Tax Return Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Tax Return Worksheet Essay 1. Even though Gloria is single, her filing status is Head of Household. Why is Gloria able to file as head of household? Gloria is able to file head of house hold in this case because, she has a qualifying dependent. A qualifying dependent would be a closely related relative dependent that you have provided for maintaining a home for yourself and your dependent or dependents. 2. How does Gloria benefit from filing as head of household, rather than single? She benefits more from filing head of household because she will get better tax benefits like higher standard deductions and lower tax rates. 3. What is Gloria’s adjusted gross income? In which line in the tax form did you find her total income? Line-21 Adjusted gross income 22,275. 4. Even though Gloria is filing the short form (1040A), she is still able to get two credits. What are the two credits Gloria receives? List the line you found the answers on as well. 1,000 Additional child Tax credit line 41, and 728 for child care tax credit lines 29-33. 5. How much of a refund is Gloria going to receive? 2,500 6. What are the four steps listed in the filing checklist? Step 1: Sign and date the return. Step 2: Assemble the return. Step 3: Mail the return Step: Keep a copy. 7. On the Wage and Tax statement, list how much Gloria paid in her Federal Tax Withholding? 1,500 8. How much did she pay in Social Security and Medicare? 1,721 in total. 9. If she had owed money but was not able to pay it, what options would she have? She can apply for additional time to pay through an online application where she might get granted extra time to pay based on her situation. Also she can setup an installment agreement; she could do this by applying on a Web-based Online Payment Agreement application on IRS.gov. There she might be allowed as a taxpayer who owes $25,000 or less in combined tax, penalties and interest to self-qualify, apply for, and receive immediate notification of approval of this option. She can also request an installment agreement that under circumstances may allow her to create a convenient way to establish an installment agreement this takes away the need for personal interaction with IRS and reduces paper processing. She can also do this by completing and submitting a Form 9465 in writing, or call 1-800-829-1040 to make your request. Balances over $25,000, are due to complete a financial statement to determine the monthly payment amount for an installment plan. 10. If you have questions about filing your tax return, where would you go for help? Did any of Gloria’s tax conditions teach you about your own situation? IRS service center, and Gloria’s situation is different than mine but I did learn that there is a child care credit available, which I will take advantage next year when filing my taxes.

Electoral Processes And Governance In The Philippines Politics Essay

Electoral Processes And Governance In The Philippines Politics Essay The first election in the Philippines was held in May 1898 under American rule. 112 years later, there are many parts of the country where elections are characterized with private armies, violence and massive cheating. The failure of the electoral system to conduct fair and clean elections and the massive electoral fraud hinder the purpose of elections to recruit honest and accountable politicians and to integrate society. Also, the legitimacy of the elected government is weak.   Ã‚  Politicians therefore need to garner support from patrons and oligarchs to finance electoral campaigns and to organize voter support. Once elected, they return by giving access to government resources and appointing key allies in the bureaucracy. Among citizens, a widespread view that elected governments coming to power from corrupt electoral procedures does not truly represent their interests. As a result, it is difficult to push for reforms because of weaker government and institutions and stronger v ested interests. History The Philippines was under Spanish rule for more than 300 years. Under this era, the country was ruled by friars and appointed Spanish officials. In 1898, the Philippines declared independence and established the first republic in Asia. In the same year, the Treaty of Paris was signed where control of the Philippines was transferred from Spain to the United States. The Americans introduced democracy, elections and democratic institutions. As a result, the features of the Philippine constitution, legislation, political parties and elections are modeled after the US. Under the US colonial period, Philippine politics was characterized between the interaction of US colonial officers and Filipino politicians. The Americans indirectly control the country by manipulating Filipino politicians to enact American policies. As a result, electoral campaigns did not provide an avenue for public participation. Rather, it was reflective of negotiations between national politicians and provincial elites (Teehankee, 2002). The Philippine commonwealth was established in the 1935 constitution. The constitution provided a presidential form of government with a unicameral National assembly. An amendment in 1940 changed it to a bicameral legislative assembly made of the House of Representatives (lower house) and Senate (upper house). When US colonial rule ended, they left a weak central government and power was fragmented among the provinces with varying degrees. Wealth and power through political connections had overshadowed productivity and programs for national development. Electoral results were not competitive because of the ability of landed elites to control electoral outcomes. Elections for local positions like the lower house allowed landed elites to merge and strengthen their power as showed by their ability to prevent the passage of land reforms (Teehankee, 2002). Elections during the Marcos regime Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972. Elections were suspended in the first 6 years and a new constitution was also established. Marcos changed the Philippine Congress with an Interim National Assembly. An Interim National Legislature (Interim Batasang Pambasa or IBP) was enacted instead because of amendments to the 1971 constitution. An election was held in 1978 to fill positions for the IBP. Marcos dominated the elections with his New Society Movement party (KBL) because opposing groups created parties that focused on regions rather than the national legislature. The Marcos regime managed to give legitimacy to its regime through the conduct of elections. However, there was massive electoral fraud and manipulation of institutions. For example, Marcos allowed block voting system wherein a vote for the party translates to vote for the whole electoral slate. This was a tremendous advantage for the KBL because they had the resources to finance a nationwide electoral campaign. Also, it was easier to tamper ballots and commit fraud. During Marcos term, he tried to centralize power on himself and break the patronage system. He appointed officials not based on merit or patronage but on loyalty to him. He also siphoned the states resources and distributed it to himself and to his cronies. For his critics, he used violence and force. Media companies were closed or under heavy government control. One of his major critics, Benigno Aquino Jr., was assassinated in August 1983. In May 1985, Marcos announced Snap elections to prove or gain political legitimacy. The former elites managed to organize the opposition under Aquinos widow, Corazon Aquino who came from a landed family. The Commission on Elections announced Marcos as the winner in spite of massive cheating. On the other hand, the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) an election watchdog announced Corazon Aquino as the president based on their quick count. Marcos dictatorship ended in 1986 through the People Power Revolution. In addition to the military and political figures, the Church was involved in calling and mobilizing people to participate. Marcos and his family eventually fled to Hawaii and Corazon Aquino was sworn as the 11th President of the Philippines. Elections Post-Marcos During Aquinos term, a new constitution was enacted to return to a bicameral legislature and to limit the power of the presidency. For example, a president cannot run for presidency again. Media and press were free and democratic institutions were restored [Bello, 1988]. However, landed elites returned to power after the fall of Marcos and dominated the lower house. The pre-Marcos patronage system was back again. As a result, the Aquino administration failed to effectively conduct Agrarian reform. Aquino was succeeded by Fidel Ramos, a military general in 1992. Ramos attempted to push for political reforms. After all, he had the strong support of the military. However, it was hard to push for reforms because of a weak party system and stronger congress (Hutchcroft and Rocamora, 2003). The Congress was filled with representatives from the same political families. Only 54 representatives had no close relative in politics compared to 145 belonging to political families. At least 64 were children of political figures, 23 had spouses and 46 had siblings active in politics. At the end of Ramos term, a plan to shift to parliamentary system was exposed by the media. These changes would have allowed Ramos to extend his term after 1998. It was heavily opposed by the Catholic Church and former President Aquino for fear that the term extension would be used to serve political agendas (Rocamora, 1988). Estradas Rise and Fall Estrada was sworn into office in 1998 amidst the Asian Financial Crisis. Unlike previous presidents, Estrada was a movie actor so he was popular among the masses who were tired of traditional politicians. His electoral campaign focused on the poor and the aversion of the masses against typical politicians provided victory to Estrada rather than depending on local elites for voter support. However, Estradas promised populist policies and anti-poverty programs never took place (Fabella, 2007). Instead, the benefits were given to Estradas families and cronies. The fall of Estrada started with his involvement in Jueteng, an illegal gambling game popular among the poor. To sustain operation, protection money is paid among protectors who are usually in the local government or in the police. Estrada tried to legalize Jueteng through the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, a government agency that oversees legal gambling activities. If legalized, the protection money will be central ized to the government and franchise holders. Local operators and receivers of Jueteng money will be out of the picture. Luis Chavit Singson, a governor and rumored Jueteng operator could not accept such outcome because the franchise for his area was not given to him. Chavit exposed Estradas involvement to Jueteng which led to an impeachment case. Public uproar started when the senate which was dominated by Estradas allies refused to open the second envelope which was thought to contain strong evidence against Estrada. People went to the streets again and People Power II occurred which led to the downfall of Estrada.   Arroyo Administration Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) took over the presidency after Estradas downfall. While finishing Estradas term, she experienced the Oakwood Mutiny and Jose Pidal scandal where a bank account containing US$8 million was allegedly owned by her husband. The money was supposedly a payment to then senator Arroyo to prevent her from running for presidency in the 1998 elections. Ignacio Iggy Arroyo, the brother of Arroyos husband announced his ownership of the controversial bank account. He faced tax evasion charges which were eventually ruled out due to legal technicalities. The scandal died and was later elected as congressman. After finishing Estradas term, Arroyo ran for presidency in spite of her prior announcement that she would not. She won by a slow margin of 1 million votes against Fernando Poe Jr., a movie actor and presidential candidate of the opposition. Arroyo was accused of electoral fraud and Poe filed an electoral protest. The congress mooted the electoral protest because of Poes death. However, it heavily weakened Arroyos legitimacy because she used state resources to fund her electoral campaign. Another strong attack against Arroyos presidency came from leaked tapes of her talking to Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcilliano which the media named as Hello Garciscandal. The leaked tape featured a womans voice similar to Arroyo asking for one million votes and an assurance of victory. In the beginning, the Malacanang palace denied the issue but was later retracted. Arroyo admitted and apologized in front of national television. She insisted that there was no cheating and she just wanted to protect her votes. Arroyo successfully finished her term in 2010 but not without challenges and controversies. She ran for lower congress in 2010 and won. Discussion The weakness of the electoral process could bring problems of legitimacy and weak position of the central government to push for reforms. The fragility of the electoral process could be traced from the failure of state agencies to be independent and enforce the rule of law. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is an independent constitutional body that manages the elections and is mandated to give life and meaning to the basic principle that sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them. Through the years, the commission has been involved in electoral scandals, has failed to strictly enforce electoral laws and has been accused of siding with the administration. In 1986 SNAP Elections, the Comelec announced former President Ferdinand Marcos as president in spite of massive electoral fraud. Another incident was the 2004 Hello Garci controversy under Arroyos term.   In 2006, the Supreme Court nullified the contract for the automation of the canvassing and counting of ballots between the COMELEC and Mega Pacific eSolutions Inc because the law and bidding rules were not followed. In 2007, the then Chairman Benjamin Abalos was involved in the ZTE-National Broadband Network deal where he was said to pocket in millions (US D) if the project was pushed through. The controversy eventually led to his resignation. The Comelec also fall shorts to provide fast and reliable solutions for electoral process because of huge costs and bribery in the courts. The poor track record and lack of credibility of the Comelec prove its inability to enforce the rules which influences the conduct of Philippine politics. The Comelec also failed to ensure a level playing field in the electoral process because of weak law enforcement. Winning became dependent on money, force and violence and not on programs and platforms. The growing costs of campaign expenses deter effective participation. Those who run are rich or have wealthy financiers. This provides an incentive for corruption to recoup the costs of electoral campaign and return favors from supporters. Also, it can result to political dynasties. The current president, Benigno Aquino III and his defeated running mate Sen. Manuel Roxas II both came from influential political families namely the Cojuangco-Aquino and Araneta-Roxas-Fores clans. Their reported campaigns for the 2010 elections cost P440 million and P280 million respectively. Antonio Cojuangco, Aquinos second cousin and a rich businessman, reportedly donated P100 million in his campaign. However, their election finances estimate were very much in doubt and were said to be much higher beca use they used television and radio in their electoral campaign which were very expensive. Former President Gloria Arroyo also came from a political clan and was a daughter of a former president. Her sons were congressmen during her term. In addition to financial support, politicians also seek the endorsement of organizations such as the Makati Business Club, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC). The first is sought for their campaign contributions. The CBCP and INC are religious organizations and are believed to command influence on voters. For example, INC is believed to vote as a block and is estimated to deliver 5-8 million votes. In addition to money and endorsements, Philippine elections are filled with election related violence. The latest of which that brought the Philippines to the international arena was the Maguindanao Massacre which killed 57 people. Once elected, the core strength of the president is from his appointing power and control over government funds. The benefits received from supporters during the campaign are paid in return through endowment of huge government contracts and positions in key government agencies. Appointed officials could also appoint their staff. This kind of system results to a far reaching and deep source of patronage. As a result, the government has a weaker capacity to push for reforms because it has to satisfy vested interests. An example would be Estrada. The legalization of Jueteng will bring huge sums of money to the government or to his allies. However, because Chavit was left out of the picture triggered his downfall. Corazon Aquino could have successfully pushed for agrarian reform because of the momentum during her presidency. The law for agrarian reform was passed but has failed to translate into results because it was against the interest of the landed elites in congress. Conclusion The Philippines has a lot to improve in its conduct of elections. Because the electoral process is easily manipulated through money and violence, the politicians elected have most of time always been the same from political clans or landed elites. It also deters participation from new leaders and it does not become representative of the people. The presidents that have passed post-Marcos have cronies, friends or allies to satisfy. As a result, the Philippines have been left behind by her neighbors in the road to Economic growth. A step to improve the electoral process, the Philippines had its first electronic voting system in 2010. Although electoral fraud still exist which critics argue are harder to trace and easier to do, it is still a step forward compared to manual canvassing from the local precinct station to the Congress. There is also a pressing need to improve civil service. This includes putting deserving people in the job because of merit and competency and not connections. This implies that the central government must reduce its appointment of officials and start paying government employees well. It is also important to strengthen the independence of the Judiciary system and the Ombudsman. In the Philippines, the chief magistrates of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president so there is a conflict of interest in times when the president who appointed them is accused. Resolution on electoral disputes should be fast and credible. Lastly, the public should demand more accountability from the Comelec and politicians themselves. In spite of the shortcomings of the electoral process, it is still better to exercise their right to vote.

Turnitin Sucks :: plagiarism police

Turnitin Sucks It's with a great deal of interest that I've been following the most recent uproar in the blogoshpere about Turnitin.com and about whether or not higher ed is taking the proverbial low ground in the ethical battles by the increasing use of Turnitin. It is my opinion and always has been that there is something fundamentally wrong with the whole process of requiring students to turn in their work to the plagiarism police. I think this graphic from the Honk Kong Polytechnic University is especially humorous. I didn't have their permission to show it on my site so I created my own sign at the Ronald McHummer site. About 2-3 years ago we had the conversation on campus about whether we should license (or is it subscribe to) the Turnitin service. Of course there were some people who were in favor of it, but the majority was put off by the same things that have always bothered me about the deal. The arguments at that time against using Turnitin appear to still be the main arguments. In no particular order, they include: "I am currently taking a course that requires me to submit my papers to Turnitin. My objection to Turnitin is that they are not only infringing my copyright, but that they are doing so for commercial profit. If they want to make money from storing my paper in a database, they should pay me for a license." (EricSmith comment on Slashdot) "Why are we violating authorial integrity to teach students that violating authorial integrity is wrong?" (by Bob, first comment) "can shift attention away from teaching students how to avoid plagiarism in the first place. In â€Å"Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices,† the Council of Writing Program Administrators urges teachers to â€Å"use plagiarism detection services cautiously,† for they should â€Å"never be used to justify the avoidance of responsible teaching methods.† "I find it more than a bit ironic, that this company works with WebCT and Blackboard, who argue that one should use Course Managment software to protect student's privacy (alah FERPA) when turnitin.com fundamentally violates student's rights." (Dave, Sept. 7, 18:05) "It's just like music composition. People with similar music education backgrounds end up producing similar music. That's just how it is. Are you seriously going to argue that the standard educational texts HAVEN'T been mined for every bloody original idea they contain a thousand times over?" (read the whole comment by Cadallin)

The Problem Of Global Warming :: Greenhouse Effect Climate Change

The Problem of Global Warming   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The problem of global warming, an increase in the average temperature on Earth, is getting worse. The Earth has warmed 0.3 to 0.6 degrees Celsius since the late 1800s. Scientists believe that the cause is the greenhouse effect, the process of trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere because of the presence of large amounts of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, methane, and nitrogen oxides. Less oxygen is being produced and cleaning the atmosphere allowing more of these gases to do its work on the environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Automobiles exhausts are just one of the contributors to this problem. The burning of fossil fuels is another major influence to the increase in global temperature as well. The destruction of the rainforests and all forests and trees in general, is another. Every car produces enough gases from its exhaust into the atmosphere that takes a mature tree to clean in about five years. Trees keep the air clean for the environment by taking the gases in and produces oxygen out of it. By cutting down the trees we are allowing for more of the carbon to be exposed into the atmosphere.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another factor that most people would not consider in the raising of global warming is the excrement of cows. Cows produces tons of carbon that does not all get treated for, and is in the top five for highest amounts of carbon produced per year. This is another factor that somehow has to be dealt with.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All of these causes of global warming have been know by scientists, it's the effects we are seeing in today's climate now they had no idea of. Arctic glaciers are melting and causing the ocean's water level to rise. It has be proven that if the water level were to rise anymore then we won't be able to see the state of Louisiana anymore or any coastal areas anywhere. Louisiana is already having there wetlands filled by the floods. The polar bear is another example of the effects of global warming. Its habitat is decreasing and so are it's numbers. Global warming affects the polar bear by melting the arctic snow and allowing it to starve longer then it usually does. The polar bear leaves

The Teacher Who Changed My Life Essay -- Descriptive Essay Examples

The truism "To teach is to touch a life forever" is one that all of us have heard, but very few can identify with. Almost every student has had at least one teacher who he or she despises, or one who has left his or her positive impression upon the student. In my case, it was Mrs. Rudra, my sixth-grade homeroom and English teacher. Remember those first days of a new school year? You don't know who your teacher is going to be, or which of your friends you'll get to have in that class? It was just such a day for me. Our school had a new teacher who had transferred from a military school. Her husband had retired from the Army, and they had moved into our town. It was perfect for them. The town I grew up in was known as the Garden City of India, and it also had the sobriquet "Pensioner's Paradise." Since Mrs. Rudra was still a few years from retirement, she filled a vacancy at the best girls' school in town. The school could do with a teacher of her background. Discipline, especially of the military kind, can come in handy when dealing with twelve-year-olds. The buzz about this "Drill Sergeant" wasn't the best. Like a case of Chinese Whispers, the grapevine swung into action. "Do you know she smokes?" said one. "Have you heard she's one for detention?" said another. "I hope I'm not in her class," stated another. As we were all sending our silent prayers to the one above, the class lists were posted. A mad clamor ensued to find out where each one of us was headed. A sense of dread had taken hold of me. I was not particularly lucky w... ...rment. My grades improved remarkably. For my second term, I was elected Class Monitor. Other teachers also commented on how much I had changed-for better or worse, they did not say. When the school year came to an end, I was disappointed. Here I was, totally transformed, all due to the effort of one person. Academically, I was confident of my abilities. Socially, I was self-assured. The following years, whenever she passed me in the hallways, always erect in her posture, and strident in her gait, Mrs. Rudra would flash her nicotine-tainted smile at me. The most I could do was to return what I hope was an ever-grateful look, and then wonder who else's life was going to be touched by this teacher. I do suppose that "To teach is to touch a life forever," so the truism goes.

Airborne Case Study Essay

Q1. How and why has the express mail industry structure evolved in recent years? How have the changes affected small competitors? The Express mail industry in the United States had a volume of $16-17 billion on expedited shipments in the year 1996. In the years before shipment volumes has risen 15-20% per year. However due to higher competition prices have fallen which resulted in a rise of only 10-15% in total revenues. As an example of this stands the revenue and the operating margin of the biggest player that make up 45% of the market. Federal Express’ revenue has more than quadrupled in the ten years prior 1996, however its operating margin has more than halved. (Exhibit 2) The increase in shipments is partly due to lower prices, which makes it more attractive for businesses to use shipments more frequently and reduce stocks and inventory to compete on the basis of time to market. Also the price sensitive businesses of catalogue retailers required urgent shipment. In order to cope with the quickly growing numbers of packages (1997 Federal Express delivered 2. million packages a day), the companies started using their own airplanes rather than using commercial airlines to do the job for them. Processes have become highly automated, starting with hand-held computers that give each parcel its own barcode to track it at each stage of its journey. The information is then passed on to central computers that allow customers to follow its deliveries online. Hub facilities are ever growing now being able to sort up to 300,000 packages per hour (UBS hub). Due to high automatization and low margins in the industry it becomes increasingly difficult for second-tier players to survive in the market. Since 85% of the market are in the hand of the three major players; Federal Express, United Parcel Service and Airborne Express, the six second tier players had to find their niche in the market. DHL specified on the international market. The company is responsible for 40% of all trans-border express shipments in America, which makes up to 80% of DHL’s shipments. DHL is also the specialist for services that include fast shipments to the far and hard to reach corners of the world, with hubs situated in Nairobi and Bahrain. TNT’s focus lies on international markets as well, however focuses its efforts on Europe. Another second tier player is BAX Global who specialized in business-to-business heavy cargo. Earlier BAX Global was focused on the market for overnight letters, which resulted in large losses, till the strategy was shifted towards heavy cargo. The company RPS does not offer overnight delivery but focuses on two-day delivery and a cheap group network with a sophisticated information technology, targeting price-sensitive business customers. Q2.  How has Airborne survived, and recently prospered, in express mail industry? In the fife years prior 1997 Airborne Express has grown faster than its two bigger rivals, giving it about 16% of domestic express mail market share in 1997. Airborne has achieved this by a couple of measures that allowed it to keep its costs down and guaranteed Airborne Express success in its niche. One of the key decisions of Airborne Express was to target regularly shipping business customers and purposely passing over residential deliveries and infrequent shippers. Ray Berry, vice president of Field Services Administration, commented this selection of customers: â€Å" Since we can’t be all things to all people, we pick our kind of customer deliberately. † And it has payed off; 1997 Airborne delivered 900,000 packages and documents each day. As a major hub for this serves an airbase in Wilmington, Ohio. In contrast to its competitors Airborne Express owns the airport, which brings some advantages. For example leases Airborne Express warehouse space on the airport to businesses, allowing them to ship merchandize the next day even if orders come in as late as 2AM. Another key factor for low costs is that Airborne Express relies less on automation and more on its human workforce than its competitors; hiring low part-time employees with wages of $7 per hours. Airborne Express’ air fleet distinguishes itself also from the competition. By primarily buying used aircrafts costs are held down. Also the aircrafts are on average 80% loaded; compared to 60% for Federal Express. Furthermore Airborne Express tries to avoid using airplanes whenever possible, resulting in 30% of non-air deliveries compared to 15% non-air deliveries at Federal Express. Since the cost of non-air deliveries is estimated to be only 1/3 of the cost of air deliveries, this depicts how well Airborne Express is able to save money. Another cost reducing factor are independent contractors hired for parcel pick up or delivery that save around 10% of costs compared to company employees. Airborne Express Marketing and Sales team does not invest in costly wide span advertising campaigns, but rather invest in advertising targeting logistic managers of major shippers. Known for its low prices it tries to gain customers, large businesses, with a 500-person sales force and the promise to tailor the services needed for its customers with solution-oriented approaches. Last but not least Airborne Express started to forge a relationship with RPS, an expert for cheap ground deliveries, trying to gain synergies and being able to offer integrated solutions on a case-by-case basis for customers. Q3. What would you recommend Robert Brazier, Airborne’s President and COO, to do in order to strengthen the company’s position?  As the world moves closer together and quick logistics and transportation are getting more and more important, the global express mail market is still growing. In order to secure growth and market share we would advise Airborne Express to push forward the relationship with RPS, maybe consider a merger, to fully gain the synergies. Also it is of key importance to strengthen the position in the market by gaining new customers, providing them with worldwide â€Å"flexible, solution-oriented express† services in the B2B area. This could be achieved by gradually increasing international activities on a customer case-to-case basis.

How does Wilfred Owen Create Sympathy in his Poem “Disabled” Essay

Wilfred Owen uses a variety of poetic devices to make the reader feel sympathetic for the disabled person portrayed in the poem. Many of Owens ideas of sympathy are not easy to find and the reader picks them up more subliminally unless he were to study the poem. Firstly, the most important point to convey sympathy is the theme of retrospect and tense in this piece and it runs clearly throughout. Owen starts the first stanza in the present tense and we immediately see that he is lonely and inactive. â€Å"He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting†¦Ã¢â‚¬  shows us that he is unable to move and can only sit, his life is controlled by doctors and his ability to make decisions is compromised by injury. Furthermore, the word â€Å"waiting† shows that all he can do is sit around and wait for things to happen, he cannot create or instigate something to cheer him. The poem then, in the fifth stanza he reminisces about what he thought war might be like, â€Å"†¦jewelled hilts† and glory. However, at the end he says, â€Å"Now he will spend a few sick years in institutes†. We feel sorry for the man as we think he has been cheated and lulled into a false sense of security. Owen also uses contrast to evoke sympathy in the way he rhymes at the end of the sentences. The rhyming words contradict or juxtapose one another. â€Å"Knees† and â€Å"disease† are used for contrast as having knees symbolise health and normal lifestyle and it’s what he had before the war. Disease on the other hand symbolises a lack of knees or bad health and it is what he was left with after the war. The juxtaposition of good and bad things makes us feel sad for the man and also make us feel his regret of joining up. Another vessel which Owen uses to make us feel sympathetic is metaphor and simile. He says, â€Å"Poured it down shell holes till the veins ran dry†. This shows us how angry he is with himself in the fact that he is saying he might just as well have poured his blood and his life away. He feels like he made no impact on the war and only bad has come out of it. Caesura is also used to break up sentences and disrupt the flow of a poem. They can create sympathy as sometimes they can be ironic or rhetorical questions. â€Å"He thought he’d better join – he wonders why† is a good example as it shows his remorse for joining the army and the fact that it is out of sync and without a rhyming pair makes it stand out in our memory as a definitive thought of his. The poem also ends with questions like â€Å"why don’t they come† which tell the reader that since the war he is completely reliant on others and he despairs with his lack of freedom. Owen also uses women and war officers to make us feel sympathetic. â€Å"Smiling, they wrote his lie† tells us that the officer signing him up knew that he was not eighteen and was not doing his job properly. It shows that the officers cared more about the numbers in the army than the actual wellbeing of English people. He also describes women as being shallow and their eyes â€Å"passed from him to the men that were whole†. This shows they do not care about a man’s personality and character, only his looks and sexual appeal. This makes us feel angry towards women for being so shallow and want them to not be so driven by seemingly unimportant things.