The U.s School System :: essays research papers

When one is a student, it is ever so simple to criticize the way that schools are conducted. The ideas of students towards their schools may be somewhat misguided by their varied emotions and attitudes for their school. However I believe that my thought out reforms for the American school system, are not only objective, but valid.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For many students, going to school is more than just part of the daily routine. A lot of students see their role in school as a stepping stone not only to their future life, but to their future success. Some people in the school however do not even feel the slightest bit of pressure to do well in school. These people are satisfied with mediocrity. Possibly even worse, some are careless towards not only their on education, but neglectful towards the schooling of others. I think that such students who are not only disruptive, but destructive, should not be dealt with such a severity, that they will either realize the error of their ways or that they do not belong in a public school. Through my few years in high school, I have noticed some students who are always breaking rules. And for some of these students, they are so regularly in trouble that the standards for their behavior is lessened , being permitted to break small rules because the standard for their behavi or is lessened. This is a excellent example, why I believe in not only stern punishment, but set disciplinary action. A student should not be allowed the chance to break rules simply because that is just the way they are. Their bad habits will never be corrected, when they are not expected to act properly   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I haven't really had a great relationship with teachers, in the sense that I felt that they were able to give me good one on one assistance if needed. This however is not the fault of the teacher. Cities have a problem of expanding without planning. Oviedo for example, is possibly going to be a prominent city in the state of Florida. Even now, we are starting to see a major boom in not only population but development. I am not sure however, that I can say that the city is correctly planning for this development, if at all. Roads will need to be widened. Irrigation, and sanitation will need to be carefully managed.

Slavery’s Injurious to All

Slavery’s Injurious to All During the time of slavery, being black meant you were probably a slave and being a slave was brutal. They were treated more like animals than like humans. In Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, he said, â€Å"slavery proved as injurious to her as it did to me† (22). I disagree however as well as agree with him on this, because being a slave you went through ridiculous amounts of punishment and torture that nobody else went through at that time.But, slavery did change the owner's personality as well. Being a slave meant going through struggles, hardships and not having any family around to help. Their masters were not the nicest people. When they were twelve months old they were taken away from their birthmothers and given to another female slave who cared for them. Children should not be taken away from their mothers at such a young age. They are supposed to have the nurturing care of th eir mother. When taken away from their mother after being with them for quite some time children get a sense of loss.Not only did they get separated from their mothers, according to Frederick Douglass it was common for their masters to be the father of some of the slave children. The masters would sell their black kids â€Å"out of deference to the feelings of his white wife† (3). It was cruel to sell any human being let alone their own children just because of their class/race difference. If he did not sell the slave, the father would have to whip his own child and watch his white sons tie up his own brother. Slaveholders did not have to go through any of that cruel and unusual punishment as the slaves did.Slaves suffered greater hardships than any other person during this time period. They did not receive sufficient clothing to keep themselves warm during those winter days. And if they ever ruined their clothing they would have to wait till the next â€Å"allowance dayâ₠¬ . As well, they did not have any beds to sleep on, they slept on the floors with the little blankets they had. Their slaveholders did not have to go through that suffering of sleeping on a hard floor. They do not compare to what slaves go through. Slaveholders are the wealthy ones compared to slaves; they got to live in comfort while slaves did not.So when Douglass states â€Å"slavery proved as injurious to her as it did to me†, about his mistress, I believe he was wrong. Compared to the slaves, the slaveholders and overseers lived a luxurious lifestyle. They did not have to work hard in the fields just to earn the clothing on their backs and their daily meals. No matter what the slaves did it was never the right thing to do to please their masters. Not only did were slaveholders and overseers able to order around their slaves but they also made their lives a â€Å"living hell†. They were whipped for doing wrong or for no reason at all.According to Douglass he had a few masters who were really brutal. For instance, Mr. Severe, Douglass wrote, â€Å"he was a cruel man. I have seen him whip a woman, causing the blood to run half an hour at a time† (7). When an overseer could be as cruel as that, they would never be able to know what the other side of slavery was like. Gore was another cruel man. He was about to whip a slave, Demby. When Demby ran into a creek and stood there. Gore gave Demby three chances to come back to him so he could whip him, he did not listen to him, so Gore shot Demby.After shooting him, Colonel Lloyd, had asked why he resorted to shooting him, his response was, â€Å"he was setting a dangerous example to the other slaves, – one which, id suffered to pass without some such demonstration on his part, would finally lead to the total subversion of all the rule and order upon the plantation† (14). Demby was shot and killed for wanting to get away from being lashed and was punished for that. Slaves were no t allowed to have a say on what goes on in their lives, they were a piece of property.Being a slave took a toll on the slaves and their emotions. While slaveholders lived their lives, slaves were depressed. They had endured torture, pain and many more difficulties in their lives. Douglass wrote, â€Å"I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead† (24). Slaveholders cannot and should not be compared to how the slaves felt and were treated. They got to choose the way they lived their lives so they had no regrets doing what they did to the slaves. It was not the slaves fault that they were born into that social class.However on one occasion, slavery does prove to have been as injurious to the slaveholders as to the slaves. When Douglass talks about his mistress, Mrs. Auld, he described her as a very kindhearted woman. She was teaching him how to read and write, since slaves were not allowed to become educated. She had clothing and food ready for him as well. Mrs. Auld was the only slaveholder to treat her slaves so kindly. After her husband banned her from teaching Frederick Douglass, she became coldhearted like all the other slaveholders.Douglass said, â€Å"she now commenced to practice her husband’s precepts she finally became even more violent in her opposition than her husband himself† (22). Mrs. Auld had never had a slave before so she did not know what it was like. Douglass was her first slave to own. In this situation, slavery had then become injurious to slaveholders as it did to slaves. Slavery changed the mistress’s personality, she became cruel. Mr. Auld In conclusion, even though slavery maybe injurious to the white owners, it is proved to be more injurious to the slaves.They are the ones treated unfairly; the owners had a choice the slaves did not. Just because one instance can prove that slavery affected the slaveholders like it did to the slave, it does not justify it one hundred percent. Sl aves were the ones getting beaten every day; they had no control over their lives. They were treated like property because of their skin color and the social class they were born into. Some slaveholders enjoyed whipping their slaves, it just goes to show that slave owners did not care about their slaves.

Basic Concepts in the Law of Contracts

LGST 612 Prof. Kevin Werbach BASIC CONCEPTS IN THE LAW OF CONTRACTS Contracts are essential to business. They are a legal mechanism used in every industry and every part of the world to structure relationships among firms, and with customers, partners, and suppliers. Over several centuries, the law governing contracts has developed a large number of doctrines. Most are consistent with common sense, but unless you know what the rules are, you can easily make a mistake. This document introduces the fundamentals of contract law most relevant to businesspeople.Important legal terms are italicized. What is a Contract? And what is Contract Law? Legally, a contract is a set of promises that the law will enforce. We make promises all the time. Only some of them – the ones that meet the contract formation requirements listed below – are legally enforceable. That means the legal system, in the form of courts, can step in to order some action or payment for violation of the contra ct. Contracts are therefore private deals with the possibility of public (governmental) enforcement.Of course, there are many reasons to fulfill promises other than legal obligations. Reneging on promises may be unethical, or may result in a loss of goodwill or reputation as costly or more so than anything a court can impose. The general principles of contract law are fairly universal around the world. However, specific rules vary from country to country. In common law countries such as the United States and Great Britain, most of the legal doctrines governing contracts have been developed by courts over the centuries.In civil law countries such as those in Continental Europe, most of the terms of contract law are specified through comprehensive legislative codes. Even in the U. S. , some aspects of contract law are regulated by legislation. Certain classes of contracts involving employment, securities transactions, health care, and consumer financial transactions are subject to reg ulations that supersede the general principles of common law. Commercial contracts for the sale of goods (as opposed to services like consulting) are covered in virtually every state in the U. S. y the Uniform Commercial Code, which imposes specific statutory requirements. And certain contracts are made unenforceable by the Constitution: for example, a provision that a house may not be sold to a certain racial or ethnic group. Parties negotiating a contract each believe they will benefit from the agreement. For example, a corporation purchasing a license for enterprise software believes the benefit from the software will exceed the price it pays, and the software vendor believes the price will exceed sum of expected costs for providing access to its product.When parties enter into a contract, therefore, they generally do not expect it to be breached (violated), or to resort to the legal system. However, they recognize that sometimes a partner may make a promise with good intentions, and later fail to fulfill it, or that circumstances may chance in some way. When evaluating contracts, courts will generally not consider whether the deal was a good one for either side. The standard view is that no one forced the parties to enter into the contract; they should be held to the bargain they struck.Another way to think of a contract is as a legal hedge against uncertainty or risk. The contract gives each party confidence that if the other fails to perform, they can receive compensation through the courts. It also allows parties to specify how specific situations in the future may be addressed. For example, in the software license described above, what happens if the buyer decides to modify some of the software code and resell it? Rather than wait for the confusion if that happens, the parties can specify ahead of time how the situation will be handled, by adding provisions to the contract.LGST 612 (Prof. Werbach) Page 2 Contemporary legal systems focus on two things i n contracts cases: intent and reliance. If the evidence shows that all parties acted as though they intended to be legally bound to a contract, and the plaintiff (the one filing the lawsuit) reasonably relied on the defendant to follow through with the contract, the courts will generally enforce it. To do otherwise would be unfair to the party that was harmed by honoring their commitments. In modern contract law, intent and reasonable reliance often trump formalities.A contract may generally be enforced even if it not signed, written, or even expressly made. For example, if a fishmonger delivers fresh fish to a restaurant every Monday for a year and receives the same payment each time, there may be an implied contract even if the parties never explicitly spoke about it. The plaintiff still needs to convince the judge or jury in court, which is much harder to do based on oral testimony than documentary evidence. Unwritten contracts also leave significant gaps for courts to fill in.Th e implied contract between the restaurant and the fishmonger, for example, could be terminated at any time by the parties, because there is no explicit term guaranteeing how long it will last. Remedies What a court awards to a successful plaintiff for breach of contract is known as the remedy. In contract law, the sole purpose of the remedy is to adequately compensate for the breach. You cannot receive additional â€Å"punitive† damages to punish someone for breach of contract, as you might under a tort claim such as products liability. The same facts, however, might give rise to both kinds of claims, as when a party deliberately breaks a contract in order to harm the other party’s business. ) In most contracts cases, the remedy is a payment of money, known as damages. There are three main ways that courts may calculate the level of damages: †¢ Expectation is the preferred formula. Whenever possible, this is what courts will use. Expectation means that the plainti ff (who did not breach the contract) gets the â€Å"benefit of the bargain. † In other words, they receive compensation to put them in the position they would have been in, had the contract been performed.For example, if an airline enters into a futures contract to purchase jet fuel in one year at $4/gallon, and at the time of performance the fuel company breaches because the spot market price is now $7/gallon, the expectation remedy would be $3/gallon times the number of gallons. In other words, it is the difference between the market and contract price. That way, the airline can buy the fuel from someone else at the market price, and still get the benefit of the contract. Reliance is used when expectation damages cannot be calculated because the amounts are too uncertain, or there is some other reason not to give expectation damages.Under this formula, the plaintiff gets back any costs he or she has expected by relying on the contract, so they are no worse off than before t he agreement. Generally, this will be a smaller amount than the expectation remedy. Restitution is used in rare situations where even reliance damages are not feasible to determine. Under this formula, the defendant (who breached the contract) must give back whatever benefit he or she received from the plaintiff, even if this does not fully cover the plaintiff’s reliance.For example, if the plaintiff paid money to the defendant for some services, the defendant must give it back. †¢ †¢ Courts may also consider awarding incidental and consequential damages. These are other costs the plaintiff can demonstrate, which go beyond his or her expectation under the contract. For example, imagine a factory owner contracts for a $50,000 piece of machinery to power a production line, and LGST 612 (Prof. Werbach) Page 3 the supplier breaches the contract. It takes a month before the factory can obtain an equivalent machine from another supplier (also for $50,000).As a result, the factory loses one month of production, which produces financial losses of $500,000 and causes its customers to terminate future orders worth several million dollars. All those costs are considered consequential damages. Whether they can be recovered depends on how foreseeable they were, and on the terms of the contract itself. On the one hand, those are actual losses the plaintiff suffered; on the other hand, was it reasonable to think the defendant took on millions of dollars of potential liability when it sold a $50,000 machine?In limited situations, monetary damages are not sufficient to give the plaintiff an adequate remedy. In such cases, a court may order an injunction (forbidding the defendant from some course of action) or specific performance (affirmatively ordering the defendant to go through with the transaction). Specific performance is only available for unique objects, where the money to purchase a similar object is not considered sufficient. This includes things such as works of art and real estate. Breach Failing to follow through on the legal obligations of a contract is called a breach.A breach might mean one party totally ignored its contractual obligations, or that it failed to perform some of them (such as completing the contracted-for services within a specified time), or that it did so in an inadequate manner. Whether something constitutes a breach is a factual decision for the court. The decision may be easier if the contract itself specifies conditions for breach, or whether a failure to perform specific responsibilities constitutes a breach of the whole agreement.As mentioned above, breaching a contract is not the same thing as breaking a promise, because law and ethics are not identical. In particular, sometimes a breach is, economically at least, a good thing. Imagine that an architect contracts with a cabinetmaker for custom-designed built-in furniture in a renovated house. However, the owner of the house changes her mind before f inalizing her contract with the architect, and he loses the commission. The cabinetmaker has not yet started to manufacture the furniture.It would be wasteful to force the architect to go through with the contract, when he knows the cabinets will be useless. It is more efficient for the architect to breach the agreement. So long as the architect pays sufficient compensation to the cabinetmaker (voluntarily or in the form of monetary damages or a voluntary payment), there is nothing unethical in his breach. Contract Formation There are five required elements for a legally binding contract. In other words, a plaintiff suing for breach of contract must first show that all five were met. Then they must show the contract was breached, and they are entitled to a remedy. ) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Offer Acceptance Consideration Legality Capacity The first two requirements, offer and acceptance, are sometimes lumped together and called â€Å"mutual assent. † They are typically the most difficu lt and important elements to establish. LGST 612 (Prof. Werbach) Offer Page 4 An offer is a proposal that manifests intent to enter into a contract. It is distinguished from an invitation, which is merely a proposal to enter into negotiations and therefore not legally binding.The party that makes an offer is called the offeror and the party that receives it is called the offeree. For the offer to be valid, the offeror must: 1. Manifest the intent to enter into a contract 2. Be definite and certain regarding the essential terms of the proposed contract 3. Communicate the offer to the offeree Suppose you are at a used-car dealer's lot. You see a care you like with the price listed as $9,995. You ask the salesperson what he’d take for the car; he doesn't answer you, but responds by asking you what you would offer.If you then say, â€Å"I wouldn't pay the list price, but I might pay $8,000 if I could finance it,† have you made an offer? In considering questions of this typ e, courts will look to â€Å"objective† manifestations of intent. Would a reasonable (ordinary, average) person, listening to your conversation in context, think that you intended to bound into a contract if the salesperson accepted? Again, reasonable reliance is what the courts look to protect, so your subjective mental state, even if it could be reliably determined, is irrelevant. Courts do, however, consider the context.You might offer to purchase a candy bar simply by holding out a dollar bill to a cashier, but an offer to enter into a multi-million dollar merger agreement might require significantly greater formalities. Similarly, if it would be clear to a reasonable observer that a statement was made as a joke, or in a social setting that does not involve contractual obligations, such as a wedding invitation, there is no binding offer. All these, however, are factual questions that courts might assess by hearing witnesses, looking at evidence, and listening to experts.A cceptance An acceptance is the mirror of an offer. If the offeree (the one receiving the offer) objectively manifests intent to be bound, the other elements below are met, and the offer is still valid, a contract comes into being at that moment. Intent is evaluated the same way for acceptance as for the offer. For the acceptance, however, courts are more sensitive to situations where someone takes actions that indicate acceptance (such as signing a document), but does not in fact understand the obligations they are undertaking.In such cases, courts generally look to whether this is the sort of contract that is typically accepted in that manner, and whether the offeree had a reasonable opportunity to analyze the contract but chose not to. Many business-to-consumer agreements are so-called contracts of adhesion or form contracts, where the consumer has no real opportunity to negotiate the specific terms – think of a rental-car agreement – but acceptance is still generall y considered valid because there are other means to protect the consumers and the alternative would be extremely inefficient and cumbersome.There are four ways that an offer may no longer be valid: 1. The offeror may generally revoke the offer by communicating that to the other party at any moment before acceptance. 2. If the one receiving the offer rejects it, which includes making a counter-offer, the original offer is considered no longer binding. 3. After some reasonable period of time, determined by the court based on the context, offers lapse. You cannot walk into a used-car dealer and say you are accepting the list price of a car advertised two years before. 4. Death or incapacitation of an offeror generally cancels an offer.One exception to the rule about revocation of offers is the option contract. This is essentially a contract that binds only one party. For example, a property owner might grant a real estate investor LGST 612 (Prof. Werbach) Page 5 an option to purchase a building for $15 million within a period of 90 days. If the investor comes forward with the $15 million, the owner must sell the building. The investor, however, is under no obligation to do anything. (Options on stocks operate the same way; the price for the put or call is the payment for the option. ) Under U. S. aw, there must be a separate payment for holding open the option, even if it is specified in the same document as the purchase terms. In other words, in the real estate example, if the building owner promised to keep the offer open for 90 days, but received no compensation for that promise, it would technically be free to sell to someone else. In many other countries, a party that promises an option must keep it open for a reasonable period of time, even without payment. The acceptance must mirror the offer. That means the offeree must comply with any conditions the offeror placed on the offer.If, for example, the offer states that payment must be made in cash, or that t hose wishing to accept the offer must show up in person at a certain location, those conditions must be met for a valid acceptance. If the offeror does not specify, the offeree may use any reasonable means. This may even include actions rather than words. If I ask a friend to bring me a sandwich from the cafe downstairs, which I’ll pay for, and she immediately goes to purchase it without saying a word, her actions would likely be a sufficient manifestation of intent.As always, context matters. In a complex commercial negotiation, it may be reasonable to exchange numerous very specific drafts, which are not formally accepted until the final version is signed off on by senior executives. Consideration Consideration means that each party has committed to giving up something of value to induce the promise or action of the other party. It is the way the law distinguishes an enforceable contractual bargain from a gift. If someone promises to give you a gift, and then reneges on the promise, you cannot sue them for breach of contract.There was no contract to begin with, because you did not have to give anything up in return for the gift. In most contracts, consideration will be money in exchange for some goods or services. However, it can be anything of legal value, including property or voluntarily giving up a legal right to act in a certain way. In a famous case, a court held that an uncle’s promise to pay money to his nephew if the nephew gave up smoking and drinking was enforceable, because the nephew stopped doing something he was legally entitled to do. The consideration must, however, be needed to induce the promise.If your action or inaction wasn’t what motivated the other party, there is no consideration. The amount of consideration need not match the value of what the party receives in return. A contract to pay $100 for a computer worth $1,000 may be a bad deal, but it has sufficient consideration. The main question is whether there is something of value exchanged to demonstrate the agreement is not a gift. In business agreements, this sometimes means a recital (a contractual provision that simply states a fact) along the lines of, â€Å"in exchange for good and valuable onsideration of one dollar†¦Ã¢â‚¬  to ensure consideration is found. Legality Contracts that are made for an illegal purpose will not be enforceable in a court of law. An agreement with a hit man to kill a disfavored relative may meet all of the formalities of a contract, but it should be obvious that you could not sue him for failing to go through with it. More realistically, an agreement to engage in bribery or to restrain market competition in violation of antitrust laws would be unenforceable.Capacity All parties to a contract must have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement. In other words, they must have what the law considers sufficient mental fortitude to understand and commit to LGST 612 (Prof. Werbach) Page 6 the obl igations involved. Two main classes of people who do not have capacity are children and those under significant mental disability or impairment. Children are generally not allowed to become legally bound by contracts. (The specific age cutoff and other considerations vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. If an adult contracts with a child, the child can void the contract at will, but the adult is still bound if the child wishes to enforce the agreement. The other situations in which capacity becomes an issue are when a party either has a significant disability that prevents them from understanding contractual obligations, or they are too severely impaired by drugs, alcohol, or another factor. Capacity is judged objectively: would a reasonable observer think the party was in a state that made it impossible to express intent to contract?If so, the party at that moment lacks the legal capacity. It is important to note that capacity is not the same thing as capability or authority. A bank may not actually have the financial wherewithal to provide the financing that it contracts for, but this does not mean it is incapable of entering into any contract. If it fails to provide the financing that the other party reasonably relied on, it is in breach of contract, whether or not it actually has the resources needed to perform. Similarly, an agent may or may not have the legal authority to speak for a firm.If a sales representative (or someone claiming to be a sales representative) commits a company to an agreement with a customer that the company does not in fact wish to honor, that has no bearing on the legal capacity to contract. In that situation, the court must determine whether it is appropriate to bind the company. If the salesperson did not in fact have actual authority to sign off on such contracts, courts would look to whether it was reasonable for the customer to think that they did, especially without communicating with corporate headquarters.Whether a Cont ract Must be in Writing (â€Å"Statute of Frauds†) As mentioned above, there is no general requirement that contracts be in writing. It is generally a good idea to write contracts down, because that provides clear evidence of their existence and terms if they are ever breached. Fundamentally, though, an oral agreement, or an unsigned written agreement, is a valid contract, except in two broad cases. The first is when there is a statutory or regulatory requirement to put a certain agreement in writing. This is often the case, for example, with financial and healthcare agreements.The second is if the contract is under the statute of frauds. The Statute of Frauds was a 17th century English law that required some contracts to be in writing, because otherwise there would be too much risk of witnesses lying (the â€Å"fraud†) in their oral testimony in court. Today, the term refers mostly to common law principles that impose a writing requirement, plus provisions of certain modern statutes (such as the Uniform Commercial Code) that impose similar obligations. Saying that a contract is â€Å"under the statute of frauds† means that it has to be in writing.There are several categories of contracts that fall under the statute of frauds, including suretyship (promising to pay someone else’s debts) and contracts in consideration of marriage (such as prenuptial agreements). The three categories most likely to arise in a business context are: †¢ †¢ Sale of land. This also includes interests in land, such as a mortgage. Sales of goods worth $500 or more. Note that contracts for services, such as consulting or financial advice, are not covered under this provision. The $500 figure comes from the Uniform Commercial Code, and is an arbitrary figure, not pegged to inflation.LGST 612 (Prof. Werbach) Page 7 †¢ Promises not performable in one year. In other words, there is no way the contract could be successfully performed within a year. If the contract does not specify a term of longer than a year, and there is come conceivable scenario in which both parties would discharge their responsibilities before the end of the year, it need not be in writing. If a contract falls under the statute of frauds, a sufficient â€Å"writing† is a document that identifies the parties, describes the basic obligations of the contract, and is signed by the party to be charged.As with any written contract, if there are specific details not set out in the document, the court can interpret the language or fill in reasonable terms as necessary to enforce it. If, however, the writing is missing a material term – for example, the price in most sales contracts – it is not enforceable. Basically, the court needs enough information to determine a remedy. If the contract is not under the statute of frauds, the courts can look to other written evidence or oral testimony to find a material term. However, if the parties simply failed to agree on such an essential point, the contract is unenforceable.Note that when the statute of frauds applies, only one party is required to sign the agreement: the party who is being sued to enforce it (the defendant). The signature of the other party may still be useful to prove there was intent to enter into a binding agreement. Excuses to Performance In some circumstances, a party will not be held to an agreement, even when it met all the legal requirements for a valid contract. The most common excuses to performance are: Fraud. If one party induces a contract by lying to the other party, it is not enforceable even when the form of the contract is perfectly good.Duress. If a party felt it was forced to enter into a contract against its will, it can claim the contract is unenforceable due to duress. This means something more than a difficult situation or a tough negotiating partner on the other side. For example, if there is only one supplier for an important input with sufficient production capacity, buying from that supplier is not duress. There must generally be some misconduct, involving threats to engage in illegal conduct or breach other obligations, which convinces the other party it has no choice. Unconscionability.As noted above, a contract will not be considered unenforceable because it is unfair, or because there is unequal bargaining power (as is typically the case in business-to-consumer interactions). However, if one party has no reasonable opportunity to understand the obligations they are undertaking, or there are terms in the agreement so manifestly unfair that they â€Å"shock the conscience,† courts can declare specific provisions or whole contracts as unconscionable. This doctrine is successfully invoked infrequently, and then typically when there is unfairness in the process, rather than the substantive terms.Mutual mistake. If both parties were mistaken about the fundamental subject matter of the contract, such that th ey never truly had an agreement, the contract can be declared unenforceable. If the mistake is simply a bad business decision, such as an assumption that the price of a good will not increase substantially, it will not excuse performance. Impossibility/frustration of purpose. If circumstances change so dramatically that either a contract is effectively impossible to perform, or it would be pointless to complete it, courts can excuse performance.As with the other doctrines, courts will not release parties from their obligations if performance is merely more difficult or costly than they expected. – – – – LGST 612 (Prof. Werbach) Page 8 These excuses are considered by courts after the fact. In such situations, there is a contract, but there is no legal remedy for a breach. Sometimes, the result is merely to sever a problematic provision of the contract. For example, a contract may be enforceable minus the specific term the court considered unconscionable.Re covery Outside of Contract (â€Å"Promissory Estoppel†) Modern contract law makes it relatively easy for parties to enter into contracts, to specify the terms of those contracts, and to be excused from contractual obligations when fundamental fairness dictates. Consequently, the legal system generally focuses on whether the procedural obligations of contract law described above have been met, rather than on whether the outcome is just. After all, the parties were free to act differently, yet chose to structure their agreement in a certain way.Why should the courts interfere with their decisions? In a host of cases, this freedom-based view of contracts fails to account for reality. Inequalities in access to information or bargaining power may so warp the relationship between parties that the formal structure of an agreement may not actually reflect the intent of at least one of them. Or there may be significant public policy concerns, such as avoiding mistreatment of patients or retail investors, which counsel for heightened obligations beyond those of common-law contract doctrines.Another category cuts in the opposite direction. Sometimes the un-enforceability of an agreement is unfair. If one party reasonably relies on the other party, yet has no remedy because the agreement is unenforceable, it can create a situation in which the courts view themselves as parties to an injustice. The legal doctrine known as promissory estoppel arose to allow for recovery of damages in court, even when there is no enforceable contract between the parties.The Restatement (Second) of Contracts, a collection of â€Å"best practices† in contract law written by leading legal experts in the field, describes promissory estoppel as follows: â€Å"A promise which the promisor should reasonably expect to induce action or forbearance on the part of the promisee or a third person and which does induce such action or forbearance is binding if injustice can be avoided only b y enforcement of the promise. The remedy granted for breach may be limited as justice requires. † Most commonly this doctrine is invoked for charitable gifts.For example, imagine that a donor to Wharton promises the school $100 million for a new building bearing her name, the school builds the building in reliance on the gift, and the donor then reneges on the promise. There is no enforceable contract, because there is no consideration. (The school’s expenditure in building the building was a response to the promised gift; it is not what induced the promise, as required for consideration. ) In such a situation, if a court feels it would be an â€Å"injustice† that Wharton receives no compensation, it can award damages on a promissory estoppel theory.Courts have applied promissory estoppel in other situations where, because of some legal quirk, a party reasonably relies on a contract and yet has no adequate remedy. Note that promissory estoppel is a distinct legal claim, not a lawsuit based on a valid contract. One consequence is that damages are generally limited to reliance. In the donation example in the previous paragraph, this means that Wharton might recover the amount it spent on constructing the building, but not the full $100 million that was promised. And remember that the court can decline to award anything if it does not feel that an injustice has occurred.

The Mahabharata: a Brahminical Struggle for Power

The Mahabharata: A Brahminical Struggle for Power The desire for power has always been an issue throughout the ages. As foreign ideas and invaders became a threatening situation, the Brahmin caste during time of the Mahabharata responded by stressing the importance of dharma in society. The writers of the Mahabharata's twelfth book, The Book of Peace, place extra emphasis on dharma to not only maintain order within the kingdom, but also to preserve the social status of Brahmins and dissuade other castes from converting to new and foreign influences in the Mahabharata.To better understand why such an act was needed, this paper will discuss the Brahminical social status relative to other castes, the importance of dharma in society to Brahmins, the growing influence of the Buddhism in India, and lastly the presence of Jainism in society and it’s minor effect. During the period the Mahabharata was written, there was a clear defined four-tiered caste system consisting of the Sudras , Vaishyas, Kshatriya, and Brahmins. These classes were meant to maintain order by stressing that each class must to adhere to its proper dharma. The Sudras were the lowest level of the caste system.Known typically as slaves and workers, their dharma was to do be slaves or do hard labor. They held no power although they represented a large portion of society. They were owned by the Kshatriya, but they were considered â€Å"untouchable† by both Brahmins and Kshatriyas because of the impure stigma placed upon the class by the Brahmins. This idea of impurity of the Sudras pervaded even throughout the class itself, and at the pinnacle of the caste system, there were divisions within the Sudra class The Vaisyas were placed below the Kshatriya and Brahmins and â€Å"slightly above the Sudras† in the caste system.This class’s main focus was agriculture and livestock. Scholars such as Richard Fick state that, â€Å"Originally in the oldest Vedic age Vaiyas was a name o f the class of cattle-breeding and land-cultivating Aryan settlers, it later served the purpose of the theorizing Brahmins to bind together the unlimited number of social groups. † They were unable to receive education in Vedic traditions. Since they were the closest to Sudras in class, these two groups occasionally formed distinct classes referred to as â€Å"Gahapatis and Kutumbika†The Kshatriya class was known to consist of the warriors and kings of the caste system. They maintained a symbiotic relationship with the Brahmins. The Kshatriyas depended on the Brahmins to perform detailed rituals since they were the only ones who knew the knowledge to perform them. The Brahmins depended on the Kshatriyas for protection and sustenance. Although the Brahmins had the knowledge the Kshatriyas needed, this did not last. As the Kshatriyas gained access to Vedic literature, they demonstrated equal dedication to the texts as the Brahmins did .This access to Vedic literature prom pted the Kshatriyas to begin to question brahminical ways. As the Kshatryias became more educated, â€Å"kings were not happy with the parasitical life led by the brahminical class. † This questioning and dissatisfaction aided the development of new ideas and influences. The Brahmin class focused on performing rituals and the Vedic texts. They put new meaning to the saying, â€Å"knowledge is power. † Through their knowledge on how to perform complicated rituals and â€Å"special† mystical power, they were able to persuade all the other classes to give to them.Bhishma in the Mahabharata, â€Å"tells Yudhisthiria that priest of the sacrifice (rtvij), a family priest (purohita), a teacher, a disciple, relatives and kinsmen can be considered worthy of worship and honour if they are furnished with learning and virtue (Srutavrttopasamhita). † Essentially describing the Brahmins, Bhisma tells Yudhisthiria and all other classes to give to Brahmins since they ful fill the required criteria on who to give to. The Brahmins were the most organized class of the time, and this allowed them to declare their broad rule.It did not matter if the Kshatriyas had the thrown; the power over the thrown essentially made them the ruler of the land. Excess power corrupts, and the Brahmins were clearly overstepping their bounds. Kings began to see their relationship with Brahmins as parasitic rather than symbiotic. One of the most famous Kshatriya, Siddhartha Gautama, was raised with this mentality, and would use this as a base for Buddhism. However, Brahmins were still kept in high regard. In the Mahabharata, The Book of Peace is essentially a long argument in favor of Brahmins. It looked upon them as walking gods on earth who should be obeyed and honored. † Though this is the case, scholars such as V. S Sukthankar believe that â€Å"the tradition which revised and recast the epic according to the Vaishnava and brahmana need was the Brighu tradition. † One of these instances can be seen in â€Å"Top of the list of Bhargavas second only to Bhrgu himself, is Rama Jamadagnya, the militant brahmin hero responsible for the destruction of the ksatriyas, whether this story is intended to as a military or a literary victory. If Sukthankar’s theory is correct, the Brahminization of the Mahabharata exemplifies the power the Brahmins had in their era. They not only had the ability to influence public policy in the Vedic era, but also how they are portrayed in religious texts that transcend both borders and time. Braminization was not only a way to maintain power at the time, but ensure that their power be maintained for future Brahmins as well. Compared to all other classes, the brahminical class best understood the political and social needs of the time.This allowed them to gain increasing power and respect not only in their era, but future periods to come. Dharma was the way of life in the Vedic society. Adharmic acts are n ot taken lightly as seen in the Mahabharata when Yudhisthria’s chariot falls after half-lying about Asvattamma’s death. The idea of dharma can be traced back to the Vedic period when the concept of dharma was represented as the word rita . In Book 12, Bhisma defines dharma as, â€Å"it helps acquisition and preservation of wealth. The sages have declared that dharma restricts and limits all evil acts of men.All creatures prosper by the growth of dharma and deteriorate with its decay. † (12. 91, 14-15) Bhisma goes on to discuss how dharma is important in all parts of the caste or varna system. A majority of The Book of Peace is describing how a king should act, what should a kingdom provide, and how dharma needs to be followed (unless during special situations such as war), however, Bhisma spends time to educate what dharma means for those not in the position of king. Not only does Bhisma specify what type of lives Sudras, Vaishyas, Kshatriya, and Brahmins should live, but also how to live one’s life at specific ages.There are four modes of life that Bhisma reveals in The Book of Peace. The first is Brahmacharya Ashrama which instructs one to â€Å"lead a life of celibacy and obey the order of preceptor† (12. 168. 8. 10) . This time lasts from age 12 when a child goes to a preceptor and ends at the age of 25 when he returns. The next role is Grihastha Ashrama where Bhisma instructs one to â€Å"enjoy life, gratify his senses, follow all ethical sanctions enshrined in the Samayadarma and help people who were in distress† (12. 186. 11. 16) One should get married at the age of 25 and remain in this mode until 50 years old.At the age of 50, one enters Vanprastha Ashrama where he can accept the life of a hermit. At the late age of 75, one can enter Sanyasa Ashrama, where a hermit can detach himself further from the world and become an ascetic. These modes of life are directed towards the Bhramins, however, Kshatriyas can tak e on these roles, â€Å"after duly observing his caste duties, in his old age, could accept the hermit’s and ascetics mode of life† (12. 63. 16. 21) and â€Å"an aged Vaishya, after virtuously performing his duty and serving the king might adopt other modes of life with the king’s permission† (12. 3. 15) The class structures which include age are extremely structured. This is so because, â€Å"the social mechanism of dharma was a clear attempt to moderate class struggle and competition with the help of the varna system. † The caste system worked because of the wide understanding of dharma among its many followers. With the Braminzation Theory in mind, it is entirely possible that the Brahmins, through Bhisma’s voice, were the true advocates for dharmic living. The idea of dharma was to maintain the stability and the status quo of the time .The highly structured design acted as an instrument to fulfill the Brahmins desires. The importance of class structure focuses on maintaining the power of the Brahmins which is why it was alarming to witness Brahmins acting like Kshatriyas and vice versa. One of the developing influences during the Vedic period was Buddhism. Mentioned earlier, Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, was born into the Kshatriya caste. This provided him with a primary bias against them, but his reasons for going against the brahminical caste were much deeper than an underlying bias.The Buddha was disgusted by the animal sacrifices to the Gods, along with the hypocritical and lying nature of the Brahmins. He was also â€Å"critical to their advice to kings† and â€Å"opposed to the Brahmin claim over the Kshatriyas. † To gain followers, the Buddha took advantage of the ailing brahminical caste. He showed support for the sudras by â€Å"speaking against the caste and admitting the sudra castes into the snagha . † The Buddha convinced the Kshatriyas to convert by using his family roots, and stressing his supremacy thus implicitly stating that Kshatryas were supreme.After gaining the Kshatriyas on his side, the Buddha moved on to the Vaisya class lending them money at an interest, and since the Vaisya class focused on livestock, Buddha’s rejection of animal sacrifices only added more reason for the Vaisya to join his snagha. Buddhism even managed to recruit â€Å"a significant part of their elite from good Brahmin families and which scattered the countryside with shrines and monasteries. † Furthermore, Buddhism gained strong support by Asoka the Great, an Indian emperor, who converted to Buddhism. Asoka did not reject the entire brahminical tradition.He also strongly desired for his people to be dharmic. His strong adherence to dharma rivals that of the Brahmins. The danger of Buddhism was not only the converts it was amassing, but the stressing of equality across all caste and the ridding of the caste system all together. Since much of the Bra hmin’s power was a result from the strict caste system, it was in their best interest to preserve it any way they could. In response the surge of Buddhism, the Mahabharata was released to counter the threat of outside invaders and new influences.This new text served to learn from the mistakes of past mistakes of the overextended Brahmin caste. â€Å"But the text does not resemble the hymns of the Veda at all; it is a narrative text which is replete with all manner of didactic wisdom. And it is a text which has, in its intention, and in fact, moved away from the social exclusivism and esotericism of the Vedic Brahmin tradition. † The act of adaptation of the Brahminical tradition is impressive because it maintains the same concepts conveyed through the first four Vedas while presenting it in a new fashion that speaks to the audience of that era.Although a remarkable cause, Buddhism waned in India because â€Å"the Kshatriyas were afraid of Buddhism because it threatene d the very foundation of their existence as a class as oppressed people encouraged by its equality preaching were trying to rise† In response to this rising issue, the Brahmins and Kshatriyas formed a new alliance to reestablish the caste system , and as a result, Buddhism slowly faded in India. An additional threat to the Brahmins at the time was Jainism.Lead by Mahavira, a born and raised Kshatriya who renounced his caste, Jainism became an increasing threat to the Brahmins. â€Å"In this remarkable spiritual exploration of Mahavira, there was a break with traditionalism, the response and challenge to the orthodoxy of the Brahmins. † Although Jainism is not a considered a â€Å"revolt† against Brahmanism since it some of the tenets find roots in Vedic ideas , many of the ideas were alarming to the Brahmins. Mahavira did not think of the Vedas as authority and did not believe that the Brahmins â€Å"were the bearers of spiritual truth .He also viewed animal sac rifices as wrong and rejected the animal ritual sacrifices such as the Horse Sacrifice popular in Vedic Brahmanism. â€Å"There is no doubt that the emphasis on ahimsa, non-killing was a reaction against the Brahminic sacrifices which required sacrifices of live animals† Although alarming to the Brahmins, Jainism had unattractive qualities which dissuaded many from converting to the lifestyle. Since â€Å"Jainism was less of an anti-caste than anti-Brahmin movement† , those angry with the current caste system did not find much reason to convert.Kshatriyas found this new ideology unappealing because it asked them to forego their warrior and bloody lifestyle to one that had no blood or violence. Despite these unappealing qualities, Jainism still managed to amass a group a followers particularly from the Vaiysa caste which sought to increase their status and distinguish themselves from the Sudras. Although a smaller influential group, Jainism still was a threat to the Bra hmin way of life which demanded addressing. The ultimate goal of politics transcends time. In today’s society, politics emains the same – a constant battle for power. Through analyzing the Bhraminical social status relative to other castes, the importance of dharma in society, the growing influence of the Buddhism in India, and the presence of invaders during the time of the Mahabharata, it is apparent that they were on the top of the caste system and were reluctant to move from that position even when many pressures were apparent. It is quite remarkable how the Mahabharata not only serves as present day religion text, but also as a response to the growing influences of Buddhism and Jainism.It is further exemplified that dharma is used as a tool to maintain order within the kingdom and attempt to preserve the social status of the Brahmins. Although the brahminical power eventually ended, their epic passion and zeal to maintain their status is not only inspiring, but al so deserves some reorganization in the Indian Epic, the Mahabharata. Works Cited Ahir, D. C. Asoka the Great. Delhi: B. R. Pub. Corp. , 1995. 9-137. Brekke, Torkel. â€Å"Contradiction and the Merit of Giving in Indian Religions. † International Review for the History of Religions 45 (1998): 302.Chousalkar, Ashok S. â€Å"Social and Political Implications of Concept of Dharma. † Social and Political Implications of Concepts of Justice & Dharma. Delhi: Mittal Publications, 1986. 55-112. Fitzgerald, James L. â€Å"Journal of the American Academy of Religion. † The Great Epic of India as Religious Rhetoric: A Fresh Look at the â€Å"Mahabharata 51 (1983): 611-30. Fitzgerald, James L. The Mahabharata: 11. the Book of the Women, 12. the Book of Peace, Part One. Vol. 7. Chicago, Ill. ; London: University of Chicago P, 2004. 79-124. Gandhi, Raj S. The Rise of Jainism and its Adoption by the Vaishyas of India : a Case Study in Sanskritisation and Status Mobility. † Social Compass 24 (1977): 247-60. Hiltebeitel, Alf. â€Å"Empire, Invasion, and India's National Epics. † International Journal of Hindu Studies 2 (1998): 387-421. Ilaiah, Kancha. â€Å"Pre-Buddhist Society. † God as Political Philosopher: Buddha's Challenge to Brahminism. Kolkata: Mandira Sen for Samya, 2001. 27-43. Leslie, Julia. â€Å"Identifying â€Å"Valmiki in the Early Sanskrit Text. † Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki. Aldershot, Hants, Engand: Ashgate, 2003. 83.

Food Poisoning Essay

These people have never met each other, they may live on the same street or live on the opposite side of the world, they don’t know what each other look like, but they all have one thing in common: they are all living victims of food poisoning. Some people think that food poisoning was the worst experience of their lives. It is important to recognize that anyone who eats or drinks anything is at risk of having a food borne illness. Let’s concentrate on bacterial food poisoning and how it occurs, the common bacterial culprits and some precautionary steps to avoid becoming infected with bacterial food poisoning. Food poisoning is a general term for illness or health problems that arise due to ingesting contaminated food. The main cause of food poisoning is bacterial toxins. Food poisoning occurs when a bacterium that is in food is prompted to grow and reproduce. Bacteria thrive in warm temperatures and an environment full of moisture. When the conditions are right, bacteria can grow from one to several million in just eight hours. The problem arises when instead of producing millions of bacteria, there is less but more toxic bacteria or there are a huge amount of bacteria that cause the problems inside the body. For example, Jill comes home after school and she only has a few minutes to get ready for work, she is starving but doesn’t have time to make anything. There is a leftover hamburger that her roommates left out. She eats the hamburger and goes on her way to work. A few hours later, she starts to feel some discomfort. She wonders why her stomach hurts and then all of a sudden begins to vomit. This is a perfect example of how food poisoning can happen. The food was already cooked so it was warm, then it is allowed to sit out at room temperature for who knows how long. The bacteria can thrive in this environment. Not only are there many ways that bacteria can infect people, there are also many different kinds of bacteria. There are an abundance of bacteria that cause illnesses and they exist virtually everywhere: on your skin, the soil, even the desk in front of you. Fortunately though, they don’t make you ill unless they are allowed to grow and infect you. Of the thousands of choices of bacteria, I will focus on two of the most prevalent that infect the food you eat: Salmonella and E. coli. According to the Centers for Disease Control, â€Å"Salmonella accounts for approximately 30,000 confirmed food poisoning cases yearly, with 600 deaths nationwide. Salmonella is found among the intestinal tracts of humans and animals; it produces an intestinal infection with symptoms arising 12 to 24 hours after infection. † Infection occurs from contamination of ready to eat foods, insufficient cooking or improper cooking (like with the Hamburger example. ) Usually beef, poultry, milk, and eggs are most often infected with salmonella. If eggs are contaminated, using raw eggs in sauces such as Caesar, or eating raw cookie dough can cause illness. This also includes any mayonnaise based sauces; they are often left in a warm environment and will likely cause illness. However, with more severe strains, bacteria can grow at refrigeration temperatures and so proper heating must be implemented. Another common bacterium to cause serious infection is Eshcerichia coli (E. coli). Symptoms include abdominal cramps and diarrhea and in more severe cases, cause Shiga toxin dysenteria (bloody diarrhea). Food sources such as sausages, unpasteurized juices and milk, dried (non-cooked) salami, ground beef and various vegetables have been known to cause outbreaks. Most E. coli doesn’t harm humans and can be killed by proper heating. Enough about what the bacteria is, let’s see how to prevent all of this from happening. The best way to avoid becoming infected is to prevent it. According to the FDA, (Food and Drug Administration) there are four simple rules to avoid common bacterial infections associated with foods. The first one is to clean. Always clean your hands and surfaces. Don’t switch tasks without washing hands especially when using raw products. Make sure food is cooked to the proper temperature, if step one fails, this will kill off any remaining bacteria. Make sure to separate foods and don’t mix vegetables with meat until after they are properly cooked. Lastly, either eat your food right after cooking, or refrigerate it. Bacteria cannot grow at cold temperatures. While at a restaurant, if your food seems cold, send it back, as it has probably been sitting out for a while. As previously stated, food poisoning is an illness that affects many people in the United States daily. After learning about what food poisoning is and how it effects human bodies, the two main types of bacteria and how to prevent food poisoning, one should be better informed about the dangers of bacteria and the safety measures that are needed to ensure that food is safe for others to consume.

Childhood Memories and Adult Aspirations Essay

Back when I was younger I would spend countless hours playing in the sand box on warm, sunny days. Time was an irrelevant figure of which I knew or cared little about. The biggest problem I had to negotiate was how to construct the biggest and most complex sand castle possible. This type of scenario is something which is much more rare in the adult world. As an adult a person bares a great deal of responsibility and time means much more than in a childs world. Now that I am making the transition from simple childhood into the complex world of adulthood, I am reminded of the many things I will miss about being a kid. Though there are many things about childhood I will miss there are also many things about adult life that I greatly look forward to. One of the activities I will greatly miss about being a kid is going outside during the winter with my little brother and building a snow fortress. We would each take advantage of the snow piles which inevitably formed along the boarders of the driveway after each shoveling job. Therefore, almost immediately after there was a snowfall my brother and I would each build a fort and then proceed, after construction, to have snowball wars. Playing in the snow together brought us hours of fun and enjoyment. It is times like these where life is carefree and the only thing that matters is having fun. We always had a great time together during these moments. Another thing I will miss about being a kid is the recesses we were entitled to in elementary school. Every day class would seem to last an eternity as my friends and I would wait in anticipation of the recess bell. Collectively everyone would get together and decide upon a game which we could play. For example one day we would play soccer and the next day we would play Cops and Robbers. Each activity brought to us many laughs and hours of enjoyment. These periods of time provided us with a break from the day and I believe taught us a great deal about interacting with one another. Recess with all of my friends is something that I miss and will continue to miss for a long time. In the future and into adulthood I am looking forward to in adulthood is being able to have total independence. Independence is something great a person gets when he becomes an adult. Being able to make all of your own  decisions and having the privilege of being able to partake in activities which minors cannot is a great advantage to being an adult. I am looking forward to, for example, being able to go to the sports bar with my friends to watch hockey and football games. It is these privileges which appeal to me and make me exited to become an adult. Lastly being able to travel around the world with friends and family is something I also look forward to in adulthood. I hope to travel to many destinations with friends during and after university. Learning about different cultures, foods, ideas, ways of life, and histories is something I believe will be very enjoyable. Vacations, along with providing lots of relaxation and learning, also give people the chance to meet lots of new and different people. I believe that vacationing with friends provides lots of great experience and therefore posses as a great advantage to becoming an adult. The carefree hours of fun and games experienced as a child will always be something I fondly remember. Currently I accept the fact that those times are, for the most part, gone and am positively anticipating adulthood. The securities of childhood are great accept for the fact that they inevitably take away independence something most people need as they get older. In contrast, however, independence comes with the price of responsibility and therefore must be used wisely. I am greatly looking forward to adult life and will always fondly remember my childhood.

Astronomy5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Astronomy5 - Essay Example It is proved that there is the existence of a planet that resembles Jupiter which has got large mass with asteroids that surround the planet. For the stability of the earth there are tectonics of plates which prove that life is not such easier for the survivor. There is a seed that supports the earth which is produced by the mars like small planet. This also ensures that there is life by providing a good temperature and pressure. The galaxy is also a support in that it has got heavy elements that are elliptical to the system. 3. Human beings and nature have one thing in common since the human beings destroy the environment in which most of the people believe so. Although most of the people do not understand the reason why the environment is destroyed. There are reasons why people destroy the environment where they have an understanding towards the nature of the environment giving out the right reasons. The main reason for the destruction is the using of the resources. The resources are used in different forms just like the trees being used for making papers. In the process the resources are made to be scarce becoming rare species. More of people’s voice tends to protect the environment and stop the people from destroying the natural resources. Human beings are not easy to be related to the environment and understanding the phenomena is not an easy thing. Human beings this days have interest on protecting the environment more so the natural