The Roswell Incident I. Introduction A. Zeus B. American Indians C. Eg

The Roswell Incident I. Introduction A. Zeus B. American Indians C. Egyptians II. Background A. Time of the crash B. Witnesses 1. Mac Brazel 2. Sheriff George Wilcox 3. Roswell's 509th Bomb Squad 4. Initial recovery team III. Individual Testimonies A. Unnamed witness of Roswell recovery team B. Curry Holden C. Glenn Dennis D. Dan Dwyer IV. The Alien Autopsy Films A. Eighteen minute film at the autopsy center in Fort Worth B. Three minute film at Roswell site C. Researcher's opinions V. Conclusion The Roswell Incident The people of the world have always had a mysterious belief that Earth wasn't the only planet in the universe that supported life. This belief dates back to ancient times when heavenly and demonic stories were told of gods who strode across the skies on their golden chariots. Tales as far fetched as Zeus who threw lightening bolts from his fingertips to stories as credible as the American Indian's Cachinas, who supposedly taught them to farm an d saved them from numerous disasters. The Egyptians, who built their mammoth pyramids with only the use of man power, used hieroglyphics. These same hieroglyphics have been unofficially documented as being similar to symbols found on unidentified aircraft wreckage found in several incidences over the past fifty years (Montgomery 225-32, 236-37). Are these stories all mere coincidence? Some researchers think not and have continued to unveil new evidence that is believably true. Recently, new facts have been brought up on the most documented UFO (unidentified flying object) sighting of all time: the Roswell Incident. The Roswell Incident is a UFO crash that occurred at 11:30 p.m. on July 4th, 1947 in Roswell, New Mexico (Randal 10). Mac Brazel, a local New Mexico rancher, discovered a considerable amount of unusual debris while riding out on horseback early in the morning to check his sheep after a night of intense thunderstorms. He reported to Sheriff George Wilcox after driving into Roswell, that the aircraft had created a shallow gouge several hundred feet long and was scattered over a large area. Sheriff Wilcox then notified authorities at the Roswell Army Air Field and with the assistance of his deputies, proceeded to investigate the matter. Shortly after the 509th Bomb Group arrived from their station 35 miles away (Walker 38), they closed off the area for a number of days and retrieved the wreckage. The debris was initially taken to Roswell Army Air Field and eventually flown to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio (Jeffrey). Before the military could intervene, the event had already been witnessed by more than one-hundred people. Local police, fire squad, and curious members of the Roswell community make up these people. A lot of them were part of the initial recovery team and are now telling their stories that have been bottled up for nearly a half of a century (Randal 11). According to one unnamed witness of the Roswell recovery team, The crash site was litter ed with pieces of the aircraft. Something about the size of a fighter plane had crashed, the metal was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I picked up a piece the size of a car fender with one hand, it couldn't have weighed more than a quarter of a pound and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't even get it to bend (Randal 11). This statement describes the type of material that was found at the site and has been described in this manner by numerous witnesses. The next statement was made by Curry Holden, an archeologist who was one of the first to arrive on the scene, "I saw a crashed airplane without wings and with a fat fuselage. There were three bodies. Two were outside the craft and the other one was still inside, visible through a gash in the fuselage" (Walker 38). Other bits of information have also been documented from locals arriving initially at the scene. First, there is the local undertaker, Glenn Dennis, who was asked by the base if he could provide child-sized coffins. Then there was the local fireman, Dan Dwyer, whose crew was called out to the crash site and who collected some of the mysterious metal debris. He told his family

20 Biographical Essay Topics What to Include in a Who-Am-I Essay

20 Biographical Essay Topics What to Include in a Who-Am-I Essay In the previous guide, we learned about 10 facts on a â€Å"who am I† biographical essay, which we hope you found interesting and intellectually stimulating. If you haven’t had the chance to read that guide, we highly recommend you go through the first one before reading through this one. In this second guide, we share 20 topics for a â€Å"who am I† biographical essay. This guide is perfect to give you a head start in writing a great biographical essay. Many students are stuck trying to find out the perfect topic for themselves, which is why we’ve written this guide for you. In the end of this guide, we’ve also written a â€Å"who am I† essay example on one of the 20 topics we are going to discuss. This will give you a better idea of how a biographical essay is written. Without further ado, here are 20 topics for a â€Å"who am I† biographical essay: How Identity Issues Can Affect Your Mental Health The Signature Effect: Self-Identity and Uniqueness Motives Stages of Self-Awareness How a Sense of Connectivity can Affect Our Lives Positively The Correlation between Self-Identity, Nature and the Environment Relationship between Environmental Self-Identity, Preferences, Intentions and Behavior Why Does a Child Feel Embarrassed in Front of a Mirror? How Does a Person Become Self-Aware of Himself/Herself? What is Self-Awareness? Is it Found in the Animal Kingdom Too? The Definition of â€Å"Flow† Moments and its Effect on our Lives Why a Heightened Sense of Self Awareness Makes You More Insecure and Nervous Aggressive Consciousness: How it Affects the Person’s Identity Reasons Why Deep Self-Awareness is Rarely Found in Our Society Elaborating the Difference between Self-Awareness and Intelligence Correlation between Life, Nature and Identity How Social Media Plays a Vital Role in Shaping our Identities Can we Perceive Self-Awareness in our Dreams too? Relationship between Self-Awareness, Personality and Intellectual Development Emotional Intelligence: Is it Related to Self-Identity? The Supernatural Monitoring Hypothesis and its Effect on Our Identities We highly recommend you choose a topic which truly appeals to your intellect and one which you can easily work with. To make things even easier, here is a â€Å"who am I† essay sample: Sample Biographical Essay: The Supernatural Monitoring Hypothesis and its Effect on our Identities Many believers think that God is a strategic social agent who’s able to perceive thoughts and actions of human beings. How does it affect our identities and what does science have to say about this phenomenon known as The Supernatural Monitoring Hypothesis? In this essay, we discuss the life of Jonathan Gale, who’s a believer in God, so we can be certain about the effects an omnipotence entity like God can have on our lives. Gale was born in 1897, in Demopolis, Alabama. He was the first son in a Roman catholic family. Soon after he was born, Gale was baptized by a father who served at the St. Leo Catholic Church of Alabama. It was the first time he was first introduced to a supernatural identity and its intentions. When Gale grew to be a young man, he was influenced by his religion and the presence of an omnipotence being, watching his actions, intentions, thoughts and everything else. This paved the way for Gale to becoming a pious person, prohibiting himself from bad actions which, according to him, would lead to brutal punishment. Gale gained saint-like attributes and lived his whole life believing that God is perceiving his every move. His influence on society was remarkable. He was able to astonish people through his deeds and crystal clear intentions – without the typically shady looks we usually get from others in similar circumstances. Just like any young man with ambitions, Gale graduated and became an orthopedist. He believed that helping others would please God and so he played his part by treating patients whose bones were badly injured through accidents or other calamities. Gale married Lorraine Watson, a beautiful and religious dentist who shared similar traits. Gale met her when he went for a dental checkup, which was performed by Watson herself. Soon after marriage, Gale had twin babies, both boys. He raised his children while teaching them about God and that he perceives everything we do. Psychologically speaking, Gale had a heightened level of public-awareness; the same you might observe when a person is under video surveillance. Will M. Gervais and Ara Norenzayan found that believers show familiar symptoms of a person who is aware that he’s under camera surveillance. But since God is believed to be everywhere and can anticipate every step of a human being, there are multiple awareness levels that are exercised by this omnipotent entity. Believers like Gale are influenced by God through public, private and environmental awareness – which means that God is able to watch wherever we are at any given point in time. Since studies have proven that people under surveillance are more polite, honest and fair because they desire to have a good sense of social responsibility, it proves why believers of God have such saint-like attributes. The supernatural monitoring hypothesis is a phenomenon that has always been neglected by psychologists since it is so complex and related to religion. But if psychologists can investigate this matter, I personally believe that we could learn a great deal about becoming a better person, without getting ourselves involved in religion. That’s wraps up our sample essay. Let’s move on to our final guide on how to write a â€Å"who am I† biographical essay so you can write a perfect, clear, concise and interesting assignment. We are certain that you will receive very positive feedback from your professor, once you’ve read and followed all of our guides. References: Escalas, J., White, K., Townsend, C., Ward, M. K., Chan, C., Kettle, K. L., Broniarczyk, S. M. (2013). Self-Identity and Consumer Behavior Dissociative versus Associative Responses to Social Identity Threat: The Role of Consumer Self-Construal Self-Affirmation through the Choice of Highly Aesthetic Products Its Not Me, Its You: How Gift Giving Creates Giver Identity Threat as a Function of Social Closeness Identifiable but Not Identical: Combining Social Identity and Uniqueness Motives in Choice The Signature Effect: Signing Influences Consumption-Related Behavior by Priming Self-Identity An . Journal of consumer research, 39(5), xv-xviii. Tyler, T. R., Kramer, R. M., John, O. P. (2014). The psychology of the social self. Psychology Press. Olivos, P., Clayton, S. (2017). Self, Nature and Well-Being: Sense of Connectedness and Environmental Identity for Quality of Life. In Handbook of Environmental Psychology and Quality of Life Research (pp. 107-126). Springer International Publishing. Papacharissi, Z. (2013). 12 A Networked Self Identity Performance and Sociability on Social Network Sites. Frontiers in new media research, 207. Van der Werff, E., Steg, L., Keizer, K. (2013). The value of environmental self-identity: The relationship between biospheric values, environmental self-identity and environmental preferences, intentions and behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 34, 55-63. Dan Jones, (2011) God as a Cosmic CCTV – The Philosopher in the Mirror  https://philosopherinthemirror.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/god-as-cosmic-cctv/ Will M. Gervais, Ara Norenzayan, (2011) Like a camera in the sky? Thinking about God increases public self-awareness and socially desirable responding – Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Elsevier Inc.  http://math.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/Gervais%20%26%20Norenzayan-2011-JESP.pdf

History of Latin America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

History of Latin America - Essay Example he financial means for Spain that allowed it to dominate Europe for nearly one hundred years.4 Mining silver, however, was not an uncomplicated business undertaking and required planning and workforce management strategies. The Spaniards developed labor systems that were not beneficial to the natives, however. The discovery of silver in Spanish America changed the lives of natives through developing the mita service and importing black slaves, which transformed the latter’s socio-economic, demographic, and cultural characteristics. The industry of silver mining was the biggest and most complex industries in the Indies, which altered the economic and social infrastructures of the natives in different degrees through its innovations with the mita system. Silver mining was concentrated in north central Mexico and the highlands of Upper Peru.5 Mining it needed a massive workforce with a combination of skilled and unskilled laborers.6 The skilled laborers maintained the shafts, drainage, and ventilation systems, while the unskilled ones extracted the ore from the pits.7 The state changed the economic and social organization of the natives, in order to fit the labor needs of the silver mines.8 The Spaniards developed its specialized workforce system through combining private organizational efforts and state-controlled public services.9 In Peru, Don Francisco Toledo elaborated Spain’s forced labor system through combining Inca-based mita system and recently made Spanish labor practices.10 The mita system oblig ed native adult laborers to work at faraway mines. Miners received very poor remuneration and worked at perilous mine conditions. They were paid in silver, but the costs of food, lodging, tools, and clothing left them with nothing. The owners of the mines made extra money from selling these basic commodities to the natives, since the mines were far from communities. In Mexico, native families experienced socio-economic transition from being communal-work based

Why Mixing Students With and Without Special Needs Is a Good Idea Essay

Why Mixing Students With and Without Special Needs Is a Good Idea - Essay Example In this regard, I found Vaness Romo’s article Why Mixing Students With and Without Special Needs Is a Good Idea enlightening and very interesting because she gave very good reasons for her cause. The article started with a controversial photo of a second-grade class which caused some uproar on the Internet. The photo shows a teacher with a warm smile standing beside twenty-two kids sitting on a set of bleachers. Off to the far right, a boy with a beautiful smile was sitting in a wheelchair, separated from his peers. At the beginning of the article, Vanessa discusses why that photo caused the uproar on the Internet and how it was heartbreaking for the online world that believed the picture aimed to show discrimination against people with disabilities. Then, she presents Miles, the boy in the photo, the type of his disability, and his mother’s feeling. Vanessa moved to another point, which was arguing about why mixing students with and without special needs is a good idea. First, she talked about a parent’s fear of people picking on or excluding their child, especially parents of children with special needs, and how that was the reason for the inclusive education model. Secondly, Vanessa quoted Margo Pensavalle, one of the professors at the USC Rossier School, saying â€Å"It’s a win-win situation for everybody,† in arguing that students with special needs should be placed in mainstream classrooms with children of similar ages. Thirdly, Romo also explained how regardless of the severity of a student’s disability and socio-economic status, the advantages of inclusion in the classroom has been well documented with The National Longitudinal Transitions Study showing many advantages of mixing students with and without special needs. Fourthly, Vanessa continued to argue based on Pensavalle’s statement that the two kinds of students in the inclusion model â€Å"take advantage of [the extra help] and learn more completely in a more supportive

Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business Ethics - Essay Example This means that, they should not base on the individual’s clinical decisions on matters concerning the care and prevention of each patient, policy decisions and management of the systems. In addition to that, personal decisions should not be allowed when organizing, managing and paying for a care. As a matter of fact, it is ideal for individuals involved in healthcare system to understand that getting the right clinical decisions needs a wider application of the â€Å"principles of evidence-based medicine.† The systematic utilization of evidence based management helps in improving the significant decisions affecting care in the health plan, hospital, community or nursing home and physician practice. In that case, for evidence -based medicine to be implemented successfully, it needs the evidence-based management support (Fraser, 2007). Evidence-based management widespread application might not be easy or rapid. This is because, its history is torturous and long and achie ving it is becoming extremely harder. Perhaps, most of the managers may conceive the clinical interventions conceptual foundation of evaluation irrelevant. Biology as it is does not possess local variation unlike the way health plan or hospital administrations and physician practices do. ... tioner literature and academic literature on the management of human resource is a perfect cause and indicator of the existing separation between practice and research in management of human resource (Boudreau, 2007). Whatever is passed as† best Practice† in human resource management in most cases is not. In some instances, there exists no evidence validating what are conceived to be practices that are perfect. On the other hand, there are some circumstances there are evidences available to suggest whatever practices are thought to be best are indeed inferior. In summary, human resource management that is evidence-based is not practiced in most of the organizations. As a result, there is underperformance in the organization with respect to principal stakeholders including investors, employees and the community (Lawler, 2007). Situation There exist a conflict between the Chief Executive Officer Mr Mark Willey and the Medical officer Miss Sally Randolph. Both of them work i n American Medical Centre (AMC). Mark Willey has emailed Sally Randolph a message that has completely blurred her vision. She claims that the email that had been sent to her was labelled urgent with an exclamation in red whose subject line was† Evidence-based- Management seminar has been cancelled.† This is because the focus of Mark the CEO had shifted from taking care of patients to profits. The message not only disturbed sally but also other employees such as Richard who had been among the thirty six participants in the evidence-based management workshop that had been performed by sally. His remarks were as follows† I just read the e-mail from Mark and I am really frustrated. Making us middle managers on these task forces won’t change how anyone works.† According to Richard, the medical

The Historical Changes Within The Family

The Historical Changes Within The Family Family can be defined as a group of people related by heredity, such as parents, children and siblings. It is sometimes broadened to include persons related by marriage or those living in the same household who are emotionally attached, interact regularly, and share concerns for the growth and development of the group and its individual members. There is legal definition of the family, but it varies depending on the jurisdiction and purpose for which it is defined. The family can have two basic types: nuclear and extended family. A nuclear family consist of adult husband, the wife, and their dependent children who are not of age, and the extended family is composed of the nuclear family and other relatives. Apart from the above mentioned types of family, there are other types such as the lone-parent families, which is one parent and his or her dependent children, the reconstituted family- when a new family is created after divorce through a second marriage and the empty nest family w here the children of nuclear family has grown and left home. Functionalism is a theory that sees society as a social system designed to meet the basic needs and to promote the survival of its members. According to them, the social system comprises of economic, political, kinship and culture and each of these has an established institution that plays a role in the running of society. Functionalists talk about society being like a human body. The organic analogy incorporates the ideas of a system to emphasise the inter-relatedness and mutual dependency of the major institutions of society. To them, the family is at the heart of society. They therefore, see the family as changing and responding to the needs of society. The systems approach has been used by functionalists to explain how social change occurs in society. Talcott Parsons is one of the most important functionalist sociologists who studied family life in the 1950s. He referred to families as personality factories which meant that, families produce children who share the basic norms and values of their society and were moulded in the image of the society. He saw the family as the basic and most vital institution in society whose irreducible function is the stabilisation of adult personalities, where the family gives the emotional support necessary to cope with the stress of everyday life, especially at younger age in order to develop a strong emotional bond and to grow and function well in the society. Once the personality is produced, adults need emotional security and a source of release from the stresses and strains of modern life. The emotional support of partners helps to provide this security and prevent stress from overwhelming the individual and threatening the stability of society. This is the warm bath theory: the husband arriv es home from a stressful day at work and sinks into the warm bath that his family (wife) provides. Peter Murdock, (1949) is another functionalist who studied 250 societies and identified the functions of the family as sexual, where the family provides environment for regulating sexual desires. Families make sure that, such activities happens or takes place at the right location. The next function is reproduction, essential for survival of human society. Families ensure the survival of babies becoming adults. Babies are born vulnerable and incapable of taking care of themselves. It is therefore the duty of the family to train and equip them until such time that, they become adult and matured enough to face the world on their own. Another function of the family, according to Murdock, is to instil the norms, cultures and values of society into children and to make sure they are satisfactorily socialised. The family also provide economic support for other family members. This can happen in all sorts of forms like provision of child care and financial support in difficult times. Murdocks ideas were that, the nuclear family is so useful to society, inevitable and universal because it fulfils the essential functions. This is because he had found evidence of nuclear families in the 250 different societies he studied. He saw the nuclear family as the most efficient arrangement for performing all of the above vital functions and defined it as a universal human social grouping, either as the sole prevailing form of the family or as the basic unit from which more complex forms compounded. It exists as a distinct and strong functional group in every society. However, they have been criticised by the way they see the family. Parsons picture is of a typical middle class USA family which may not be representative for most families. They have also been accused of idealising the family. Functionalist fails to consider the validity of other family structures and do not consider the diversity of family types. They ignore conflict, abuse, gender inequalities, and rising divorce rates within the family. Interpretative sociologists tend to argue that, functionalists concentrate too much on the importance of the family to society and ignore the importance and meanings of family that individuals perceive. Feminists argue that the functionalist view of the expressive and instrumental roles as natural are in fact socially constructed. They also disagree with Murdochs idea that the nuclear family is natural, believing that there is no preferable family structure and encourage family diversity. They are of the opinion that, the functionalist view of the family encourages oppression of women. Marxists argue that the functionalist view of the family views those family structures which support and benefit capitalism, and that, the nuclear family is part of the superstructure with the sole purpose of perpetuating a capitalist system. They also believe that, the family socialises its members to accept the false consciousness that capitalism is good for all and that the government helps the people through healthcare. Marxism also rejects the functionalist idea that society is based on consensus; they would say that current society is based upon a conflict between the small powerful ruling class and the working majority. Both Marxists and feminists disagree with the functionalist idea that each organ of society exists for the benefit of society itself and for its individual members, they believe that they exist for the benefit of the ruling class of either capitalists or men. The next theoretical approach is the feminist. It is worth mentioning that, there are several types of feminism, included are, liberal, radical, socialist, and humanist but they all share in common the following about the family according to Barrie Thorne (1982). They see the society as male dominated, the family as an institution involving power relationships, men having different ideas of being in the family from women, the family being a source for the control of women, that there is no biological need for the family which is just a product of culture rather of nature, the ideologies of socialisation is based on gender, men gaining more from family life than women, and has also challenged the view of the family as being based on cooperation, shared interests and love. Feminist see society as being patriarchal where things are made up of unequal structures of power between men and women. It practically means rule of the father which is more to do with culture and makes us believe and think the family is one of the biological things we need naturally. Beechey (1986) is of the view that, people has taken the family for granted and the family requiring different things from men and women, and are also made to believe that, it is ideal to bring up children in a family setting where most of the work is done by women. Feminist think that, all this has contributed and continue to the male dominance in the family and society as a whole. Benton regards the structure of the family life as the main cause of womens oppression (housewife role), where the wife provides a relaxing environment for the male worker. Things have changed in recent years in the family. Decision making in the home as pointed by Stephen Edgell (2000) shows that, in middle class homes, women have sole responsibility for financial decisions in areas as home decorating. Some things still need to be changed when we look at the following which has been pointed by the feminist as the dark side of the modern day family. The family contains a large amount of psychological harm for women, and still perform the majority of the housework. Evidence suggests that many women today have a dual burden of labour-home responsibilities as well as work. Majority of emotional work still remains a job for women and there are lots of instances of sexual and domestic abuse of women in the family. The Marxist theory of the family was developed by the work of Karl Marx (1818-1883) and believed that, society was made up of two important parts, the economic base and the superstructure which includes the family. He describes the economic base as the most important because it influences the superstructure. The family will therefore reflect the values and concerns of the economic base. The Marxist idea of the family was that, society was the family and believed early society was based on a primitive form of communism where there was no such thing as private property, no rules limiting sexual behaviour and promiscuity was normal. Their idea supports capitalism where the family forms part of the superstructure and passes on ideologies that justify inequality and enables the bourgeoisie to maintain control of the economic base. The family evolved in order to establish paternity to protect private property and its oppressive inhibited creativity. The family is therefore an ideological conditioning device. In short, the family was seen as an institution when wives play their traditional roles as takers of shit, and often absorb their husbands legitimate anger and frustration in a way which poses no challenge to the system (Ashley). Also, the child is in fact primarily taught how to submit to the society but not how to survive (Cooper). This theory has got the strength of exploring the role of oppressive ideologies and offers explanation for the development of the family. It also acknowledges the dark side of the family, links it to inequality in capitalist society, and offers critical approach. It has however been criticised of ignoring family diversity, seeing the nuclear family as simply determined by the economy. It ignores how changes may come about due to legal and attitudinal changes and also ignores the patriarchal nature of society. Considering the above discussion, it is true that men, the state, society and its institution have exercised enormous power over women by deciding how parenting and household responsibilities should be distributed? Who should have a right to household earnings and property? Who has the right to form a family? What defines a parent? How many parents can a child have? How many children can a parent have? Answering these already complex questions is additionally complicated by the existence of new technologies that make possible multiple ways of becoming a parent. Below, is the examination of two main values that feminists have argued should guide the families we make, individual choice and equality. The traditional family has seen many changes in the last fifty years. In the decades following WW II increasing numbers of women entered the labour force. Divorce rates increased dramatically: the divorce rate in the 1980s was almost two and a half times what it had been in 1940. The development of the birth control pill has made it easier for women to avoid unwanted pregnancies and to plan when to have children. There are a growing number of single parent families, gay families, and extended families. By 1989, 25% of children were living in single parent households. Economic, technological and social factors have together made the full time-stay at home housewife and mother with a working husband a statistical minority. Laws governing families have also changed. Modern laws are more likely to view men and women as equals, who can be subjected to the authority of each other only with their own consent. How far should the idea of womens right in marriage, the institutions and society be taken? Some feminists have proposed contract model of marriage to allow any and all consenting adults to marry and to freely choose the terms of their association. These feminists would abolish state-defined marriage altogether and replace it with individual contracts drawn up by each couple wanting to marry (Fine man 1995, Weitzman 1985). Indeed, contracts would allow not only gay couples to marry but would also allow multiple marriages, as in the case of polygamy and determine the domestic division of labour. They argue that by moving marriage from an implicit status based, patriarchal arrangement to an explicit contract, womens freedom and equality would be enhanced (Weitzman 1985). Divorce has become more commonplace due to the fact that, feminism has altered the perception of what a wife might expect from a marriage, women have become more financially independent of their husbands, religious values have become less important and the process of getting a divorce has been made easier. The question therefore to ask, is this right and freedom we are fighting for good for the society? I will say too much of everything is bad and we need to be aware of the consequences of such changes upon family members and the structure of families. One example would be the growing number of reconstituted family. Another issue to consider is the decline of the nuclear family due to a greater acceptance within society of other types of family. For example cohabitation is no longer described as living in sin. Women are now more wiling to consider alternatives to raising children within the nuclear family, which is partly due to the impact of feminism; divorce is more socially accept able than in previous generations and there is a greater willingness amongst many people to accept alternatives to the family.

Asian Family Essay -- essays research papers fc

Being the biggest continent in the world, Asia contains about 60% of the world’s population and growing each year. Though China, and India are two of the most populated countries in the world, having about 30% of the world’s population, there are about two-fifths of the countries that have less than five million habitants. Though forty-two different countries make up this great continent, much of the similarities are family values. Customs and traditions might be different, however, western ideas and influences have wiped out many of those customs and created new ones in most of the countries in Asia. Even in comparison from country to country, the new ways and ideas are similar. The basic Asian family would be the same as in any family in comparison to the rest of the world. Patriarchy families are more popular amongst many Asian families. It is believed that the man is in charge of the house in most if not all the countries in Asia. However, there is some form of equa lity between men and women in Asia. Some countries have more equal rights than others. Some countries such as the Middle East countries give very minimal rights to women. Even a great country like the United States doesn’t have full equality between men and women. Because of urbanization, western ideas and influences are reaching the average Asians. Asians are moving into cities with phenomenal speed. In an article by Michael Sivy of Time International Magazine, Malaysia’s Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim states, â€Å"Today, half of all Malaysians live in cities.† Sivy adds, â€Å"the result is an irreversible change in the family structure that has prevailed in Asia for thousands of years.† The urbanization of these families helped to promote further growth in all aspects. It has â€Å"converted the extended family into a nuclear one,† says Richard Robison, director of the Asia Research Center at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. Because of t his new change, â€Å"people are relying less on the family, which in turn is creating new relationships between old and young and women and men.† The change has promoted a lot of social change and economic change in many of these countries, such as Malaysia. By urbanization, many of these people are being influenced by the modernization and western technological advancements. These influences include democracy, education, communication, economical developments, medic... ...chusetts; 1999 Housewright, Ed; A Shoulder to Lean On: Mother’s outreach helps area’s Asian families deal with mental retardation., The Dallas Morning News, Feburary 15th, 1999, pp 23A Lee, Raymond; Interview with Father, Kwok Kwong Lee; November 10, 1999 Ma, Karen; Time Money on Family’s Finances: A Family Tree Gorws in Brooklyn: An Ambitious Young Restaurateur Heads a Hong Kong Family, 30 Strong, That is Replanting Itself in New York City Soil.., Time International, December 1, 1997; pp 20+ Mirsky, Jonathan; Asian values, a fabulous notion.. Vol. 127, New Statesman (1996), April 3, 1998; pp 26(2) Rudolph, Barbara; Reported by Blackman, Ann; Immigrants: The Stereotype is Accepted Almost without a question: Asian.; Time International; May 30, 1994, pp 31 Sivy, Michael; with reporting by Daneels; Jenny; Goplan, Nisha; Shapiro, Don; Cover Story: How To Get The Good Life For Young Asians Are Taking Control of Their Financial Lives Like Never Before. Time; 1997 W ong, Tony; Chinese family knew ‘it wouldn’t be easy’; The Toronto Star, May 11, 1999 Zhou, Julie; For the Journal-Constitution, Enjoying the best of two cultures.; The Atlanta Constitution; July 19, 1999 ppA7 Word Count: 3195

Advertising Planning and Implementationn

Running Head: ADVERTISING PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION Advertising Planning and Implementation Melanie Boggs September 14, 2011 MKT/447 Jeffery Manning University of Phoenix Advertising Planning and Implementation This paper focuses on the key elements of Pepsi’s advertising plan and how putting that plan into action affects consumer behaviors. What the advertising message says to the consumers should match up with the reception the company expects to receive.Many aspects of the plan includes it target audience, consumer behavior, positioning, media outlets, and the creation of the advertisement. These elements create the layout for the plan to be put into place for actions to be taken by the consumers. The advertising message is the â€Å"strategies used to convey what a company wants to say and how it wants to say it† (Arens, Weigold, Arens, 2008). This message also is known as the message strategy. Achieving the goal is meeting the message objective. Ads must portray the image necessary to achieve the message strategy.The agencies creative team must come up with a plan that â€Å"agrees with the target, product, media, and message† of the ad (Arens, Weigold, & Arens, p 374, 2008). Pepsi’s advertising messages of its new ad campaigns tells consumers that the product is still alive and in competition with Coke-Cola. The creatives of the ad must understand the target audience for which the ads are fashioned. Advertisers and marketers target audiences through segmentation. Some of these types of segmentation are demographic, geographic, geodemographic, psychographic, behavioral, benefit, and volume.Many ads combine a mix of these to reach consumers through different levels of segmentation. Demographic segmentation targets consumers on the basis of â€Å"age, sex, ethnicity, education, occupation, income, and other quantifiable factors† (Arens, Weigold, Arens, p 174, 2008). Geodemographic segmentation is targeting on the basis of loyalty to a brand from the cause of a demographic influence, such as the Dancing Teddy commercial. Geographic segmentation targets a specific area, such as country, state, city, or providence, and its size (Dancing Santa).Psychographic segmentation is on the basis of â€Å"values, personalities, attitudes, and lifestyles,† such as the new Pepsi ads competitive nature (Arens, Weigold, & Arens, p 177, 2008). Behavioral segmentation is on the basis of purchase behavior. These include â€Å"user status, usage rate, purchase occasion, and benefit sought† (Arens, Weigold, & Arens, p 170, 2008). Benefit segmentation targets consumers through ads on the basis of â€Å"high quality, low cost, status, sex appeal, good taste, or health consciousness† (Arens, Weigold, & Arens, p 173, 2008).Volume segmentation is the basis on how often consumers use the product. However, Pepsi’s new commercials do fit a mix of these segmentations. Consumer behaviors are the â€Å"m ental and emotional processes and the physical activities of people who purchase and use goods and services to satisfy particular needs and wants† (Arens, Weigold, & Arens, p 145, 2008). â€Å"Advertising’s primary goal is to reach potential consumers, and influence their awareness, attitudes, and buying behaviors† (Arens, Weigold, & Arens, p 145, 2008).Understanding the buying behavior of the audience aids in understanding which segment to target. Just as, understanding the audience helps understand the buying behavior. Pepsi’s decision to stay out of commercials for the past three years has given the company plenty of ammunition against its largest competitor Coke-Cola. Positioning refers to the place a brand occupies competitively in the minds of the consumers. Positioning reflects the consumers perceptions about the product whether it is true or not.Through differentiation or market strategy a company may pick a position similar to a competitor and fig ht for its market. The seven approaches to positioning strategies are â€Å"product attribute, price or quality, use or application, product class, product user, product competitor, cultural symbol, and by category† (Arens, Weigold, & Arens, p 241, 2008). Pepsi’s past positions have played from one or more of these strategies. PepsiCo’s current positioning strategy depends on which current advertisement is seen by viewers.These commercials named â€Å"Summer Time is Pepsi Time† (product attribute), Dancing Santa (cultural symbol), Uncle Teddy (product competitor), and the â€Å"Refresh Project† (product user). Many types of advertising media exists, such as magazines, newspapers, e-zines, online newspapers, television, radio, Internet, cell phones, and others. PepsiCo uses every type of advertisement possible to reach its target audiences. PepsiCo also sponsors events, and has its name on Jeff Gordon’s car in NASCAR.At events PepsiCo allows vendors to promote their products through handing out free samples and memorabilia. Pepsi’s â€Å"Refresh Project† is only viewable from the Internet. This advertising campaign medium is thought to attract more serious consumers who may vote on a project or create one to obtain votes for PepsiCo to sponsor, to help build communities worldwide. PepsiCo is advertising Pepsi via newspapers, the Internet, television, and radio. PepsiCo also uses the cases these are in to advertise. For example, the new Pepsi 12 packs advertise for â€Å"The X Factor†, a new talent show.The changes one can make to the product positioning and the advertising message are to create messages that are as universal as the product. Pepsi products sell in more than 180 countries worldwide. The new â€Å"Summer Time is Pepsi Time† campaign ads are also very competitive with Coke-Cola commercials. The use of such ads is extremely dangerous to the company for consumers may begin to belie ve the company is desperate for consumers to purchase its products. Especially, because these commercials are the first for Pepsi in three years.Researching how these advertisements were created, one is led to believe that PepsiCo outsources its agencies. BBDO was the agency for PepsiCo since 1960. â€Å"The agency that has replaced BBDO is also owned by Omnicom. This is the office of TBWA/Chiat/Day, and is part of the TBWA Worldwide unit of Omnicom, Los Angeles† (Stuart, 2008). Creatives in charge of the â€Å"Summer Time is Pepsi Time† ads are Chief Creative Officer: Rob Schwartz, Group Creative Director: Brett Craig, Creative Director: Xanthe Hohalek, Art Director: Chris MacNeil, and Copywriter: Michelle Lewis, according to Emma Bazilian of Adweek.One may not believe that this would be an effective use of company resources because Pepsi has declared to refrain from advertising the product on television to avoid targeting a younger audience. For three years PepsiCo o pts for the Internet, events, sponsors, and in-store advertising as a means to promote its products instead and allow healthier choices to be advertised on television. Other than its competition, consumers are left to wonder what has made the product come back to television, and if there will be a Superbowl ad to look forward too.Consumers may agree after three years Pepsi should have come back to television using its greatest asset, its loyal consumers to promote the product. To make the campaign more effective the product could have entered back into the commercials using less competitive ads and focusing more on the consumers who already enjoy the product or through behavioral segmentation. The company should have declared to the press the reason for the sudden change of health consciousness with the decision to advertise on television, and its decision to use ads that will gain the attention of the younger generations that have been avoided in the past.This will also create a be tter understanding of consumer behaviors toward the product, without the influence of the suggestive ads, whether negative, or positive. Creating an advertisement that could be understood universally, without depicting the specific product would have been an excellent way for the product to enter back into commercials. Press releases, newspaper articles, e-articles and e-zines, and speeches are ways that PepsiCo could have announced its decision to begin making new commercials for the product. ConclusionUnderstanding the advertising message, target audience, consumer behavior, media sources, positioning, who creates the ad and why, are part of the advertising plan and lay out the actions necessary to carry out the ad successfully. Pepsi’s new† Summer Time is Pepsi Time† commercials are the first in three years to be advertised on television. The depiction of this can be relayed to the target audience’s without the use of its main competition. References Are ns, Weigold, & Arens (2008). Contemporary Advertising. McGraw-Hill. Retrieved August 23, 2011, from http://ecampus. phoenix. edu Bazilian, E. July 1, 2011) AdWeek. Ad of the Day: Pepsi â€Å"Coke lover Santa Claus goes rogue in the first new Pepsi spot in three years†. Retrieved August September 13, 2011, from http://www. adweek. com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-pepsi-133128 Stuart, E. (Nov. , 18, 2008). NY Times. Pepsi Shifts to New Ad Agency. Retrieved September 12, 2011, from http://www. nytimes. com/2008/11/18/business/media/18adco. html Pepsi Commercials. Ads and More. Pepsi. com. Retrieved September 12, 2011, from, http://www. youtube. com/pepsi? utm_source=pepsi&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=panel&utm_campaign=refresh

Investing in Low Income Housing Tax Credits Essay

Overview of the LIHTC The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) provides incentives for corporations and individuals to invest in the acquisition, development and rehabilitation of affordable housing. The program offers federal tax credits to private equity investors that work with profit or non-profit developers in constructing or renovating rental properties for low-income tenants, those who earn 60 percent or less of the median family income for their county. As of 2010, the program has sparked the construction of over 1.7 million housing units throughout the country. The IRS allocates federal tax credits to Housing Credit Agencies (HCAs) in each state based on its population. HCAs award credits to housing developers based on their Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP), a rigorous and competitive application used to determine which developers will receive the credits. Once credits are acquired, equity investors purchase an interest in the business entity generating the tax credits, namely a limited partnersh ip or limited liability company. The equity generated from the investor’s purchase is used to fund the property development. The tax credits are redeemed annually by investors over a ten-year period following the date that the property becomes operational, or â€Å"placed in service.† The number of tax credits, and subsequently the amount of equity raised, is calculated by computing the eligible basis, or the dollar amount of all depreciable costs of the project (which excludes the cost of land acquisition and operating reserves) minus ineligible sources of funding like grants or federal subsidies. The eligible basis is then multiplied by the percentage of eligible tax credit units in the project (at least 20 percent and up to 100 percent of all units in the building) to calculate the â€Å"qualified basis.† The investor may later claim either 9 percent or 4 percent of the qualified basis amount in tax credits per year, depending on whether the project is a new construction or rehabilitation of an existing structure.. As of March 2012, the average price for a credit is around $.94. Price fluctuates depending on the geography of the deal, the size of the project, the perceived risk of failure, and whether the project is a new construction or rehabilitation. In order to redeem the credits, the property must rent either 20 percent or more of the units to tenants whose incomes are at or below 50 percent or less of the area median gross income, or 40 percent or more of the units to tenants whose incomes are at or below 60 percent or less of the area median gross income. The property must fulfill these and other operational requirements for a 15-year compliance period. Failure to meet these requirements during the compliance period results in an IRS recapture of tax credits plus interest and penalties. Many states offer their own affordable housing tax credits to provide further incentives by increasing potential returns. Projects in certain areas (Difficult Development Areas) receive a 30 percent increase in qualified basis as well. Options for Investment in LIHTC LIHTC transactions are structured such that the developer manages the day-to-day operation of the property while the investor takes a passive role in management and collects virtually all the tax credits. The parties create a limited partnership or limited liability company where the investor is typically a 99.99% limited partner or non-managing member and the developer is a 0.01% general partner or managing member. This method shields investors from liability beyond their capital contributions and allows the developer to maintain control over management affairs. There are two methods of investing in LIHTCs. The first is a direct investment or private placement, where the investor purchases the rights to future tax credits from a single developer in return for an equity contribution. The developer and investor form a limited partnership where the investor retains a 99.99% ownership interest and claims use of 99.99% of the tax credits and other benefits. Large banks and blue-chip corporations are the typical direct investors, mainly because they possess vast amounts of financial and administrative resources. Private placements are adequate namely for single entities that manage their own investment affairs and desire complete transparency throughout the project. These investors generate more net equity since they save costs otherwise incurred by hiring syndicated funds to choose and underwrite the affordable housing development project. Another avenue through which to invest in tax credits is with a syndicator, a financial intermediary that raises funding from many investors, usually on an annual basis, and makes equity capital contributions to multiple affordable housing projects. Indirect Investment through syndicated funds provides a means by which individual investors, small community banks, and small corporations without the resources of large banks can invest in LIHTCs. A syndicator will attract investors and form a limited partnership agreement where the syndicator typically holds a .01% interest as general partner and various investors will comprise the other 99.99% ownership interest as limited partners. This limited partnership syndicate fund will then become the 99.99% limited partner in several LIHTC projects to allow tax credits to pass through to investors. The syndicator investigates the market for affordable housing development and chooses a number of projects in which to invest. The syndicator then directs private equity capital from the limited partners of the syndicate fund to multiple affordable housing developments and returns tax credits back to each investor in proportion to their capital contribution. A few syndicate funds have missions that are aligned with non-profit developers. A syndicator’s experience with affordable housing development is invaluable to investors as it minimizes risk and increases investor confidence. The syndicator does all due diligence and underwriting for the project, so investors can take a passive role. Syndicate funds are ideal for investors that cannot afford to hire relationship managers, compliance specialists, and underwriters to oversee development. A Worthwhile Investment Alternative A tax credit provides a dollar-for-dollar reduction in tax liability, unlike deductions that simply reduce the amount of taxable income for a particular taxable year. Even though investors contribute capital based on the amount paid per tax credit, other tax benefits are transferred to the investor in the form of passive losses and deductions available to any holder of rental real estate property. These include property depreciation deductions, interest expenses, business and maintenance costs, and others. Savings from tax-deductible expenses may not have the financial impact of a tax credit, but it provides a quantifiable saving to the investor that helps add measurable value to tax credits beyond the amount of proportional tax liability they reduce. A qualifying tax credit investment results in a decrease of tax liability. The economic return on the investment, therefore, is not subject to state or federal taxation, unlike dividends or interest income from stocks or bonds. A dollar amount of taxable income is thus inherently less valuable than an identical amount of tax credits. Certain passive loss restrictions and the Alternative Minimum Tax render tax credits less useful for the large majority of individual investors. Nonetheless, LIHTC projects were giving investors returns as high as 25%-30% during the early stages of the program. After growing competition increased pricing in the market for tax credits, yields have consistently shown 4%+ annual returns in recent years. LIHTC projects provide excellent returns for the risk involved, considering other investment alternatives available. While the stock market has historically given investors long-term returns of approximately 10% per year on average, there are sharp fluctuations from year to year. The stock market is also considered a more risky investment in comparison to U.S. treasury bonds or other corporate notes. The yields on these safer bonds are much less than that of the stock market. Investments in tax credits provide an interesting combination of risk mitigation potential and impressive earning yields. Unfortunately, the average investor has no control over the valuation of a certain corporate security, much less the performance of a mutual or index fund. However, private placement investors and syndicate fund managers can and do provide for stringent oversight requirements through contractual obligations imposed on the developer, which in turn helps mitigate risk of project failure. A rise in the valuation of a corporate security usually requires an indicator of increased earnings in the future, whether it is the introduction of a more efficient manufacturing technique, the release or upgrade of a new or existing product, or a similar corporate action. Any increase in the value of a security may be short-lived. An investor only realizes gain after a sale; that gain is taxed. LIHTC projects, on the other hand, do not require entire securities markets to move in order to obtain a profit. Aside from rigorous paperwork and professional fees, the tax credits will eventually fall in the hands of the investors so long as the developer does not fail to meet the various compliance requirements for the specified period. With continuous oversight, investors and fund managers can establish timelines for performance that may readily identify any setbacks or obstacles to completion. This may afford time to expedite construction or development and perhaps cure any potential defects in the plan. On the downside, securities markets provide instant liquidity; LIHTC projects require at least 11 years to harvest all profits. Timelines provide further protection when equity contributions are made in response to the developer meeting certain milestones that render project completion more likely. By disbursing equity in stages, investors exert more control over the project’s development and may elect to alter the course of the project. For instance, the investor may attempt to remove the developer if confidence is undermined. The 15-year compliance period provides an identifiable date of exit, after which all profits (in the form of tax credit use) have been harvested. If investors decide to exit the venture, a secondary market has emerged where an investor may be able to sell the credits to third parties. Legislation passed in 2008 allows limited partners to sell their ownership interests in affordable housing properties without facing recapture so long as the properties continue to operate as affordable housing. This allows a shortened holding period of up to 11 years as long as the property meets the 15-year compliance requirements. These advantages are largely unavailable to stock market investors and make tax credits a safe, viable and profitable investment alternative. These benefits apply uniformly to any tax credit investor. Large Banks, Larger Benefits Large banks and financial institutions are provided with a number of benefits that are generally inapplicable to individual and corporate investors, which in turn make credits more valuable and increases their market price. Banks subject to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) are required to engage in certain activities that improve community development. Direct investments and loans made to LIHTC projects, or syndicated funds that invest therein, are considered qualified activities under the CRA. Banks receive positive CRA consideration not only for these loans and investments to community projects, but also when equity is transferred to LIHTC projects that serve broader statewide or regional areas that include a particular bank’s assessment area. An unsatisfactory CRA rating can cause banks to be denied or delayed in undertaking certain business activities like mergers, acquisitions, or the expansion of services. Thus, banks have strong incentives to invest in affordable housing development. LIHTCs are often a top choice for banks, who are obliged to make community development contributions, because not all CRA qualified activities provide similar returns. Financial institutions also benefit from establishing banking relationships with real estate developers. This allows banks to expand their revenues by providing new services to the project like pre-development loans, construction loans, mortgage financing, and credit lines. Bridge loans are especially enticing, where banks loan large amounts of capital to syndicated funds or other Private Placement investors without the cash reserves to make the up-front equity contributions required by developers before any tax credits can be redeemed. Moreover, banks have the financial capacity to create long-lasting resources to assist in affordable housing investment. The underwriting and due diligence for a LIHTC project requires a number of services and incurs various costs. While syndicated funds spread these costs over a number of investors, banks are in a position to pay for these costs themselves. By establishing separate departments to oversee tax credit financing, banks make a one-time investment in an oversight apparatus that will operate over an indefinite number of LIHTC projects. These in-house professionals will increase in value as their experience expands and efficiency improves. Any bank with the capacity to conduct private placement investing in LIHTCs probably does so. Syndicated Funds: Investment Mechanisms for the Unsophisticated Tax Credit Investor A multi-investor syndicated fund provides a number of additional benefits to potential tax credit investors. It is helpful to analogize syndicated funds to mutual funds for the purpose of identifying their advantages. Just like mutual funds, where fund managers collect funding from many investors and create a diversified portfolio that is professionally managed, syndicated funds act in a similar fashion. Syndicated funds invest in multiple affordable housing developments, often in various geographic regions and with different housing developers. This allows investors to spread risk amongst different LIHTC projects so that if one project fails, their entire equity commitment is not lost. Investing with multiple investors allocates risk of loss more evenly and makes LIHTC investments a safe investment alternative. Furthermore, reputable syndicated funds are professionally managed by experienced, sophisticated tax credit professionals that probably have more knowledge about tax credit investing than any prospective investor. Few institutions and entities have enough capital reserves to fund an entire project single-handedly; syndicated funds combine investor contributions, allowing small entities like community banks and mid-size companies to have the flexibility of choosing how much capital to contribute to tax credit investment. The end result is an excellent mechanism through which unconventional tax credit investors can participate in the competitive market for tax credits. Even though funds collect a percentage fee, diversified portfolios will likely contain projects in DDAs to provide marginal increases in tax benefits. Corporations and Tax Credits: A Good[will] Investment. LIHTC are beneficial to corporations because annual tax credits have a positive impact on earnings per share, since credits reduce tax liability without diluting earnings. Tax credits are usually a profitable investment because most companies sustain consistent tax liability for years on end. Tax credit investment declined during the 2008 market downturn, but has steadily increased with general economic improvement. Companies like Google, Verizon, Liberty Mutual, and others have invested in affordable housing developments across the country. An additional and measurable economic benefit to corporations is the increased value of a trademark or goodwill associated with a company that invests in community development. This type of investment may also attract positive publicity and media coverage, which in turn may increase corporate securities valuation. Large corporations are also in a coveted position to undertake direct investment and avoid paying fees to syndicated funds. Safe, but Not That Safe. While LIHTC investments may be safer than comparable investment with similar yields, the risks must be identified for informed decision-making. Potential tax credit recapture and loss is the greatest risk—the project must maintain specific requirements over a period of 15 years and strict deadlines must be met. The investor must assume the risk of any impediment to completion of construction, no matter how farfetched, and recapture liability remains with the initial investor even if the credits are sold on the secondary market. Risk of failure extends for a prolonged period of 15 years where strict operational requirements must be met. Due to the speculation involved in predicting construction costs, securing subsequent financing, and meeting compliance deadlines in light of potentially unforeseen adverse events, a project must be very precisely calculated to increase the chance of success. Entities and individuals that invest in syndicated funds are in a better position to identify risks due to stringent government-imposed requirements for prospectuses and offering memoranda to be distributed to all potential investors. Inexperienced syndicators might overlook a key responsibility that can cause the project to fail. Repurchase obligations arguably provide a false sense of security to investors because most developers have small balance sheets and cannot afford to match the investor’s contributions. The risks involved in LIHTC investment can be mitigated with proper planning, continuous oversight, and an experienced syndicator. Banks with in-house asset management units can oversee property maintenance. Although investors cede lien priority to the primary mortgage holder, foreclosure rates are relatively low and occupancy rates relatively high. Tax credit projects are viable investment alternatives. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Catherine Such, Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Community Investments (Mar. 2002), http://www.frbsf.org/community/investments/lihtc.html. [ 2 ]. Michael J. Novogradac, Investing in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, OCC Community Developments. (Mar. 2010), http://www.occ.gov/static/community-affairs/community-developments-investments/spring06/ investinginlowincome.htm. [ 3 ]. Id., See Understanding Low Income Housing Tax Credits: How to Secure Equity Investments and Evaluate Syndication Options. Corporation for Supportive Housing (Mar. 2006), http://documents.csh.org/documents/ ResourceCenter/DevOpsToolkit/UnderstandingLIHTCspdf.pdf. [ 4 ]. Sherrie L. Rhine, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits: Affordable Housing Investment Opportunities for Banks. Community Affairs Development (Feb. 2008), Found in Real Estate Law Clinic Course Reader, at p. 75. [ 5 ]. Lance Bocarsly, Real Estate Law Clinic Lecture. (Thursday September 6, 2012, 4:30pm.) [ 6 ]. Understanding Low Income Housing Tax Credits: How to Secure Equity Investments and Evaluate Syndication Options, supra, Corporation for Supportive Housing (Mar. 2006.) [ 7 ]. In actuality, the percentage of qualified basis that determines the amount of tax credits is not exactly 9 or 4 percent. The rate for the 4 percent credit floats in accordance with the Applicable Federal Rate and may fluctuate above or below 4 percent. The 9 percent credit will float beginning in 2013, although current legislation has been proposed to extend the 9 percent credit floor. House of Representatives Bill 3661 is making its way through Congress. See Mark Anderson, Tax Credit at Risk for Low Income Housing. Finance and Commerce (April 26, 2012, 4:35 pm). Available at http://finance-commerce.com/2012/04/tax-credit-at-risk-for-low-income-housing/. [ 8 ]. Low-Income Housing Tax Credit: Facts & Figures, Novogradac Affordable Housing Resource Center. http://www.novoco.com/low_income_housing/facts_figures/index.php. [ 9 ]. Tim Iglesias and Rochelle E. Lento, The Legal Guide to Affordable Housing Development. Found in Real Estate Law Clinic Course Reader, at p. 28. [ 10 ]. Rhine, supra, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits: Affordable Housing Investment Opportunities for Banks.† Found in Real Estate Law Clinic Course Reader, at p. 87. [ 11 ]. Understanding Low Income Housing Tax Credits: How to Secure Equity Investments and Evaluate Syndication Options, supra, at p. 4. [ 12 ]. Id. [ 13 ]. Id. [ 14 ]. Novogradac, supra, Investing in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. [ 15 ]. James L. Logue III, How LIHTC Funds Can Help Banks Invest in Affordable Housing. OCC: Community Developments (Spring 2006). http://www.occ.gov/static/community-affairs/community-developments-investments/ spring06/howlihtcfunds.htm. [ 16 ]. Id.

Pros And Cons Of Living In The City essays

Pros And Cons Of Living In The City essays I stress the word "city" rather than small town, farm, or cabin in the woods because, in most cases your life can be far simpler in a city. A city's density leads to efficiencies in meeting your needs. Cities serve as a site for the exchange of labor, money, entertainment, culture, and are transit hubs. You can live in a city with less stuff than in the country, and your life can be richer through easy access to other people and culture. The city offers a safe, affordable metropolitan environment with a cosmopolitan atmosphere supporting a range of cultural events, services, educational institutions, and business opportunities. The transit systems give us access to an excellent public bus system with good transit connections, you could place yourself right in the middle of what you want, also almost all city have an airport, and long-distance passenger rail service so that you don't have to own a car. Most big cities offer a plethora of museums, musical events, festivals and educational opportunities to bolster your knowledge and experiences. Take classes or attend plays with your friends. Also when you grow older, your health will have to take more precedence in your decision-making. Cities have better access to hospitals and more home care opportunities If you've lived in the city your whole life, you might be ready for something different. The tribulations of city life could incite anyone to move to the country. Maybe you would like to have more space in your retirement. You'll have more difficulty finding a house with a yard in the city. Also, noise levels are pretty high. If you're looking for relaxation, it might be hard to find. You might have problems, as an older person, getting around in a city. Parking and traffic are both issues. Many buildings aren't fully accessible to the handicapped. Other fact is the small town may have cleaner air and water. Also the cities have higher crime rates than rural communitie ...

Successful democracy in th US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Successful democracy in th US - Essay Example The product of this tentative exercise is the Articles of Confederation which was submitted on July 12, 1776 to the Second Continental Congress. The three talking points it generated in Congressional sessions were â€Å"the apportionment of taxes according to population, the granting of one vote to each state, and the right of the federal government to dispose of public lands in the West†. (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2009) So concerns for the development and establishment of democracy did not figure during initial discussions. At the same time, one could argue that the template for equal representation of all states is an indicator of impending installation of democratic practices. Through Articles 1 and 13 there is no explicit mention of democracy or egalitarian citizen representation. The Articles are born out of concerns of the ruling elite, who are exclusively White Anglo-Saxon Protestant males (WASPs); they were also propertied slave owners. In fact WASP domination of Ame rican political and business society continues even today, albeit in a weakened form, making incredulous the claim that the Articles served as a guide for democracy in the country.

International Legal and Ethical Issues in Business Essay - 2

International Legal and Ethical Issues in Business - Essay Example But whether contracts are entered orally or in the written form, they should include the following essential elements for them to be deemed valid: parties capable of contracting, consent of the parties, lawful objects, and consideration (Bhana, Bonthuys, & Nortje, 2009). First and foremost, parties capable of contracting are those of legal age and are not convicted of any crime and thought to have mental or behavioral disorders. Hence anyone, save from the aforementioned exceptions, can enter into contract. In most instances, parties who involve themselves in these legal agreements should provide accurate and sufficient identities: full names, addresses and even titles. In sales contracts, moreover, the terms ‘seller’ and ‘buyer’ are oftentimes designated to the contracting parties (Steingold, 2009). Consent of the parties, which are free, mutual and well-communicated, qualifies for a valid contract. Consent obtained through intimidation, violence, fraud, un due influence and mistake does not make any contract valid. Similarly, consent is not considered mutual unless both parties agree on the same thing in the same sense. Basically, the articulation of an offer and an acceptance from contracting parties are required to make a contract valid (Helewitz, 2010). Furthermore, the thing being referred to in a contract is also called as the object. Objects must be lawful, possible and definite (Helewitz, 2010). Any law of court would not enforce any contract to perform an illegal act. Therefore, disputes in drug deals are not accommodated in legal agencies due to the fact that the contracts concerned are null and void. Of particular importance also in the determination of validity in contracts is consideration: meaning, each party must gain something out of the said agreement (Walston-Dunham, 2008). For example, if someone agreed to repair someone else’s house, and the latter never promised to give anything in return, then the one asked to do the service could not be sued for not showing up because he did not obtain consideration, in this matter. Objective Theory of Contract There are two approaches in deciding whether or not a party has entered into a valid contract. For the most part of legal history, the Subjective Theory of Contract happened to be the universal doctrine. However, during the late nineteenth century, the Objective Theory of Contract had been adopted by majority of lawyers and judges when deciding the merits of a contract dispute case, downplaying the former theory. Essentially, the recent theory upholds that the intention of the parties to a contract or an alleged contract, for that matter, is to be determined from their words and conduct, rather than their unexpressed or supposed intentions. Hence, it eradicates the subjective notion of intention (‘meeting of minds’ concept) which was deemed by most legal experts as vague and prejudicial (â€Å"Objective Theory of Contract,† 2011). But even though the Objective Theory of Contracts applies virtually in all jurisdictions, some aspects of subjectivity are nevertheless existent still. For instance, several strong cases for the nullification contracts are raised via the grounds of mistake or duress, which are practically based upon the subjective beliefs or intentions of one party of another (Farnsworth, 1999). In the ‘Harrier Jet’