Rise of Fascism in Italy and G essays

Rise of Fascism in Italy and G essays The seizure of power in Germany and Italy by fascist movements in the 1920s and 1930s was based on a weak and inexperienced government and the humiliation of both countries by the winning powers (United States, France, and Great Britain) after the Great War. These totalitarian right wing movements focused on nationalism to regain international power. Both leaders, Mussolini and Adolf Hitler knew how to reach the population and convince them of the importance of national collectivism. The roots of fascism in Italy were based on the Italian kingdom, which saw itself as a great power; but it was just a junior partner in the eyes of Western Europe. After the Italian failure to claim colonial territory in Africa and major problems internally (economic difference between North and the South), Italians slowly realized that their government just played politics. When the Great War broke out the Italians were first allied with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Secret negotiations with the Triple Entente based on territorial promises let the Italians switch sides. Fighting and winning the war on the side of the Allies, Italy did not receive what was promised. This was the time for Mussolini and his oratorical skills to seize power and to insist on the inefficiency of Italian politics. After the end of the Great War, Mussolini published super national right wing articles, pointing out that only in Italian unity was strength. Thereby he created the term Fascism and wins control of the Italian nation and became its leader by 1922. The fascist movement rose after the armistice and the creation of a provisional government (Weimar Republic), which was challenged by the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles. It had to create a constitution for the German nation, without having any experience. Challenged by the DKP (Deutsche Kommunistische Partei) the new republic had to withstand communist movements. Additionally, Germans and the economy itself had t...

Prohibition of Abortions essays

Prohibition of Abortions essays Procreation is the greatest gift we humans are all blessed with. When a womens womb is fertilized this miraculous feat is the beginning of a journey which loved ones share. The women in Canadian society today have been given a legal binding right to have the choice if they choose to abort a fetus or not. There have been many issues concerning this new right. Is right to end a life? Isnt that murder? When is a fetus considered a human being? These questions have been answered by the Supreme Court of Canada and it is proven and by law abortion is legal. Some major concerns as to why abortion should be made illegal again in Canada include: The human rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the moral issues that all Canadians confront, as well as their conscience; and also health reasons that consequent the actions of abortions. We as human have certain rights and freedoms with reasonable limits prescribed by the law. Under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly Resolution 217 A (III) of December 10, 1948; it is stated under article three: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. With this being stated many would have reason to believe, making abortion legal is taking away the unborn childs human rights. Also under article seven under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights it is stated that: All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination. Without being given the chance to live a life many would believe making abortions legal is unjust. Just because a fetus is a premature human being we discriminate against it because it does not have characteristics of a human and because of such irra...

Hertage Assesment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hertage Assesment - Essay Example There is frequently a conflict concerning patients’ practices and those understood to be suitable by the health care providing society because attitudes vary amongst ethnic groups. It is imperative that the healthcare provide knows: Possess the information of cultural ingestion patterns and family traditions such as core foods, fasting and traditional celebrations. Be able to know limits of own abilities and cultural competencies How own cultural background and experiences and attitudes, biases, values influence nutrition therapy. Have shifted from a position of cultural awareness to a position of being sensitive and aware in relation to cultural heritage. The aspect of respecting and valuing respecting differences is also inclusive. Understand food selection, preparation, and storage with a cultural context. Familiarize him/her with relevant research and latest findings concerning food practices and nutrition-related health troubles of a variety of and racial groups. Heritage Assessment Tool Cultural heritage plays a big part in the economic, health and social promotion of the person. The use of heritage evaluation tools helps healthcare providers assess and look at someone’s tradition, as well as customary health methods used to keep health, protect health, and re-establish health; by putting in use these ideas, it helps healthcare professionals cope with a person’s mental, spiritual beliefs and physical. Different cultures have special values and beliefs of health, disease, birth, illness, and; assessing these cultural competencies is vital in order to offer a holistic approach. Heritage assessment tools helps both the health provider and patient by opening a passageway for an efficient communication of one’s values, beliefs, in regards to, illness, health, spiritual values as well as family support. Why there is a need for Cultural and Heritage Assessment The United States is home for diverse culture. Culture is defined as  "the learned, shared, and transmitted values, lifestyle, beliefs, norms, and practices of a particular group that guide, decisions, opinion and actions in patterned way†. Heritage assessment is a great tool to know about one’s own beliefs and health traditions. Nurses have to understand their own cultural practices in order to relate to others. There is high-quality proof that health professionals do not, by design, boast the skills and attitudes essential to be successful in culturally varied healthcare environments. This study therefore examines the connection by investigating how cutting edge staff and patients in great urban hospitals identify issues of healthcare workforce and patient diversity. As a community practitioner, one should be aware that specific conditions develop at critical times in family development and it is their understanding of the culture influencing the community that will solve these problems in a fast and efficient manner. Among the importan t challenges nutritionists and dietitians come across at present and in the near future are the increased emphasis on client/patient behavioral changes in relation to evidence of effectiveness: and the more and more diverse population of this country. Sensitivity to cultural differences in us and in those of different cultural backgrounds is a significant feature of competence in the attainment of a diverse population. Nutrition counselors are at the moment and will be tested on their capability to create desirable behavioral changes in patients/clients. Language barriers also contribute to the complexity of the cultural

Financial statements Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial statements - Research Paper Example The documents that constitute the financial statements include the balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements and the statements of shareholders’ equity (Sinha, 2007). There are some aspects of relationship between these financial records. The three financial records are used to show the financial situation of the company. First, a balance sheet is a financial statement that is used to show what a company owns and what it owes to others, in terms of the assets and the liabilities of the company (USEC, 2007). The income statement is used to show the amount of money that the organization made and how much money it spent within a given financial period, which could range from monthly, to quarterly or annually. On the other hand, the cash flow statements serve to indicate the monetary exchanges that an organization has had with the outside world, within a specified duration of time. The similarity in all these financial records is that they serve to indicate the finan cial situation of the organization after its interaction with the other stakeholders, in terms of assets, revenues, liabilities and expenditures (Wahlen, Bradshaw, Baginski & Stickney, 2010). Secondly, the three financial records serve to indicate what the organization has spent to gain the property and finances it owns (USEC, 2007). The three financial records have the expenditure and the revenue components, which measure the gains and the take-away that an organization has experienced in financial terms, within a specified period of time. The balance sheets, income statements and the cash flow statements have a debit side, in which they record the expenditures and the reductions to the assets of the organization in terms of the outgoing money. The costs associated with earning either the revenues or the assets that an organization owns are shown in terms of the costs and expenditures that the organization has incurred within a specified period of time. The bottom line of these fin ancial records is to show how much an organization has made within a period of time, and how much the organization has spent within the same duration, and thus give the overall conclusion regarding whether the transactions that were undertaken by the organization during the specified period either helped to make gains or loss (Sinha, 2007). The final conclusion of the three financial records is that they accumulate all the gainful transactions and records them in terms of the amounts of money they help bring in to the organization, while recording the other transactions that serves to take away money from the organization. The two types of transactions are then summed up, and their totals compared, to determine the implication of the transactions that an organization made throughout the period, whether they are gainful or they constitute a loss. However, there is a different set of relationship between the balance sheets and the cash flow statements on one hand, and the income state ments on the other. This relationship exists in the form of adjustments, where both the balance sheets and the cash flow statement are used to adjust the income statement, through introducing certain financial aspects, which cannot be directly categorized as direct incomes or expenditures (Penner, 2004). The income statement is purely applied to

Rhetoric & Sterotypes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rhetoric & Sterotypes - Essay Example 1996). However, it seems that stereotypes have become woven into the human mind because no matter how insignificant, everyone has stereotypes formed about someone. In particular, the stereotypes of politicians, people with tattoos, feminist, and senior citizens are worth discussing. Politicians help run our legislative system. They are elected by the general public to represent their interest in the government on both the local and federal levels. Sometimes we elect representatives that represent our interest, while other times they represent â€Å"the highest bidder†. I have grown up hearing that politicians are corrupt and greasy; the power ends up corrupting their purpose. This can be seen with all the lobbying and special interest groups that now play a role in our representative democracy. When talking about politicians, stereotypes usually reflect a negative outlook with conversations mostly talking about political corruption and shady dealings with corporate owners for tax breaks. Tattoos are a form of body art that have foundations across most of the cultures of the world. The art of tattooing has been around since ancient times. Some of the common stereotypes held about people who have tattoos are: â€Å"being unsuccessful in school, coming from broken homes, having an unhappy childhood, rarely attending church, having poor decision making skills, usually obtaining further body modification while inebriated and being an easy victim of peer pressure† (Martin & Dula 2010). Many people have learned to associate tattoos with â€Å"destroying your body.† Due to the conflicting nature of tattoos, a generalized consensus would be hard to draw due not only to the popularity of tattoos, but their glorified nature in Hollywood as well as on television. The Feminist Movement focuses on the gender inequalities that exist in society and promotes women’s rights in every aspect of life. Radical feminism has lead to feminist having a negati ve appearance especially when talking about men. â€Å"People imagine a stereotypical image of an angry, man-hating, unattractive woman with hairy armpits screaming irrationally about imagined insults† (Gladen, 2008). The biggest component of the stereotype is male bashing and women supremacy. What started as a genuine movement for gender equality developed into a movement in which radical women wanting to become superior to men and have them feel the way women have been treated for ages. Gerontology is a specific study in psychology which deals with the aging process of the elderly. Across the world, there are many different views about the role of the elderly in society. In the western hemisphere, it is a common practice for the offspring to put their elderly parents in a nursing home once they are unable to care for themselves. In some eastern cultures, it is customary for the elderly to live with the parents throughout their lives. Elderly people are often viewed as ineff icient in society due to the lack of mobility and self reliance from biological and psychological aging. This negative stereotype about being a burden on their families often leads to depression and other psychological illnesses in the elderly which could eventually lead to suicide. There is some truth to all of the stereotypes. Stereotypes are ways for us to self associate/disassociate from people that are similar/different. Like all things in society, some stereotypes will hold true, even with some people conforming to that

Cultivating Culturally Responsive Leaders Essay Example for Free

Cultivating Culturally Responsive Leaders Essay The purpose of this study is to make school administrators aware and familiar with the challenges and obstacles ELL students encounter. With such a growing population of ELL students, teachers are having to become more and more aware of instructional strategies. Teachers are now being held accountable more than ever for their student’s performance and need to make sure every student makes learning gains. With South Florida’s increasing ELL population teachers are struggling to get these students, whose first language is not English, to speak, read, and write proficiently in English before they take the FCAT or by the end of the year to be able to show learning gains. This case study will take place at Winston Park K-8 School. Winston Park is located in a suburban, middle to lower class multiethnic community in the southwest section of Miami-Dade County. The student population is composed of eighty-six percent Hispanics, nine percent white, one percent black, and four percent other. Sixty percent of the students are eligible for free and reduced lunch, 46% are ELL, six percent are SWD, and four percent are gifted students. Average daily attendance is 98%. There is a total of 96 instructional staff members. Ninety-one percent of the instructional staff is highly qualified. Twenty-six percent of teachers have received advanced degrees. Parental involvement is high and growing. The student interviewed is an eight-year-old third grade student. Gabriela came from Cuba in March of 2012. Gabriela and her family came from Cuba in search of freedom and a better life. Gabriela came to the United States with her father and mother. Gabriela states that they lived in a poor neighborhood and struggled to get the little food that they did to put on the table. After school Gabriela would go to work with her mom at a farm to pick fruits, vegetables, and even milk cows. Gabriela has showed great growth in the one year that she has been in the Miami-Dade County Public school system. Although Gabriela has attended Winston Park from the beginning of this school year, this is the second school she’s attended in the district since arriving from Cuba. Gabriela’s mom informed that she was very unhappy at her previous school but that now Gabriela loved waking up in the morning to attend school. Even though both of her parents work they are very involved in her studies and will stop at nothing to make sure Gabriela gets a good education. Gabriela is not your average recently arrived ELL student. In the short time she has been here, Gabriela has learned to read, write and comprehend English just as well, if not at times better than many of her non-ELL classmates. Gabriela has made Honor Roll every nine-week grading period and was even referred to be tested for the gifted program. In this case study we will answer how do ELLs, their parents, teachers, and other stakeholder understand ELLs academic experiences in school and how can administrators work be informed by a case study that focuses on ELLs and their experiences in Florida schools. Literature Review In reviewing literature based on paired reading and fluency increase, I found several sources that supported my hypothesis that pairing low (ESOL) and high (Non-ESOL) students during reading is an effective intervention. These findings are particularly significant to those educators who are seeking ways to help students with reading fluency difficulty. Reading fluency is important for comprehension. When students read efficiently and accurately, then they can comprehend what they read more easily. In primary grades, students learn to read but in upper elementary grades students read to learn. What is fluency? According to the National Reading Panel (2000), fluency is the ability to read text aloud with speed, accuracy, and proper expression (Armbruster, Lehr, Osborn, 2001; Meyer Felton, 1991; Rasinkski, 2003). Fluent readers can recognize the majority of the words they read automatically without having to decode individual words; they are ble to dedicate their attention to the ultimate goal of reading: comprehension. Fluency is the bridge between word recognition and reading comprehension (Kuhn Stahl, 2000; Nathan Stanovich, 1991; Rasinksi Padak, 2004). While studies have not determined the ideal number of times necessary to achieve reading fluency, researchers say the more times the better. A typical reader needs to read a passage four times to reach maximum fluency levels (National Reading Panel, 2000). Beginning readers and struggling older readers tend to read slowly, haltingly, and with little or no expression. Often as a result, text comprehension is affected, confidence levels are low, and they do not enjoy reading. Therefore, fluency is and should be a primary goal of literacy instruction. The oral reading fluency norms for grades 1-5 are: 1st 53-111, 2nd 89-142, 3rd 107-162, 4th 123-180, and 5th 139-194 (Hasbrouck Tindal, 2006). While conducting my research, I found different types of reading interventions that can help increase an ESOL student’s fluency: Choral Reading, Duet Reading, Audio-Recorded Books, Echo Reading, and Paired Reading (Hudson et al. , 2005; The Partnership for Reading, 2001). In choral reading, a group of students read aloud from the same selection. The teacher can read along to set the pace and model targeted skills. Students can improve their fluency skills, including appropriate pausing and expression, by reading along with a group of readers or with a strong reader as a partner (Hudson, 2005). In duet reading, a stronger reader is paired with a less-fluent reader. The stronger reader sets the pace and provides visual tracking by moving his or her finger below each word as it is read in unison. In audio-recorded books, the student reads aloud with an audio-recorded version of a book. The purpose is to encourage the weaker reader to read along with the tape. In echo reading, the adult reads a short passage and then invites the child to â€Å"Say what I say† or â€Å"Copy me,† encouraging the child to repeat what the adult has read (Robertson Davig, 2002). In this way, the adult models fluent reading and then provides the child with an opportunity for immediate practice. In paired reading, children who are struggling with reading fluency are paired up with a more capable reader. In this strategy, the fluent reader and reader take turns reading by lines or pages (Mathes, Fuchs, Fuchs, Henley, Sanders, 1994). In evaluating the different types of reading interventions, I found that paired reading is the most commonly used to increase fluency. According to the report of The National Reading Panel (2000), guided repeated oral reading is the most effective procedure for developing reading fluency (Kuhn Stahl, 2000; Rasinski Hoffman, 2003). Paired reading was originally developed as a strategy for parents and children reading at home, but it is easily adapted for classroom use in intervention lessons (Morgan Lyon, 1979; Topping, 1989). Paired reading requires the reading partners to read aloud. Reading aloud to elementary school students can have many beneficial effects; it improves their language skills, motivates them to read on their own, makes students familiar with books, and expands vocabulary (Saban, 1994). Research indicates that repeated paired reading leads not only to improving in reading the passage but also improvement in decoding, reading rate, expression, and comprehension of passages that the reader has not previously seen (Dowhower, 1994; Kuhn Stahl, 2000; National Reading Panel, 2000). Rasinski and Fredericks (1991) reported on a paired reading project launched by the Akron, Ohio Public School System; the results of the project suggest that paired reading also helped improve reading performance but in addition helps improve reading motivation and child bonding. Studies on paired reading showed that students of all ages can make extraordinary reading gains. In one study of paired reading over a period of six to ten weeks, students made a gain of at least six months in reading (Limbrick, McNaughton, Cameron, 1985). In another study, students made an average of three months gain for every month of paired reading. The less proficient readers were not the only ones who benefited; the student who served as the tutor also made substantial gains in their reading abilities (Topping, 1989). In summation, the characteristics of the paired reading instruction (positive one-to-one collaboration between skilled and less-skilled readers, reader engagement, practice, evidence of progress, and reader expression) support my hypothesis that pairing a low and high student during reading is an effective intervention for fluency increase. It may promote rapid turnaround in reader proficiency for less-skilled readers. Furthermore this finding is particularly significant to those educators who are seeking ways to help students with reading fluency difficulty. Method Three people participated in this study: Gabriela, an eight-year old student in third grade and an ESOL level one, her mom and the teacher, Mrs. Sanz. Everyone has given full consent and agreed to interview with us and give us information on Gabriela and their culture. Every person interviewed was cooperative and helpful throughout the interview. The teacher was a crucial part to our interview since she is the one who works directly with Gabriela on a daily basis and can best describes her strengths and weaknesses. During the interview, we asked Mrs. Sanz to please provide us with information and data about Gabriela. We explained to her teacher and mother that all of Gabriela’s information would be kept confidential and that her name would be changed for privacy purposes. Some of the data we collected was from the SAT (Stanford Achievement Test), FAIR (Florida Assessment in Instruction and Reading), and the CELLA (Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment). While the teacher pulled out useful pieces of data she gave us a synopses of how Gabriela is in class and how she is getting along with all the other students. Mrs. Sanz feels she’s a bright young girl (probably gifted) with lots of potential. She is self-directive and puts forth maximum effort. Mrs. Sanz also told us Gabriela enjoys helping the other students in class. Mrs. Sanz feels this may be due to the high level of importance her parents have instilled in her regarding school. Sandra, Brenda and Mrs. Sanz all discussed and analyzed the data and we identified all her strong areas as well as a few minor weak areas. Sandra Ramallo and Brenda Gomez conducted the study. Sandra and Brenda were both present at all interviews and had the opportunity to talk to each interviewee. Since the study was conducted by both Sandra and Brenda the work load was distributed amongst each other. Brenda worked on the introduction, method, findings, and consent forms. Sandra worked on the literature review, discussion, and the transcription of the interview.

Ethical Dilemmas In The Movie Wall Street Philosophy Essay

Ethical Dilemmas In The Movie Wall Street Philosophy Essay WALL STREET is an American movie directed by Oliver Stone. It Street takes us to the front lines of an industry that has recently undergone a decline in values and ethics that once were the cornerstone of American business. The movie deals with many ethical issues. The movie portrays two characters in particular; one is Gordon Gekko, a wealthy unscrupulous corporate player, played by Michael Douglas and Bud Fox, a young and dynamic stock broker, played by Charlie Sheen. The main focus of the economic aspects of the movie is how greed contributes to our society. The movie begins with Bud Fox, who spends his work time calling people to sell them shares and to provide them investment plans. He is quite desperate to get to top. He aims to sell shares to Gekko, make him his client. Bud is a young stockbroker who comes from a working-class family and Gekko is a millionaire who Bud admires and wants to be associated with. Buds father is a blue-collared airline maintenance foreman. He works for Blue-star Airline, which has a prominent role in the movie. Bud is so desperate to make Gekko his client and so reaches his office one early morning to wish him on his Birthday and pitches him some stocks which he had been analyzing over some time. However Gekko seems unimpressed. Realizing that Gekko might not do business with him, he passes on insider information regarding the Blue-star Airlines where his father works. The information is that the Airline was involved in some crash case and that the airline will be exonerated in that crash case and thus wil l come over the suspension and will look at expanding services. Thus, after this information revelation Gekko becomes Buds client. One of the issues covered in this movie is of Insider Information. This will be discussed in detail later in the text. An appreciative Gekko takes Bud under his wing, but compels him to unearth new information by any means necessary, including becoming a partner in a cleaning company to gain access to confidential files in the offices of the clients of the cleaning company. Thus in an effort to become wealthy Bud resorts to wrong means. Bud becomes wealthy, enjoying Gekkos promised perks, including a corner office with a view, a penthouse on  Manhattans Upper East Side. Gekko asks Bud to buy large quantities of stock in a paper company, Teldar, a failing company which Gekko wants to takeover and turn around. Bud does this by enlisting his friends as  straw buyers  of the stock and giving them a cut of the proceeds (Here as well he uses his friends as a means to support his wrong doings by offering them a share of his salary. In a way it accounts for bribery, another ethical issue). It is at the Teldar annual stockholders meeting where Gekko gives his infamous Greed is good speech. There is a fa mous quote which Douglas says as follows: Greed for lack of a better word is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed you mark my words will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. In the road to perdition, Bud does several acts which are against his principles but still to achieve confidence of his boss, he does them. These tasks include following Lawrence Wildman, business rival of Gekko to trace his movement and analyze his possible actions. In this way again Gekko ends up making millions of Dollars. Bud in the mean time gains complete confidence of his boss. He suggest and idea to Gekko. The plan was to buy Blue-star airlines and expand it using the savings achieved by union concession. Bud approaches his father to get union support for this turnaround of the company. The situation takes a dramatic turn when Bud learns that Gekko plans to sell off Bluestars assets and in the process, thus leave Carl and the entire Bluestar staff unemployed, however making Bud extremely rich as the president of Bluestar. Angered by Gekkos decision, and burdened with the guilt of being a scapegoat to Bluestars destruction, Bud chooses his father as his mentor and resolves to foil Gekkos plans. He creates a plan to keep Bluestar airlines out of the reach of Gekko. He decides to keep the stock prices move down so that Gekko decide to sell of his stock, and at that lower price he convinces Gekkos rival Mr. Wilderman to buyback the stocks, who then becomes the airlines majority stock owner. Gekko, whe n realizes that his stock has plummeted, finally decides to dump his continued interest in the company. Thus, Bud again used wrong means of manipulating stock prices, but this time for the good of his people.   Gekko, eventually comes to know that Bud had engineered the entire scheme. So, the following day, when Bud jubilantly goes back to work, everyone was curiously in a grave mood. He is confronted by the police and the  Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), who had became doubtful of Bud when they detected that he placed an unusually large buy order of Teldar stock, which was monitored and thus picked up by StockWatch. Bud is placed under arrest, handcuffed, and taken out of the office in tears. In the end Bud meets Gekko in central park where Bud is viciously attacked by Gekko. Gekko in innocence while assaulting him mentions of his involvement in the illegal business transactions. Bud actually records all his acceptances in a recorder, which he later hands over to the police. CHARACTERS CENTRAL TO THE MOVIE: Bud Fox: Bud Fox as a person is very ambitious stock broker who makes $50,000 a year in salary. His father is Carl, who is a worker at BlueStar Airlines. Bud was offered a job at Bluestar Airlines, however he declined the offer because he wanted to pursue his dream. He believes he must make himself a major player in the market at any cost and later in the film he proves this to us. His goal is to bag the elephant which means doing business with one of the bigger investors in the financial markets of Wall Street. He is an ambitious person and the way he purchased expensive gifts like cigars in order to get opportunities shows his go-getter attitude in life. Gordon Gekko: Gecko is an arbitrager in the business world. An arbitrager is one who searches for information about firms that are wreck able. Once a potential firm is found and taken over the arbitrager can then make lucrative profits through liquidation of the taken over companies assets. One might say that Gecko is driven by greed because he doesnt care about those people in the company or their future only his bank account. He has all the wealth in the world, but still he lusts for more and more of it. He value information the most, information obtained by any means. In the pursuit of his goals he looks for poor but smart people who could go that extra mile to get him information. He understood that his greed cannot stand all by itself, thus he strategized to spread his greed over to his workers. By making Bud greedy for more money, a better life-style, status etc. he made Bud do all the tasks which he otherwise would not be ready to do. He convinced the young stock broker that GREED IS GOOD. The eastern philosophy that greed is the starting point of self-destruction becomes true in Gordons case. Carl (Buds Father): The character is played by Martin Sheen. He plays an important character in the movie. He is the person who changes Bud at the right moment. He makes him realise that the best thing in the world is to create value, not to buy and sell dreams for others. It is because of Carl that Bud undergoes a change of mind and decides to act in a way that is for the larger good of the society rather than his personal good. Also Carl has very high moral values as was justified by his actions of not letting himself be involved in selling off the company to Gekko and his support or the unions. Effect of movies on Society: Movies in particular and Mass media in general has a strong impact on the society. The roles that are portrayed in movies leave a long term mark on its audience. Movies form an ideal mode of communicating ones ideas to a large group of people. Thus, one should be very sensible while trying to address an issue to the audience. The way the hero portrays himself in the film will be emulated by the fans and this might end up having serious consequences. In the  attitude  of the hero throughout the film,  he will not show any respect to any individual. As these film stars have got a huge number of fan followers,  the attitude portrayed by the hero in the film will be seriously followed by the fan followers also in their real-life situations. It is not only the uneducated youth who follow stars blind folded but also the educated people who know in the mind that all this does not make any sense, but accept it by heart. Ethics in movies: Thus, as we have seen that movies have a major impact on the society, this source should be used to spread ethical behavior, virtues in the society. There have been many tries in this direction, which include movies like No Country for Old men, Blood Diamond, Wall Street. These kinds of movies move the audience and make them think as what is right and what is wrong. Thus, we should try preaching these concepts of ethics through motion pictures. ISSUES: The issues that we thought could be discussed with ethical angle were Insider information Bribery Manipulation of stocks Each of the above issues will be discussed in detail. These issues are so relevant in the current market conditions. But still in order to tackle these issues, stringent laws have been made by the government. But still such cases do happen, examples could be taken of Billionaire galleon group founder Raj Rajarathnam, Anil Kumar, Board member on ISB. INSIDER INFORMATION: Insider trading  is the trading of a  corporations  stock  or other  securities  (e.g.  bonds  or  stock options) by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company. In some of the countries the law says that members inside the organization can trade, if this trading is done in a way that does not take into account the non-public information. n the United States and several other jurisdictions, trading conducted by corporate officers, key employees, directors, or significant shareholders (in the U.S., defined as beneficial owners of ten percent or more of the firms equity securities) must be reported to the regulator or publicly disclosed, usually within a few business days of the trade. But still insider trading is supposed to be increasing the cost of capital for issuers, thus hampering the economic growth. There are two types of insider trading based on the laws in the country, Legal insider trading and illegal insider trading. Legal Insider trading: Legal trades by insiders are common, as employees of publicly-traded  corporations  often have stock or stock options. These trades are made public in the US through  SEC filings, mainly  Form 4. Prior to 2001, US law restricted trading such that insiders mainly traded during windows when their inside information was public, such as soon after earnings releases. Section in law clarified that the U.S. prohibition against insider trading does not require proof that an insider actually used  material nonpublic information  when conducting a trade; possession of such information alone is sufficient to violate the provision.   For example, if a corporate insider plans on retiring after a period of time and, as part of his or her retirement planning, adopts a written, binding plan to sell a specific amount of the companys stock every month for the next two years, and during this period the insider comes into possession of material nonpublic information about the company, any subsequent trades based on the original plan might not constitute prohibited insider trading. Illegal insider trading: Rules against insider trading on  material non-public information  exist in most jurisdictions around the world, though the details and the efforts to enforce them vary considerably. The United States is generally viewed as having the strictest laws against illegal insider trading, and makes the most serious efforts to enforce them. A trading done by a 3rd party on the information given by the person related to the company would account for Insider trading. A new implication for the Insider trading law has been formed, it is misappropriation theory. It says that  anyone who misappropriates (steals) information from their employer and trades on that information in  any  stock (not just the employers stock) is guilty of insider trading. AMERICAN INSIDER TRADING LAW: United States has compiled many laws to curb insider trading. US has been on the fore-front to make laws directed at curbing insider trading. These are:- Common law SEC regulations Although there have been many counter arguments for legalizing Insider trading in US. There are many Economists and legal scholars who argue that laws making insider trading illegal should be revoked. They say that by having non-public insider information the investors are benefitted, by more quickly introducing information in the market. Others argue that Insider trading is a legal pact between the seller and buyer, wherein seller owns the property (legally). BRIBE: It is an act wherein an individual in order to be benefitted by any other individual or to get any favor done gifts something to that individual. Bribery, a form of pecuniary corruption, is an act implying money or gift given that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery accounts for crime, no matter in what circumstance it is given. Corruption and bribery goes hand in hand, corruption has social and economic consequences on people and business around the globe. Corruption has been considered evil by people everywhere in the world. Most are given to public officials to make them change the rules or break the laws that were made for the common good. We can take examples from our daily lives, when we are caught without license, the first thing we do is pay bribe to the police officer so that he may let us go. Bribe may be given in two cases, one is given when we want the authority to change the rules all together and the other is when we want to expedite the process. In the movie as well we see the Bud Fox in order to park money of Gekko into the accounts of his friends offers them incentives. In the book, the economist a mention of a very important point is made, that people act as per incentives. Thus, in order to meet his ends Fox induces his friends to be accomplice in the process. MANIPULATION OF STOCKS: Market manipulation  describes a deliberate attempt to interfere with the free and fair operation of the market and create artificial, false or misleading appearances with respect to the price of, or market for, a  security. Market manipulation is prohibited in the United States  and other countries by acts in the respective companies.  The Act defines market manipulation as transactions which create an artificial price or maintain an artificial price for a tradable security. This manipulation can occur in several ways:- Pools: This includes an agreement wherein a group of traders delegate authority to a single manager to trade for a specific period of time and then share the profits or loss. Churning: When a trader places both buy and sell orders at about the same price. The increase in activity is intended to attract additional investors, and increase the price. Runs: When a group of traders create activity or rumors in order to drive the price of a security up. An example is the  Guinness share-trading fraud  of the 1980s. In the US, this activity is usually referred to as  painting the tape. Ramping: Actions designed to artificially raise the market price of listed securities and to give the impression of voluminous trading, in order to make a quick profit. Bear Raid: Attempting to push the price of a stock down by heavy selling or short selling. In the movie we see that, Fox in order to take revenge on Gekko, asks his fellow traders to start selling the stock so that the stock prices plummets the stocks of Blue star Airlines, so that Gekko gets rid of the stock without getting much hurt. In the same way we have seen that in order to increase the stock price earlier in the movie, he asks his friends to advise their respective clients to purchase stock of interest. Ethical Theories: In the movie the ethical dilemmas that we see primarily is the difference in the ethical valuation that Bud, Gekko and Carl do. Some of the theories highlighted are: Gekko is a person having psychological egoism. He believes that all actions are prompted by selfish desires. It maintains that self-oriented interests ultimately motivate all human actions. Another theory that comes across is the deontological theory, which states that we all have certain clear obligations we have as human beings such as to care for our children, and to not commit murder. In the movie Carl shows moral values where he chooses his union and co-workers at Bluestar airlines over sharing profit made by his son. Consequentialist theory is also one of the principles that we see in the movie being highlighted. This theory states that An action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favorable than unfavorable. When Gordon Gekko thinks his thinking can be termed as unethical based on this theory. This is because the bad consequences of his action like the Bluestar employees losing their jobs and the Shareholders losing their money far outweighs the good consequences of Gekko getting huge returns on his investment. Social Contract Theory In the movie Wall Street, Gekko can justify his actions according to the above theory. This theory propounds the view that persons moral and/or political obligations are dependent upon a contract or agreement between them to form society. In the place Wall Street, there exists a dog-eat-dog world. Therefore in order to survive one has to adhere to Wall Street norms. Bud as a newcomer has to adjust in order to stay and flourish there and not try to change it. CONCLUSION: The movie Wall Street portrays a very strong social context emerging on the Wall Street, where competition and the urge to make more money have left no room for ethical decision making. This movie sensitizes us with a dilemma which a young dreamer faces when he faces the practicality of the real world. In order to make big bucks he has to make a decision against his moral principles. He does take it, however sooner realizes that this chase for money is a never ending chase and will make a monster out of him. He therefore retraces his steps back. Although it came at a cost of him getting arrested, he had no qualms regarding his decision. Concluding about the actions taken by the characters in the movie can be controversial, as suggested because both sides can give their points based on different theories and explanation; however as a group we strongly feel that Bud did make a very ethical decision. Everyone does mistakes. As a newcomer, it was natural of him to get impressed by the bigwigs of the industry. However what distinguished him was the force and strength of his character, by which he listened to his own true inner voice. In the last scene when Bud fox encounters Gekko he very truly and aptly says to Gekko that I guess I realized, Im just Bud Fox. As much I wanted to be Gordon Gekko, Ill always be Bud Fox.