The Hurricane Disaster Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 17

The Hurricane Disaster - Article Example The information does not dwell on a particular aspect of the disaster hence providing a very detailed report. The information is a lot but clearly presented with supporting evidence from officials handling the disaster rescue and recovery operation. The last article in the USA Today is not clear at all. It had information jumbled up and provides a lot of unnecessary information to the case. The timeliness is effective but the lack of clarity affects the understanding of the length information from the researchers (Cooper & Swanson, 2005). The article by Kay, (2005) can be said to be the most informative. This is so because it provides well-rounded information about the disaster without dwelling on only one area of it or deviating completely from the events of the disaster hence making the information lack clarity. The authors of this article discussed on the human deaths and injuries experienced, the property damages to the infrastructure especially, the financial implications of the disaster as well as seeking verification of the rescue efforts in place as well as other communication details that seem minute but very effective. The fact that the article discusses the disaster based on opinion and facts provided by several officials and not only the governor like in the previous article makes it even more informative. The article in The New York Times is written in informal communication style compared to the other two articles. The informal writing is meant to be understood by all the people without discriminating others from feeling worthy of the news article they are reading. The informal style enables a clearer understanding of the events and connects with the emotions of the audience. An example about reports from survivors â€Å"†¦were left clinging to the remains of their house when a 23-foot surge of water hit it, flexing the roof like a deck of cards (Treaster & Zernike, 2005).†

MAXXI National Museum Architecture

MAXXI National Museum Architecture MAXXI MUSEUM ­Ã‚ ­   Ã‚   Contemporary Architecture This report will focus on MAXXI National Museum and it will provide a comprehensive review of Contemporary museum architecture (built in Rome in 2009), designed by the Zaha Hadid Architects. As it was said in â€Å"Museums in the 21st Century†, there is no doubt to say that museum architecture seeks it’s development through the periods, divided into pre- and post-Bilbao eras. Bilbaos buildings are a variety of architectural styles, ranging from gothic to contemporary architecture like Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (build in Spain in 1997) which gives the begging of contemporary Bilbao movement. Rome has no obligation to turn itself into a trendy modern city; its glory rests on the achievements of antiquity, the Renaissance, and the Baroque. In mid1990’s a new policy in Rome for ’the promotion of contemporary architecture’ has tried to change the architectural understatement by its city governments, policy with different aspects, views and cultural activi ties, with willingness for novelty. The foundation of the Maxi Museum was followed by international design competition combining all the new prospects. Hadid’s proposal is an impressive urban sculpture with dynamic and indefinite exhibition space. To construct this essay, and prove that MAXXI museum is an example of Modernism various sources have been researched. Therefore, its consistency includes Architectural concept and urban strategy, space vs object, Institutional Catalyst and Contemporary Spatiality. The essay was conducted in the form of a survey, with data being gathered via books â€Å"Lubetkin Tecton: An architectural study† by Yoshio Malcolm Reading Peter Coe (1992) , â€Å"Frank O. Gehry: The complete works† by Francesco Dal Co Kurt W. Foster (1998) ,and the following articles â€Å"MAXXI Museum in Rome by Zaha Hadid Architects wins the RIBA Starling Prize 2010† by Levent Ozler, â€Å" Zaha Hadids MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Art s† by Zaha Hadid Architects,† Starling Prize 2010 Goes to Zaha Hadid’s MAXXI Museum in Rome† (unknown author). The early architectural modernism was indeed sudden break with tradition. Raise the banner of artistic simplification and geometrization, advanced substantiate this aesthetic slogan, ethical and political. The technique had become progressive character, and the machine a metaphor.In the history of the foundation of modernism role has Berthold Lubetkin along with Le Coubusier second- generation well-known modernist. In 1932, Lubetkin formed the Tecton partnership including Gofrey Samuel,Sir Herbert ,Michael Dugdale ,Valentine Harding and Anthony Chitty . Main years of work for Tecton partnership were the period from 1932 till the outburst of the Second world war, and their work can be categorized in four departments: Apartments in north London, the work for Finsbury Borough Council, The zoo work and house projects. One of the picturesque projects commissioned to build after earned reputation from the designed Regen’s park (built in London, 1978) and Whipsnade zoo (built in Whi psnade in 1931) was Dudley Zoo. Its location is outside Birmingham, in town called Dudley opened in May 1937.The geometric character of building consisted twelve animal enclosures which despite the different functions of the buildings they formed relationship based on close connection between them which was an early modernist example in England. In another hand on the official page of MAXXI museum Zaha Hadid commented that â€Å"the museum should not be seen as an object, but as a field of buildings†. Another way to support the touch of modernism is connected with the concrete walls in Kiosks, smallest buildings in the zoo. Concrete is material typical for this period, and the same construction techniques are used in Maxxi museum. In that way is proven that Maxxi museum was part of the Modern movement (modernism). Another modernist for this period is half American half Canadian architect Frank Gehry. Among the well-known work of him is (built in Spain in 1997). The projected was funded and owned by Basque Country Administration, presenting good access for trade business. The internal organizations of the spaces are distributed in three floors. The central court of the building serves as unit point, with open view to the city. Different art galleries fill the spaces with purpose to expose temporary exhibitions, permanent exhibitions and art from living artist.The material for the exterior curved walls of the building is limestone and for interior is used plaster. Natural light is captured via skylights with the help of shades control during the day. And as Frank Gehry says for the unconsciously made curved walls the randomness of the curves are designed to catch the light. With this citation it is suggested that engineers along with the architect used scientific knowledge, one of the typical c haracteristics for modernism. In Maxxi museum the fluid and sinuous shapes, the variety and interweaving of spaces and the modulated use of natural light is leading to functional framework. By measuring all these important aspect in order to have this result and let the light to come into the building they highlight the function. Therefore MAXXI museum it was also used scientific knowledge. Once it was said by Frank Lloyd Wrights that the perception â€Å"form follows function† implies the believes that it is design serve to its function. According to arcspace.com the main design idea of Maxi museum it is conected to the use of the building exhibition space for visual arts. Maxi museum walls crossing area and their interfaces define the interior halls of the museum and exterior.Because of the geometric abstraction in Maxxi museum â€Å"Form follows function†, we reach another characteristic of modernism. Modernism introduces the concept of truth to materials which states that the building materials should be exposed rather than hidden and situated in the appropriate place. An example of this is statement is Maxxi museum. With its limited range of materials, such as the walls of exposed concrete or gray flooring using its shortcomings, it is constructed a sequence. On second floor and third, the touch of daylight can be sense over the glass roof supported by steel struts. They possess a mechanism that helps for the exhibition of paintings and sculptures which are not mounted to the floor. In that why Maxxi museum is modernist building. Another architect of the modernism movement was Oscar Niemeyer. After his individual development in architecture and a series of projects in the city Belo Horizonte, he began to feel passion for oval shapes which links with his homeland, rivers and even woman’s body shape and concrete as a material for construction. The same materials are used in Maxxi museum, another good reason to support the evidence of Contemporary architecture. Exposed concrete and glass we can see in Peter Behrens building called AEG. Wassily Kandinsky was a Russian painter, who worked mainly in Germany and France. Kandinsky is expressionist and proclaimed himself for creator of the first abstract painting, despite concerns that it dates back to deliberate with an earlier date. His first works were abstract watercolor. His work in life passes through three stages: impression of external nature, improvisation and works compositions. Wassily works and lived initially in Munich and later in Russia, but because the conditions of Russian Communism the censorship of totalitarian regime was forced to emigrate. First assume teaching at the Bauhaus in Germany, after the closure of the school by the Nazis escaped to Paris. In 1933 by the National Kandinsky taught in Weimar, Dessau and Berlin, where he met with Russian constructivism. At that time, the geometry acquired superiority in his art. Forms which are reminding of microorganisms, but always depicting inner life of the Wassily. He used an unordinary color compositio ns imitating Slavic folklore. And mix sand with dyes to impart roughness colors. Accordingly to theguardian.com it mentions that Maxxi museum has different varieties of colors, such as: grey, black, white and wide range of cream mixtures of the exposed concrete. Our attention is grabbed, from the red abstract elements from the ceiling ,positioned in order to show the contemporary character of the building through color .Respectively of Wissily Kandinsky color theory based on abstract elements and forms ,we have proven our claim. Modernism is period with highly advanced technological development .It categorizes the exposure of the structure, that’s why it could be called the period of Structural Expressionism. Hi-tech architecture creates new visual ideas, and the admiration for economical building constructions led to poor manufacturing quality. During the eighties it was difficult to differentiate this technological improvement from post–modern architecture. This is exemplified in the work undertaken by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, Centre Pompidou. As it was mention in archdaily one of the main design concept ideas was the typically structural uncovering for modernism. The building was dived with the help of color coding .Using this system it could be easily recognized the different components or area of the building. For example electrical mechanism was colored in orange and yellow, structures and stairs were painted in grey .In maxi museum we have exposure of staircase too, which led agai n to the thought that Maxi museum is modernist building. Le Corbusier is a French architect and it was born in Switzerland. He formulated his five principles of modern architecture, in which he remains faithful to the end of his life. The first principle is connected with columns it separates the house from the ground through several supporting columns. The second principle is garden he also uses gardens on the roof of buildings. The third principle is a small number of load-bearing walls. The fourth principle is widely glazing and the last fifth principle is free facade exterior walls free from their load-bearing function. And based on those five point principles he adjusted one of his projects: Villa Savoye which has big influence over the modernism. With open plan and sequence of ramps, he dares the residents to go through the spaces constantly. In Maxxi museum the visitor are invited to enter into a series of continuous spaces, rather than the compact volume of an isolated building. So in both cases we have a unified space. Conclusion: To sum up, the main goal of the essay was to determine and explain why Maxxi museum is contemporary building. Based on several perceptions typical for modernism, it was proven accordingly to the concept â€Å"Form follows function, Truth to materials, unhidden structures and scientific knowledge. Maxi is a museum with numerous volumes and extension of lines, without center point, representing the circulation of images and ideas. Building is seen as a second skin of the city, responding to the environment, the building is seen as artistic s stretching drawing over the marvelous landscape.

FOREIGN TRADE POLICY AND THE IMPACT ON AGGREGATE EXPENDITURES AND EQUILIBRIUM :: essays research papers

FOREIGN TRADE POLICY AND THE IMPACT ON AGGREGATE EXPENDITURES AND EQUILIBRIUM There are two types of aggregate expenditures: Autonomous and Induced Autonomous expenditures are not influenced by real GDP. Induced expenditures are influenced by real GDP. Actual aggregate expenditure is always equal to real GDP. Equilibrium expenditure is the level of planned aggregate expenditure that equals real GDP. Net export expenditure reflects the international linkages based directly on service and merchandise flows across borders, and indirectly reflects capital flows into and out of a particular country. U.S. foreign trade and global economic policies have changed dramatically during the past two centuries. Since the Great Depression and World War II, the country has sought to reduce trade barriers. U.S. trade deficits have grown larger since the 1980's and 1990's as the American appetite for foreign goods has outstripped demand for American goods in other countries. The United States has not always been an advocate of free trade. At times throughout history, the country has had a strong impulse toward economic protectionism by using tariffs to limit imports of foreign goods in order to protect American industry. A big factor leading to the U.S. trade deficit was a sharp rise in the value of the dollar in the early to mid 1980's. This made U.S. exports more expensive and foreign imports into the United States cheaper. The dollar appreciated because of the recovery from the global recession of 1981-82, and in huge U.S. federal budget deficits which created a significant demand in the United States for foreign capital. That, in turn, drove up interest rates, and led to the rise of the dollar. Exports are determined by international prices, trade agreements, and the real GDP of foreign countries. All things being equal: the higher foreign prices, the more liberal trade agreements and the higher the real GDP of foreign countries, the higher the exports become. Exports are autonomous of real GDP. Imports are determined by international prices, trade agreements, and the real domestic GDP. All things being equal: the lower foreign prices, the more liberal trade agreements and the higher domestic real GDP, the higher the imports become. According to a recent article in Washington (Reuters), dated November 13, 2004, written by Jonathan Nicholson, â€Å"a tax aimed at boosting savings, holds promise.† This is in response to President Bush and one of his ideas to get the economy moving again. Bush is currently proposing to reform the tax code.

Student: Finance and Foods Market

FI-516 – WEEK 2 – MINI – CASE ASSIGNMENT Select a major industrial or commercial company based in the United States, and listed on one of the major stock exchanges in the United States. Each student should select a different company. Avoid selecting an insurance company or a bank, as the financial ratios for these financial businesses are different. Write a 7 – 8 page double spaced paper answering and demonstrating with calculations and financial data the following questions: 1. What is the name of the company? What is the industry sector? * The company name is Whole Foods Market Inc. Whole foods market, Inc. is the Food Retailers & Wholesalers industry. * The products include: grocery, seafood, bakery, prepared foods, meat and poultry, dietary and nutritional supplements, vitamins, specialty (beer, wine and cheese) body care products, floral and household products and pet products. 2. What are the operating risks of the company? * Organic foods market has several laws and regulations relating to health, sanitation and food labeling. * FDA, FTC, CPSC, USDA and EPA have set standards for the manufacture, packaging, and advertising of organic products. If failure to qualify these standards could result in the confiscation of marketing and sales licenses. 3. What is the financial risk of the company (the debt to total capitalization ratio)? Debt to total capitalization ratio = Debt / (Shareholder’s equity + Debt) ————————————————- 1,300,770 / 4,292,075 = 30. 31% 4. Does the company have any preferred stock? No, the Whole foods market, Inc. does not have any preferred stock. 5. What is the capital structure of the company? : Short term portion of Long Term Debt, Long Term Debt, Preferred Stock (if any), and market value f Common Stock issued and outstanding? * Capital structure: —————â €”——————————- Total Debt to Total Equity: 0. 60 ————————————————- Total Debt to Total Capital: 0. 60 ————————————————- Total Debt to Total Assets: 0. 42 ————————————————- Long-Term Debt to Equity: 0. 58 ————————————————- Long-Term Debt to Total Capital: 0. 58 * The Whole foods market, Inc. does not have any short-term portion of long-term debt, and there is no preferred stock. Long-term debt: $17. 44 million * The Whole foods market, Inc. has 300,000 share authorized and $178. 89 million shares issued and outstanding at 2011. 6. What is the company’s current actual Beta? ————————————————- * The current actual Beta is 0. 66 7. What would the Beta of this company be if it had no Long Term Debt in its capital structure? (Apply the Hamada Formula. ) ————————————————- BL= B1 [1+(1-T) (D/E)] ————————————————- = 0. 66 / [1+(1-0. 35) (0. 43)] ————————————————- 0. 52 8. What is the company’s current Marginal Tax Rate? —————————— Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- 35% 9. What is the Cost of Debt, before and after taxes? The cost of debt before taxes is 6. 7%, and after taxes is 4. 5%. 10. What is the Cost of Preferred Stock (if any)? The Whole foods market, Inc. does not have any preferred stock. 11. What is the Cost of Equity? ————————————————- Cost of Equity = (Dividends per share/current market value of stock)+Growth Rate of Dividends ————————————————- = (0. 40 / $86. 47) + 0. 56% ———————————————— = 0. 01 12. What is the cash dividend yield on the Common Stock? The cash dividend yield on the common stock is 0. 56 (0. 60%) 13. What is the Weighted Average Cost of Capit al of the company? The Weighted Average Cost of Capital is 7% 14. What is the Price Earnings Multiple of the company? ————————————————- Current market value of stock / EPS ————————————————- = $86. 47 / 2. 21 ————————————————- = 39. 13 15. How has the company’s stock been performing in the last 5 years?In May 2007, the price of common stock was $39. 74 per share, but it dropped to $8. 19 per share in 2009. Although after the recession of price drop, the price begins the raise up to $86. 47 per share now. 16. How would you assess the overall risk structure of the company in terms of its Operating Risks and Financial Risk (Debt to Capitalization Rat io)? Total debt/total equity| 0. 0063| Total debt/total capital| 0. 0063| 17. Would you invest in this company? Why? Or Why not? * Officially I would invest portion of my assets into the portfolio. Since the price has raise from the last two years in an even steady price.Even though they have two small period of time that drop for about 15%. Overall the stock market seems to be passive about the movement of the behavior optimistically. Therefore be hold within the smaller beta that show less variable of the changes. I believe this could be a chance to be rich! 18. The last page of your paper should be a Bibliography of the sources you used to prepare this paper. Bibliography: * http://www. wikinvest. com/stock/Whole_Foods_Market_(WFM) * http://www. thestreet. com/quote/WFM/details/company-profile. html * http://yahoo. brand. edgar online. com/displayfilinginfo. spx? FilingID=8260392-165255- 169255&type=sect&TabIndex=2&companyid=10959&ppu=%252fdefault. aspx%253fcik%253d865436 * http: //www. investopedia. com/terms/d/debt-to-capitalratio. asp#axzz1v5caUyeq * http://www. marketwatch. com/investing/stock/wfm/profile * http://finance. yahoo. com/q? s=WFM&ql=1 * http://www. investopedia. com/terms/c/costofequity. asp#axzz1v5caUyeq * http://www. thestreet. com/quote/WFM/details/growth-rates. html * http://www. wikiwealth. com/wacc-analysis:wfm * http://markets. ft. com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Financials? s=WFM:NSQ

Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia

Children, by their very nature, are friendlier and more loving than adults. Children also find it easier than adults to believe in the imagination and thereby build castles in the air. Thus, two lonely children in Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia build a bridge to Terabithia, which happens to be their very own imaginary forest kingdom. Jesse Aarons Jr. is a middle child among five siblings settled with their parents in rural Virginia. While his father works away in Washington D. C. , Jesse is not among his mother’s favorite children.She does not seem to have much time for the son. Even so, Jesse’s sister, May Belle, shows love for her brother and even looks up to him. Leslie Burke, another important character in the book, is the only child of rich writers who have moved into Jesse’s area only recently. After Leslie wins a race that Jesse had been preparing all summer to win himself, in spite of the fact that the race is meant for â€Å"boys only, † the two strike a friendship. Both Jesse and Leslie are loners who do not get along very well with the other children at school.Jesse is interested in art, while his dad in Washington D. C. disapproves. Leslie does not have a television at home. So, Jesse shares his love of art with his new friend, Leslie. She, in turn, describes to her new friend her own love of fantasy tales. Through these discussions emerge a new idea – that of creating a magical kingdom. This imaginary kingdom is created near the children’s homes and in the woods. What is more, this new kingdom belonging only to Jesse and Leslie is accessible only by means of a rope that must swing over the creek.The kingdom is called Terabithia, and Jesse and Leslie are respectively named the King and the Queen of Terabithia. Jesse and Leslie spend each day at Terabithia after school. It is in their very own kingdom that the two children finally find their own place in the world. They shed their fears in th is kingdom to boot, such as the fear of the bully, Janice Avery from 7th grade. One day when Jesse is out to the National Gallery of Art in Washington D. C. on a field trip with his music teacher, Ms.Edmunds, whom he admires very much, Leslie goes off to Terabithia on her own. But while she is trying to cross the bridge to Terabithia – the rope that swings over a creek which is rain-swollen – her head hits a rock and the girl falls into the water to drown. Although Jesse cannot easily get over the death of Leslie, he overcomes the grief by remembering the strength that his new friendship had given him. Jesse overcomes his grief also by returning to Terabithia to perhaps save the life of Leslie, imagining that she may be alive somehow.While he is searching for Leslie, he hears the cry of a young voice calling for help. At first, Jesse believes that he has found Leslie alive. However, the voice calling out to him is that of his younger sister, May Belle. Jesses helps out his younger sister who has got stuck right in the middle of the rope over the creek. Before Leslie’s parents leave Jesse’s area, the boy asks them whether he could take some wooden planks that are lying in their shed. The parents reply that Jesse may have anything left over by them.Jesse takes the wooden planks to Terabithia and builds a bridge to replace the nasty rope over the creek. Once he is finished, he takes May Belle along with him to Terabithia to declare that she would be the Queen of Terabithia from now. Hence, the Bridge to Terabithia becomes an extraordinary adventure for young children, who would also learn how to face the realities of life through this wonderful read. Indeed, the book has important lessons for young children, one of the more important ones of which appears to be the use of reason.