Gazprom Today free essay sample

Gazprom Today Largest Gas Company Gazprom is a planetary energy company fundamentally focused on geological geographic expedition, production, transit, storage, processing and selling of gas and other hydrocarbons every bit good as electric power and heat energy production and distribution. The province owns a 50.002 per cent commanding interest in Gazprom. Mission and Strategic Goal Our mission is to supply maximally efficient and well-balanced gas supply to Russian consumers every bit good as to procure a high grade of dependability when implementing long-run gas export contracts. Gazprom # 8217 ; s strategic end is to take the prima place among planetary energy companies by come ining new markets, diversifying concern activities and guaranting dependable supplies. Militias and Gas Production Gazprom Group possesses the universe # 8217 ; s largest natural gas militias. As of December 31, 2008 the Group # 8217 ; s A+B+C1 resources were estimated at 33.1 trillion three-dimensional metres. Harmonizing to the international PRMS criterions the Group # 8217 ; s proven and likely hydrocarbon militias are estimated at 27. We will write a custom essay sample on Gazprom Today or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 3 billion dozenss of fuel equivalent and valued at USD 230.1 billion. With 17 per cent of the planetary gas production, Gazprom Group is the leader among the universe # 8217 ; s oil and gas companies. In 2008 Gazprom Group produced 549.7 billion three-dimensional metres of gas. Reliable Gas Supplier to Russian and Foreign Consumers Gazprom owns the universe # 8217 ; s largest gas transmittal system capable of uninterrupted and long-distance gas bringing to Russian consumers and abroad. Gazprom gas trunklines stretch 159.5 thousand kilometer. The Company # 8217 ; s 165 gas distribution companies maintain 445.3 thousand kilometer of gas distribution grapevines and unafraid transit of 164.3 billion three-dimensional metres of natural gas. Gazprom exports gas to the states within and beyond the FSU, and continues reenforcing its places on conventional international markets. In 2008 the Company sold 184.4 billion three-dimensional metres of gas to European states along with 96.5 billion three-dimensional metres to the CIS and Baltic provinces. Diversifying Transmission Routes and Reinforcing European Energy Security Increasing the security of gas supplies to European consumers is one of Gazprom # 8217 ; s strategic marks. For this intent Gazprom has initiated the new gas transmittal undertakings # 8211 ; Nord Stream and South Stream # 8211 ; that will do it possible both to diversify export paths of Russian gas and to procure extra chances for raising gas export. Preparations are underway for the Shtokman field development undertaking offshore the Barents Sea. The undertaking will go the resource base for Russian gas export to Europe via the Nord Stream. Market and Product Diversification Gazprom is implementing a staged scheme of spread outing its presence on the liquified natural gas ( LNG ) market. This helps to widen the Company # 8217 ; s concern geographics. In 2005 Gazprom supplied its first LNG lading to the USA, in 2006 # 8211 ; to the Great Britain, Japan and South Korea. Gazprom # 8217 ; s entry in the Sakhalin II undertaking gives a strong drift for the completion of a large-scale undertaking targeted at providing energy bearers to Asia-Pacific and North America. In 2009 the first Russian LNG works was launched in Sakhalin. Business Precedences A concern precedence of Gazprom is the development of the Yamal Peninsula, Arctic continental shelf, Eastern Siberia and the Far East. Harmonizing to the assignment of the Russian Federation Government, Gazprom coordinates the execution of the Development Program for an incorporate gas production, transit and supply system in Eastern Siberia and the Far East, taking into history possible gas exports to China and other Asia-Pacific states ( Eastern Program ) . Russia # 8217 ; s East is planned to see the development of a gas processing and gas chemicals industry that will enable to rationally utilize significant militias of He and other valuable constituents of Eastern Siberia # 8217 ; s gas. Business Diversification Oil concern development and competitory presence in the power coevals industry are the strategic ends of Gazprom on its manner to go the taking planetary energy company. The scheme of oil concern development stipulates the growing of one-year oil production to 90 # 8211 ; 100 million dozenss by 2020. It is projected to accomplish this degree through phased development of all the proved oil Fieldss of Gazprom neft and other Gazprom # 8217 ; s companies every bit good as through acquisition of new licences. Gazprom has outlined the following strategic marks in the power coevals sector: variegation of duty ordinance hazards, fuel balance optimisation and obtaining the synergism consequence through combination of gas and power coevals concerns. Environment and Social Responsibility Gazprom carries out concern activities in rigorous conformity with the international and Russian environmental statute law. The Company has adopted the Environmental Policy and the List of paramount environmental activities until 2010. Environmental Policy execution of the will ensue in the cost decrease and addition in efficient resource use, minimized specific indexs of environmental impacts, optimized corporate direction system for environmental protection, Gazp rom’s well-balanced advanced development uniting production enlargement and modern and efficient attacks to the environmental protection. The major socially oriented undertaking of Gazprom is the Gasification Program for the Russian Federation parts, which was implemented in 64 Russian components in 2008. 153 inter-settlement gas grapevines with the entire length of 2,700 kilometers have been constructed in 47 Russian components. In 2009 the Gasification Program will be implemented in 69 components. Gazprom on Global Market In 2008 the mean capitalisation of the Company dropped by 7 per cent down to USD 241.1 billion ( USD 259 billion in 2007 ) . Despite the capitalisation lessening in 2008 Gazprom during that period retained the prima place among European companies by market capitalisation and was among the top 10 largest energy companies of the universe. Production Gazprom Group holds the universe s largest natural gas militias. As of December 31, 2009 the Group s A+B+C1 gas militias ( Russian criterions ) were estimated at 33.6 trillion three-dimensional metres while oil and condensate militias # 8211 ; at 3.1 billion dozenss. As for the gas production volume amounting to around 14.5 per cent of the planetary sum, Gazprom Group is one of the taking crude oil companies worldwide. In 2009 the Group produced 461.5 billion three-dimensional metres of natural and associated gas, 10.1 million dozenss of condensate and 31.6 million dozenss of oil. Natural gas from Central Asia is an indispensable component in Gazprom s resource base. Gazprom Group purchased 37.3 billion three-dimensional metres of Central Asian gas in 2009. Gazprom owns the universe s largest gas transmittal system capable of continuously conveying gas over long distances to Russian consumers and abroad. Gazprom s gas trunklines length exceeds 160.4 1000 kilometres. Gazprom is purpose on spread outing chemicals production, heightening valuable constituents extraction from natural gas and hiking advanced processing merchandises end product. In 2009 the Group processed 30.4 billion three-dimensional metres of gas and 44.3 million dozenss of oil and condensate. The power coevals concern development in Gazprom Group contemplates, inter alia, geting bets in bring forthing companies, constructing new bring forthing installations, every bit good as bettering power distribution and web operation concerns. The Group s cardinal assets in the Russian power industry are as follows: Mosenergo ( 53.47 per cent ) , TGC-1 ( 28.7 per cent ) , WGC-2 ( 56.6 per cent ) and WGC-6 ( 60 per cent ) . Gazprom is Russia s taking gas distributer. Gasification of Russian parts is hence a major end of the Group. In 2009 the gasification plan covered 69 Russian components and investing in gasification undertakings is earmarked for 65 parts of the state in 2010. In this subdivision you will besides happen information about the most important undertakings being implemented by Gazprom. Selling Gas bringings by Gazprom Group in 2008 Russia287 bcm of gas Europe 184,4 bcm of gas CIS and Baltic provinces 96,5 bcm of gas America and Asia-Pacific 454 thousand dozenss of LNG Selling Gazprom # 8217 ; s mission is to guarantee maximally efficient and balanced gas supply to Russian clients and faithfully carry through long-run gas export contracts. In 2008 Gazprom Group sold 567.9 billion three-dimensional metres of gas, of which 287.0 billion three-dimensional metres was supplied to the Russian market, 96.5 billion three-dimensional metres # 8211 ; to the CIS and Baltic part and 184.4 billion three-dimensional metres # 8211 ; beyond the former Soviet Union. Gas bringings to the Russian market history for over 50 per cent of Gazprom # 8217 ; s overall gas gross revenues. Together with the Russian Government the Company takes a figure of actions aimed at developing the Russian gas market in conformance with the market rules. Gazprom is active in vaporizing Russian parts Gazprom is the lone provider of gas to the regulated sector of the Russian market Since 2006 when the several Federal Law took consequence Gazprom has enjoyed the sole right to provide gas beyond Russia. The Company # 8217 ; s export scheme flexible joints on an integrated export channel and a system of long-run contracts. Nowadays Gazprom supplies around one tierce of the entire gas imports to Western Europe. The chief purchasers of Russian gas are Germany, Turkey, Italy and France. In its relationships with the CIS and Baltic provinces Gazprom adheres to the policy of a stagewise passage to the contract footings A ; conditions and pricing mechanisms similar to those applicable in European states. Furthermore, the gas monetary value expression presently used for the Baltic states makes Gazprom # 8217 ; s bringings to the part profitable in line with European degrees. Gazprom # 8217 ; s selling scheme in the American and Asia-Pacific markets stipulates consecutively hiking liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) supplies. Between 2005 and 2008 the entire LNG gross revenues through topographic point trades reached 1.2 million dozenss ( 1.7 billion three-dimensional metres ) . Gazprom is the bulk stockholder in the Sakhalin II undertaking. In 2009 the first Russian LNG works was brought online as portion of the undertaking. The full end product will be supplied to Japan, South Korea and North America.

Ramadan in Islamic Traditions

Ramadan in Islamic Traditions Today there are lots of different religions so that people can easily find the one to follow. The new ones are not very popular, and some of them are even unknown to the majority of the general public, which cannot be said about those that are accepted by millions of individuals. Islam1 is one of them, as it is said to have more than a billion of followers.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Ramadan in Islamic Traditions specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A monotheistic worldview that is created by this religion proves it to be similar to others including Christianity; still they should not be discussed as familiar ones. Islam became known as a religion with numerous followers at the beginning of the 7th century, and its occurrence cannot be described without the connection to Muhammad2. According to Islamic tradition, this man is a non-direct descendant of Adam. He lived an ordinary life till he turned 40 years of age. A t this period, Muhammad saw a vision from the angel Gabriel, and this event changes his life greatly, as with the course of time he turned into a prophet. The first vision was received during the month of Ramadan, which is exceptional for Muslims3 (Anderson 10). Ramadan is the 9th month in the Islamic year, which is based on the changing moons, so the time when it occurs and its duration (29-30 days) differ. It is a sacred period of time for Muslims, and for many years already they devote it to fasting and praying (Murray 6). This month is given to people to show their devotion to Allah. However, currently Muslims tend to observe only the third pillar4 of their religion (fasting) and forget about prayers and charity. Today they are changed for parties and shopping, which resembles a holiday more than the act that should prove people’s belief in Allah (Blackwell 2). During this month, Muslims take suhur5 before the sunrise and end the day with iftar6 (â€Å"Ramadan, the Month of Fasting† par. 6). Ramadan reaches its decline with the holiday that is called Eid al-Fitr, during which Muslims are not permitted to fast. Nowadays many people are allowed to change their religion to the one they find the most appropriate and lots of individuals are immigrants who changed their location, Ramadan is celebrated not only in the Muhammad’s native country but also in the US, New Zealand and other places. Ramadan unites all followers of Islam giving them the time they can use to focus on their faith and families. Thousands of people gather in one place to pray in Arabic even if it is not their native language, as the Quran7 is written in it. The reason Ramadan is still celebrated by all Muslims lies in the fact that the followers of Islam believe that during this month the gates to heaven are open while those that lead to hell are closed. It means that Allah looks at people and rewards their good deeds that can be easily conducted as the devil cannot infl uence them.Advertising Looking for essay on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As a consequence, many believers try to give up their bad habits and pray more. This is the time when the least disagreements occur and when people develop their positive qualities that are likely to make them closer to God. Among the customs that are considered to enhance spirituality is charity. Muslims tend to help poor people. They gather food, clothes and money to give it those who are in need. They also read the Quran and try to look through it till the end before Ramadan ends (Sievert 8). According to the Quran, people who are not able to conduct some of the expected actions during Ramadan can substitute them by different ones: â€Å"If one volunteers (more righteous works), it is better; but fasting is the best for you, if you only knew† (Tucson par. 3). In this way, more Muslims can keep to their religion a nd its rules, which allows Islam remain extremely popular among the population of the world. The followers also believe that the things they are to do are all beneficial for them, as Allah would never ask them to do something bad. They have proved this theory by proving the positive effects of fasting, which also reduces the number of non-believers. In some countries, the individuals who fail to follow the rules of Ramadan are treated as criminals and can be even put in prison for several years. There are also some other ways of punishment that include fines and physical punishment. In this way, the crime rates decrease greatly. Thus, Ramadan is extremely important for all followers of Islam regardless their location and nationality. This is the month when people become highly religious and act according to the accepted norms. Ramadan is not only the way to show the devotion to God but also a thing that make people less aggressive and more generous. Anderson, Kerby. A Biblical Poin t of View on Islam, Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2007. Print. Blackwell, Amy. Ramadan, New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009. Print.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Ramadan in Islamic Traditions specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Murray, Julie. Ramadan. Edina: ABDO, 2011. Print. Ramadan, the Month of Fasting n.d. Web. https://www.colostate.edu/. Sievert, Terri. Ramadan: Islamic Holy Month, Mankato: Capstone, 2006. Print. Tucson, Masjid. Blessings of Ramadan 2006. Web. masjidtucson.org/publications/books/sp/2006/sep/page1.html. References 1 The Abrahamic religion according to which the aim of the human’s existence is worshipping to Allah (God); the second largest religion. 2 Muá ¸ ¥ammad ibn Ê ¿AbdullÄ h is the messenger sent by Allah to direct people. 3 People who follow Islam.Advertising Looking for essay on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More 4 The acts that Muslims are to conduct being believers. There are 5 pillars in total. 5 The pre-dawn meal during Ramadan. 6 The evening meal during Ramadan. 7 The main text of Islamic religion, which reveals the Allah’s messages.

Final Thoughts on Argument ( 8 ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Final Thoughts on Argument ( 8 ) - Essay Example One could claim that marketing cigarette products to the youth is simply too much to handle. First let us examine what prompted cigarette companies to come up with this decision. â€Å"Younger adults are the only source of replacement smokers† (RJ Reynolds). This means to say that as people age – while smoking – signs and consequences of this decision will begin to show. As a result, they wouldn’t be as enthusiastic as they were when they started smoking. This is what many cigarette companies try to avoid. If they want to keep their business thriving and prospering, they need younger adults which will require brand new form of marketing. True – from the industry’s point of view, this may just be the right thing to do. After all, they just mean business and this is nothing personal for them. Without overanalyzing and putting things under simple perspective, cigarette companies are just doing what they need to do to keep up with the current market. But nothing justifies the consequences that will happen in the future. On the surface, this may be an acceptable proposition for many cigarette companies though on second thought they are just taking advantage of our youth – the hope of the future. Why do teens smoke? "Kids are vulnerable to smoking because the transition to adulthood is fraught with stress, insecurity, and the need to be accepted by peers. If kids see smokers who they think are cool or look grown-up, they may strive for that image, too† (Lang and Marks). Judging from this, kids are innocent victims of the adult driven world. Cigarette companies know this vulnerability and weakness and this is the reason why they target this specific market. They know they can earn money from them more than they can from adults who know what they are doing and have other priorities in life already. However, kids don’t realize they are vulnerable and weak. They often have these overly positive views about

Non-US Health Care System Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Non-US Health Care System Analysis - Essay Example A health care system is a systematic set up of medical arrangement where the nursing and care of health is being taken care of. Among the different health care system that exist in the world here the paper is focusing on the system of England only. The objectives of health systems as per the recommendations for betterment of performance in health care systems as enshrined in the World Health Report 2000, are as follows: sound health, responsiveness as per the scale of the population and a handsome financial help. A two dimensional method has been devised for the assessment of health care systems. In this process, we have quality, acceptability and efficiency on one hand while equity is the other concern. Thus, it is taking the quantitative descriptors as a parameter to judge the nation’s current status of service provider and the kinds of facility that can be available at the moment of truth. Like any other country England also has got the models in use in the system of health. We may rarely find a completely public health care institution, which would play a minimal role in the hardcore medical section. They serve usually, for a comparatively well to do segment of population in a low profile country with a lower standard of health care. For instance, private clinics for a small, wealthy segment of population in a poor country mainly find their proper operating place, and which becomes logical too. It shows the target segment of the private enterprises, which further reflects the particular demographic composition of that segment of the system. However a large number of nations with most of the systems enlisted under private system provide residual service to the public. (BMC Health Services Research 2005). Among the other important models, the public insurance systems play the important role of a system of social security health care. In this model the state itself insu res the workers along with their respective

Contract Laws Essay Example for Free

Contract Laws Essay When it comes the laws of business there are a broad range of categories and topics. A topic that we would find when studying business law is contracts. â€Å"A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more people.† (Rogers, 2012) In the world we live in learning about contract laws is very vital when entering into one. We must be aware that there is more than just on type of contract and there are several steps that both parties must follow before any contract can be legal. There are several types of contracts that individuals can enter. These types are expressed, implied, bilateral, unilateral, simple, formal and quasi contracts. An express contract are â€Å"formed by the express language of the parties—the actual words they use in their agreement—and can be either written or oral.† (Rogers, 2012) This type of contract does not have to be in writing. An expressed contract contains the offer, acceptance and consideration elements of a contract. Express contracts are usually compared to implied contracts. Implied contacts are â€Å"formed not by the express words of the parties, but rather by their actions.† (Rogers, 2012) With this type of contract the agreement is implied by actions. There are no expressed words within an implied contract. It can be either implied in fact or in law. If a contract will result in inequity or harm it will not be implied. If there is any doubt or discrepancy exists, then the court might not con clude a contractual relationship. If an implication arises that they have jointly assented to a new contract that contains the same requirements as the old agreement. Another type of contract is a bilateral contract. A bilateral contract is a† reciprocal arrangement between two parties under which both parties promise to perform an act in exchange for  the other partys act† (BusinessDictionary.com). When entering into a bilateral contract there is a joint agreement among the two parties that entails the performance of an act. The promise made by one party constitutes sufficient consideration for the promise made by the other party. It is a common contract because we enter into a bilateral contract everything we make a purchase, order or receive any kind of treatment. Bilateral contracts are compared to unilateral contract. Unilateral contract are agreements that deal with a promise that is made by only one person involved in the contract. This agreement is when there is an exchange for the performance or non-performance of an act by the other party. Only one of the contracting parties can be enforced to comply with contract. This type of contract is one-sided because only the offeror is legally bound in complying with the terms of the contract. The offeree can comply or refrain from performing the act, but he or she cannot be sued if they do not comply. If you accept an offer from a unilateral contract it cannot be achieved by making another agreement only by performance or non-performance of some particular act. An offer can be revoked until the act has been performed or there was no act completed and the date has passed. The following contract is called a simple contract. It is in no way a lawfully recorded or legitimately sealed contract, but breeches are still frequently ruled on by a judge. It â€Å"is any oral or written contract that is not required to follow a specific form, or be signed, witnessed, or sealed.† (Rogers, 2012). They are not necessarily formalized contracts and do not entail court proceedings in order to make them binding. They are simply an agreement that is among the parties involved. They are usually compared to formal contracts. Formal contract are â€Å"a written agreement between two parties that are considered to be legally binding and enforced my law† (Laws.com). They must be in writing, signed and seal by all parties entering into the contract. In order for a formal contract to be valid it must contain three elements, which are the offer, the acceptance and a payment for the services provided or goods delivered. This type of contract eliminates any uncertainty regarding its terms and conditions. It contains a preface section which is utilized to clearly define the essentials terms that are utilized within the contract. This helps in eliminating redundancy in the use of common language. It also insures substantive terms of the contract  that are described and referenced in t he contract. Quasi contracts are the last type of contract discussed in the text. Quasi contracts are not a realistic contract. â€Å"They are a remedy that a court may offer to make things fair.† (Rogers, 2012). This type of contract is implied by law. Courts will imply a fictional contract to require one party to return benefits to the other party where unjust enrichment has occurred. Unjust enrichment doctrine deals with the equality of a quasi contract. It states that no party should profit at the expense of the other without making restitution of a reasonable value. When there is no oral or written agreement, courts depend on this doctrine to provide a legal remedy for a quasi contract. A Quasi contract can be compared to an implied contract. There are two types of implied contracts. These types are Implied-in-fact and Implied-by-law. A quasi contract is considered to be an Implied-by-law. It is different from an implied-in-fact because the courts treat the former as an express written contract because of the actions and words that both parties have expressed. Even though neither party has verbally expressed the acceptance of the contract their actions might be viewed differently. A contracted can be valid and enforceable, but can also be found to be unenforceable and can be voided. In order for a contract to be valid and enforceable it must contain the five elements of a contract to be legally binding. These elements are offer, acceptance, consideration, legality and capacity. The first element of a valid contract is the offer. An offer â€Å"is an invitation for another to enter into a contract† (Rogers, 2012). Offers can be verbal or written, but must at all times be clear terms. They can be bilateral or unilateral terms. They are not legally binding. Offers can be voided is any of the individuals involved cannot or do not comply with their promise. Offers can also be voided, repealed or annulled after parties have accepted the offer, unless there is a clause where it states that revocations are not allowed. The following element is acceptance. An acceptance â€Å"is an acquiescence to enter into a contract under the terms of the offer† (Rogers, 2012). Once an offer is made the parties must agree on the terms. All parties must be willing to enter into the agreement. Acceptances can be implied or  expressed. They can be directed to all parties involved or just one person. There are times when the individual making the offer will invite the person accepting the offer by actually performing the acts that the offeror is bargaining for. This occurs when special tribulations of notification, revoking and confidence in the form of limited performance can occur. Consideration is the next element of a valid contract. A consideration is â€Å"anything of legal value that is asked for and received as the price for entering into a contract† (Rogers, 2012). For a contract to be considered to be legally binding it must be supported by a valuable consideration. For instance, a party is required to do something in exchange for the promise that was made in a benefit of value. It is what each individual in the contact provides to the other as the established value for the other’s promise. For the most part, considerations are usually a payment of money, but are not always. At times they can be a promise to do something such as a type of work in return for something. The fourth element is legality. This is â€Å"an agreement may be considered illegal if it would violate a statute; result in commission of a tort; or violate public policy.† (Rogers, 2012). In contract law, legality of purpose is required of every enforceable contract. Agreement of a social nature are presumed not to be legally binding, but with evidence can be rebutted in court. Also, any domestic agreements such as agreements created by a parent and a child are generally unenforceable on the basis of the system of law. The last element is capacity. Capacity is â€Å"the mental competency of an individual and also with special rules for people who are under legal age† (Rogers, 2012). In other words, it deals with the competence of all parties. In order for an individual to enter into a contract they must be capable to do so. All parties entering the contract have to be over the legal age, mentally capable and cannot be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If a contract is made with an individual that is under the age of 18 or 21, depending on the jurisdiction, the contract is voidable, but is legal and enforceable until or unless the individual revokes it. In the  eyes of the law, individuals under the age of 18 or 21 are deemed to be immature and naà ¯ve to enter into a contract. The individual may avoid the legal duty to perform the terms of the agreement without being liable of breach of contract. All parties must also be mentally capable of entering into a contract. If a party does not understand the nature and/or consequences of the contract when it is formed the contract can be voided. An individual that lacks the legal capacity can be declared incompetent in a court and can be appointed a legal guardian. If someone is to enter into a contract with someone who is not mentally capable the contract will be voided and there will not be any legal effects because neither party may be legally compelled to comply with the terms. Lastly, no one entering in to a contract can be intoxicated. All parties must be sober at the time of entering a contract in order for the contract to be deemed enforceable. When someone is under the influence they are not capable of knowing what they are doing and why. They might also not comprehend the terms of the contract which makes it unenforceable. A contact can appear to be legally binding because it may contain all the elements of a contract, but there are defenses to a contract that can also make a contract unenforceable and voidable. There are two types of defense to a contract, which are lack of genuine assent and lack of proper form. Genuine assent or â€Å"meeting on the minds† is a criteria utilized to determine validity of acceptance of an offer for a contract. This occurs when the acceptance of a contract is secured through improper or illegal means such as fraud, mistake, duress and undue influence. The first type of genuine assent that will be discussed is fraud. Fraud is the premeditated falsification of an essential matter of the contract. When there is an existence of fraud in a contractual proceeding it makes the contract unenforceable and can be voided by the party upon whom the deception was perpetrated. According to our text, there are two types of fraud, which are fraud in the execution and fraud in the inducement. Fraud in the execution merely occurs when one of the individuals who entered in to the contract isn’t aware that they are entering in to one. The second fraud is when both parties are aware they are entering into the contract, but one of the  parties is deceived when entering into it. The following type that can make a contract unenforceable and invalid is a mistake. A mistake is also known as a mutual mistake. When there is a mistake this means that both parties made a mistake to something that is vital to the contract. Just because one party can make a mistake doesn’t necessarily mean that the contract is voidable. In order for it to be considered as unenforceable it must have a significant effect on the exchange or bargaining development. The following factor is duress. Duress is when one party forces the other party to sign a contract. The force can be either physical or emotional pressure. When there is use of duress the contract is voidable by the party that was under duress during signing. Duress can be defined by three categories, which are actual or threatened violence to an individual, threats to an individual’s property and/or economic duress. Economic duress is the more difficult to prove because you have to establish the boundaries of acceptance behavior of this kind of pressure. Duress is sometimes compared to undue influence, but there are different. As mentioned above, duress deals with someone being pressured into signing the contract, whereas undue influence is when a party is manipulated in to signing the contract. If one party has put inequitable and inappropriate pressure on the other in the discussions leading to the signing of the contract, common law will allow duress and undue influence to allow for the terms of the contract to be set aside. Common laws are laws â€Å"made by the decisions of judges in individual cases. â€Å" (Rogers, 2012). Undue influence is easy to recognize because it can involve the parties having a fiduciary relationship or one of the members involved depends on another due to their age, illness, infirmity, etc. A fiduciary relationship is a relationship where one individual has a responsibility to act for the others benefit. When undue influence occurs the individual who is suppose to be helping the other person out is taking advantage of that person. Lastly, the second type of defense to a contract as listed above is lacks proper form. This is generally when it lacks writing. There are certain types of contracts that are required to be in writing, but at times we aren’t aware. If these types of contracts are not in writing then they  cannot be enforced. It is important to learn about contract laws. They are the foundation of our society. Since we enter into contracts on a daily bases we should be aware of these laws. Contracts can be complicated and having knowledge of the different types and what makes them enforceable or voided can really be helpful. If there were no laws on contract then the agreements we make could become impractical and unworkable. References Lewinsohn, J. L. (1914). Contract Distinguished From Quasi Contract. California Law Review, 2(3), 171. Rogers, S. (2012). Essentials of Business Law. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Smith, C. A. (2012). Contracts. http://www.west.net/~smith/contracts.htm Information regarding elements of a contract and remedies for breach. Undefined. (n.d.). Bilateral Contract. In BusinessDictionary.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/bilateral-contract.html. Undefined. (n.d.). Know the types of Formal Contract. In Laws.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://contract-law.laws.com/types-of-contracts/types-of-formal-contract.

Patriotism Aided in Socrates Acceptance of His Death Essay -- History

THESIS STATEMENT Patriotism aided in Socrates' acceptance of his death, although believing he was unjustly convicted of corrupting the youth of Athens and creating divinities in place of the gods. PURPOSE STATEMENT Through books and essays about Socrates, research, and analysis it shows that he was truly guilty of his crimes and accepted them willingly although he believed he was innocent. INTRODUCTION A member of the jury watched as the defendant, tense and nervous, looked over at the Kleptsydra, or the water-clock, and realized time is of the essence. When the Kleptsydra is empty, the jury of five hundred, who are expected to make a decision, look puzzled and confused on which side to vote for. After counting the votes, the verdict, guilty. The defendant had only lost by a slight margin of 260 against to 240. Each party, accusers and defendant, proposes a penalty: the accuser proposes death, but astonishingly, the defendant proposes to be treated as an Olympic victor. The year is 399 BCE. Socrates was a simple man, famous, seventy years old, and had been doing his normal routine when he was confronted with an obstacle, which changed the course of what was left of his life. He had seen something similar in his time which also happened coincide with the obstacle he faced. What he did not know was what was gong to happen next. Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and creating new divinities. The new accusers, as Socrates called them, were Meletus, Lycon, and Anytas. He was found guilty, but many today and then argue for his innocence, including Socrates himself. He thought himself innocent, but still accepted his death with courage out of his patriotism for Athens. Socrates could have avoided his d... ... accepted his penalty out of patriotism. Socrates is the meaning of Patriot when it comes to Athens. "Nothing means more to Socrates than Athens, and, more importantly, than the Athenians within it" (Hughes xxii). Socrates served in the military and the assembly, having an active role in politics. He did this to fashion Athens to be the best it can be. Even when Athens turned against him, he still had a deep love for it, by carrying out his sentence of death, believing he had done a favor for Athens by removing the sickness. Socrates was a visionary of a greater Athens, but was quietly targeted and gun down by those who found fault in him. At the end of Socrates' life, he was not honorably discharged, nor did he receive a corona civica for his attempt in changing Athens for the better, but was condemned to death for stepping out of line, marching in plain site.

Benifits of introducing children to books at an early age and Reading Aloud

Educational researchers praise the practice of parents and teachers reading to children. In a book aimed at helping parents provide their children with useful learning experiences, for example, Butler and Clay (1999) asserted: â€Å"There is no substitute for reading and telling stories to children, from the very earliest days† (p. 17). Based on his review of the literature on reading to children, Teale (1991) concluded that â€Å"reading to preschool children . . .Is an activity through which children may develop interest and skill in literacy† (p. 902). And in Becoming a Nation of Readers, Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, and Wilkinson (1995) cited reading to children as â€Å"the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading† (p. 23). Moreover, a number of correlational studies have linked activities in which adults and preschool children share book reading to the children's beginning reading success in school (Hew ison & Tizard, 1990).Such unabashed praise for reading to children is intriguing because it begs for elaboration: Why is reading to young children thought to be so beneficial? What knowledge do children acquire from it? Although asserting the value of the practice of reading to children, researchers have given little attention to what children learn from it. Interactive story reading is a joint use of picture books to talk about the pictures, read the text, and discuss the story ideas.Central to this definition is the notion that the adult and child (or group of children) construct an understanding of the book together. It is because of this emphasis on the joint construction of meaning that we prefer this term over others, such as shared reading, story reading, reading aloud to children, and guided reading that have been used in the research literature to label the event of reading to children. When adults read stories to young children, they usually do more than read the words alo ud.They ask meaningful questions about the stories. To make sure children understand the story, they paraphrase or interpret as needed, and they answer the children's questions about it. From the research that has examined parent-child story reading, it is possible to explain the social nature of the event and to make deductions about what young children learn during it. The research on parents reading to children is based primarily on middle-class mothers reading to their preschool children at bedtime.Moreover, the studies are often descriptions given by highly educated mothers reflecting on their practices with their children. A seminal work of this type is the Ninio and Bruner (1998) study in which it was found that highly ritualized discussion sequences between parent and child occur during story reading, and that these sequences are the primary means through which toddlers learn to label pictures.Ninio and Bruner found that mothers interpret children's smiling, babbling, vocali zing, reaching, and pointing as either requesting or providing labels. For example, a baby reaches toward one of the pictures in the book, and the mother extends that gesture by saying the name of the picture. Moreover, if the baby vocalizes or gestures toward the picture when the mother gives a label, the mother assumes that the baby is attending to the name she gave, furthering the likelihood that she will continue to provide labels.These parentchild interchanges are orchestrated into turn-taking sessions, with parent or child initiating a communication. At about the same time that Ninio and Bruner were reporting their work, Snow (1993) began reporting her analyses of mother-child discussion during book sharing. She posited that the features of the interactions that support oral language acquisition are the very same features that promote beginning reading and writing development.She highlighted four such features: (a) semantic contingency, or the adult continuing a topic introduc ed by the child's previous statement through expansions, extensions, clarifications, or answers; (b) scaffolding, or the steps the adult takes to minimize the difficulty of the activity; (c) accountability procedures, or the way the mother demands the task be finished; and (d) the use of highly predictable contexts for language use that help the child move from the concrete here and now to the remote and abstract.Elaborations on these four features illustrate how children learn about reading through social interactions during interactive storybook reading. The use by adults of semantic contingency, or meaningfully extending a child's comment to facilitate oral language acquisition, has been well documented (Cross, 1998). Snow (1993), however, argued that when adults expand on or clarify text during storybook reading, they facilitate the development of literate behavior.For example, adults can answer children's questions about letter names and words, they can clarify story meaning, a nd they can extend children's understanding of story concepts such as what direction one reads print or where a word begins and ends. Not only is the discourse during interactive story reading expansive in nature, Snow argued, it is scaffolded. Drawing from Bruner (1998), she defined scaffolding as the â€Å"steps taken to reduce the degrees of freedom in carrying out some task, so that the child can concentrate on the difficult skill he is in the process of acquiring† (p. 170).Scaffolding occurs in oral language development. For example, although young children often say only one word for a whole sentence when they are learning to talk, parents respond by treating the word as a complete and sophisticated statement. In story reading, scaffolding might include parent reminders to the child about the name of the story, who the important characters are, or what the story problem is. The parent might point to a picture and then its printed label, hesitate to see if the child fill s in a story word or phrase, or encourage the child to help tell parts of a story.Snow also argues that parents challenge their children during reading sessions by holding them accountable for what they do to help construct the session. Snow and Ninio (2006) proposed seven tenets of literate communication from the interactions during the reading event that, although not explicitly taught, help children become literate. These tenets are (a) that a book is for reading rather than manipulating, (b) that a book controls the conversation, (c) that pictures are events, (f) that book events occur outside of real time, and (g) that books are an independent fictional world.It is clear that parents help children take over storybook-reading talk, and that this practice encourages children's later strategies for talking about and interpreting books. The descriptive research shows clearly that children experience opportunities for learning from engaging in interactive story reading with parents, and that the interactions have characteristic patterns that children imitate and that could promote literacy development.The nature of the dialogue that occurs during interactive book reading is affected by factors that include the size of the group, the competency of the participants, and the familiarity and type of the text. Yet a basic framework can be seen. When parents or teachers model, read, and talk to children about a text, they provide a structure that helps children understand and remember the story content.By promoting socially interactive story reading in which both reader and listener actively participate and cooperatively negotiate what is important and what things mean, teachers engage children in a process of learning through social interaction. It appears that, not only do children internalize the social conventions of stories when they talk with adults about them, they take away specific knowledge from hearing stories, such as the syntax, organization, and word f orms used in written language, and knowledge of its elements – words and letters themselves.Explanations of how children move into independent word reading have assumed a strong relationship among letter knowledge, phonological awareness, and reading (Ehri, 1999). Reading requires children to attend to the sounds in words and to the letters that symbolize those sounds. New evidence from interactive reading studies suggests that interactive reading may be another way to draw children's attention to print and to the ways that letters sound in words. through interactive reading, children begin to remember the story dialogues.In the process, they acquire written language structures and new vocabulary and then begin to focus on print and letter concepts. The research documents that these aspects of literacy learning can appear both at home and in the classroom. Therefore, both parents and teachers can promote young children's literacy acquisition through interactive story reading. At home, children can learn at a fairly optimal level because most parents are sensitive to their children's developing abilities in language.Parents can connect book information with their children's background experiences, and they are better attuned to the children's interests and level of understanding. At school, teachers achieve similar effects if they organize the story reading to elicit maximum participation from all students and if they repeatedly read stories. The theoretical construct posited by Vygotsky helps to explain how learning occurs. When reading to children is a social event, children's book explorations are refined through the verbal and nonverbal interactions that take place during the reading.During the reading, adults highlight and interpret the reality of the book, its written language features, vocabulary, and print forms, and the children mimic and modify the language to fit their understanding. Structured interactions enable children to add these underst andings to their current viewpoints through play with the language, questions, comments, and attempts to extend their understandings by making sense of new situations with the book language and print.From this theoretical perspective, it becomes obvious that reading to children without allowing discussion is not likely to be sufficient for developing the ability to use written language. If the goal is to teach literacy, an adult should mediate the ideas in books by keeping within bounds of children's understandings and by using an interactive story reading approach. Then, story reading becomes a way for young children to acquire knowledge about written language at new levels of understanding.Their face-to-face communication with adults provides a way for them to ask questions, comment about what makes sense, and use book language and book ideas. Although picture books provide essential picture and story line context, the language is without intonation, gestures, and pitch until an a dult reads it to the child. But, through mediation of this language, the child learns to interpret, apply, and transfer the sophisticated written language to their own oral language. Thus, literacy learning opportunities abound in interactive reading sessions.The process takes place through highly structured social interactions, interactions that involve routine joint participation sequences, in which the adults help children make connections to their own knowledge, and in which children make known their old understanding and practice their new understandings. Although this approach is easier for parents who are reading to one child, sufficient evidence now exists that teachers can read to small groups of children in a similar way, particularly in situations where teacher-group interactive language structures are fairly routinized, such as in rereading stories.Children learn about three aspects of literacy when they engage in interactive reading. First, they acquire knowledge about written language structures from the stories that they read interactively with an adult on a regular basis, and that they can talk about, act out, and use to play with story language. This suggests that teachers need to provide opportunities for children to hear and talk about stories. Second, they acquire new vocabulary from listening to stories.Children's oral language is embellished with new words and book phrases that are drawn from the book they hear read, particularly those they hear read repeatedly. Their attention to story information thereby becomes more focused and their listening comprehension improves. Finally, children learn about the form of print, that is, about how language is graphically represented, when they have opportunities to memorize texts and recite them as though they were reading. Their learning can be heightened when the print in the stories is salient, and when they hear repeated readings.Repeated reading is an activity particularly well suited for presc hool and kindergarten classrooms and will foster development of children's letter knowledge and phonological awareness, which can be connected to later word and letter recognition and to decoding. It is clear from more than a decade of research that interactive story reading is a powerful social avenue for developing language and literacy, and that it can be used as an influential literacy tool both in the home and in the school; that is, as Cochran-Smith (1984) has said, the child and adult bring to life books, and books enrich children's lives.Works Cited Anderson R. C. , Hiebert E. H. , Scott J. A. , & Wilkinson I. A. G. (1985). Becoming a nation of readers: The report of the Commission on Reading. Champaign, IL: Center for the Study of Reading; Washington, DC: National Institute of Education. Butler D. , & Clay M. (1999). Reading begins at home: Preparing children for reading before they go to school. London: Heinemann. Cochran-Smith M. (1984). The making of a reader. Norwood, N J: Ablex. Cross T. G. (1998). â€Å"Mother's speech and its association with rate of linguistic development in young children†. In N.Waterson & C. Snow (Eds. ), The development of communication. London: Wiley. Bruner J. S. (1998). â€Å"Learning how to do things with words†. In J. S. Bruner & R. A. Garton (Eds. ), Human growth and development. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Ehri L. C. (1999). â€Å"Movement into word reading and spelling: How spelling contributes to reading†. In J. M. Mason (Ed. ), Reading and writing connections (pp. 65-82). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Hewison J. , & Tizard J. (1990). â€Å"Parental involvement and reading attainment†. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 50, 209-215.Ninio A. , & Bruner J. (1998). â€Å"The achievement and antecedents of labelling†. Journal of Child Language, 5, 1-6. Snow C. E. (1993). â€Å"Literacy and language: Relationships during the preschool years†. Harvard Educational Re view, 53, 165-189. Snow C. E. , & Ninio A. (2006). â€Å"The contracts of literacy: What children learn from learning to read books†. In W. H. Teale & E. Sulzby (Eds. ), Emergent literacy: Writing and reading (pp. 116-138). Norwood, NJ: Ablex. Teale W. H. (1991). â€Å"Parents reading to their children: What we know and need to know†. Lrnguage Arts, 58, 902-912.