Trade Unions Essays - Labour Relations, Labor, Trade Union

Trade Unions "A trade union is an independant self-regulating organization of workers created to protect and advance the interests of its members through collective action." Over recent years, it has become fashionable in many quarters to write off Britain's trade unions, to label them as obsolete institutions out of touch with new realities and incapable of change. In today's world of individual employment contracts, performance-related pay schemes, Human Resource and Total Quality Management and all the other ingredients of the so-called ?new' workplace, trade unions are often regarded as anachronistic obstacles preventing success of the market economy. As collective voluntary organizations that represent employees in the workplace, it is argued, trade unions no longer serve a useful purpose. The main priority of this essay is to represent the arguments for and against the relevance of trade unions in todays working society. Furthermore, I shall comment on the future of the trade union movement, based upon the facts and findings that helped construct this text. Trade unions exist because an individual worker has very little power to influence decisions that are made about his or her job. The greatest advantage in joining a trade union is because, by doing so, individuals possess more chance of having a voice and influence in their place of work. By joining forces with other workers, an individual's opinions and beliefs regarding their job will also be voiced by other union members, thus creating a stronger stance against management, if needed. Therefore, the main purpose of a trade union is to protect and improve people's pay and conditions of employment. This objective is usually achieved through negotiation and representation. Negotiation is where union representatives discuss with management, issues which affect people working in an organization. The union finds out the members' views and relays these views to management. Pay, working hours, holidays and changes to working practices are the sort of issues that are negotiated. However, not all views will be taken on board by management; there may be a difference of opinion between them and union members. Negotiation, therefore, is about finding a solution to these differences. This process is also known as collective bargaining. "In many workplaces there is a formal agreement between the union and the company, which states that the union has the right to negotiate with the employer. In these organizations, unions are said to be recognised for collective bargaining purposes." People who work in organizations where unions are recognised are better paid, and are less likely to be made redundant than people who work in organizations where unions are not recognised. Most collective bargaining takes place quietly and agreements are quickly reached by the union and the employer. Occasionally disagreements do occur, and in these cases the union may decide to take industrial action. "If the problem cannot be resolved amicably, the matter may go to an industrial tribunal." The purpose of industrial tribunals is to make sure that employees and employers conform to employment laws. They are made up of people outside the workplace who make a judgement about the case, based on the employee's and employer's point of view. Cases that go to industrial tribunals are usually about pay, unfair dismissal, redundancy or discrimination at work. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) is often used to help find a solution to a dispute, which is acceptable to both sides. "Its duty under the Employment Protection Act is to promote the improvement of industrial relations and in particular to encourage the extension of collective bargaining. Also to develop (and where necessary to reform) collective bargaining machinery. Its main functions are: advisory work, collective conciliation, individual conciliation, arbitration, and extended investigation into industrial relations problems." Individuals can be represented by trade unions when they encounter problems at work. If an employee feels that they are being unfairly treated, he or she can ask the union representative to help sort out the difficulty with the manager or employer. Apart from negotiation and representation, many other benefits can be gained by joining a trade union. One of these benefits is the fact that unions can offer their members legal representation. Usually this is to help people to get financial compensation for work-related injuries, or to assist people in taking their employer to court. Members can also take full advantage of the wealth of information which can be obtained from unions, of which can prove invaluable. The kind of information available covers a range of issues i.e. the length of holiday that an employee is entitled to each year, the amount of pay an employee would be

Limitation of Ratio Analysis Essays

Limitation of Ratio Analysis Essays Limitation of Ratio Analysis Essay Limitation of Ratio Analysis Essay Restriction of Ratio Analysis Learning Objective Explain to the participants on the restriction of ratio analysis. Important Footings Creative accounting. Accounting Policies. As we have alredy discussed, it is of import to compare in order to be able to analyze and to be able to notice and later urge in order that a concern is every bit efficient as possible. Restrictions of Ratios Accounting Information Different Accounting Policies The picks of accounting policies may falsify inter company comparings. Example IAS 16 allows rating of assets to be based on either revalued sum or at depreciated historical cost. The concern may choose non to appreciate its plus because by making so the depreciation charge is traveling to be high and will ensue in lower net income. Creative accounting The concerns apply originative accounting in seeking to demo the better fiscal public presentation or place which can be misdirecting to the users of fiscal accounting. Like the IAS 16 mentioned above, requires that if an plus is revalued and there is a reappraisal shortage, it has to be charged as an disbursal in income statement, but if it consequences in reappraisal excess the excess should be credited to revaluation modesty. So in order to better on its profitableness degree the company may choose in its reappraisal programme to appreciate merely those assets which will ensue in reappraisal excess go forthing those with reappraisal shortages still at depreciated historical cost. Information jobs Ratios are non unequivocal steps Ratios need to be interpreted carefully. They can supply hints to the company s public presentation or fiscal state of affairs. But on their ain, they can non demo whether public presentation is good or bad. Ratios require some quantitative information for an informed analysis to be made. Outdated information in fiscal statement The figures in a set of histories are likely to be at least several months out of day of the month, and so might non give a proper indicant of the company s current fiscal place. Historical costs non suited for determination devising IASB Conceptual model recommends concerns to utilize historical cost of accounting. Where historical cost convention is used, plus ratings in the balance sheet could be misdirecting. Ratios based on this information will non be really utile for determination devising. Fiscal statements certain summarised information Ratios are based on fiscal statements which are sum-ups of the accounting records. Through the summarization some of import information may be left out which could hold been of relevancy to the users of histories. The ratios are based on the summarised twelvemonth terminal information which may non be a true contemplation of the overall twelvemonth s consequences. Interpretation of the ratio It is hard to generalize about whether a peculiar ratio is good or bad . For illustration a high current ratio may bespeak a strong liquidness place, which is good or inordinate hard currency which is bad. Similarly Non current assets turnover ratio may denote either a house that uses its assets expeditiously or one that is under capitalised and can non afford to purchase adequate assets. Comparison of public presentation over clip Monetary value alterations Inflation renders comparings of consequences over clip misleading as fiscal figures will non be within the same degrees of buying power. Changes in consequences over clip may demo as if the endeavor has improved its public presentation and place when in fact after seting for inflationary alterations it will demo the different image. Technology alterations When comparing public presentation over clip, there is demand to see the alterations in engineering. The motion in public presentation should be in line with the alterations in engineering. For ratios to be more meaningful the endeavor should compare its consequences with another of the same degree of engineering as this will be a good footing measuring of efficiency. Changes in Accounting policy Changes in accounting policy may impact the comparing of consequences between different accounting old ages as misleading. The job with this state of affairs is that the managers may be able to pull strings the consequences through the alterations in accounting policy. This would be done to avoid the effects of an old accounting policy or derive the effects of a new one. It is likely to be done in a sensitive period, possibly when the concern s net incomes are low. Changes in Accounting criterion Accounting criterions offers standard ways of recognising, mensurating and showing fiscal minutess. Any alteration in criterions will impact the coverage of an endeavor and its comparing of consequences over a figure of old ages. Impact of seasons on trading As stated above, the fiscal statements are based on twelvemonth terminal consequences which may non be true contemplation of consequences twelvemonth unit of ammunition. Businesss which are affected by seasons can take the best clip to bring forth fiscal statements so as to demo better consequences. For illustration, a baccy turning company will be able to demo good consequences if histories are produced in the merchandising season. This clip the concern will hold good stock list degrees, receivables and bank balances will be at its highest. While as in seting seasons the company will hold a batch of liabilities through the purchase of farm inputs, low hard currency balances and even nil receivables. Inter-firm comparing Different fiscal and concern hazard profile No two companies are the same, even when they are rivals in the same industry or market. Using ratios to compare one company with another could supply misdirecting information. Businesss may be within the same industry but holding different fiscal and concern hazard. One company may be able to obtain bank loans at reduced rates and may demo high geartrain degrees while as another may non be successful in obtaining inexpensive rates and it may demo that it is runing at low pitching degree. To un informed analyst he may experience like company two is better when in fact its low geartrain degree is because it can non be able to procure farther support. Different capital constructions and size Companies may hold different capital constructions and to do comparing of public presentation when 1 is all equity financed and another is a geared company it may non be a good analysis. Impact of Government influence Selective application of authorities inducements to assorted companies may besides falsify intercompany comparing. One company may be given a revenue enhancement vacation while the other within the same line of concern non, comparing the public presentation of these two endeavors may be misdirecting. Window dressing These are techniques applied by an entity in order to demo a strong fiscal place. For illustration, MZ Trucking can borrow on a two twelvemonth footing, K10 Million on 28th December 2003, keeping the returns as hard currency, so pay off the loan in front of clip on 3rd January 2004. This can better the current and speedy ratios and do the 2003 balance sheet expression good. However the betterment was purely window dressing as a hebdomad subsequently the balance sheet is at its old place. Ratio analysis is utile, but analysts should be cognizant of these jobs and do accommodations as necessary. Ratios analysis conducted in a mechanical, unreflective mode is unsafe, but if used intelligently and with good opinion, it can supply utile penetrations into the house s operations.

Aztec Calendar Stone Essay Example for Free

Aztec Calendar Stone Essay Obtaining the knowledge that was passed down to them from earlier Mesoamerican cultures, the Aztecs carved the calendar stone in 1479 (Smith 253). At the time, the Aztecs lived in a very civilized world filled with amazing architecture, an impressively complex government system, and they also employed intricate systems of writing and calendric systems (Taube 7). The Calendar Stone was made by basalt stone. For the Aztecs, everything was pictorial in nature around this era. The calendar stone depicted different pictograms or Codex Magliabechianoand, which was primarily written on religious documents (Aztec-History). Art was centered around religion in this era. So the pictograms of the gods on the calendar stone would correlate with that subject matter. The Aztecs were a highly ritualistic civilization devoted to divination and their Gods. The Aztec calendar stone was created as a divinatory tool which was used for rituals, to forecast the future, and to determine which days were lucky and which days not for the outcome of various actions and events (Smith 254). The calendar had two systems. It had the sacred Tonalpohualli, which was based on the 260-day cycle and the Iuhpohualli, which was a 365-day cycle (Palfrey). Seen by the count, there is a five day difference between these two calendars. The five day differences were thought to be the most unholy, unlucky days of the year (Smith 257). The world was thought to be coming to an end. On the Aztec Calendar, the year was divided into 13-day periods. Each group of 13 days had a different deity ruling over the unit. This is because these units were thought to have a special symbolic influence and the deities were to ensure a positive outcome (Smith 256). In the middle of the Sun Stone, is the sun god Tonatuih. His tongue protruding between his teeth resembles a sacrificial flint knife. In his claw like hands he clutches human hearts (Palfrey). ‘Many scholars have debated on the stone’s meaning and purpose. Some suggest that, fixed horizontally; it served as a sacrificial altar, which would make sense because the stone was dedicated to the sun deity. Most agree though, that it offers a graphic representation of the Mexica cosmos’ (Palfrey). In The Aztecs, Smith sums up what is to be believed the thought of the Aztecs when they carved the calendar stone â€Å"The Aztec calendar stone conveyed the message that the Aztec empire covered the whole earth (territory in all four directions), and that it was founded upon the sacred principles of time, directionality, divine warfare, and the sanction of the gods† (Smith 270). Keeping the Aztec calendar is proof of ancient cultures mathematical and scientific achievements without the aid of modern technology. The study of the sun stone could lead to further advances in mathematics and acts as a road map to our celestial bodies from that era of our history. The Aztecs believe they felt justified in believing in this calendar because of numerous events that changed the course of history for them. Because Aztec Indians were fervent astronomers, they tracked the stars and correlated that between the days to create this sun calendar. Examples of events happening within the timeline of the calendar stone being built are these: Between 1452 and 1454, their capital city Tenochtitlan suffered from flood and famine, the following year on 4/16/1445 (Julian calendar) there was an eclipse of the sun. From 1473-1479, there were 4 more solar eclipses within a five year time frame (Aveni, Calnek). During this time the Aztec nation conquered and sacrificed many of the neighboring towns. Their leaders were wounded or killed, followed by violent earthquakes (Aveni, Calnek). There may have been even more visible eclipses seen by the Aztecs that have not been discovered because they were lost, or destroyed, or even confused with other natural events (Aveni, Calnek). If one were to take into consideration the Aztecs being a society with strong beliefs in deities, the Aztecs constant state of turmoil from wars and death and then couple that with a constant flow of solar eclipses; it wouldn’t take much to consider that the Aztecs might have thought there Gods were planning on ending their world†¦. again. The Aztecs might have carved this massive calendar from stone to give their future generations a chance to do things right, where they did not. Many other artifacts of the same caliber and craftsmanship were excavated around the time the calendar stone was. This was an amazing find, because in the early colonial period of the sixteenth century, pre-Hispanic stone sculptures were considered potent satanic threats to successful conversion (Taube 25). With the Spaniards thinking this, this lead to the destruction of many great pieces of art, manuscripts, and other forms of architecture. Thankfully, with the Aztecs foreseeing this frame of mind being a possibility and other circumstances occurring, many artifacts survived by being hidden in caves, on mountain tops, and even buried under Mexico City (Taube 25). After the artifacts were excavated, rather than being destroyed, they were treated as objects of curiosity and to be studied (Taube 25-26). I account for any differences between reception then and today by knowing people today have so many different religions and beliefs. Whereas the Aztecs were ignorant of the different beliefs we have today. They just had knowledge of what was taught to them by their elders as we do ours. There were not that many differences and very many similarities between American Indians of this era. In the way they did things to their architecture and sculptures. As a matter of fact, the Aztecs calendar was based of the earlier Mayan cultures. The Aztec calendar stone and Mayan calendar share many similarities. Both calendars have ritual days. The Aztec ritual day that was formed is the Tonalpohualli and the Maya ritual day is the Tzolkin. The day names on both calendars are also very similar. Both calendars used 18 months with 20 day counts along with other counts. The Aztec and Maya calendar stone is believed to have both mythological and astronomical significance. Both Native American cultures regarded their calendars as religious. Using the calendars, the Aztec and Maya priests dictated when to grow crops, when the dry and rainy seasons were, when to go to war, etc. (World Mysteries). The main way the Aztec calendar differed was in their more primitive number system and less precise way of recording dates. The year also started with different months. The Maya calendar tracked the movements of the planets and the moon. From this came their reckoning of time, and a calendar that accurately measures the solar year to within minutes. The Aztecs also kept the two different aspects of time, the Tonalpohualli, which was counting the days and the Xiuhpohualli which was counting the years (World Mysteries). The Aztecs believed they were living in the fifth and final stage of life. Because the Maya used a 360 day long cycle, they could tell that there were time periods way longer than the age of our universe (World Mysteries). It helped me figure out what some of the major celestial events where during the time the Aztec Sun Calendar was created. Palfrey, Dale. Mysteries of the Fifth Sun: The Aztec Calendar. n. p. Web. 8 January 1999. http://www. mexconnect. com/articles/199-mysteries-of-the-fifth-sun-the-aztec-calendar This is a website with basic information about the Aztec Sun Calendar. It gave me more insight into what the calendar looked like. Aztec-History. N. p. , nd. Web. 1996-2012 http://www. aztec-history. com This website has an enormous amount of information about Aztec Indians, from clothing to their demise and pretty much everything in between. The website gave me most of the information about the calendar stone I have so far. Smith, Michael. The Aztecs. Blackwell Publishers Inc. , 1996. Print. The book is Aztec Indians and their culture. This book helped me to understand the calendar stone more and why it was just a big part of Aztec life. Taube, Karl. Aztec and Maya Myths. British Museum Press, 1993. Print. This book detailed facts and myths about Aztec and Mayan Indians. This book helped me find what the Aztecs art and idols were see as in the early colonial period. Aztec Calendar Stone. (2018, Oct 26).

See the prompts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

See the prompts - Essay Example 2 women and 3 men show their presence on â€Å"the simple kitchen stage in the play.† The two women are wives of the sheriff and the farmer and they mostly remain on the stage, whereas there men characters â€Å"county attorney, sheriff and a neighboring farmer† arrive and depart from the stage several times, as they constantly discuss and search for proof and intentions behind the murder. The women examine the â€Å"little things† in the kitchen (Judith, p.461) Men ignore issues which women consider important and the women ponder how Mrs. Wright made preparations about completing the quilt. They strike a feminine commonality as they share their own experiences in the light of the evidence now found and with the discovery of â€Å"a battered birdcage and the dead canary,† they are elated about their findings and think that they have stuck at the evidence for the motive of the murder. â€Å"Glaspell conveys the setting in three realms: time (era), regional (geographical), and domain (kitchen). Collectively the three setting elements portray the values, ideals, and attitudes of the characters giving deeper meaning to the play’s outcome. (Judith, p.461) â€Å"The ideals, values and disposition of the characters are linked to setting, physical and time details and the author passes an indictment against the society that demeans women and eulogises men for their so-called superior talents. â€Å"Values, ideals and attitudes of people† in â€Å"Trifles† need more analysis. Trifles saw the light of the day in 1916. In that period, the social conditions of women were poor and political rights for them were non-existent in United States. Women had no voting rights, and they were not appointed as juries. The responsibility of women was restricted within the four walls of the house and it was a male-dominated society. Glaspell has made the intelligent use of gender and values in this play. The women are aware that their o pinion is of no consequence in finding the motive of the murder. So this gender war reaches the setting of this play, women do investigations, and the kitchen in secular terms, is the female-dominated area. Men do investigation in other areas and from other angles, and they do not give any importance to the kitchen. Men consider themselves to be intellectually superior, and the women have accompanied them as mere enclosures. The opinions of women are not counted and they have no say, let alone the final say. These women prove how wrong the gender bias is. They find the evidence to show how their sixth sense works, and why they are equal to men if not more equal, by finding the evidence for the murder. Thus the gender values of the time are challenged by Glaspell. The gender bias and the husband-wife relationship, relevant to the time, have been subtly described by Glaspell through the characterisation of Mr. and Mrs. Wright. He is busy in the farm and she is busy in the unending dom estic chores. She waits for her husband to return from the farm, and even when he comes his arrival did not bring cheer to her as Glaspell puts it, â€Å"no company when he did come in† (Judith,p.463). Her life is lonely and frozen. Setting kitchen as the stage has profound meaning; it is as well refers to the conditions prevailing in the society of the 19th century. The man-woman divide is complete; each section dominates the external and the internal worlds in complying with the attitudinal difference between the genders. So, the author places the two

Greenhouse gas emissions and price elasticity of transport fuel demand Essay

Greenhouse gas emissions and price elasticity of transport fuel demand in Belgium - Essay Example The policy of increase in fuel tax by the Belgian government is taken into consideration in this article. The paper seeks to find the impact of an increase in fuel taxes on the consumption of fuels by estimating the price elasticity of fuel demand. Backdrop of the article The Kyoto protocol, named after the Japanese city, is an international agreement concluded in 1997, aimed at the reduction of the accumulated greenhouse gas emissions of the developed nations and lessening the intensity of global warming1. Since the start of negotiations on Kyoto Protocol, Belgian government adapted an ambitious position in the climate regime in the European as well as in the international level2.Belgium has also participated in the targets of reducing the greenhouse emission and has been successful overall in cutting down the intensity of emission by the importance of nuclear energy. But the intensity of emission is high in some sectors like heavy industry residential heating. But severe instances of emission are found to be generated in a rigorous basis from the road transport sector in Belgium which represents 20% of the all Green house gas emission3. Belgium is a small country in the respect that it is a price taker of the fuel prices in the international market as its demand has little or no effect on the international oil price. So the supply curve faced by Belgium can be thought to be infinitely elastic. Thus a change in the tax structure of the country is directly and fully gets reflected on the domestic prices and the quantity (fuel consumption) is directly related with the price elasticity of demand for fuels. Thus the prime parameter on which the quantity that is the fuel consumption depends in this case can be considered to be price elasticity of demand of fuels and thus we will analyze its impact with the help of theoretical understandings. Elasticity of demand Before moving into the realms of the topic in consideration it is necessary to clearly understand the co ncept of elasticity of demand. The elasticity of demand refers to the degree of responsiveness of quantity demanded of a commodity to a change in any of its determinants viz, price of the commodity, price of other commodities and income of the consumers. But in this paper we are only concerned with the price elasticity of demand4. Price elasticity of demand â€Å"The price elasticity of demand measures the sensitivity of the quantity demanded to changes in the price†5. In other words it is a measure of how much a quantity demanded of a commodity changes when its price changes. Mathematically the price elasticity of demand can be represented as the ratio of the percentage change in the quantity demanded of a commodity to a given change in price. Thus, Where, = Price elasticity of demand, = Change in quantity, =Change in quantity demanded6. Fig.1 In the above diagram the initial price was P0 and the quantity demanded was Q0. When price rose to P1 the quantity demanded falls to Q1 following the law of demand which states that for a normal commodity as price increases the quantity demanded falls as a result. In the diagram, the gap and the gap . Different types of price elasticity of demand The numerical value of price elasticity of demand varies from zero to infinity. In terms of its numerical value (i.e, degree of elasticity), there are generally five types kinds of price elasticity of demand. A. Perfectly Inelastic demand When the quantity demanded of a commodity does not respond to the change in its price, then the elasticity of demand is said to be perfectly inelastic demand. The numerical value of inelastic demand is zero7. Fig. 2 In the above diag

Macbeth: What Is Being Said About Influence And Manipulation :: essays research papers fc

What are we as humans far more afraid of free choice or a forced decision? Manipulation and influence are presented in many ways through out the course of this book. This essay will be more of a comparative analysis between two novels The Tragedy Of Macbeth and Paradise Lost. Though influence may be a large section of our lives manipulation is what gets us to do things. In both stories prophecies were told, but there were told in a malicious way. In the novel Macbeth the main character was told he would some day become king in an ill begotten fashion. It doesn’t seem possible to gain a crown in a bad way. There words are very deceitful. Then there prophecies turn to Macbeth’s friend Banquo, witches say â€Å"lesser than Macbeth, and greater,†(William Shakespeare act I scene III) and â€Å"not so happy, yet much happier†(W.S. act I scene III); then they tell him that he will never be king but that his children will sit upon the throne. After they say these things they simply disappear. This doesn’t show much free choice. When true meanings are hidden in lies and you become confused and no longer do you understand simple truths you have been manipulated. In Paradise Lost manipulations were conceded in a similar fashion. A snake told Eve of a great fruit. He told her he was now as a man is and she would be as a god. The tyrannical serpent woes her with his blasphemous flattery. She reasons that God claimed that eating from this tree meant death, but the serpent ate (or so he claims) and not only does he still live, but can speak and think. He essentially is lying to poor foolish Eve. Being naive she trust the serpent. Eve had never experienced a lie before, so she was influenced by the snake. All living things fear death. Macbeth had Banquo murdered and an attempted murder on Banquo’s son. Macbeth killed from fear of the witches’ prophecy coming true. He never really wanted to kill his best friend and he suffered mentally for it. Macbeth didn’t want to kill King Duncan. â€Å"If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well It were done quickly. If the assassination could trammel up the consequence, and catch, with his surcease, success; that but this blow Might be the be-all and the end-all—here, But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, — we’d jump the life to come.

Campaign Speech

I can say that being an elementary pupil is both fun and challenging. Class discussions and homework, joining the school band or the ukulele ensemble, being in the choir, engaging in sports, giving intermission numbers during school programs, joining in various contests, or even doing the household chores that await us after school—these are the challenges that we face every day, and these are the same challenges that make our elementary days enjoyable and worth remembering. That is why I am so happy that a pupil’s government exists in our school, because through it, we can make our stay in our dear school even better than what we are already experiencing. We now have a voice. And I would be honored to represent you guys and let your needs and desires be heard so that together with the teachers and school administrators, we can achieve that holistic and well-rounded education that all of us aspire to have. I feel that the candidates for this position are all qualified, but my love for our school and for the pupil population is what I can most of all boast about because that is my driving force to run and hopefully serve. I am actually excited of what you and me can do together if I would be elected, and you can expect that I would not put your votes to waste and that I will deliver my best. With that said, I humbly ask for your votes. Don’t forget to put my name, Kyle Antonette C. Delubio, for vice president in the ballot. Thank you and good day! Campaign Speech If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences†¦ if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition. The freedom we enjoy in our government extends also to our ordinary life. There, far from exercising a jealous surveillance over each other, we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbour for doing what he likes†¦ â€Å"[13] These lines form the roots of the famous phrase â€Å"equal justice under law. The liberality of which Pericles spoke also extended to Athens' foreign policy: â€Å"We throw open our city to the world, and never by alien acts exclude foreigners from any opportunity of learning or observing, although the eyes of an enemy may occasionally profit by our liberality†¦ â€Å"[14] Yet Athens' values of equality and openness do not, according to Pericles, hinder Athens' greatness, indeed, they enhance it, â€Å"†¦ advancement in public life falls to reputation s for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit†¦ ur ordinary citizens, though occupied with the pursuits of industry, are still fair judges of public matters†¦ at Athens we live exactly as we please, and yet are just as ready to encounter every legitimate danger. â€Å"[15] In the climax of his praise of Athens, Pericles declares: â€Å"In short, I say that as a city we are the school of Hellas; while I doubt if the world can produce a man, who where he has only himself to depend upon, is equal to so many emergencies, and graced by so happy a versatility as the Athenian. [16] Finally, Pericles links his praise of the city to the dead Athenians for whom he is speaking, â€Å"†¦ for the Athens that I have celebrated is only what the heroism of these and their like have made her†¦ none of these men allowed either wealth with its prospect of future enjoyment to unnerve his spirit, or poverty with its hope of a day of freedom and ric hes to tempt him to shrink from danger.No, holding that vengeance upon their enemies was more to be desired than any personal blessings, and reckoning this to be the most glorious of hazards, they joyfully determined to accept the risk†¦ Thus, choosing to die resisting, rather than to live submitting, they fled only from dishonour†¦ â€Å"[17] The conclusion seems inevitable: â€Å"Therefore, having judged that to be happy means to be free, and to be free means to be brave, do not shy away from the risks of war†. With the linkage of Athens' greatness complete, Pericles moves to addressing his audience.