Thursday, January 30, 2020

Interpreting Financial Results Essay Example for Free

Interpreting Financial Results Essay Targets mission is for their customer to except the most out of them and to pay less for their products. They plan to achieve this by delivering outstanding values, continuous innovation and exceptional guest experiences. As I have research and interpret Targets Financial Results, I was able to identify some trends they have experiences within the last three years. When it comes to Targets Liquidity Ratio, the pattern shows that from 2011 to 2013 they start up went down and slowly went back up. As for their Efficiency Ratio the trend identifies that from 2011 to 2013 they were still starting high then dropping low and slowly coming back up. Now when it comes to the Leverage Ratio Targets has continuous increase for 2011 to 2013 with just a little decrease in some areas and this also goes for the Profitability Ratio, Market Value Indicator soon. I also had the opportunity to compare the financial results of Target with their benchmarking company Walmart. Once I review Walmarts financial results, I saw some of the same trends target had. I also notice that Walmart has a lot more revenue being generated then what Target does. I have attached a financial ratio sheet which will also confirm and identify the trends of both Target and Walmart.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Inadequate Secondary Education in the United States :: Educational Learning School Essays

Inadequate Secondary Education in the United States ‘Tis education forms the common mind; Just as the twig is bent the tree’s inclined. Pope – Moral Essays Two years ago, I used to work at a photo shop in downtown Philadelphia. Except for me, the only foreigner, there were five Americans working there. Once, we talked about the American life in the beginning of the twentieth century. To support my opinion, I used an example from a short story called â€Å"The Gift of the Magi† by a famous American writer O. Henry. It was a very shocking experience for me to find out that nobody knew who O. Henry was or what he had done for the world literature. Since then, I met a lot of American people with a lack of basic cultural knowledge and, at the same time, with an outstanding professional expertise. Very quickly, I figured out that the root of this problem is in the secondary school education. The American secondary school pays too little attention to producing students with well-rounded education substituting the â€Å"what† with the â€Å"how†. Placing an undue emphasis on the methods of teaching and studying (the â€Å"how†) at the expense of the material being taught and studied (the â€Å"what†) makes the choice of what to teach of secondary importance. A weak and disintegrated curriculum is a source of another problem. Excessive attention to the American culture and inadequate attention to the culture of the rest of the world lead American people to a false confidence in the superiority of the American culture. However, the fact is that American â€Å"high school graduates are ranked low compared to other countries† (Bowsher, 146). Many people may say that I exaggerate the problem, because the United States is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world and this fact is directly associated with a quality education. As to some lack of cultural education, they say, it can be filled at the higher educational level in college. Thus, these problems cannot be so global. Unfortunately, they are just so global. Evidently, the college education in the United States retains high standards that enable the U.S. to maintain its technology at the cutting edge. But students coming from high schools are often not ready for a more advanced study and must waste their time in noncredit courses (Burstein, par. 1). Alexander Burstein, an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the Iowa State University, describes his view of this situation: Inadequate Secondary Education in the United States :: Educational Learning School Essays Inadequate Secondary Education in the United States ‘Tis education forms the common mind; Just as the twig is bent the tree’s inclined. Pope – Moral Essays Two years ago, I used to work at a photo shop in downtown Philadelphia. Except for me, the only foreigner, there were five Americans working there. Once, we talked about the American life in the beginning of the twentieth century. To support my opinion, I used an example from a short story called â€Å"The Gift of the Magi† by a famous American writer O. Henry. It was a very shocking experience for me to find out that nobody knew who O. Henry was or what he had done for the world literature. Since then, I met a lot of American people with a lack of basic cultural knowledge and, at the same time, with an outstanding professional expertise. Very quickly, I figured out that the root of this problem is in the secondary school education. The American secondary school pays too little attention to producing students with well-rounded education substituting the â€Å"what† with the â€Å"how†. Placing an undue emphasis on the methods of teaching and studying (the â€Å"how†) at the expense of the material being taught and studied (the â€Å"what†) makes the choice of what to teach of secondary importance. A weak and disintegrated curriculum is a source of another problem. Excessive attention to the American culture and inadequate attention to the culture of the rest of the world lead American people to a false confidence in the superiority of the American culture. However, the fact is that American â€Å"high school graduates are ranked low compared to other countries† (Bowsher, 146). Many people may say that I exaggerate the problem, because the United States is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world and this fact is directly associated with a quality education. As to some lack of cultural education, they say, it can be filled at the higher educational level in college. Thus, these problems cannot be so global. Unfortunately, they are just so global. Evidently, the college education in the United States retains high standards that enable the U.S. to maintain its technology at the cutting edge. But students coming from high schools are often not ready for a more advanced study and must waste their time in noncredit courses (Burstein, par. 1). Alexander Burstein, an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the Iowa State University, describes his view of this situation:

Monday, January 13, 2020

Lady Macbeth Is the Real Villain of Macbeth Essay

Shakespeare’s Macbeth explores the notion of villains through its key characters and throughout the play the audience is left wondering who is actually the ‘real’ villain. Lady Macbeth seems to portray certain characteristics of a villain and appears to have evil intentions and Macbeth is also perceived as a villain due to his violent rampage. Nevertheless, both Macbeth and his wife have a conscience and they realize what they’ve done wrong. With this considered, it is ultimately the witches who are the true villains as they continue to encourage Macbeth on his murderous journey and they are soulless as they have a sense of what is right and wrong, however they find pleasure in disrupting the natural order. During the exposition act, Lady Macbeth immediately displays certain characteristics similar to a villain, and she appears to have evil intentions. Since she fears that Macbeth is too full of â€Å"th’ milk of human kindness† to take the steps necessary to make himself king, her attitude becomes very strong and forceful and she states â€Å"unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood† which presents her evil intentions as she desperately wants the crown for her husband, and does so in a dark way to emphasize the supernatural world as she would put aside her natural femininity so that she can do the bloody deeds in order to seize the crown. It also seems to be Lady Macbeth that is the â€Å"spur to prick the sides of [Macbeth’s] intent†, as she is adding to his â€Å"vaulting ambition†. Moreover, she belittles her husband, as she believes he needs to be â€Å"more the man†, and portrays herself as a woman who is capable of doing something unthinkable. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is introduced as a â€Å"brave† and â€Å"worthy gentleman†, as he fought bravely and was loyal to his king. However, the witch’s prophecies affect his ultimate desire to become â€Å"king hereafter†, and he begins to display certain characteristics associated with a tragic hero, thus being a fatal flaw. In Macbeth’s situation, his fatal flaw is his â€Å"vaulting ambition† for power. This is the point in the play when he is viewed as a villainous character, as he sets out on his violent rampage and commits murder, therefore putting the entire kingdom in danger. Furthermore, Macbeth has the opportunity to decline his wife’s temptations, however his hunger for power takes its toll on him and he continues on his murderous journey. As the play progresses, the audience is able to see Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s decline. Another thing that they also notice is that Macbeth and his wife have a conscience; more specifically a guilty conscience. They actually realize what they’ve done wrong, and a terrible amount of guilt washes over them. Lady Macbeth’s guilty conscience was evident when she began getting flooded with nightmares and she would sleep walk as well as always talk about the stained blood on her hands, and how she is trying to wash it off. This idea of blood refers to guilt. â€Å"Out, damned spot! † shows that she is struggling to remove the guilt from her hind. She also emphasizes that it’s impossible to remove the blood as she states â€Å"all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand†. Towards the end of the play, Macbeth realizes the evil he has committed and he is portrayed as a victim to his own ambitious and greedy actions. Due to this realization, Macbeth is viewed as a tragic hero, and at the end of the play the audience notice his emptiness – â€Å"I have lived long enough: my way of life is fallen into the sear, the yellow leaf, and that which should accompany old age as honour, love, obedience, troops of friends.. †. Seeing as Lady Macbeth or Macbeth weren’t the ‘real’ villains of the play, it makes way to present that the witches were the real villains. The witches were the ones who ultimately manipulated and tricked Macbeth to kill King Duncan, Banquo, the Guards and many other people. Everything the witches do eventually lead to Macbeth’s downfall and therefore they are responsible for his demise. They continue to encourage Macbeth on his murderous journey and are displayed as soulless characters, as they have a sense of what is right and wrong, however they choose to find pleasure in disrupting the natural order as they believe that â€Å"fair is foul and foul is fair†. Therefore, Lady Macbeth isn’t the real villain of the play. Although she has evil intentions and holds villainous characteristics, she has a conscience and becomes extremely guilty of her actions. The audience is left wondering who the ‘real’ villain is, and some may think it’s Macbeth, however Macbeth is a tragic hero as he realizes the crime he has committed, yet he still fights until his very last moment. The witches are certainly the real villains of this play as play upon the motives of Macbeth, therefore being responsible for his downfall, and they enjoy disrupting the natural order. With this said, it is quite evident that Lady Macbeth is not the real villain of the play.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

9 Ways of Translating ‘Very’ to Spanish

Very is one of most overused words in English. In fact, there are editors and teachers who routinely eliminate each very they come across because the word that has become so routine that it can often be left out without much change in meaning. Similarly, the Spanish equivalent, muy, is easy to overuse, especially for beginning Spanish students who dont know many alternatives. Next time youre thinking of using muy in something youre writing, consider the following alternatives. Note that with most, if not all, examples, the Spanish word could be translated ​to English in multiple ways. Using the Suffix -à ­simo for ‘Very’ The suffix -à ­simo is probably the most common alternative to muy. Sometimes a type of superlative, -à ­simo and its plural or feminine forms are added to the end of an adjective that ends in a consonant. So the modified form of azul (blue) is azulà ­simo (very blue). If the adjective ends in a vowel, which accounts for most adjectives, the vowel is dropped first. So the modified form of feo (ugly) is feà ­simo (very ugly), and caro (expensive) becomes carà ­simo (very expensive). In a few cases, a spelling change is needed for pronunciation reasons. For example, if the final consonant is a z, the z changes to c. So the modified form of feliz (happy) is felicà ­simo (very happy). Some examples: Està ¡ alegrà ­sima en saber que sus padres tienen salud. (She is very happy to know that her parents are healthy.)Pocas horas antes tenà ­amos  un debilà ­simo frente frà ­o. (A few hours earlier we had a very weak cold front.)Mi madre tiene tristà ­simos recuerdos de la ciudad. (My mother had very sad memories of the city.)Me parece patetiquà ­simo que me mientas todo el tiempo. (It seems very pathetic to me that you are lying to me all the time. Note the spelling change from the unmodified adjective patà ©tetico.)Era una casa de cinco dormitorios, con piscina azulà ­sima en medio de un cà ©sped verdà ­simo. (It was a home with five bedrooms and a very blue swimming pool in the middle of a very green lawn.) The suffix -à ­simo can also be used with some adverbs:  ¡Esperemos llegar prontà ­simo! (I hope we arrive very soon!)Tengo que comer rapidà ­simo porque para ir a mi clase. (I have to eat very quickly in order to go to my class.)He formateado el ordenador y funciona lentà ­simo. (I formatted my computer and it is running very slowly.) Prefixes Meaning ‘Very’ The prefixes archi-, super-, and requete- are used sometimes, most often in informal speech. El senador es archiconservativo. (The senator is very conservative. Note that this prefix doesnt necessarily have the negative connotation that arch- does in English. One common archi- word is archipopular for someone or something extremely popular.)Mi novio es superguapo. (My boyfriend is very good-looking. Super is also often used by itself, rather than as a prefix, in much the same way as super can be.)Este pastel es requetebueno. (This cake is very good.) Using Bien to Mean ‘Very’ Usually translated as the adverb well, bien is sometimes used as a mild form of very, usually with a positive connotation. Sometimes the closest English equivalent is pretty as in hes pretty happy, està ¡ bien feliz. Other examples: La mejor hora es bien temprano en la maà ±ana. (The best time is fairly early in the morning.)Eso es bien tonto. (Thats quite silly.)Quisiera un tà © bien caliente. (Id like a nice warm tea.) Using the Adverbs Sumamente and Extremadamente Sumamente is stronger than very and can be translated as extremely or highly. Fue sumamente exitosa la campaà ±a de desobediencia civil. (The civil-disobedience campaign was extremely successful.)Sus nià ±as son sumamente inteligentes. (Her daughters are highly intelligent.) A synonym for sumamente is extremadamente: El hotel tiene un baà ±o extremadamente pequeà ±o. (The hotel has an extremely small bathroom.)Me siento extremadamente feliz que encontrà © la parada de bus. (Im extremely happy that I found the bus stop.) Tan Tan is an adverb most often used in phrases such as tan rica como yo (as rich as I am), but it can also stand alone without the como, when it usually is translated as so. Tus abuelos son tan carià ±osos. (Your grandparents are so caring.)El carro es tan hermoso. (The car is so beautiful.) Tan is used this way most often in exclamatory sentences:  ¡Quà © dà ­a tan terrible! (What an awful, terrible day!) ¡Quà © estudiante tan inteligente! (That student is so intelligent!) Key Takeaways The Spanish adverb muy is the most common way of saying very.The suffix -à ­simo can often be used to increase the intensity of adverbs and adjectives.Prefixes used to mean very include archi-, super-, and requete-.