Horizontal Flow, Inwardoutward Flow, Vertical Information flow, and Essay

Horizontal Flow, Inwardoutward Flow, Vertical Information flow, and Downward information Flow of financial data in the Kuali system - Essay Example There are essentially four different groups involved in the Kuali process: the initiator, the department representative or BSC, the account manager, and the DFA. Horizontal flow would occur between any individuals that are contained within the same group. For example, an initiator sharing information with a co-worker on the same level or an account manager sharing information with another account manager would constitute horizontal flow (Cornell University, 2005). Inward flows occur when an outside entity or group sends information into one of the four internal groups. An example of this could be a service center such as a document editor sending that information to an account manager. Outward flows are the exact opposite. These occur when an internal group sends information to an outside entity or group. An example of this could be an account manager sending financial data to a service center that serves as an account delegate (Cornell University, 2008). Vertical information flows occur among the four different groups. These constitute those flows where information either travels upward or downward among the groups. An example of this could be when the initiator sends information to the department representative or when the department representative sends information to the account manager. They also occur the other direction, when the account manager sends information to the department representative or the department representative sends information to the initiator. Downward information flow occurs when a group that is higher than another sends information to a group that is lower on the hierarchy. This can happen when the DFA sends information to an account manager, when an account manager sends information to a department representative or BSC, or when a department manager or BSC sends information to the initiator. It is not possible for information to be sent any lower since the initiator is at the bottom of the hierarchy. According to McNeely and Wheeler, "Fiscal officers can delegate approval authority to both primary and secondary approvers. An organization can specify extra routing, and units or central administration can establish predefined "special conditions" for some or all documents. For example, a college can specify that all budget adjustments be routed to the dean, or the central research administration office can stipulate that any transaction involving a contract or grant account be routed to a central post-award office. The workflow engine also accommodates specialized routing based on the dollar value of the document. Ad hoc routing-for both approval and FYI purposes-is also available" (2006) The type of data that is being exchanged using the Kuali system is financial data. The overall system is designed on a business model for higher education. Also according to McNeely and Wheeler, " The data structures, transaction interfaces, and back-office processes are built to accommodate how higher education institutions are structured. However, there is sufficient flexibility in the design for each institution to tailor the system to its needs without requiring major modifications.

Teachings of Quran Essay Example for Free

Teachings of Quran Essay The Quran does not emphasize the invisible dimensions of existence (God, angels, jinn) at the expense of neglecting the visible (the natural world). In numerous instances, the Quran refers to natural aspects of this life as signs of God, calling mankind to ponder on natural phenomena such as the wind, rain, vegetation and alteration of the night and the day (Amir Abbas Zamani, 2001). Muslims believe in both a material and a supernatural world. Therefore, the Muslims use a great deal of astronomy, geometry and metaphysical concepts in architecture. The Quran says: â€Å"Such as remember Allah, standing, sitting and reclining, and consider the creation of the heavens and the earth, (and says): Our Lord! Though createst not this in vain (3:191) (Petruccioli, 2002). These structures carry body and soul. The body were designed using sacred geometry, and the soul were created with the help of light, ventilation, sound effects, landscape, color, texture and symbolism used in both the interior and exterior. â€Å"The first being created by God was light. † (Petruccioli, 2002) Islamic architecture makes full use of light and shade, and the heat and coolness of the wind and its aerodynamics, of water and its cooling effect, of the earth and its insulating features as well as properties of the elements. The Muslim’s firm believe in paradise is based on the teaching of the Quran, which says, â€Å"And those who believe and do good works such are rightful owners of the Garden. They will abide therein† (2:82) (Petruccioli 2002). The detailed description of the garden of paradise is given in Sura â€Å"the Beneficent† (55:46-78). Therefore, landscape features become an integral part of site planning and architecture. The buildings are set in the landscape deliberately so that one can find himself in an idealized paradise-like environment. The buildings not only humanize the landscape but stand there in all simplicity of form and witness the divine (Attilio Petruccioli, 2002). Truly, Islamic art is an expression of beauty, a demonstration of divinity and a treasure preserved through time; Allah’s gift not just to His beloved devotees but also to the world. Reference: Amir Abbas Zamani, S. S. (2001). What is Islam? : Alhoda UK. Attilio Petruccioli, K. P. (2002). Understanding Islamic Architecture: Routledge. Glasse, C. (2001). The New Encyclopedia of Islam: Rowman Altamira. Grabar, O. (2006). Constructing the Study of Islamic Art: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Janin, H. (2005). The Pursuit of Learning In The Islamic World, 610-2003: McFarland and Company. Oweis, F. (2002). The Elements of Unity in Islamic Art as Examined Through the Work of Jamal Badran: Universal-Publishers. com. Penney, S. (1995). Islam: Harcourt Heinemann. Ulrik Volgsten, S. B. (2006). Music And Manipulation: On the Social Uses And Social Control of Music: Berghahn Books. Waines, D. (2003). An Introduction to Islam (second ed. ): Cambridge University Press.

Weakness In Corporate Governance And Lack Of Transparency Accounting Essay

Weakness In Corporate Governance And Lack Of Transparency Accounting Essay Weakness in corporate governance and lack of transparency are considered causes of the Asian financial crisis. (Wan et al 2010 ). The corporate scandals happened in the early 2000s urged regulators around the world to suit the medicine to illness of the global financial stability by institute CG reforms. For instance, the Combined Code and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act were then introduced and enacted in UK and US respectively. As an international financial and business hub, Hong Kong is bound to take its share of the sweeping impact of the Asian financial crisis and the scandals. Hong Kong Stock Exchange determined to introduce the code of CG effective from 2005, with similar provisions on financial disclosures in the world. Most of the studies using US and UK data indicated that the quality of corporate governance practices has improved when firms comply with the provisions of the code. A survey conducted by a research team headed by Professor Stephen Cheung in Hong Kong generated a consi stent result with those studies; it indicated that the CG standard of Hong Kong listed firms had been improved obviously in 2005. 2.1.3. Earning Management While regulators aware the issues about CG after the scandals, the confidence of investors around the world who rely on the reported earnings on the financial statement to make their investment decisions have been significantly shaken. Earnings is always the most crucial indicator to evaluate how a firm performs. EM refers to manipulation of a firms earnings through direct or indirect accounting methods to achieve a desired level and that does not reflect the economic reality to mislead FS users about the corporate performance or gaining self-interest. In short, the practices of EM deter the credibility of financial reporting. There is tons of empirical researches evidence that good CG improve the transparency of the quality financial reporting which provides more decision-useful information to investors regardless of the geographical location of the listed company. Some of GCG mechanisms include the existence of independent board of directors, audit committee, no CEO duality, no Top Share (controlling shareholder), and shareholders coalition in order to face controlling shareholder. ( Werner R. Murhadi 2009). 2.1.4. The unique features of Hong Kong Firms. A global code of CG should not be applied as a standard among the world attributed to the unique settings of each jurisdiction. It is important for regulators and analysts to understand the unique features and regional conditions affect the incentive of managing earnings and the reporting quality. Therefore, Most of the researches have done to investigate the relationship between the CG practices and EM with US data, only a few o f them analyses about the issues in other regions. An assumption that a same result will be concluded when analyzing HK data is doubtful. The widely acknowledged family ownership concentration characteristic of HK listed firms is still considered as the major contributor of the failure of CG even after the introduction of the code. See the vote manipulation done by PCCW and the affair of Citic Pacific in 2009. 2.2 Literature review The research paper which examine whether the disclosure of Corporate Governance Structures affect the market valuation of earnings surprises and firms earnings management, Jui-Chin Chang and Huey-Lian Sun (2010), suggested that the effectiveness of corporate governance in monitoring earnings management is improved after the mandated disclosure. This finding is consistent with the result of the research on CG and earnings forecasts accuracy which supported that it is effective to enhance the quality of financial disclosure by revising the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance to encourage public companies to implement good governance practices. (Ahmad-Zaluki et al 2010). However, Davies and Schlitzer (2008) in their paper raised the question about the practicality of an international one size fits all corporate governance code of best practice and the result of the paper implied that the acceptance of a global corporate governance code is limited due to the adaptations in the business environment. Ching, M.L.K. et al. (2002) in their research contended that CG mechanisms and monitoring and oversight activities will affect the use of EM, and the importance of these factors varies across firms and national jurisdictions. Because CG, the legal environment, and monitoring activities are far different in Hong Kong than in the U.S., research studies using American data have limited relevance for HK. A large proportion of HK listed firms are controlled by families. When most of the results of empirical researches supported the positive association between the CG mechanism and firms earnings quality, the unique features of Hong Kong is not being considered in those researches. A rare research done by Jaggi, B., et al. (2009) used samples before the adoption of code of corporate governance and find that a higher proportion of independent corporate boards of HK firms is associated with more effective monitoring to constrain EM by deterring managers from manipulating the reported earnings; thus the earnings quality is expected to be high despite differences in institutional environments. However, it is not the case of which the firms are family-controlled, either through ownership concentration or the presence of family members on corporate boards. 2.3 Objective While countless studies have already done with data of regions other than HK about the association between CG and EM, some of them have also emphasized on the identity of family ownership concentration in Asian regions. This study is done for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of the Code of Corporate Governance Practices effective from 2005 on reducing EM practices and improving earnings quality of HK Firms. Focus on the uniqueness of the Hong Kong Firms ownership structure to investigate whether mandatory disclosure of corporate governance structures improves the quality of financial information of Hong Kong family-controlled firms. 2.4 Statement of hypothesis 2.4.1 Indentifying Corporate governance The research generated by Dey, (2008) examined that different countries have different corporate governance structure. She considered twelve variables of corporate governance to measure different corporate governance structure, such as the effectiveness of the audit committee and duality of CEOs and so on. To determine corporate governance, we would use five variables including a majority-independent audit committee, a majority-independent board, financial professional having sufficient accounting experience on the committee, big 4 auditors and the separation CEO and chair position. 2.4.2 Audit committee and earning quality According to Hong Kong Exchange and clearing limited (HKEX), after the adoption of code of corporate governance effective that is in 2005, it is a must for Hong Kong listed companies to establish an audit committee, comprising non-executive director (NED) and having at least three members. Based on the research of Bedard, and Courteau (2001), the higher the percentage of independent non-executive director that are not managers in other firms, the higher the earning quality is. Thus, the hypothesis we develop should be: H1: There is positive relationship between the existence of a majority-independent audit committee and earning quality after the code 2.4.3. Independent board of director and earning management According to Liu and Lu (2007), they found that when preparing financial statement, the board of director can help to monitor and prevent controlling shareholder as this act may make damage to the other shareholder. Besides, the Hong Kong boards of director were by code at least three NED members as well. H2: There is positive relationship between the proportion of Independent non-executive directors on the board and earning quality after the code. 2.4.4. CEO duality and earning management According to R. Murhadi, Werner. Dr (2009), he found that if there is any job duality, it was less effective and strongly influence higher level of discretionary accrual. Anderson et al. (2003) found that earnings informativeness is positively associated with firms having separated CEO and chair positions H3: The existence of CEO duality positively influences the level of earnings management after the code. 2.4.4 Big 4 auditors and earning management The previous research done by Klein (2003) found that Big 4 auditors may shift some of their responsibility of monitoring financial reporting to firms audit committees after SOX. Therefore, there may be difference between discretionary accruals and Big 4 auditor in the before period of SOX. H4: There is a negative relation between earning management and proportion of Big 4 auditors after the code. 2.4.5 Experts in audit committee and earning management The Code in Hong Kong required that among the three members, it should include at least an independent NED with sufficient and appropriate financial experience. Xie, Davison, and DaDalt (2003) use pre-SOX samples to investigate that audit committee members having financial experience/background negatively influence discretionary accruals. H5: There is a negative relation between discretionary accruals and the existent of financial experts on audit committees after the code. 2.4.6. family control and earning management Due to the different expectations regarding the effect of family control on earnings management, Jaggi-Leung use pre-code sample to show that an increase in the proportion of outside directors to strengthen board monitoring is unlikely to be effective in family-controlled firms. The percentage of NED on the board to a total number of directors is counted 20% as cut-off point. H6: There is a negative relation between the existent of family ownership control and earnings quality after the code. 3.Methodology 3.1 Sample collection It is to search the WiseNews Database and HKEX website to collect the data for all Hong Kong Listed Firms in all industry for years before and after adoption of code which is accounting period of 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 respectively. 3.2 Research Design By using the financial data examined from the above database, it is decided to research all firms excluding banks, insurance and trusts companies as they manage earning obtaining different incentives and opportunities. (Peasnell et al, 2000) For testing earnings management, Dechow et al., 1995 suggested to use modified jones model to measure discretionary accruals. However, based on Kothari, Leone and Wasley (2005), in addition to the modified model, they use return on assets as one of variable so as to estimate accruals more accurately. It is cross-sectional regression by using two-digit SIC code, then find out the estimated coefficient by the following formula: (Total discretionary accrual) TACCjt = Â µ0+ Â µ1(1/ ATit-1)+ Â µ2 (DSale/ATit-1)+ Â µ3 (PPE/ ATit-1)+ Â µ4 ROAit-1- (1) Then, NON-ACCjt = ß1(1/ATjt-1) + ß2 (DSalesjt DRECjt)/ATjt-1 +ß3 (PPE/ATjt-1) +ß4 ROAjt (2) Then, calculating the discretionary accrual by using the following formula, DACCjt = TACCjt NON-ACCjt (3) Using the regression model to calculating the data before and after the code of corporate governance, DACCit = p 0 + 1 Auditindep + 2 BdIndep + 3 AccExp + 4 CEODua + 5 Big 4 + FAMOWN (4) Where: ROA = the ratio of net income to total assets FAMOWN = 1 if proportion of family members divided by total number director is greater than 20%, 0 for other than this case. BdIndep: The number of independent board directors calculated by the no. of board members AuditIndep: The number of independent audit committee members calculated by the no. of audit committee members AccExp: 1 for having financial professional experience and 0 for none and divided by the no. of audit committee members Big 4: It is an indicator of the Big 4 auditors. It is one if the firm was Big 4 accounting firms client and it is zero if not. CEODua: it may be 1 when CEO is the firms director of the board, 0 when it is not the case. 4. Time schedule Time Action January Finish the background of the problem and objectives Research data for methodology 1st 11th February Finish Methodology Collect data by using software i.e. Excel 12th 28th February Solve the problems that will encounter during the process of collecting data, such as, uncertainty about any data Analyze data and make result of the analysis March Write discussions Interpret the data what we find Finish recommendations, conclusions, summary of the project 1 4th April Finish the draft to supervisor 5 28th April Finish the reference lists Review and proofread the grammar, organization, format of project Amend some parts based on comments of supervisors

Edgar Allan Poe :: Essays Papers

Edgar Allan Poe2 Edgar Allan Poe’s life had a profound effect on the technical style of his writing. Poe spent most of his life raised by foster parents who did not contribute to or encourage his writing. His first work was published in 1827, at the young age of 18, but his story in 1833, â€Å"MS Found in a Bottle,† marked the beginning of his writing career. Poe uses darkness and death in many of his stories. In his poems he was able to illustrate moods of mystery very well. Edgar Allan Poe was a unique writer who was not afraid to do something different from all the authors, while his adulthood was short and depressing. Born to traveling actors David and Elizabeth Poe on January 19, 1809, Edgar Poe was the middle child of three children. His father, David Poe, was from a Baltimore family. He was an actor by profession and a heavy drinker. Edgar was never very close with his older brother, William Henry Leonard Poe, because he had been left with his paternal grandparents around September 1807 for what began as an undetermined amount of time. In July of 1810 David Poe deserted his family and died shortly after. His death was most possibly alcohol elated. Elizabeth was still pregnant with their youngest child, Rosalie, who was born that December, at this time. Approximately a year after her daughter was born, in December of 1811, Elizabeth Poe died of tuberculosis. As a result of her death, William Henry Leonard stayed with his grandparents, Edgar was adopted by a couple of wealthy merchants from Richmond, Virginia, John and Fanny Allan, who offered him a better education than his grandparents could , while Rosalie was adopted Mr. and Mrs. William Mackenzie. In 1815, John Allan moved the family to England to try to make Allan and Ellis prosper. While there, Edgar went to private schools where his creative writings were discouraged. In 1820 the Allan’s returned to Virginia as a result of the collapse of John’s business venture. Shortly after the Allan’s return to the United States, Edgar began to support himself as he moved to Boston and worked in a merchandise house. Edgar Allan Poe :: Essays Papers Edgar Allan Poe2 Edgar Allan Poe’s life had a profound effect on the technical style of his writing. Poe spent most of his life raised by foster parents who did not contribute to or encourage his writing. His first work was published in 1827, at the young age of 18, but his story in 1833, â€Å"MS Found in a Bottle,† marked the beginning of his writing career. Poe uses darkness and death in many of his stories. In his poems he was able to illustrate moods of mystery very well. Edgar Allan Poe was a unique writer who was not afraid to do something different from all the authors, while his adulthood was short and depressing. Born to traveling actors David and Elizabeth Poe on January 19, 1809, Edgar Poe was the middle child of three children. His father, David Poe, was from a Baltimore family. He was an actor by profession and a heavy drinker. Edgar was never very close with his older brother, William Henry Leonard Poe, because he had been left with his paternal grandparents around September 1807 for what began as an undetermined amount of time. In July of 1810 David Poe deserted his family and died shortly after. His death was most possibly alcohol elated. Elizabeth was still pregnant with their youngest child, Rosalie, who was born that December, at this time. Approximately a year after her daughter was born, in December of 1811, Elizabeth Poe died of tuberculosis. As a result of her death, William Henry Leonard stayed with his grandparents, Edgar was adopted by a couple of wealthy merchants from Richmond, Virginia, John and Fanny Allan, who offered him a better education than his grandparents could , while Rosalie was adopted Mr. and Mrs. William Mackenzie. In 1815, John Allan moved the family to England to try to make Allan and Ellis prosper. While there, Edgar went to private schools where his creative writings were discouraged. In 1820 the Allan’s returned to Virginia as a result of the collapse of John’s business venture. Shortly after the Allan’s return to the United States, Edgar began to support himself as he moved to Boston and worked in a merchandise house.

Frankenstein and Female Monster. Victor

Are you a made man? In Mary Shelley’s (1797-1851) Frankenstein; Or the Modern Prometheus (1818), Victor Frankenstein creates a fiend out the dead body parts. Frankenstein, as a product of the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution, is obsessed with advancing the cause of science, and in becoming famous and respected. â€Å"A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me.I might in process of time (although I now found it impossible) renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption †(Shelley 48). This modern day Prometheus, succeeds in doing what no man has done before, create life. The man he creates is contrary to what Victor envisioned. â€Å"How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Gre at God!His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips†(Shelley 51). After his creation comes to life, he refuses to accept his (parental) obligation; he does not care for the fiend, he does not provide it with shelter nor with food or love. He fails to teach and to instruct dismissing a relationship with his creature.Instead, in disgust of what he has done, Victor abandons â€Å"the fiend. † The fiend attempts to live a normal life; however, being abandon leaves the monster confused, afraid, left to his own devices, and angry. â€Å"‘I am alone and miserable: man will not associate with me;’’ (Shelley 129) Victor abandon and left t he monster as a fatherless child like his mother did when she died â€Å".. She whom we saw every day and whose very existence appeared a part of our own can have departed forever† (Shelley 38-39) All of the thing that he loved about his mother had been taken away and he was left as a motherless child.The story of Frankenstein and his creation is ultimately a story of abandonment. Abandonment (and neglect), Shelley suggests, is detrimental to growth and maturity; abandonment might result in the dehumanization of both the creator (parent) and his creation (child). Shelley’s novel is an exploration of where abandonment might lead. [NOT SURE WHERE YOU ARE GOING WITH THIS. KEEP IT FOR NOW, IF YOU DECIDE THAT YOU NEED MORE OF A HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK] Ultimately, Frankenstein refuses to accept the responsibility of providing a source of companionship for the creation since he does not allow for any connection between himself and the monster.Victor basically flees, hoping to f orget what he has created. He attempts to live a normal life however his abandonment leaves the monster confused, angry, and afraid. Frankenstein is an Enlightenment scientist, who crosses the boundaries of science and feels the need to discover the secrets of life. The Enlightenment Period was a cultural movement of intellectuals beginning in the late 17th and 18th century Europe emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition. [START HERE] Victor Frankenstein has always been fascinated by nature and always wanted to conquer the unknown[PLACE AND ANALYZE THE QUOTE HERE – WHERE HIS FASCINATION BEGINS – â€Å"When we visited it the next morning, we found the tree shattered in a singular manner. It was not splintered by the shock, but entirely reduced to thin ribbons of wood. I never beheld anything so utterly destroyed. Before this I was not unacquainted with the more obvious laws of electricity† (Shelley 36). After being introduced to science Victor b ecame fascinated with it. In retaliation to his fascination, Victor betrays nature by creating the Monster. Victor frankenstein felt the need to challenge nature with him imagination and creating his own being.The Romantic believed there was good in all things, and the darkness could not be ignored. Many expressed their beliefs in through dark romantic writing and art work using the ideas of nature, emotion, individualism, and creativity and passion was a reaction against the rules and conventions of society. To all romanctic writers believed nature is devined there for violating nature is a violation of there god and themselves. Victor’s fascination led him to successful create a creature and Privately abandon his own needs, hidden away in his apartment where no one can see him work, he decides to begin the construction of the creature.Abortion and devoting himself to this labor, he neglects everything else family, friends, studies, and social life. This lead victor to grow increasingly pale, lonely, and obsessed. â€Å"My cheek had grown pale with study, and my person had become emaciated with confinement. Sometimes, on the very brink of certainty, I failed; yet still I clung to the hope which the next day or the next hour might realise. One secret which I alone possessed was the hope to which I had dedicated myself; and the moon gazed on my midnight labours, while, with unrelaxed and breathless eagerness, I pursued nature to her hiding-places.† (shelley 48)Victor creates the Monster to replace the lonely feeling he had after his mothers death. In creating the monster, one might say, that Victor is reconciling his own sense of abandonment. In other words, he creates a creature to validate him (often what our parents do) and to reconcile his feelings of maternal abandonment. Ironically, he in turn abandons the creature that he builds. Frankenstein feels abandoned by his mother and the Monster feels abandoned by Frankenstein. After creating the M onster, Victor takes takes one look at the monster and immediately abandons him, â€Å"But I escaped and rushed downstairs.I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited; where I remained during the rest of the night†¦ † (Shelley 59). When he returns to his chamber, the monster is gone and Victor feels relieved from his creator. Two years go by before Victor and his eight feet tall creation, face each other again. Victor is headed home after receiving his fathers letter informing him that his little brother William had been murdered. Victor is soon aware that the fiend is responsible for the murder of his brother.His adopted sister Justine is framed by the fiend. She is found guilty and is soon executed. Although Victor feels sadness, anger, frustration and guilt, especially about Justine’s death, he feels that he cannot confide his suspicion that his creation is responsible. Who would believe him? Victor begins his traveling toward Geneva with thought of the Monster. During his traveling he sees his creature , while coming face to face with his creating he insisted on the creature diapering and having the slightest contact with him.On one hand the creator had different feelings he almost seemed excited about seeing his creator and wanted to share all the thing he had learned with him even while victor continued to abandon him. â€Å"Be calm! I entreat you to hear me, before you give vent to your hatred on my devoted head. Have I not suffered enough that you seek to increase my misery? Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it. Remember, thou hast made me more powerful than thyself; my height is superior to thine; my joints more supple.But I will not be tempted to set myself in opposition to thee. I am thy creature, and I will be even mild and docile to my natural lord and king, if thou wilt also perform thy part, the which thou owest me. Oh, Frankenstein, be not e quitable to every other, and trample upon me alone, to whom thy justice, and even thy clemency and affection, is most due. Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good — misery made me a fiend.Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous. † â€Å"Begone! I will not hear you. There can be no community between you and me; we are enemies. Begone, or let us try our strength in a fight, in which one must fall. â€Å"(shelley 89) though the monster had been abandoned several times by his creator he tried every chance he got [THIS IS AN IMPORTANT SCENE AND MOUNTAIN, SO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO IT JUSTICE. AND REMEMBER THE MONSTER NOTIFIES VICTOR TO EXACTLY WHERE HE WILL MEET HIM, BECAUSE HE WANTS THIS AUDIENCE WITH HIS CREATOR]. {YOU DON’T HAVE TO BRACKET THIS, BUT YOU SHOULD TRANSITION INTO THIS.IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE MONSTER IS ABANDONED MANY TIMES†¦ VICTOR, WHO LOST HIS MOTHER SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT THE MONSTER LOST HIS FATHER – VICTOR – YET HE FAILS TO EMPATHIZE WITH HIS CREATION] He told Victor about how he grew to love the DeLacey Family and learned to see what it meant to love another. Studying the family led to the monster feeling abandoned because he couldn’t connect with them. â€Å"I had admired the perfect forms of my cottagers — their grace, beauty, and delicate complexions: but how was I terrified when I viewed myself in a transparent pool!At first I started back, unable to believe that it was indeed I who was reflected in the mirror; and when I became fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am, I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification. Alas! I did not yet entirely know the fatal effects of this miserable deformity†. (Shelley ____ ) Before the c ottage family met the creature he had already opened his heart to them wishing for adoption. When the monster finally felt he had completely prepared himself to meet his teachers he was rejected and again abandoned.This abandonment was held a great deal of the creatures hate for mankind. He then told Victor that he had met a little boy on his way back to find Victor, his creator. He tells that he thought he could make the little boy except him, because of the little boy's youth mind. The Monster then learned that the boy was a brother to Victor, who had abandoned him first. (talk about how he tried to grow comfort with the boy but was abandon) He got very angry at the thought of being friends with the brother of the man who caused the Monster such great pain.The Monster then killed the little boy and had taken the locket and put it into the pocket of a lady. Justin was soon executed for the murder of the little boy (William). â€Å"I determined to seek that justice which I vainly a ttempted to gain from any other being that wore the human form. † (Pg. 136) Victor then told the Monster to leave and never come back or he would kill him. The Monster then realizes that the blame is on him, himself and he decides to kill himself. â€Å"Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? † (Pg. 132) Once again this left me wondering if the Monster killed himself, would that leave another void in Victor's life?Victor had already lost so many loved ones that were so close to him. Did he have feelings for the Monster? Not feelings of love, because all that he had done; but some type, any type of feelings since he after all created the Monster. At the end of the book the Monster finally talks Frankenstein into creating a female for him. The Monster wanted another like him so he could feel normal and not feel the abandonment for the rest of his life. Victor begins making another replica of the Monster, but then abandon the thought in the middle of his work.Victor then r ealized what could happen if he finished the female Monster. victor realized that if he finished the female Monster that it too could turn against human kind, and also go on a killing spree. Victor then destroyed his half way complete work. This angered the Monster and he then swore to make Victor the most miserable person in the world. The Monster did this by going on another killing spree of people that were close to Victor. He killed Victor's best friend Henry Clerval and Victor was almost executed for the murder. In the mean time Victor had met a lady called Elizabeth, whom he planned to marry.So the Monster waited for the night after Victor and Elizabeth's wedding and then murdered Elizabeth. Victor's father had also grown very depressed from all the void's in his own life and too soon died after hearing the news Elizabeth's death. Victor then was very ragged and obsessed to get a bitter revenge on the bitter Monster. Victor chased the Monster up into the North. He nearly kille d himself when he was chasing the Monster on dog sleds and broke through the ice and fell into the water. Victor was saved by a passing ship. He recovered enough to tell his long, remorseful story to Robert Walton.Victor then got very sick and soon died. Thus, leaving a void in Walton's life. That same night the Monster came to see Victor in his death-bed. The monster met Walton while doing this and told him of all of the rage he felt toward Victor. Walton did not like the Monster at all. The Monster told Walton that he would kill himself now that Victor had died. He told Walton he would do this by going where nobody could see him, in the North, and set fire to himself. In conclusion, I feel the theme of the book is abandonment. I think this because every event that happens is the result to some sort of abandonment.Victor Frankenstein felt abandoned and had a void because his mother died. As a result to that feeling, he betrayed nature and created the Monster. He abandoned the Monst er, leaving a void in the Monster's life. The abandonment from Victor made the Monster angry, wanting to make Victor's life miserable. The Monster then began to kill people who were close to Victor, making Victor have even more abandonment in his life. Finally, Victor died from being sick and the Monster killed himself. All of the events in this book support that the theme of the book is abandonment.

Should You Retake the SAT or ACT 3-Step Process

Should You Retake the SAT or ACT 3-Step Process SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips At long last, you get your SAT or ACT scores back, and now you have to make an important decision- do you retake the test and aim for a higher score? What are your chances of improving your score? The answer can get complicated, depending on how many times you've taken it before and what your score target is. Read on to develop the best testing plan for yourself.The decision on whether you should retake the ACT or SAT depends on two main questions: What is your target score? How likely are you to improve your score on the next test? We'll tackle each question one at a time. What's Your SAT/ACT Target Score? Long before you take the SAT or ACT, you should have an exact target score in mind. This score is based entirely on the colleges that you are planning to apply to. It's not the score that other people say you should get. It's not the score that sounds right. This score is mathematically determined by researching the colleges you want to apply to. If you don't calculate this score, you'll be led astray from the study plan that's best for you. You might think a great score is out of reach, or you might be complacent about a lower than average score. Click the following links to download a free guide to calculating your target score. Exclusive Free Bonus: Downloada free step-by-step guide on finding your personal SAT score target or ACT score target. Once you go through these steps, you'll know exactly what score you need to aim for. Don't delay - this is one of the most important steps of SAT/ACT prep. Once you have your target score, compare your score with this target score. How likely are you to improve your score to this level? Here's a set of very general guidelines from my personal experience with thousands of students (we'll be using the 1600 scale of the new SAT): SAT Score ACT Score What do I need to do to get this improvement? Difficulty +0-50 +0-1 Some prep before the test. You might achieve this score improvement just by retaking the test if you did especially poorly last time. Not too hard, especially if you've taken the test just once +50-160 +1-4 Serious prep on a dedicated schedule. You'll need a smart system to figure out where your weaknesses lie and how to improve them. You won't be able to achieve this just through sheer effort. Possible with hard work and smart studying +160-260 +4-7 Very serious prep. You have some major gaps to fill before you start mastering the test. You will benefit from a personal tutor who can spot your weaknesses and teach you strategies. Possible with serious dedication, time, and a great study plan +260-400 +7-10 Dedicated prep for an extended period of time. You will most likely need an excellent 1-on-1 tutor who can teach you the fundamentals and make sure you stay committed. Difficult, but possible for the very motivated. 400+ 10+ Nearly re-education. You have major content gaps from school and need to be taught fundamental content. You'll need hundreds of hours of work. Very difficult. Re-evaluate your target colleges if possible. (if you're using the 2400 scale of the Old SAT, then just multiply each of the range values by 1.5) These are general guidelines and depend heavily on your exact situation. As we'll soon explain, the more you've prepped and the more tests you've taken up to this point, the harder it is to improve your score from here on. If you've taken the test 5 times and prepped hard, improving your test score on the 6th test by 100 points will be difficult. You'll need a completely different approach from you've already tried to make any improvements from this point forward. If you've taken the test several times by this point, you might be worried that colleges will look down on your many test entries. This is a common myth that we're going to bust right now. Myth: Colleges Care How Many Times You've Taken the SAT/ACT. Not true! You might have heard the idea that when colleges see your SAT/ACT scores, they take into account how many tests you've taken. If you've taken 10 tests, they'll wonder what's wrong with you, especially if you don't improve from test to test. The reason this myth exists is that this used to be true. Back in the old days (before 2009), if you took the SAT and applied to college, the College Board always required you to send ALL your scores to every college. If you took the test too many times and didn't improve, the school might potentially look down on this. This system has totally changed.The SAT now uses a system called Score Choice. For the majority of schools, you can choose which test dates you want to report to the school. They'll either take your highest test score in a single setting, or your highest section score from all the tests you send (creating your Superscore). See for yourself: the College Board has a list of over 1,500 colleges and their Score Choice participation. The majority of schools participate in Score Choice, where you can choose which test scores you send. Those that don't are marked by "All Scores" - they require you to send all your scores from the College Board. Notable "All Scores" institutions are the CUNY system and University of California. But even for these "All Scores" institutions, they won't care all that much about your other test scores. All they want to see is your highest test score, because that's all that actually matters to them. Take it straight from the University of California itself, which requires All Scores sent: "For the SAT Reasoning Test, we will focus on the highest total score from a single test date." What about the ACT? The ACT has never required you to submit all your test scores. In fact, you must pay a separate fee for each test score you send to every college, which can end up costing quite a lot. Because the schools will never see any ACT score you don't send them, you're free to send them just your highest score. There are a few schools that require all ACT scores sent, but they're in the far minority. So how many times can you take the SAT or ACT? As many times as you want.What actually matters at the end of the day is your highest score. But for the sake of your wallet, if you stop improving, question why you aren't improving, and find a new prep program that can work better for you. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! What Are Your Chances of Improving Your SAT/ACT Score? This is the million dollar question. By now, you should have your SAT target score or ACT target score firmly in mind, and you know you want to improve to that point. Whether you can reachit depends on a few main factors. #1: Did you underperform on the official test, and you know you could have done better? A fluke test happens to the best of us. You might not have been feeling well that day. You might have gotten distracted during a reading passage that was especially difficult. You might have had a family situation that stressed you out the morning of the test. If your official test score is 100 SAT points or 2 ACT points lower than your consistent practice test score, RETAKEthe test. There's a lot of variation from test to test, and chances are very good that if you take the test again, you'll get a better score the second time. I've seen students swing as much as 500 points upward between two tests a month apart, simply because they had a terrible day the first time and knocked the second test out of the park. 2) How many times have you taken the SAT or ACT before? Here are some simple guidelines. Only taken the test once: DEFINITELYtake it again. Both the College Board and the ACTpublish results that show that most students (over 50%) who take the test a second time improve their score. Furthermore, the lower your starting score is, the more likely your second test is to improve. You should try to prep as well as you can, but even if you just take the test, odds are that you'll improve your score. Taken the test twice: Lean towards taking it again. If you prep, you'll have a much better chance at improving your score. Furthermore, because most schools take a Superscore, the chances that you'll improve your Superscore are very good. Taken the test 3 or more times:That depends onthis next question: 3) How much have you already studied, and how did you prep? The less you've prepped before, the more likely you can improve your score. If the only thing to prep before the test was look at the cover of an SAT/ACT book through the storefront window, you can make huge improvements with the right SAT/ACT prep method. If you've spent 400 hours studying, devoured all the SAT/ACT books, and hired a personal tutor for 100 hours, it's a lot harder to improve your score. You'll need to change your study method to have a shot at boosting your score again. If you've prepped a lot already and are unsure of what to study to improve your score, one thing is clear - you need a new approach. If you try what you've been doing with just a little more effort, you'll be disappointed with your results. I've seen hundreds of students come to me frustrated that their score isn't improving, when of course they've been doing the same incorrect things over and over again. Quick Plug: We have the industry's leading online prep program for both SAT prep and ACT prep. The real difference with our program is that we customize your studying to your strengths and weaknesses. Couple that with the country's top instructors and content, and you have what's been called a "life-saver" and "a godsend" by our happy families. Check it out now. What's Next? Now that you know your chances of improving your score, you should have an idea of whether you want to retake the SAT or ACT. In my experience, very few students are lost causes - nearly everyone at this stage can continue to improve their score, with the right prep method. Read this next: Figure out when you should take the SAT or ACT, and what the best test dates are. Check out our leading SAT and ACT prep programs: