Being a Farm Kid

Hick, backwards, redneck, stupid, bumpkin. These are all fine names given to persons that work to feed and clothe the world by certain persons who have no idea what they are talking about. However, there are some people that know very well what it really means to live the life of an agriculturalist. Those that know the best are the ones that have grown up on farms. Being a farm kid means that I know everyone within five miles of where I live. It also means knowing all of their quirks, and the quirks of their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. By just hearing a last name, I can usually assume the character of that person. We also have to overlook those things at times for the sake of neighborliness. Neighborliness takes on many forms, be it pulling cars out of ditches or clearing driveways after snowstorms, to taking food to a neighbor after a death or illness. Being a farm kid also means having a sense of tradition. It’s being able to stand atop a windmill tower and see, in one broad glance, the farms where my great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and I, myself, grew up. A true farm kid calls areas by long gone one-room schools and pieces of property by the families that farmed the land in their parents’ youth, such as â€Å"the Teiges’ place† or â€Å"north of Liberty Center School (which closed in the 1940’s).† I can also walk through the local cemetery and know 99% of the names. Not only that, but I can also pronounce the pure German, or other nationality, names that trip up even the best telemarketer. Being a farm kid instills me with a sense of pride. A true farm kid, while maybe a little ornery, will be a good person and a responsible citizen for the simple fact that a person should be. A farm kid finds the reaction people give when they figure out his dad has a master’s degree amusi ng. It also means taking pride in agriculture. A farm kid’s blood will almost always boil at the thought of animal activists and â€Å"pure food† yuppies. Being a farm kid means being spiritual. In addition to being spiritual, the church is often the central social hub for the community and plays a big part in rural life. Be it 5th Sunday dinners, weekly church services, or Vacation Bible School, a farm kid’s life would be incomplete without church. But a farm kid’s spirituality goes much further than just words on Sunday morning. Farming brings together human and earth more than any other profession. Whether it’s watching a summer storm roll across the northern part of the county from a hilltop, or running among the rows of wheat, soybeans, or milo, farm life constantly fills a person with wonder at the power of whatever being put this silly planet together. Being a farm kid means doing work. A farm kid may spend his weekends, summer, and free t ime doing any number of tasks, from helping with harvest to clearing brush out of a pasture. We are also expected to complete these things in a timely manner and with very little complaining. Farm kids will also find themselves at play amongst machinery and chemicals. They will soon learn to be safe, though, whether it’s by being yelled at for getting to close to the chainsaw or being told that the fly liquid that goes on the calves will kill you. I also learned that shorts mean scratched up legs, but I still wear them. Being a farm kid means living a hard life. At an early age, farm kids realize that death is a fact of life, whether it’s the calf that wasn’t born right or the raccoon that got in the hen house. At times, it feels like the little valley that I call home and have, on so many occasions, been glad to see, is like an enclosure keeping me there. Farm kids also learn early about finances because farm parents don’t try hard to keep talks about m oney behind closed doors. While most kids won’t have to hear about complete financial devastation, it can be a little frightening at times. When it comes to a social life, a farm kid’s is limited, at best, due to the seclusion of the country. My curfew is always 30 minutes sooner than what my parents say because it will take me at least that long to get home. There is also the age-old question for male farm kids: â€Å"Will you return to the farm?† Most kids don’t really decide what they will do when they grow up until their junior year of high school at the earliest, but farm kids are faced with this question from the time they can talk. And it’s no easy decision. While farm life isn’t easy, it offers a way of living that defines a person. The next time you hear a person talking about hicks or rednecks, remember that farm kids are normal people. We might live a hard life, but that we enjoy it. Oh, and you’d be naked and hungry witho ut us.

Explain the determinants of daily price changes of a stock market Coursework

Explain the determinants of daily price changes of a stock market index of your choice - Coursework Example Based on relevant literature and economic theory, this paper explains why there is stock market price change almost every day. Determinants of Stock Market Price changes The table given below is a summary of stock price changes of Apple Inc, American Express, Ameriprise Financial Inc, Noble Corp and Johnson and Johnson, extracted from Bloomberg.com. This table illustrates daily stock price changes for the above mentioned companies. According to economists, there are various reasons and driving forces for this stock market price changes. Â   Apr-18 Apr-19 Daily Price Change Apr-20 Apr-21 Daily Price Change Apr-26 Apr-27 Daily Price Change Apple Inc 437.92 438.95 0.30% 439.3 448.21 2.00% 455.13 456.5 0.30% American Express 53.05 52.67 0.70% 52.67 52.83 0.30% Â   Â   Â   Ameriprise Financial Inc 69.7 70.1 0.60% Â   Â   Â   70.4 70.1 0.30% Noble Corp 46.79 46.82 0.10% Â   Â   Â   47.55 47.49 0.10% Johnson and Johnson 64.56 64.75 0.30% 65.11 65.44 0.33% Â   Â   Â   Source: Ro se, April 19, 2011, Rose, April 21, 2011, Rose April 25, 2011 and Rose April 27, 2011 The major forces in the market are demand and supply and the same play significant roles in fluctuating the stock price too. The above table shows that stock price of different companies change almost every day in different proportions. For instance, Apple’s share price change was 0.30% between April 18 and April 19 and 0.20% between April 20 and April 21. This change is the result of market forces namely demand and supply. In simple economic terms, if more people want to buy a commodity (share) than they want to sell it, then the price essentially increases. If more people want to sell it than buy it, then price conversely move down. It is highly important to understand what makes people prefer a particular share to another one. People like a stock only when they get good and positive news about the company, such as company’s earning. Investopedia (2011) considers market capitalizati on and company’s earning as major measures that people value stock price of a company. The value of a company is perhaps its market capitalization which can be found by multiplying the stock price by the outstanding shares. For instance, a company that sells its share at $250 and it has 10,000 outstanding shares has considerably less value than a company that sells its share at $100 and has 30,000 outstanding shares (250*10,000 = 250,000 whereas 100*30,000 is 300,000). People anticipate and even extensively go for studying the earnings or profitability of a company when they think to buy or sell its share, and if this causes them to buy more, as a result the demand will be more and the price will move up. If people find that company not to be profitable in long-run, they eventually will like to sell its shares and it will increases its supply causing price to decrease. Brigham and Houston (p. 10) explained that stock price changes over time as conditions change and investors obtain new information about a company’s prospects. A good example that he mentioned was stock price variation of Apple Inc. Its stock price ranged from $77 to 4193 between 12 months in 2008 rising and falling as good and bad news about the company released. Stock Price change and Gordon Growth model Gordon Growth mod

Deontologists vs. Consequentialists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Deontologists vs. Consequentialists - Essay Example If someone were to do his moral duty and perform an action consistent with ethical principles, then it would not matter if it had negative consequences. Such is the view that deontologists hold -- decisions are made and actions done on the merit of the rightness or wrongness of an action and not on the rightness or wrongness of its outcomes. Simply put: certain actions or rules are regarded as appropriate, regardless of the consequence they have. Euthanasia, or mercy-killing, may be cited as an example of such principle put into action. Putting an end to one’s agony by cutting off a patient’s life support is a fundamental reasoning to such an action. Consequentialists, on the other hand, believe the ends always justify the means. Its assumption of morality is derived from what is good or desirable as an end to be achieved. Though it may seem rational to end another person’s misery who, at the moment, is not capable of doing anything about the situation, still the consequence of such action is unjustifiable. What if that person who is in agony or lies in a comatose state is still fighting for his life, though this is impossible to perceive because of his current state? What if the patient’s will is stronger than his fate? What if for a matter of day his life will be sustained had the respirator not been removed from him? To the consequentialists, these outcomes should be examined first to determine moral responsibility. As the previous example points out, both the deontologist's and consequentialist's points of view are based on ethical norms. The only difference is the issue on what norm is considered. While deontologists focus on the action, the consequentialists consider the effect of the action. But what makes an action or its consequence morally right Is there an absolutist' view of what is morally right If there is why is there conflicting views on it If not, how should the issue on morality be addressed These questions are what we will try to answer using the arguments of advocates of these two views. Peter Singer's "All Animals Are Equal" and Mark Vuletic's "Deontological Objections To Consequentialism" will be explained in detail. Later in the analysis, I will propose a different view on the construct of morality and its implication on humans as well as animals. First, let us establish some fundamentals that may guide us in evaluating the ethics of a particular decision (in this case, determining whether an action or a consequence is morally right). Perhaps it is important to note the term used "right" may still be unclear. Consider the following questions. Is the acceptance of a specific thought purely based on the perception of its readers or receivers Or is it based on a more logical, more concrete perception governed by specific laws adjudging such as "right" Is it based on a general acceptance or on a universal General may not mean universal in the sense that the former has a may still be perceived a bit exclusive that the latter. I believe it is a recognized fact that an individual has the right to self-govern in certain areas. Relative to this is that individuals are free to decide what, how, when and in what manner he should act. Having a free will does not mean an individual's decision to act is not restricted whatsoever. If that would be the case, no society might have been formed. Hence, the decision to act is guided by perceived and accepted norms and rules, which are aimed at creating harmony within the person and the society. Needless to say for both to exist in a harmonious relationship, the decision to act should be directed at the promotion of the well being or the benefit of everybody. In effect no decision should be regarded as anything that will inflict other individual. This kind of reasoning puts every person on equal footing; no one is above them, of course the Law, which, as earlier pointed out becomes the universal basis for in considering what is right and what is wrong. Now that we have established the fact that human beings on