Saturday, September 7, 2019

Mune Company Essay Example for Free

Mune Company Essay Mune Company recorded journal entries for the declaration of $50,000 of dividends, the $32,000 increase in accounts receivable for services rendered, and the purchase of equipment for $21,000. What net effect do these entries have on equity? Decrease of $18,000. Maso Company recorded journal entries for the issuance of ordinary shares for $40,000, the payment of $13,000 on accounts payable, and the payment of salaries expense of $21,000. What net effect do these entries have on equity? Increase of $19,000. During the first year of Wilkinson Co.s operations, all purchases were recorded as assets. Store supplies in the amount of $19,350 were purchased. Actual year-end store supplies amounted to $6,450. The adjusting entry for store supplies will: increase expenses by $12,900. Panda Corporation paid cash of 18,000 on June 1, 2010 for one year’s rent in advance and recorded the transaction with a debit to Prepaid Rent. The December 31, 2010 adjusting entry is: debit Rent Expense and credit Prepaid Rent, 10,500. Recording the adjusting entry for depreciation has the same effect as recording the adjusting entry for: a prepaid expense. An accrued expense can best be described as an amount: not paid and currently matched with earnings. A document prepared to prove the equality of debits and credits after all adjustments have been prepared is the: Adjusted trial balance. Under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) the book of original entry is also known as the: Journal

Friday, September 6, 2019

Three shopping centres in the West Midlands Essay Example for Free

Three shopping centres in the West Midlands Essay My final hierarchy would look like this: My original aim of this coursework was to investigate if three shopping centres in the west midlands can be placed into shopping hierarchies, however after looking at my results I don’t think that there is a shopping hierarchy. I believe that people want to shop in places they are familiar with and also places that are generally clean. Limitations to my coursework: I think that there were many factors that could have influenced my data one of them being the amount of time we had to collect our data because I believe that we didn’t have enough time to make my data as accurate as possible. We had half a day to collect all the data in the settlements. This was not enough time to collect the data for reliable and accurate results. The averages gained could have been more accurate if there had been more data for which we needed more time. I think that another factor that influenced my data was the fact that the data collection done had not been random, meaning inaccurate results because to get the most accurate results you have to collect your data randomly. Also as we collected our data from one part of the settlement, like the car registrations, this could also have made my data unreliable. I think the environmental surveys that we had completed could be unreliable because they were based on personal opinion, thus causing them to be a bit biased, making them unreliable. Another factor that could have affected my data is the time of day I had collected the data. The data was collected at different times of the day for each settlement; this could therefore result in the reliability of the data because each settlement has a time of when it’s busiest and a time for when it’s slowest. Improvements to my results: There are a few ways in which I could improve the limitations of my results, such as the number of car registrations that I collected. I had collected around 25 car registrations for each settlement, however if I had collected around 50, this would have increased the reliability of my results, as more car registrations would have outlined the sphere of influence for each settlement even more, causing more reliable results. I think that to improve my environmental surveys I could ask other people what they think about the environment and list all the factors they have to score on, this would make the environmental surveys less biased as they are not just based on my personal opinion but on what other people think of the environment in the settlement as well. I think that to improve my results further we could perhaps visit each settlement for one whole day and note down the changes that occur in the settlement throughout that day and also look at how well the environmental level are maintained throughout the day. This would also give us more time to collect the data for our results. I don’t think there is any way to make collecting the data random, however if I were to collect the data randomly, I would collect some car registrations from the car park and some from around the side streets where most shoppers park their cars. This would perhaps make my data collection more random and make my results more reliable.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Child Independence And Thinking Skills

Child Independence And Thinking Skills Critical independent thinking skills are very important for your children. These important skills can enhance self-esteem and promote an ability to meet any challenging situation with ease and optimism. However, as parents we can hinder our childrens ability to develop independence thinking skills by helping or doing more than they actually need. Sometimes, we may even never realize that we are actually doing all the work for them. In life, parents just love their children and they want to take care of their children in every possible way. However, parents may also forget that going all the way to help their children may actually hinder their childrens ability to develop independence thinking skills. One of the primary goals of parents is to help children develop the intense desire and ability to think on their own without others help. Independent thinking is the desire or wish of a person to convince him or her that the information and detail being presented is true, worthy or reasonable. Why attitude of independence is important for your children? A child who develops independence skills will always feel more confident about themselves and their ability to solve intricate life problems especially when you are not there. You children will feel on top of the world when they work on their own and without your help. They will also show a heightened enthusiasm to work more to achieve minor goals and objectives. Just think how your children will be excited when they learn to wear their socks or zip up the jacket for the first time without any help from you! Just by doing these simple things, they feel so proud of their ability to do things on their own. Developing independence skills will provide a number of benefits to your children such as: A steep rise in confidence level and self-esteem An ability to solve problems those occur in daily life Developing compassion and love for others An ability to help others when they are in problems Better self-image and enthusiasm When children feel that they can do things on their own, they will also naturally want to learn and master new skills or solve intricate problems. For example, a child who has repeatedly worked on buttoning her blouse and who finally does it without her parents help will naturally demand to try wear that blouse all by herself without help from anyone. Alternatively, a boy who has repeatedly tried to tie his shoelace and who finally does it without his parents help will start trying to slip the shoes himself. You feel normally excited and thrilled, if your children are learning all things with their own initiative. This is what most parents expect from their children too. Obviously, parents also want their children learn new things, skills and abilities on their way to adulthood. However, these events may happen only when parents provide their children an opportunity to try to do things on their own. In nutshell, you may need to encourage independence in your children by watching patiently when your small children try to button their shirts on their own even if they take many minutes. If you lose your patience at this critical juncture, you will probably hindering or preventing your children from learning important independence skills. If you observe that your children are failing in their act of learning new skills, you may need to encourage them to try again instead of helping your children with your own efforts. Independence skills are practical life skills. These skills can easily assist your children develop confidence, feel less scared or nervous and eventually face any situations that are likely to be encountered at school and public places. Regardless of what children, may demand or they feel need, parents may need to try to train them in acquiring critical independence skills and responsibilities. Mind you, it is a lifelong commitment that might be difficult to achieve and satisfy. Not all children may succeed in learning these skills. There could be many reasons for this perceived failure. Development milestones are not the same among all children. Some of them may show keenness to learn independence thinking skills while others may take some more time to learn them. Whatever the case, parents will need to give enough opportunities for their children to learn these skills at an early age. Cleaning up rooms, tables, helping parents finish house chore and getting ready for the school are some of the most important skills that your children can learn. Today, families around the world are busier than ever. Parents also feel bad about not giving enough time for their children. When parents use the available time by working with their children, they can easily teach very important lessons about independence and responsibility. Teaching Your Children Independence Skills How Parents can be Proactive in Training their children Tying shoelaces, buttoning the shirt, cleaning the study table, doing laundry and doing homework on own without parents help these are some of the most common yet important responsibilities for a child. These simple activities may look and feel very simple to many of us. However, they can pose a big challenge for most of the children who are under the age of 10 years. To an adult, these simple jobs may look monotonous and regular. However, these perceived simple tasks may look humungous to most children. There are many skills and techniques that your children mist learn and master before they leave home for their higher studies. Acquiring independence thinking skills at an early age will help your children build confidence and self-esteem. Young children and toddlers often like to do very meaningful and understandable adult-type tasks. Many times, they are too enthusiastic about doing things on their own. What they lack are the techniques or methods to perform these tasks. To help your children succeed in learning independence skills, you may need to set up a congenial physical environment to assist them become more independent. To set up an atmosphere for doing work on own, you may wish to provide: Easy climb and sit chairs; your children should be able to get in and out of the chair independently, Easily climbable stools near sinks and wash places so that children can easily wash their hands before and after eating, An easily reachable waste tub where children can deposit refuse and wastage after snack and dinner time, Cleaning towels and sponges that can help children clean up What you can do to help your children become independent: Providing ample opportunities: Provide plenty of opportunities for your children to learn independent thinking skills. Your children should understand that learning independence skills will help them become efficient and enabled in their classroom and out of it. As a parent, you may wish to cajole your children to do work on their own and without your help. When your children understand that doing small tasks with their own initiatives is good for them, they will try to work on small tasks that are simple and straightforward. Encourage independence: As far as possible, give limited choices for your children. When your children have limited choices in front of them, they will try to achieve excellence in the tasks they want to perform. Ensure that you respect your childrens preferences. Example: Let us say that you are giving drinking chocolate to your children. You may now give just two options for them. Ask this simple question Do you need that orange cup or the blue cup? Alternatively, your children want to dress up for their piano class. You may ask your children this simple question The red dress is that side drawer and the grey one is in the cupboard. Pick the one that you like. Here, your children will try to assess the merit of your question and decide on their answers after thinking over it for some time. Show flexibility towards your children: Becoming independent takes lot of time. Respect your childs natural limitations. Never ever, pressurize your children beyond certain limits. Make sure that you integrate the training within the ambit of your work. Use the available opportunities to teach your children independence thinking skills. Involve your children in making plans: You can ask your children to suggest you ideas to help make the learning program a success. Children can give wonderful ideas. Use their abilities to help them succeed in learning independence thinking skills. Explain what independence is: You may wish to explain the benefits and advantages of mastering independence thinking skills. Tell them how learning such skills will help in classroom and in other places. Let children try to do work on own: Some children will try to do small tasks on own. For example, children love to button their shirts or tie shoelaces. Most children fail in their first few attempts because it is natural; children may not develop the necessary muscle-eye-bone coordination when they are young. Let them try to do their tasks. If they fail, you can help them but with solutions to the problems. Tell them how they can button up their shirts and demonstrate the act by standing in front of them. Be affirmative and reinforce positive assertions: Always, reinforce positive reinforcement and avoid negative ones. Be positive with your children and help your children become positive as well. If they do any task with success, compliment them with your heart. There are a number of independent thinking skills that your children must learn and master to become successful in life. Here are some of them: Note: The most important skill that your children must learn is to realize that mastering independent thinking skills will help them achieve critical goals. 1. Encourage your children to ask questions and find answers with their own efforts 2. Make sure that the questions should always have a why and what happens if component attached to them. 3. Your children should find their own solutions or answers to their problems. Buttoning a shirt is one classic example. Most children often fail in their first attempt. However, they will master the task with continuous repetitions. 2. Teach your children experimentation. Your children should be able to experiment on simple challenges and tasks till they find a valid solution. Please remember that learning independent thinking skills relates very closely with performing most common daily tasks. Children who develop critical independent thinking skills can be very successful in their life.

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

A Visit to the ER :: Personal Narrative, Autobiographical Essay

A Visit to the ER I did not want to be there, but visiting the emergency room was part of the local Youth Science Program. When I had first thought of becoming a doctor I was awed by the science involved. I frequently pictured myself as a "know it all" who saw patients and wrote prescriptions in an office. The thought of working in a hospital with extremely ill patients did not appeal to me. The emergency room presented the possibility of changing my mind about my career goals. I did not want to leave thinking that I no longer knew what I wanted to do. John, one of the Youth Science Program directors, handed me a lab coat. It was time to go, and in a daze I wondered if I would one day, wear a lab coat that read, "Patricia Reynoso, M.D." That day I met an Hispanic lady who had previously had two spontaneous abortions. This time she had vaginal bleeding and the fetal heart sound was not audible. Only an ultrasound would determine whether her baby was alive or not. While the doctors made the arrangements I kept her company. I did not know how she felt about me since she had only been told that I was a student who would translate for her. All I know is that at that moment, my conflicting feelings about being there were forgotten. Her apprehension over losing her third child and her inability to communicate with the people around her became my new concern. My early school days helped me relate to her situation. I will never forget the time I was sitting, Indian style, in front of my classroom. Some children held my arms against the wall while others poked fun at me in a language I did not understand. The frustration of being forced to contain my feelings inside was despicable. I was glad to be there for her at such an important moment. Her worry was greater than her pain and she needed someone who would listen to her. What made me happier was her asking me to be present during the ultrasound test. When one of the doctors said, "The baby's moving," there was no need to translate.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Deaths of Mickey and Edward in Willy Russells Blood Brothers :: Russell Blood Brothers Death Essays

Deaths of Mickey and Edward in Willy Russell's Blood Brothers "And do we blame superstition for what came to pass? Or could it be what we, the English, have came to know as class?" Blood Brothers is a play set in Liverpool, Willy Russell wrote it in 1983. Willy Russell has wrote plays based in Liverpool because this is where he was brought up as a kid in a working class family, Blood Brothers relates to this and aspects of class that he would have experienced when he lived there. Willy Russell grew up just outside Liverpool, he left school when he was only 15 to become a hairdresser, it was in his early twenties when he decided to go back to school and take his O levels. His plays were about everyday circumstances and his portrayal of life then. In this essay I intend to find out the reason for Mickey and Edward's deaths, whether it was superstition or class, I will evaluate both of the possible causes and how they are used within the play, then I will have to make a conclusion to which side of the argument proves to be the correct one. The main sources of superstition revolve around Mrs Johnstone because she is the character who believes that when certain things happen consequences will unfold due to this. Willy Russell points these superstitious events out to the audience, by using one of the characters to mention this or a song will be used to show something superstitious happening. At these stages in the play he is already asking the audience whether they believe in superstition. The first incidence of superstition comes at the beginning after the opening song; this is when the audience finds out that Mrs Johnstone is superstitious and that superstition may appear later in the play. Mrs Lyons enters Mrs Johnstone's house and then there is a stage direction saying that Mrs Lyons puts her new shoes on the table, Mrs Johnstone replies to this angrily "Jesus Christ, Mrs Lyons, what are y' trying to do?" At the bottom of the page where this happens the narrator says "There's shoes upon the table an' a joker in the pack, the salts been spilled and the looking glass cracked, there's one lone magpie overhead." The narrator is giving us examples of superstitions. Here he is trying to hint that something bad is going follow because of the shoes upon the table. After this it is possibly significant that she claims not to be superstitious three times, three is meant to be a lucky number but in her case it is unlucky because the

Monday, September 2, 2019

Marijuana: The Legalization :: social issues

Marijuana: The Legalization Their Side: After the sustaining vote in November of 1996 and coming into effect the beginning of this year, marijuana is now legal to medical patients in California and Arizona. Proposition 215 reads as follows: The people of the State of California hereby find and declare that the purposes of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 are as follows: (A) To ensure that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes where that medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person's health would benefit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief. (B) To ensure that patients and their primary care givers obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes upon the recommendation of a physician are not subject to criminal prosecution or sanction. C. To encourage the federal and state governments to implement a plan for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need of marijuana. (Proposition 215 Section 11362.5) Of course, it goes on and breaks into fine detail into which I choose not to venture. To summarize it all, if you're sick, or think you are, your doc can get you some pot. Just like that. So what's so great about this? It supposedly brings relief to those with terminal illnesses. (Such were listed in 215) Cancer sufferers who are inflicted with nausea due to chemotherapy have reported that a puff or two of a marijuana cigarette relieves the pain. (Theorized after study by psychiatrist Lester Grinspoon of Harvard Medical School) It has also been reported to relieve the pain suffered by AIDS patients. Despite all this great relief, one question remains unanswered, what about the side effects? Exactly how harmful and addicting is this stuff? MY SIDE: (the important stuff) My personal opinion: Marijuana should remain illegal because of the enormous side effects and addiction that results after using the drug. My first fact to back my opinion would have to be this, marijuana is what it is, a drug! You can't change that no matter how many people vote on it. Sure, there are prescription drugs on the market that are potentially dangerous but their effects are nothing compared to that of marijuana.

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Legal Drama Movies

Erin Brokovich is a true story of an unemployed single mother of the title name who is desperate to find a job in order to support her three young children. Without any real skills and work experience, borderline inappropriate wardrobe, but armed with charm, wit and beauty, she manages to accomplish what she needs. She finds an unlikely job as a file clerk in a law firm without any qualifications.She talks herself into a job as a compensation for the loss of her personal injury case handled by the owner of the small California firm, Ed Masry. Doing her work, she comes across a file regarding a suspicious real estate case against Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). Fueled by curiosity and passion, she does her own investigation and learned the particulars of the case. She persuades her boss to allow her to research the case further.She fervently pursues the case and discovers the systemic cover-up and that the company is trying to quietly buy the land that was contaminated by hex avalent chromium, a deadly toxic waste that the company is irresponsibly, improperly and illegally dumping in the area thereby poisoning the residents in the town of Hinkley giving them serious health problems. The pursuit of the case against PG&E seemed beyond the capabilities of the small law firm Erin works for, but her infectious passion and established bond with the victims propelled her and her boss to follow through.The case proved very challenging to both Erin and her boss as she finds little time to take care of her children and her boss has to carry the burden of the legal costs. In the end, Erin’s emotional connection with the victims and their families, her dedication and perseverance helped in winning one of the biggest class action lawsuits against a multi-billion dollar company in American history. 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Angry Men is a story about twelve white, mostly middle-aged and generally of middle-class status men who were chosen jurors to determine the f ate of a Latino teenager who was accused of stabbing his father to death.The movie shows what happens in the deliberation of the jurors behind the closed doors of the jury room. The hot, summer day in New York adds to the tense setting and the irritability of the jury. It shows that jurors are influenced by their personal experiences, situations and biases. They are to decide about the life and death of another human being but the gravity of the situation only becomes apparent when one of the jurors cause a holdout, voting not guilty while everyone is eager for a verdict. The film points to the flaws of the justice system.One of which is having a disinterested appointed court defendant whose meager efforts could very well personally strap the defendant to the electric chair. The importance of reasonable doubt is also highlighted as some tend to take it lightly ignoring the fact that they are making a life and death decision. It also portrays how the unreliability of witnesses and ci rcumstantial evidence can give rise to reasonable doubt. Through the deliberation, the back stories of the jurors were revealed explaining their prejudices and predispositions that lead to disagreements and squabbles among the jurors because of their personal differences.The discussion continued with the built up tension among the jurors but because they carried on, other jurors changed their vote in light of the arguments. The votes kept changing as they made the effort to dissect the case until the tally is reversed to an eleven to one in favor of not guilty from the swift and unscrutinized decision of eleven to one for a guilty verdict during the first vote. The lone juror for the guilty verdict sees that he is the only one with that vote and changed his vote, leading to a unanimous verdict for an acquittal. Civil Action (1998)Based on the real-life water contamination case in Woburn, Massachusetts, Civil Action is about Jan Schlichtmann, a money-driven personal injury lawyer pla yed by John Travolta and the case that changed his life. He pursues an environmental case thinking it would earn him millions of dollars and enhance his and his firm’s reputation. The case was against the two major conglomerates Beatrice Foods and W. R. Grace & Co. as they were suspected of pollution crimes. The drinking wells supplying water to the town were found to be contaminated by industrial solvents caused by the companies’ local factories.There was a high rate of leukemia that led to the deaths of some of the children in the town as a direct result of the pollution and the families, represented by Schlichtmann, filed a class action lawsuit. It was a great challenge in Schlichtmann’s career as the case was against someone with resources enough to impede the case. Later, he finds out that more than the case, a lot more is at stake. He pursues the case against the industrial giants at a great personal and professional expense. A judge rules against him thus not achieving his goal of earning millions and worse, setting his firm back because of the magnitude of the case.He becomes deeply invested in the case and his original goal of monetary gain takes a back seat to pride and stubbornness. He declines some settlement offers deciding that he must win at all cost. After all these, the case is dismissed in favor of one of the defendants and he is forced to accept a settlement from the other defendant that was barely enough for him to break even with his expenses. Because of what transpired, his partners decided to break up the firm and no longer practice with him. On his own, he comes up with an idea to win a settlement for the families while his life remains a mess.He later ends up alone and files for bankruptcy. The Insider (1999) The Insider is a true story of tobacco executive Jeffrey Wigand, played by Russell Crowe, and 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman, played by Al Pacino. Their lives converge when Bergman wanted to produce an exp ose against the tobacco industry and Wigand has the inside information that made him perfect for the interview. Wigand is a terminated employee from a tobacco firm, Brown and Williamson, who knew that the CEOs of the seven major tobacco companies perjured themselves to the US Congress about their knowledge of nicotine's addictiveness.He says that Brown and Williamson manipulated nicotine so that it could be more rapidly absorbed in the lungs, thus affecting the brain and central nervous system through impact boosting and that they consciously ignored public health in favor of profit. The interview became a source of grief and personal problems for both Wigand and Bergman. Bergman suggested court deposition to Wigand to protect himself from his former employer’s counterattack on the interview especially with his signed confidentiality agreement.Soon his problems begin with restraining orders and death threats to prevent him from testifying, as well as character assassination t o discredit him and his statements. Bergman on the other hand battles with censorship and with constant fights with the management, he was ordered to go on vacation. After all the turmoil, the Wall Street Journal clears Wigand’s name, reveals his deposition and condemns his employer’s smear campaign against him. The New York Times releases an article about the scandal in 60 Minutes, wherein Wigand’s full interview was finally broadcasted.The movie ends with the title cards showing the $246 billion settlement the tobacco companies made with Mississippi and other states to reimburse Medicaid funds used to treat people with smoking-related illnesses: a result of Wigand’s interview. Runaway Jury (2003) Runaway Jury, based on John Grisham’s novel The Runaway Jury, is a movie about circumventing justice through manipulation of the jury. The story revolves on the case filed by Celeste Wood who sues a gun company who manufactured the gun that killed her hu sband. Representing her is an idealistic lawyer named Wendell Rohr played by Dustin Hoffman.On the defense’s side is jury selection expert Rankin Fitch, played by Gene Hackman, who unlike Rohr, is ruthless and willing to bend the rules to get the results he wants. The conflict intensifies when Nick Easter, played by John Cusack becomes part of the jury who has the same ability to sway and manipulate the other jurors like Fitch. He is helped by his girlfriend Marlee, played by Rachel Weisz in the efforts to outsmart Fitch. With Nick and Marlee’s access to the jurors and their influence on them, they have the power to manipulate the verdict to whichever they wish.They offered to sell this influence for a hefty price to both Rohr and Fitch. As the trial progresses and both the plaintiff and defense become desperate, the two opposing parties agreed to Nick and Marlee’s terms but bothered by his conscience, Rohr backs out. Fitch deposits the millions to Nick and Marl ee’s account only to regret it when the twist of the movie is revealed. Fitch had worked on the case about the death of Marlee’s sister in a school shooting years ago. The town sued the company that manufactured the gun that killed Marlee’s sister but lost and went bankrupt.Nick and Marlee particularly picked the Celeste Wood case to exact their revenge on Fitch. They used the money Fitch deposited as a leverage to force him to retire as the IRS would be interested with the amount of the transfer. As for the money, Nick and Marlee plan to give it to the town that went bankrupt after losing the case with the gun company. Wall Street (1987) Wall Street is a film about the seedy underbelly of the world of stock market as some stockbrokers resort to bending the rules and breaking the law with insider information to get ahead.Bud Fox, played by Charlie Sheen, is a discontented mediocre stockbroker eager to get to the top like Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas. Gekko, whose philosophy in life is â€Å"Greed is Good,† is ruthless, devoid of ethics, and would do anything to earn his millions — a polar opposite to Bud’s father Carl, played by Martin Sheen. Fox, desperate to be mentored by Gekko, tries to impress him and inadvertently reveals insider information about his father’s company Bluestar Airlines. Gekko becomes interested and takes Fox under his wing.Gekko shows Fox the fast and the good life of a successful and rich stockbroker but in exchange for more information about Bluestar. Fox suggests to buy Bluestar and to expand the company’s assets. Even with Carl’s dislike of Gekko, he was convinced by his son to use his influence in the company’s union to push the deal forward. Gekko, however, had a different plan and sells Bluestar’s assets leaving Carl and the other employees of the airline unemployed. Wracked by guilt, Fox finds a way to ruin Gekko’s plans.He manages to a lter Bluestar’s stock value and as Gekko realizes that his stock is plummeting, decides to relinquish his remaining interest in the company. Fox feels triumphant but not for long because Gekko learned his involvement in the scheme and had him arrested by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Towards the end of the film, a heated confrontation ensues between Fox and Gekko, which was Fox’s ploy to record Gekko’s confession of his crimes. Fox hands over the recordings to federal authorities helping them build a case against Gekko, which would help lighten Fox’s sentence.Their fates are left unambiguous but the film delivers a message that crime does not pay and greed is indeed not good. The Firm (1993) The Firm, based on a John Grisham novel, is about a young lawyer’s budding career and the troubles that he encounters when he associates with the wrong people in pursuit of early success. Mitch McDeer, played by Tom Cruise, is one of the top graduates of his class in Harvard Law School despite his poor economic status. He receives many offers from different firms but coming from an unprivileged upbringing, he was enticed by the most lucrative offer from Bendini, Lambert, & Locke law firm in Memphis.Everything is great until the reason for the too-good-to-be-true offer gets revealed. Mitch learns that no one in BL&L ever quits and those who do end up dead shortly after. The firm also takes a very keen interest in its employees’ personal lives. Things become suspicious and he later learns about the firm’s strong ties to the Mafia and that the firm was being used to launder money for organized crime. With the FBI’s interest on the case, they contact Mitch and coerce him into cooperating with their investigation of the firm.The firm suspects of Mitch’s knowledge on their illegal activities and soon, Mitch is blackmailed from both sides and is torn between doing the right thing and his personal and profess ional wellbeing. Doubting the FBI, Mitch gets the help of those he trusts to collect the necessary evidence against the firm at great personal risk, even coming face to face with the mob boss. With their resourcefulness despite the great difficulties of acquiring the important client files and documents, they gathered what they needed and Mitch provides the FBI enough evidence to indict the firm.In the end, everyone gets what they deserve and everything is resolved. Mitch gets a modest job in a small but promising law firm in Boston. Fracture (2007) Fracture is a film about a talented structural engineer Ted Crawford, played by Anthony Hopkins, who manages to escape justice with his skill in finding the fracture or flaw in arguments. He however is hindered by an equally intelligent prosecutor Willy Beachum, played by Ryan Gosling. Ted carefully plans the murder of his unfaithful wife. He executes it but his wife manages to survive but is dependent on life support.Ted confesses to th e crime but retracts it and demands to represent himself in the trial, relying on his skills of spotting the weakness in structures, in this case, the prosecutor’s arguments. Willy, who has a young and successful career and in transition to a more lucrative corporate position, takes Ted’s case thinking it would be an easy victory only to be humiliated by someone untrained for litigation. It was discovered that Ted’s gun acquired at the crime scene was not the gun used to shoot his wife. Baffled and lacking further evidence, the prosecution lost and Ted was acquitted.Engrossed by the case and his career in disarray, Willy visits the only eye witness, Ted’s wife, who Ted later orders to be pulled from life support. With his efforts, Willy uncovers that Ted and the arresting officer’s guns were identical. Ted learns that the police officer was his wife’s lover, switches out the guns and shoots his wife. The officer arrived at his house, surpris ed to see his lover’s predicament, became distracted and Ted was able to switch back the guns. Ted’s gun was admitted into evidence and the officer unknowingly takes the murder weapon.Willy confronts Ted with this new evidence and thinking he is protected by the double jeopardy clause, Ted confesses. Willy reveals that because he took his wife off life support, they can now try him for murder and double jeopardy does not apply as he was previously tried for attempted murder. Ted was arrested and a new trial begins, this time with Ted defended by actual lawyers. Michael Clayton (2007) Michael Clayton, played by George Clooney, is a story about a man who makes a living by cleaning up other people’s messes.He is a former District Attorney who uses his contacts to get the clients of his high-priced law firm out of trouble. Other than his ethically dubious job, he is also troubled by his personal problems of a failed marriage and gambling debt and later finds the add ition of threat to his very life when he encounters the new problem his firm will send him to fix. One of the firm’s partners Arthur Edens, played by Tom Wilkinson, had an outburst in the middle of a deposition involving an agricultural products conglomerate U-North and Michael is sent to remedy the situation.U-North’s general counsel Karen Crowder, played by Tilda Swinton, learns that Edens have evidence about the company’s involvement in manufacturing a cancer-causing product. Learning that Edens is not likely to cooperate, she orders to permanently incapacitate him in a way that will look like a suicide. Michael is saddened by Edens’ death and later becomes suspicious about its connection with U-North. He was able to sneak in to Edens’ apartment and learns about the U-North documents.This puts his life in danger as two men are tailing him informing Crowder of the situation. They later detonate a remote bomb in Michael’s car which luckily exploded when he was out of the vehicle. Later, Michael waits for Crowder to finish a U-North board meeting. He tells her that he is in possession of Edens’ U-North evidence, he knows about her involvement in Edens’ death and that he will keep his silence for a hefty price. When she agrees, he reveals that their conversation is being monitored.He walks away and Crowder and the chairman of U-North get arrested by the police. The Star Chamber (1983) The Star Chamber is a film about the flaws in the judicial system and the boundaries that some people are willing to cross in order to take justice into their own hands to address these flaws. Judge Stephen Hardin, played by Michael Douglas, is a California judge frustrated about being forced to set free suspects that are obviously guilty based on technicalities in paperwork and processing of evidence.He reaches his breaking point when two men accused of raping and killing a ten-year-old boy had to walk free because of the sm all detail in dates of paperwork processing. This is when his friend Judge Ben Caufield, played by Hal Holbrook, introduces him to the secret organization of radical magistrates called the Star Chamber. These judges take the law into their own hands by identifying and assassinating guilty criminals who got away with their crimes. The two men in Hardin’s case become the next target of the Star Chamber.A predicament arises when a detective shows Hardin conclusive evidence that someone else raped and killed the boy. He then appeals the case to the group but it was too late. An assassin has already been ordered and cannot be called off. Also, the group justified that what they do is still for society’s greater good and that those two men are guilty of other crimes, if not for the murder of the boy. Hardin goes on a quest to ironically save the two men he wanted killed. He warns them but they do not believe him, especially because he finds out about the other illegal things that they are involved in.Hardin was attacked by the two men but the Star Chamber’s assassin kills them before they kill him. However, the assassin was also there to kill Hardin since the group ordered his murder as well. In the nick of time, the detective comes to his rescue and he survives. The Star Chamber continues with their work without Hardin, who is merely outside in a car with the detective, recording their meeting. Reference All Media Guide LLC. (n. d). All Movie Guide. Retrieved April 21, 2009, from http://www. starpulse. com/