Saturday, August 31, 2019

Alibaba.Com Case Essay

1. Alibaba.com was an early entrant into the B2B portal market in China. In about 100 words, explain how this might have created a lock-in effect, especially given the types of businesses he site attracts. Alibaba.com does translation as well as listings for small to mid-sized businesses who want to do business. In so doing there is a lot of time and effort put into this business venture by these businesses. Once they are established and have spent the money to get there they wouldn’t be looking at changing their site unless this one wasn’t working for them. Since this site really concentrates its efforts towards these businesses and it is working they are pretty much a lock-in. Other businesses startups that would try and gain their business would have to provide something they are not already getting in order to lure them away. 2. Alibaba.com currently charges foreign sellers an annual fee of about $400 for a TrustPass membership, but Chinese companies pay $8000 or more for their annual listings as China Gold Suppliers. In about 200 words, explain why the site has different listing charges for the two types of members and critically evaluate this practice. Foreign sellers are limited to the amount of items they can list on the site. The TrustPass isn’t necessary for them to buy it only pays for a credit check that assures companies wanting to buy for them that they have been checked out. It would be advantageous for companies to pay the fee for a TrustPass in order for the companies wanting to buy from them to know they are someone who can be trusted. Whereas, the money paid by the Chinese companies is paying for the translation and the listing of all their information on the site as well as marketing. Chinese companies are not limited to the amount of items they can list. Alibaba.com is also connecting small and mid-sized businesses from around the world with those small and mid-sized businesses in China who subscribe to them. Alibaba.com is doing marketing for these businesses that might otherwise not have the resources to do this. Most small or mid-sized businesses in China would look to such means as trade fairs and other such avenues to meet other suppliers and to attract customers to their businesses. There is such a wide gap between the pricing that it could be construed the Chinese companies are way over paying for the services. However, when you look at all they are getting for their money and the fact it is opening many more doors for them it seems it isn’t. With the growth of the company and the renewal rate – it seems to be working well for them and they aren’t arguing the price. 3. You learned in Chapter 5 that large companies, such as General Electric and Sears, often require suppliers to follow specific rules if they want to do business (such as using EDI or even a specific EDI VAN). Alibaba.com currently focuses on connecting SMBs with each other. In about 200 words, discuss opportunities that might exist for Alibaba.com to become an intermediary in relationships between Chinese SMBs and large global companies such as General Electric and Sears. Alibaba.com could be the site to use a value-added network (VAN) and have all the software, equipment and skills needed to do transactions with the bigger companies. By having only one EDI translator computer saving each of the SMBs it contracts with from each one of them having to have their own. By hooking up with a VAN provider Alibaba.com would have the advantages of that provider for all of the SMBs it has contacts with. By everyone using the same VAN the costs could be spread out over everyone and not be so costly, thus letting all the SMBs getting the advantages of the VAN. By doing this Alibaba.com becomes a supplier for not only SMBs to SMBs but can now help those SMBs by selling to larger and more retail companies who require that anyone they buy from have an EDI. By Alibaba.com moving to this next step they can up their membership fees to cover the cost of upgrading to this option. It is a win-win situation for both Alibaba.com and all of the SMBs it does business with. Alibaba.com grows and the SMBs are now able to contract with bigger industrial companies and retailers that they would not have the opportunity to do before. With these new contracting opportunities the SMBs also have the opportunity to grow. 4. In 2003, Alibaba.com launched Taobao.com to compete in the general consumer online auction market against eBay in China. After four years of an intensive and expensive battle, eBay withdrew from China completely. In about 200 words, describe the advantages Alibaba.com might have had over eBay in this new market, and then describe the advantages eBay might have had over Alibaba.com. Be sure to discuss lock-in effects where appropriate. Alibaba.com was already a well-known and trusted name in business dealings when it opened Taobao.com. Since Alibaba.com was pretty much a lock-in with its B2B portal for SMBs it would be a natural progression for Taobao.com under the Alibaba.com structure to become a lock-in for another market being the general consumer online auction market. By drawing off of the Alibaba.com name the Taobao.com site would become more valuable to people who already are aware of the company than in investing in a new company such as eBay trying to come in and start from scratch. The trust had already been gained and people are not going to willingly move from a company they already trust to a new company starting out. By being an established company Taobao.com could possibly be able to offer incentives, fairer prices and a larger buyer/seller base than eBay just coming in. People who are buying or selling would want the larger base in order to get what they want to buy or to get a better price for what they are selling. By winning against eBay this would pretty much lock-in Taobao.com and make it rather difficult for any other company wanting to try and compete against them in the future. 5. In 2005, Yahoo! Paid $1 billion for a 40 percent interest in Alibaba.com. Yahoo! was interested in the company’s Taobao.com auction site because Yahoo! had not been as successful as it would have liked in developing its own Chinese auction site. However, Yahoo! was also interested in using Alibaba.com’s strong reputation in China to help I compete with Baidu.com, the top Chinese search engine site. In about 200 words, describe the ways in which Alibaba.com’s reputation could help Yahoo! Compete more effectively as a search engine and Web portal in China. By Alibaba.com being an established business since 1995 and being a lock-in for the, SMB to SMB, B2B market worldwide and then being another lock-in for the general consumer online auction market in 2003 it’s competition in both areas were basically out of luck. By Yahoo! offering to buy into the company showed that they knew they weren’t going to be able to come in as a new company and beat out Alibaba.com or Taobao.com. It had already been tried by eBay and they had failed after spending years and money to do it and not making it. Therefore, by buying an interest in an already established company Yahoo! was able to get its name out there in the public sector and business sectors and start gaining the trust by becoming a part of an already trusted company. When a large company endorses another product or site it lends credibility to that product or site and its followers are more willing to take a chance on the new one. By Alibaba.com and Taobao.com putting their mark on Yahoo! as a reliable search engine and Web portal it was saying to all of their contract businesses and buyers and sellers that this was someone they should use and trust as well. Thus they gave Yahoo! that boost above any of the other search engines out their vying for people to use them.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Children and Young People’s Workforce Essay

001.1.1-What are the different reasons people communicate? There are many reasons for people to communicate these could include, giving or receiving information in my setting with co workers for daily activites.This also could be used for receiving instructions. I would also need communication if I had concerns over a child or if I was unsure how to do a certain task. Communication is also vital for giving feedback to parents about what their child has done during their time in the nursery. This could be face to face or by the telephone, either way my communication must be positive. Non-verbal communication is sometimes greater than the spoken word. We use non verbal 65% of the time can be effective when communicating with any individual or persons in the child setting.Non-verbal communication can be effective if trying to explain shapes,directions,inner feelings and personality’s. Eye contact plays a big part when communicating with anyone. Its part of your facial expressions and body movements. eyes can be trusting and never lie; Children and co workers will need eye contact for good communication. Read more:  Identify the different reasons people communicate  essay Communicating with children in my setting could involve giving instructions, reading books, engaging with the children. Listening to what the children have to say. Facial expressions, tone of voice and posture will project how you are engaging in the conversation with the child. Using signs/pictures with children can be a form of communication, Talking at the child’s level will encourage them to feel confident and develop trust, which will lead to a healthy, happy relationship between us. Having the ability to sometimes use non verbal communication alongside verbal can help connect with children and co workers or parents. Sometimes bad behaviour will need good communication skills. Shouting should always be a LAST resort. Having time out or withdrawal from a activity may help. Sometimes we may need to ignore bad behaviour, This could be to get control back if a child is being disruptive and distracting other children. I think overall communication is vital in any setting. 001.2.3- Give some examples of when you might need to seek advice about communication. How would you go about this? Seeking advice is sometimes needed for support. If we didn’t seek advice then how would we know what to do? We should always ask for advice and help if needed.  This would cover a number of scenarios in the childcare setting some could include: Noticing if a child is acting differently or seems not their selves, I would have to seek advice with my co workers about how to look after the child or if they have noticed the child is behaving differently. I would ask questions about the child’s behaviour the day before to confirm that they are not themselves I’d possibly have to inform the child’s parents, if the child is unwell or has a injury at nursery. Also I may need advice if a child has a disability and I’m unsure how to look after the child, they may need special care and I may not know how to give it. I f we know all the things we need to know about the children we can work better together in the setting. This could be something simple as to if the child has an allergy to a certain food, or is on medication and needs it at specific times. I will need to seek advice on what to give and when and what foods they cannot have. Incase of an emergency I would need to seek advice regarding first aid and find the appropriate first aider in the setting. The more information we know the better we can be in our roles. It will increase confidence and your co workers will feel they can rely on you to do the task in hand. 001.3.1 What are the possible barriers to effective communication? I think there are many possible barriers that could affect communication some include: * Language. speaking in different languages or were a English is not a first language it can cause communication breakdown as its difficult to understand one another. To overcome the barriers we could speak slowly  and politely. We could try and get a translator in the setting, if there isn’t a translator then we would have to see what we can understand with the limited vocabulary. * Hearing difficulties. If a person is deaf or hard of hearing. The communication can be difficult. This is when seeking advice would come into play with co workers. Bringing in a signer would help; this would put you and the other individual at ease and make communicating a lot easier. * Noise. If the setting is noisy if someone or something is making loud noises when you’re trying to talk, then communication will fail. We could go into a quieter environment or if not ask the persons to possibly be abit quieter so you can speak, so the communication between myself and another person won’t be broken or interrupted. * Personality/interests .Personal likes and dislikes can cause barriers in conversation, people may have selective hearing if they think a certain subject is boring. It could make people feel ignored or not welcome if they don’t seem interested. Trying to reason with disagreements or different points of view and if not agree to disagree. Sometimes aggression can make people not want to communicate and push them out. They would not want to be in the same environment and would feel uncomfortable so I doubt they would want to have a conversation with any angry person. * Culture. Different cultures regulate the display of their emotions differently, some people display emotions in a debate, eg cry shout get angry or frustrated. They can show fear. Others may hide their emotions. To overcome any barriers or issues I would try to listen and understand and reason with the other person, and treat them how I would like to be treated. 001.3.4 What support and information services are available to enable more effective communication? I have had a look on the web for information services and support groups for effective communication. These are the ones I have found which would probably be more beneficial. * Braille. It is used by those who have visual impairments or blind. Braille is read by fingers touching raised dots containing two columns each with three dots. There are two types of Braille- grade 1 and grade 2. Grade 1 is letter by letter, which takes a lot of time to read. Grade 2 is faster as it combines letters commonly used together. The Braille system is a method that is widely used. It helps people to communicate, read and write. It is seen as a  alternative form of communication.(www.wikipedia.org 12/05/12)www.RNIB.org.uk 12/05/12 * BSL is another form of alternative communication. British sign language is a form of communication used by people who are hard of hearing or deaf. Sign language involves movement of the hands, body and head. It helps the deaf to communicate and connect with others around them. It is a visual mean of communication which uses gestures, facial expression and body language.(www.britishsignlanguage.com 12/05/12)www.asli.org.uk12/05/12 * Lip reading. Is used as communication. It is a technique of understanding speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, face and tongue. Lip readers who have grown up deaf may never have heard the spoken language and are unlikely to be fluent users of it. (www.lipreading.org.uk/lipreading 12/05/12) 001.4.1 What is meant by the term confidentiality? Confidentiality is a term used widely in a childcare setting. It means secret, private. It can be a meaning of trust. It can be any information regarding a child’s development. All the information about the children will be kept in a child’s record which will be kept in a secure place. All staff must be aware of the confidentiality policy and it must be enforced in the workplace. The nursery retains a copy of the information and the parents always keep originals. Confidentiality within a child setting means at no time must staff speak about outside of school. I could use a child’s information as part of proof for my college work but would have to use a different name and use them as a case study to help my studies. I would have to seek permission from school to gain access to this information 001.4.3 Describe situations where information normally considered to be confidential, might need to be passed on. Confidential information must remain confidential unless a child’ safety is a t risk or for development purposes. By keeping things confidential you will gain a bond of trust between yourselves and parents and co workers. It protects staff aswell as children and their families. Another reason for sharing information could be to support learning, to check what level a child is at, also offering support from transition from pre-school to school, may need to speak to teacher regarding behaviour and also to ask previous staff about the child’s  behaviour so you can be in the know if any behavioural problems or background problem have been apparent. There could be something happening at home that possibly affecting a child at school†¦ ‘new baby, just moved house, mum and dad not getting on’ can all affect a child’s behaviour and may go un noticed to the parent but become noticeable in the childcare setting. This would be when confidentiality would be broken, as we would have to put the child’s interest first by speaking about it to a co worker for advice or support in dealing with the information you have found out. Everyone will be working together in best interest for the child. Sharing information maybe needed incase of emergency, for the welfare of the children. I may need to ask another teacher about a child’s medical condition or possibly a disability. The I am made aware of the procedures if a accident should occur and medical help or any other assistance is need from me. Research to prepare for verbal questions 001.1.2 Explain how effective communication affects all aspects of your work. If you have effective communication in your work it will give your more confidence to ask for help/support. More confidence in your job, towards looking after children and it will put more confidence in your co workers as you will be punctual and competent at your job. You will know what is in place in your setting, which means you will know what’s safe and what’s not. 001.1.3 Why is it important to observe reactions when communicating? It is important to observe people when speaking to them to see if they are understanding and taking interest in what you are saying, you can do this by watching facial impressions, eye contact body language. These all play apart in communication.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Analysis and Consequences of Legal Action(S) Essay Example for Free

Analysis and Consequences of Legal Action(S) Essay Analisis for successful lawsuit report Purpose Per your request, our legal team, courtesy of Legal Eagles, LLP, wishes to advise you regarding your tentative legal action against Mechanics National Bank (â€Å"National Bank†). As you alleged, National Bank was negligent in their failure to remove a lien on your Lagoon Beach property. Our legal team has assessed this and other concerns of your case. Outlined throughout this correspondence are conclusions we have made and recommendations we wish you consider. Before we proceed, we thank you for your trust and assure you nothing less than our highest-quality work. You have expressed to us your interest in recovering compensation for a failed entrepreneurial endeavor involving a hotel property, Hotel California. You also informed us that your acquisition of this property was dependent upon your securing financing through pledging a property you currently own as collateral. In a brief analysis of the facts of your case, we find you may successfully prove liability on the part of National Bank; however, this conclusion is not without concerns, particularly regarding your contract with the owner of Hotel California. This concern and other considerations for your case are also discussed in this correspondence. Factual Background Our notes of the essential facts of your case indicate the following: You sought the acquisition of an existing hotel property located in Palm Desert, Green. You contacted the hotel’s listing agent, Mr. Babak Gordon, and obtained preliminary data on the property, including financial statements of the hotel which you have provided us. On January 5, 2005, the hotel owner, Ms. Shirley Ramirez, Mr. Gordon, and you had a preliminary discussion regarding the purchase and sale of Hotel California. Ms. Ramirez offered to you by phone this property for $4.3 million, excluding the furniture, and the sale was to conclude following a 45 day escrow. On January 6, 2005, you faxed Ms. Ramirez a signed letter both indicating your acceptance of her offer and your preference that the transaction close following a 60 day escrow. Although you never received a reply or confirmation from Ms. Ramirez, on January 30, 2005, you obtained a financing commitment from Bank of the West. Their conditions we re that the bank would obtain a first priority lien on the hotel property along with an unrelated undeveloped parcel of land owned by you in Lagoon Beach, Green. As you have shared with us, you acquired this land in 1984 and had managed to pay off its mortgage on November 1, 2004. However, National Bank failed to remove its lien on the property. You vigorously attempted to get National Bank to remove its lien on this property. You contacted bank officers and explained to them that the lien needed to be removed so that you could pledge the property as collateral and finance your purchase of Hotel California. Because National Bank did not remove this lien, you were unable to finance the acquisition of Hotel California. You later bought a hotel property â€Å"similarly situated† and â€Å"virtually identical† to Hotel California for $4.7 million dollars. Issue From our analysis, we find as reasonable your decision to consider pursuing legal action against National Bank for damages. You have cited National Bank as negligent for failing to follow instructions regarding the removal of a lien from the title of your Lagoon Beach property. If you proceed further to trial, a court of law will try, whether by failing to remove its lien on your Lagoon Beach property, National Bank committed the tort of negligence. Because our analysis has also raised concerns regarding your contract with the owner of Hotel California, Ms. Shirley Ramirez, we must also inform you of a second issue a court of law is likely to try. If you proceed further to trial, a court of law will try whether a legally binding, enforceable contract exists (or existed) between Ms. Ramirez and you. Keep in mind that your legal action for damages may be predicated on whether there was a contract. Roadmap In addition to listing our conclusions, recommendations, and concerns throughout this correspondence, you will find that we have analyzed the likelihood for success of your legal action against National Bank. You have expressed your desire to recover damages for your lost opportunity involving the Hotel California property. For your convenience, a complete and careful analysis has been conducted and detailed throughout this correspondence. GROUNDS OF LIABILITY You have alleged that National Bank was negligent, and you intend to recover damages from National Bank. You will have the burden of proving the prima facie case for the tort of negligence. You must cite evidence and present arguments that support your allegation of National Bank’s negligence. To successfully fulfill your burden you must show that: * Duty: The defendant (National Bank) owed you (plaintiff) a duty of due care. * Breach of Duty: Defendant’s conduct breached that duty. * Actual and Proximate Cause: Actual and proximate causation between defendant’s breach and your (plaintiff’s) injury was present. * Injury: Injured party (you) sustained injury due to defendant’s actions. If you fail to prove these elements, National Bank’s legal team may motion to dismiss your case. In this event, it is possible that your case could then be dismissed without further proceedings. However, if you successfully prove and argue all four of these elements, you must also overcome any affirmative defenses, if applicable, raised by the defendant (National Bank). These defenses are contributory negligence and assumption of risk. From our initial analysis, National Bank will be unable to raise an affirmative defense on these grounds. We will fully assess whether there are on any other legal grounds defenses that National Bank can raise. (See Other Considerations.) Remedies for Negligence If you successfully prove National Bank’s liability, you may be entitled to recover compensatory or actual damages. The damages and compensatory award amounts are determined on a case-by-case basis by the jury or judge presiding over the case. We have included a potential award amount you may be entitled to and you will find a complete discussion on how this determination is made. (See ANALYSIS OF LIABILITY – Injury.) Statutes Governing Contract Law Because the secondary issue (See Issue) and one of our concerns regarding your case is regarding your contract with Ms. Ramirez, we have disclosed applicable information from both the Green Civil Code and our legal library pertaining to 1) offer and acceptance, 2) Green’s statute of frauds, and 3) Green’s â€Å"mirror image rule.† For your convenience, we have bolded and defined legal terminology that will be reiterated in later sections of this correspondence. Offer and Acceptance An offer is the important first step in the contract formation process. A party (offeror) who makes the offer gives another party (offeree) to whom the offer is made the power to bind both parties to a contract simply by accepting the offer. Not every proposal qualifies as an offer. To distinguish an offer, courts evaluate offers on three grounds: First, they look for some objective indication of a present intent to contract on the part of the offeror. Second, they look for specificity, or definiteness, in the terms of the alleged offer. Third, they look to see whether the alleged offer has been communicated to the offeree. An acceptance is â€Å"a manifestation of assent to the terms [of the offer] made by the offeree.† In determining if an offeree accepted an offer and created a contract, a court will look for evidence of three factors: (1) the offeree intended to enter the contract, (2) the offeree accepted on the terms proposed by the offeror, and (3) the offeree communicated his acceptance to the offeror. Statute of Frauds According to the Green Civil Code,  § 1624, any contract transferring an interest in land is invalid if not accompanied by â€Å"note or memorandum.† An unenforceable contract is one that meets the basic legal requirements for a contract, but may not be enforceable because of some other legal rule. A contract for which the statute of frauds requires a form of writing, yet no writing is made, may be declared an unenforceable contract. Mirror Image Rule The traditional contract law rule is that an acceptance must be the mirror image of the offer. Attempts by offerees to change the terms of the offer or to add new terms to it are treated as counteroffers because they indicate an intent by the offeree to reject the offer instead of being bound by its terms. Now that you have an understanding of the relevant law behind the tort of negligence and contracts, and are familiar with the legal terminology of these areas, we proceed into our analysis of the facts of your case and the prima facie case for the tort of negligence. ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL BANK’S LIABILITY Should you pursue further legal action against National Bank, you will have the burden of proving the elements of the prima facie case of the tort of negligence. Below are descriptions of these elements, accompanied by our legal analysis between the facts of the case, prima facie case, and case law from our legal library. Tort of Negligence In Commercial Escrow Company v. Rockport Rebel, Inc., negligence is defined as â€Å"conduct which falls below the standard established by law for the protection of others†. Because of the similarities in the facts between the case of Escrow Company and your case, this case has been used extensively in the forming of the following arguments. We recommend using this case in satisfying your burden for your legal action. Accordingly, you must argue that National Bank’s behavior in failing to remove the lien on your Lagoon Beach property fell below the standard for public protection established by law. Further, to successfully prove negligence, you must argue that National Bank is responsible for some injury you incurred stemming from their alleged mismanagement and failure to remove the lien on your property. With your notes, the facts of your case, and documents you provided us, we have constructed tentative arguments to determine the success of your legal action. You will find these arguments beginning on the next page. Duty According to the case, Commercial Escrow Company v. Rockport Rebel, Inc., â€Å"a defendant owes a duty of care to all foreseeable plaintiffs.† For example, in cases where a â€Å"[defendant] voluntarily assumes the duty to act by promising to the plaintiff to behave in a certain way,† the defendant owes that plaintiff a duty to act with care. According to Judge Utter, a â€Å"defendant also [owes] the plaintiff a duty of care where a contractual relationship between the parties requires the defendant to act in a certain way towards the plaintiff.† Considering these rules of law, National Bank owed you a duty to act as you requested. In your previous correspondence, you indicated that National Bank is â€Å"the lender on your Lagoon Beach property.† You also submitted to us a copy of your deed of trust. To reiterate â€Å"the language in the deed of trust† as part of your contractual relationship with National Bank, National Bank was supposed â€Å"to promptly record a reconveyance of its lien on [your] property upon payment in full of the underlying loan.† Because National Bank failed to do this, we find it foreseeable that you would be prevented from using the property as collateral for your hotel acquisition. Additionally, you also mentioned that you â€Å"vigorously attempted to get†¦ National Bank to remove its lien on [your] property, but to no avail† and despite â€Å"repeated assurances from various officers.† Because National Bank officers assured and essentially promised you that they would remove the lien on your property, National Bank voluntarily assumed a duty to you, if no duty had been present beforehand. In essence, the assurances made to you to process your request indicate that National Bank voluntarily assumed, and therefore owed you, a duty of due care to act as you requested. In light of these arguments, we assure you that you should successfully satisfy this first element – duty – of the prima facie case of the tort of negligence. Breach of Duty According to Commercial Escrow Company v. Rockport Rebel, Inc., in order for a plaintiff to prove negligence, the â€Å"plaintiff is required to show †¦that [the defendant] had breached [defendant’s] duty of care to the plaintiff.† In most cases, a defendant owes a plaintiff a duty to act as would a reasonable person under similar circumstances. In the case of Escrow Company, the Court found that â€Å"in performing services for a client, [the] escrow company has the duty to strictly follow instructions.† Like an escrow company, a financial institution like National Bank most likely has a duty to strictly follow instructions drafted in a deed of trust, or part of a loan or other financial instrument. Because officers on behalf of National Bank did not follow instructions and terms of behavior involving you (as lendee) and National Bank (as lender) detailed in your property’s deed of trust, you may successfully argue that National Bank breached its duty to you. According to our copy of your deed of trust you provided us, National Bank was required to â€Å"promptly record a reconveyance of its lien on the property upon payment in full of the underlying loan.† You had managed to pay off the mortgage on this property on November 1, 2004. Despite this, National Bank failed to remove its lien, even after you requested. Because officers at National Bank did not strictly follow this instruction, National Bank breached the duty of due care owed to you. Causation Satisfying the prima facie case for the tort of negligence also requires that a plaintiff prove that there is a connection (or actual causation) between the alleged breach of duty by defendant and injury suffered by plaintiff. As in the case of Commercial Escrow Company v. Rockport Rebel, Inc., courts assess the existence of a connection between breach and injury by determining whether injury would have occurred if not for breach. A court would employ a similar test in your case. Because National Bank failed to remove the lien on your property, you did not satisfy terms of the loan commitment with Bank of the West and could not secure financing for your acquisition of Hotel California. We find that there is a casual connection. Courts also evaluate the proximate cause (causation) between a defendant’s breach of duty and a subsequent injury suffered by a plaintiff. Proximate causation refers to whether the defendant’s breach of duty and subsequent injury suffered by the plaintiff was foreseeable. Because you vigorously attempted to have officers at National Bank remove its lien on your property and informed them that you needed the lien removed in order to pledge the property as collateral, we find that your injury of loss of opportunity to acquire the hotel property was foreseeable. Injury The final element you must prove to satisfy the prima facie case for the tort of negligence is whether you have suffered injury because of National Bank’s alleged negligence. Due to National Bank’s failure in removing the lien on your Lagoon Beach property, the transfer of ownership agreement of Hotel California between you and Ms. Ramirez allegedly collapsed. Later, you purchased a â€Å"similarly situated† and â€Å"virtually identical† hotel property for $4.7 million, $400,000 more than what you would have paid for Hotel California ($4.3 million). In essence, National Bank’s alleged negligence caused you to incur an opportunity cost of $400,000. This loss of opportunity is under the assumption that a valid, enforceable contract existed between you and Ms. Ramirez. SUMMARY Because National Bank breached its duty by failing to remove its lien on your property, you were unable to secure financing for a $4.3 million acquisition of Hotel California. However, you later purchased a â€Å"virtually identical† property for $4.7 million. You may be entitled to the difference. DEFENSES AGAINST LIABILTY In this portion of this report, we detailed any applicable defenses relevant to your case, and outlined other considerations and concerns we advise you to consider. Although we have found that affirmative defenses to National Bank’s negligence are inapplicable to the particular facts of your case, we have other concerns to discuss. Other Considerations It is the opinion of Legal Eagles, LLP, that National Bank may argue that regardless of whether it removed the lien on your Lagoon Beach property, indefinite would be the transfer of ownership of the hotel property from Ms. Ramirez to you. As our analysis showed, you may successfully prove that National Bank had a duty to remove the lien on your property and subsequently breached that duty by failing to adhere to this instruction. If the failure to remove the lien on your property can be proven to have caused you damage(s), we will advise you to pursue further legal against National Bank. But first we must evaluate the documents you provided us and later the validity of the binding contract between you and Ms. Ramirez. Analysis of Income We have completely revalued the hotel property, Hotel California you were interested in. We used the same method(s) and approaches that most banks in our region would use to appraise the value of hotel properties. The expected value approach places weights on appraisals from two methods. First, we multiplied the past two years’ average gross margin by four. This holds a weight of 40%, because it is expected to be accurate 40% of the time. The value we derived from this method came to $2,462,380.00. Next, we took the present value of the average of the past three years’ cash flows, discounted at an 8% discount rate for 10 years. This method holds a 60% weight. The value derived from this method comes to $2,505,589.13. Our final step is to assign the correct weight to each method and sum the two figures. We can therefore conclude that the Hotel California’s appraisal value is $2,488,305.48. In addition to this, it is acceptable for a company to sell what is known a s â€Å"goodwill.† That is why the listed price of 2.5 million dollars was overstated by $11,694.52. We know that the bank would only allow you to borrow up to the appraised value, $2,488,305.48, unless you either pay 25% of the purchase in cash, or pledge to the bank a first priority lien on the vacant land as collateral. We also know that the latter option was not possible, so we will consider the former. We conclude that 25% of the purchase price of $4.3 million is $1,075,000. Because you were able to only provide $500,000 in cash for a down payment, you did not meet the requirements to borrow more than $2,488,305.48 from the bank, without pledging the vacant land. Hypothetically, if you had decided to borrow $2,488,305.48 from the bank, plus your $500,000 down payment, you would have had $2,988,305.48. This amount still would not have been enough to purchase the Hotel California property offered at $4.3 million dollars. Consequently, we conclude that without pledging the vacant land as collateral, there was no way you could have borrowed enough money to make the purchase. Even though the appraised value was not enough for you to borrow a sufficient amount of money from Bank of the West, we believe the appraised amount you were given was not accurate. There are two reasons why we believe Desert Mirage Accounting should not have relied on the income statement and footnote provided by Ms. Ramirez’s accountant. The first problem lies in the way the accountant prepared the income statement. Mr. Babak Gordon calculated gross profit by taking revenue minus cost of revenue. This method is only used for retailers and manufacturing companies, whereas Hotel California is a service company. The second problem is the verifiability of the financial statements and reliability of the accountant. To be credible, financial statements must follow generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). A financial statement that follows GAAP must be accompanied by a signed opinion letter. The letter can be in the form of: 1) Compilation letter Finally, this letter must be signed by a certified public accountant (CPA). Because the income statement of Hotel California does not come with any signed opinion letter, we cannot verify its accuracy. Therefore, Desert Mirage Accounting should not have relied on that income statement and footnote information to make the evaluation. In our initial observation of your case, we assumed National Bank’s failure to remove its lien from your Lagoon Beach property caused you to forfeit your opportunity to purchase the Hotel California property. As illustrated by our calculations above, you could not have financed the acquisition of Hotel California without pledging your Lagoon Beach property as collateral. However, after conducting a thorough analysis of your case, we regret to inform you that you may not be able to prove damages stemming from National Bank’s failure to remove its lien from your property. Even though National Bank may have breached its duty to you, National Ba nk could argue that your contract with Ms. Ramirez is invalid or unenforceable. In the event that you do not have a valid or enforceable contract, you are not legally entitled to the Hotel California property or other legal remedies. In essence, regardless of whether National Bank’s negligence can be proved, a transaction between Ms. Ramirez and you might not have occurred if a binding contract did not exist. We will clarify and explain this finding in the next section. Offer and Acceptance Analysis From our analysis, coupled with case law from our case library, we have found that there was no contractual arrangement between you and Ms. Ramirez. In arriving at this finding, we took into account the facts surrounding your case. There are key elements that prevent the institution of a contract, for the purchase of real estate, between you and Ms. Ramirez. In reaching this finding, we referred to the case of Cayetano J. Apablasa v. Merritt & Company from our case library. In this case, the Court evaluated a plaintiff’s action for damages resulting from an alleged breach of contract. This plaintiff’s action for damages depended on whether there was an existing contract. The Court found that â€Å"no reasonable construction of evidence† admitted a binding contract between the parties; and that the correspondence that was provided to the Court amounted to â€Å"nothing more than an offer that was never accepted.† In essence, at the conclusion of the plaintiff’s case, the Court’s judge â€Å"entered a judgment decreeing that no contract was entered into, existing, or was ever executed.† Similar to your case, in Cayetano v. Merritt, the initial reply to the offeror’s offer by the offeree did not constitute an acceptance, contrary to what the offeree had thought. The offeree had included a â€Å"proviso† in his perceived acceptance letter to the offeror. In light of this, the Court found that terms proposed in an offer â€Å"must be met exactly, precisely and unequivocally for its acceptance to result in the formation of a binding contract.† This decision supplements our discussing regarding Green’s â€Å"mirror image rule† below. (See Regarding Mirror Image Rule.) Additionally, the Court stated that â€Å"[t]he addition of any condition†¦ is tantamount to a rejection of the original offer and the making of a counteroffer.† In essence, the Court’s decision can be summarized by the following: â€Å"[w]here a person offers to do a definite thing and another introduces a new term into the acceptance, his answer is a mere expression of willingness to negotiate or is a counter proposal, and in neither case is there a contract; if it is a new proposal and it is not accepted it amounts to nothing.† Regarding Green’s Statute of Frauds A key element that is missing in the proof of a contract is that your agreement with Ms. Ramirez was not in writing. The Green Civil Code requires that in order for a contract involving the sale of real property, to be valid, the agreement must be in writing and signed by the party to be charged or by the party’s agent. In your situation, Ms. Ramirez made her initial offer orally over the phone and you replied by a signed fax. There was never a written offer or contract signed by Ms. Ramirez. Therefore, a court of law would most likely find the contract between you and Ms. Ramirez as unenforceable. Even if the alleged contract did not have to be in writing and could be enforceable, there are other additional concerns we have: Regarding the Mirror Image Rule In a situation, such as the one you were in, a proper acceptance must meet the â€Å"mirror image rule.† This rule states that in order for an offeree to properly accept an offer, the offeree must accept the exact offer that was established by the offerer. When reviewing your case, we found that you had intent to accept Ms. Ramirez’s offer, but in your attempt to accept the offer, you added a different term to the agreement. In her offer, Ms. Ramirez required that â€Å"[t]he sale was to conclude following a 45-day escrow.† However, in your reply, you stated that you â€Å"would like to close escrow within 60 days.† A court of law would find that by changing the terms of Ms. Ramirez’s offer, you fail to meet the â€Å"mirror image rule,† and therefore terminated Ms. Ramirez’s initial offer and proposed a counteroffer. Documents you provided us detailing your correspondence with Ms. Ramirez indicate no communication on her part in accepting your counteroffer. Summary We must mention that had there been a contract between Ms. Ramirez and you, you may have been the subject of legal action by Ms. Ramirez. If we assume there was an actual contract between Ms. Ramirez and you with either the 45 day or 60 day escrow term, Ms. Ramirez could have pursued legal action and you could be liable for having breached your contract for your failure to deliver on your promise. You entered into the alleged contract with Ms. Ramirez on January 6, 2005. Regardless of whether there was an agreement for a 45 day escrow or a 60 day escrow term, you failed to secure financing in either time frame. Approximately 80 days after entering the alleged contract with Ms. Ramirez, on March 28, 2005, you contacted Ms. Ramirez to request an extension. The fact that you have no pending legal action brought by Ms. Ramirez may suggest that Ms. Ramirez did not view the arrangement with you as a binding contract. We reiterate that neither party had a binding, enforceable contract. CONCLUSION Ms. Warren, we regret to inform you that success with your legal action is unlikely. There is a high chance you will be unsuccessful, should you purse a legal action against National Bank on the grounds of the tort of negligence. National Bank failed to remove the lien on your Lagoon Beach property, violating the duty of due care owed to you, and disrupting your ability to secure financing for your entrepreneurial endeavor. However, the question of law of whether there was a valid, enforceable contract between you and Ms. Ramirez, is the decisive issue. As our analysis has indicated, a court of law will most likely try the issue of whether there was a binding contract. Thus without the binding contract between you and Ms. Ramirez involving her offer for the hotel (Hotel California), a judge or jury in a court of law cannot rely on how much you would have paid to make a compensatory damages determination. In other words, because your action for damages is predicated on a contract between you and Ms. Ramirez, your damages cannot be established and you incurred no loss of opportunity. Without the loss of this opportunity cost, you have not suffered any injury due in part to National Bank’s negligence. RECOMMENDATIONS Ms. Warren, as Associate Partner of Legal Eagles, LLP, I oversaw the analysis of my legal team and validated their conclusions and findings. In light of the findings of our analysis, I foremost recommend that you consider the following course of action: * Please, do not pursue further legal action against National Bank regarding this cause of action and issue. It is my opinion and the opinion of Legal Eagles, LLP, that pursuing further legal action regarding this issue, considering our evaluation of your case, will result only in additional expense on your part including legal and attorney fees and your time. You will also not receive the resolution that you would like making the process inherently dissatisfying and frustrating. With this in mind, there is another course of action I do recommend. Because you have already attempted to resolve your issue with National Bank regarding the lien on your Lagoon Beach, Green property, you are entitled to contact the regulatory agency of your former bank. All national banks within the state of Green are regulated by different agencies. If National Bank’s lien remains on your property, I recommend you pursue this alternate course of action: * Contact the appropriate state of Green regulatory agency of your financial institution (National Bank) and file a complaint. Your bank’s regulatory agency can help you with your concerns and complaints. There are many regulatory agencies in the state of Green’s banking industry. For your convenience, the appropriate regulatory agency of your former bank, and its details have been listed: According to the Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council (for additional information visit www.ffiec.gov), National Bank’s regulator is the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (for additional information please visit www.helpwithmybank.gov). You can visit and reach this regulatory agency online or by phone at (800) 613-6743. The Office of the Comptroller will assist you in getting answers and solutions to your questions and concerns. You can also file complaints against your bank, here. If you decide to proceed with filing a complaint, officials from the Office of the Comptroller will contact National Bank on your behalf regarding your issue for a response. You will then receive a let ter summarizing the results. Those who have sought our legal advice and even had similar experiences as you with National Bank as well have reported that intervention by a regulatory agency expedited the process and liens were eventually removed. We are confident that you have the tools to resolve this issue. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. The elements of the prima facie case of the tort of negligence are duty, breach of duty, actual and proximate cause, and injury. [ 2 ]. COMMERCIAL ESCROW COMPANY AND JAMES DE MIK, APPELLANTS, v. ROCKPORT REBEL, INC., APPELLEE. 778 S.W.2d 532; 1989 Tex. App. LEXIS 2263 [ 3 ]. CAYETANO J. APABLASA, Appellant, v. MERRITT & COMPANY (a Corporation) et al., Respondents. 176 Cal. App. 2d 719; 1 Cal. Rptr. 500; 1959 Cal. App. LEXIS 1542 Analysis and Consequences of Legal Action(S). (2016, Mar 24). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Modern Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Modern Economics - Essay Example The basic assumptions of both of these models is that even if a country can produce goods at a cheaper cost than another country, the most effective means of production will be to concentrate on the goods they produce to the greatest advantage. The understanding is that by exporting these goods and importing goods that are the key product of other countries the nation will gain its greatest productive wealth. One of the most recent remedies of this situation is New Trade Theory. This theoretical perspective shifts the focus from the comparative advantage paradigm to one more internally focused. While comparative advantage largely neglected nascent industries in favour of established industries of greatest advantage, new trade theory considers the importance of establishing networks or clusters among industries. Through this process the country is encouraged to impose tariffs as a means of allowing emerging clusters of industries to grow, as the understanding is that these clusters wi ll ultimately lead to a significant competitive advantage. The notion of free trade has long been a notion that has sounded good among individuals, but when considered both in practice and theory has a number of prominent drawbacks. Indeed, there are a number of arguments justifying exceptions to free trade. As noted above the establishment of nascent industries oftentimes necessitates tariffs be implemented. Another reason against free trade is the general support of industry in the country, as tariffs protect against foreign competition.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Association of corticosteroid dose and route of administration with Article

Association of corticosteroid dose and route of administration with risk of treatment failure in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - Article Example bation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or emphysema or failure of the respiratory system along with either COPD or emphysema. Two groups were formulated which included patients who were treated on low doses of corticosteroids which were administered orally as well as patients who were treated with high doses of corticosteroids which was given intravenously. After the high dose intravenous route, the number of deaths were 1.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3%-1.5%) and the patients who responded with primary outcomes were 10.9% (95% CI, 10.7%-11.1%) According to the multivariable regression model, the risk of the patient not responding to treatment via the oral route was less than that via the intravenous route that is (odds ratio [OR], 0.93; 95% CI, 0.84-1.02). This model was to analyze the effect of the route chosen for the corticosteroids with the primary and secondary outcomes of the patient. High dose intravenous therapy does not provide any major benefits which are superior to the results of treatment with low dose corticosteroids administered orally. Rather the intravenous therapy is associated with pain and carries a risk of infection and higher costs in comparison to the oral low dose corticosteroid therapy. The research does provide strong support about the authors conclusion that low dose orally administered corticosteroids hold the same if not superior results for patients with acute exacerbation of COPD. This research should be sufficient to reduce the health care costs imposed by COPD because it is one of the leading problems in the United States. Low doses of corticosteroids orally would result in lower adverse effects along with reduced cost and hospital stay. Hence the results of this research should be effectively utilized. About 92 percent of the patients were given intravenous therapy whereas

Monday, August 26, 2019

Should the Drinking Age be 18 Years Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Should the Drinking Age be 18 Years - Essay Example The push would even be more for an adult, at 18, who would be allowed all other privileges of an adult apart from alcohol consumption. It would cause a feeling of being unjustly targeted resulting in resistance to the implied injustice in an attempt to regain control. (2012). Therefore, such persons would be driven more to drinking, referred to as reactance motivation by Hanson (2012). Since these persons are already adults, they should be allowed to drink to avoid such eventualities. Such a viewpoint is useful to examine due to the fact that as long as the crimes associated with alcohol are limited to the actual age of consumption; very little positive effects to society are instigated. On the flip side, if the bulk of the crime that is a function of alcohol consumption can be linked to those crimes committed under its influence (which has been proven to be the case), then such crimes should be treated distinctly separately from those associated with merely imbibing alcohol while un derage. Moreover, due to the fact that research indicates that reducing the drinking age would have minimal behavioral change, it is not really a contributing factor to modifying the behavior of the target demographic. Such a change would only be achieved through proper training, giving responsibilities and holding one accountable for whatever actions. Therefore, with all these benefits attached to the raised drinking age, it would be beneficial to reduce the drinking age to 18. Hanson, D. J. (2012).

Five Paragraph Essays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Five Paragraph Essays - Essay Example Extracurricular activities are usually considered to be sports activities. Although the extracurricular activities of sports can enhance and balance academics, extracurricular activities include many others. Projects that fall under the category of extracurricular activities include photography, volunteerism, assisting the needy, newspaper staff, etc. These activities are actual skills that will be used in jobs and in real life. They provide the life skills participation that is necessary for future jobs. Extracurricular activities include a broad range of activities which provide skills that will be used in real life and future jobs. Extracurricular activities allow hands-on experience which better prepares for future work success than academic achievement. Listening and being tested is not as effective as participating. Doing is more effective as it engages mind, body, and spirit. All-level participation ensures better preparation. Extracurricular activities provide problem-solving and facing rewards and consequences of real life situations which in turn better prepares for future occupational success. It is apparent that parents’ work life affects a child as childcare impacts his/her development. The National Development Institute of Child Health and Human Development found a direct relationship between the time with a childcare provider and the negative actions of a child. Studies have shown that non-maternal care leads to stress. Stress causes behavioral problems. Children who spend most of their time in childcare are three times more likely to behave negatively. A child experiences stress the longer he/she is under childcare which could lead the young to aggression and disobedience. (The Negative Effects of Childcare, 2003). The amount of time under childcare can result in negative behavior. Studies reveal that the quality of childcare does not matter regarding a child's behavior. What matters is

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Hannebachite- a rare and important Sulphite Term Paper

Hannebachite- a rare and important Sulphite - Term Paper Example In fact Hannebachite among the two most important naturally occurring sulfites, the other being Orschallite (Ca3(SO3)2(SO4).12H2O). Hannebachite, Orschallite, scotlandite (PbSO3) and gravegliaite are rare sulphite minerals that come under the class of Sulphites. The name â€Å"hannebachite† has been derived from the place it was first discovered in i.e.at Hannerbacherly, near Hannebach, West Germany. Sulfite groups have the generalized formula Am[SO3]pZq ·xH2O and AmBn[SO3]pZq ·xH2O, where A and B both are cations and Z represent anion. The most commonly occurring cations groups binding includes Na+, K+, Cu2+, Mg2+, Al3+, Ca2+, Pb2+, and Ba2+. The molecular arrangement of sulphite is such that the sulfur molecule is at the apex of the pyramid thereby making sulfites really unstable. This is the reason why sulphite minerals are rarely found in nature. Hannebachite is an important component of fixated scrubber sludge. The structure of Hannebachite has several applications an d forms the basis of further investigation since the applications of the mineral are yet to be determined and hence immense scope of research lies in this area. Introduction Hannebachite received its IMA status in 1983 following which the first ever publication on it was produced by G.Hentschel, E.Tillmanns and W. Hofmeister in 1985; however, the first person to detect the presence of this mineral was P.Orschall who was also the discoverer of Orschallite mineral. He found these minerals in a place named Hannerbacherly in West Germany. In nature Hannebachite is mostly found along with another sulfite mineral called Orschallite. Other minerals found in the porous cavities of quaternary melilite nepheline leucitite are clinopyroxene, apatite and phillipsite COMPOSITION The mineral –hannebachite, gained importance owing to commercial research on sulfite rich scrubber materials. Studies have shown that sulfite rich scrubber material extracted from power plants were rich in Hanneba chite crystallites (Malhotra,2010). In nature Hannebachite is found as sharp, almost clear crystalline structure. The composition of the mineral is SO2 49.60%,CaO 43.42%, H2O 6.98% which corresponds to its molecular formula (Anthony et al,2000).Sulfites in nature are highly unstable owing to the pyramidal structure where the sulfur is seen at the apex while the oxygen sits on the other corners of the arrangement; thereby these unstable products change into sulfates. However, CaSO4.0.5H2O can substitute into the CaSO3.0.5H2O structure up to a mole fraction of at least 0.12 (Jones et al., 1977). Structure of Hannebachite It is already known that the chemical composition of the mineral includes carbon, hydrogen sulfur and oxygen. The molecular weight is about 258.30gm. Hannebachite is orthorhombic. Its space group is Pbna (2m/2m/2m). Extensive studies have been done to determine the exact structure of the mineral. Powder diffraction was conducted to calculate the single crystal profile (figure 3). The optical class of the mineral was seen to be biaxial. It was recorded that a= 6.46A, b= 7.765A and c=10.650A which means that in the orthorhombic crystal system of hannebachite alpha=90 °, beta= 90 ° and gamma=90 °. The J-mol structure gives a clear interpretation of this structure (Figure:3). Spectroscopic studies conducted brought forward a clear idea of the bonding between the atoms present (Figure 1). The structure of hannebachite mineral was studied through Raman Spectroscopy by Frost and Keefe. The sample for hannebachite was supplied by Mineralogical Research Company who sourced in from the Hannebacher Ley volcano in Germany. The bands are observed at

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Big sky Big money Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Big sky Big money - Movie Review Example Never at once have I had of politicians being financed by rogues who want something else once the politician assumes office. This information has been withheld from the media and the rest assumed to be propaganda and hence I have never paid any attention to such â€Å"rumors† before. This information is very pertinent and all people not only in the affected regions or this country but to the world in general. The message the documentary is passing in one word is vetting. It is important and necessary for the public to be vetting the aspiring politicians about their sources of finance in detail before being elected into office. The vetting should also be done by investigative officers who will follow the money trail and avoid such incidences in future as portrayed by the documentary. The IRS and other tax bodies should be very keen about which organizations are being exempted from taxation. This exemption should be carried out after thorough investigation of the organization in order to prove beyond any doubt that it is a welfare organization and deserves the

Friday, August 23, 2019

Management and Delivery of UK Higher Education Essay

Management and Delivery of UK Higher Education - Essay Example With time the division of the government, private sector, nongovernment sector and public sector faded to such an extent that the area of public services expanded and included the services provided by the private sector and the non government sector too. Hence it can be said that the providers of the public services can be referred as the organisation from the multilayered sector. Hence sometimes the public services are referred as ‘people establishment’ which provide service to the general public and works on collective interest and also accept the responsibility for those services provided. Therefore the sector of public sector is heterogeneous which contains different people who had different expectations. Therefore the management of the public services is very important. The public service officials has to deal with the different political situations as well as ensure that the services done are morally correct as the services uses the resources of the society and are valuable to the society. The services constitute the technical skills, ethical values and leadership (Bowmen, West and Beck, 2009, p.9). The areas of public services include medical or health care sector, housing sector, transport sector, police services and the services and the services of government (Bach, et al, 1999, p.58). The health care sector provides services which includes highly technical expertise. This service is provided by the government as well as the private organisations. This sector is driven by ethical standards. Education which was primarily a government domain and was provided by the government is now provided by the other non-profit organisations too. The main objective of these service... This paper approves that the measurement and management of any service cannot be complete without mentioning the quality aspect of the service. For managing the performance of any service it is important to manage the quality of the service. Quality management in the higher education sector has always been a tough job. This is because the meaning of quality varies from person to person. In case of higher education the range of stake holders is quite large. The stake holders are both internal and external of the organisation. This paper makes a conclusion that it can be said that performance management system was introduced by the government in the UK primarily to make the public sector organisation act more efficiently and become at par with the private sector organisations. The transition of the public management system with the new public management enhanced the area of the implementation and the performance management system was also implemented in the non profit organisations like medical sector and the education sector. The implementation of the performance management system has impacted the higher education system in a number of ways. It has increased the financial strength of the institutes, made the service providers more accountable to their work and also motivated the good performers by rewarding them but, it has also increased the pressure on the teachers and the management to perform well every time which is sometime passed to the students. In all it can be said that the implementation of the performance management system have both positive and negative impact on the higher education in UK.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Epistemic Themes Explored Essay Example for Free

Epistemic Themes Explored Essay All men, the learned philosopher Aristotle insists, desire to know. Thus, when the first group of men from Ionia, then part of the infamous Grecian province of the ancients, began their thoughtful quest to know the most fundamental â€Å"stuff† constituting reality, it started a whole history of inquiry which later on was to be called â€Å"philosophy† (Marias, 1967, p. 11). But while their controlling concern was primarily cosmological – in that these philosophers â€Å"wrestled with the problem of explaining physical nature by asking what is the one basic material out of which the world is made† – their inquiry nevertheless engendered lasting impacts on the way humanity has since then understood the nature, scope and use of human knowledge (Lavine, 1982, p. 23). In view of the foregoing, this paper aims at successfully presenting a summative account of some of the major concerns or themes of Epistemology throughout the history of Philosophy; specifically, the theories which were propounded by key philosophers as they seek to understand certain epistemic issues. Along the same vein, I would also attempt, through this paper, to evaluate, if not compare such concerns within the present context as my way of appropriating what I have learned from this course into my own frame. Methodology and Scope This paper endeavors to firstly circumscribe three salient (among many others) themes of epistemic exploration, namely, (1) the quest to understand the nature of knowledge, (2) the compelling desire to establish certitude, and (3) the all-important need to appropriate human knowledge into a prolific use. As such, these three elements correspond to three different epochs in the history of Philosophy – the ancient, the post-Scholasticism and the modern periods respectively; and these epochs are further typified by key philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle (for the ancient epoch), Rene Descartes (for the modern epoch) and the empiricists in the likes of J. Stuart Mill and Francis Bacon. Secondly and as hinted above, this paper is an attempt to appropriate their concerns with my own present context. The method with which this paper employs shall be both expository and analytic. The Epistemic Concerns of Key Philosophers of Knowledge At the onset of Philosophy, the overarching epistemic concern was to discover the nature of human knowledge. In order to do this, the Ionian philosophers started to put into question the things that they took for granted. Socrates tried to propound, through the infamous Socratic method, that knowledge â€Å"cannot be equated with belief† or personal opinion (Bruder Moore, 2005, p. 35). Plato on the other hand maintained that true knowledge consists not in our perception of the visible things, but in acquisition of a type of knowledge that brings us into the World of Ideas (Lavine, 1982, p. 26). Refuting Plato, Aristotle meanwhile asserted that abstraction alone does not afford true knowledge. Instead, he believed that true knowledge must be scientific; i. e. , it circumscribes the proximate and remote causes of things and events. As one author puts it, â€Å"for Aristotle, to have scientific knowledge of a fact, it is not enough to know that it is true; you must also know why it is true† (Robinson, 1985, p. 11). If these ancient philosophers were chiefly engrossed with the proper definition of the nature and parameters of human knowledge, the thinkers of the modern era meanwhile sought for a kind of knowledge marked by certitude or truthfulness. Simply put, the concern shifted from the defining the contents of human knowledge into deciphering whether such contents were truthful or not. Far more critical, modern philosophers did also entertain in a fair amount of skepticism. The chief proponent to this cause was Rene Descartes; and he is usually credited for starting a new phase in the field of Epistemology. He is known for his skepticism – a â€Å"vow to suspend judgment about everything† so as to arrive at a knowledge which is certain, if not altogether doubt-proof (Broughton, 2002, p. 1). The crux of this â€Å"doubt† does not lay on the act of doubting itself; for at the very least, the act of doubting has to serve its reasoned purpose, which is to proceed from an induced skepticism into an irreducible certainty. And Descartes succinctly refers to this as the â€Å"first principle of philosophy† – a principle which serves as a formidable base from all kinds of human knowledge stand erect (cited in Marias, 1967, p. 214). Descartes and his contemporaries thus dedicated their efforts to establish what constitutes certainty in human knowledge. By contrast however, the philosophers after them began to focus on discovering how human knowledge can be used prolifically in life and work. Thus, from being merely speculative in approach, the philosophers after the modern era began to see the wisdom of framing human knowledge within the context of practicality. John Stuart Mill for instance asserted that the true measure of human intellect lays in the way we human persons can employ knowledge for the â€Å"progress† of humanity (Donner, 1991, p. 123) Still, another important facet of this utilitarian perspective would be palpable in the formulation of the Principle of Induction. Francis Bacon for instance rejected the deductive reasoning of the ancients in favor of the principle of inference: i. e. , â€Å"from a serious of individual facts†¦one obtains by abstraction†¦the general concepts of the things and the laws of nature (Marias, 1967, p. 250). This principle is now widely known as the scientific method; and this method has in turn led to the rise of technological advancements witnessed during the Industrial Revolution. The concerns addressed by the three epochs herein cited could be summed into these three fundamental questions: (a) what constitutes knowledge? , (b) how do we know the truth? (c) and how do we concretely apply what we know? In ways more than one, these three questions are the self-same concerns which continuously confound the present society. Now more than ever, humanity is a witness to the flood of competing information from all fronts; and it is indeed a tall challenge to decipher which information affords a knowledge that approximates the truth and/or engenders beneficial results. For instance, in drafting key policies, any given government needs to be fed with accurate information about societal conditions; as indeed, in contemplating medical procedures, doctors and nurses need to be given precise information to avoid errors. To be sure, a thousand and one other examples may be cited to this end. But the crux of the matter lies in the fact that, even at an age when we are able to verify the veracity of information with advanced technologies, humanity’s chief concern has always been about correctly obtaining knowledge, establishing the its truthfulness thereof, and putting them into practical use.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Political science as a social science Essay Example for Free

Political science as a social science Essay Political Science is in part a social science, and in part a humanity. Both are important. In this topic, we will look at the basics of social science inquiry, and then proceed to show how this differs from, on the one hand, inquiry in the natural sciences and, on the other, inquiry in the humanities. Social Science Social science inquiry seeks to develop empirical theory. ?Empirical? refers to things that can be experienced through the five senses of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, or (in the case of political corruption) smelling. Theory? basically means explanation. An empirical theory of politics, then, is an attempt to explain why people behave the way they do politically. If a social scientist (or anyone else) observes people engaging in political behavior, he or she will need to focus on certain characteristics of the people being observed. The observer may wonder why some people differ from others in their political characteristics. Why, for example, are some people Liberals while others are Conservatives and still others are New Democrats. Characteristics that differ from one person to another are called one variables. Those that do not are called constants. Constants are generally less interesting than variables. There is not much point in trying to explain voting behavior in a country in which only one party appears on the ballot. Of course, we might then ask why some countries have only one party whereas others have multi-party systems, but now we are treating ? number of parties? as a variables. Everyday language is full of what are, in effect, hypotheses about political behavior. For example, talk about a ? gender gap? in voting hypothesizes that vote (the dependent variable) is in part a function of gender (the independent variable), with women more likely to vote for the Liberals or New Democrats and men more likely to vote Conservative. Social science research differs from everyday discussion of politics in two ways. The first is where hypotheses come from. Anyone who follows politics will likely carry around in his or her head a lot of ideas about what explains political behavior. Such ideas may come from personal experience, from conversations with others, or from following politics through the mass media. This is true as well for the ways social scientists think about politics. In addition, however, social scientists develop hypotheses more systematically by studying the scholarly literature for the results of previous research. This is important for at least a couple of reasons. For one thing, it is usually the case that the more you learn what is already known about a subject, the more new questions you are likely to have. A review of the literature helps generate new hypotheses. Even more important, social science seeks not merely to describe raw facts, but to explain why people behave the way that they do. To accomplish this, we need to put our ideas into a broader theoretical context that offers such an explanation. It is a fact that in the United States, from 1936 through 2000, the incumbent party has always won the presidency whenever the Washington Redskins won their last home game before the election, and lost whenever the Redskins lost. However, since there is no reasonable explanation for why this should be the case, it is merely an interesting bit of trivia, and no serious observer of politics would rely on it in analyzing the next presidential contest. A second difference is that, for many people, ideas about patterns of political behavior remain merely assumptions. Social science insists that the validity of assumptions must be tested against data. Conceptual definition. We need to know, and be able to communicate to others, what our independent and dependent variables mean. What, in other words, is the idea in our mind when we use a term? Definitions found in dictionaries are examples of conceptual definitions. Sometimes, the idea that is in our mind when we use a term will be obvious, but often it will not. Many concepts used in political science are anything but clear. If we are to study political ideology, for example, we need to spell out with as much precision as possible what that concept means in the context of our research. Operational definition. For hypotheses to be tested, we will need to come up with measurements of our variables. An operational definition is one stated in a way that can be directly measured by data. We strive for a one-to-one correspondence between our conceptual definitions and our measurements (operational definitions) of them. If we succeed, then our measurements have validity and reliability. Data needed to provide operational definitions of our variables come from a wide variety of sources. We may gather the data ourselves. Analysis of data that we gather in order to test hypotheses that we have formulated is called primary analysis. Often, however, this approach would be totally beyond our resources of time, money, and expertise. A nationwide survey of public opinion, for example, would take months to design and carry out, would cost many thousands of dollars, and would require the services of a large survey research organization. Often, secondary analysis of data (that is, analysis of data originally gathered for other purposes) will suit our needs far better. Indeed, very important databases are used almost exclusively in secondary analysis. The Census Canada data is a good example. Other surveys such as the Canadian National Election Study and the General Social Survey were created, in part, for the express purpose of providing quality survey data for secondary analysis by students of Canadian politics. Indeed much of the work using the Canadian National is based on secondary analysis. To facilitate secondary analysis, the University of Toronto Data Library, and other university-based data archives have been established throughout the world. The largest of these is the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) established in 1962. Today, over 500 colleges and universities from all over the world, including the University of Toronto are member institutions. Students and faculty at these institutions obtain datasets that provide the basis for numerous scholarly books, articles, and conference papers, graduate theses and dissertations, and undergraduate term papers. The Social Sciences and the Natural Sciences What we have described as the social science method ? the effort to explain empirical phenomena by developing and testing hypotheses ? could as easily be called simply ? the scientific method,? without the ?  social? qualifier. There are, however, differences between social sciences, including political science, and the natural sciences. Though these are differences in degree, they are important. One difference is that the natural sciences rely much more heavily on experimental design, in which subjects are assigned randomly to groups and in which the researcher is able to manipulate the independent varia ble in order to measure its impact on the dependent variable. Often, when people think about the scientific method, what they have in mind are these sorts of controlled laboratory experiments. In political science, we for the most part are not able to carry out experimental designs. If, for example, we wish to study the impact of party affiliation on decisions by judges, we cannot very well assign judges to different parties, but rather have to take the data as they come to us from observing judges in their natural setting. Experimental design, however, does not define the natural sciences, nor does its absence define the social sciences. Astronomy, for example, must of necessity rely on observation of things that cannot be manipulated. ?Epidemiological?  medical research also relies on non-experimental data. Conversely, the social science discipline of social psychology has been built in large part from experiments in small group laboratories. In political science, a great deal of laboratory research on the impact of campaign commercials has been carried out in recent years. Field experiments are also common, as when survey researchers will test the impact of alternativ e question wordings by splitting their sample and administering different questionnaire forms to different subsets of respondents. Nevertheless, it is fair to say that experimental designs are much less common in the social sciences, including political science, than in the natural sciences. Most of our research design is, in effect, an effort to approximate the logic of experimental design as closely as possible. Other differences, also differences in degree, have to do with lower levels of consensus in the social sciences. There is less consensus about conceptual definition. Even if we agree that power is a key concept for the study of politics, we may not agree on what power means. Chemists, on the other hand, not only agree that molecules are important, they also mean pretty much the same thing when they use the term. There is less consensus about operational definition. Chemists also agree on how to measure the atomic weight of a molecule. Social scientists are far from unanimous in the ways they go about measuring power. It bears repeating that these differences are ones of degree. In the natural sciences there are also disputes at the frontiers of the various disciplines about what concepts are important, what they mean, and how they should be measured. In the social sciences, consensus is likely to break down from the start. Even if we can agree that a particular concept is important, on what it means, and on how it should be measured, we will encounter far larger problems of measurement error than those in the natural sciences, where measurement is not without error, but is typically much more precise. Finally, remember that we are involved in trying to explain human behavior. People do not seem to behave as predictably as molecules. Philosophers are not in agreement on this point, but it may be that human behavior is inherently less predictabl The fact that we deal with tendencies rather than with laws means that, for the most part (and despite impressive work by ? rational choice? theorists to develop formal mathematical models of political behavior), political science makes relatively little use of elegant systems of deduction, but considerable use of statistics, which provides us with valuable tools for dealing with probabilities. Despite its unavoidable limitations, political science as a social science has produced an explosion in our knowledge about politics. This has had important practical consequences. For example, no serious aspirant for a major elected office in an economically developed democracy would consider embarking on a campaign without consulting experts in survey research, a signature social science technique. In addition to being, in part, a social science, political science is also in part a humanity. Political science as a humanity means at least a couple of different things.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Learning Outcome Peg Feeding Nursing Essay

Learning Outcome Peg Feeding Nursing Essay In this reflective essay I am going to discuss a learning outcome in which I have become competent to practice. To reflect on my learning outcome I am going to use Gibbs reflective model (1988). The Gibbs reflective model is a well known and used model in reflective practice. It consists six steps which I will describe step by step as my essay will progress. In the nursing care process it is a responsibility of a nurse to provide holistic care to the patient who is under our care. Our focus is to enable them to cope, prevent, solve or alleviate the problem from which they are suffering and not able to carry out their normal life. Our aim is to help and teach patients how to meet their daily needs in other ways. The learning outcome I have chosen to reflect is PEG feeding which is an alternative way to provide nutrition to a patient who is not able to obtain nutrition through the mouth. The first step of Gibbs reflective cycle is a description of the event. One service user in my placement area whom I will call Mrs. P to maintain her confidentiality (NMC 2008) is suffering from progressive supranuclear palsy, a condition in which as the condition progresses patient losses abilities i.e. Swallowing, speech, maintaining balance, eye movement. As a result of this condition she developed dysphagia and it was not possible to maintain her nutrition via oral intake. Thus, multidisciplinary team and family decided to place her on PEG feeding. PEG tube is more appropriate than nasogastric tube for long term feeding as it avoids delays in feeding and discomfort associated with displacement (National Collaborating Centre for Acute Care 2006). During my placement one of the nurses asks me to go and give her water through the PEG tube. Although I did it before in my country I was familiar with it but I didnt practice for a long time and as I have seen the condition of Mrs. P. I wasnt confident to carry out the task. I discussed it with my mentor and we decide that I can take it as a learning outcome during my training to make myself competent with PEG feeding skill. As I am going into the second stage of Gibbs reflective model (1988) in which I will discuss about my thoughts and feelings. When the nurse asked me to give the water via PEG tube, at first I was feeling myself stupid to ask for help thinking that what impression I will make on that nurse. This feeling came into my mind as a result of a thought that I am a registered nurse in my country so I should know this. But I lost my confidence when I went in Mrs.Ps room and observed her condition i.e. Slurring speech, problem with balance, mobility problem and pain in her neck. So I decide to ask the nurse to perform the task and I also observed it. While she was giving her feed, I found that she was coughing a lot and wasnt comfortable. Which I thought was due to her position and the nurse explained me and justify my thought that it is because of her condition. I was not satisfied with her explanations and as a supervised practice nurse I wasnt able to oppose her. I decide to read more about the PEG feeding and discussed it with my mentor. The third stage of the Gibbs model (1988) of reflection is an evaluation which requires the practitioner to consider the good and bad things about the event. The patient should be positioned where the patient can sit up as much as possible in a supported midline position (Dougherty and lister 2008) while giving PEG feeding. The nurse who gave feeding didnt correct Mrs. Ps position as she was in a semi upright position. Furthermore, before starting and at the end of the feeding, she didnt clean the tip of the tube. The tip of the tube should be cleaned daily with water and a small brush (Loser et al.2005). However, the good practice I observed that nurse informed the procedure to Mrs. P which is important according to the NMC (2008) to make her understand the procedure and give her consent. In addition, to avoid tube adhering to the stoma skin rotate it 360 degree (Bumpers et al, 2003). The other important thing my mentor discussed with me was administration of medication through the PEG tube. According to BAPEN (2003a), never add medication directly to the eternal feed to avoid interaction between medicine and feed and flush the tube after administration to avoid tube blockage. During the discussion about PEG feeding with my mentor I found that other things to consider with PEG feedings are management of the tube, patient position and checks to carry out before feed and it is very important to avoid complications. In my placement area only Mrs. P has got PEG tube. So my mentor discussed with me that there are many indications for PEG tube insertion according to the patients conditions so it is important to learn about the specific needs of that patient before performing the procedure. She discussed some scenario cases with me to understand more about it. This helped me to understand different aspects of the PEG tube The next stage of the Gibbs reflective cycle (1988) is an analysis of the event where reflector has to make sense of the event. I will analyze it by exploring the skill and looking into the evidence. The PEG feeding is a method of giving nutrients to maintain an optimal nutritional support (National Collaborating Centre for Acute Care 2006). Clinical trials have proven that there are very rare complications with PEG tubes, such as leakage (Riera et al. 2002). Through evaluation of this event I have been competent to give PEG feeding and care of the tube. The reasons for Mrs. Ps coughing explained by the nurse was from her daily experience working with her which could be right but what I found from the references was different and evidence based. So I learned from experience and through experience (Burnard 2002). It has boosted my confidence to challenge others views regarding my practice. According to stage five of Gibbs model (1988), I conclude from that every nurse does not find the same evidence based reasons for the problem but if I am practicing safe and based on evidence then my practice is safe. In the future I will make sure that I am confident and competent to perform the task and have evidence based explanation of the situations. From this particular learning outcome I have learned about a PEG feeding procedure and the care of the PEG tube The last stage of Gibbs reflective model (1988) is the action plan. My action plan for the future practice is to read more references and literatures regarding PEG feeding. There will be many different conditions regarding PEG tube in my future practice so it is necessary for me to look for more information on this particular subject to make myself excel. I also request my mentor to book me for a study day to learn more about this skill.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Violence in Richard Wright’s Black Boy Essay -- Richard Wright Black B

Violence in Richard Wright’s Black Boy Most literary works centering on adolescence do not depict it as the proverbial walk through the park; a smooth transition between the naivet6 and innocence of childhood to the morality and self -awareness of adulthood is an implausibility confined to the most basic of fairy tales and weekday morning children’s television programming. When analyzed in depth, the mat uration process of a human being is depicted almost always as some sort of struggle, retaliation against the forces of oppression regardless of their forms (including social, political or religious obstacles). More importantly, the struggle of adolescence is a struggle to understand not the workings of one’s environment so much as the complexities and definitions of one’s own identity. Body hair, voice undulations, wider hips – these popular aspects of maturation pale in comparison with the development of self-awareness: the realization that one is a unique human being with the right to su rvive and live life according to personal standards. Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson describes this delicate transitional period as a crisis of identity:It occurs in that per iod of the life cycle when each youth must forge for himself some central perspective and direction, some working unity, out of the effective remnants of his childhood and the hopes of his anticipated adulthood; he must detect some meaningful resemblance b etween what he has come to see in himself and what his sharpened awareness tels him others judge and expect him to be. In some young people, in some classes, at some periods in history, this crisis [of identity] wil be minimal; in other people, classes, and periods the crisis wil be clearly marked off as a critical pe... ...nt in the future can one possibly change his or her downtrodden situation, can mold, shape and tune their lives with al the freedom that comes from possessing an individual identity. Works Cited Elison, Ralph. Invisible Man . New York: Vintage, 1995. Erikson, Erik. Young Man Luther. New York: Norton, 1962. Howe, Irving. â€Å"Black Boys and Native Sons,† CriticalEssays on Richard Wright. ed. Yoshinobu Hakutani. Boston: G.K. Hal and C o., 1982. 39 -47. Hurston, Zora Neale. Mules and Men . New York: Harper Perennial, 1990. Kinnamon, Kenneth and Michael Fabre. â€Å"How Richard Wright Looks at Black Boy,† Conversations with Richard Wright. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1993 . 63-66. Margolies, Edward. The Art of Richard Wright. Carbondale: Southern Ilinois University Press, 1969. Wright, Richard. Black Boy . New York: Perennial Classics, 1998. Violence in Richard Wright’s Black Boy Essay -- Richard Wright Black B Violence in Richard Wright’s Black Boy Most literary works centering on adolescence do not depict it as the proverbial walk through the park; a smooth transition between the naivet6 and innocence of childhood to the morality and self -awareness of adulthood is an implausibility confined to the most basic of fairy tales and weekday morning children’s television programming. When analyzed in depth, the mat uration process of a human being is depicted almost always as some sort of struggle, retaliation against the forces of oppression regardless of their forms (including social, political or religious obstacles). More importantly, the struggle of adolescence is a struggle to understand not the workings of one’s environment so much as the complexities and definitions of one’s own identity. Body hair, voice undulations, wider hips – these popular aspects of maturation pale in comparison with the development of self-awareness: the realization that one is a unique human being with the right to su rvive and live life according to personal standards. Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson describes this delicate transitional period as a crisis of identity:It occurs in that per iod of the life cycle when each youth must forge for himself some central perspective and direction, some working unity, out of the effective remnants of his childhood and the hopes of his anticipated adulthood; he must detect some meaningful resemblance b etween what he has come to see in himself and what his sharpened awareness tels him others judge and expect him to be. In some young people, in some classes, at some periods in history, this crisis [of identity] wil be minimal; in other people, classes, and periods the crisis wil be clearly marked off as a critical pe... ...nt in the future can one possibly change his or her downtrodden situation, can mold, shape and tune their lives with al the freedom that comes from possessing an individual identity. Works Cited Elison, Ralph. Invisible Man . New York: Vintage, 1995. Erikson, Erik. Young Man Luther. New York: Norton, 1962. Howe, Irving. â€Å"Black Boys and Native Sons,† CriticalEssays on Richard Wright. ed. Yoshinobu Hakutani. Boston: G.K. Hal and C o., 1982. 39 -47. Hurston, Zora Neale. Mules and Men . New York: Harper Perennial, 1990. Kinnamon, Kenneth and Michael Fabre. â€Å"How Richard Wright Looks at Black Boy,† Conversations with Richard Wright. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1993 . 63-66. Margolies, Edward. The Art of Richard Wright. Carbondale: Southern Ilinois University Press, 1969. Wright, Richard. Black Boy . New York: Perennial Classics, 1998.

Switching Places Mark Twains The Prince and the Pauper :: Essays Papers

Switching Places Mark Twains The Prince and the Pauper The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain was a fun book to read, but it didn’t match the normal profile of a Mark Twain novel. Everything that I have read by him was set in the Mississippi River Valley before the Civil War. The Prince and the Pauper was set in sixteenth century England. The story revolves around a Prince and a Pauper if you can imagine that. Both Prince Edward Tudor and Tom Canty were born on the same day. Edward was welcome by the whole country as an heir to the throne, but Tom’s family didn’t want him because they were too poor as it was. The book mentions this and then keeps to the boys teenage years. Tom grew up in Offal Court. He had a very tough life. His dad made him go out on the streets and beg all day and if he didn’t get enough money his father and grandmother would beat him . If he thought he raised enough money for a day, he would go to Father Andrew’s church and learn to read and speak Latin. Tom’s biggest wish was to see a real prince dressed like royalty. He got this wish one day when he was walking by the king’s palace and saw a boy his own age. He got closer to the fence and a guard grabbed him and pushed him away. The prince saw all of this and told the guard to let Tom in the palace. Prince Edward fed Tom and the started talking about each other’s lives and switched clothes. Then, Edward noticed the bruise on Tom’s hand and went to punish the guard. Dressed in Tom’s old clothes, the prince was thrown out of the palace by the guard. Tom was suddenly Edward, Prince of Wales and Edward, Tom Canty of Offal Court. Tom was not refined enough to be a prince. While at state dinners, he had no clue what to do and just began to stress out King Henry. Tom’s father found Edward and took him home and beat him because he hadn’t collected enough money from begging. He kept proclaiming that he was the Prince of Wales, but no one believed him. That night, Tom’s father found out he was wanted for murder and began to run. Switching Places Mark Twains The Prince and the Pauper :: Essays Papers Switching Places Mark Twains The Prince and the Pauper The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain was a fun book to read, but it didn’t match the normal profile of a Mark Twain novel. Everything that I have read by him was set in the Mississippi River Valley before the Civil War. The Prince and the Pauper was set in sixteenth century England. The story revolves around a Prince and a Pauper if you can imagine that. Both Prince Edward Tudor and Tom Canty were born on the same day. Edward was welcome by the whole country as an heir to the throne, but Tom’s family didn’t want him because they were too poor as it was. The book mentions this and then keeps to the boys teenage years. Tom grew up in Offal Court. He had a very tough life. His dad made him go out on the streets and beg all day and if he didn’t get enough money his father and grandmother would beat him . If he thought he raised enough money for a day, he would go to Father Andrew’s church and learn to read and speak Latin. Tom’s biggest wish was to see a real prince dressed like royalty. He got this wish one day when he was walking by the king’s palace and saw a boy his own age. He got closer to the fence and a guard grabbed him and pushed him away. The prince saw all of this and told the guard to let Tom in the palace. Prince Edward fed Tom and the started talking about each other’s lives and switched clothes. Then, Edward noticed the bruise on Tom’s hand and went to punish the guard. Dressed in Tom’s old clothes, the prince was thrown out of the palace by the guard. Tom was suddenly Edward, Prince of Wales and Edward, Tom Canty of Offal Court. Tom was not refined enough to be a prince. While at state dinners, he had no clue what to do and just began to stress out King Henry. Tom’s father found Edward and took him home and beat him because he hadn’t collected enough money from begging. He kept proclaiming that he was the Prince of Wales, but no one believed him. That night, Tom’s father found out he was wanted for murder and began to run.