Saturday, December 28, 2019

Roman Imperial Succession in the Julio-Claudian Era

The Imperial period is the time of the Roman Empire. The first leader of the Imperial period was Augustus, who was from the  Julian  family of Rome. The next four emperors were all from his or his wifes (Claudian) family. The two family names are combined in the form  Julio-Claudian. The Julio-Claudian era covers the first few Roman emperors:  Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius,  and  Nero.​ Ancient Roman history is divided into 3 periods: RegalRepublicanImperial Sometimes a fourth period is included: the Byzantine Period. The Rules of Succession Since the Roman Empire was new at the time of the Julio-Claudians, it still had to work out issues of succession. The first emperor, Augustus, made much of the fact that he was still following the rules of the Republic, which permitted dictators. Rome hated kings, so although emperors were kings in all but name, a direct reference to the succession of the kings would have been anathema. Instead, the Romans had to work out the rules of succession as they went. They had models, like the aristocratic road to political office (cursus honorum), and, at least in the beginning, expected emperors to have illustrious ancestors. It soon became apparent that a potential emperors claim to the throne required money and military backing. Augustus Appoints a Co-Regent The senatorial class historically passed along their status to their offspring, so succession within a family was acceptable. However, Augustus lacked a son to whom to pass along his privileges. In B.C. 23, when he thought he would die, Augustus handed a ring conveying imperial power to his trusted friend and general Agrippa. Augustus recovered. Family circumstances changed. Augustus adopted Tiberius, his wifes son, in 4 A.D. and gave him proconsular and tribunician power. He married his heir to his daughter Julia. In 13 A.D., Augustus made Tiberius co-regent. When Augustus died, Tiberius already had imperial power. Conflicts could be minimized if the successor had the opportunity to co-rule. Tiberius Two Heirs Following Augustus, the next four emperors of Rome were all related to Augustus or his wife Livia. They are referred to as Julio-Claudians. Augustus had been very popular and Rome felt allegiance to his descendants, too. Tiberius, who had been married to Augustus daughter and was the son of Augustus third wife Julia, had not yet openly decided who would follow him when he died in 37 A.D. There were two possibilities: Tiberius grandson Tiberius Gemellus or the son of Germanicus. On Augustus order, Tiberius adopted Augustus nephew Germanicus and named them equal heirs. Caligulas Illness The Praetorian Prefect, Macro, supported Caligula (Gaius) and the Senate of Rome accepted the prefects candidate. The young emperor seemed promising at first but soon suffered a serious illness, from which he emerged a terror. Caligula demanded extreme honors to be paid to him and otherwise humiliated the Senate. He alienated the praetorians who killed him after four years as emperor. Unsurprisingly, Caligula had not yet selected a successor. Claudius is Persuaded to Take the Throne Praetorians found Claudius cowering behind a curtain after they assassinated his nephew Caligula. They were in the process of ransacking the palace, but instead of killing Claudius, they recognized him as the brother of their much loved Germanicus and persuaded Claudius to take the throne. The Senate had been at work finding a new successor, but the praetorians again imposed their will. The new emperor bought the continued allegiance of the praetorian guard. One of Claudius wives, Messalina, had produced an heir known as Britannicus, but Claudius last wife, Agrippina, persuaded Claudius to adopt her son  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  whom we know as Nero  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  as heir. Nero, the Last of the Julio-Claudian Emperors Claudius died before the full inheritance had been accomplished, but Agrippina had support for her son, Nero, from the Praetorian Prefect Burrus  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  whose troops were assured a financial bounty. The Senate again confirmed the praetorians choice of successor, and so Nero became the last of the Julio-Claudian emperors. Later Successions Later emperors often designated successors or co-regents. They could also bestow the title of Caesar on their sons or another family member. When there was a gap in the dynastic rule, the new emperor had to be proclaimed either by the Senate or the army, but the consent of the other was required to make the succession legitimate. The emperor also had to be acclaimed by the people. Women were potential successors, but the first woman to rule in her own name, Empress Irene (c. 752 - August 9, 803), and alone, was after the Julio-Claudian time period. Succession Problems The first century saw 13 emperors. The second saw nine, but the third produced 37 (plus the 50 that never made it to the rolls of the historians). Generals would march on Rome, where the terrified senate would declare them emperor (imperator, princeps, and augustus). Many of these emperors ascended with nothing more than force legitimating their positions and had assassination to look forward to. Sources Burger, Michael. The Shaping of Western Civilization: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment. 1st Edition, University of Toronto Press, Higher Education Division, April 1, 2008. Cary, H.H. Scullard M. A History of Rome. Paperback, Bedford/St. Martins, 1976. Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome. Vol. 24, University of Michigan Press, JSTOR, 1956.

Friday, December 20, 2019

The American Dream Equality and Opportunity for EVERY...

Unkept promises diminish day by day. What once may have given people ambition and zeal has transformed into a superficial and consumerist ideal. In the nation’s youth, the American Dream was a promise to the people which has failed to impart its values to future generations. This promise traces back to the foundation that â€Å"all men are created equal† and Dictionary.com’s first definition defines the American Dream as â€Å"the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American.† This is closest to the originally intended meaning of the American Dream which perhaps only a minority of the population still recognizes. Politics and economy have contributed to the significant change in meaning and†¦show more content†¦Immigrants into the the states were given the same promise of the American Dream as the citizens already there. This dream was meant to release them from a previous suppression and give them the opportunity to better their life. They had the right to work towards this better life with fairness and without discrimination. Once a group had taken full advantage of the dream and substantially improved their own quality of life, they were able to destroy this opportunity for others. The dream that was once â€Å"held to be available to every American† became difficult to achieve. The problem was that individuals were looking out for only themselves and forgetting to take into account the welfare of their nation and fellow citizens. The American Dream as it is defined cannot simply hold true without preservation of it’s ideals. An ideal is maintained by the people. Enjoying the benefits the American Dream promises requires each person to uphold its ideals among his fellows. If this were the case, the original definition might have been preserved. The problem is that other factors kicked in which prioritized wealth and status among people which interfered w ith the ability of others to pursue the dream. From there, the American Dream gradually changed from hard work to status. For some, the American Dream still holds its true definition, but the majority maintains the later, materialistic version. Since theShow MoreRelatedAmerican Dream in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry827 Words   |  3 Pagesnice house with a white picket fence. This was the cliche American dream. It is what most people think of when they think of the American Dream. The definition of American dream is the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every american. Well does it exist? If people work hard enough towards the dream yes, it does still exist. Moving on from the big picture, two contributions of the American dream are personal happiness and material comfort. For exampleRead MoreThe American Dream By The Declaration Of Independence886 Words   |  4 PagesThe American Dream Introduction The American dream is the hope in freedom which enables all citizens to achieve their goals through hard work. The American dream is a belief of equality and prosperity in America. The American dream is a set of ideals that allows society to have high standards of living through hard work of citizens. The country has no barriers and every member who works hard has an equal opportunity. The hope of having a sense of social equality is the American dream (Stalp). ItRead MoreThe American Dream : A Toxic Fantasy910 Words   |  4 Pages The American dream is full of promises and aspirations, that every American someday shall have opportunities and potential to attain self-actualization. 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Equality and opportunity are elements in involved in the song, â€Å"This Land isRead MoreGoals of Public Education Essay780 Words   |  4 PagesGoals of American Public Education TJC National University Foundations of Education/TED 602 January 13, 2012 Professor KL Goals of American Public Education Public education in America began in the early to mid-19th century with the simple goal of â€Å"uniting the American population by instilling common moral and political values† (Spring, 2012, p. 5). Our country was founded by men who designed the constitution so that it could be amended to accommodate changing political and social climatesRead MoreRed Convertible1014 Words   |  5 Pagesthe â€Å"American Dream† Word Count: 1013 The â€Å"American Dream†, an idea that success, freedom and equality exists according to each mans capabilities regardless of social status and ethnicity, is one that appeals to every American from all walks of life. After the Great Depression, the importance of realizing success, freedom and equality became a priority in the lives of many, including the Native Americans. TheRead MoreThe American Dream : Dead, Alive, Or On Hold?916 Words   |  4 PagesThe concept of the American Dream has been with us as long as we have been a nation. In Brandon Kings â€Å"The American Dream: Dead, Alive, Or On Hold?† he presents us with his version of the American dream. According to Kings, the American dream is defined as â€Å"The potential to work for an honest, secure way of life and save for the future† (611). The American dream may differ between every individual and how they perceive it. To some, the American dream is to have a decent job and to be financially

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Shakespeare In Love Essay Example For Students

Shakespeare In Love Essay Modern theatre still falls more or less in the category of popular culture, it is the cinema that equates more to the Elizabethan drama than the theatre. Thus it is a film Shakespeare in love, that we see exploring a fictional depiction of the life of William Shakespeare. Timeless themes and modern motifs are threaded through the films plot making it easily accessible to the viewer. Shakespeare in love is a celebration of Shakespeare in a modern culture, a postmodern society where he is reproduced through various froms of media, like, T.V or film , but above all youth culture. While ostensibly a romantic comedy, Shakespeare in love in essence, is a celebration of words, language and the narrative form. Virtually a shakespearean plot in itself, this film applauds the brilliance of Shakespearean writing while demonstrating the prowress of one of the best 20th century playwrights, screenwrighters, Tom Stoppard. As the film starts, the actor and playwright William Shakespeare is suffering from writers block he is unable to devise a story out of his new play Romeo ; Ethel, the pirates daughter. Philip Henslowe, the owner of the prestigious theatre The Rose, is threatened by slimy creditors into bringing profits, and pleads for William to quickly deliver his play. Shakespeares loss for words miraculously fades once he lays his eyes on Viola De Lesseps, a noble woman who is deeply touched by his work. His eyes light up once he starts to fall in love with Viola, and the play Romeo Ethel slowly becomes the tragic Romeo and Juliet.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Corporate Finance Cash Bbalance Plan

Question: Discuss about the Corporate Finance Cash Bbalance Plan. Answer: Introduction: Cash converter was charged with breaching laws being the biggest pay lender in Australia. It was claimed by the customers of Cash converter that they were charged exorbitant level of interest on personal loans. The settlement of the class action was on behalf of around customers of New South Wales. The amount charged by the federal court amounts to $ 23 million. The settlement was subjected to the approval of the Federal court. The company did not comply with the legislative lending practice and it was alleged of breaching the customers by practicing small amount if credit contracts. Company was alleged of charging substantial higher interest rate of 633% on short-term loans and higher fees on debt provided to customers (Slade, 2015). It took the advantage of vulnerable people and compelling them to pay substantial higher amount of brokerage fees and changing their business model in response to changes in the legislation. Discussion: The company accounted the higher brokerage fees and higher interest rate charged on short-term loans provided as interest income under the heading short term loans. Annual report of cash converted does not take into account brokerage fees charged by appointing the brokers. Amount of brokerage fees charged would have appeared under other income heads such as income that is received from franchise services. Company in their financial statements charged charges and other upfront fees for advancing the loan. Such amount was charged in the statement of profit and loss under the heading of short-term loans. Some of the other charges that included was upfront fees and brokerage fees and this amount would have been shown separately and charged under the head income from services. Nonetheless, the brokerage fees charged was not against legislative principle framed at that time. The main response was the transformation of the business model that made the customers paying substantial higher fee s. Annual report had all the financial statements depicting over working by charging interest rate at rate of 633%, despite the laws made the restriction of interest rate of 48% on payday loan that also included upfront fees (Johnston et al., 2012). The issues faced by cash converter concerning the lending system is explained using the two ethical principle that is justice ethical theories of practice and deontological theory. According to the justice ethical theories, an organization should take those actions that is considered fair for its people whether they are employees or clients. It has been found from the evidence provided in the annual report that Cash converter did not adhere to the justice ethical practice. They have ben duping the customers and have taken the advantage of the vulnerable customers and granting the loan without following due care and diligence in their lending practice (Hillier et al., 2014). All this evidence suggest that the Cash converter was not ethical and did not follow justice ethical practice. It is required by the organization to undertake the decision making process by adhering to obligations and duties as per the deontological theory. Companies not adhering the lending practice that complies with the law are under the threat of penalty. Lending practice of Cash converter is not responsible and is regarded as unethical because customer were deceived by buying loan at higher interest rate and paying substantial amount of brokerage fees. Organization adhering to such ethical theories is very consistent in their decision-making process and such decisions would be based on the set duties and obligation of individual (Bruce-Briggs, 2012). The growth of business of Cash converter was regressive post the practice of charging higher interest rate lending practice. In the year 2009, there was huge growth in revenue resulting from the loan establishment fees of $ 5.2 million. Year 2010 recorded a net profit of $ 21.6 million and all the high amount of profits was disclosed by company in its annual report. In financial year 2012, there was growth in the personal loan book of $ 67.6 million. On the other hand, after the launching if class action by federal court against Cash lender, the personal loan book witnessed a fall in the year 2016 at $ 113036461 as compared to loan book amount of $ 119448669. However, the amount of loan advanced to customers increased by 34% due to increase in the online loan advances. The total amount of loan book faced downtrend in the year 2015 and the amount stood at $ 107.4 million compared to its peak point in the previous year at $ 115.7 million (Morabito Ekstein, 2016). There was enough prov ision of cash flow and had flexibility to meet the expenses related to the settlement of class actions. For the financial year, the forecasted amount of revenue stood at $ 55 million. The introduction of deferred establishment fees was not within the limit of interest rate cap of 49% as set by the law. One month and seven-month advance cash loan was impacted by the higher amount of fess charged. Annual interest rate charged on seven-month advance loan was up at 145% and that on one month advance loan it was 633%. Year 2015 recorded a loss of $ 21.5 million as compared to profit generation of amount $24.2 million in the year 2014. Personal loan book value also fell $ 104.5 million (Morabito Ekstein, 2016). The share price of Cash converter witnessed a downtrend post the class action. In the financial year 2014, the share price of the company was trading in the range of $ 0.80 to $ 1.88 and in year 2015, the share price was trading at half the price because of the class action and legal cases against the company. On the other hand, in the year 2015, the share price of company had a jump and the shares were trading at 7.6% higher in the year 2016. The cash flow of company was impacted by the change in the share price (Ehrhardt Brigham, 2016). For the welfare of economy, the financial institutions to be socially responsible and sustainable in carrying out their business. For meeting the responsibility concerning sustainability and being socially responsible, financial institution needs to have respect for collective arrangement between social partners and applicable legislation. In order for the institution to meet the objective of being socially responsible, it is essential for enterprise to have a process that is integrating environmental, social, ethical, consumer concerns and human rights into their core strategy and operations of business. Financial sectors requires managing their business activities with due diligence and integrity (Banks et al., 2015). It requires them to handle the risk in a responsible and realistic manner. Products offered and the operational management of the organization should be transparent to the stakeholders and customers. Activities of financial institution directly influences the sustainability of the society and they would be able to indirectly stimulate the sustainability in the economy by offering sustainable products (Epstein Buhovac, 2014). The practice of sustainable finance relates with the management of risk and provision of financial capital relating to the financial products offered by them. For ensuring the satisfactory return to the customers and driving the long-term value to the shareholders, it is necessary that financial institution have some strategies and steps in place to protect their financial interests. Some of the financial organizations devote their resources for conducting the research and making the stakeholders aware of various sustainability challenges and issues (Degeling L egg, 2014). Reputation and image of the financial institution would be improved incorporating the social and sustainability practice in the business activities. Cash converter was charged of unethical practice of charging exorbitant interest rate and higher fees from their clients. This posed a threat on welfare of social and corporate social responsibility. It is required by company such as Cash Converter to not engage in such practices as it would hamper the reputation and image of the company and affect their sustainability (Carroll Buchholtz, 2014). The maximization of profit of company should be done by aligning the business activities to the ethical theories. Therefore, in this context it is the responsibility of Cash converter to protect the financial interest of customers by carrying out their business activities that are in compliance with the legislation and has been done with due diligence. It becomes utmost important for organization like Cash converter to incorporate the principle of social responsibility in the system of risk management and making use of development method for screening their investment using the set criteria. Sustainability practice in the financial institution is considered as the business opportunity that affects the overall, performance of business (Vernimmen et al., 2014). Conclusion: As per the above analysis, it can be concluded that the lending practice of Cash converter is regarded as unethical. Due to poor customer service and unscrupulous lending practice, it is certainly possible that the image of the company would be damaged in the market. It becomes essential for Cash converter to incorporate the practice of social responsibility and sustainability for protecting the financial interest of the customers and thereby promoting their wellbeing. The sustainability challenge faced by cash converter can be done by following the code of ethics and sustainability involvement. Reference: Banks, M., Marston, G., Russell, R. and Karger, H., 2015. In a perfect world it would be great if they didn't exist: How Australians experience payday loans.International Journal of Social Welfare,24(1), pp.37-47. Bruce-Briggs, B. (Ed.). (2012).The New Class?. Transaction Publishers. Carroll, A., Buchholtz, A. (2014).Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. Nelson Education. Degeling, S., Legg, M. (2014). Fiduciary obligations of lawyers in Australian class actions: Conflicts between duties.UNSWLJ,37, 914. Ehrhardt, M. C., Brigham, E. F. (2016).Corporate finance: A focused approach. Cengage learning. Epstein, M. J., Buhovac, A. R. (2014).Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring corporate social, environmental, and economic impacts. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Fracassi, C. (2016). Corporate finance policies and social networks.Management Science. Hillier, D., Clacher, I., Ross, S., Westerfield, R., Jordan, B. (2014).Fundamentals of corporate finance. McGraw Hill. Johnston, K., Hatem, J., Scott, E. (2012). The cash balance plan as a real option: Financial innovation and implicit contacts.Pensions: An International Journal,16(1), 39-50. Morabito, V., Ekstein, J. (2016). Class Actions Filed for the Benefit of Vulnerable PersonsAn Australian Study. Slade, B. (2015). The social value of class actions.Precedent (Sydney, NSW), (129), 4. Vernimmen, P., Quiry, P., Dallocchio, M., Le Fur, Y., Salvi, A. (2014).Corporate finance: theory and practice. John Wiley Sons.