Canadian Dollar Fluctuations Essays - Foreign Exchange Market

Canadian Dollar Fluctuations The Canadian dollar has declined by over thirty percent versus the United States dollar, since it was at its highest in 1970. The reason for this is mainly the following factors: the Quebec factor, the inflation factor, the productivity factor, the growth in government and taxes factor, and the commodity price factor. These all come together to bring us to what the Canadian dollar is worth compared to the U.S. dollar today. The Quebec factor is partly responsible for the decline. ?It is no coincidence that the Canadian dollar began its descent to 69 cents in November 1976. That was the month in which the Parti Quebecois shocked political observers by winning the Quebec provincial election. It was the first, and still only, party explicitly committed to separation to assume the reins of power in Quebec City. ?While it is generally agreed that there is a risk premium built into the Canadian dollar because of the threat of separation, no one believes that threat is responsible for the whole, or even the bulk, of the currency's decline. The Canadian dollar is much lower because of separation because of what happened during the 1980 Quebec referendum. At the beginning of the campaign, in March 1980, polls showed the Yes side leading. In response, the Canadian dollar very quickly dropped from 87 cents to 83 cents. But in May, when the No side won a resounding 60-40 per cent victory over the separatists, the Canadian dollar leaped back up. It was at 87 cents again in June. The currency's movement in that period suggests a minimum 4 cent risk premium because of separation. This is roughly consistent with what happened in the subsequent October 1995 referendum. On the night of the referendum, the television networks were showing the Yes side with a substantial lead. The Canadian dollar immediately dropped a cent. Then, however, the votes from Montreal were counted and the momentum began to swing strongly towards the No side. Over the next several days, the Canadian leaped 3 cents to 75 cents. Inflation means that the same amount of money purchases fewer goods and services than before. It follows that if, in a given time frame, currency A undergoes more inflation than currency B, then A will end up purchasing relatively less goods than B. Obviously, this means currency A is going to be less valuable than before. People will be more likely to sell the currency or to buy less of it in favor of currency B. The result is that currency A declines relative to currency B. This is an application of the Purchasing Power Parity Theorom, which holds that exchange rates, in the long run, reflect relative national inflation performances. ?While Canada's inflation rate has been lower than the U.S. rate of late, this has not been the case over the last twenty five years. The United States has done better than Canada in containing inflation during that twenty five year period. Part of the Canadian dollar's decline, according to the Royal Bank's John McCallum, can be attributed to this. During the summer of 1998, when the Canadian dollar was hitting all time lows, the Globe and Mail's editorial page opined that Canada's lagging productivity is behind the currency's doldrums. Productivity refers to the returns generated from employing a unit of capital or labour. Rising productivity means firms are getting more value from each unit of capital and labour in which they invest. For example, you hire someone to mow you lawn for the summer at $10 an hour. At the beginning of the summer, this individual takes one and a half hours to mow your lawn. So you pay him $15. By the end of the summer, he is mowing the lawn in an hour. Now you only have to pay him $10. Notice that the productivity of the labour you have employed has increased: you are getting more grass cut per hour. Notice, too, that your costs have come down as a result. That is what rising productivity does: it allows us to produce goods and services at a lower cost. How does that affect the currency? For an exporting country like Canada, productivity's main impact is in international competitiveness. Higher productivity, involves lower costs, means that a country's exports become more competitive than the goods produced by other countries. That translates into higher exports, which is supportive of the currency. The opposite

The Life and Times of Neil DeGrasse Tyson

The Life and Times of Neil DeGrasse Tyson Have you heard or seen of  Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson?   If youre a space and astronomy fan, you almost certainly have run across his work. Dr. Tyson is   the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. He is best-known as the host of COSMOS: A Space-Time Odyssey, a 21st-century continuation of Carl Sagans hit science series   COSMOS from the 1980s. Hes also the host and executive producer of StarTalk Radio, a streaming program available online and through such venues as iTunes and Google.   The Life and Times of Neil DeGrasse Tyson Born and raised in New York City, Dr. Tyson realized he wanted to study space science when he was young and had a look through a pair of binoculars at the Moon. At the age of 9, he visited the Hayden Planetarium. There he had his first good look at how the starry sky looked. However, as he has often said when he was growing up, being smart is not on the list of things that gets you respect. He recalled that at that time, African-American boys were expected to be athletes, not scholars. That didnt stop the young Tyson from exploring his dreams of the stars. At 13, he attended summer astronomy camp in the Mojave Desert. There, he could see millions of stars in the clear desert sky. He attended the Bronx High School of Science  and went on to earn a BA in Physics from Harvard. He was a student-athlete at Harvard, rowing on the crew team and was part of the wrestling team. After earning a Masters degree from the University of Texas at Austin, he went home to New York to do his doctoral work at Columbia. He eventually earned his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Columbia University. As a doctoral student, Tyson wrote his dissertation on the Galactic Bulge. Thats the central region of our galaxy. It contains many older stars as well as a black hole and clouds of gas and dust. He worked as an astrophysicist and research scientist at Princeton University for a time and as a columnist for StarDate magazine. In 1996, Dr. Tyson became the first occupant of the Frederick P. Rose Directorship of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City (the youngest director in the long history of the planetarium). He worked as the project scientist for the planetariums renovation that began in 1997 and founded the department of astrophysics at the museum.   The Pluto Controversy In 2006, Dr. Tyson made news (along with the International Astronomical Union) when  Plutos planetary status was changed to dwarf planet. He has taken an active role in the public debate about the issue, often disagreeing with established planetary scientists about the nomenclature, while agreeing that Pluto is an interesting and unique world in the solar system.    Neil DeGrasse Tysons Astronomy Writing Career Dr. Tyson published the first of a number of books on astronomy and astrophysics in 1988. His research interests include star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structure of our Milky Way. To conduct his research, he has used telescopes all over the world, as well as the Hubble Space Telescope. Over the years, he has written a number of research papers on these topics.   Dr. Tyson is heavily involved in writing about science for public consumption. He has worked on such books as One Universe: At Home in the Cosmos  (coauthored with Charles Liu and Robert Irion) and a very popular-level book called Just Visiting This Planet. He also wrote Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier, and as well as Death by Black Hole, among other popular books. Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson is married with two children and resides in New York City. His contributions to the public appreciation of the cosmos were recognized by the International Astronomical Union in their official naming of asteroid 13123 Tyson.   Edited by Carolyn Collins Petersen

In Land Barge Transportation in Europe and China Research Paper

In Land Barge Transportation in Europe and China - Research Paper Example Europe on the other hand lies thousands of miles away from china and is an entire continent with tens of developed countries. This is arguably the only continent in the world consisting of only developed country. The region uses a single currency a factor that allows free movement of goods and labor across the countries in the continent. The region too has an effective transportation infrastructure, which includes state of the arts roads and efficient rail network coverage of the entire region. Apart from these, the region enjoys a wide access to major water world water bodies and a number of inland lakes all of which further necessitate the use of the inland barge as a means of transportation. With such backgrounds, the regions undeniably use inland barge as a means of transporting both goods and labor in and out of the regions. The history if the means of transport dates back to the seventeenth century when the regions used mundane technologies to power the machines. The efficiency the regions enjoyed from the use of the transportation system led to the development of the regions and the modern technology continues to perfect the machines to increase their reliability making them of utmost relevant to the modern society and the modern day development process. The topic is therefore researchable since it is evident that the mode of transport contributed to the development of the region and it is speculated that the two regions use different technologies to power the machines and employ the machines in different uses. The claim that inland barge is a more efficient means of transporting goods than rail and roads is also worth investigating since despite the claims, the two regions still have extensive road and rail coverage and use these to transport goods across the regions. Despite these, the geographical context of the two regions and the distance separating the two regions pose a great challenge in conducting the research (Kuada, 2012). The scope of the res earch is too wide to collect the data within the set period of two months. The research therefore requires a large budget if the researcher is to employ some of the involving means of data collection. However, to remedy the challenges posed by these, the research assumes both a qualitative and quantitative research structure. Fusing the two in most researches normally widens the scope of the research but the reach in this context is wide already and therefore complex. The qualitative aspect of the research vies the features of the means of transportation and the uniqueness of its employment in the different regions. Finding data for this type of research is not difficult since it all relies on the previous works done by other scholars and researchers (Rajendra, 2011). This therefore makes this aspect of the research a content analysis of the structures of the mode of transportation and the different features it possesses. The quantitative aspect of the research relies on the measura ble components of the transportation system in the two regions. This type of research makes comparison easier to conduct since the researcher will require only a workable variable or a number of workable variables that apply to both regions and compare

Markting plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Markting plan - Assignment Example The plan will examine the external environment in which the organization is operating. After analyzing the environmental issues, internal strengths and external opportunities of the organization will be indentified depending on which the organization will be able to overcome its intrinsic weaknesses and underlying environmental threats. Marketing objectives will be formulated for the newly established business and accordingly marketing strategies will be selected so that the strategies can drive the organization towards achieving the pre-determined objectives. Once the strategies are formulated aligning with the organizational objectives, close supervision and monitoring should be exercised in order to ensure successful execution of the strategies incorporated. In this process, time to time review of the implementation process should also be done for assessing to what extend the policies are supporting the organization to meet its fundamental business objectives. Such evaluation will help the retailer to control those factors that are suspected to be reason behind the retail business to deviate from its elementary business goals. A comprehensive marketing plan is important in any industry before commencement of a new business or expanding in the existing industry segment or business line. Understanding the enormous growth potential in the retail industry, a small retailer is planning for business expansion in this industry segment (Blackwell 275). The retailer, though small in size at present, is expecting to establish a high end superstore with minimum human interaction, supported by superior technologies such as interactive interface, automatic locating of products, self-serve scanning and automatic checkout. Therefore, he is aware of the importance of preparing business plan well in advance. The paper will outline a blueprint of marketing plan for the retail superstore taking into account each

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

Subjectivity statement - Essay Example The basis of my opinion is that the food and beverage industry considers children and adolescents as key market force (Story & French, 2004). This assertion is supported by the current intensified and specialized food advertising efforts and policies that target adolescents, chiefly girls. Since I was a child, I have had the opportunity to be in the midst of girls and critically studied their attitude to advertisements, of which I have come to realize that adolescent girls are more easily influenced by food advertisements. It is for this reason, among others, that I am interested in unearthing the relations between food advertisement and adolescent girls’ nutritional status and eating behaviors. Besides the apparent global interest in this subject, I would wish to explore it further for its personal relations and effects on my life and my family’s. For instance, I have three lovely little kids, one daughter and two sons, whose age range from 5 to 11 years. Notably, all of them fall in the school-going age, their school-going age making food advertisement and teenage girls’ eating habit issues my concern. However, I appreciate that school-going children need a lot of energy and generally love food a lot due to their active lives. On a more personal level, as a kid, I was rather chubby and I really had a rough time growing up. Additionally, the fact that my family came from a foreign and we settled in a strange land made the situation worse for me as. As I was introduced and got accustomed to the American way of living and eating, characterized by fast food and junk food, I gained more weight. Hence, since my childhood, I have been concerned with health and well-being. More specifically, I am currently concerned about the physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of my family and my students. As a teacher, I must ensure that my students, who are youth, understand both the positive and negative implications of

Mental Development of Children with Down Syndrome

Mental Development of Children with Down Syndrome Down Syndrome Research Paper Brandon D. Coronado Learning and Cognition All psychology students, at some point during their studies, learn about the topic of mental development in children. However, students sometimes fail to learn how those with disabilities differ when it comes to mental development. The typical child’s development differ dramatically when compared to children with a development disability. One of a large number of developments disabilities is Down syndrome, where an individual learns and functions on a different level than others. Children with this developmental disability primarily differ in their cognitive development, socialization, education and attachment. Pamela May, author of Child Development in Practice: Responsive Teaching and Learning from Birth to Five defines cognitive development as â€Å"The mental process of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning and judgment† (2011, 16). Jean Piaget, a recognized psychologist, expresses that development split among four phases; sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. As stated by Cicchetti and Beeghly (1990), adolescents with and those without disabilities experience the same stages. Nevertheless, adolescents with developmental disabilities are believed to proceed through these various phases gradually compared to other adolescents with no developmental disabilities (Hill McCune-Nicolich 1981). Within a study concluded by Hill and McCune-Nicolich’s, children with Down syndrome developed at a much slower rate within the preoperational phase when compared to children without Down syndrome. The group comprised of adolescents with Down syndrome generating outcomes consisting of a 50% failure in development throughout the preoperational stage measure against the group of children without the disability. This study parallels Cicchetti and Beeghly theory, observing slight to no differentiation throughout the sensorimotor stage however observed a delayed developmental pace regarding children with Down syndrome throughout the preoperational stage. What precisely triggers this obstruction in adolescents with Down syndrome? These adolescents are affected by a variation in their genotype. These persons possess an additional chromosome called trisomy-21, which influences their development. Down syndrome influences adolescents in every phase of development. Sanz, Menà ©ndez Rosique state, â€Å"This chromosomal disorder affects the development of physical structures, motor functioning, cognitive abilities and communicative skills in varying degrees† (2011, 488). Language functioning seemed to be difficult during the preoperational phase for adolescent’s affected by Down syndrome. Cicchetti and Beeghly describe that despite the fact that this struggle is associated with the disorder, Down syndrome adolescents tend to be placed in inadequate linguistic surroundings. Parents of affected adolescents stereotypically lower their expectancies of language abilities upon discovering their adolescent’s disorder. Cicchetti and Beeghly refer to a 1985 study by Mervis and Cardoso-Martins where mothers confessed that they were fearful their children influenced by Down syndrome would never learn to talk. Nevertheless, Leifer and Lewis conducted a study in 1984 exploring Down syndrome adolescents’ verbal skills in depth. The researchers recognized various characteristics of language which had not been exclusively considered in earlier studies. Researchers chose to study whether or not adolescents with Down syndrome will continue to struggle with conversational language versus grammatical/relational language. The researchers discovered that adolescents affected by Down syndrome were essentially superior at holding a conversation compared to adolescents without a disability. In regards to the information provide, there is confirmation proposing Down Syndrome adolescents possess superior social language skills compared to adolescents without the disability. Sanz, Menà ©ndez Rosique conducted a study in which, adolescents affected by Down syndrome were subjected to a verbal strengthening group or a physical strengthening group. Each type of constructive reinforcement impacted the adolescents. The adolescents produced more encouraging responses to verbal reinforcement versus the physical reinforcement. Why the adolescents favored verbal reinforcement is not entirely evident, nevertheless a trend was obvious. The adolescents flourished when presented with social praise for their accomplishments. However this is also true for unaffected adolescents as well, it is crucial for adolescent affected by Down syndrome. Their disorder triggers reservation in their actions as to whether what they are doing right or wrong on a steady basis. As a result, these adolescents function at a higher level when they are socialized through affirmative support. Conversely, in a study by Drash, Raver, Murrin Tudor (1989), adolescents affected by Down syndrome did not successfully socialize when presented constructive support alone. They combined visual examination into the constructive support. When measure against affirmative strengthening alone, the addition of visual examination generated more social interaction from the children. It becomes evident that adolescents affected by Down syndrome need much more stimulus than adolescents not affected in regards to socialization. Their cognitive delay limits them from entirely comprehending reinforcement alone. Visual encouragement permits their minds to adapt to a new idea and absorb it. This cultivates the question of whether or not special education classrooms are necessary for children with Down syndrome. Some suppose that normal education surroundings afford sufficient stimulus to adolescents affected with the disorder. On the other hand, in most cases the typical education surroundings are not adequate. There are specialists educating adolescents with cognitive delays such as those with Down syndrome. Special Education is a stand-alone discipline of study and cannot be anticipated from all that enter this particular teaching field. Special Education demands diverse methods and compassions compared to that of normal teachers. If an adolescent affected by Down syndrome were to be placed into the average classroom, the presence of an aid would be necessary. This poses funding issues as well as the adolescent’s parental trust. It is much more feasible to place these adolescents in special educational environments which possess several aids in addition to a se t pace of learning for each individual (Fidler Nadel, 2007). Fidler Nadel furthermore describe a â€Å"culture† in special needs classrooms where adolescents affected by Down syndrome can succeed. Countless adolescents requiring special needs flourish when surrounded by others who also differ from adolescents without disabilities. Nevertheless, adolescent’s parents frequently worry about the equal treatment and lack of socialization among unaffected children. This all differs among particular adolescents as well as the school they attend. Countless schools fashion an atmosphere in which adolescents requiring special needs possess the ability to interact with the other students at lunch, recess, homeroom, etc. Contrary to what Fidler Nadel explain, a study by Sobelman-Rosenthal, Biton, Klein (2009) examined children with Down syndrome in regular educational settings and compared to special education settings. Parents were questioned as to the setting they preferred for their child. Parents were divided into three groups: those who favored life-skills, those who favored academic success and those who favored social success. Generally, parents seemed to prefer regular educational setting. The parents perceived substantial developmental advances when their child was placed in a regular school environment. It is evident researchers have achieved contradictory outcomes. This is presumably due to the fact that every case differ from one another. Certain adolescents require additional help compared to others in addition certain special education programs are better than others. The answer is uncertain in regards to which educational settings more beneficial for an adolescent affected by Down syndrome since each setting possess there advantages and drawbacks. The safest thing for a parent to do is research individual surroundings in their school district and formulate an educated assessment from there (Fidler Nadel). The connection an adolescent affected by Down syndrome possesses regarding his or her mother also effects their mental development. â€Å"Communication between mother and infant occurs by many means: it employs facial expressions, gazing, whole body movements, gestures, speech, writing, and even crying â€Å"(Fiamenghi, Vedovato, Meirelles, Shimoda, 2010, 192). Adolescents require the ability to understand this interaction and in adolescents affected by Down syndrome it becomes difficult to understand if they comprehend the communication and its’ effects. Adolescents affected by Down syndrome occasionally require the development of a connection in diverse ways compared to unaffected children. The manner in which they do this is vital since it may possibly signify particular needs the child must have addressed that may not be exposed through clinical assessment. Nevertheless, since parents do not normally comprehend the syndrome entirely in earlier stages in their child’s life, they tend to be opposed in nearly all they do with their child. Parents regularly tend be afraid they are not caring for their child appropriately as a result become reluctant to do everything they would for an adolescent not affected by Down syndrome (Fiamenghi et al.) A study conducted in 2010 regarding collaborative behaviors in adolescents affected by Down syndrome with their mothers, three groups of behavior were recognized: Interaction, Invitation and Imitation. The outcomes specified that a sizeable amount of these behaviors benefited however quality is what made the significant differences in the adolescent’s emotional attachment. Down syndrome adolescents depend on on these behaviors for the reason that it aids them mentally develop. It is considerably simpler for them to mimic somebody they trust for example their mother or father, in contrast to merely learning these behaviors as they grow. The greater quality the imitation is in addition to interaction obtained throughout their earlier ages, the greater articulated constructive behavior as they grow up. The reasoning behind this is due to their cognitive delay becomes more prevalent with age. They have a scarcity of a particular characteristic of cognition that other adolescents p ossess, consequently these interactions become significant in demonstrating to them how to behave (Fiamenghi et al.) A study conducted in 1999 investigated bonding behaviors in 53 children aged 14-30 months. The children were exposed to a â€Å"Strange Situation† where an unfamiliar person would come into the room and the parent would leave. Their response to the parent leaving was then observed. They established that although attachment is exceptionally significant with Down syndrome children, it is not necessary to grant considerably more consideration than in children not affected by Down syndrome. The researchers discovered that parents should be mindful of however no additional action can counteract the child from theoretically suffering from attachment issues. Parents should approach attachment the exact same way as if their child was not effected by Down syndrome (Atkinson, Chisholm, Scott, Goldberg, Vaughn, Blackwell, Tam). Atkinson et al. findings vary marginally from Fiamenghi et al. nonetheless they equally possess similarities as well. Both research groups distinguish the significance of attachment in adolescents affected by Down syndrome. It appears Atkinson et al. would approve of Fiamenghi et al. findings that quality is the predicting factor, not quantity. Since each study exhibited the interactional significance between the parent and adolescents affected by Down syndrome, additional research on the topic possess the probability of making momentous advances in both psychology and special education. Although there are numerous means where adolescents affected by Down syndrome and adolescents without any developmental ailments can relate, there are still several variances in their mental development in which we must account for. The main variances are comprised of cognition, socialization, education and attachment. Cognition deals with their development through the stages of learning and comprehension. Socialization is a strength many children with Down syndrome possess. Their ability to dive in to any conversation is remarkable. Education is and most likely will continue to be an issue for all families with children affected by developmental disabilities. Each program differs so greatly that there simply cannot be one assumption made. Finally, the way in which they develop an attachment with their mothers can be critical but not any more so than children not inflicted by a disability. Down syndrome can present many obstacles for the child as well as the family, but there is no r eason they cannot live a life as fulfilling and exciting as the rest of us. References Atkinson, L., Chisholm, V. C., Scott, B., Goldberg, S., Vaughn, B. E., Blackwell, J., Tam, F. (1999). Maternal sensitivity, child functional level, and attachment in Down syndrome. Monographs Of The Society For Research In Child Development, 64(3), 45-66. doi:10.1111/1540-5834.00033 Cicchetti, D., Beeghly, M. (1990). Children with Down syndrome: A developmental  perspective. New York, NY US: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511581786 Drash, P. W., Raver, S. A., Murrin, M. R., Tudor, R. M. (1989). Three procedures for  increasing vocal response to therapist prompt in infants and children with Down syndrome. American Journal On Mental Retardation, 94(1), 64-73. Fiamenghi, G. A., Vedovato, A. G., Meirelles, M. C., Shimoda, M. E. (2010). Mothers  interaction with their disabled infants: Two case studies. Journal Of Reproductive And Infant Psychology, 28(2), 191-199. doi:10.1080/02646830903295042 Fidler, D. J., Nadel, L. (2007). Education and children with Down syndrome:  Neuroscience, development, and intervention. Mental Retardation And Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 13(3), 262-271. doi:10.1002/mrdd.20166 Hill, P. M., McCune-Nicolich, L. (1981). Pretend play and patterns of cognition in  Downs syndrome children. Child Development, 52(2), 611-617. doi:10.2307/1129181 Leifer, J. S., Lewis, M. (1984). Acquisition of conversational response skills by  young Down syndrome and nonretarded young children. American Journal Of Mental Deficiency, 88(6), 610-618. May, P. (2011). Child development in practice: Responsive teaching and learning  from birth to five. New York: Routledge. Mervis, C. B., Cardoso-Martins, C. (1984). Transition from sensorimotor Stage 5 to  Stage 6 by Down syndrome children: A response to Gibson. American Journal Of Mental Deficiency, 89(1), 99-102. Sanz, T., Menà ©ndez, J., Rosique, T. (2011). Study of different social rewards used in  Downs syndrome childrens early stimulation. Early Child Development And Care, 181(4), 487-492. doi:10.1080/03004430903507159 Sobelman-Rosenthal, V., Biton, E., Klein, P. S. (2009). Parental satisfaction with  special education versus mainstream education for children with Down Syndrome. Megamot, 46(3), 419-438.

To Be or Not to Be - Hamlets Answer Essay example -- Shakespeare Haml

To Be or Not to Be - Hamlet's Answer As Hamlet approaches a waiting Ophelia, he begins one of the most famous soliloquies in all of literature with the immortal line: 'To be or not to be?that is the question' (III. i. 64). Yet this obvious reference to suicide only scratches the surface of the heart-rendering conflict felt by the young Dane. Hamlet's impetuous desire to take his own life is only an impassioned reaction to the heavy burden of revenge that his father's murder has placed upon him. His greater struggle, and the focus of Hamlet itself, involves the questioning of the purpose and meaning of a life well-lived. The character of Hamlet pursues this knowledge through his manipulation of reality, his search for the courage necessary to fulfill his quest, and his eventual acceptance of his true responsibility. Soon after the death of his father, Hamlet discovers the deceptive nature of appearances. When the queen questions why he is so distracted by the appearance of those mourning, he replies by describing the facades of others: These indeed ?seem,? For they are actions that a man might play; But I have that within which passes show, These but the trappings and the suits of woe. (I. ii. 86-89) Hamlet knows that his grief is genuine, and he is angered by what he believes are the superficial responses of others. Yet that anger soon turns to introspection as he considers the power of such role-playing. As he banters with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as they feebly attempt to discover the source of his bizarre behavior, Hamlet tells them that ?there is / nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it / so? (II. ii. 268-270). He has quickly learned that appearances can be altered and actions feigned... ...what is?t to leave betimes? Let be. (V. ii. 234-238) In his search to better understand his own purpose in life, Hamlet has inadvertently answered the question he so profoundly posed earlier in the play. Through observing the nature of reality and man?s ability to shape it, he learned more about the nature of truth. In discovering an inner sense of courage upon which he could draw, he found the strength he needed to follow his convictions. And finally, by accepting the reality of man?s temporal existence, he came to believe that integrity of thought and action is what gives life its meaning. ?To be or not to be (III. i. 64). Shakespeare?s Hamlet offers a resounding answer to this enigma: if life is lived righteously and with conviction of purpose, then ?Let be? (V. ii. 238). WORKS CITED Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Washington Square, 1992.