Fight Club and I Essay -- Fight Club Novel Essays

Fight Club and I "What you see at fight club is a generation of men raised by women . . .. I'm a thirty-year-old boy, and I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer I need." These words are from Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club. Tyler Durden is the alter ego, and only known name of the fictional narrator of the novel. Tyler suffers from Dissociative Personality Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Primary Insomnia, and probably a host of other disorders that I am not qualified to properly diagnose. "Women have caused me nothing but trouble for twenty-one years. That's it, I'm swearing off women . . . at least for a little while." These words were spoken by me, about two months ago. I am Aaron Mobley, a very real former U.S. Marine. I suffer from Antisocial Personality Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and abnormally high testosterone levels (yes, this was all medically verified). So what do Tyler and I have in common besides similar views on relationships? Quite a bit, actually. Tyler was raised by his mother. His father abandoned them early in his life and only had sporadic contact with his son. I, too, was raised by my mother. She divorced my father early in my life, and he made little effort to further his involvement in my life from that point forward. " If you're male . . . your father is your model for God. And if you never know your father, if your father bails out or dies or is never at home, what do you believe about God?" Also from Fight Club. As you can see, I really connected with this novel. Let's start with the most obvious similarity: antisocial personality disorder, or APD. APD is, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a pervasive pa... ...t. Grand Slam, baby! That 2-1 count had me worried for a second there. This essay is entitled "To my Father." It should read "To my Fathers," because it's for all of them. It's for the one who didn't give a shit. It's for all the ones who would've cared if they'd known. It's for the one that made me what I am today. And most of all it's for me, the only man I've ever had around to fall back on when things got too rough. It is 6:30 in the morning, and my paper is done. Works Cited Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. Washington: American Psychiatric Association, 1994. Palahniuk, Chuck. Fight Club. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 1996. Twaite, James A., et al. Children of Divorce: Adjustment, Parental Conflict, Custody, Remarriage, and Recommendations for Clinicians. Northvale: Jason Aaronson, Inc., 1998.

International Business Climate Essay

1.0 Introduction Business climate refers to the economic environment in general which depicts how businesses and business activities are supported by the government as well as the lending institutions. Business climate is also a reflection of the attitude of the labor unions toward inflation rates, taxation rates, employers and other issues which affect business activities   in a given region or country. Switzerland ranks the most attractive country in terms of having the most conducive international business climate which has attracted tremendous investments and highly skilled labor from all over the globe. The country enjoys a safe and stable working environment and most small and medium enterprises are located in the Greater Geneva Berne area (GGBa) which has an excellent international business track record (ggba-switzerland.ch, n.d). Switzerland experienced one of the weakest economies in the Western Europe in the 1990s during which the annual GDP growth averaged 0% between the years 1991 and 1997. A gradual economic growth was witnessed in the beginning of late 1997 and it reached a peak in 2000 with a GDP of 3%. Between 2001 and 2003, the economic growth slowed down but began to grow at 2.5% per annum since the year 2004 until the latest global economic crises which have had a great impact on its economic growth (state.gov, 2010). Being at the heart of Europe, Switzerland is a hub for the crucial communication systems which are indispensable in the industrial Europe. Therefore, the expansive modern and reliable infrastructure encompassing the country facilitates an extremely high number of international and local business activities. The good international business climate of the country has been influenced by several factors which entails economic, cultural, legal, and political issues. It is therefore the obj ective of this paper to discuss these issues with reference to Switzerland as a country. 2.0 Economic Climate Trade is the backbone of Switzerland’s prospering economy which has made its per capita income be among the highest globally. International climate highly favors the export markets upon which the country depends for generating enormous income while at the same time facilitating the imports of raw materials which are essential for the expansion of the range of goods and services available in the economy. Economic climate is also made better by the liberal trade and investment policies which has attracted many investors in addition to the well defined commercial law and well developed legal system. Switzerland is a member of several international economic organizations including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Trade Organization (WTO), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and The World Bank (state.gov, 2010). Important sectors of the economy include tourism, engineering, banking and insurance which have a heavy influence in the economic policies of the country. The existing trading companies enjoy unique expertise from Far East, Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe. The highly developed tourism industry gives the country’s market the   opportunity to trade in services and equipment related to tourism. The export industry provides the economy with about half of the country’s corporate earnings with the largest trading partner being the European Union. The trade and economic barriers between Switzerland and the EU are minimal hence facilitating more business activities. The U.S   is a major export destination of products from Switzerland and also a major source of imports of raw materials for the country. U.S is the second-largest importer of Swiss goods after Germany and also is the largest foreign investor in Switzerland (state.gov, 2010). 3.0 Legal Climate The business regulatory system in Switzerland is highly transparent and regulations affecting the activities of both local and international investors are applied with no discrimination. Previously, cartels were common in the economy whereby companies in various industrial and service sectors through industrial and trade associations organized themselves into vertical and horizontal cartels. The new law governing the formation of cartels ensures that such cartels do no harm to the society and the economy. The adoption of this law which includes the authority to stop anti-competitive behavior without prior warning has facilitated an extra GDP growth of 0.5-0.8% per annum following the reduction of harmful cartels (Dimireva, 2010). The legal system governing international and local business activities has propagated an efficient capital markets and   portfolio investment. One of the largest markets for foreign borrowers is the Swiss franc dominated foreign bond market and generally there are no restrictions on the sale or purchase of   foreign equities and currencies. Forward transactions between Swiss nationals and foreigners can be carried out at the prevailing market rates. The liberal market of Switzerland is protected from being misused as a platform for criminal activity and money laundering by regulations which serve to adjust particular aspects of portfolio investment. A good example is the signing of OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in 1997 which started operating in 2000 (Dimireva, 2010). The effective legal and policy framework of Switzerland has excelled in combating corruption which if unchecked can adversely impact the international business climate. Following implementatation of laws deterring corruption, for instance the U.S firms which have invested in Switzerland have not issued any complaints about cases of corruption. There are highl y effective investigative and enforcement mechanisms which deals with any domestic corruption and this has attracted more international investors who have developed confidence in the Swiss economy. 4.0 Political Climate The Swiss political system is highly stable and effective since both the county and state government bodies possess high levels opf control. The system has been structured in such a way that all the rural and urban areas of the country have access to government officials for requests or essential information. A referendum which requires a popular one million signatures is enough to give people the power to demand certain changes concerning business practice, the established law or the environment. One of the main contributors to the country’s political stability is the stability existing within different institutions.The Swiss National Bank for instance is a highly steadfast finanacial institution which has strengthened and stabilised the Swiss Franc. Political stability is further stabilised by the fact that Switzerland   is a representative democracy in which the major governing body is the Federal Council made up of seven persons. The government is considered to be trustw orthy and honest by the populace (mkeever.com, n.d). 5.0 Cultural Climate International business climate in Switzerland is greatly influenced by the etiquette and cultural expectations in the Swiss professional environment. In order to develop productive working relationships and successful business strategies, it is a preriquisite to understand and respect the various aspects of Swiss culture. The country offers Communicaid’s Doing Business cultural awareness courses to enhance the creation of fruitful business relationships between foreign business professionals and the Swiss clients partners and colleagues (Guliyev, 2007). Such courses are essential in ensuring competitive advantage which offers foreign business people with the ideal opportunity to comfortably do business in the country. In addition, there are a wide range of cultural and leisure activioties which has further facilitated the progress of the country in doing intyernational business. The ideal cultural climate has prompted a large number of   sports lovers, business travellers an d nature enthusiasist to visit the country all year round which has elevated international business relations a notch higher. 6.0 Conclusion The creation of an enabling international business climate is a collective task of various institutions and aspects of the society. These aspects must comprehensively address cultural, political, economic, and legal situations of the particular country which is willing to create a conducive business environment. Switzerland is a good example of a country in the heart of Europe which has embarked in creating such an environment which consequently has attracted huge investments. The creation of   an excellent international business climate may not be as challenging as sustaining it and therefore firm political, legal, cultural and economic strategies are indispensable in achieving it.

How Did Richmond Changed And Shaped During The American...

How was Richmond changed and shaped during the American Revolution? How did people live? What was the reason Richmond fell and how during the civil war? From the first large fight at Manassas at Bull Run in 1861 to the surrender of Lee s army at Appomattox in 1865, Virginia stayed in the headlines throughout the Civil War. More than 2,000 military dealings were reported in Virginia during the time of the war, more than any other country at that time. Nothing got saved, with the battles that fought deep in the mountains all the way to the Atlantic coast. Virginia experienced a long history that began before the Civil War. When the Revolution had ended at Yorktown, and the names of Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Henry were known†¦show more content†¦U.S. Major Robert Anderson occupied the unfinished fort in December 1860 following South Carolina’s secession from the Union, initiating a standoff with the state militia forces. When President Abraham Lincoln announced plans to resupply the fort, Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard shelled Fort Sumter in April of 1861. After a 34 hour exchange, Anderson and his soldiers surrendered the fort. Confederate troops then would come to occupy fort Sumter for almost four years, before abandoning the fort prior to William Truman’s capture of Charleston in February 1865. (The Civil War: Primary Documents on Events from 1860 to 1865, 79) In April of 1861 with Virginia s secession from the Union, Richmond, in Central Virginia, was named the Capitol of the Confederacy. The Confederate government moved the capital to Richmond. The move Just confirmed the state new identity and to make sacred the rebellion by connecting it with the American Revolution. Most important however hundreds of factories, whose output were nearly the amount that the rest of the Confederacy were bringing with them. As capital of the Confederacy, the city’s population soon grew. The amplified rank of the city caused both sides to focus their efforts on that city to either capture it or its defense. Richmond was the home of three different governments during the war, city, state, and the Confederate. When the war