind quite consciously and deliberately in order that she may win him away by exposing both of them. But since she is intelligent enough to anticipate that he will not believe her unless and until he discovers the truth himself, she lets him out to find the rest of the truth. In Act III Louka enters the stage with her usual â€Å"bold free gait† with the marked difference that her left sleeve is â€Å"looped up to the shoulder with a br ooch, shewing her naked arm, with a broad gilt bracelet covering the bruise†. She does this intentionally in order to remind Sergius of the mark he made on her arm, and perhaps to display proudly the mark as a gift of love in a sort of masochistic exhibitionism. Nicola, as a man with practical wisdom can sense something wrong with her, and that is why he proceeds to warn her about her unusual fashion. Here once again she reiterates her contempt for his servile mentality and refuses to accept 10 levas from him as share of the bribes. Her basic independent nature is to be found in the following words: â€Å"You were born to be a servant. I was not. When you set up your shop you will be everybody’s servant instead of somebody’s servant. † She demonstrates the place she is eying to reach at by seating herself ‘regally’ in Sergius’s chair, an act which the audience notice with surprise and amusement. As Nicola understands her and humbly makes way for Sergius, she once again attracts Sergius now with the mark of bruise, which she uses as a kind of bait for him. When Sergius tries to compensate for the bruise by offering her an amorous favor, she rejects it straight and tries to make him understand that she wants more. She entangles him in a sort of emotional cheating with the protestation of the courage she can show in the case of realizing her true love: â€Å"If I loved you, though you would be as far beneath me as I am beneath you, I would dare to be the equal of my inferior. † Here by implication of the logic Louka wants him to come out of the class-barrier and accept her on equal terms. When Sergius expresses his inability and insults her by making a comparison between Raina and her in terms of the difference between heaven and earth, she returns this and the charge of her being jealous of Raina with a bold assertion: â€Å"I have no reason to be. She will never marry you. The man I told you of has come back. She will marry the Swiss. † Thus she succeeds in creation an emotional storm in his mind and in making him confess: â€Å"If I choose to love you, I dare marry you in spite of all Bulgaria. † In true chivalric fashion he even pronounces an oath, which she readily jumps upon to win him away in the next encounter. In the final encounter with Sergius Louka gathers all her strength of mind and risks being caught up in eavesdropping. However, quite unexpectedly she finds a supporter in Bluntschli, who defends her act by saying that he too once committed this kind of act as his â€Å"life was at stake†. Louka takes the cue from him and boldly declares her â€Å"love was at stake†. At this point we find Raina insulting her from her supposed social superiority and thus quite unknowingly provoking her to disclose the truth about her chocolate cream soldier. Louka is further insulted after the discovery of the â€Å"chocolate cream soldier†, and she turns the situation in her favor by forcing Sergius to apologize to her. As he still clings to his false heroic ideals, he apologises and falls motionless in her trap. In fine, we can say that through the presentation of Louka, Shaw illustrates once again the triumph of women in the chase of the men of their desire. There may be perhaps another reason: she is necessary as the woman for Sergius because she can balance the excess of romantic ideas and impractical dreams in him. But the audience cannot be sure of her capacity; for, immediately after becoming Major Sergius Saran off’s â€Å"affianced bride†, she addresses the lady she was serving by her name and tries to scandalize Raina by openly expressing her doubt of the latter’s being â€Å"fonder of him than Sergius†. The audience and more particularly the readers can take note of the fact that she does not utter a single word after that. She remains speechless even at the climax of the action when the chocolate cream soldier becomes Raina’s man amidst many revelations and amazements.