Direction and Purpose Essay

Metaphors provide creative images for readers. They give flavor to literature and allow free interpretation of a piece; thereby making a conversation in a story, an image in a poem, a symbolism in the plot and such, more interesting. Through the use of such a figure of speech, the images are laid bare and presented fresh. This creates an interaction between the reader, the author and the piece; as readers are made to analyze the images presented and the idea that the metaphor is trying to introduce. It seems the poem, â€Å"Manila†, efficiently develops the metaphor that is the Philippines society during the colonial era, through a timeline. It takes the problem of colonial Manila into the modern Filipino mindset. The poem begins with an introduction [Lines 1-3], which gives us the first glimpse of the similarities between the city of Manila and the hermit crab. The succeeding stanzas [4-8] elaborate the physical conditions of the country’s capital and finally, the poem concludes [l9-14] with the mentality upheld by the nation. To appreciate how metaphors lay bare Espino’s â€Å"Manila†, let us analyze the imagery create in the poem, line by line. Unlike most poems, â€Å"Manila† begins with an epigraph from Nick Joaquin, which reads: â€Å"Dust and crabs, dust and crabs.† We can assume that this quote gives a foreview of what Federico Espino’s poem will highlight. Though very little is conveyed in this line, we are able to suppose that the metaphor will hold significance to the poem proper. Dust may be described as either something that depicts age or some remains of an explosion. We also know of crabs as an animal that crawls and has claws. Crabs are also able to survive on land for short periods of time and can literally live on dust. â€Å"Manila† begins with the line: â€Å"A hermit crab beside the tide of times,† if we look at the concept of the hermit crabs as a description of Manila, the line merely tells us that time has passed. It tells us that Manila has an old history and that it has endured much. The next line: â€Å"She bears the traces of her former homes/ the shells of foreign cultures and the slime,† tells us that the country’s history contributes much to its identity. The city has withstood much to the point that it is now isolated and delayed in comparison to the developments of other countries. The â€Å"former homes† are the shells that the crab has already left behind. The â€Å"foreign cultures† such as that of the Spanish, British, Japanese and Americans have all freed the country, yet their influences – dating back to colonial times – still linger. But as hermit crabs changes its shell, Manila now looks for a new â€Å"shell† of protection as she enters another era – whilst trying to retain its identity. Even with the passing of time, the mix of culture is still protected and preserved, which the narrator describes as both positive and negative – implying that though the foreigners have given us a rich culture, they have made us endure much â€Å"slime† and shit (considering that slime is a gastropod’s mucus secretion) in order to take what was rightly ours – freedom. In the succeeding lines: â€Å"Now she looks for food as small waves comb/Upon the shore where bits of driftwood lie†, we now see a direction in the poem. Again it highlights how the hermit crab searches for something and we now see she looks for food. Keeping in mind that food is parallel to life – since it is necessary in sustaining life – the hermit crab looks for nourishment in a place which seemingly has very little to give. From Nick Joaquin’s â€Å"Sa Loob ng Maynila†, we understand the devastation in the city when it served as the center of the revolution, and we see that starting anew is difficult when one is left on what is being portrayed as a deserted island. As expected, â€Å"she finds nothing in her hungry quest/ Instead she hears the raucous seagull’s cry/ Which is a shriek beyond the rock-ribbed nest.† In these lines, the seagulls – natural predators of the hermit crab – are foreign countries. We can assume that not only are we looking up at the seagulls but that they are also in a position to take advantage of us. In relation to the Philippines’ history, foreign countries are soaring. Other countries progress and it is a mockery when – ironically – the countries we defeated fighting for our independence are now more stable than we are – they still rise above us. We are still beneath them in a sense to the point we have to crawl in order to get anywhere. These lines are merely creating the image of a third world country. All seems futile, especially when you have nowhere else to go. â€Å"It mocks her as she crawls upon the sand— The sidewise movement of the hermit crab/ Which Dylan saw on a deserted strand/ And used as a metaphor in runes that throb† It is possible that Dylan represents a foreigner (since it is a typical name for an American boy) and he saw our â€Å"aimless wandering† and toke advantage of it – however, this is more of a hunch than a legitimate argument. What is clear though, is the point of our sideways movement, which is the natural direction a hermit crab follows. By this we can concur that the movement has become innate. We are not moving forward. We want so much, yet work so little. Perhaps, these lines also imply that we search in all the wrong places. â€Å"With life. Yes, this city is a pair of claws/ Creeping, crabbing with all its tragic flaws.† These last lines of the poem summarize the intent of the entire poem. Here it is implied that the people of the Philippines are aware of the damage in their society. Slowly, almost lifelessly, the Filipinos attempt to move through the things we dislike in our country. We complain so much yet we do very little – and perhaps that is our downfall. True there is no prefect nation, but in most nations you see a progression. In reference to Nick Joaquin’s opening epigraph, perhaps the dust is the remains of those countries that once colonized us. We never bothered to clean up what was left to us – good and bad. Espino hints that perhaps that is why we are not moving forward, there is too much to fix all at once. And this can be related to what we call â€Å"crab mentality† or the Filipinos’ attitude of clawing at those who have gotten ahead to pull them back again. We â€Å"creep† and â€Å"crawl† in our own flaws – in our own mistakes – instead of picking ourselves and walking. It is our own claws that hold us back. The generalizations made by Espino are obvious. Though the title is â€Å"Manila† is it clear that the city, being the â€Å"heart† of colonial Philippines, is a synecdoche for the entire country. And when all aspects of Espino’s Manila are examined, we see that the metaphor is in the intricate, descriptive design of the Philippines as a hermit crab trapped on a deserted island. Though she is attempting to escape, she is crawling blindly in no particularly direction. It seems not much has change. Though â€Å"Manila† was written a long time ago, it is relatively surprising that the text paints Manila in a sad, accurate manner. We fought for our freedom. Now we merely struggle with it. It seems our nation cannot decide independently; like a hermit crab, we depend on our symbiotic relationships. We cannot survive alone and we rely on what can be give to us by those who â€Å"protect† us. The dependence relayed in the poem explains why we have no direction, no purpose, and no resources. We are – truly – stuck.

The Diagnostic and Statistical

People have their own personal faith and belief. Our cultural and parental upbringing influence our life’s principles and beliefs. We may encounter differences with other people based on views and perception on things. And these differences among people comprise the earth’s diversity. There are people who are intolerant of other’s opinion and prejudice. They are also raged by other people belonging from a different race or ethnic background (â€Å"Bigot†). They may also feel outraged by other’s lifestyle and identities that are different from their own. Bigotry is the characteristic and attitude of a bigot.It is the corresponding mindset of people who are extremely judgmental other people. Bigot is a term used in describing people who are firmly devoted in their prejudices, especially when their views are threatened or challenged. It is used to refer to people who hold blindly and intolerantly of their personal creed, opinion and belief (Adamson 200 ). Bigot is often mistaken by people as prejudice. Most people are confused between the two words. Prejudice happens when we tend to easily judge someone or something based solely on our personal opinion or attitude. Prejudice is also a learned behavior.We are taught of what to think about people of different gender, race and disability. It is influenced by our parents and neighborhood. Bigotry is hate. It is a form of prejudice carried to an extreme manner (Martin 149). There are various kinds of bigotry such as religious, racial, political, national and cultural bigotry. Bigotry is most likely seen in aspects of religious and political field. Many people hold fanaticism in their religious and political views. Individuals and groups tend to be blindly deluded by the belief that their religion, race, political party, nation and culture are more superior than the others.Such beliefs made them blindly and intolerant of others (Adamson 200). Based on the canonical definition of psychop athology, it seems to apply on visceral bigotry. Bigotry is not considered as a sickness but it can be regarded as a dysfunction based on some influential definitions of psychopathology. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders define mental disorders based on distress, disability and increase in harmful effects. Alvin Poussaint, a Harvard psychiatrist, believes that bigotry fits the definition and advocates in putting it on the list.Bigotry may be a dysfunction in responding to large segments of humanity. It may constitute impairment in responding healthy and responsible ways toward the targeted groups because of irrational hatred and contempt and other negative attitudes (Martin 130). If a person professes negative remarks blaming single mothers on the impairments of the society, it may be a form of bigotry. This may be under sexism or the belief that one judged the other based on their sex or gender and not through their capability as an individual. They believe that one sex is superior than the other.This is evident in the workplace environment where performance and capabilities are judged based on sex rather than having better qualifications. Sexism may also happen at home, school and society or community (â€Å"Forms of Bigotry†). In the case of having blamed the single mothers for the social ills in the society implies many unverified perceptions toward our women, specifically our single mothers. Single mothers refer to women raising their children in the absence of the father or their husband. Being a single mother is never an easy task. They take on many difficulties in trying to raise their children while earning for a living.Single mothers do not have the aid of their husband either partially or totally. This may cause difficulty in their part. Bigots toward them may blame them for taking part on the national aid extended by the social welfare department. The government extends financial aid on poor families with unemployed h ead of the family. There are also shelters that welcome homeless individuals. Sexists may blame the single mothers for their incapability to find decent jobs and provide the needs of the children. They may also blame the single mothers if their children turned nuisance to society.The delinquency of the children is blamed on their mothers for their incapability to rear them appropriately to become good citizens of the society. If their children become problems of the society, mothers are on the line questioning their eligibility and capability as a mother. It does not question the single fathers trying to raise their children and earn a living at the same time assuming that single fathers can perform the two tasks flawlessly at the same time. This may be viewed as a bias for some women, who may do better than some single fathers.Some single fathers also may be involved in neglecting their children or other types of child maltreatment. It may be a form of bigotry for it generalized si ngle mothers as the culprit of social ills in the society. Being a sexist undermines the qualifications and abilities of people belonging on the other sex to take on a job or task. A sexist may view their sex as superior to others. They may view the other sex as inferior to them and not at their level. Viewing one sex as superior to other creates biases and prejudice toward the views on sex. Bigotry is involved when there is an extreme prejudice, hatred and contempt towards the other sex.Works Cited Adamson, Joseph J. What the World is Coming To?. Lincoln, NE: I Universe, Inc. , 2004. â€Å"Bigot†. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009. 26 January 2009 . â€Å"Forms of Bigotry†. articleworld. org. 24 January 2006. 26 January 2009 . Martin, Mike W. From Morality to Mental Health: Virtue and Vice in a Therapeutic Culture. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc. , 2006. Martin, Renee J. Practicing What We Teach: Confronting Diversity in Teacher Education. Albany, Ne w York: State University of New York, 1995.

Capital Structure Question Solution

FINE 3100 Problems for Midterm – Additional Capital Structure Problems Question 1 Belgarion Enterprises Asset beta, the riskiness of the firm, can be found as the weighted average of the betas of its debt and equity, where the weights are fraction of the firm financed by debt and equity: ? A = D/V ? D + E/V ? E = . 5 ? 0 + . 5 ? 1. 4 = . 7 To find the beta of the firm with no debt, find ? o or ? u using the formula for levered equity: ? E,L = ? o + [? o – ? D] D/E ( 1 – TC) Rearrange to find ? o = ? E,L + ? D D/E ( 1 – TC) 1 + D/E ( 1 – TC) Since the debt beta is zero, the equation simplifies to: ?o = ? E,L = 1. 4 / ( 1 + (. 5/. 5) ? (1 – . 4) ) = . 875 1 + D/E ( 1 – TC) The asset beta is higher if the firm has NO DEBT, in the otherwise perfect financial markets world. The firm with debt has an asset that the firm no debt does not: the interest tax shield. The riskiness of the tax shield is lower than the riskiness of the firm’s operating assets (its business risk). In fact, in this case, the interest tax shield is riskless because the debt is riskless. The beta of the levered firm’s assets is lower than beta of the unlevered firm’s assets. Remember, bankruptcy is costless in this problem. If bankruptcy is not costless, the result may not hold – by increasing leverage, the probability of bankruptcy goes up and therefore the expected costs of bankruptcy increase. In this case, the firm’s riskiness may well increase with leverage). Question 2 Little Industries a) Current market values EL = 300,000 ? $3 = $900,000 Value per bond: (. 05 ? 1000)/. 1 = 50/. 1 = $500 Total bonds: D= (. 05? 100,000)/. 1 = $50,000 VL = D + EL = 50,000 + 900,000 = $950,000 b) Current required rates of return Debt: rD = 10 % (given) Equity: rE,L = (EBIT – I) ? (1 – TC) = (270,000 – 5,000) ? (1 – . 4) = . 1766666 = 17. % EL 900,000 WACC = (D/VL) ? rD ? (1-TC) + (EL/VL) ? rE. L = (50,000/950,000) ? .1 ? (1-. 4) + 900,000/950,000 ? .177 = . 1708 c) For case of perpetual debt: VL = Vu + Tc D Therefore: Vu = VL – Tc D = 950,000 – . 4 ? 50,000 = 950,000 – 20,000 = 930,000 NOTE: another way to solve for the unlevered firm value is to first calculate the unlevered cost of equity and then use it to discount the unlevered firm’s cash flows 1. Unlevered cost of equity Recall: rE. L = r0 + (r0 – rD) D/E (1 – Tc) Rearrange the formula for r0: 0 = [rE,L + rD D/E (1 – Tc) ]/ [1 + D/E (1 – Tc)] = (. 177 + . 1? 50,000/900,000 ?. 6)/(1+50,000/900,000?. 6) = . 1741935 VU = EU = EBIT ? (1- TC)/r0   = 270,000 ? .6/. 1741935 = 930,000 d) (i) After restructuring, the firm will be 30% debt financed. Let D* be the total debt after refinancing and VL* be the total firm value after refinancing. It must be true that: D* = . 3 ? VL* Since VL = Vu + Tc D, then VL* = Vu + Tc D* Substituting for D* VL* = Vu + Tc . 3 ? VL* Solve for VL* (1 – . 3? TC) VL*  = Vu VL*  = Vu/ (1 – . 3? TC) = 930,000/ ( 1 – . 3 ?. 4) = 1,056,818. 2 And D* = . 3 ? VL*  = . 3 ? 1,056,818. 2 = 317,045. 5 EL* = . ? VL*  = . 7 ? 1,056,818. 2 = 739,772. 7 (ii) By issuing new debt and retiring equivalent value of equity, total firm value increases VOLD  = 950,000 VNEW = 1,056,818. 2 Increase in firm value = 1,056,818. 2 – 950,000 = 106,818. 2 Since the required rate of return to debt is unchanged, we can assume that all of the benefit of the restructuring is captured by the shareholders. On the announcement of the proposed restructuring, the total value of equity will increase by the increase in firm value: Value of existing equity on the announcement = 900,000 + 106,818. 2 = 1,006,818. 2 New share price = 1,006,818. 2/300,000 = $3. 356 To figure out the number of shares repurchased, first figure out the dollar value of the new debt issued: New debt issued = New total debt – previous total debt = 317,045. 5 – 50,000 = 267,045 Shares worth $267,045 are repurchased, at $3. 356 per share Total shares repurchased = $267,045/$3. 356 per share = 79,572 shares Share remaining = 300,000 – 79,572 = 220,427 (iii) New required return to equity Method 1: rE. L = r0 + (r0 – rD) D/E (1 – Tc) = . 17419 + (. 17419 – . 1) ? (317,045. 5/739,772. 7) ? .6 = . 193 Method 2: Interest on total debt, I = . 1 ? 317,045. 5 = 31,704. 5 rE,L = (EBIT – I) ? (1 – TC) = (270,000 – 31,704. 5) ? 1 – . 4) = . 193 EL 739,772. 7 New WACC = . 3 ? .1 ?. 6 + . 7?. 193 = . 1531 e) (i) Because the model assumes bankruptcy costs are zero, it does not consider the potential downside of increasing leverage. With bankruptcy costs, the expected costs of bankruptcy increase with leverage, offs etting the benefit of reduced taxes. (ii) Given D* = 317,045. 5 and Interest = 31,704. 5 EL = (EBIT – I) ? (1 – TC) = (270,000 – 31,704. 5) ? (1 – . 4) = 571,909. 1 EL . 25 Total firm value: V = D* + EL = 317,045. + 571,909. 1 = 888,955 Now, taking into account the impact of the bankruptcy costs, on the announcement of the increased leverage, the firm value FALLS: Change in firm value = 950,000 – 888,955 = -61,045 New equity value on the announcement = 900,000 – 61,045 = 838,955 New share price on the announcement = 838,955/300,000 = $2. 80 Share price falls from $3 to $2. 80!!! Therefore, the restructuring is a bad idea if the new required rate of return to equity rises to 25%. Question 3 Mighty Machinery Initial situation: market value of debt = . 08? 50m/. 08 = 50 m market value of equity = 8 m ? 20/sh = 160 m market value of firm = 210 After Restructuring: Assume that all change in value is borne by the shareholders. So the loss of the tax shield will impact shareholders only. Value of lost tax shield = Tax rate ? change in debt = . 35 (-10m) = – 3. 5m New firm value = old value + value of tax shield = 210 – 3. 5 = 206. 5 m New debt value = old debt + change in debt = 50m – 10 m = 40m New equity value (at the actual restructuring date) = new firm value – new debt value = 206. 5 – 40 = 166. 5 m New share price: Given that shareholders bear all of the impact of the reduced tax shield, given efficient financial markets, the value of the equity will fall by 3. m ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT of the plan. Thus, at the announcement, total equity is worth 160 – 3. 5 = 156. 5m or $19. 5625 per share ($156. 5m/8m = 19. 5625). Another way: the NPV of the restructuring is -3. 5m, which is all borne by shareholders. The change in share price will be -3. 5m/8m = -$0. 4375, giving a new share pric e of $20 – . 4375 or $19. 5625. ii) Shares issued = $10m/$19. 5625 or 511,182 Check: final share value/new number of shares = 166. 5/8. 511182 = $19. 5625. (iii) Use the formula: rE = r0 + (r0 – rD) D/E (1 – Tc) Rearrange the formula for r0: r0 = [rE + rD D/E (1 – Tc) ]/ [1 + D/E (1 – Tc)] = [. 5 + . 08 ? 50/160 ? (1-. 35)]/[1+50/160 ? (1-. 35)] = . 138181818†¦. Then New rE = r0 + (r0 – rD) (new D/new E) (1 – Tc) = . 138 + (. 138-. 08) (40/166. 5) (1-. 35) = . 1429 The restructuring causes rE to fall, as expected. The leverage is lower, the risk of equity is lower, shareholders’ required rate of return falls. b) You answer this question! Question 4 NOTE: This was a particularly tricky question. Part marks were given for wrong answers. Assume that it is valid to use the CAPM†¦this is ok, given the perfect financial markets assumption. Need to get all of the components of WACC: rD = current yield-to-maturity, 9% Market value of D = (. 08 ? 2. 5m )/. 09 = 2. 22222m TC = 35% What about value of equity and cost of equity Use a competitor to figure out†¦the closest company to GLC is All Lawn Chemicals. The most complete way to go is to figure out the unlevered cost of equity of All Lawn (reflecting the business risk), and value GLC at this rate. This will give us the unlevered value of GLC. Next, use GLC’s current capital structure to get GLC’s levered value of the firm and its equity. Next calculate the cost of equity, given GLC’s current capital structure†¦. 1. Find unlevered cost of capital for All Lawn Use the same rearrangement of the cost of equity formula in question 6: rE = r0 + (r0 – rD) D/E (1 – Tc) Rearrange the formula for r0: r0 = [rE + rD D/E (1 – Tc) ]/ [1 + D/E (1 – Tc)] Use CAPM to find current rE of All Lawn: rE = rf + ? ? MRP = . 075 + 1. 2 ? .07 = . 159 r0 = [. 159 + . 09 ?. 3? (1-. 35)] / [1+. 3? (1-. 35)] = . 14774 Value of firm for GLC  : V L = OCF ? (1 – tc) + tcD RU V = 1. 5M * (0. 65) + 2. 222M*(0. 35) .1477 VL = 7. 37892M Value of Equity for GLC: VL = Ve + VD = 7. 37892M = 2. 222M + Ve Ve = 7. 37892 – 2. 222 = 5. 1569M Ve = 5. 1569M = y R equity = (OCF – Interest expense)(1 – tax rate)/ Value of equity = { ($1. million – . 08x$2. 5 million) . 65}/5. 1569= . 163858 =16. 39%. OR 1. Find unlevered cost of capital for All Lawn Use the same rearrangement of the cost of equity formula in question 6: rE = r0 + (r0 – rD) D/E (1 – Tc) Rearrange the formula for r0: r0 = [rE + rD D/E (1 †“ Tc) ]/ [1 + D/E (1 – Tc)] Use CAPM to find current rE of All Lawn: rE = rf + ? ? MRP = . 075 + 1. 2 ? .07 = . 159 r0 = [. 159 + . 09 ?. 3? (1-. 35)] / [1+. 3? (1-. 35)] = . 14774 2. Value of Unlevered GLC Vu = [OCF – Taxes] / r0 = [1. 5 ? (1-. 35)] /. 14774 =6. 59943 3. Value GLC with its current capital structure VL = Vu + Tc D = 6. 59943 + . 35 ? . 22222 = 7. 37721 4. Value GLC’s equity and its required rate of return Thus: EL = VL – D = 7. 37721 – 2. 22222 = 5. 15499 and rE = r0 + (r0 – rD) D/E (1 – Tc) = . 14774 + (. 14774 – . 09)? (2. 22222/5. 15499)?. 65 = . 1639 5. Calculate GLC’s WACC Wacc = (2. 22222/7. 37721)?. 09?. 65 + (5. 15499/7. 37721)?. 1639 = . 1322 Question 5 a) False. Although often increases in firm value increase equity value, it is not always the case. When debt is risky (that is, there is a chance that the debt will not be paid the full promised interest and principal), improvements in firm val ue may go partly or totally to debt holders. This means that the debt has become less risky: there is less chance that the bondholders won’t get the promised interest and principal repayments. An example: when a firm is in financial distress, a value-increasing investment may only increase the value of the debt – and none of the value goes to shareholders. See kit and also the Barclay, Smith, Watts article. b) False. All that is necessary for the risk of equity to increase is that the firm’s operating cash flow be variable. Whenever you add the fixed interest payments, the result is to intensify the variability of the cash flows to shareholders (they get paid only after the fixed payments have been made to the debtholders). Look at the kit, – risk of equity increased with the addition of debt – and there is no chance of bankruptcy in this example (debt is riskless – no matter what state of the world occurs, the debtholders get their promised payments). c) False. For this answer, assume perfect financial markets and keep the firm’s investment and borrowing constant. If you don’t make these assumptions, then we have to make other assumptions about the state of the financial markets. These ones make our story easy). It is true that a shareholder may have to sell shares at the bottom of the market to create homemade dividends. But if the firm increases its dividend, they too will have to sell shares at the bottom of the market!! If we assume that the firm is currently payi ng out the money they have, the rest is tied up in investment plans and no new borrowing is made, if the dividend is increased, THE FIRM WILL HAVE TO GO TO THE MARKET AND SELL SHARES to pay for the higher dividend. The risk of selling shares at the bottom of the market has not gone away and shareholders still get stuck with it – either they pay for it directly when they sell their shares or indirectly when the firm brings in new shareholders who pay less for their shares than if it had been the top of the market. So this is not a valid reason why the firm paying a dividend will increase firm value. d) Uncertain. What the answer depends on is whether the bond holders anticipated correctly the chances and costs of distress/bankruptcy. If bondholders correctly anticipate distress and the costs associated with it, they will pay less for the bonds than if the costly distress did not occur. Shareholders end up paying the costs – because the company gets less for the bonds sold – raising the cost of debt financing. Of course, if bondholders do not correctly anticipate the distress, then they share in the costs. e) THIS IS A POST MIDTERM QUESTION True. Cost savings are much more likely to be achievable than revenue increases – firms have control over their production process but not over their customers. f) False. This question is very much related to a). Shareholders will not be willing to contribute more money to positive NPV projects when the bulk of the benefit goes to bondholders. See the references in a). g) True. The messy formula for the impact on firm value of adding debt when both personal and corporate taxes are considered is outlined in the kit. This happens when (1-TB) < (1-Tc)(1-TS)†¦.. Translating: 1-TB is the after-all-taxes cash flow of a $1 of bond income, (1-Tc)(1-TS) is the after-all-taxes cash flow of $1 of equity income (because first corporate taxes are paid and then personal taxes on equity income are paid). If investors get less in their pocket, after all taxes, when $1 of bond income is paid then after a $1 of equity income, they won’t want the firm to borrow – pay only dividend income and less total taxes (corporate plus personal) are paid. Firm value will be lower if the company borrows!!! h) True. This follows from the â€Å"free cash flow problem† discussed in Barclay, Smith and Watts. A company with lots of cash but few investment opportunities (low growth) puts management into temptation: spend the money on projects they like but aren’t necessarily positive NPV. For such a firm, a high dividend payout (high dividends/net income) and high interest and principal obligations keeps the cash out of the hands of manager and gives them fewer opportunities to make negative NPV investments, increasing the value of the firm. i) True. Given these assumptions, adding debt creates a new asset: a tax shield. The tax shield is a â€Å"gift† from the government, increasing the firm’s after-tax cash flows. This tax shield is lower risk than the assets of the business – it depends on the riskiness of the firm’s debt (and we assume that the tax rate doesn’t change). Thus total risk of the levered firm is lower than if it is unlevered (the levered firm has the same business risk plus the lower risk tax shield – the overall risk is lower). j) THIS IS A POST MIDTERM QUESTIONS False. All valuation methods requiring assumptions to be made. Earnings capitalization is a simpler valuation method than discounted cash flow– but it is loaded with strong assumptions about the future cash flows/earnings such as constant growth, constant dividend payout and unchanging capital structure. ) True the firm will have received the cash without having to issue new shares, however, the firm will also have missed out on raising equity when these warrants are not exercised and the warrant holders (and other potential investors) are disappointed and may not invest in this firm in subsequent rounds of equity financing if they were not able to benefit from their warrant purchase. Warrants are not like call options. With call options the firm in not involved in the transaction. With warrants the firm’s reputation and ability to raise financing is affected.

Computers in Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Computers in Education - Essay Example This has been on the way different people in the world access the ICT facilities and the time at which they are introduced to ICT in their age. It has been one of the proposed ways of achieving equality through inclusive education. The age of introduction of ICT has been one of the most debatable issues in the world especially in the education sector. There are various legislation that have been proposed introduce to ensure that that is timely introduction of ICT education to children. It is expected that if there is the introduction of the ICT at the same age, it would help to deal with some of the challenge that have been faced by the use of ICT especially in the education sector. This report will review role of ICT in developing the early year's curriculum and the way in which it can help children in early childhood education. (Smith 2007, 409) The use of computers in educating young children has been one of the most critical issues that have been attracting a lot of public debate. There have been arrangements on the role that ICT can play in the education of the young children in school or at home. This has been attributed to the level effects that have been observed on children who start using computers early in life especially when it comes to the health effects. As such most of the debates have been grounded on the recommended age at which a child can be introduced to computers. Many of the researches that have been carried out do not recommend use of computer by children who are 3 years and below. It has been argued that computers do not match their learning style and therefore they are likely to be negatively impacted by the use of computers. According to the learning theories it has been show that children who are under three years learn using their bodies using different parts like eyes, mouth, hands, legs, and other body parts. Though they may be addicted to returning over and over an activity, there is usually a high level of body movement, which changes it focus frequently. Computers are therefore not good choice for the developmental skills that these children are mastering like crawling, talking, walking, and others like making friends. (Haugland 2002, p. 13) Therefore the age at which computer are introduced to the child is very imprint since it determines the effect that it will have on the child. From the age of three a child has been show to have an increased interest in the use of computers and seem to learn a lot form them. What need to be done is that there is need to come up with an appropriate computer activity that fit the learning and developmental needs of these children. It has been shown that computers have an impact on the children when they produce a concrete experiences, when children have free access and control the learning experience and when they are given the necessary help and support as regards the use of these devices. Therefore the way computers will be used for a 3-4 year child will be different from the way it will be used for a kindergarten and a child for the primary grades. This is due to difference in developmental and learning needs of the age groups. (Wetzel 1995, p. 12) Use of computer in the early year curriculum One of the things that we need to come in terms with is that children are surrounded by

English - The Moon Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

English - The Moon Project - Research Paper Example Further imposing the challenge, Kennedy implied that even a nation possess the talent and resource necessary for a goal to be achieved only putting initiatives to acting on goals can ensure a nations dream to fulfillment (Kennedy). Kennedy laid upon America the goals of making reality out of the vision of putting a man on the face of the moon bringing the American flag above and ahead of space discovery among any nation. First, is a challenge of commitment, asking the American nation to commit in achieving the goal of bringing an American to the moon and back safely. No single project in this period will be more impressive to mankind or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish†¦ it will not be man going to the moon†¦ it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there. (Kennedy) The succeeding goal challenges were set in providing additional budget and expenditures for additional proje cts in congruence with the moon project like the development of a Rover nuclear rocket, accelerating the use of space satellites for world-wide communications and a satellite system for the Weather Bureau’s world-wide weather observation (Kennedy). ... Ending with a call to every scientist, every engineer, every serviceman, every technician, contractor, and civil servant to give personal pledge so that American nation will move forward, with the full speed of freedom, in the exciting adventure of space (Kennedy). American-Russian race to space A number of political factors affected Kennedy's decision and the timing of it. In general, Kennedy felt great pressure to have the United States catch up to and overtake the Soviet Union in the space race (Garber). The United States and Russia competed with each other in developing space programs. During the 1960's and 1970's space race; both nations went under tremendous exploratory efforts in being the first nation to successfully conquer space (Smith).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Space travel began on October 4, 1957 when Russia launched Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite to circle the earth. Man-made satellites are referred to as "artificial" because they are not a natural occurrence lik e the moon. These satellites orbit the earth for varying lengths of time depending on their size and distance from the earth, and they collect and transmit information that is used for a variety of purposes (Smith).    The second artificial satellite, Sputnik II, was launched in November of the same year carrying a dog named Laika, the first animal sent into orbit. As scientists studied how animals responded physically to space travel, it helped to prepare humans for the challenges under the same conditions (Smith).    January 31 of 1958, United States first artificial satellite Explorer I, enters into orbit around the earth (â€Å"Race to the Moon†). The United States launched many other satellites after the success of Explorer 1, for the purpose

Harlem Renaissance poets Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Harlem Renaissance poets - Assignment Example Harlem Renaissance Poets Project Paper Significance of Jean Toomer’s and Langston Hughes’ Roles in the Harlem Renaissance A mere fact will suffice to encompass a man’s life. In Jean Toomer’s case, that fact pertains to P. B. S. Pinchback, Toomer’s maternal grandmother who served as acting governor of Louisiana (Ramsey, 2003). In Langston Hughes’ case, the fact pertains to Hughes’ stint as a bellhop in a Washington, D.C. hotel where he managed to persuade a prominent, literary hotel guest to read three of his’ poems which led to the inauguration of Hughes’ literary career (Lewis, 1994, p. xxv). What can we infer from these facts? The obvious inferences are that Toomer was rich and Hughes was poor. The not so obvious inferences are that their names are remembered, and they are remembered on the strength of the experimental novel Cane, in Toomer’s case; and speaking for myself, in Hughes’ case, for bold pronoun cements such as â€Å"If white people are pleased we are glad†¦If colored people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, their displeasure doesn’t matter either (Lewis, 1994, p. xxx).† Toomer, who wasn’t as outspoken as Hughes, would’ve applauded Hughes’ for Hughes’ was alluding to artistic freedom which bows to no ideology, political agenda, nor common goal. Alas, artistic freedom will only get you so far, for what is required is talent and, when the going gets tough, genius. It goes without saying that Toomer and Hughes had talent. Let’s see where it took them—artistically.... It goes without saying that Toomer and Hughes had talent. Let’s see where it took them—artistically. ‘Double-consciousness’ in the Poems of Toomer and Hughes In the poem â€Å"Cotton Song,† Jean Toomer introduces a syntactical shift in the third stanza, going from Standard American English to American dialect of the Deep South. This is a manifestation of ‘double-consciousness.’ How do we explain it? We don’t. What we do is read the line â€Å"We ain’t agwine t wait until the Judgment Day (Toomer,1993, p. 9),† and let the words do their magic. I doubt a five hundred page biography, describing the hardscrabble life of an American Negro cotton picker at the turn of the 20th century could do as well and as much in evoking the feel and texture of a time and place, which no longer exists, than this one extraordinary, singular line of verse that flouts all convention of Standard American English, and gets away with it. And Toomer gets away with it because his English is otherwise prim, neat, and familiar. Consider the last four lines of his poem the â€Å"November Cotton Flower:† â€Å"Superstition saw/ Something it had never seen before:/ Brown eyes that loved without a trace of fear,/ Beauty so sudden for that time of year (Toomer, 1993, p. 4). In â€Å"November Cotton Flower,† the ‘double-consciousness’ is semantic, the miraculous transformation of a cold, drought stricken land to a blooming field of cotton. In Langston Hughes’ poem â€Å"The Negro speaks of Rivers,† a Negro speaks in the first person while invoking the poem. The ‘double-consciousness’ is evident in the use of the third person in the title. It’s as if the poet has split himself in two and the older, wiser version of

To what extent the negative internet contents affect children Essay

To what extent the negative internet contents affect children - Essay Example In this paper, we will discuss the effects of negative internet contents on young children. We will also focus social construction of the childhood in order to get a better understanding of the issue. 2. Children and Negative Use of Internet â€Å"The combination of pornography and the pedophiles it produces is deadly for children† (Kastleman 2010). The sexual contents available on the internet in forms of pictures, stories, and movie clips produce a number of negative effects on the children. Some studies show that almost 4 to 5 out of every 10 children regularly switch on their personal computers just to watch the adult material. The number of children watching adult material varies from place to place and it depends on their social construction as well. In some societies, people try to keep their children away from any sort of adult activity. Some people even make their children stay away from the friendships with opposite gender. Such restrictions increase the frustration level of the children and the frustration leads their way towards illegal social and sexual activities. The growing age of children is very critical for their proper mental and social development. Children generally are very eager to know about sex, and for this reason, they use different ways to gain information about it. Internet is one of the easiest ways to get sex related information. Some children do not open adult websites intentionally. They just log on to the internet to search educational stuff or other things based on their personal interests. But when they start searching for their desired stuff on the internet, the links present on the websites sometimes lead their way towards adult material, which drive the attention of children away from actual purpose. Seventy percent of all children exposed to pornographic material are not actually looking for such contents (Dougherty 2010). The unintentionally opened websites attract the attention of the children and they start exp loring those websites in order to know more and more about sex. 3. Negative Internet Contents Livingstone and Hadden (2009) found that internet brings both opportunities and risks for the children. Risks are related to the presence of sexual contents on the internet. There are three major types of negative contents available on the internet, which include sex stories, sexual video clips, and webcams. Pictures and video clips arouse the sexual feelings of children and increase the level of sex frustration in them. We cannot say that every child who views pornographic material is affected by the negative contents. â€Å"Every child who is exposed to pornography does not automatically become a sexual deviant or sex addict† (Hughes 1998). The effects are harmful for those children who view the pictures and try to practice what they see in the pictures. We can take the example of alcoholic drinks. Not every person who takes such drinks becomes addicted to those drinks. Some people take those drinks very seldom just to relieve themselves from the tensions for some time whereas some people become addicted to alcohol and they cannot even live a single day without taking alcoholic drinks. Same case is with the children who want to view

If I Could travel back to any point in history,what would it be and Essay

If I Could travel back to any point in history,what would it be and why - Essay Example America’s growth began to slow down and many were lucky to even have food to eat. There were also serious droughts that created what is known as the dust bowl. This made it hard to grow food which only added to the affects of The Great Depression. Pictures can barely even describe the actual pain that many had to go through once they lost everything. It would be a great experience to actually be able to see firsthand what The Great Depression was actually like. What would be the most amazing is to see how many kept positive although going through such a bad time. Techniques used by many to keep positive and moving forward can be used today. This would be helpful since currently we are experiencing events similar to The Great Depression. Going back into history to see what works and what doesn’t would be beneficial to many and that’s why if I could travel back in time, I would travel to experience The Great

Describe this pic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Describe this pic - Essay Example The bottom part of the picture is broader than the top part and this gives the picture the ideal shape. The artist might have done this to give it a strong base for supportive purpose. From the information provided, the picture is the courtesy of Casey Campbell and some of the materials used are ink, watercolour, and charcoal. In essence, the abstract painting has colours and designs that do not resemble the physical objects. With this, the painting becomes harder to comprehend than representational painting. The desires and skills of the artist reveal the environment and time in, which he created the art. The striking styles reveal a lot of creativity. On a personal perceptive, the goal of the artist was to show how the colour, style, and form of the subject changed from time to time. This explains why the picture broadens its colour from one circle to the other. The artists took a lot of time making series of paintings from the same subject but different times of the day. This gives viewers a quick sense of understanding what is going into the artist’s mind (Elger and Uta 22). Typically, everyone seems to see the image in a similar manner. The artist established the need to use directional subjects and words that guide viewers through the description and analysis. The focal point of the picture is the circular figure, with different shapes. As previously mentioned, all circles have a strong base decorated in bold colours. The circles consist of space, line, shape, and light and dark colours arranged in similar designs. They consist of proportion, order, pattern, rhythm, and balance. The artist employed these elements to evoke the feeling of hope and direction to the viewers. From the picture, it is evident that many people recognize the artist’s accuracy and creativity to create the image. The primary purpose of the painting was to portray a captivating image. The picture does not fully evoke feelings or emotions.

Garmin&apos;s Vivo Activity Tracker Line Term Paper

Garmin's Vivo Activity Tracker Line - Term Paper Example Developing high-quality data in the devices with measurements can give the company an improved accuracy, intelligence and position as a leading expert in terms of fitness and health. The data should comprise both burn and intake to give the ability to track maximizing accurate quality assessment. Thirdly, there is also the aim to appeal and identify unique user segments. As the firm’s market matures, it needs to have value propositions and focused customer agents. The credibility of being a trusted advisor can get achieved by rich connection and understanding with the company’s user base (Kotler & Kevin 54). Fourthly, Garmin will aim at building loyal customers. Creating a great users base community will be the major metric for the company in globalization space. The user base scale will develop more significant data and give great customer sharing that may only expand bolster user trust and loyalty. Fifthly, the company will use a platform technique. To develop a loyal user base and a lasting experience, Garmin will have to create a full end-to-end system that is functionally integrated. It should base on a uniting platform of the customers community and easily allow digital services, apps, accessories, and devices series are working together. Thus, this path can get achieved through organically developing full ecosystem part or rich partnerships. Lastly, following the above objective, Garmin will aim at building strategic partnerships. Being more intimate with customers’ needs meeting them and understanding where they are in fitness and health life. It means developing partnerships and affiliations with trainers, fitness programs, gyms, professional athletes, diet programs, corporate wellness programs, and insurance providers. It will provide an opportunity to broaden and scale user base at a low-cost marketing/sales model (Kotler & Kevin 36). Garmin’s primary target market will

Having our say (racism) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Having our say (racism) - Essay Example Bessie being darker encountered harsher racism than Sarah. The sisters were different in life but they came from same family and never married and had respectable jobs. They went to same college and were extremely well educated. Bessie always stood for herself and resisted racism and white people. The sisters were hard working and chose career over marriage as they belonged to a poor background. Both these sisters faced racism early in their life. They were born out of a white father and a quarter black women but still were tagged as colored people. They had to face many obstacles from white men in their neighborhood. According to ( Delany 39)â€Å"In the decades after the Civil War, "education" became the rallying cry of those seeking to improve the lot of former slaves, whose prospects were limited usually to hard labor in the fields or to domestic work in white peoples homes†. Bessie being bold to respond to criticism was strong willed while Sadie was calm. They understood not to mess with me from the first day itself (Delany 9) Bessie when confronted by a drunken white man she responded harshly .When she saw the seating arrangement in a drinking place she feels resentment on the division for white and black people. They also face racism at work place but overcome it. They achieved their goals steadily despite facing discrimination and prejudices. Sadie being lighter in complexion was non aggressive to racism. She was the first black women to be a teacher by not disclosing her black ethnicity to the employer. Bessie being proud and emotional was opposite to Sadie who was calm and easy going. The racism is a dark side of American history which exists still in a milder manner. These sisters is a proud icons of American which shows that nothing is an obstacle if there is will to achieve what one wants in life. Growing in a poor and racist atmosphere they achieved what they wanted. They became well

Nostra Aetate Essay Example for Free

Nostra Aetate Essay 1. What contemporary reasons would cause mankind to draw â€Å"closer together† and to strengthen â€Å"the ties between different peoples†? (2) Culture, common beliefs, sports, births, deaths, celebration, tragedy, reunions, weddings, music and war are all contemporary reasons that would cause mankind to draw closer together. Regardless of age or gender, one can still love a sport. When Steve Jobs passed away, the world mourned. Though tragic, death can bring many people together and teach them not to take everything for granted. Also, recently, the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton brought together many people all across the world – everyone was watching. Of course, war. Though war isn’t really recent, when soldiers died for Canada, people were brought together at the time, they were safer, closer in numbers. Also, protests bring people together to fight for a common belief. In this sense, all the reasons that bring people together and strengthen the ties together are because EVERONE has been affected. When something happens and EVERYONE is affected, it causes people to come closer together. 2. According to the Church, what three things draw people to fellowship? (3) i) â€Å"One is the community of all peoples, one their origin for God made the whole humans race to live over the face of the earth.† Basically, we are all human, and our origin is God, and we all share and live on the Earth together. ii) â€Å"One also is their final goal, God. His providence, His manifestations of goodness, His saving design to extend to all men.† – This means that the final goal of mankind is to reach God through Salvation, and that He will be our Saviour. ii) â€Å"Until that time when the elect will be united in the Holy City, the City ablaze with the glory of God where the nations will walk in His Light.† – That this glorious city of God, heaven will come to the people who are good. These are the three reasons that draw people to fellowship. 3. List the questions that are examined by all religions. What is the basis of the universal need to recognize a Supreme Being? (3) Some common questions that are examined by all religions are: What is man?

The Green Revolution: History, Impact and Future

The Green Revolution: History, Impact and Future Plants are an essential part of lives on the planet and a crucial source of economic prosperity for almost every country. They provide directly or indirectly almost all the food of man and animals. They also supply industrial raw material, for instance, timber, paper, rubber, products for the chemical industries such as starch, sugars, oils and fats, energy in the form of fuel wood, starch and sugars which are sources of ethanol, methanol, etc., and massive numerous valuable drugs, fragrances and other fine chemicals. Plant growth also has a massive influence on environment. Because of all these roles, Policymakers should be continually developing policies for the use of plants to protect the earths environment and to feed the growing populations.(1) The Historical Phenomenon (Green revolution) The term Green Revolution has begun to be used in 1960s refers to the renovation of agricultural practices by some Third World countries, particularly in Asia and Latin America, beginning in Mexico in the 1940s. Because of the use of high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of wheat and rice which increase food crop production. Green revolution technologies spread worldwide in different terms as agricultural revolution and seed-fertilizer revolution, which led to a substantial increase in the amount of calories produced per acre of agriculture in 1960s.(light green, H2) The green days of the Green Revolution (History and Development) In 1970 the American botanist, Norman Borlaug, Director of the Division for Wheat Cultivation at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center or CIMMYT in Mexico, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He was honoured for having set in motion a worldwide agricultural development, later to be called the Green Revolution (light green). In the 1940s, N. Borlaug began conducting research in Mexico and developed new disease resistance high-yield varieties of wheat. By combining Borlaugs wheat varieties with new mechanized agricultural technologies, Mexico was able to produce more wheat than was needed by its own citizens, leading to its becoming an exporter of wheat by the 1960s. Prior to the use of these varieties, the country was importing almost half of its wheat supply.(net) Due to the success of the Green Revolution in Mexico, its technologies spread worldwide in the 1950s and 1960s. The United States for instance, imported about half of its wheat in the 1940s but after using Green Revolution technologies, it became self-sufficient in the 1950s and became an exporter by the 1960s.(net) A renovation of the history of the Green Revolution shows that the international agricultural research institutes played an important role in progressing of using Green Revolution technologies. Such as, in 1959, the CIMMYT instituted in Mexico, which was founded by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations, and the Mexican government provided the land. Also, in 1960, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Manila, which was joint effort of the Ford and Rockefeller Foundation Several more international institutes were established and funded by government agencies as the World Bank and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). After that, in 1971, all the international agricultural research institutes were brought under the umbrella of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).(4) The development was based on the genetic improvement of particularly productive plants. Borlaugs so-called miracle wheat doubled and tripled yields in short period of time. Similar increases were soon achieved with maize and, at the (IRRI), with rice (IR8) that produced more grain per plant when grown with irrigation and fertilizers.(2) The success of the newly developed strains appeared limitless. They were introduced in several Asian countries in 1965, and, by 1970, these strains were being cultivated over an area of 10 million hectares. Within three years, Pakistan ceased to be dependent wheat imports from the United States. Sir Lanka, the Philippines, and number of African and South American countries achieved record harvests. India, which had just avoided a severe famine in 1967, produced enough grain within five years to support its population, and became one of the worlds leading rice producers.(2) Despite the success of the Green Revolution in increasing yields per hectare in India, this success has largely bypassed Africa. The reasons for this include the fact that both wheat and rice are relatively unimportant staple crops in Africa; that Africas main staples of maize, sorghum, millet, and cassava have experienced only modest productivity gains; and that Africas infrastructure is not sufficiently well deve loped to support significant agricultural change The witness of the Green Revolution (Plant Technologies) Agricultural technology development can be characterised as passing from primarily land-related technologies, through mechanisation to bio-chemical technologies (associated with new varieties and relatively large amount of agro-chemicals). It is now moving towards a bio-technology phase. (green p 72) The crops developed throughout the Green Revolution were high yield varieties (HYVs), which means they were domesticated plants in high response to chemical fertilizers and produce more grain per plant when grown with irrigation.( H2) They were insensitive to photoperiodicity and matured in about 110 days rather than 180 days; it was thus possible to grow two or even three crops in a year. The yield potential of these varieties was greater in the temperate regions of Asia and in the dry season in the monsoon region than in the humid tropics, because of the longer hours of sunshine and hence the greater potential photosynthesis available to the plant. (H2) The terms often used with these plants that make them successful are harvest index, photosynthate allocation, and insensitivity to day length. The harvest index refers to the above ground weight of the plant. During the Green Revolution, plants that had the largest seeds were selected to create the most production possible. After selectively breeding these plants, they evolved to all have the characteristic of larger seeds. These larger seeds then created more grain yield and a heavier above ground weight. This larger above ground weight then led to an increased photosynthetic allocation. By maximizing the seed or food portion of the plant, it was able to use photosynthesis more efficiently because the energy produced during this process went directly to the food portion of the plant. Finally, by selectively breeding plants that were not sensitive to day length, researchers like Borlaug were able to double a crops production because the plants were not limited to certain areas of the globe based solely on the amount of light available to them. Benefits Criticism (Consequences of the Green Revolution) Agricultural development thinking in the 1960s and 1970s was preoccupied with the problem of feeding a rapidly increasing world population. Then, the obvious solution was to increase per capita food production. The resulting green revolution has had a dramatic impact on the Third World, particularly in terms of increasing the yields of the staple cereals wheat, rice, and maize. However, despite impressive success, it also suffers from problems of equity and failures in achieving stability and sustainability of production.( 5 After) Since the 1940s, the fossil fuel-based Green Revolution has greatly increased the production of a few selected commodity grain crops such as wheat, corn, soybeans and rice, achieved through high-input, monoculture cropping practices. The unintended consequence of this Green Revolution experiment is that the focus on chemical crop fertility inputs, pest protection, and weed control has increased toxicity in the environment and degraded the planets finite soil and water resources (Khan et al. 2007). Worldwide, 1.9 billion hectares are significantly degraded. Soils are less fertile, erosion has greatly increased, and breakdowns in agro-ecological functions have resulted in poor crop yields, land abandonment, and deforestation. (IAASTD 2008) Furthermore, chemically-based conventional farming methods lead to human health risks. Pesticides have damaged wildlife, poisoned farm workers, and created long-term health problems such as cancers and birth defects (Lichtenberg, 1992). Even in the U.S., more than half of the nations drinking water wells contained detectable amounts of nitrate and seven percent have detectable amounts of pesticides. (US EPA 1992) There is a significant health risk from pesticide residue on the foods we eat. Conventionally grown food in the heavily regulated United States has 2/3 more pesticide residue than organically grown food. As soils on organic farming systems continually rid themselves of pesticides from prior industrial agricultural practices,  the pesticide residue gap between conventional and organic will grow even larger. (Delate et al. 2006; Baker et al. 2002). Preschool children in the Pacific Northwest eating a conventional food diet had eight times the organophosphorus pesticide exposure compared to children of parents who provided organic diets. (Curl et  al. 2003; Lu et al. 2005) In countries with little or no regulatory enforcement, the situation of people eating food contaminated with pesticide residue can be m uch worse. A 2008 research review commissioned in partnership with the United Nations and prepared by 400 world experts and signed by 57 nations strongly rejects industrial farming as a viable approach to address problems of soaring food prices, hunger, social injustice and environmental degradation in the developing world. (IAASTD 2008). Around the world, one- to five-million farm workers are estimated to suffer pesticide poisoning every year, and at least 20,000 die annually from exposure, many of them in developing countries. (World Bank: Bangladesh: Overusing Pesticides in Farming January 9, 2007) The United States is burdened with an estimated $12 billion annual health and environmental cost from pesticide  use, (Pimentel et al. 2005) and estimated annual public and environmental health costs related to soil erosion of about $45 billion (Pimentel et al. 1995). But the damage transcends environmental soil loss. What cannot be economically calculated is the cost of destroying future generations ability to produce enough food for their survival. When all costs are calculated the Green Revolution is not cost-efficient. While centralized, industrial agricultural methods reduce labor costs by substituting herbicides, insecticides and synthetically-produced fertilizers as well as farm machinery for application and crop maintenance, the energy costs are much higher than in organic farming systems. The negative consequences of the Green Revolution led the 2008 United Nations research review to strongly reject industrial farming as a viable approach to address problems of soaring food prices, hunger, social injustice and environmental degradation in the developing world. (IAASTD 2008) Second Green revolution New biotechnology can affect every stage of plant life. Rapid biotechnology tests for contamination by crop disease organisms and for seed and crop quality controls allow for safer and more efficient crop breeding is likely to play an important role in securing the future supply of food. Crop germplasm improvement by the addition of new genes has been the goal of plant breeding since the beginning of agriculture. New efficient genetic modification methods could aim at increasing plant performance and plant resistance to virus and other disease, as well as to drought, salt, cold, heat, etc. They could also enlarge the land resource basis available for agriculture. Genetic modification might become the most important contribution of biotechnology to plants. From 1982, when the first single gene was successfully transferred, progress has been rapid; several dozen plants have since been modified in the laboratory.(1) Broad-scale implementation of innovative technologies, such as hybrid breeding and plant biotechnology, would go a long way towards increasing and securing the harvests of our most important crops. For example, varieties of crop plants whose resistance to drought or extreme temperatures has been strengthened through gene technology or by other means could contribute to securing the harvest in the face of climate change. Researchers in the Australian state of Victoria have run successful field trials of genetically manipulated wheat lines that are capable of delivering stable yields under conditions of water stress. In the 2006/07 season, drought in Victoria destroyed an estimated 70 percent of the wheat harvest. The German Association of Biotechnology Industries (DIB) expects the first drought-tolerant wheat variety to be brought onto the market in five to ten years. For maize, this could happen in two to five years. Authorities in the USA have already received a registration appli cation for drought-tolerant maize. Plant biotechnology is also likely to contribute to a resource-efficient increase in the productivity of food from animal husbandry. In future, ruminants might be fed more easily-digestible grasses with modified fructan and lignin contents. This would reduce the amount of climate-damaging digestive gases they produce, and at the same time, increase energy yield. Increasing income levels in developing countries mean that more and more people expect to be able to consume animal-derived foods, so this type of efficiency gain is essential if the environmental and climatic impacts of animal husbandry are to be kept under control. The twin pressures of climate change and dwindling fossil energy resources will propel agriculture to the forefront in supplying the worlds population with renewable energy and sustainable supplies of raw materials. Forecasts indicate that between 20 and 30 percent of the agricultural surface might be dedicated to producing biomass by 2025. It follows then that this area will either be lost to food production or at best only available to a limited extent. This means that biomass production also desperately needs innovative approaches if the conflict between the tank and the plate is to be relieved. Need of another revolution The challenge facing the world today is to provide food, fibre and industrial raw materials for an ever growing world population without degenerating the environment or affecting the future productivity of natural resources. This challenge is even more pressing in developing countries, where FAO estimates that a total of 925 million people are undernourished in 2010 (FAO SOFI report 2010). The industrial Green Revolution has not, and cannot, feed the world. Instead of helping people feed themselves, it has created a cycle of dependency. In a world of 6.5 billion people, experts project that the world food supply will need to double again over the next 40 years to feed our planets population. Based upon the heavy use of chemical fertilizers and irrigation, the industrial Green Revolution worked only as long as fuel was cheap and water was abundant. The transitory benefits of increased short-term food production have come at too great an ecological price as carbon is extracted from the soil and emitted as global-warming carbon dioxide in our air instead of remaining in the soil to nurture crops. Petroleum-based fertilizers and chemical pesticides have also polluted our water and poisoned our environment, food, and people. Conclusion It is sometimes said that the Gene Revolution will replace the Green Revolution. But this will not happen until and unless this mechanism enables breeders to produce dynamic gains in generations of varieties. Until such time, the Gene Revolutions GM products can only complement conventional Green Revolution breeding. This complementarily takes the form of installing static GM products on the dynamic generations of varieties produced by conventional Green Revolution methods.^ * The Roundup Ready product produced by Monsanto has been installed on approximately 1,500 soybean varieties produced by 150 seed production companies Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been introduced in the agricultural system and on the market of consumer goods in the last 10-20 years, initially in the USA but also increasingly in developing countries. Since the discovery of genetic engineering, with its potential to modify DNA of living organisms, discussion and controversy have been abundant [1,2] both cited in [3]. Europe has witnessed a particularly strong resistance to the introduction of GMOs in agriculture and for consumer food products, both from consumers, national governments and from the EU. The public objections had numerous causes, including the concerns about the risk assessment, the ethics and equity issues, power relations and the mistrust of technocrats and public authorities. The resistance in Asia, Latin America and North America has been generally weaker than in Europe, although some authors have voiced scathing criticism of the US governments and the industrial lobby for abusing famine in Africa to f oster the spread of GM food to developing countries [4].In response to the criticism, the European governments have attempted to improve the risk assessment methods and its scientific basis, and to tailor public policies to the growing demand for transparency, accountability, and public participation.( second revo ref2) Major issues Concerns about the introduction of GMOs in crops and in food concentrate on four mutually overlapping areas: environmental concerns; public health concerns; ethical concerns about tampering with nature and individual choice; and a combination of ethical and socio-conomic concerns related to the issues of patenting C) Improving plant breeding In vitro and other biotechnologies help to reduce the time-consuming and expensive process of producing, growing and evaluating large numbers of plants. Included are molecular genetics for paid identification of valuable genes, new methods for hybrid seed production, and plant propagation and tissue culture. D) Improving plant production Crop performance in the field, defined as yield, depends upon numerous factors, including environment, soil type, agronomy, external factors such as pests and disease and the plant properties themselves. Genetic modification of plants or micro-organisms can modify these factors, leading, for example, to better plant morphology , stress resistance, and biological fertilisation, as well as pest and disease control, which reduce chemical inputs into agriculture. Improving Plant Production Crop performance in the field, defined as yield, is a very complex character and is affected strongly by environmental factors, soil type, external agents such as pests and diseases, by the quality of agronomy and husbandry as well as by the properties of the plants themselves. Biotechnological methods can lead to increased yield by creating plants with attributes that optimise exploitation of specific environments. Plant characters frequently in need of improvement by exploitation of new genes in breeding programmes Increase drought tolerance, Increase salt tolerance, Increase cold tolerance, Increase heat tolerance, Increase disease resistance, Increase pest resistance, Herbicide tolerance, Increase nitrogen utilisation, Increase acid/alkali tolerance, Increase metal tolerance, Modified day length responses, Modified vernalisation responses, Increase photosynthesis/respiration efficiency.

A Sociological Perspective Of Structural Functionalism

A Sociological Perspective Of Structural Functionalism The criminal behaviour of Robert Pickton can be examined through the sociological feminist perspective. There are numerous factors throughout Picktons life that could have served significantly towards his deviant behaviour. The feeling of male dominance could have led the man to express his anger and superiority on the opposite sex. As a result, this unacceptable behaviour raises confliction between the two genders; this exemplifies a feminist theory of female oppression. Throughout his youthful year, Pickton may have encountered neglect from a female figure, which could have played an influence on the behaviourism of this serial killer. For example, hostile affection from a mother may have caused Pickton to bottle up his anger to the point where he used criminal acts as a release in his elder years. These later acts could be a mirror reflection to the actions of his mother therefore causing him to avenge his past experiences by murdering as many other women as possible. Taking a look at the Marxist Feminism theory can also serve in sociologically analyzing the behaviour of Robert Pickton. This theory examines the lack of balance in terms of men and women in an economic outlook. Stereotypical roles and class hierarchies divide the two sexes; for example, women are to take on the housewives roles whereas men are more of the working money makers. Pickton may have based his attacks on a lower class level than he assumed himself to be in. He was a farmer who produced and well as distributed food to others, yet due to the fact that many of the women were prostitutes and drug addicts (CBC News), Pickton clearly picked on this class for a reason. Perhaps he felt that this specific target group was helpless, and had a negative effect on the world. The imbalanced regard to class groups may have numbed Picktons feelings of guilt or awareness to the fact that he was murdering countless women uncontrollably. Robert Picktons choice of targeting a specific group o f women, let alone women in general, goes to show the sociological perspective of feminism in this case. Psychological Perspective: Psychoanalysis Thorough psychological analysis of his thinking process, consisting of both his conscious and unconscious mind, can help with focusing on the psychoanalysis of Picktons behaviour. The Id, according to Freud, is driven solely by impulses. In the case of Pickton, the impulse was sexual, seeing as the women he murdered were all sex workers. It is only fair to assume that he resorted to these specific women for a specific reason, to satisfy his needs. His sexual impulses led to his Id satisfying them. There is also a chance that Pickton was experiencing internal conflict which led to the outcomes of his decided behaviour. The Id has no care for reality, or the needs of anyone else, merely its own satisfaction. To continue the analysis of Picktons behaviour, we must now take a look at his ego. Considering an ego develops through experience, it is possible that Picktons uncontrollable urge to kill women was a result from being neglected in his early years by a motherly figure. Being motivated by unconscious conflicts, Picktons ego weakened as his unresolved mental struggle in regards to hatred of an important motherly figure from his youth may have caused his murderous acts. He may have been battling for acceptance or love and lost, hence why afterwards he probably felt in need of retribution against his mothers rejection. The feeling of betrayal or rejection by a female likely outsourced Picktons jealous rage. Picktons super-ego, alike to his ego, can also be seen as weak. This murderers conscious had to have been aware that his acts were wrong and socially unacceptable; he chose to disregard the difference between right and wrong as still act out in a poor manner. Additionally, Picktons sense of childhood rejection may have caused him to lose trust and view the world as an undependably hopeless place. This mistrust has a direct correlation and affect to his social interaction and his personality. His criminal acts were a mean of expressing the unconscious conflicts that have not been resolved. His superegos failure to develop is largely due to his inability to identify with his parental figure as well as lack of internalization of parental and social norms, values and morals. Without a fully developed superego, Pickton was missing his conscience and had no empathy for others. The ids domination of his superego caused it to weaken and easily influence him toward urging violent criminal beh aviour. Freudians would characterize Picktons behaviour by having a weak ego, absent super-ego and a strong id. Anthropologic Perspective: Sociocultural Anthropology Inside on Robert Picktons social life can give us an anthropological insight in terms of his behaviour. Going back a few years, it seems as though Roberts relationships and social interaction were not fully developed. Being rejected in an attempt to build social interactions could definitely have caused Pickton to feel inferior. As this feeling of rejection continued, it developed into anger which he then chose to release through attacking the initial source of it all, women. Due to the womens clear inability to defend themselves, Pickton matured a sense of superiority which built motivation to continue his attacks. Growing up, Pickton may have been exposed to excessive amounts of media violence which may have played a toll on his later behaviour. Media has become one of the most powerful weapons in the world. Since society as a whole is our means of expression, Pickton probably became a victim of conformity. The battle of conformity may seem impossible to conquer; it is a battle that will murder an individuals qualities, and the only way to triumph it is through conscious awareness of its outcome. It is evident that this man is not intact with his conscious, meaning he is either prone to making bad decisions by disregarding their consequences or he was never given taught any better. Examining Picktons targets, female prostitutes, may correlate with his values, morals and also the economic inequalities of women in the society he grew up in. Seeing as his outlook of women was already poor, prostitution may have been another concern of his. Pickton worked on his farm, meaning he performed physical labour in order to earn his living. On the other hand, prostitution in the view of Pickton may have been a career that earned a living off of pleasure rather than pain; this might have been an unfair and morally unacceptable way to earn a living in the eyes of this murderer. From this, the man may have not felt any sympathy for these women, so he decided to indulge his guilt-free attitude in the killing of a specifically characterized group of targets. Hypothesis for Research of a Serial Killer To understand the reason for a serial killers motives, we must investigate the conscious and unconscious mind by taking a look at the id, ego, and superego. This will help to determine the driving principle of the criminal, the pleasure they were seeking, their ability to differentiate between right and wrong, and the power and development of the id, ego and superego. Feminists would examine the perspective of women and their rights within a society, particularly one dominated by men. Social systems, structures and issues in relevance to women will be put to the grand focus. Structural functionalists regard crime as a necessary and constant part of society. In a given society, the majority of people identify, acknowledge and adhere to a shared set of moral guidelines and rules through legal punishment and public offense. Crime is crucial to society because it sets the legal system and develops a shared set of moral guidelines. A drastic increase in criminal behaviour loses peoples trust and cohesion. Yet, unusual decreases in crime sets the impression that people have no individuality or freedom, as well as do not share moral guidelines to differentiate between right and wrong. Therefore, the stability of a crime rate has a direct relation to the health of a society. We must also take a look at the survival of society and how criminals become outcasts to the structural norms. Ones inability to recognize their place in society, creating an uncertain status, may cause them to deviate from what is acceptable socially. When conducting research on a serial killer, one must explore and gain insight on the psychoanalytic, feminist, and functionalist perspectives. The collaboration of these perspectives will allow for a thorough understanding in terms of a criminals urge for multiple killings.

Free Candide Essays: The Search for Truth :: Candide essays

The Search for Truth in Candide Voltaire's Candide is a novel which contains conceptual ideas and at the same time is also exaggerated. Voltaire offers sad themes disguised by jokes and witticism, and the story itself presents a distinctive outlook on life. The crucial contrast in the story deals with irrational ideas as taught to Candide about being optimistic, versus reality as viewed by the rest of the world. The main theme which is presented throughout the novel is optimism. Out of every unfortunate situation in the story, Candide, the main character, has been advised by his philosopher-teacher that everything in the world happens for the better, because "Private misfortunes contribute to the general good, so that the more private misfortunes there are, the more we find that all is well" (Voltaire, p. 31). Pangloss, the philosopher, tries to defend his theories by determining the positive from the negative situations and by showing that misfortunes bring some privileges. As Candide grows up, whenever something unfortunate happens, Pangloss would turn the situation around, bringing out the good in it. Candide learns that optimism is "The passion for maintaining that all is right when all goes wrong " (Voltaire, p.86). According to Rene Pomeau, "Voltaire-Candide...have made him [Candide] acquainted with the bad and the good side of human existence. The moral of Candide is born out of its style; it is the art of extracting happiness from the desolate hopping-about of the human insect" (Adams; Pomeau p.137). Pomeau explains that Candide shows both sides of humanity; how both great and terrible events are standard in a human life. Also according to Pomeau, the whole point of the story is to debate between good and bad; for example, as Candide becomes more independent, he starts to doubt that only good comes out of life. Pangloss is a very hopeful character in the story because he refuses to accept bad. He is also somewhat naive and believes that he could make the world a better place by spreading his theories on optimism. When Candide had met up with Pangloss after a long period of time, Pangloss said that he was almost hanged, then dissected, then beaten. Candide asked the philosopher if he still thought that everything was for the better, and Pangloss replied that he still held his original views. No matter how little Pangloss believed in the fact that somehow everything would turn out well, he still maintained his original views.

Physics of Stopping a Bike :: physics bicycle

In short brakes are a tool that turn kinetic energy into heat(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brakes). This is accomplished by applying friction in one way or another. In the case of disk brakes friction is created because the braking mechanism exerts a force on the break pads which pushes them into contact with disk. It is this contact combined with the fact that the disks are rotating that causes kinetic energy to be converted to heat. If the purpose of brakes is to convert kinetic energy into heat, then in order to know how much heat the brakes make requires that we find out how much kinetic energy there is in a moving bicycle. The important thing to know about an object that is moving on wheels is that its kinetic energy is equal to half of its mass including the wheels(Mb) multiplied by the square of its velocity(V) plus the kinetic energy in the rotating wheels. In this case I am going to assume that all of the mass of the wheels is located on the outer edge (this isn't really the case, but most of the mass is there). Then the kinetic energy of a wheel due to rotation is half of its mass(Mw) multiplied by the square of its radius(r) multiplied by the square of its angular velocity(w) multiplied by two since there are two wheels. kinetic energy of the bicycle = Â ½MbV2 + 2Â ½Mwr2w2 Since the velocity of an object rolling on wheel(s) is equal the radius of the wheel times its angular velocity we can substitute V2 in for r2w2. This substitution leaves us with: kinetic energy of the bike = V2(Mw+Â ½Mb). I mentioned on the last page that we must stop the bike by turning its kinetic energy into friction. To do this, the brakes apply a force to the disk with pads. The force of this friction is equal to the total downward force (f) that the pads put on the disk(the pads are usually on each side of the disk and crush it between them) multiplied by the coefficient of friction(u). force of friction = (f)(u) For our purposes, while a bike is coasting the only things besides pedaling that can effect its speed are the force of friction from the brakes and gravity.

Trends in Computer Architecture Essay -- essays research papers fc

Trends in Computer Architecture Since the introduction of the first computer, the search for computer architecture that is faster, smaller, and more efficient has been a constant goal of the computer industry. The first computers were large, heavy machines composed of thousands of vacuum tubes. The development of the transistor created the next evolution in computer architecture, the microchip. This is the architecture used in the current generation of computers. Like its vacuum tube predecessor, this architecture of utilizing transistors, can only go so far. Moore’s Law predicts that the number of components on a chip doubles every 18-24 months. At this rate each switch will eventually become the size of an atom. When this happens the laws of quantum mechanics must be used. A new evolution in computer architecture will need to be developed to handle the unique laws of quantum mechanics. This architecture is already being developed and is called a quantum computer. Quantum computers work in a rather distinctive way. Instead of using traditional bits, they use quantum bits, or qubits. These qubits are particles that can take on the unique states required for quantum computing. The best way to understand how a quantum computer works is by example. A basic example is to take a register composed of 2 bits. Using a classic register, these two bits can have a value of 0,1,2, or 3. Now using a quantum register with two qubits, the register can have a value of 0, 1, 2 and 3 all at ...

Human resources Essay

Sales and profits Human resources can improve sales and profit within the business. This is because the HR department itself are in control in terms of Hiring (including recruiting candidates, the interview process, negotiations, and signing contracts. ) So technically speaking if the HR department hired a sales man that was not up to satisfaction and was lacking sales. Then this may have been down to HR department not being thorough enough at the interview or their person specification. I believe the business should overlook the HR department and see what may need tweaking. I believe doing this would potentially help the measurement of sales and profit within the business. Because hiring a well-earned applicant for the job would be there will be more sales/profit. There are many technical resources that may help aid sales and profits to increase within a business. One technical resource that could potentially increase sales and profits is the use of software for a development of a website. Nowadays the majority of the population has some type of computer. Having a website for your business can be very effective, businesses may use a website to either sell their products/items or they might just use it for promotion and advertisement purposes. One may be effective more the other depending on the type of business. Although at the end of the day both ways in which you use a website for your business is effective. As it will promote it to a wide range of audiences that have access to the web, this then would result in sales and profits potentially increasing. Physical resources may be necessary if the business may need publicity for it to operate. For example, having a branch. More customers are more likely to join a ‘firm’ if you have a branch and by this time the finance could potentially increase gradually, therefore improving sales & profits. Financial resources can help monitor the finance within the business. A business needs to insure that they have enough money so that they are able to order stock/products e. c. t. They also have to insure that they are monitoring the money effectively so that they have money for bills, wages and other expenses. I believe using financial resources can help aid a business’s profit and sales just by monitoring effectively. Customer base The HR department are in control of the Promotions and raises within the business. If for example a group of customers come on a regular basis to buy various products for a specific price. Then if one day HR decides to raise the cost of product doing this could potentially damage the customer base. This is why it is important for the HR department to ensure that they have regular promotions within the business they should also only raise the product items if it is completely necessary, otherwise it could affect suppliers or other customers that are In businesses ‘customer base. ’ Carrying this entire out could defiantly aid the customer base. Having technical resources available means that the business is able to keep a customer base. This can be done by customers be able to use a website for latest information or they can get updated emails e. c. t. I believe ensuring a business has an email system and website is important as it can maintain a customer base for people that are interested. A business should use physical resources to set up a customer base. There are many physical ways in which you can set up a customer base or help get one together. As a business you should always be on the hunt for new customers and seeking methods to bring them to your door. If you are not consistently looking for opportunities-s to build your customer base, your business could fall off of the growth track. One really popular way to start up a new customer base is it to use Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or LinkedIn. It all depends on whom you are targeting for business. Managing financial resources is about getting the most from the resources you have available. It involves implementing resource management procedures and it also controls and can include managing costs and maximising opportunities. A customer base can be managed and improved by using a bank loan or some type of finance resource. Using this investment business should use it to promote/advertisement their company, doing this could potentially help create or increase a customer base. Employee satisfaction and staff turnover HR department could potentially help aid the employee satisfaction within a business. This is because HR are in control off the employee, HR have the power to dismiss an employee they also have the power to promote an employee. The HR should ensure that all the employees are comfortable in their job they should do this by using questionnaires at the end of the month for employees to fill in, I believe doing this could potentially increase the employee satisfaction that they have on the business. HR should include special days once a month and include a paid meal for all employees; this could potentially raise employee satisfaction. Staff turnover is controlled by the HR department and Therefore they are in control in terms of employing new employee’s e. c. t. Although HR should be well aware and only employ employees that meet the full requirements for the job. Technical resources can make the work place more appealing and may satisfy employees. For example having computers in an office for employees to work on will satisfy them. Although if for example the work place did not have computers, employees may feel unsatisfied and they may feel uncomfortable this then may result in employees quitting their job. That is why it important for every work place to ensure that they have technical resources within the work place if necessary. Ensuring that the work place has computers and other technical resources may positively affect the staff turnover within the business. It may result in receiving a good reputation in terms of having good equipment and resources within the work place. Employee Job Satisfaction surveys allows an organization to understand their employees. Employees often act on the basis of their environment, the behaviour of their colleagues, and management policies. Employee satisfaction and retention surveys can give management the knowledge and tools that directly impact the bottom line and business outcomes and doing this could potentially build positive employee relations and a positive work environment. This could later down the line increase staff turnover as employees by feel comfortable and like their job more this therefore will potentially increase staff turnover. Finance within a business can increase employee satisfaction. For example if the work place is poor businesses should use financial resources to sort it out, if left poor employees may feel ‘unsatisfied. ’ This also could result in staff turnover to decline. Customer satisfaction The HR department are responsible for hiring employees with respect. The HR department should ensure that before hiring an applicant that they show good customer communication and they should also have a good experience with customers. Also ensuring that the applicants have these qualities is important especially as a sales man. Having attitudes towards customers would defiantly affect the businesses customer satisfaction in a whole. Tasks in hand cannot be completed without these vital technical Resources. For instance; if computers or any other technical resource is damaged or not working for a particular reason then, this may effect customer satisfaction. With physical resources there would be no customer satisfaction. Physical resources are known to be the resources made by man through his abilities and skill. The technology, buildings, and many more products. Therefore if the building layout is poor this could result in customers not being satisfied. Finance resources can be used to aid customer satisfaction. A small group of member can be funded by finance resources to carry out customer surveys this can be used to help manage customer satisfaction within the business. Customer satisfaction is down to the service and the quality of the service. This can be managed and potentially increased by using financial resources to improve the quality and the service. Levels of efficiency Human resources departments play a critical role in contributing to the Overall productivity and efficiency of an organization. As HR helps to build a stronger workforce through better recruiting, training and retention, the Workforce helps drive the efficiency of the business as a whole. Levels of efficiency can be improve and measured. This can be measured by using technical resources. For example using a piece of software such as ‘excel’, this type of technical resource can help businesses record figures e. c. t. Also using this piece of software could potentially improve the levels of efficiency within the business. Levels of efficiency can be measured using technology (physical resources. ) Businesses can measure the efficiency using computers. Measuring the levels of efficiency is important as business are able to see an overall view of the businesses performance/efficiency Finance resources can help increase the levels of efficiency. There are a number of ways in which this can be increased. The business should see where which area is falling and they should invest money into this to resolve the problem. 2 June 2013 From: UkAdvisers Subject: Measures of performance and resources Introduction Definitions: Performance measurements: A sale is something that is sold for generally money. Although profit on the other hand, is money that is made through services it also excluding all expenses. A customer base is group of customers that come on regular basis and is serve by the business or service. Employee satisfaction is important is any business without it a business will lack employees working. What is does it mean? Employee satisfaction is how an employee feels in terms of their workplace/job role. Staff turnover is the amount of staff joining and leaving the business. Customer satisfaction is similar too previous performance measurement, although customer satisfaction in a whole is how a customer feels about the business overall. The definition behind the levels of efficiency within a business is in other word the overall performance of the business, for example efficiency within a workplace is the time it takes to do something. Efficient employees and managers complete tasks in the least amount of time possible with the least amount of resources possible by utilizing certain time saving strategies/methods. Resources: Physical resources are known to be the resources that are made by man through his skill. The technology, buildings, and many other products that are made by man are just some examples of physical resources. Financial resources concern the ability of the business to finance its chosen strategy. An example of this is a strategy that requires investment in is things such as new products; distribution channels and working capital these will all place great strain on the business finances. Human resources (HR) is a department within the company that is responsible with finding, screening, recruiting and training job applicants, as well as employee programs. Technological resources are such things as software, designs, music or text. Findings: I believe for ‘sales and profit’ the important resource for this is technical resources, the reason I have chosen this as the most important resource for this performance measurement is because within this resource businesses will fail to get the business on-line they will also will be unable to measure the sales and profit within the business this potentially could then damage the business. I have chosen finance resource as the least important resource for sales and profit, the reason I done this is because although finance could potentially help a business it can also damage a business in terms of paying back interest, businesses may out take various loans or other types of finance and then struggle paying it back due to the large amount of interest (%) attached. A customer base is important in a business and in my personal opinion I believe that again ‘technical resources’ are the most vital compared to the others. This is because nowadays a large percentage of the population have internet and visit social websites such as; Twitter and Facebook. If a business had the right technical resources available then depending on the business having Facebook for example and starting up a Facebook fan page or customer page could potentially increase a customer base or it could maintain a longer existing customer base. The least important resource that would slightly affect a customer base is using finance resources. I believe that using finance wouldn’t maintain a customer base or increase a customer base unless used for promotion etc. Employee satisfaction is important if businesses want employees to stay working. This is why I believe physical resources are the most important resource. The reason I believe this is because handing out questionnaires to employees for feedback and improvement’s will reassure customers and make them feel more comfortable it will also give an opportunity to employees to get their point across about something they may not like within the business. The least effective resource for this is technical resources, having few technical resources may not mean that employees will be unsatisfied, also the business may not necessarily need technical resources for its purpose. Human resources (HR) in my opinion is the most important resource for satisfying customers, this is because HR are responsible for hiring well-respective and well suited people for the job. Without this customers may feel unsatisfied with their service or their talk with an employee. I also believe that ‘finance resources’ are the least important; this is because you can’t realistically fund customer satisfaction. Levels of efficiency again HR are responsible for who is hired and therefore if HR are not thorough enough with their recruitment process it may result in the company receiving an employee that is not suited enough for the job role this then would mean that the levels of efficiency within the business may decline. Conclusion: In conclusion, In my opinion I believe that human resources is the most important resource within a business and the most effective this is because HR are in charge of employee and their motivation and it also improves organizational productivity, if employees are well remunerated, with good salaries, wages, bonuses, and other fringed benefits such as housing allowance and medical allowances. This type of attitude motivation drives an employee to work as if it where his company, and thus in the long run the business will start too increase productivity. I believe that having a good motivation for something helps a person succeed. Evaluate the adequacy of accounting ratios as a means of monitoring the state of the business. (UNIT 2 D2) This is an informal report and the structure of the main section is as follows: (a) Introduce the accounting ratios. Which main areas do they measure? (Profitability, efficiency, liquidity). Why are these important? (b) How are these used to monitor the state of the business? (compare to last year, to plan, to similar businesses, to industry average) What problems might there be in using the ratios in these circumstances? (c) What can’t be measured with ratios that would be considered as relevant to measuring the state of the business? (e. g. environmentally friendly, staff motivation). Explain some examples. How important are these things when measuring the state of the business? Conclusion Given all of the above, how useful are accounting ratios to help you measure the state of a business?