Last night at the regent theatre in Hanley Essay

Last night at the Regent Theatre in Hanley, Stoke-upon-Trent , I witnessed a spectacular performance of Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare is regarded as a true great among modern poets and playwrights alike. The play began with a masterfully written battle scene between the two feuding families, the Capulet’s and the Montague’s, both of similar social status. This primary scene soon evolved into a story of two teens, torn between their love for each other and fear of betraying their families. The highlight of the performance was the balcony scene; it was very dramatic and romantic. The show was stolen by the actor, Los Angeles, who played Lord Capulet ~(Juliet’s dad). He showed the audience how harsh but valuable to the storyline this character is, adding sparks to the performance with lines such as: ‘Hang thee, young baggage disobedient wretch’ (act three scene five) The end of the performance showed how parental conflict can interfere with lives of others and end in tragedy with the death of both the families youngest offspring. After the performance I interviewed Mr Jones and his teen son Bradley about their thoughts and feelings about the superb reproduction of the original Shakespeare romance. Interview with Father Journalist: Mr Joe Bloggs Father: Mr Jones Journalist: What do you think of attitudes of fathers in William Shakespeare’s time? Father: Control of teens is a lot more relaxed than when it was back then. I know myself; fathers in 2002 are struggling to gain respect from their teen children now and then patriarchal control was more or less one hundred percent. I think the attitude of fathers in William Shakespeare’s time was unnecessarily strict and forceful, for example Act 3 Scene 5 lord Capulet says: † Go with Paris to Saint Peters church or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither† I mean, strict is always good from a parents point of view but sometimes it can be a little over the top. Kids still need to be responsible for their own life and actions although parents can’t be too overruling, especially in my opinion, in marital circumstances. Still I can sympathise, being a father myself, he probably just wanted the best for Juliet but like you said, sometimes being too strict can have tragic consequences. Journalist: In Act 3 Scene 5, do you think lord Capulet was being fair to assume Juliet would accept the marriage proposal? Father: I think that lord Capulet was doing what he thought was best for Juliet in that day and age. Keeping Juliet in a good family, making sure she would be taken care of was obviously important to lord Capulet, so yes, I don’t think it was fair for Lord Capulet to expect Juliet to marry someone she wasn’t in love with. He obviously thought he was doing his best, but this would be frowned on nowadays. I think he could of prevented his daughters by trying to get to know Juliet better and discussing the marital problems with her. I could tell they were not close when Lord Capulet said: â€Å"Graze where you will, you shall not house with me† Journalist: In act 1 Scene 1, Lord Capulet enters an argument between servants of both families, he is seen as being keen to defend his family and to be faithful to them, but in Act 1 Scene 5 at the Capulet’s ball, he denies Tybalt his revenge and stops him from fighting Romeo. What do you think this says about his character? Father: His character shows that he is eager to defend his family honour, but he also sees these arguments as pointless, and he decides his family are worth all the hassle. At the Capulet’s party, I think he stops a fight occurring just to keep the peace, especially seeing as Romeo is not causing any harm. He wants his party to stay unspoilt. This covers up his usual short-tempered personality. Journalist: Do you think Capulet was thinking of his daughter when he arranged the marriage to Paris? Father: I can be sympathetic here, simply because looking deeper into it, and upon phrases such as: â€Å"She is the hopeful lady of my earth†, it seems that Capulet only wants the best for his daughter Juliet, and wants her in a stable marriage with a wealthy man. Although, as the scene develops it becomes clear that Capulet wants a husband for Juliet to keep the families high status and to increase Lord Capulet’s riches, he does not see love as part of the equation. So, when Juliet meets Juliet meets Romeo I think she say it as a way out, a window or maybe just as an act of rebellion. Journalist: Overall, What do you think William Shakespeare is trying to show us through Capulet’s character and about parental conflict through his play? Father: I think William Shakespeare is trying to put across the sheer futility of parental conflict and that you can’t force anybody into your way of thinking and most importantly, that true love conquers all! Interview with daughter Journalist: Joe Bloggs Son: Bradley Journalist: What do you think of the attitudes of teens towards their parents in William Shakespeare’s time, compared to now? Daughter: I think modern day parents are a lot more easy going than they were back then, and because of this, I know my father for one thinks we tend to take advantage of this! However, nowadays this kind of equal ranking between parent and teens, means a closer relationship forms, and I personally think we tend to discuss things more as a family. Journalist: In act 3 scene 5, what do you think about Juliet’s attitude towards the arranged marriage based on her first impressions? Daughter: In my opinion Juliet was absolutely in the right here. I realise in some religions this kind of thing is completely normal, but if my father introduced a man I hardly knew to me, only to tell me I was to spend the rest of my life with him, I would be thoroughly disgusted and certainly rebel against it! Journalist: Do you think Juliet was wrong to go behind her fathers back with Romeo even after she knew he was a Montague? Daughter: Yes, I think she should have told her parents of the situation and if they would prefer to lose a daughter than to live with it then Juliet would have to decide whether it is all really worth the fuss. After all, love is such a strong emotion and can a girl of her age really be sure what she is feeling? In spite of everything even her father thought she was too young at first as he says: ‘She hath not yet seen the change of fourteen years’ Journalist: How much do you think Juliet’s parents are responsible for Juliet’s death? Daughter: If anyone is responsible for her death it is her father! He almost drove her to the brink of insanity and depression; he shouldn’t have been so persistent about marrying someone she didn’t love. However I do not feel he is entirely to blame. Journalist: What do you think William Shakespeare is trying to show us about parental conflict and true love through his play? Daughter: Parental conflict interferes with things but true love will always come out best, nothing can stand in the way of people being together, not even the grim reaper, as shown in this tragic play of love and romance. Conclusion It seems as a whole both father and daughter feel that parenting in the time of William Shakespeare was kept quite tight knit and strict. Also both see that William Shakespeare is trying to express his feelings of futility towards parental conflict. It can affect the lives dramatically and most importantly he feels that love conquers all. David seems to feel that Lord Capulet was only trying to help by finding a partner for his daughter although he thinks Lord Capulet is too strict a parent. In a complete contrast Isabel disagrees with David and thinks Lord Capulet was wrong to assume he could arrange a marriage but she also believes parenting was too strict then. Conclusion- well it is agreed that parenting was very strict in those days although no-one seems to agree on whether Lord Capulet was in the right when arranging the marriage but in those days maybe a father being this forceful about marital situations was normal. Also the Capulet’s do seem partly responsible for their daughter’s death. Maybe they shouldn’t have tried to get to know their child better and the tragedy that followed might have been prevented? Who will ever know? Its up to you, the reader to decide now.

Smart Grid Resolution, London Waste Dump Site and Maladroit’s Cosmetics Essay

One of the benefits of investing in this $100 million project includes rerouting power around bottlenecked lines. This allows Xcel Energy to deliver electricity to areas in Boulder that have a very high demand that the previous conventional electrical grid was unable to service effectively. This smart-grid system also enables Xcel Energy to detect and reduce power outages, identify false alarms more quickly and read customer meters remotely. This in return will lead to a reduction in the number of times the service crews are sent out to those locations, thus making the service crews more productive. Combining the efficiency of the smart-grid electrical system and the reduction of outages will allow Xcel Energy to capture cost-savings more appropriately. Additionally, this electrical smart-grid allows customers to monitor their individual power use reducing household usage by up to 30% in some cases, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction. Although this may lead to a decrease in revenue for Xcel Energy, the smart-grid system enables integration of renewable generation, an increase in overall system efficiency, a more robust electrical system and an ability to recover under-utilized and wasted energy. We can’t say for sure, but this may actually benefit Xcel Energy in the long-run as they will recover lost revenue through their decreased operational costs using the smart-grid electrical system. What conflicts do you suspect might have occurred between all the different stakeholders in this project? In any project there are four main stakeholders. This includes Client, Parent Organization, Project Team and the Public. In the case of Xcel Energy’s smart-grid project, both the client and public would be the population of Boulder, CO. The Parent Organization is Xcel Energy and the project team includes representatives from Accenture consulting for engineering, energy industry consultants, leading technologists, business leaders and IT experts. Accenture provides consulting solutions in many major industrial sectors. According to the text, Accenture consulting for engineering was hired. Additionally, IT experts were also brought onto the team. Accenture provides IT solutions as part of their consulting portfolio so there may be some conflict between the two parties due to their different backgrounds and methods of doing business. Also security and privacy were of utmost importance to protect intellectual property, so it is in the best interests of the project team and the parent organization to control how much information they gave to the public and local media. However, the latter of the two recipients may have wanted more information, specifically, how this affects their electricity costs and demands in the long run causing another source of conflict. Internally, members of the project team will experience conflict caused by belonging to two different teams – their project team and functional team. Often, the head of the teams are two different people with different motives and goals, and the members have the responsibility to report to both and are therefore pulled in two different directions. The members of the project team experience almost total conflict as they compete for project resources and leadership roles. This is caused in part by the different backgrounds, attitudes and biases of each member. This would be especially apparent in the Xcel project where members from many different companies and departments are brought together, each with a unique way of accomplishing the tasks and work packages of the project. Turning London’s Waste Dump into the 2012 Olympics Stadium Which of the â€Å"triple constraints† seems to be the uppermost here? Which constraints was Crockford trading between? The text says Crockford â€Å"quickly† assembled a project team of over 1000 individuals in order to meet the mid-2011 completion date. A constant referral to time is also observed. The start date of construction was noted as May 2008 and although there was a delay due to re-designing the roof, the text ends by stating that the project was still on track to be completed by mid-2011. Therefore, Schedule is the triple constraint uppermost here. The design team for the 2012 Olympics Stadium planned a highly-compact field of play requiring a steel-beamed roof and on discovering that the steel-beamed roof as designed would create turbulence on the compact field, a lighter, more flexible roof was redesigned, which was made in part from recycled materials. This roof required less steel and cost less than the initial steel-beamed roof designed. Thus, Crockford traded between the Scope (Required Deliverables) and the Cost (Budget limit). Was the life cycle for this project S-shaped, J-shaped, or something else? Considering just the purpose of the river dredging as a project itself, what was the shape of its life cycle? The completion of London’s 2012 Olympic Stadium consisted of selecting the project team (consisting of over 1000 members), cleaning up the chosen site, design of the stadium, construction, delays and finally construction until completion. Therefore, the project life-cycle most likely followed a stretched S-shape curve similar to housing construction projects. The S-shaped curve is categorized by a slow start, followed by a quick build-up and a slow finish. This is a result of the changing levels of resources used during the successive stages of the life-cycle. The slow start in this case would be the clearing of the site and design of the stadium. Construction would also begin slowly but would quickly ramp up once all the raw materials are shipped to the location and base infrastructure completed. There is a delay (not uncommon – almost expected) when the team realizes the steel-beamed roof would create turbulence on the compact field. Finally, construction will slow down as specialized parts are ordered for the final touches (luxury spectator rooms, confectionary stands etc). The river dredging project followed a J-shaped curve. This is characterized by a slow start followed by an exponential increase in project completion over time. Moreover, the expenditure of resources has little correlation with overall progress. The team removed 30,000 tons of silt, gravel and garbage from the river. Getting the cranes and other heavy machinery used to remove garbage from the river would take time, but once there, they can quickly and effectively remove the waste from the river. Were there any ancillary goals for this project? What might they have been? The Olympic Delivery Authority’s goal to use recycled materials in the building of the 2012 Olympic Stadium can be considered as an ancillary goal. The use of recycled materials to build a lighter, more flexible roof creates opportunities whereby a stadium can be completely built from recycled materials in the future. An ancillary goal of making 55,000 of the 80,000 seats temporary would create a profitable stadium in the future because the cost of maintaining the area containing the seats is grossly reduced. Furthermore, a successful stadium results in a successful 2012 Olympics and ultimately increases tourism in England. Finally, Ian Crockford has greatly increased his reputation and experience as a project manager (as well as his subordinates and parent company too) which drastically increases his chances of managing future projects on this scale and beyond. Which of the project-defining factors in Section 1. 1 were active here. The project was identified as important by the Olympic Delivery Authority composed of politicians and other high-ranking members of society. The scope was clearly defined from the beginning of the project and was divided into sub-tasks to achieve the project goals. The due date of the project is also clearly defined as Mid-2011. Many interdependencies were at play such as the recycled metal from the police department and dredging of the river. The project was unique in that it had a temporary seating design, a lighter more flexible roof and designed specifically for the 2012 London Olympics. The budget was limited to ? 32 million and not unlike the Xcel Energy case detailed above; conflicts existed between the different stakeholders of the project. Therefore, all 7 of the project defining factors were active in the construction of the 2012 Olympics stadium. Maladroit Cosmetics Company Which of the three choices do you recommend and why? The third choice, that is, the company that manufactures the machines can handle the installation project for a fee close to what the installation would cost Maladroit is recommended for a number of reasons. The first being hat Maladroit becomes the customer in this transaction, and the company installing the machines would be performing the job and would have to do it according Maladroit’s specifications including any unseen delays not identified in the scope. We are also unsure of the qualifications of the members of her staff and if they capable of undertaking such a high risk project worth $4 million. Finally, she cannot handle the project informally out of office because the project is very important and she would not be able to devote as much time to the project as well as her current duties. If the project was one small machine at a total cost of $4,000, would your answer be different? Yes, we would recommend that she assigns the project to a member of her staff that could potentially be suited for a managerial role in the future. This low risk project would be an excellent test to see how well he or she is able to complete the project deliverables in a cost-effective and timely manner. Discuss the relative importance of the capital investment required versus the role of the investment in machinery. Capital investment can be defined as a commitment of the owner’s money to land, buildings or machinery. In this example, it is the commitment of the owner’s money to the installation of 6 machines worth $4million (note: the plant manager does not necessarily own the machines, rather, the shareholders or owners of the actual company do). The role of the investment in machinery is to replace the filling machines that have become obsolete within 6 months so that the company can continue to produce cosmetic products and generate revenue.

Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE) for Diabetes

Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE) for Diabetes Diabetes mellitus is a syndrome which defined as a group of metabolic diseases characterized by hyperglycemia, that result from insufficient production of insulin, or body cells poorly respond to the insulin that is produced, or both. Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas and secreted in the blood to maintain blood glucose in the body through enables body cells to absorb glucose, to turn into energy. If the body cells enable to absorb the glucose, the glucose will accumulates in the blood (hyperglycemia), leading to many and different potential medical complications (Harmel & Mathur, 2004). Diabetes have several categories but the majority of cases fall into two categories which are type 1 diabetes mellitus and type 2 diabetes mellitus. These two types are powerful and highly independent risk factors causing coronary artery disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease and organ damage and dysfunction including eyes and nerves (Harmel & Mathur, 2004). Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus : Type 1 diabetes mellitus resulting from pancreas failure to produce insulin hormone. Person at risk of developing type 1 can be identified by doing serologic test markers that showing evidence of autoimmune destruction of beta cells (islet cells) of the pancreas which is responsible for insulin production. Type 1 diabetes is manifested in childhood and early adulthood, but can patient present at any age (Goroll & Mulley, 2009). Type 2 diabetes mellitus: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus are prone with wide range of series complications. Type 2 is characterized by high blood glucose due to insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency. There are 20.8 million people in United State with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Type 2 diabetes traditionally is seen in elderly people. However it is diagnosed in obese children. Many studies shows that type 2 diabetes mellitus are associated with high calorie diet, physical inactivity and life style (Feinglos & Bethel, 2008). Other Types of Diabetes: There are other types of diabetes but they are less common but patients who are underlying defect or disease process can be identified in a relatively specific manner. These types are Genetic defects of beta-cell function, Diseases of the exocrine pancreas e.g Fibrocalculous pancreatopathy, Endocrinopathies and cystic fibrosis and Uncommon forms of immune-mediated diabetes. Diabetes mellitus complications: Diabetic complications can be grouped into macrovascular and microvascular disease. Macrovascular diseases are result from atherosclerosis which develops in earlier age in patient with diabetes. There are several factors contribute to atherosclerosis such as lipidemia, hypertension, increased platelets adhesion and aggregation, elevated factor V, factor VII and fibrinogen concentration. Macrovascular diseases are seen in both type one and two of diabetes mellitus and they include coronary heart disease, Ischemic stroke and peripheral vascular disease (which can lead to u lcers, gangrene and amputation) (Winter & Signorino, 2002). Whereas, Microvascular complications is seen in type one diabetes mellitus. Hyperglycemia damages the basement membrane of capillaries in the retina and glomerulars which leads to retinopathy and neuropathy. Microvascular diseases include neuropathy (nerve damage), nephropathy (kidney disease) and vision disorders (eg retinopathy, glaucoma, cataract and corneal disease). Furthermore there are other complications of diabetes include infections, metabolic difficulties, dental disease, autonomic neuropathy and pregnancy problems (Winter & Signorino, 2002).

New drug that significantly improved performance on a learning task in Essay

New drug that significantly improved performance on a learning task in human - Essay Example This electrical impulse is one unit of neural information. An electrical impulse flowing along the length of a neuron is called nerve impulse. Nerve impulses are unidirectional within a neuron – from the dendrite through the cell body and axon, to the axon terminals. In addition, neurons produce nerve impulses in an all-or-nothing way. For example, if the stimulus that a neuron receives is too weak to trigger a nerve impulse, nothing happens – the neuron does not initiate an impulse. However, if the stimulus is strong enough, the neuron does initiate an impulse. What happens when an impulse reaches the end of one neuron and move to another neuron? The junction between two neurons or between a neuron and a muscle is called a synapse. The two cells involved in a synapse do not physically touch each other instead they are separated by a small space. The cell that carries the impulse to the synapse is the synaptic cell and the cell that receives the impulse is the postsynaptic cell. When an impulse that is travelling along the postsynaptic cell reaches the end of the axon, it causes the cell to release molecules known as neurotransmitters. These molecules are released into the synapse and diffuse approximately 20 millionths of a millimetre to where they bind with receptors on the dendrites of the postsynaptic cell. When neurotransmitters bind to the receptors, the charge across the postsynaptic membrane changes and if the change is great enough, it triggers a nerve impulse, the nerve impulse then travels along the postsynaptic cell. Dopamine (DA) is a predominant catecholamine neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain where it controls a variety of functions including locomotor activity, cognition, emotion, positive reinforcement, etc. The chemical is naturally produced in the body (brain region). Dopamine, the neurotransmitter activates dopamine receptors. In addition,

3 D optimization Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

3 D optimization - Research Paper Example Problems in 3-D dynamics are usually tackled using a combination of different fundamental approaches. These approaches include experimental fluid dynamics, theoretical fluid dynamics and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). CFD is what has opened the ‘three approach’ in the field of aerodynamics. CFD has had a big role to play in the analysis of aerodynamic configurations so as to aid the design process. The availability of high performance computing platforms have also aided in the development of aerodynamics (Reuther, Alonso & Jameson 1996). Both the mesh morpher algorithm and the direct search algorithm are gradient based optimization techniques. When using these designs in a 3D element optimization airfoil, the control function is parameterized with some set of design variables and a suitable cost function is either minimized or maximized. In order to show the dependence between the cost function and control function governing equations are introduced. The sensitivity derivatives of the cost function in retrospect to design variables are introduced in order to get a direction of improvement. The convergence to a minimum or maximum is achieved when the procedure is repeated. A fast and accurate way of calculating the necessary gradient information is imperative in developing a design that is effective and this is often the most time consuming part in the design algorithm. Therefore, this should be put into consideration when a very large number of design variables as in the case of the three dimensional wing shape desi gn are concerned. The plan of this research strategy is to produce 3D multi-element airfoil design and optimization mechanism that can adapt a model (3D airfoil) delivering enhanced aerodynamic performance in terms of maximizing lift to drag ratio under landing and takeoff flight situation (Reuther, Alonso & Jameson 1996). Processing the multi-element

Answer the question Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Answer the question - Speech or Presentation Example Table 3 below gives the test for pre-deliberation ballot. We clearly see that there is an association between death-qualified jurors and those who would have been excluded in regard to the voting. The p-value is given as 0.017 (a value less than ÃŽ ±=0.05), leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis and thus we conclude that there is significant difference in the voting pattern between death-qualified jurors and those who would have been excluded Table 4 below gives the test for post-deliberation ballot. We again see that there is an association between death-qualified jurors and those who would have been excluded in regard to the voting. The p-value is given as 0.017 (a value less than ÃŽ ±=0.05), leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis and thus we conclude that there is significant difference in the voting pattern between death-qualified jurors and those who would have been excluded The p-value for the Pearson’s Chi-square is 0.256 (a value greater than ÃŽ ±=0.05), we thus fail to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is no association between ethnicity and the examination pass rate. The p-value for the Fisher Exact test to test is 0.375 (a value greater than ÃŽ ±=0.05), we thus fail to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is no association between ethnicity and the examination pass rate. d. Use the 2-sample Z-test method to test the null hypothesis that the pass rates are equal for Hispanic and other officers. Explain the results, and compare the results from the three tests you performed in B,C,D. From the table we observe the mean for other officers to be 1.78 while that of Hispanic officers is 1.88. The p-value for the 2-sample Z-test is 0.693419 (a value greater than ÃŽ ±=0.05), we thus fail to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is no significant difference in pass rate between the Hispanic officers and other

Describe the impact of a risk event on business relationships Assignment

Describe the impact of a risk event on business relationships - Assignment Example They are strategic risks that are inadvertently linked with the nature of operations and administrative procedures of any particular industry. Other multilateral dependencies that can impact business partners or link in a business chain include accidents between cars in the importing procedures, fire, theft, and vandalism and water damages (Jolly, 2003). Being a transporter with a reputation of delivering on time and within budget, traffic can be a considerable hindrance to the performance of duties. Such a reputation is highly dependent on the status of traffic unless the transporter has a dedicated means of business that is not shared by others in the same business. Depending on the embedded culture of business continuity, a business organization can be categorized as risk taking or having zero tolerance. It is from such cultures that a business’ continuity is ensured and the impacts of accidents, such as those arising from transport procedures, can be

Aristotle's Pursuit of Happiness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Aristotle's Pursuit of Happiness - Essay Example Another example person who looks for the pleasure through eating must find the mean between gluttony and starvation. The Greek word eudaimonia is usually understood as the translation for â€Å"happiness†. The problem is that happiness is usually perceived with a subjective mental state, as when one claims to be happy enjoying a dozen cans of cool beer on a searing day, or is having enjoyment with friends. On the other hand, Aristotle believes that ideal of happiness is the ultimate end that covers the entirety of any human being’s life. Happiness is not something that can be achieved or discarded in the temporariness of time like that found in pleasurable sensations. Happiness is more likened to the importance of an individual’s life as lived up and measuring how well one has lived up to his or her full potential. It is because of this reason that an individual cannot really make any statement regarding whether he or she has achieved a life of happiness until it has ended.   Aristotle thinks that the most significant reason in the endeavor to accomplish happiness is to practice and cultivate good moral character or virtue ethics. It should be noted, however, that being virtuous is not something that is gained passively. ... The achievement of these various endeavors would lead to the perfection of human nature and enrichment of life. This involves any person to make decisions, some of which may be easier said than done. Most of the time, the lesser goods bring the assurance of instant enjoyment and more appealing, while the greater good more tasking and likely demands some degree of patience and perseverance. For example, it is likely to be easier and more enjoyable to spend the night going to the pub and have some booze and fun, but knowing that it will be better off if dealing for a project in which the due date is the next day. Improvement for a good character demands a strong will in doing what is right, even in the most testing challenges and situations. What this means is that the rational part of the soul should control the rational part (Stumpf, 94). It would be understandable then that Aristotle is highly critical of the culture of instant satisfaction which seems to be predominant way of life in the modern world today. To be able to attain the lifestyle of complete virtue, an individual needs to make right decisions by taking to account the future ultimate result as a whole. Happiness will not be achieved simply by indulging the pleasures at the whims of temporariness. Since the passions are capable of a wide range of action, all the way from too little to too much, a person must discover the proper meaning of excess and defect and thereby discover the appropriate mean (94). However, this undertaking is a task most individuals will find hard overcome in themselves. Eventually, the virtue ethics of Aristotle will bring the awareness to the concept of  akrasia, which means the weakness of the will. Most often than not, the irresistible prospect of some great

Canadian Senate Reform Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Canadian Senate Reform - Essay Example However, all the hard work to modify the governing body has been failing for the past several years. Ultimately, the present government resolution is to accomplish the task of reformation. The conformist government, which is under the Prime Minister, suggests cutting down the period senators’ rule and choosing them by ballot. However, the government is operating into tough political oppositions. The Senate in Canada keeps hold of a central position in the history of the country (Smith, 2009).Without a doubt, the alliances made in Canada for the past decades were because of the accord to take in the governing body as it is now incorporated. The legislative body of Canada is an exclusive establishment, being the only succeeding chamber contained by the Canadian coalition, as well as the lone in the western part whose affiliates are all chosen. This paper will highlight the bill meant for the agenda of Canadian reform and some of the main contents of the bill. It will also explai n the major provisions of the Act as well as the conditions for the senate candidates. The script will as well talk about the arguments made by the leaders concerning the issue of government reform. It will outline the doubts of the senators as well as the arguments made by the opposition, and the side supporting the reform. ... Lastly, this paper will give recommendations regarding this matter of the Canadian reform. It will discuss the importance of the changes to be made in the government body as well as what effects the reform could have to the country. Bill for the Agenda In the year 2006, the Canada’s Prime Minister conformist government had established two bills to change the senate. One was to institute restricted conditions for senators, reinstating the system on hand of appointment until one reaches 75 years. The other bill was to launch consultative voting for the legislature with the Prime Minister appointing the conquerors of the election. The â€Å"House of Commons† and the Senate heard the bills but neither of them was ratified into ruling (Smith, 2009). In the first session of the Canada’s forty-first parliament, Bill C-7 was proposed. The bill was based on an Act with regard to choosing of senators as well as adjusting the constitution Act, 1867 regarding Senate period r estrictions. The first part of the endorsement ascertains a structure for selecting Senate appointments contenders from the territories as well as provinces. Two main ideologies would be relevant to the procedure of election. The first one was that, the Prime Minister, in advocating Senate candidates to the â€Å"Governor General† for a region or province, would be compelled to put into regard, names from a list of entrants presented by the regional or provincial administration. The second principle was that the contenders list would be resolved by a selection held according to the regional or provincial laws ratified to put the framework into practice. The second part of the endorsement modifies the occupancy of senators who are to be called

Balloon Economy Essay Example for Free

Balloon Economy Essay I have always wondered why our country cannot just make lots of money to pay all of its debts and to distribute to all Filipinos. I was thinking that this way we won’t have to deal with poverty anymore. This way we will have enough money to pay everything. After researching and thinking about it, I realized how naive I was. The government cannot just print out more money for it will drastically affect the balloon economy. For me to further elaborate my point, let us imagine a balloon. Not an inflated one, but a new one that you just bought from a store. This deflated balloon is still so small that I cannot appreciate its beauty as a balloon. So I put more air in it and it grows to a considerable size. Imagine that the balloon is the economy, and the air inside it is the money circulating in the economy. If we put more money in the economy (through making debts or printing more money), there will be more air, and the balloon will get bigger. When there is an abundant supply of something, its value tends to decrease. This also applies to money. As the number of circulating money increases, the value of money decreases. Now, what does this mean? It means that the purchasing capacity of money decreases, and so the prices tend to increase. This phenomenon is something we are all familiar with – inflation. There are many causes of inflation but all of them have the same effect – an increase in price of commodities. As the balloon economy gets bigger, the prices also increase. We all know that if we keep on pumping air into the balloon, sooner or later it will burst. So to prevent this, we must let air out by loosening our grip on the end of the balloon. This is what we call deflation. After inflation, deflation usually follows. Since the prices of goods are too high, consumers tend to purchase less. So the supply tends to be higher than the demand. There is a surplus of goods and services. And as I discussed earlier, a surplus of something makes its value decrease. So if this surplus continues, there will be deflation, or a decrease in price of commodities. From here we can see that the economy is indeed comparable to a balloon. It can inflate, deflate and ever burst. Knowing that the economy is like this, the government should be careful not to make the balloon pop. They should pump in just the right amount of air, and if they realize that they have pumped in too much, they must know how to loosen their grip so as to release some air from the balloon.

Dividend Discount Model and Price Earning Model

Dividend Discount Model and Price Earning Model Financial theory holds that the value of a share of stock is equal to the sum of the discounted future expected dividends. The Dividend Discount (DD) requires two inputs, firstly a forecast of future dividends and secondly, a rate at which these dividends will be discounted to their present value. The appropriate discount rate that will be used is the rate of return available on risk-free investments plus a risk premium. The Capital Asset Pricing Model is one of the most widely used models for calculating discount rates. Once the discount rate estimated, all future dividends must be discounted to their present value. Although near term dividends may be estimated with some confidence, to make the DD model operational an assumption regarding long term dividends is necessary. Two common assumptions regarding dividend growth and their associated valuation models are: (i) Earnings growth as well as dividend growth will be constant with the Gordon Model, and (ii) Multiple stages of growth can be approximated. Therefore, it is obvious that the forecasts and the assumptions necessary for operating DD models induce the emergence of significant errors into this theoretically correct approach. Common Stock Valuation Concepts The value of a common stock can be defined as the present value of the future dividend stream in perpetuity. This concept is consistent with the assumption that the corporation will indeed have a perpetual life, in accordance with its charter. If the value of a stock is equivalent to the value for a perpetual annuity with a constant level of payments, the general formula is as follows: Value per share of stock = Where = Expected dividend per share = Cost of equity The formula shown above for stock valuation treats the firm together with its stock as if they will exist forever. There are two basic inputs to the model. First is the expected dividends and secondly the cost on equity. To obtain the expected dividends, we make assumptions about expected future growth rates in earnings and payout ratios. The required rate of return on a stock is determined by its riskiness, measured differently in different models, the market beta in the CAPM, and the factor betas in the arbitrage and multi-factor models. The model is flexible enough to allow for time-varying discount rates, where the time variation is caused by expected changes in interest rates or risk across time. Zero growth model In this model it is assumed that the same amount of dividend will be paid for all the time periods up until infinity. The formula is given as follows after it has been simplified by using the formula sum to infinity of geometric progression: Where V = value, D = dividends per share k = percentage discount rate However, this model is quite restrictive as it is unreasonable to assume that the same amount of dividend will be paid by a stock for an indefinite time period. The model may be useful for determining the value of preferred stock which usually yields a fixed amount of dividend. Constant (Gordon) growth model The major drawback of the zero growth model is that it is assumed that a firm will pay the same dividend throughout its lifetime. However, in the real world most companies are expected to grow over time and consequently make more profits leading to more dividends being paid. This model assumes that there is a constant growth rate for the corporation being analysed and it is most suitable for valuation of stable and mature companies. This model was created by Myron Gordon, and thus it was named as the Gordon Model. The formula for constant growth model is derived from the zero growth model. If the dividends are assumed to grow at a certain constant rate, the formula becomes: Where g = annual constant percentage growth in dividends per share D = next years dividends. The Gordon growth model is a simple and powerful approach to valuing equity. In order for the model to work the following assumptions must be held: Dividends will grow at a constant rate and it will continue for an infinite period. The required rate of return is greater than the steady growth rate. The required rate of return is constant until infinity. It is also important to note that the model has some limitations. The Gordon growth model is a simple and convenient way of valuing stocks but it is extremely sensitive to the inputs for the growth rate. Used incorrectly, it can yield misleading or even absurd results, since, as the growth rate converges on the discount rate, the value goes to infinity. As the growth rate approaches the cost of equity, the value per share approaches infinity. If the growth rate exceeds the cost of equity, the value per share becomes negative. Multistage Dividend Discount Model The assumption of the Gordon Growth Model that there is a stable dividend growth rate from now on to the indefinite future is not realistic for many or even most companies. The studies of Sharpe, Alexander and Bailey (1999) state that the growth fall into three stages namely the growth phase, transition phase and the mature phase. Two-stage Dividend Discount Model The two-stage growth model allows for two stages of growth an initial phase where the growth rate is not a stable growth rate and a subsequent steady state where the growth rate is stable and is expected to remain so for the long term. While, in most cases, the growth rate during the initial phase is higher than the stable growth rate, the model can be adapted to value companies that are expected to post low or even negative growth rates for a few years and then revert back to stable growth. The model is based upon two stages of growth, an extraordinary growth phase that lasts n years and a stable growth phase that lasts forever afterwards. Value of the Stock = PV of Dividends during extraordinary phase + PV of terminal price Where DPSt = Expected dividends per share in year t ke = Cost of Equity (hg: High Growth period; st: Stable growth period) Pn = Price (terminal value) at the end of year n g = Extraordinary growth rate for the first n years gn = Steady state growth rate forever after year n There are three problems with the two-stage dividend discount model. The first two would apply to any two-stage model and the third is specific to the dividend discount model. The first practical problem is in defining the length of the extraordinary growth period. Since the growth rate is expected to decline to a stable level after this period, the value of an investment will increase as this period is made longer. The second problem with this model lies in the assumption that the growth rate is high during the initial period and is transformed overnight to a lower stable rate at the end of the period. While these sudden transformations in growth can happen, it is much more realistic to assume that the shift from high growth to stable growth happens gradually over time. The focus on dividends in this model can lead to skewed estimates of value for firms that are not paying out what they can afford in dividends. In particular, we will under estimate the value of firms that accumulate cash and pay out too little in dividends. The H Model for valuing Growth Fuller and Hsia (1984) presented the H model is a two-stage model for growth, but unlike the classical two-stage model, the growth rate in the initial growth phase is not constant but declines linearly over time to reach the stable growth rate in steady stage. The model is based upon the assumption that the earnings growth rate starts at a high initial rate and declines linearly over the extraordinary growth period (which is assumed to last 2H periods) to a stable growth rate. It also assumes that the dividend payout and cost of equity are constant over time and are not affected by the shifting growth rates. However, the limitations of this model is that it avoids the problems associated with the growth rate dropping precipitously from the high growth to the stable growth phase, but it does so at a cost. First, the growth rate is expected to strictly decline linearly. Therefore small deviations from this assumption do not affect the value significantly, but large deviations can cause problems. Another important point is that the assumption that the payout ratio is constant through both phases of growth exposes the analyst to an inconsistency i.e. as growth rates decline the payout ratio usually increases. Three-stage Dividend Discount Model The three-stage dividend discount model combines the features of the two-stage model and the H-model. It allows for an initial period of high growth, a transitional period where growth declines and a final stable growth phase. It is the most general of the models because it does not impose any restrictions on the payout ratio. This model assumes an initial period of stable high growth, a second period of declining growth and a third period of stable low growth that lasts forever. This model removes many of the constraints imposed by other versions of the dividend discount model. In return, however, it requires a much larger number of inputs for instance year specific payout ratios, growth rates and betas. For firms where there is substantial noise in the estimation process, the errors in these inputs can overwhelm any benefits that accrue from the additional flexibility in the model. Estimating k and g Companies with unpredictable or recurring earnings pattern, or rapidly thriving companies, require a more complex dividend capitalisation model framework that can accommodate dissimilar dividend growth patterns. In practice, applications may require elaborate variations of the dividend capitalisation model, nevertheless this simplified form provides a convenient means of analysing the determinants of stock value. To begin with, the value of the stock should be greater, the greater the earning power and capacity of the corporation to pay out current dividends, D. Correspondingly, the higher the growth rate of the dividends, g, the greater the value of the corporations stock. Finally, the greater the risk of the corporation (the higher the discount rate, k) the lower will be the value of the stock. The discount rate is alternatively referred to as a required return. It is composed of two elements-a risk-free return and a risk premium. The risk-free return is, in turn, generally considered to consist of a real return component and an inflation premium. The real return is the basic investment compensation that investors demand for forgoing current consumption or, alternatively, the compensation for saving. Investors also require a premium to compensate for inflation; this premium will be high when the inflation rate is expected to be high and low when the inflation rate is expected to be low. Because the real return and the inflation premium comprise a basic return demanded by all investors, the risk-free return is a component of all securities. The risk premium is made up of the following elements-interest rate risk, purchasing power risk, business risk and financial risk. The risk premium might be considered to be a function of the stocks systematic risk (beta), which is determ ined by these four fundamental risk factors. As securities differ in their exposure to these risk elements, the premium or return that investors require to compensate for risk will differ across securities. The constant dividend growth model reveals that the following three factors affect stock prices, ceteris paribus: 1) the higher the dividend, the higher the stock price; 2) the higher the dividend growth rate, the higher the stock price; 3) the lower the required rate of return r, the higher the stock price. Empirical Studies on the DDM Issues of dividend policy range from its puzzle by Black (1976) to its irrelevance by Miller and Modigliani (1961), to its relevance by DeAngelo et al. (1996). Other issues include theories on dividend payment, such as stakeholders theory, pecking order theory, agency cost, signalling theory, bird-in-hand fallacy and clientele effect. The information asymmetry between managers and shareholders, along with the separation of ownership and control, formed the base for another explanation of why dividend policy has been so popular. Dividend irrelevance theory Miller and Modigliani (1961) proposed that dividend policy is irrelevant to the shareholder and that stockholder wealth is unchanged when all aspects of investment policy are fixed and any increase in the current payout is financed by fairly priced stock sales. The main assumption is that there is 100 per cent payout by management in every period. Other assumptions are: that there exist perfect capital markets; that is, no taxes or transactional cost, the market price cannot be influenced by a single buyer or seller, and free and costless access to information about the market; that investors are rational and that they value securities based on the value of discounted future cash flow to investors; that managers act as the best agents of shareholders; and that there is certainty about the investment policy of the firm, with full knowledge of future cash flows. Bird-in-hand theory Al-Malkawi (2007) asserts that in a world of uncertainty and information asymmetry, dividends are valued differently from retained earnings (capital gains): A bird in hand (dividend) is worth more than two in the bush (capital gains). Owing to the uncertainty of future cash flow, investors will often tend to prefer dividends to retained earnings. Though this argument has been widely criticised and has not received strong empirical support, it has been supported by Gordon and Shapiro (1956), Lintner (1962) and Walter (1963). The main assumptions are: that investors have imperfect information about the profitability of a firm; that cash dividends are taxed at a higher rate than when capital gain is realized on the sale of a share; and that dividends function as a signal of expected cash flows. Signalling hypothesis Though Miller and Modigliani (1961) assumed that investors and management have perfect knowledge about a firm, this has been countered by many researchers, as management who look after the firm tend to have more precise and timely information about the firm than outside investors. This, therefore, creates a gap between managers and investors; to bridge this gap, management use dividends as a tool to convey private information to shareholders (Al-Malkawi, 2007). Petit (1972) observed that the amount of dividends paid seems to carry great information about the prospects of a firm; this can be evidenced by the movement of share price. An increase in dividends may be interpreted as good news and brighter prospects, and vice versa. But Lintner (1956) observed that management are reluctant to reduce dividends even when there is a need to do so, and only increase dividends when it is believed that earnings have permanently increased. Clientele effects of dividends theories. Investors tend to prefer stocks of companies that satisfy a particular need. This is because investors face different tax treatments for dividends and capital gains and also face some transaction costs when they trade securities. Miller and Modigliani (1961) argued that for these costs to be minimised, investors tend towards firms that would give them those desired benefits. Likewise, firms would attract different clientele based on their dividend policies. Though they argued that even though clientele effect may change a firms dividend policy, one clientele is as good as another, therefore dividend policy remains irrelevant. Al-Malkawi (2007) affirms that firms in their growth stage, which tend to pay lower dividends, would attract clientele that desire capital appreciation, while firms in their maturity stage, which pay higher dividends, attract clientele that require immediate income in the form of dividends. Al-Malkawi (2007) grouped the clientele effect into two groups, those th at are driven by tax effects and those driven by transaction cost. He argued that investors in higher tax brackets would prefer firms that pay little or no dividends, to get reward in the form of share price appreciation, and vice versa. Transaction cost-induced clientele, on the other hand, arises when small investors depend on dividend payments for their needs; this clientele prefers companies who satisfy this need because they cannot afford the high transaction cost of selling securities. Dividends form the hard core of stock values. As Justice Holmes remarked, the commercial value of property consists in the expectation of income from it. (In Galveston, H. S. A. Ry. Co. v. Texas, 210 U. S. 217, 226.) Black (1976) observed, The harder we look at the dividend picture, the more it seems like a puzzle, with pieces that just dont fit together Williams applied Fishers work on stock valuation and developed the famous dividend discount model (DDM) (Fewings, 1979, p. 12). Williams defines the investment value of stock as the present worth of all the dividends to be paid upon it (Williams, 1956, p. 55). He further makes it clear that the investment value of a common stock is the present worth of its net dividend to perpetuity (Williams, 1956, p. 63). Amid this theoretical research, the academic world was divided and a fierce debate erupted concerning the irrelevance of dividend policy in the determination of the valuation of firms or their stocks. The inconsequence of dividend policy in the stock valuation contemplates the equivalence of the valuation using earning approach and the valuation using discounted dividend approach. Fishers inter-temporal investment and consumption model predicted that earnings which are reinvested at the going rate of capital instead of being released for consumption neither adds nor subtracts from the value of the overall stream of benefits (Fewings, 1979, p. 17). Thus, according to Fisher, dividend policy is irrelevant in the valuation of stocks. One must remember that Fishers theory is applicable under perfect capital markets with certain futures. At the same time, Graham and Dodd (1934) developed their valuation methodologies based on the assumption that the firms main objective is to pay dividends to shareholders. Empirical evidence in the market suggested a positive correlation between stock prices and dividend payout (Harkavy, 1953), suggesting the relevance of dividends in the valuation of stocks. Gordon and Shapiro (1956), Walter (1956) and Solomon (1963) supported this hypothesis. In accordance with the relevance of the dividend policy on the valuation of stocks, Gordon extended Williams model of stock valuation to include retained earnings. He further developed the model to include continuous equity financing. These dividend dependent models are called the bird-in-the-hand models by authors like Frankfurter et al. (2003), as they are based on the assumption that there are two opportunity rates one for the firm and the other for the investor. The firm should retain 100 per cent of its earnings if the opportunity rate of a firm is greater than the opportunity rate of the investor. The seminal paper of Miller and Modigliani (1961) argued the irrelevance of dividend policy and the equivalence of the valuation of stocks using four approaches, namely the discounted cash flow (DCF) approach, the current earnings plus future investment opportunities approach, the discounted dividend approach and the stream of earnings approach. This equivalence was proven under assumptions of perfect capital markets, rational behaviour and perfect certainty. In addition, Miller and Modigliani (1961) point out that the dividend policy may be relevant when a revision in the dividend policy points to some information that the investors do not know. This information content of dividends argument led to the development of dividend signaling models. The irrelevance of dividends is not resolved. Academics are still divided into two, if not more, schools of thought on the subject. Price Earnings Ratio A firms profitability, risk, quality of management, and many other factors are reflected in its stock and security prices. Hence, market value ratios indicate the markets assessment of the value of the firms securities. The price/earnings (P/E) ratio is simply the market price of the firms common stock divided by its annual earnings per share. Sometimes called the earnings multiple, the P/E ratio shows how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of the firms earnings per share. Earnings per share comes from the income statement, so it is sensitive to the many factors that affect the construction of an income statement, from the choice of GAAP to management decisions regarding the use of debt to finance assets. The price/earnings ratio is stated as: Stock prices are determined from the actions of informed buyers and sellers in an impersonal market. Stock prices reflect much of the known information about a company and are fairly good indicators of a companys true value. Although earnings per share cannot reflect the value of patents or assets, the quality of the firms management, or its risk, stock prices can and do reflect all of these factors. Comparing a firms P/E to that of the stock market as a whole, or with the firms competitors, indicates the markets perception of the true value of the company. While the P/E ratio measures the markets valuation of the firm relative to the income statement value for per-share earnings, the price-to-book value ratio measures the markets valuation relative to balance sheet equity. The book value of equity is simply the difference between the book values of assets and liabilities appearing on the balance sheet. The price-to-book-value ratio is the market price per share divided by the book v alue of equity per share. A higher ratio suggests that investors are more optimistic about the market value of a firms assets, its intangible assets, and the ability of its managers. The price-to-book value ratio is stated as: Market value indicators reflect the markets perception of the true worth of a firms future prospects. As such, market perceptions of a firms value are important to the financial analyst. However, the market may not be perfect; investors may become overly optimistic or pessimistic about a firm. The fact that a firm presently has a higher P/E or price-to-book-value ratio than its competition does not automatically imply that the firm is better managed or really deserves its higher valuation. Some firms may have low market value ratios because they truly deserve them; other firms may suffer from extreme and undeserved pessimism on the part of the market. High market value ratios can be similarly deceptive. The analyst must determine whether a firm deserves its market value ratios or not. Empirical Studies on the P/E model Ball and Brown (1968) are amongst the first pioneers who provided evidence that accounting earnings are potentially useful to investors for the valuation of equity. Furthermore, Beaver, Clarke and Wright (1979) also concluded that earnings act as a major determinant for equity valuation. Despite many researchers were inspired by the work of Ball and Brown prior study on price earnings ratio may trace back to 1934 when Graham and Dame considered that the major factors affecting price earnings ratio are factors coming from investors and companies. Internal scholars pay more attention to price earnings ratio status and qualitative or quantitative studies using cross sectional data model or time serials model are made in detail when stock market is established. As an important index measuring stock investment value and reflecting stock market development status, price earnings ratio is not only useful for department of banking custody to make sound regulation measures but helpful for inv estors to distinguish stock investing risk and select advisable invest strategy. Shroff (1995) cites that earnings of firms with high P/E ratio and high return on equity exhibit higher explanatory powers for stock returns. According to Barth et al. (1998) income statement plays fundamental role for equity valuation. Burgstahler Dichev (1997) found that book value and earnings being interrelated, act as component of equity value. Therefore it implies that the value of the firm can be expressed as a function of both earnings and book value of equity. Consequently, the higher is the earnings to book value ratio, the more relevant earnings will be as a determinant of equity value. While a lower earnings to book value ratio will imply book value being more important determinants of equity value. According to the work of Jan Ou (1995) firms which are reporting net losses, their earnings explain very little of equity price, but on the other hand book value of equity is an important determinant of stock price. Penman (1998) finds that book value provides greater relevance than earnings in equity valuation for firms with an extreme earnings to book ratio. Collins et al. (1997) further report that the value-relevance of earnings and book value of equity moves inversely to each other. Ou and Penman (1989) note that P/E ratios are good predictors of future earnings while changes in share price are poor predictors of future earnings. Ou Sepe (2002) find that the larger the spread between analysts forecasts of a firms future earnings and reported current earnings, the less value-relevant current earnings and the more the market relies on book value for equity valuation. Researches undertaken by Nicholson (1960), McWilliams (1966), Latane et al. (1969), Dowen and Bauman (1986), Keim (1990), and Fama and French (1992) provide evidence that stock returns are linked to P/E ratios. Penman (1996) notes that the P/E ratio acts not as a predictor of share price or returns but of future earnings levels. Allen et al. (1998) conclude similarly as their results indicate that firms with high E/P stocks have relatively low earnings growth while companies with low E/P shares experience high earnings growth. Furthermore, Fuller et al. (1992) conclude that low P/E ratio stocks generate low future earnings growth while high P/E ratio shares result in high earnings growth. Another line of research (e.g., Beaver, 1989; Mande, 1994) provides strong evidence that earnings aids investors in evaluating a firms dividend paying ability. As Larcker (1989) notes, share price is determined in the market through capitalisation (i.e., discounting) of the future cash flows or dividends expected to accrue to stockholders. Since earnings provide an information signal about future cash flows, stock price is affected by expectations concerning earnings. Because P/E ratios act as predictors of future earnings, these ratios are also linked to share price or returns. Moreover Nelson and Kim (1993) and Campbell and Shiller (1988) have documented that dividend yield predicts stock returns with some success, as it capture expectations about dividend growth as well as expected returns. While Lamont (1998) argues that the P/E ratio has independent predictive power for excess returns in addition to the dividend price ratio. Ang and Bekaert (2003) detect a strong role for the P/E ratio as a predictive instrument for future dividend growth. Since the P/E ratio is a function of expected growth in earnings, obviously expected growth in earnings are eminent in the valuation of a stock. Limitations of P/E The P/E is a fairly simple tool for assessing company value. But it has been argued that  the P/E ratio is not always reliable. There are plenty of reasons to be wary of P/E based stock valuations. The P/E ratio is supposed to enumerate how many years worth of current earnings a company will need to produce in order to arrive at its current market share value. Naturally, investors want to be able to buy more earnings for every dollar they pay, so the lower the P/E ratio, the less expensive the stock. The calculation of the ratio sounds simple enough, but here are some of the dangers associated with taking P/E ratios at face value. The first part of the P/E equation, price, is straightforward. The market price is easily available from the stock exchange market. On the other hand, coming up with an appropriate earnings number can be tricky. You have to make a lot of decisions how to define earnings. Earnings are not always clear cut. Earnings can be affected by unusual gains or losses which sometimes obscure the true nature of the earnings metric. Whats more, reported earnings can be manipulated by company management to meet earnings expectations, while creative accounting choices, shifting depreciation policies or adding or subtracting non-recurring gains and expenses, can make bottom line earnings numbers bigger and, in turn, P/E ratios, smaller and the stock appear less expensive. Investors need to be wary of how companies arrive at their reported EPS numbers. Appropriate adjust ments often have to be done in order to obtain a more accurate measure of earnings than what is reported on the balance sheet. Then there is the matter of whether to use trailing earnings or forward earnings figures. Located right in the companys latest published income statement, historic earnings are easy to find. Unfortunately, they are not much use for investors, since they say very little about what earnings are in store for the year and years ahead. Its the companys future earnings that investors are interested in most since as they reflect a stocks future prospects. The biggest limitation of the P/E ratio is that it tells investors next to nothing about the companys EPS growth prospects. If the company is growing quickly, you will be comfortable buying it even it had a high P/E ratio, knowing that growth in EPS will bring the P/E back down to a lower level. If it is not growing quickly, you might shop around for a stock with a lower P/E ratio. It is often difficult to tell if a high P/E multiple is the result of expected growth or if the stock is simply overvalued. A P/E ratio, even one calculated using a forward earnings estimate, does not always tell whether or not the P/E is appropriate to the companys forecasted growth rate. Finally, theres the tricky issue of a companys debt load. The P/E ratio does nothing to factor in the amount of debt that a company carries on its balance sheet. Debt levels have an impact on financial performance and valuation, yet the P/E does not allow investors to make comparisons between debt-free firms and those bogged down with outstanding loans and liabilities.

Fitzgeralds Taps At Reveille Essay -- Fitzgerald Taps At Reveille Ess

Fitzgerald’s â€Å"Taps At Reveille† During his lifetime, Scott Fitzgerald was known primarily as a short-story writer. In his twenty-year career, he published a hundred and sixty-four stories in various magazines, and forty-four were written in the last six years of his life. Published by Scribner’s in 1935, â€Å"Taps At Reveille†, a short-story collection, composed eighteen of those last efforts. Critics met it with mixed reviews: one called it â€Å"appealing†1 while another, â€Å"feeble and inadequate†1. But the 1930’s were particularly difficult years for the Fitzgeralds. By mid-decade (and the year of publication for â€Å"Taps At Reveille†) Scott’s drinking had spiraled into full blown alcoholism, Zelda, Scott’s wife, was in the throes of a third schizophrenic break-down which would require hospitalization, and both Fitzgeralds were heavily in debt 3. In addition, the United States was in the middle of the Great Depression, which exacerbated money-related problems for everyone. Matters never really improved for Fitzgerald after â€Å"Taps† came out. Around 1934 he began to write stories alm...

A Balanced Budget? :: essays research papers fc

A Balanced Budget? This year President Clinton will submit his proposed legislation for the Federal Budget to Congress. The fact that we have divided government (ex., Democratic President, Republican majority in Congress) means the majority of that legislation won't make it through the first ten minutes of a Congressional session. The President in turn will veto legislation presented to him by Congress. The whole situation is a vicious, never ending circle. Each side is looking out for their own best interests, and after years, even decades of this the United States has a huge budget deficit. Is there a solution to all this madness? Is it feasible to balance the Federal Budget? Every politician on Capitol Hill claims to have the answer. The Federal Government goes as far to employ some of the most renowned economist's in the world to try to solve the deficit mess, and they still haven't figured it out. The budget simulation exercise by The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget provided choices Congress has to use as its guide for the upcoming year. How hard can it be to balance the budget I thought? After doing the exercised I realized the title of the simulation exercise, "The FY 1997 Budget: An Exercise in Hard Choices," could not have been more appropriate. It is possible though to balance the Federal Budget, provided you follow 3 simple rules. First you must decide what you feel is important, then cut without consciousness, and if that doesn't work, alter your baseline. Important Choices When deciding on what I thought was important to protect in the budget, I felt like a politician myself. I protected my own self interests. First up was Defense. The fact that I am in the Marine Officer Program weighed heavily on my decision to increase Defense spending by 17.6 billion (all amounts in billions, unless noted), following the Congressional Budget Resolution. The President's plan just didn't provide enough capital, the Congressional Black Caucus/Progressive Caucus would basically wipe out my career before it even starts, and I just can not have that. Next up is Education. Without the direct student loan program, I would have no way to fund my education other than going to some bank and going through the demeaning process of begging a loan officer to lend me money for school. I feel a sense of loyalty to the President on this issue, because without this program I would still be doing concrete construction back home in Indiana. As a result, I voted to increase Educational spending 33.4.My other concern or problem area is Administration of Justice.

The Roles of Individuals in their Communities in Ancient Greece Essay

The Ancient Greeks had many values that made their civilization successful, but one of the most important was their sense of community. The Greeks, especially in Classical Athens, considered their community in the decisions they made, and they were interested in the affairs of the state. It was important to them that their society was functional and productive, and their personal needs often came second to those of the state. Community was a central value in Greek culture, and the individual’s contribution to the community strengthened the state and benefitted each person. Some philosophers disagreed, with this, however, and valued independent thinking over obedience and loyalty to the state. The government structure reflected the Athenians’ belief that individual contribution is crucial for sustaining a productive society. In the Classical Era, which was from 490-323 BCE, democracy was implemented and resulted in the power over the state lying in each citizen’s hands. Every vote affected the decisions that were made for the community, and every person had a say. The democratic system increased the individual’s involvement and interest in state affairs, therefore making each citizen more aware of what was happening in his community. As Thucydides said in Pericles’ eulogy, â€Å"Here each individual is interested not only in his own affairs but in the affairs of the state as well: even those who are mostly occupied with their own business are extremely well-informed on general politics.† By being well informed, the Athenians made better choices for their polis and cared more about what was going on in their city. The specialization of labor also reflected the Athenian belief that each individual contribution is essential for ... ...i. How Electricity is Created. 28 April 2010. . Grant, Simon. Information and Technology Serving Human Development. 28 April 2010. . The Greenhouse Effect. 22 March 2010 . . Sharkey, Joe. Sometimes, You Just Have to Be There. Proquest. 22 Mar. 2010 http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=2&did=1947821801&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1264612585&clientId=9168&cfc=1 Technology Timeline. 22 March 2010. . Torr, James D. The Information Age. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Washington State University. The Industrial Revolution. 22 March 2010 .

Patient E.O.

1. )What type of reaction is the health care provider concerned about and why? Being that E. O has never been prescribed penicillin; her healthcare provider is concerned that she may be allergic to the antibiotic. Penicillin is an antibiotic that is used to treat many bacterial infections in the body. People with asthma and a history of any type of allergy should be monitored very closely when taking penicillin for the first time and should be given the right dose to safely take the antibiotic.An allergic reaction to penicillin can range from a simple rash to a life threatening condition known as anaphylaxis. If allergic to penicillin, E. O’s healthcare provider is mainly concerned that she might develop an anaphylactic shock, which may become fatal if the condition is not treated immediately. 2a. ) Explain the role of IgE and mast cells in type I hypersensitivity reactions. Type 1 Hypersensitivity is a reaction that involves many parts of the body, for instance, the skin, eye s, nasopharynx, bronchopulmonary tissue, and the gastrointestinal tract.This reaction may cause a range of minor symptoms to fatality. Common manifestations that may possibly occur during Type 1 Hypersensitivity are rhinitis, asthma, atopic eczema, bee-sting reaction, and gastroenteritis. IgE, released from B cells, is an antibody that mediates hypersensitivity and arms mast cells, which exhibit as the principal component cell of this reaction in the body. The exposure of an allergen in an individual causes plasma B cells to produce the antibody IgE which circulates in small amount in the blood.Immunoglobulin E binds to the IgE receptors on mast cells which ultimately produces IgE antigen-binding sites on the surface of the mast cell. After the exposure of the mast cell with crosslinking of IgE-Fc receptors to an antigen, degranulation results and mediators are released causing signs of inflammation (Copstead & Banasik, 2010, pp. 227-228). 2b. ) Why might E. O. react adversely to th e antibiotic with the first use? Being that E.O has a past medical history of asthma and allergy to bee stings, she might react adversely to the antibiotic within the first use because she already has a high level of IgE bound to mast cells from previous asthma attacks or bee stings. Since it will be her first time taking Penicillin, she has not developed the IgE to the antibiotic, which ultimately may cause her to have an adverse reaction to the drug. Copstead, L. C. & Banasik, J. L. (2010). Pathophysiology, Fourth Edition. St. Louis, Missouri: Saunders Elsevier.

Capitalist Economy Essay

The right of private property means that productive factors such as land, factories, machinery, mines etc. are under private ownership. The owners of these factors are free to use them in the manner in which they like. The government may; however, put some restrictions for the benefit of the society in general; Freedom of enterprise: This means that everybody engages in any economic activity he likes. More specifically he is free to set up any firm to produce goods. Freedom of choice for the consumers: This means that people in a capitalist economy are free to spend their income as they desire. This is known as consumer sovereignty. Consumers are sovereign in the sense that producers produce only those goods which consumers are willing to buy. Profit motive: In a capitalist economy, it is the profit motive which forces or induces people to work and produce; Competition: Competition prevails among the sellers to sell their goods and among buyers to obtain goods to satisfy their wants. Advertisement, price cutting, discount etc., are found to be the normal methods of competition in any capitalist economy. Inequalities of incomes: There is generally a wide gap of income between the rich and the poor in the income which mainly arises due to unequal distribution of property in such economies. Merits of capitalist economy: The following are the merits of capitalist economy: 1.To attract the consumer, the producer is in a position to bring out newer and finer varieties of goods; 2.The existence of private property and the driving force of profit motive results in high standard of living; 3.Capitalism works automatically through the price mechanism; 4.The freedom of enterprise results in maximum efficiency in production; 5.All activities under capitalism enjoy the maximum amount of liberty and freedom; 6.Under capitalism freedom of choice brings maximum satisfaction to consumers; 7.Capitalism preserves fundamental rights such as right to freedom and right to private property; 8.It rewards men of initiative and enterprise; Country as a whole benefits through growth of business talents, development of research etc., Demerits of capitalism: The following are the demerits of capitalism: 1.In capitalism the enormous wealth produced is apportioned by a few. This causes rich richer and poor, poorer; 2.Welfare is not protected under capitalism, because here the aim is profit and not the welfare of the people; 3.Economic instability in terms of over production, economic depression, unemployment etc., is very common under capitalism; 4.The producer spends huge amounts of money on advertisement and sale promotion activities like fairs, exhibitions etc., 5.Class conflict arises between employer and employee and they will be paid low wages and this leads to strikes and lock outs; 6.Productive resources are misused under capitalism and they are used for the production on luxuries as they are bound to bring high profits; 7.Capitalism leads to the formation of monopolies and 8.There is no security of employment for the workers and employees under capitalism. Reference: http://classof1.com/homework-help/economics-homework-help/

What Are the 6 Defensive Positions in Football and basketball Essay

Football vs. Basketball Introduction             Sports have always been fun and exciting for most people. It is always fun to practice and play with other people. Each and every week, millions of people tune in to watch their favorite sports, but some do not recognize the difference between one sport to another. Usually, each game has its own structure, which make it be given the name it is known for. This paper focuses on the difference between football and basketball as forms of sport.             Basketball is governed by the Federation of International Basket Ball Association (FIBA). The body was created in 1932. FIBA regulates and control all matters concerning the game in the world. In contrast, the body that governs and runs soccer activities in the world was formed in 1904, which is a Federation of International Football Association (FIFA). Moreover, it organizes international soccer matches, including World cup and also approves the facilities and equipments used world wide. It also funds soccer organization for promotion of the game and generate the rules for the management of soccer all over the world.               The field of play of football is a 120 by 100 yards where it is usually marked for positioning, such as the center circle where it is used for awarding a kick off during the start of the game.. It also has a goal line, which is the shorter boundary of the field for awarding a goal kick, corner kick and a goal. It also has a penalty area where penalty kick is awarded. Generally, the field is covered by grass. On the other hand, the basketball has a playing court, which is 28meters in length and 15 meters in width. The field is supposed to be flat, hard, surface free from obstructions. Just like a football it has a center circle, but in basketball it is used for awarding a jump ball during the start of the game.               In football, the duration of play consists of two equal periods of 45minutes whereby after the first period the players are awarded a half times of 15minutes. After the second play period, if there is a tie there are awarded an extra time of two halfs of 30minutes. But the game is usually played in 90minutes. In contrast, basketball game is played in four periods of 10minutes each where the interval of 2minutes between the first and the second period is awarded, which become the first half, and third and fourth period, which form the second half. If there is a tie an extra 5minute is awarded at the end of playing time.               Taking into account the ball that is used to play football, it is supposed to weigh not less than 410-450 grams having a circumference of not more than 70centimenters and not less than 68centimenters and a pressure equal to 0.6 to 1.1atmospheres sea level. In contrast the ball that is used to play basketball should have a circumference not less than 74.9 centimeters and not more than 78 centimeters. The ball should also weigh not less than 567-650 grams, and have enough pressure.               Though both teams has players, they are totally different. In football, a match is played by two teams whereby each team consists not more than 11 players, one of whom is the goalkeeper and three substitutes may be used, which is a maximum in an official competition. Moreover, a football match may not start if either team consists of fewer than 7 players. In basketball, a team should consist of twelve registered players, but only five are supposed to play in the field of play while the others are substitutes. A basketball cannot begin if one of the team is not on the playing court with five players ready to play. Nevertheless, in a basketball match, it is a must for all the players to tuck in their shirts while in a football match, it is not a must for the players to tuck in their shirts. Also, there is no goalkeeper in a basketball match.               In basketball the ball player is required to bounce the ball repeatedly as he/she is moving with hands, this is called â€Å"dribbling†. In football if the ball is fumbled with legs. A fumble is the loss of possession of the ball by the player. In football the ball is not supposed to be touched by hand by the players. The goalkeeper is the only person who is supposed to touch the ball with hands, and within his or her region and guided by several rules. In contrast, basketball involves hands whereby the player uses their hands to score, throw or score a goal. When a goal is scored by a player, the player is awarded either three points, one or two points depending on the position of the scorer. Also, it is considered to be a goal if the ball wholly enters through the ring and passes through the net. However, in football, a goal is considered to be a goal, regardless of the position of the scorer as long as he or she has not committed a foul or violated t he rules of the game and the ball has passed through the goal line between the two goal posts. Nevertheless, if the referee is not able to detect who committed a foul in football the players are awarded a drop ball to continue with the game while in basketball the umpire awards a jump ball.            Football and basketball have both very different play styles. Football involve full-contact sport, with tackles, blocking, and collision in every single play. In football the most common reason a player leaves the game is because of an injury. On the other hand, in basketball contact between players is prohibited. It is a non-contact sport and any contact is considered to be a foul. Football players will get many more hits in the face than basketball players. Football is more associated with brute force, strength, and speed type sport, while basketball is a skill type sport along with strength and speed. Moreover, basketball uniform consists of shirts of the same color, numbered 4-15 in the fronts and the back. In football, they wear shirts or jersey with sleeves and usually labeled on the back.             Though every team has officials who rule over the game, the officials are extremely different. In football, there is the center referee, the assistant referee and the linesmen. These are the officials who overlook the ongoing of the game, rule over and directs the entire game. In basketball, there are one or two umpires who overlook the ongoing game. These people work together with an assistant scorer, a timer, 24 seconds operator who also oversees the progress of the game in the field. It has many officials who watch the ongoing match than in football team, which can be played in the presence of three officials.               Moreover, considering the technical equipment of every team, there are different equipment used during the game. During basketball matches, there must be a foul marker, which consists of 1-5, a 24 second operating device, scoreboard and a game clock. On the other hand, a football match must have a coin used to determine the team that will start the game, which is done by tossing of a coin, a whistle, a scoring card and a pencil.             In conclusion, sports are always different from each other, considering the structure, players, the field and the officials of the game. It is for this reason that we see different games be played differently. The difference between football and basketball is totally different from the starting of the game, players, field, structures and so on. Also, sometimes the supports of the games differ since there are always taste and preference. References Alder, James. â€Å"What Are the 6 Defensive Positions in Football?† About. N.p., N.d. Web. 2012. . â€Å"Basketball Positions.† Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Sept. 2014. Web. 02 Oct. 2014. . â€Å"National Football League Regular Season.† Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 09 Aug. 2014. Web. 02 Oct. 2014. . â€Å"The Coaching Staff in American Football.† – For Dummies. N.p., N.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2014. . â€Å"The Differences Between Football and Basketball.† A Sea Of Blue. N.p., N.d. Web. 09 October. 2012. . Source documents  s  

Observations of Chemical Changes Essay

Objective: This experiment is meant to show how certain chemicals react with each other and can be identified by these reactions Procedure: Several different chemical mixtures were poured into the well plate and observed. These included sodium bicarbonate and hydrochloric acid, bromothymol blue and hydrochloric acid, ammonia and bromothymol blue, hydrochloric acid and blue dye, blue dye and sodium hypochlorite, potassium iodide and lead nitrate, sodium hydroxide and phenolphthalein, hydrochloric acid and phenolphthalein, sodium hydroxide and sliver nitrate, ammonia and silver nitrate, and ammonia and copper (II) sulfate. Some mixtures were also placed in the light or mixed with additional hydrochloric acid or dye. Observation Table: Questions: a.) Silver nitrate could easily be used to test for sodium bicarbonate since it causes the chemical to turn brown. b.) Windex- turns orange with BTB and red with phenolphthalein- base Dish soap- turns yellow with BTB and red with phenolphthalein- base Bleach- turns orange with BTB and purple with phenolphthalein- base Scrubbing Bubbles- turns blue with BTB and gray with phenolphthalein- acid c.) The solution contains no vinegar or a very small amount of vinegar because a pink color indicates a basic solution, and vinegar is and acid. d.) The yellow flavor is more acidic and the blue flavor is more basic. e.) Combining the mixture with potassium iodide could easily test for the presence of lead. If the mixture contained lead, then the potassium iodide would cause the mixture to turn yellow and thick like a solid. Conclusion: Many chemicals will produce obvious physical changes when mixed with other chemicals. These mixtures usually result in a change in color or consistency, which can distinguish them from other chemicals. While certain chemicals may react the same way with on mixture, testing a chemical with multiple mixtures will most likely allow the chemical to be identified.

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING REPORT FOR New Zealand Essay

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING REPORT FOR New Zealand - Essay Example 1. Annual Growth Rate in Country The annual growth rate of the nation itself is 1.3%(Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook 1). 2. Birth Growth Rate in Country Birth rates have remained steady and are currently contribute to an approximate growth rate of 1.0% per annum (New Zealand Statistical Database 1). 3. Fertility Growth Rate in Country As of statistics gathered, the fertility rate within the country stands at .04% (New Zealand Statistical Database 1) 2.1 children per female The average number of children per female member of the society works to 1.9 (Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook 1). 4. Net Migration Rate in Country The research notes that there are approximately 2.26 migrants per 1,000 individuals (Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook 1). E. Death Rate in Country Likewise, the current death rate within the country stands at 7.54 New Zealand Statistical Database 1). 1. Number of Deaths Per Thousand in Country In much the same way, the number of deaths per thousand individuals is 7.20 (Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook 1). 2. Infant Mortality Rate in Country Infant mortality comes in at at a low 5.59 (Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook 1). F. ... 2. Life Expectancy for Total Population of Country Life expectancy for total population was noted to equate to 80.7 (Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook 1). 3. Life Expectancy for Males in Country The average life expectancy for a male is currently 78.4 years of age (New Zealand Statistical Database 1). 4. Life Expectancy for Females in Country Similarly, and not surprisingly, the average life extinct for females is nominally higher at 82.4 years of age (New Zealand Statistical Database 1). G. Ethnic Groups in Country (actual number and population percentage) Major ethnic groups include: Caucasian, Maori, Asian, Pacific islanders (Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook 1). 1. Number of Ethnic Groups in Country There are currently 4 major ethnic groups represented within the country (Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook 1). 2. Name and Size of Ethnic Groups in Country With regards to the name and size of the ethnic groups, the following statistics helps to shed light on the percentage totals exhibited: 78% European 14.6% Maori 9.2% Asian 6.9% Pacific islanders (Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook 1). H. Religious Groups in Country (population) Of the total population in New Zealand, approximately 2,924,318 consider themselves to be religiously affiliated (New Zealand Statistical Database 1). 1. Number of Religious Groups in Country Of the main and measurable religious groups within the country, New Zealand currently recognizes the existence of 22 separate and distinct groups (Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook 1). 2. Names and Size of Religious Groups in Country Of these groups, the majority are affiliated as follows: Christianity – 53.6% Undeclared – 7.7% Hinduism 1.7% Buddhism 1.4%

Environmental analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Environmental analysis - Essay Example The rates used to charges in maintain and securing a website should be reduced and some information limited for the benefit of the hotels in Australia. Increasing overseas arrivals as threats result to struggling of negligible number of customers worldwide, a factor that leads to reduction of market share. Overseas countries offer cheap and incredible hotel services with the intention of scrambling for customers globally; hence, increasing competition. (Todd & Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2008). The international organization in charge of hotels should endorse fair competition by setting a standard price for services offered in hotels globally. The policy will limit the chances of hotels offering extremely lower prices, which spoils business for other hotels globally, especially Australia. High GDP in Australia affects hotel industry negatively since the hotels have to pay additional taxes to the government to raise the capital to pay the debts (Faeth, 2010). Consequently, the annual income for the hotels is reduced by a big percentage exceptionally. Australia government should maintain high economic levels and avoid having debts that by ensuring that pay according to the initial agreement. This reduces the chances of hotels paying extra taxes to raise money for debts. High exchange rate frightens potential investors interested in Hotel industry. It is expensive to invest in the business, for example, constructing of international hotels in the country. Moreover, clients, especially visitors, find travelling costly because of the expensive fare. Domestic clients are forced to seek cheap services oversees. High exchange rate has caused unemployment and limitation in getting sufficient services from hotels, which are supposed to satisfy them (Sharma, 2005). Australia’s government should trade their dollar attractively to draw international

INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW Assignment Essay

INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW Assignment - Essay Example While on the other hand, the idea of human rights has emerged from the need for universal respect of human beings freedom, dignity and equality. It has evolved over the period to support for individual from oppression and provide an equal chance to develop their potential to take advantage of different opportunities (Donnelly, 1989). Human Rights and Intellectual Property rights (IPR) have gained widespread discussion during the last two decades. Various stakeholders who have vested interests have furiously argued for their rights. The goals of the proponents of both the parties are somehow inversely related. Stereotypical views have been formed both about human and intellectual property rights. The advocates of human rights assert that the only way to achieve the goals of access to food, health and education is through eliminating most of the intellectual property rights (Lutheran World Federation, 2000). While on the other hand, a mindset has been developed that promotes that by on ly expanding the intellectual property rights, we can provide incentives for innovation which will address the concerns of fundamental human rights (Weissbrodt & Schoff, 2008). The relationship between human rights and intellectual property rights can be analyzed from two aspects. ... Therefore, this relationship can only be analyzed if we have a thorough understanding of the scope of both the rights. The existing human rights do not categorically refer to the intellectual property rights; however, there are certain provisions within the human right treaties which can be considered to be relevant to intellectual property rights. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which was adopted in 1948 has certain provisions which are important points to be considered. The Article 27.2 states that â€Å"Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author† (United Nations, 2007). Similarly, the right to property is also stressed in the Article 17 of UDHR which states that everyone has the right to own property and no one shall be deprived of his property. In addition to that, the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (ICSECR) established in 1966 is also one of the vital tool through which we can assess the relationship between Intellectual Property & Economic Rights. International rights although increase the scope of relationship between these two rights but there are some regional human rights which contains clauses pertaining to property rights. The Article 21.1 of American Convention on Human Rights of 1969 states that everyone is entitled to the right to use and enjoyment of his property but it further enforces that â€Å"The law may subordinate such use and enjoyment to the interest of society† (Sinjela, 2007). Similarly, the African Charter on Human Rights which was adopted in 1981 also enforces that â€Å"The right to the property shall be

Culture, Ritual and Religion, International Development in the Research Paper

Culture, Ritual and Religion, International Development in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone - Research Paper Example In Africa, countries have experienced recurrent and various forms of armed conflicts and violence due to power struggles and control over natural resources. Sierra Leone and Democratic Republic of Congo have bore the brunt of violence and armed conflicts in past decades, a fact that has led to development mishaps and stagnation. This paper examines the role of ritual, culture and religion in the shaping up of the social, economic and political stability of Sierra Leone and Democratic Republic of Congo. It further explores the role of violence and conflicts in the development process. Sierra Leone is located on the west Coast of Africa on the Atlantic Ocean and it is bordered to the North with Guinea, Liberia on the Southeast and Atlantic Ocean on the Southwest (Harris, 1992). Different ceremonies were held in Sierra Leone as part of the culture and religion of the people. One of the ceremonies that were more conspicuous was the movement in rings or circles during ceremonies to honor ancestors (Harris, 1992). The movement of people in circles during ceremonies defined the art and religion of most communities in Sierra Leone. It is reported that the culture and tradition was seen as heathen by the missionaries and as such, they searched for strategies of eliminating and eradicating the practice. The missionaries did not succeed in eradicating the practice due to the strong influence that culture had among communities in Sierra Leone. ... e purposes included story telling, singing of songs, drumming and dancing, pouring of libations, cleansing ceremonies, proper burials, respect for the dead and forgiveness (Kaarsholm, 2006). The traditional cultural practices and rituals have played significant roles in the development process of Sierra Leone. Modern development strategies have incorporated traditional cultural practices in various health and human welfare initiatives such as fight against HIV/AIDS, ending of harmful traditional practices such female genital mutilation, understanding of human rights and other initiatives that are associated with human welfare and development in Sierra Leone (Burnell, 2008). The uptake and use of various traditional cultural practices and rituals in modern human development initiatives in Sierra Leone has been premised on the notion that the use of culturally appropriate interventions that are drawn from the experience and knowledge of communities has the potential of increasing the l ong-term self-reliance of communities, families and children (Francis, 2006). In addition, the use of traditional practices and rituals encourages community members to take active roles in identification of development problems that affect them and formulation of strategies and solutions to mitigate such problems. The role of culture and traditions of Sierra Leone communities was relevant and instrumental in the truth and reconciliation process that paved way for political stability and tranquility. Most of the healing activities and initiatives were based on the culture and traditions of the people of Sierra Leone. The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Sierra Leone relied on the assistance and help from traditional and religious leaders in resolving conflicts and promotion of