College Costs :: essays research papers

Beyond Sticker Shock - Extracurricular College Costs You've probably already calculated tuition bills and costs for room and board. Yet the hidden costs of college — from pizza to airfare, from library fines to laundry money — can easily add up to another $2,000 per year. To get a handle on those extras, you'll want to put together a monthly budget that estimates your costs. Be sure to include: Books: Book costs vary widely, depending on your courses. Call your bookstore to get early warning of book prices for your various classes. Transportation and travel: If you commute, figure in car insurance, gas and parking fees. Some colleges offer free parking, while others may charge up to $100 for a permit. Don't forget to include the cost of holiday travel. Often you can cut these costs by carpooling or shopping around for special saver or student rates on airfare. General food: Dorm dwellers may have a pre-paid college cafeteria plan, while students living off-campus will pay their food bills on a weekly basis. Either way, it's good to figure out how much you'll spend at the grocery store and in restaurants. Appliances and utilities: Apartment dwellers usually have utility bills: gas, electric, heat and water. On-campus students face different charges: mini-refrigerator rental fees, for example, can range from $35 to $120. To limit phone bills, consider getting a pre-paid phone card with a set amount of calling time to limit long-winded and expensive phone calls. For staying in touch on the cheap, see if your school offers free Internet access and e-mail. Personal supplies: Remember when things like soap, toilet paper, makeup and laundry detergent were just there? It's easy to forget these when you're planning your budget, but they add up. Washing your clothes at a coin laundromat, for example, will run you $1 to $2 per load per week. Fraternity or sorority dues: Charges vary widely, depending on the school and chapter. Budget $30 per month minimum, although $50 fees and more are likely. However, Greek life can have an upside; if you live in a house, the dues sometimes cover extras like laundry, social activities and access to a computer lab. Printing, copy and computer costs: Stock up on printer paper and floppy discs at a discount store before the school year starts (on-campus supply stores often charge many times the going rate). You'll not only save money, you'll avoid last-minute exam week supply crises.

Essay Comparing the Runes and Magic in Beowulf and The Saga of the Volsungs :: comparison compare contrast essays

Runes and Magic in Beowulf and The Saga of the Volsungs      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the Old English poem Beowulf and in the Icelandic The Saga of the Volsungs, a saga representing oral traditions dating back to the fourth and fifth centuries, we see the mention of runes, which were used with connotations of magic or charms.    An unknown author wrote the The Saga of the Volsungs in the thirteenth century, basing his story on far older Norse poetry. Iceland was settled by the Vikings about 870-930, who took there the famous lay of Sigurd and the Volsungs. Native Icelandic poets loved the story of Sigurd and the Huns, Goths, Burgundians, with whom he interacted. This prose story is based on traditional Norse verse called Eddic poetry, a form of mythic or heroic lay which developed before 1000 in the oral folk culture of Old Scandinavia. In The Saga of the Volsungs the hero Sigurd is the one who corresponds best with the hero Beowulf in the Anglo-Saxon tradition. George Clark in â€Å"The Hero and the Theme† mentions: â€Å"The form of Beowulf taken as a whole suggests both the ‘Bear’s Son’ folktale type (especially as we find it in Scandinavia) and the ‘combat myth’. . . .† (286). The â€Å"combat myth† is what this saga is. When Sigurd was born, he was t he grandson of King Eylimi; when Beowulf was born, he was the grandson of King Hrethel. The king said of Sigurd that â€Å"none would be his like or equal† (55), and this proved true; Beowulf as a young man was so strong that â€Å"he was the strongest of all living men† (196). The similarities between Sigurd and Beowulf continue through both works.    The Icelandic skald is the equivalent of the Anglo-Saxon scop. He was a storyteller. Icelandic material builds on a long oral tradition just like Anglo-saxon, going back in their stories to the fourth and fifth centuries (Byock 2). Skalds stayed in the royal courts of Scandinavia like their counterparts to the south.    Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon narrative poem whose oral traditions date back to the sixth century. We see the first mention of runes in this poem in connection with the magic sword. When the hero is in deadly combat with Grendel’s mother in the mere, he is at the point of   being killed by the monster when suddenly God shows to him the presence of a special sword nearby on the wall.

Reasons for United States Possible Attack on Iran Essay

The topic on the possibility of United States launching a military attack against Iran has dominated much news for several years since the Bush administration and during which some quarters speculated that such an attack would be ordered before the administration left office. As early as 2005, a number of articles had started revealing the imminent plans by Pentagon to order military operations against Iran. While people and the media may speculate and give their opinions about many aspects of the imminent war, the most important issue to understand is the reasons which may spark the attack. It is therefore the objective of this paper to discuss the reasons why US would engage in a military land war with Iran. 2. 0 The Euro-Based Oil Bourse This is one of the major reasons which revolve around the plan by Tehran government in 2005 and 2006 to start competing with the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), the largest physical commodity futures exchange in the world based in New York and the London based International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) by using the euro-dominated oil trading mechanism (Clark, 2004). The logic behind this is that by using this mechanism in international oil trades, the euro is going to take dominance and establish a firm ground which will serve to overshadow the strength of the U. S dollar in the global oil market. The U. S government therefore considers this a real threat by Tehran government which warrants intervention to protect the dollar from being toppled off from its long term monopoly in the critical international oil market. It is worth noting that lack of an oil pricing standard that is euro-dominated also referred to oil â€Å"marker† in the oil trading industry is one of the technical challenges facing the euro-based trading system in oil transactions. The oil markers currently in operation today are the U. S dollar dominated which include Norway Brent crude, West Texas Intermediate crude, and the UAE Dubai crude. In the spring of 2003, Iran laid down a requirement that all the transactions for its Asian and European oil exports be conducted using the euro currency though the pricing of oil was still predominantly controlled by the dollar. Following an official announcement in 2004 that Iran had intentions to develop an Iranian oil Bourse, it raised the concerns that a stiff competition would ensue between the Iranian oil bourse and the U. S owned NYME and the IPE (Clark, 2004). The macroeconomic implications of such a development would cause a shift in the international commerce in both Middle East and the European Union which is the largest importer of oil from OPEC producers. Consequently, the financial hegemony enjoyed by the IPE and NYMEX would be greatly challenged and thus the U. S is likely to avoid this through military action. 3. 0 The Ambitious Nuclear Program of Iran The Tehran’s nuclear ambition is another possible reason as to why the U. S may launch a land military attack on Iran. This has been seen from the latest series of sanctions on Iran by the Obama administration which mainly targets the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps which is the most powerful social, political and economic institution in Iran. The organization also has a large number of companies and banks and therefore makes it an appropriate target for these sanctions (LANDLER & COOPER, 2010). However, the critical thing to focus on with regard to this issue is whether these sanctions have the capacity to compel Iran to halt its nuclear program. If the history of political and economic sanctions against countries is anything to go by, then Iran may not change its course despite the sanctions and this may lead to war. The reason for the sanctions is to â€Å"contain† Tehran which depicts a link which leads from diplomatic pressure to military action (Nadal, 2010). Tehran views this threat as real considering that its two neighbors to the west and to the east have a large number of U. S troops. 4. 0 Conclusion A possible military action on Iran by the US cannot be overlooked since the reasons surrounding this possibility would also have major effects on the economy and the security of the US. Considering the economic problems facing the US, the attempts by Iran to establish the euro-based oil bourse may seem as an attempt to suppress the dollar in the international oil market. The nuclear program also would threaten the security not only of the US but also of the world if it is not either regulated or completely halted. To aver the nuclear weapons development, Washington ought to try and alter the perceptions of threat harbored by Iran against America. References Clark, W. (2004). The Real Reasons Why Iran is the Next Target: The Emerging Euro-denominated International Oil Marker. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://www. globalresearch. ca/articles/CLA410A. html LANDLER, M. , & COOPER, H. (2010). U. S. Eyes New Sanctions Over Iran Nuclear Program. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://www. nytimes. com/2010/02/10/world/middleeast/10sanctions. html? _r=1 Nadal, A. (2010). Sanctions against Iran and the Next War. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://www. campaigniran. org/casmii/index. php? q=node/10518

Moral Values Essay

Morality is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between the ones that are good and the ones which are bad. The philosophy of morality is ethics. Morality is a synonym of goodness. Laurence Sterne has rightly said â€Å"Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners†. Moral values are important to an individual as it makes one feel peaceful. They give your life a purpose and make it meaningful. Honesty, decency, modesty, kind heartedness, sincerity, forgiveness and gratitude are some of the moral values. It is very easy for a person high in ethics to control his life. It changes your perspective. You only look at the brighter side of anything. The negative forces do not hold you back any more. It becomes easier for you to strive towards your aim in life. Moralistic approach seems virtuous. It helps you bond with the world far and away. Moral values make you trustworthy and accord you a respectable place amongst the others. World can be easily captivated by you as people count on your fair and sincere approach. Not only to others, moralistic approach assists yourself too. Your integrity will allow you to advance in both personal and professional life. Being compassionate is like a big virtue. It helps you deal with any misfortune that comes your way. Also you can be a big support to your friends and fellow beings in their difficult times. While I was studying, in my college days, I was more of a notorious child. Never realising the value of time was one main thing which I used to do. I never used to finish my assignments on time, always used to be late for lectures and even bunking the classes at times. I can still recall number of events where I had submitted late work. I never used to study regularly. Always kept on piling up work till the last day of assessment. A day prior to the exam used to be like hell on earth for me. As I had never prepared for the exam before I usually got low grades in the examinations. My parents always told me to adopt good values but I never listened. My mother always instructed me and even told me the ill results, but as is expected of youngsters I even ignored her. One similar day I went to the college. Walking confidently, showing off myself, typical me. When I reached my classroom what I saw shook my very foundations, it was an exam day. Only because I had never paid attention in the class I didn’t know about it. I somehow mustered my courage and sat for the exam. I saw everyone engrossed in writing and I was all blank. However the day passed. The worst had yet to come. It wasn’t far and the results were out. As expected I flunked in the subject. I was down with shame and disrespect not just because of failing but because of the extremely low grades. My grades were perhaps the lowest in the entire batch. I could not find any place to hide my face. It is still very difficult for me to put it in words how I faced my friends and family post the result. I went home, low and forlorn. The only person I could share it with was my mother. I know she was heartbroken, but she held me tight and told me there is never any time in life when you cannot rise up again and correct your improprieties. I hugged her tight. Her warmth gave me the strength to rise up again. From that very moment I resolved to leave behind all the bad habits and move on the right track. I did stick to this and was always moralist in my approach thereafter. It was then I realised how irreverent and impertinent I was and such a human being is incapable of any type of self-abandonment. He is either a slave of his pride or his egoism which ultimately makes him a prisoner of himself. This is exactly what happened with me. I was blind to values. I never gave things a chance to unfold themselves in their proper character and approached everything in such an importunate way that I only listened to myself and ignored the rest. Now I can proudly say adopting moral values has made me overcome any obstacle that has intervened my way of progress. I ended up my college with outstanding grades not only the result but I also managed to get myself a respectable job. I joined in a company as a business development executive and was eventually promoted to the post of a business development officer. I always wanted to excel in my professional life. But to achieve higher levels I needed higher education. MBA was my dream. But to adhere it I went through a difficult time phase. I was impatient as time was passing by but at the same time I had to be responsible to the compliance. As recognized by Socrates and Plato, it is better to suffer injustice than to commit it; I stuck to my moral values and didn’t lose patience. My hopes were always high. I knew I would attain my dream. Now I am in a foreign land, perusing a different course, for which I waited three long years. Things around me have changed. There is one thing that hasn’t and will not change ever – and that is my values. I follow them and they acknowledge me. I have been through quite a lot of experiences in the recent few years. All I can say is moral values are extremely important for your wellbeing. They will always keep your stress levels lower and help you lead a harmonious life. You are able to direct your behaviour towards beneficial and fulfilling activities. Moral values are the highest amongst all natural values. Positive values are the focus of the world whereas negative values are the greatest evil. Man himself is responsible for all his deeds and actions. Martin Luther King Jr said, â€Å"If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values – that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control†. (Cravvley & Kendall, 2009) In goodness there shines a light which bestows on the good person an intellectual dignity. I feel I am lucky I was born in a family which withholds strong moral values.

Case Study BA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Case Study BA - Essay Example Few widely known facts about the terminal 5 are: Information Systems employed by BAA seems to have incorporated great ideas but they forgot to actually implement the ideas. They had ample car parks and had segregated car parking spaces for public and staff but people and staff could not find the car parks and spent lot of time trying to look for parking spaces. The problem being, the details of parking spaces (no. of slots, in use, empty etc.) were not updated in the information system database and were not displayed at appropriate places for people to see. One of the biggest faults in their system was that the staff at baggage handling and sorting section were not able to log on to their computers. This affected both incoming and outgoing baggage. The security checkpoints were not updated to the staff. There were no maps or location guidelines. Search facility was not ready for both staff and passengers. As far as the methodical preparations for terminal 5 are concerned, BA Authority did have some Information Systems in place. However, the Information System was highly ineffective. The reasons for it being ineffective may be incompetent people in the IT management team, lack of exposure of IT engineers with regard to such a large scale implementation as was terminal 5 of Heathrow airport or any other. The ineffectiveness of the Information Systems can be realized due to the following problems that occurred in terminal 5 on the very first day of its opening. Car Parks and parking spaces were not well managed. No software was employed to keep track of full and available parking spaces. Designated car parks for staff were not available and there were no sign board or any other means to locate the car parks due to which public and the staff spent lot of time looking for parking spaces. There was no signage at any place in the terminal. The terminal should have been equipped with monitors displaying the map of

Electronic Methods of Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Electronic Methods of Communication - Essay Example By thoroughly discussing these four questions, we can come to a more critical and intellectual viewpoint on this subject matter. The aim of this paper is to thoroughly discuss all of this, as well as any key elements which are in relation to this issue. This is what will be dissertated in the following. A virtual office is a location which allows many people doing business to share an office address and business machines, and is a facility which often includes such things as receptionists, mail support, telephone banks, fax machines, copiers, computers, and sometimes even call answering services. With the technology currently available, business can be conducted easily from basically anywhere. The virtual office is considered as being easily one of the most important applications of the Internet, although its recognition is surely lacking. The Internet is easily the most popular communication tool which is completely changing the entire concept of what it means to be an agency. "The key to making an office virtual is enabling everyone in the agency to be able to work together as smoothly as they would if they were all physically in the same place. The Internet is beginning to make this type of integration possible because it allows rapid, low-cost communication between individual u sers and businesses." (Anderson, 2000). The virtual office is certainly a thing of popularity and efficiency; however, not everyone is a candidate for working in a virtual environment. This type of setting requires a special type of person in order to function properly; the person has to be able to work from home, and a special kind of manager is also required to effectively manage virtual employees. Largely as a result of the falling price of telecommunications and the increased sophistication of such things as relevant technology, all businesses, regardless of size, are suddenly able to take advantage of global efficiencies that were once available only to large corporations and multi-nationals. "There are a number of implications of decentralization. The integrity of corporate data can be compromised in the absence of strong data management and storage policies. The inevitable proliferation of duplicated data sent over public networks to individuals or offices in remote locations also presents significant security risks. The management of outsourced services (with well defined service level agreements) requires a different approach to those supplied from in-house, and is likely to be even more challenging when services are undertaken in a different country. Differences in culture, time zone, standards, legislation and language are the obvious ones. Deficiencies in any of these areas can lead to reputation risks as well as increasing the costs of compliance." (Evans, 2006). Is Personal Contact Even Necessary at This Point In regards to technologically speaking, it appears rather obvious that personal contact is in fact unnecessarily in most cases. However, a matter of a related issue is that of is

WestCiv4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

WestCiv4 - Essay Example It is urging the while people, rather it is a command to the whites to take over the burden and colonize the people of other nations. The Europeans virtually looked down upon the Africans and the Asians condescendingly. They considered the non-Western culture and traditions as inferior to theirs and this European ascendancy is known as â€Å"cultural imperialism†. The Europeans had the attitude that they were destined to rule over the non-Western countries. The White men were culturally and technically advanced and always carried that air that they were superior to others. This in itself provided a motivation for the Europeans that they were destined to take care of the under privileged. This is driven by the feeling of superiority which has been confirmed by the Darwinian Theory that the â€Å"strong survive†. It promotes the idea that the white European race was superior to others. The Europeans were more advanced in culture compared to other races. The ‘surviva l of the fittest’ is the rule of the game and as believed by Kipling, the Europeans being superior were the fittest. The second motivation comes from the evolutionary theory, which believes that nature is a "kill-or-be-killed" system. It is based on the principle that if necessary, kill others to save your self. Those that cannot keep are either left behind or cut off. Even the Nazis claimed that murder of the Jews in World War II was an act of cleaning out the inferiors. To protect themselves, the superiors could even exterminate an entire race of people. It is not possible for people of two different races to survive in harmony and rather than be killed, it is better to kill them. As the others are uneducated and lack culture, they could turn savage and kill the Europeans and before they do that, the Europeans are urged to make the move. Rather than live with the â€Å"burden† it is better to kill them. Any war takes place with the motive of