Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Think of a song you like and compare that poem to Nezahualcoyotl Article

Think of a song you like and compare that poem to Nezahualcoyotl - Article Example Further, he asks people to wake up and see the light while Netzahualcoyotl really fears about life since he is sure about death because he believes in Theological teaching (William, 496). Netzahualcoyotl is worried and sad since he knows that everything will come to pass. Strong gold and jades fall away from each other and wear away, so will the brittle faces and heart fades, however decorous they may be (Portilla, 291). Bob Marley calls on people to stop worrying and live their lives to the maximum and fight for it aggressively since it is their right to live. The poem also depicts the state of hopelessness and fears that Netzahualcoyotl under went through as he affirm that there is no one who can befriend the Giver of life to be favored not to die or grow old (Portilla, 257). Bob urges with zeal to fight for their fundamental right and he doesn’t view life as a favor from the Giver of life. Netzahualcoyotl’s thoughts are directed by theology and philosophy about the divine powers of the Maker’s decision to give life Bob Marley doesn’t believe in any doctrines but believes in the secular world that suggests that living is a

Monday, October 28, 2019

Frederick C Hamilton Essay Example for Free

Frederick C Hamilton Essay The architectural sculptured layout of the Fredrick C Hamilton building is on display at Denver Art Museum. The actual building, named after the CEO of the Petroleum company is near completion. Frederick C Hamilton post modern style designed building is a dome, shell shaped architect, comparable to the Sydney Opera House. (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Architecture) The outside Hamilton building structure is designed using patterns from the expressionism art era. The post modern design is very simplistic, without many intricate details. Anyone viewing the attractive building would be curiously drawn to the building. The Frederick C Hamilton building serves as the main entrance to popular culture and art areas. It is the only dome shaped building in the area, surrounded by buildings with pattern designs from the Renaissance and Romantic art eras. Once inside the building, the person feels transported in totally different planet. The glass ceilings, and skylights allows the sun to shine through, into the building. The creative designed structures portrays a very pleasant atmosphere to everyone entering it. (http://www. designbuild-network. com/projects/dam/) The designer of this coned, alien shaped 350,000 sq ft building is Daniel Libeskined, whom also designed the World Trade Center after the attack. The Frederick C Hamilton building will hold nearly one thousand parking spaces. The construction materials used for the building are titanium, steel, and concrete. The creativity behind the amazing designs centering around romantic style buildings requires real genius imagination.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

The Practicality of the Social Contract Essay -- Sociology, Society, G

I.) Introduction Society’s structure has been debated and contested as far back as ancient Greece. Since then, man has developed social systems that greatly differ from anything the ancients had in mind. One such system is the social contract theory, which first came to prominence around the time of the enlightenment. Simplified, social contractarians argued that in order to achieve a balanced and stable society, all of its members must sacrifice certain liberties to a government or similar authority. As Rousseau explains, the contract begins when â€Å"Each of us places his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the general will† (148). Essentially, it is an agreement between the rulers and the ruled that produces a stable political state. John Locke’s The Second Treatise of Government and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s The Social Contract are both enlightenment works that detail contractarianism, yet each has a unique and different way of considering the social contract. Although John Stuart Mill is also known for his work with Utilitarianism, his essay On Liberty considers consent and other issues relating to contract theory. These authors provide different insights into the social contract, and frequently one will reject another’s idea and offer a new solution. Even after this meshing of ideas and solutions, contract theory falls short of practicality. The idea is appealing, appearing on the surface as a fair and just way of governance. However, true liberty cannot arise from a contract, as man cannot be â€Å"forced to be free† (150). There are two fundamental flaws with contractarianism: it is not practical and it ignores human nature, and even if were possible to establish a true contract-based society, the citi... ...tract theory does raise additional questions. Rousseau envisioned a society in which every voice was heard. A solution to this impracticality is the idea of representation—something which Locke advocated for in The Second Treatise. The idea makes sense; have one person represent a group of people to improve functionality. However, how can a man fully represent an entire group’s interest? Surely there must be some differences between the representative and those he represents. If that is the case, can one call that justice? The man already relinquished certain rights by accepting the contract. With representation, he also gives up his right to full participation in the system. Despite this problem and the other issues with contractarianism, this theory served as a foundation for the American political system and continues to inspire political ideologies worldwide.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Using a ‘Human Model’ to Examine the Vision of Albino Rats :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Using a ‘Human Model’ to Examine the Vision of Albino Rats Unless a question is directed towards vision, the thought of the underlying processes in which the eyes and brain perform together is never considered. So, if we were to analyze the underpinnings of vision what would we find? Would there be a simple network of interconnected neurons which simply convey information from the periphery to the brain? The art of seeing is very complex and is sensitive to conformational changes occurring in the eye. The loss of a particular type of photoreceptor can determine whether an individual is color-blind and/or a sudden decline in the eye’s normal level of a neurotransmitter may cause photosensitivity. Knowing that an aberration from the usual construct of the visual pathway can be responsible for several disorders directs attention to examining vision in albino rats. Experimental studies tend to use albino rats because of their passivity; it is interesting to note that albino rats and humans manifest similar symptoms for example, photosensi tivity. Often drug testing or brain lesions are performed on animals to create animal models which are used to make generalizations to the human population. There are not many studies pertaining to the visual pathways in albino rats but since animal models are created to make inferences to humans, this paper proposes to use the ‘human model’ of vision to speculate the underlying problems between photosensitivity and the albino rat’s visual pathway. Human Eye Model As mentioned before, the visual pathway consists of an elaborate network of neurons. In order to discuss photosensitivity, first we must look at the manner in which information is processed in the eye and relayed to the brain with the use of photoreceptors. The development of the eye is very unique: it develops in an inside to out manner(1). From the rostral to caudal portion, the retina consists of the epithelium layer, photoreceptors, horizontal cells, amacrine cells and the ganglion cells (the ganglion endings make up the optic nerve). The structure is considered inside/out because light needs to pass through several layers before converging on the photoreceptors. The role and properties of the pupil and photoreceptors are key structures in relation to albinism. In the human eye, the pupil is made of melanin. Melanin is a photoreceptive pigment; when present it protects the eyes from ultraviolet light(2). After light passes through the pupil, cornea and other structures it converges on the back of the eye known as the retina.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

The Return: Midnight Chapter 13

Elena, sleeping serenely with one hand locked onto Stefan's, knew she was having an extraordinary dream. No, not a dream – an out-of-body experience. But it wasn't like her previous out-of-body visits to Stefan in his cel . She was skimming through the air so quickly that she couldn't real y make out what was below her. She looked around and suddenly, to her astonishment, another figure appeared beside her. â€Å"Bonnie!†she said – or rather tried to say. But of course there was no sound. Bonnie looked like a transparent edition of herself. As if someone had created her out of blown glass, and then put in just the faintest tint of color in her hair and eyes. Elena tried telepathy. Bonnie? Elena! Oh, I miss you and Meredith so much! I'm stuck here in a hole – A hole? Elena could hear the panic in her own telepathy. It made Bonnie wince. Not a real hole. A dive. An inn, I guess, but I'm locked in and they only feed me twice a day and take me to the toilet once – My God! How did you get there? Well†¦ Bonnie hesitated. I guess it was my own fault. It doesn't matter! How long have you been there, exactly? Um, this is my second day. I think. There was a pause. Then Elena said, Well, a couple of days in a bad place can seem like forever. Bonnie tried to make her case clearer. It's just that I'm so bored and lonely. I miss you and Meredith so much! she repeated. I was thinking of you and Meredith, too, Elena said. But Meredith's there with you, isn't she? Oh my God, she didn't fall, too? Bonnie blurted. No, no! She didn't fall. Elena couldn't decide whether to tel Bonnie about Meredith or not. Maybe not just yet, she thought. She couldn't see what she was rushing toward, although she could feel that they were slowing down. Can you see anything? Hey, yeah, below us! There's a car! Should we go down? Of course. Can we hold hands? They found that they couldn't, but that just trying to kept them closer together. In another moment they were sinking through the roof of a smal car. Hey! It's Alaric! Bonnie said. Alaric Saltzman was Meredith's engaged-to-be-engaged boyfriend. He was about twenty-three now, and his sandy-blond hair and hazel eyes hadn't changed since Elena had seen him almost ten months ago. He was a parapsychologist at Duke, going for his doctorate. We've been trying to get hold of him for ages, Bonnie said. I know. Maybe this is the way we're supposed to contact him. W here is he supposed to be again? Some weird place in Japan. I forget what it's called, but look at the map on the passenger seat. She and Bonnie intermingled as they did, their ghostly forms passing right through each other. Unmei no Shima: The Island of Doom, was written at the top of an outline of an island. The map beside him had a large red X on it with the caption: The Field of Punished Virgins. The what? Bonnie asked indignantly. What's that mean? I don't know. But look, this fog is real fog. And it's raining. And this road is terrible. Bonnie dove outside. Ooh, so weird. The rain's going right through me. And I don't think this is a road. Elena said, Come back in and look at this. There aren't any other cities on the island, just a name. Dr. Celia Connor, forensic pathologist. What's a forensic pathologist? I think, Elena said, that they investigate murders and things. And they dig up dead people to find out why they died. Bonnie shuddered. I don't think I like this very much. Neither do I. But look outside. This was a village once, I think. There was almost nothing left of the vil age. Just a few ruins of wooden buildings that were obviously rotting, and some tumbledown, blackened stone structures. There was one large building with an enormous bright yel ow tarp over it. When the car reached this building, Alaric skidded to a stop, grabbed the map and a smal suitcase, and dashed through the rain and mud to get under cover. Elena and Bonnie fol owed. He was met near the entrance by a very young black woman, whose hair was cut short and sleek around her elfin face. She was smal , not even Elena's height. She had eyes dancing with excitement and white, even teeth that made for a Hol ywood smile. â€Å"Dr. Connor?†Alaric said, looking awed. Meredith isn't going to like this, Bonnie said. â€Å"Just Celia, please,†the woman said, taking his hand. â€Å"Alaric Saltzman, I presume.† â€Å"Just Alaric, please – Celia.† Meredith real y isn't going to like this, Elena said. â€Å"So you're the spook investigator,†Celia was saying below them. â€Å"Well, we need you. This place has spooks – or did once. I don't know if they're stil here or not.† â€Å"Sounds interesting.† â€Å"More like sad and morbid. Sad and weird and morbid. I've excavated al sorts of ruins, especial y those where there's a chance of genocide. And I'l tel you: This island is unlike any place I have ever seen,†Celia said. Alaric was already pul ing things from his case, a thick stack of papers, a smal camcorder, a notebook. He turned on the camcorder, and looked through the viewfinder, then propped it up with some of the papers. When he apparently had Celia in focus, he grabbed the notebook too. Celia looked amused. â€Å"How many ways do you need to take down information?† Alaric tapped the side of his head and shook it sadly. â€Å"As many as possible. Neurons are beginning to go.†He looked around. â€Å"You're not the only one here, are you?† â€Å"Except for the janitor and the guy who ferries me back to Hokkaido, yes. It started out as a normal expedition – there were fourteen of us. But one by one, the others have died or left. I can't even re-bury the specimens – the girls – we've excavated.† â€Å"And the people who left or died from your expedition – â€Å" â€Å"Well, at first people died. Then that and the other spooky stuff made the rest leave. They were frightened for their lives.† Alaric frowned. â€Å"Who died first?† â€Å"Out of our expedition? Ronald Argyl . Pottery specialist. He was examining two jars that were found – Well, I'l skip that story until later. He fel off a ladder and broke his neck.† Alaric's eyebrows went up. â€Å"That was spooky?† â€Å"From a guy like him, who's been in the business for almost twenty years – yes.† â€Å"Twenty years? Maybe a heart attack? And then off the ladder – boom.†Alaric made a downward gesture. â€Å"Maybe that's the way it was. You may be able to explain al our little mysteries for us.†The chic woman with the short hair dimpled like a tomboy. She was dressed like one too, Elena realized: Levi's and a blue and white shirt with the sleeves rol ed up over a white camisole. Alaric gave a little start, as if he'd realized he was guilty of staring. Bonnie and Elena looked at each other over his head. â€Å"But what happened to al the people who lived on the island in the first place? The ones who built the houses?† â€Å"Well, there never were that many of them in the first place. I'm guessing the place may even have been named the Island of Doom before this disaster my team was investigating. But as far as I could find out it was a sort of war – a civil war. Between the children and the adults.† This time when Bonnie and Elena looked at each other, their eyes were both wide. Just like home – Bonnie began, but Elena said, Sh. Listen. â€Å"A civil war between kids and their parents?†Alaric repeated slowly. â€Å"Now that is spooky.† â€Å"Well, it's a process of elimination. You see, I like graves, constructed or just holes in the ground. And here, the inhabitants don't appear to have been invaded. They didn't die of famine or drought – there was stil plenty of grain in the granary. There were no signs of il ness. I've come to believe that they all killed one another – parents kil ing children; children kil ing parents.† â€Å"But how can you tel ?† â€Å"You see this square-ish area on the periphery of the vil age?†Celia pointed to an area on a larger map than Alaric's. â€Å"That's what we cal The Field of Punished Virgins. It's the only place that has careful y constructed actual graves, so it was made early in what became a war. Later, there was no time for coffins – or no one who cared. So far we've excavated twenty-two female children – the eldest in her late teens.† â€Å"Twenty-two girls? Al girls?† â€Å"Al girls in this area. Boys came later, when coffins were no longer being made. They're not as well preserved, because the houses al burned or fel in, and they were exposed to weathering. The girls were careful y, sometimes elaborately, buried; but the markings on their bodies indicate that they were subjected to harsh physical punishment at some time close to their deaths. And then – they had stakes driven through their hearts.† Bonnie's fingers flew to her eyes, as if to ward off a terrible vision. Elena watched Alaric and Celia grimly. Alaric gulped. â€Å"They were staked?†he asked uneasily. â€Å"Yes. Now I know what you'l be thinking. But Japan doesn't have any tradition of vampires. Kitsune – foxes – are probably the closest analog.† Now Elena and Bonnie were hovering right over the map. â€Å"And do kitsunes drink blood?† â€Å"Just kitsune. The Japanese language has an interesting way of expressing plurals. But to answer your question: no. They are legendary tricksters, and one example of what they do is possess girls and women, and lead men to destruction – into bogs, and so on. But here – Well, you can almost read it like a book.† â€Å"You make it sound like one. But not one I'd pick up for pleasure,†Alaric said, and they both smiled bleakly. â€Å"So, to go on with the book, it seems that this disease spread eventual y to al the children in the town. There were deadly fights. The parents somehow couldn't even get to the fishing boats in which they might have escaped the island.† Elena – I know. At least Fell's Church isn't on an island. â€Å"And then there's what we found at the town shrine. I can show you that – it's what Ronald Argyl died for.† They both got up and went farther into the building until Celia stopped beside two large urns on pedestals with a hideous thing in between them. It looked like a dress, weathered until it was almost pure white, but sticking through holes in the clothing were bones. Most horribly, one bleached and fleshless bone hung down from the top of one of the urns. â€Å"This is what Ronald was working on in the field before al this rain came,†Celia explained. â€Å"It was probably the last death of the original inhabitants and it was suicide.† â€Å"How can you possibly know that?† â€Å"Let's see if I can get this right from Ronald's notes. The priestess here doesn't have any other damage than that which caused her death. The shrine was a stone building – once. When we got here we found only a floor, with al the stone steps tumbled apart every which way. Hence Ronald's use of the ladder. It gets quite technical, but Ronald Argyl was a great forensic pathologist and I trust his reading of the story.† â€Å"Which is?†Alaric was taking in the jars and the bones with his camcorder. â€Å"Someone – we don't know who – smashed a hole in each of the jars. This is before the chaos started. The town records make note of it as an act of vandalism, a prank done by a child. But long after that the hole was sealed and the jars made almost airtight again, except where the priestess had her hands plunged in the top up to the wrist.† With infinite care, Celia lifted the top off the jar that did not have a bone hanging from it – to reveal another pair of longish bones, slightly less bleached, and with strips of what must have been clothing on it. Tiny finger bones lay inside the jar. â€Å"What Ronald thought was that this poor woman died as she performed a last desperate act. Clever, too, if you see it from their perspective. She cut her wrists – you can see how the tendon is shriveled in the better-preserved arm – and then she let the entire contents of her bloodstream flow into the urns. We do know that the urns show a heavy precipitation of blood on the bottom. She was trying to lure something in – or perhaps something back in. And she died trying, and the clay that she had probably hoped to use in her last conscious moments held her bones to the jars.† â€Å"Whew!†Alaric ran a hand over his forehead, but shivered at the same time. Take pictures! Elena was mental y commanding him, using al her wil power to transmit the order. She could see that Bonnie was doing the same, eyes shut, fists clenched. As if in obedience to their commands, Alaric was taking pictures as fast as he could. Final y, he was done. But Elena knew that without some outside impetus there was no way that he was going to get those pictures to Fel ‘s Church until he himself came to town – and even Meredith didn't know when that would be. So what do we do? Bonnie asked Elena, looking anguished. Well†¦my tears were real when Stefan was in prison. You want us to cry on him? No, Elena said, not quite patiently. But we look like ghosts – let's act like them. Try blowing on the back of his neck. Bonnie did, and they both watched Alaric shiver, look around him, draw his windbreaker closer. â€Å"And what about the other deaths in your own expedition?†he asked, huddling, looking around apparently aimlessly. Celia began speaking but neither Elena nor Bonnie was listening. Bonnie kept blowing on Alaric from different directions, herding him to the single window in the building that wasn't shattered. There Elena had written with her finger on the darkened cold glass. Once she knew that Alaric was looking that way she blew her breath across the sentence: send all pix of jars 2 meredith now! Every time Alaric approached the window she breathed on it to refresh the words. And at last he saw it. He jumped backward nearly two feet. Then he slowly crept back to the window. Elena refreshed the writing for him. This time, instead of jumping, he simply ran a hand over his eyes and then slowly peeked out again. â€Å"Hey, Mr. Spook-chaser,†said Celia. â€Å"Are you al right?† â€Å"I don't know,†Alaric admitted. He passed his hand over his eyes again, but Celia was coming and Elena didn't breathe on the window. â€Å"I thought I saw a – a message to send copies of the pictures of these jars to Meredith.† Celia raised an eyebrow. â€Å"Who is Meredith?† â€Å"Oh. She – she's one of my former students. I suppose this would interest her.†He looked down at the camcorder. â€Å"Bones and urns?† â€Å"Well, you were interested in them quite young, if your reputation is correct.† â€Å"Oh, yes. I loved to watch a dead bird decay, or find bones and try to figure out what animal they were from,†Celia said, dimpling again. â€Å"From the age of six. But I wasn't like most girls.† â€Å"Well – neither is Meredith,†Alaric said. Elena and Bonnie were eyeing each other seriously now. Alaric had implied that Meredith was special, but he hadn't said it, and he hadn't mentioned their engagement to be engaged. Celia came closer. â€Å"Are you going to send her the pictures?† Alaric laughed. â€Å"Well, al this atmosphere and everything – I don't know. It might just have been my imagination.† Celia turned away just as she reached him and Elena blew once more across the message. Alaric threw his hands up in a gesture of surrender. â€Å"I don't suppose the Island of Doom has satel ite coverage,†he said helplessly. â€Å"Nope,†Celia said. â€Å"But the ferry wil be back in a day, and you can send pictures then – if you're real y going to do it.† â€Å"I think I'd better do it,†Alaric said. Elena and Bonnie were both glaring at him, one from each side. But that was when Elena's eyelids started to droop. Oh, Bonnie, I'm sorry. I wanted to talk to you after this, and make sure you're okay. But I'm falling†¦I can't†¦ She managed to pry her lids open. Bonnie was in a fetal position, fast asleep. Be careful, Elena whispered, not even sure who she was whispering it to. And as she floated away, she was aware of Celia and the way Alaric was talking to this beautiful, accomplished woman only a year or so older than he was. She felt a distinct fear for Meredith, on top of everything else.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Scavenger Hunt Essay Essay Example

Scavenger Hunt Essay Essay Example Scavenger Hunt Essay Paper Scavenger Hunt Essay Paper 1. What is the instructor’s name ( spelling counts ) ? Where did the teacher go to college? The instructor’s name is Jane Smith. 2. What is the instructor’s electronic mail reference to be used for inquiries and entry of undertakings? 3. What twenty-four hours ( s ) of each hebdomad are Chapter prep assignments ever due? Chapter prep assignments are ever due on Thursdays and Sundays. Furthermore. treatments are due every Tuesday. 4. What is the clip deadline ( hr: proceedingss. AM or PM ) for the Portal assignments to be submitted? Homework is due at 10 PM. 5. On Canvas. under Voyaging the Portal. what are the two Cautions that are listed? The portal times out after 2 hours so pupils need to salvage their prep as they go along to guarantee their advancement isn’t lost. Students shouldn’t use their mouse ball to scroll down the page because it may take them to the last reply of a different subdivision. 6. What are the yearss. day of the months. times and room Numberss of all of the trials held on campus? The 2nd test is on Wednesday February 20th in room N201. It will be from 5:30-7:30 autopsy. The concluding test is on Monday March 18th in room R110. It will be from 5:30-7:30 autopsy. 7. What are the three undertakings and when are they due ( twenty-four hours. day of the month. and clip ) ? The first is the Data Analysis undertaking which is due on January 26th. 2013 at 10 PM. The 2nd undertaking is the Correlation and Regression undertaking due on February 16th. 2013 at 10 PM. 8. How should the undertakings be submitted? Be specific about the demands. The undertakings should be submitted by electronic mail to [ electronic mail protected ]/*In the capable line. pupils must include their name and the rubric of the undertaking. None of the undertakings can be submitted through canvas. 9. What is the last twenty-four hours ( day of the month ) to retreat from this class with a â€Å"W† printed on your transcript? Please state both the day of the month for in the flesh backdown and the day of the month for online backdown. The last twenty-four hours to retreat from this class with a â€Å"W† on your transcript is February 15th. 2013 in individual and February 17th. 2013 online. 10. What do you make if you can’t take a trial on campus? Be really specific about the procedure. the possibilities for monitors. and when the trial must be taken. Students who are unable to take a trial on campus demand to alarm the teacher at least 10 yearss before the trial. and must hold a monitor and suited location. Proctors may be portion of the Bellevue College staff. clergy. etc. Under no fortunes can a monitor be a household member. Without 10 yearss notice. pupils are expected to be on campus on the twenty-four hours of the trial. Proctored exams must be administered the twenty-four hours of. or before. the trial is given. 11. Two quizzes will be given. What is the due day of the month and clip for each quiz and which chapters are being tested for each? From the clip that you open the quiz. how many proceedingss to make you hold to subject the quiz? The first quiz is on February 17th and screens chapters 1-13. The 2nd is on March 17th and screens chapters 1-19. We are given 60 proceedingss to finish each quiz. 12. Locate the reckoner instructions on Canvas for calculating a normal distribution and calculate the followers: normalcdf ( 129. 148. 132. 12 ) . rounding suitably to 4 denary topographic points. The reply is 0. 5075. 13. Analyze the Chapter 14 Homework on the Portal. List the 4 stairss involved in making a hypothesis trial? 1. State the option and void hypothesis.2. State the type of trial administered. such as a z-test or t-test. Then. give the value of the trial statistic ( T=____ or Z= ____ )3. State the P value and alpha degree.4. Use two sentences for the decision. In the first sentence. province whether or non you reject the void hypothesis. In the 2nd sentence. province what the trial measured. 14. What is the phone figure for the Stats Portal Help Line? The phone figure is 1-800-936-6899 15. Canvas contains study inquiries for each chapter. Locate the survey inquiries for chapter 4 – what is the reply to # 1? The reply is: r= . 9314 16. How many entries are allowed for Exercises? How many entries are allowed for Post Trials? Two entries are allowed for exercisings and merely one entry is allowed for post-tests. 17. How many points will you have on the Scavenger Hunt if acquire all inquiries correct. How many points will be deducted for each inquiry missed? If all inquiries are right. you receive 50 points. You lose 10 points for each incorrect reply. 18. Canvas contains pattern tests and replies. What is the reply to oppugn 6 on the Chapters 1. 2 and 3 pattern test? The reply is:Mean=120 ; Standard Deviation=8 19. On Canvas. Voyaging Stats Portal gives you helpful information about the Portal site. What should you make if you are taking longer than 2 hours to finish an exercising? You should salvage your replies sporadically so that they do non acquire erased. 20. If you find that you are fighting to understand the stuff in this class. call four resources that BC or the teacher offers to assist you be successful in the class. Four resources available are the math lab. Stats Tutors. Applets. Crunch It. and Statistical Videos.

Monday, October 21, 2019

International Student Summit

International Student Summit Free Online Research Papers This report talks about: All the experiences I had in London, how much information I got, and what are the reactions I had. I’ll try to put pictures and I hope you will like it. I would like to thank the British Council, the Natural History Museum and everyone who was involved in this summit and made it work even with a single signature. Introduction: Getting the Visa: I thank the British Council once again for doing all the paper work. All I had to do was to give them the requirement papers and the visa was ready in about five days. The members of the conference from Libya: There should have been three people; me, another person and an adult but only the adult and I went there. The other person skipped the conference in the last minute for personal reasons. Getting on the plane and arrival: The trip was very comfortable and the plane landed safely. Then we collected our bags and took the 40 £ that the British Council gave us and went to the Imperial College We met Jakira and Eleanor who took us to the Sherfield Building and that is where we had dinner. I checked in into the Imperial College’s building after dinner. I took my room key and met Jakira and Eleanor again and they took us to the Alexander Fleming Building where we set house rules and made sure that everyone was in agreement not to break them. We played some icebreaker games that gave me the chance to get to know others and where everybody was from. We split up into six groups and I guess I was the lucky one because my group was the best or that is what I think. In my group there were the Canadians and Libyans; all girls but me. Then we all went back to the Beit hall and went to our beds. Day One of Student Summit: First thing in morning we met with Eleanor and went to have breakfast. When breakfast ended we took a walk to the Natural History Museum. They handed us the Quiz Dom handsets. And this is how the Quiz Dom handsets look like: We headed to our seats and this how it worked. The question appears on the screen and we answer with yes or no or we choose A B C D E F. The First speaker was Mr. Tom Burke. Mr. Tom said: â€Å"Don’t be under forty† He said this because all of the people who are under 40 years old are going to be suffering and we are the ones who are going to face all the disasters starting from earthquakes to the massive destructive hurricanes. I felt he was right because our mother earth is really suffering and humans are 100% responsible for what is going on. We are responsible for Global warming and our co2 footprint and we do have the sufficient technology to stop it or at least to prevent it from happening anymore. Yet we do not use it. Break time. The Second speaker was Professor Mike Hulme. Climate change: implication for the future, choice for the present. The Professor did talk about something seemed really interesting to me because we do not have it in Libya. He talked about the Thames barrier that was built in the United Kingdom to prevent the seawater from invading the land. Due to rising sea levels, there was a discussion in the public about raising the barrier. But he said that we should deal with the problem instead of going around it and of course the main reason for this problem is global warming. â€Å"How high are we going to keep building higher Thams barrier?† he said. The third speaker was Dr. Jeremy Leggett who talked about the Climate change meets peak oil: the numbers game of the century. A summary of Dr. Jeremy Leggett talk is that our business and particularly our oil industry are making mother earth suffer. He said that governments are not making the big steps towards a cleaner environment because the temperature already is higher than the average 2 degrees Celsius. Lunch: The fourth speaker was Dr. Jillian Anable and he talked about Driving to the limit: the effects of transport on climate change Dr. Jillian Anable made clear that the car is primary mode of transport for 6% of the world’s population but the transport sector is growing really fast all over the world. The more cars being sold, the more co2 emitted into the globe. Even worse is that although all cars have the same function as transport vehicles, they have varying fuel usage so that even driving the same distance, one car can emit more co2 than another. Here’s a really good example that made me go like WOW. The fifth speaker was Dr. Dave Reay and he talked about Tackling climate change in the urban jungle. Dr. Dave made a really good point when he pointed the accusatory finger at cities. He said â€Å"Cities are now responsible for three-quarters of all greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere by humankind†¦ Yes we may be sliding deeper into a human-made climate abyss, but our cities can provide the ladder out of the hole we’ve got ourselves into. He meant that it was possible within cities to come up with urban-centric solutions to tackle the very pollution they emit. Short break. Then all the speakers sat together and it was our turn to ask some questions. We asked some really good questions I don’t have the time to write all of them but I can say what I asked. Q1: Ok you already said that scientists invented cars that use hydrogen instead of gas why don’t we see any of these cars on the market or why don’t we even see any hydrogen stations? Q2: Since it’s still a new technology (the hydrogen cars), when do you think they are going to officially be used all over the world? Summit closes for the day. And return to the Imperial College. After that we played games and had something to eat in the map room at the Royal Geographical Society. Evening ends Day Two of Student Summit: . . Review of the last day. Dr. Bob Bloomfield introduces the first speaker Mr. Colin Butfield speaking of the WWF. Mr. Colin Butfield talked about how we could live in peace with our mother earth. (One planet living) Mr. Butfield made his argument with points on diminishing resources and animals in the wild due to our over-consumption in urban areas. Lets put this one in point form and you can be the judge: Only 250 tigers left in India. Only 350 tigers left in Bangladesh. 27% of co2 emissions come from our houses. 55% of timber used in our homes. The United Kingdom is the third largest importer of illegal timber in the world. More than 50% of the global population lives in he cities now. Cities take up to 2% of the planet space. Break Time. The second speaker was Dr. Mark Spencer and he talked about Urban plants: their importance in a changing world. The main idea was that if plants were used in the right way they can be our allies. They can provide shade and soothe the atmosphere. Due to global warming many types of plants has been excessively spreading through cities. London Rocket is sort of a plan that is invading London because of global warming. Thousands of types of grass are being affected by global warming. By examining trends in plant growth, we have an idea of the effect of global warming on our environment. The third speaker was Dr. Tim Sparks and he talked about Dear diary: everyone can contribute to monitoring the effects of climate change. This is a summary of what Dr. Tim Spark said: Very little data would exist without volunteers acting independently or as part of networks. Historical data is valuable in examining temperature response, but much data lies scattered and in obscurity. Our ambition is to preserve and make available historic data for comparison with a continuing phonological network. Current data shows a large shift towards early timings in plant and animal cycles. Continued monitoring is necessary to identify change and potential problems with life cycles, competition and the food chain. Lunchtime. Then our group visited the Ice station Antarctica at the Natural History Museum. Londons green spaces: improving peoples access to nature By Shirley Mitchell. The thing that really took my attention over here is that 42% of Londons citizens said that London isn’t a green city. Short break. Then it was Question time and I asked: Q: I asked Mr. Colin Butfield. Are their any volunteers working on the WWF? If so how can anyone become a part of it? He said they do have volunteers working with them and he asked me where am I from. I told him that Im from Libya. He said that they don’t have offices in Libya but they are doing some work over there and he took my E-mail address and said he would see what he could do. Summit closes for the day. Depart on foot and went to high street Kensington. Shopping. Shopping ends we met Eleanor outside of the McDonald. Depart by coach to a pizza restaurant. Dinner. Dinner ends. Depart on foot to London eye for embarkation. We returned by coach back to the Bait hall Lights off time to bed. Day three of student summit. We met Eleanor and went to have breakfast. Breakfast ends. Arrive to the NHM. Review of the last day. The first speaker was Mr. Ken Livingstone The mayor of London and he was talking about Climate change: the challenge of the 21st century. Something the mayor of London said really amazed me: â€Å"We don’t need new technology. We have what we need. We simply need the political will and we can reduce our carbon footprint by 80-90%. He was 100% right. The mayor of London made really clear points. He said that London is the only city that has increased in population by 10% but seen no increase in the carbon emissions. He also mentioned that there should be a small carbon taxes on air travel and this will produce for sure the air travel carbon footprint. Break time. The Second speaker was Mr. Peter Head, Director of ARUP The development of low carbon green cities. Mr. Peter Head was talking about the first eco-city (dongtan) and he said that it is one of six and the first phase of development is due to be completed in 2010. The eco-city will have a lower footprint than any other city thanks to its perfect designing. China hopes that eco-cities will help to remove humanity from the industrial age to the ecological age within the 50 next years. The third speaker was Ms. Brenda Boardman; Head of lower carbon Futures team at Environmental change Institute, Oxford University Personal carbon allowances. The idea was to give each person a specific amount of carbon that they can use whichever way they want and this amount is written on there carbon cards but some questions need to be asked first. How much should individuals be allowed? Should all individuals be given the same amount? Are children different in their carbon needs from adults? If this happened then it will produce the countrys carbon footprint. Those carbon cards should look like this. Lunchtime. The fourth speaker was Ms. Tatiana Bosteels, London Climate Change Agency moving towards a low carbon London The fifth speaker was Mr. Adrian Hewitt, Merton borough Council the power of local government to combat climate change. Short break. Questions time and I asked the mayor of London before he leaves. Q: Are those hydrogen buses going to be used all over Europe and will it ever going to be possible to make any sort of law that will force the other countries to use them? The answer was that those buses will be used in London in the next two years also in Europe very soon but we will not be able to force other countries to use them. Although since we are the first who invented those buses then this will create an international market and will be open for sail all over the world. Summit closes. After that we made our way to the hydrogen buses in front of the Natural History Museum and it took us in a tour on over London and put us back into the Imperial college. Evening ends. Lights off and time to sleep. Last day we had breakfast hugs and goodbyes then checkout and it was time to go to the airport. And finely†¦ Because a green city is a dream that comes in the minds of all those who cares about environment.. And it’s a dream I hope that I could bring it to realty to make my city greener.. So it can survive from the other problems that other cities are already having. I wish to be like a green hand that is digging over here and there. I wish to be the mind that tells the people what to do to make theyre cities greener. I wish that I could do all that while Im provided with all the knowledge that the British council could provide me with either working inside or outside of Libya. Research Papers on International Student SummitAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Quebec and CanadaPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyTrailblazing by Eric AndersonStandardized TestingWhere Wild and West MeetMind TravelHip-Hop is ArtBringing Democracy to AfricaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married Males

Sunday, October 20, 2019

History and Origins of Wheat Domestication

History and Origins of Wheat Domestication Wheat is a grain crop with some 25,000 different cultivars in the world today. It was domesticated at least 12,000 years ago, created from a still-living ancestor plant known as emmer. Wild emmer (reported variously as T. araraticum, T. turgidum ssp. dicoccoides, or T. dicocoides), is a predominantly self-pollinating, winter annual grass of the Poaceae family and Triticeae tribe. It is distributed throughout the Near Eastern Fertile Crescent, including the modern countries of Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, eastern Turkey, western Iran, and northern Iraq. It grows in sporadic and semi-isolated patches and does best in regions with long, hot dry summers and short mild, wet winters with fluctuating rainfall. Emmer grows in diverse habitats from 100 m (330 ft) below sea level to 1700 m (5,500 ft) above, and can survive on between 200–1,300 mm (7.8–66 in) of annual precipitation. Wheat Varieties Most of the 25,000 different forms of modern wheat are varieties of two broad groups, called common wheat and durum wheat. Common or bread wheat Triticum aestivum accounts for some 95 percent of all the consumed wheat in the world today; the other five percent is made up of durum or hard wheat T. turgidum ssp. durum, used in pasta and semolina products. Bread and durum wheat are both domesticated forms of wild emmer wheat. Spelt (T. spelta) and Timopheevs wheat (T. timopheevii) were also developed from emmer wheats by the late Neolithic period, but neither has much of a market today. Another early form of wheat called einkorn (T. monococcum) was domesticated at about the same time but has limited distribution today. Origins of Wheat The origins of our modern wheat, according to genetics and archaeological studies, are found in the Karacadag mountain region of what is today southeastern Turkey- emmer and einkorn wheats are two of the classic eight founder crops of the origins of agriculture. The earliest known use of emmer was gathered from wild patches by the people who lived at the Ohalo II archaeological site in Israel, about 23,000 years ago. The earliest cultivated emmer has been found in the southern Levant (Netiv Hagdud, Tell Aswad, other Pre-Pottery Neolithic A sites); while einkorn is found in the northern Levant (Abu Hureyra, Mureybet, Jerf el Ahmar, Gà ¶bekli Tepe). Changes During Domestication The main differences between the wild forms and domesticated wheat are that domesticated forms have larger seeds with hulls and a non-shattering rachis. When wild wheat is ripe, the rachis- the stem that keeps the wheat shafts together- shatters so that the seeds can disperse themselves. Without hulls, they germinate rapidly. But that naturally useful brittleness doesnt suit humans, who prefer to harvest wheat from the plant rather than off the surrounding earth. One possible way that might have occurred is that farmers harvested wheat after it was ripe, but before it self-dispersed, thereby collecting only the wheat that was still attached to the plant. By planting those seeds the next season, the farmers were perpetuating plants that had later-breaking rachises. Other traits apparently selected for include spike size, growing season, plant height, and grain size. According to French botanist Agathe Roucou and colleagues, the domestication process also caused multiple changes in the plant that were generated indirectly. Compared to emmer wheat, modern wheat has shorter leaf longevity, and a higher net rate of photosynthesis, leaf production rate, and nitrogen content. Modern wheat cultivars also have a shallower root system, with a larger proportion of fine roots, investing biomass above rather than below ground. Ancient forms have built-in coordination between above and below ground functioning, but the human selection of other traits has forced the plant to reconfigure and build new networks. How Long Did Domestication Take? One of the ongoing arguments about wheat is the length of time it took for the domestication process to complete. Some scholars argue for a fairly rapid process, of a few centuries; while others argue that the process from cultivation to domestication took up to 5,000 years. The evidence is abundant that by about 10,400 years ago, domesticated wheat was in widespread use throughout the Levant region; but when that started is up for debate. The earliest evidence for both domesticated einkorn and emmer wheat found to date was at the Syrian site of Abu Hureyra, in occupation layers dated to the Late Epi-paleolithic period, the beginning of the Younger Dryas, ca 13,000–12,000 cal BP; some scholars have argued, however, that the evidence does not show deliberate cultivation at this time, although it does indicate a broadening of the diet base to include a reliance on wild grains including the wheat. Spread Around the Globe: Bouldnor Cliff The distribution of wheat outside of its place of origin is part of the process known as Neolithicization. The culture generally associated with the introduction of wheat and other crops from Asia to Europe is generally the Lindearbandkeramik (LBK) culture, which may have been made up of part immigrant farmers and part local hunter-gatherers adapting new technologies. LBK is typically dated in Europe between 5400–4900 BCE. However, recent DNA studies at Bouldnor Cliff peat bog off the northern coast of mainland England have identified ancient DNA from what was apparently domesticated wheat. Wheat seeds, fragments, and pollen were not found at Bouldnor Cliff, but the DNA sequences from the sediment match Near Eastern wheat, genetically different from LBK forms. Further tests at Bouldnor Cliff have identified a submerged Mesolithic site, 16 m (52 ft) below sea level. The sediments were laid down about 8,000 years ago, several centuries earlier than the European LBK sites. Scholars suggest that the wheat got to Britain by boat. Other scholars have questioned the date, and the aDNA identification, saying it was in too good a condition to be that old. But additional experiments run by British evolutionary geneticist Robin Allaby and preliminarily reported in Watson (2018) have shown that ancient DNA from undersea sediments is more pristine than that from other contexts.   Sources Avni, Raz, et al. Wild Emmer Genome Architecture and Diversity Elucidate Wheat Evolution and Domestication. Science, vol. 357, no. 6346, 2017, pp. 93–97. Print.International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium. A Chromosome-Based Draft Sequence of the Hexaploid Bread Wheat (Triticum Aestivum) Genome. Science, vol. 345, no. 6194, 2014. Print.Fuller, Dorian Q, and Leilani Lucas. Adapting Crops, Landscapes, and Food Choices: Patterns in the Dispersal of Domesticated Plants across Eurasia. Human Dispersal and Species Movement: From Prehistory to the Present. Eds. Boivin, Nicole, Rà ©my Crassard and Michael D. Petraglia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. 304–31. Print.Huang, Lin, et al. Evolution and Adaptation of Wild Emmer Wheat Populations to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses. Annual Review of Phytopathology, vol. 54, no. 1, 2016, pp. 279–301. Print.Kirleis, Wiebke, and Elske Fischer. Neolithic Cultivation of Tetraploid Free Threshing Wheat in Denmark and Nort hern Germany: Implications for Crop Diversity and Societal Dynamics of the Funnel Beaker Culture. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, vol. 23, no.1, 2014, pp. 81–96. Print. Larson, Greger. How Wheat Came to Britain. Science, vol. 347, no.6225, 2015. Print.Marcussen, Thomas, et al. Ancient Hybridizations among the Ancestral Genomes of Bread Wheat. Science, vol. 345, no. 6194, 2014. Print.Martin, Lucie. Plant Economy and Territory Exploitation in the Alps During the Neolithic (5000–4200  cal Bc): First Results of Archaeobotanical Studies in the Valais (Switzerland). Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, vol. 24, no. 1, 2015, pp. 63–73. Print.Roucou, Agathe, et al. Shifts in Plant Functional Strategies over the Course of Wheat Domestication. Journal of Applied Ecology, vol. 55, no. 1, 2017, pp. 25–37. Print. Smith, Oliver, et al. Sedimentary DNA from a Submerged Site Reveals Wheat in the British Isles 8000 Years Ago. Science, vol. 347, no. 6225, 2015, pp. 998–1001. Print.Watson, Traci. Inner Workings: Fishing for Artifacts beneath the Waves. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 115, no. 2, 2018, pp. 231-33. Pr int.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Observation paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Observation paper - Essay Example This paper discusses the basis of females making use of a gym setting and how they are able to reap success through the differing standards which are in common use in the times like today. It has been observed that within a gym setting, not many women feel comfortable. This is because they believe that unwanted people are staring at them for peculiar reasons. Then again, there are women who generally disconnect with the world around them and concentrate on getting fit and healthy. Their gym exercises are such that they rely on them alone without thinking about anything else. Within a gym setting, females usually feel insecure because they are a victim of their own gender. They have no clue why men look at them and would like to know what is so special about them that makes the women clan feel down. However, this does not imply for all men being like that. There are some handful of men who want the women to feel subjugated for ulterior motives that they have best knowledge about. I found out within a gym setting that a female was being constantly harassed by a group of men who were also training with her. I discerned that there was a mess which was entirely under the aegis of gender that needed to be taken care of. The woman under consideration was not wary of how shabbily the men were talking about her. All she felt was that the men did not look at her in a dignified manner. She knew something or the other was fishy that made her conspicuous of the entire scenario at the gym (Hurley, 1996). She tried changing her stance to let the men know that she was watching but the men were bent upon creating a scene for all the wrong reasons. Some thing or the other needed to be done about it and so did this woman go up to the gym manager and complained about the men present in the gym as they were creating a scene for reasons best known to them. When they were inquired about the gender harassment that they were indulging into, they completely

Friday, October 18, 2019

Wireless security beyond 802.1x Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wireless security beyond 802.1x - Essay Example However, many consider the IPsec an improvement on the 802.1x. However, to ascertain the truth, we need to carry out an analysis of the protection provided by the different technologies. The 802.1x assists in controlling access to a computer network. The technology is a port-based access control method that is defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering which can be configured to require mandatory authentication between the network and the client. Communications become impossible without the authentication. Many people consider the 802.1x technology as the foundation of wireless security. However, deploying the 802.1x technology has its challenges. The technology requires devices that are compatible with 802.1x . The technology has weakness in its protocol, as it only authenticates at the establishment of a connection. Further connection does not require authentication, resulting in security risks (Al-Shaer, 2014). Additionally, the technology does not have centralized management capability. As such, the IPsec VPN became introduced. The Virtual Private Networks based on IPsec allow a layer of security to become a part of the wireless network, allowing for the protection of all traffic that flows in and out of the network. The method has several advantages over 802.1x including; Invisibility - Since the technology is based at the network level, it remains invisible in its operations (Snader, 2014). The end users do not have to learn its existence, nor do they have to interact directly with it, which is different from the 802.1x technology that requires authentication from clients. Lack of dependence on applications - The IPsec technology does not depend on applications to become effective, as the s=entire system is operated at the network level. As such, it avoids compatibility issues, which are common in 802.1x systems. Broken algorithms - A number of key algorithms used by the IPsec have been cracked,

Is It Too Much Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Is It Too Much - Term Paper Example Interestingly, children are major beneficiaries in this account. The role of computers and related technology on today’s children and childhood has had interesting developments in the recent years. The parental society of today while envisaging the hilarious impact that computers are going to have over the world in the future, are encouraging the access of the children of today to computers and its numerous applications. The society in that context is of the general view that for children to involve in this new and different world socially, economically, and politically they must acquire a certain level of comfort and competence in using computers. Trotter (1998, p.6-9) has indicated the popularity in the society on the providing support for children to have access to computers so as to enable them to learn adequate computer skills and improve their education. ‘Most parents believe that the Internet can help children with their homework and allow them to discover fascina ting, useful things, and that children without access are disadvantaged compared to those with in access’ (Turow, 1999, p.14-24). However the indiscriminate use and dependency on computers by children is alarming towards many long term consequences. When the use of computers becomes excessive and unmonitored it can adversely affect the physical, social and psychological development of children. The detrimental impact becomes more acute when the usage is coupled with other screen technologies like television and video games. While computers open up the window of access to enormous information, eventually it may expose children to long term health and psychological impact. In the ideal stages of character and personality development, the children must be properly monitored on what they learn and pursue and what they end up with the learning process. The essay is a trial to review the effects of prolonged computer usage on children. While pointing out

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Business Marketing Strategies for Global Markets Assignment

Business Marketing Strategies for Global Markets - Assignment Example Some of the market entry options include direct export that entails producing products in the home country and selling them to overseas customers. Licensing, where licensor will provide an organization in the foreign market a license to manufacture the product or use the brand name and in return receive a payment. In addition, the use of joint venture that involves two organizations coming together to share the risk of market entry into a new foreign market (Root & Mark, 2006). The strategic significance of global market participation includes the following. The expansion provides the opportunity to increase sales as well as make profits; moreover, it leads to lower prices for goods and services to the customer due to the economies of scale derived from a larger global base and to bring down barriers to world trade and providing some protection in some countries and industries. There are the types of international strategies. The Multi-domestic strategy emphasizes product customization for each market. In addition, there is the Global strategy where products are the same in all countries where the business is involved. Lastly, the transnational strategy that tries to balance the efficiency while adjusting to the local preferences of various countries. Finally, the components of international strategy include the distinctive competence, the scope of operations and the resource deployment and

Measuring Cancer Cost Behaviour under Prospective Payment System in Essay

Measuring Cancer Cost Behaviour under Prospective Payment System in Clinical Coding - Essay Example Either way, the increased economic disparities and healthcare challenges have necessitated a rational management of financial resources allocated for healthcare service provision. This paper looks at the role of managers in healthcare financing with respect to the functions of the National Healthcare Service. Besides, the paper provides a succinct discussion on the importance of clinical coding in promoting proper channelling of finances for purchasing healthcare services. In particular, this paper examines the role of clinical coding in measuring the cost of cancer care and how such data promotes evidence based decision making for equitable allocation of healthcare resources. According to Berger (2008), healthcare systems are organized in a manned that allows strategic achievement of three specific objectives. The first objective relates to collection of revenue from various sources including government, donors and individuals. The second objective of healthcare system is to enhance pooling of resources from all stakeholders such that the risk of ill health is shared among every member of the pool. Lastly, every healthcare system aims to provide an affordable and accessible platform of purchasing healthcare services that suits the best expectations of individual members of the society. With these objectives in mind, financial management of healthcare resources becomes a central focus at every stage in order to strike a balance between quality services and scarcity of resources as argued by Bodenheimer and Fernandez (2005, p.27). In the hierarchy of the National Healthcare Service, there are several healthcare trusts and public hospitals that work together to deliver health services to clients. Through the NHS, healthcare managers and commissioners are delegated the main duty of ensuring that various service providers deliver quality healthcare within the available financial resources allocated

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Business Marketing Strategies for Global Markets Assignment

Business Marketing Strategies for Global Markets - Assignment Example Some of the market entry options include direct export that entails producing products in the home country and selling them to overseas customers. Licensing, where licensor will provide an organization in the foreign market a license to manufacture the product or use the brand name and in return receive a payment. In addition, the use of joint venture that involves two organizations coming together to share the risk of market entry into a new foreign market (Root & Mark, 2006). The strategic significance of global market participation includes the following. The expansion provides the opportunity to increase sales as well as make profits; moreover, it leads to lower prices for goods and services to the customer due to the economies of scale derived from a larger global base and to bring down barriers to world trade and providing some protection in some countries and industries. There are the types of international strategies. The Multi-domestic strategy emphasizes product customization for each market. In addition, there is the Global strategy where products are the same in all countries where the business is involved. Lastly, the transnational strategy that tries to balance the efficiency while adjusting to the local preferences of various countries. Finally, the components of international strategy include the distinctive competence, the scope of operations and the resource deployment and

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Air Asia Berhard Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Air Asia Berhard - Research Paper Example This section of the paper seeks to assess how Air Asia would change its business model in its effort to expand its operations in the UK market. One of the major initiatives that the company has emulated in order to improve its profitability is expansion of operations through increasing the number of routes. For example, the company has created connection with various regions within Asia such as Vietnam, Shenzen, Indonesia among others. Even though the company enjoys strong customer loyalty in the domestic market, it has to emulate different strategies in order to penetrate UK market. This is based on the stiff competition and diversified environmental factors that determine the operations of UK airline industry. In the Malaysian market, Air Asia has remained competitive by offering low travelling fares to its customers. However, this is achieved at the expense of its employees who are given lower salaries. Due to the stiff competition in the UK airline industry, Air Asia has to incre ase its wages and salaries in order to motivate its employees. Otherwise, its employees will search for jobs in UK airline companies that are offering competitive prices. In the same way, Air Asia has low overhead costs. It is fundamental to note that in its effort to attain a significant share in the UK market, the company must emulate expansion strategies that are similar to those of UK companies. This implies that the company will have to increase the fare in order to generate more revenue thus enhancing its ability to carry out its operations in the UK market. In order to effectively penetrate the market, Air Asia will need to establish its own maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in UK (Aruan 36). Additionally, the company must establish administration offices in various UK cities. Thus resulting to increased administration costs an aspect that the company is currently trying to avoid. Based on the above discussion, it is clear that Air Asia will have to break a numb er of its business model to remain competitive in the UK market. However, it is crucial to note that a strategy such as increasing the travelling costs will ultimately affect the loyalty of its customers both locally and internationally. In the same way, increasing employee’s salaries is a strategy that the company will not only initiate in UK but also in all countries it has established operations. Thus resulting to increased costs and reduced profits. This implies that Air Asia entry of the UK market will be difficult. Paper 2. First Solar’s multinational business context and internal resources First Solar is a technology company that is based in Arizona. One of the key aspects that have enhanced the production capacity of the company is experienced and motivated work force. With more than 5,200 associates, the company has been able to raise a significant capital that has made it possible to diversify its product line thus attracting large number of customers especia lly in the European market. During its establishment, First solar specialized in the production of glass products rather than manufacturing of photovoltaics. Based on the expertise of the company founder Harold McMaster in the glass manufacturing, he diverted his skills to the solar industry. He was also

Recruitment process and documentation at West Cheshire College Essay Example for Free

Recruitment process and documentation at West Cheshire College Essay Recruitment is the initial part of the human resources. The candidate for a specific job role needs to have all essential skills required in order to be successful. Recruitment department needs to make sure that they are getting right people for right position, they are monitoring staff constantly for any further developments and improvements as well as the department ensures that they are prepared to consider a better practice. The purpose of monitoring staff is to improve their performance and offer a training if it necessary. There are two main dynamic documents used in West Cheshire College – job profile and person specification. In order to make sure that the organisation has right people for right positions, both documents needs to be clear and be completed in a correct way. Layout of these documents is really similar and both are generally accepted tasks but the most important document is job description. Job profile is a brief summary of the job, which explains what tasks are involved, what is the purpose of this job and what are the duties and responsibilities of this position. Person specification is a statement of attributes required for a specific job role. These can be split into two sections essential and desirable. Person specification describes what qualifications, skills, experience, and approach the candidate needs to have. If the candidate has all of the attributes, this person is considered to be strong candidate and has more chances to become successful within this job role. Once the documentation is completed for any specific job role, the Human Resources department needs to start to think about advertisement of this job and when it comes to the ending date, they need to select few candidates which then are going to be invited for an interview. Yet again, these documents are used – interviewer will create questions upon the job profile and person specification and will complete a checklist of skills against person specification. If the candidate is successful, will get to know terms and conditions of the employment as well as any other important information about the organisation. Importance of employability, personal and communication skills in the recruitment process and retention of staff. There are many different factors to consider when the organisation decides to recruit new people or keeping current employees. All of them needs to have correct skills which match up the job description. Right candidate will have strong communication skills in order to communicate within the team or with the customers. If the candidate applies for a college officer position, he will deal with different enquiries from staff, learners and external contacts therefore it is really important that this person is able to communicate at very high standards and that the tasks are fully understood and carried out effectively. It is also important that the candidate is willing to undertake any training if required and is willing to develop personal skills and other attributes – this would possibly help to achieve their targets, and this shows that the candidate has strong employability skills. Retention of staff It is important that the organisation retain the staff who are doing their job correctly and are achieving their job targets. This is highly beneficial for any businesses – the staff is already fully trained, know exactly what are the job duties and responsibilities and they are able to resolve any problems much quicker. West Cheshire College retain highly qualified staff to ensure that the organisation is providing service at the highest standards. The organisation is doing so by offering: 1. training and development 2. free education 3. support 4. very good working conditions 5. fair rate of pay 6. staff discount 7. holidays

Monday, October 14, 2019

Capital structure and approaches to capital structure

Capital structure and approaches to capital structure It is defined as the mix or proposition of a firms permanent long-term financing represented by debt, preference stock, and common stock equity. Capital structure theory suggests that firms determine what is often referred to as a target debt ratio, which is based on various tradeoffs between the costs and benefits of debt versus equity. The term capital structure refers to the percentage of capital (money) at work in a business by type. Broadly speaking, there are two forms of capital: equity capital and debt capital. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks and a substantial part of wise corporate stewardship and management is attempting to find the perfect capital structure in terms of risk / reward payoff for shareholders. This is true for Fortune 500 companies and for small business owners trying to determine how much of their startup money should come from a bank loan without endangering the business Lets look at each in detail: Equity Capital This refers to money put up and owned by the shareholders (owners). Typically, equity capital consists of two types: 1) contributed capital, which is the money that was originally invested in the business in exchange for shares of stock or ownership and 2)  retained earnings, which represents profits from past years that have been kept by the company and used to strengthen the  balance sheet  or fund growth, acquisitions, or expansion. Many consider equity capital to be the most expensive type of capital a company can utilize because its cost is the return the firm must earn to attract investment. A speculative mining company that is looking for silver in a remote region of Africa may require a much higher  return on equity  to get investors to purchase the stock than a firm such as Procter Gamble, which sells everything from toothpaste and shampoo to detergent and beauty products. Debt Capital The debt capital in a companys capital structure refers to borrowed money that is at work in the business. The safest type is generally considered long-term bonds  because the company has years, if not decades, to come up with the principal, while paying interest only in the meantime. Other types of debt capital can include short-term commercial paper utilized by giants such as Wal-Mart and General Electric that amount to billions of dollars in 24-hour loans from the capital markets to meet day-to-day working capital requirements such as payroll  and utility bills. The cost of debt capital in the capital structure depends on the health of the companys balance sheet a triple AAA rated firm is going to be able to borrow at extremely low rates versus a speculative company with tons of debt, which may have to pay 15% or more in exchange for debt capital. Other Forms of Capital There are actually other forms of capital, such as  vendor financing  where a company can sell goods before they have to pay the bill to the vendor, that can drastically increase return on equity but dont cost the company anything. This was one of the secrets to  Sam Waltons success at Wal-Mart. He was often able to sell Tide detergent before having to pay the bill to Procter Gamble, in effect, using PGs money to grow his retailer. In the case of an insurance company, the policyholder float represents money that doesnt belong to the firm but that it gets to use and earn an investment on until it has to pay it out for accidents or medical bills, in the case of an auto insurer. The cost of other forms of capital in the capital structure varies greatly on a case-by-case basis and often comes down to the talent and discipline of managers. SEEKING THE OPTIMAL CAPITAL STRUCTURE Many middle class individuals believe that the goal in life is to be debt-free. When you reach the upper echelons of finance, however, that idea is almost anathema. Many of the most successful companies in the world base their capital structure on one simple consideration: the cost of capital. If you can borrow money at 7% for 30 years in a world of 3% inflation and reinvest it in core operations at 15%, you would be wise to consider at least 40% to 50% in debt capital in your overall capital structure. Of course, how much debt you take on comes down to how secure the revenues your business generates are if you sell an indispensable product that people simply must have, the debt will be much lower risk than if you operate a theme park in a tourist town at the height of a boom market. Again, this is where managerial talent, experience, and wisdom comes into play. The great managers have a knack for consistently lowering their  weighted average cost of capital  by increasing productivity, seeking out higher return products, and more. To truly understand the idea of capital structure, you need to take a few moments to read Return on Equity: The DuPont Model  to understand how the capital structure represents one of the three components in determining the  rate of return  a company will earn on the money its owners have invested in it. Whether you own a doughnut shop or are considering investing in publicly traded stocks, its knowledge you simply must have. Question on our minds: Can the total valuation of a company (debt+equity) and the cost of capital be affected by changing the financing mix. The imperfections in the market play a vital role in the valuation of a company. This data is of utmost importance to the suppliers of capital. Changes in the financing mix are assumed to occur by issuing debt and repurchasing common stock or by issuing common stock and retiring debt. Example 1. Assume a company whose earnings are not expected to grow and which pays out all of its earnings to its shareholders in the form of dividends. All kinds of market imperfections are not considered in the current example, for simplicity in calculations. We are concerned mainly with 3 different rates of return. The first is The yield on companys debt, ki = = The second rate of return that we are concerned with is ke = = With our assumptions that the firms earnings are not expected to grow and which has a 100 percent dividend payout, the firms earning per price represents the market rate of discount that equates the present value of the perpetual stream of expected constant future dividends with the current market price of the common stock. The third rate to be calculated is ko = = These 3 different rates of return affect the amount of financial leverage, which is the debt to equity ratio. ko is defined as the overall capitalization rate of the firm. It is designed as the weighted average cost of capital, and can also be expressed as ko = ki [] + ke [] Calculating A Companys Capital Structure Review your companys most recent financial statements to find all of the capital components. Highlight all of the debt of the company and the equity (including common and preferred shares, capital contributions and retained earnings). Add up the total debt and equity It will be equal to your companys assets on the balance sheet because the debt and equity is what paid for those assets. Your capital structure is the percentage that each funding source represents of your companys total funding. Lets look at an example. Lets say you have the following capital components: bank loan $176,500, retained earnings $54,300, common stock $12,500. That makes your total capital $243,300. To calculate your capital structure, take the dollar amount of each capital source and divide it by the total capital. In the above example, the bank loan is 72.5%, retained earnings 22.3%, capital stock 5.2% for a total of 100%. Monitor your companys capital structure over time. Debt tends to be the most expensive source of capital and, over time, you will determine the most effective blend of debt versus equity financing for your particular situation. Calculating your actual capital structure will allow you to track how closely you are following your ideal capital structure. Factors Affecting Capital Structure The factors that affect the decisions taken regarding capital structure can be divided into three major types: Internal Factors External Factors General Factors INTERNAL FACTORS Cost of Capital The cost of capital is the cost of the companys funds. It consists of debts and equity. When a company raises funds for its operations there are certain costs involved. When decisions regarding the capital structure are taken, managers ensure that the earnings on the capital are more than this cost of capital. In general, the cost of borrowing capital is less than the cost of equity capital. This is because the interest rate on loans and borrowings is less than the dividend rates and also the dividends are a function of the companys profits and not expenditure. Risk Factor When decisions regarding capital structure are to be taken, the risk factors considerations are an important issue. If company raises its funds through debts, the risks involved are of two types: The company has to repay the lenders in a fixed time period and at a fixed rate, whether or not the company makes profit or goes into loss. The borrowed capital is secured capital. Hence, if the company fails to make the payments, the lenders can take possession of the companys assets. If the company goes for funds through equity capital there are minimum risks. As the dividends are an appropriation of the companys profits, if it does not make any profit, it is not obliged to make the payments. In contrast to debt capital, here the company is not expected to repay its equity capital. And also the equity capital is not secured. Control Factor When additional funds are to be raised, the control factors are very essential in deciding the capital structure of the company. When a company decides to issue further equity shares the control of the company may be at stake. Hence, it may not be acceptable to its shareholders and owners. This factor is not vital in case of debt financing, except when financing institutions stipulate the appointment of nominee directors in the Board of Directors of the company. Objects of Capital Structure Planning They are- Maximize profit of the owners Issue transferable securities Issue further securities in a way that does not dilute the holdings of the present owners EXTERNAL FACTORS General Economic Conditions: If the economy is in the state of depression, equity funding is considered as it involves less risk. While, if the economy is booming and the interest rates are forecasted to fall, debt funding is given preference. Interest Rate Levels: If the interest rates are high in the capital market, equity funding is preferred until the interest rate levels fall down. Policy of Lending Institutions: If the terms and policies of the financing institutions are rigid and harsh, debt financing should be ignored and equity financing should be tapped. Taxation Policy: The government has taxation policies which include corporate taxes as well as individual taxes. The government includes individual taxes on both borrowings as well as dividends. Also income tax deductions are offered on interests paid on borrowings. All these factors have to be considered while planning capital structure. Statutory Risks: While planning Capital Structure, the statutory risks given by the Government and other statutes are to be considered. GENERAL FACTORS Constitution of the company: If the company is private limited, the control factors are essential while if the company is public limited, the cost factors are essential. Characteristics of the company: Companies which are small and in the early stage have weak credit standings and bargaining capacity, hence they have to rely on equity financing. While big companies have strong credit standings and they can source their funds from borrowings with acceptable interest rates. Stability of earnings: The companies which have stable earnings and the risks involved are less, go for debt funding as they can handle the high risk factors. While companies whose earnings are forecasted to be fluctuating, usually go for less risky equity funding. Attitude of the Management: For a company with conservative management, the control factor is more important, while a company with a liberal management considers the cost factors to be more important. Approaches to Capital Structure Net Operating Income Approach Traditional Approach Net Income Approach Modigliani Miller Approach Net Operating Income Approach David Durand proposed the net income approach to capital structure. This approach looks at the consequence of alterations in capital structure in terms of net operating income. Under this approach, on the basis of net operating income, the overall value of the firm is measured. Therefore this approach is identified as net operating income approach. The NOI approach entails that: Largely the value of the firm does not depend on the degree of leverage in capital structure and hence whatever may be the change in capital structure the overall value of the firm is not affected. In the same way, the overall cost of capital is not affected by any change in the degree of leverage in capital structure. The overall cost of capital is independent of leverage. Under the net income approach, the overall cost of capital is unaffected and remains constant irrespective of the change in the ratio of debts to equity capital when the cost of debt is less than that of equity capital whereas it is assumed the overall cost of capital must decrease with the increase in debts. How is this assumption justified? With the increase in the amount of debts the degree of risk of business increases. As a result the rate of equity over investment in equity shares thus on one hand the WACC decreases with the increase in the amount of debts; on the other hand cost of equity capital increases to the same tune. Therefore the benefit of leverage is mopped away and the overall cost of capital remains at the same level. In other words there are two parts of the cost of capital. Interest charges on debentures. The increase in the rate of equity capitalization resulting from the increase in risk of business due to higher level of debts. OPTIMUM CAPITAL STRUCTURE This approach suggests that whatever the degree of indebtedness of the company, market value remains constant. Despite the change in the ratio of debt to capital in the market value of its equity shares remains constant. This means that there is no optimal capital structure. Each capital structure is optimal in approach of net operating income The market value of the firm is determined as follows:   The value of equity can be determined by the following equation and   The Net Operating Income Approach is based on the following assumptions: Example: ABC Ltd., is expecting an earnings before interest tax of Rs.1,80,00,000 and belongs to risk class of 10%. You are required to find out the value of firm % cost of equity capital if it employs 8% debt to the extent of 20%, 35% or 50% of the total financial requirement of Rs. 90000000. Solution Statement showing value of firm and cost of equity capital   20% Debt 35% Debt 50% Debt Earnings before interest tax EBIT ($) 18000000 18000000 18000000 Overall cost of capital 10% 10% 10% Value of firm (V) = EBIT Cost of Capital{EBIT/Cost of Capital} 180000000 180000000 180000000 Value of 8% debt (D) 18000000 (20% ÃÆ'- 90000000) 31500000 (35% ÃÆ'- 90000000) 45000000 (50% ÃÆ'- 90000000) Value of equity (V D) 162000000 148500000 135000000 Net profit (EBIT Interest) 16560000 (18000000 1440000) 15480000 (18000000 2520000) 14400000 (18000000 3600000) (Cost of equity (Kc) 10.22% 10.42% 10.66% (Net profit/value of equity) ÃÆ'- 100 (16560000/ 162000000) ( 15480000/ 148500000) ( 14400000/ 135000000) It is apparent from the above computation that the overall cost of capital value of firm; re-constant at different levels of debt i.e., at 20%, 35% and 50%. The benefit of debt content is offset by increase in the cost of equity. The overall cost of capital (k0) remains constant and can be verified as follows: Overall Cost of Capital k0 = kd   (D/D+S) + Ke   (S/D+S) 20% Debt K0 =   $4,00,000/$40,00,000   ÃÆ'-8% + $36,00,000/$40,00,000 X   10.22% = 0.008 + 0.092 = 0.10 or 10% 35% Debt K0 = $7,00,000/$40,00,000   ÃÆ'-8% + $33,00,000/$40,00,000 X   10.42% = 0.014 + 0.0859 = 0.0999 Or 10% 50% Debt K0 = $10,00,000/$40,00,000   ÃÆ'- 8% + $30,00,000/$40,00,000 X   10.66% = 0.02 + 0.07995 = 0.0995 or 10% Traditional Approach Traditional approach is a  middle-way approach between net operating income approach the net income approach. According to this approach: (1) A best  capital structure  does exist. (2) Market value of the firm can be increased and average cost of capital can be reduced through a prudent manipulation of leverage. (3) The cost of debt capital increases if debts are increases beyond a definite limit. This is because the greater the risk  of business  the higher the  rate of interest  the creditors would ask for. The rate of equity capitalization will also increase with it. Thus there remains no benefit of leverage when debts are increased beyond a certain limit. The cost of capital also goes up. Traditional Approach Thus at a definite level of mixture of debts to equity capital, average cost of capital also increases. The  capital structure  is optimum at this level of the mix of debts to equity capital. The effect of change in  capital structure  on the overall cost of capital can be divided into three stages as follows; First stage In the first stage the overall cost of capital falls and the value of the firm increases with the increase in leverage. This leverage has beneficial effect as debts as debts are less expensive. The cost of equity remains constant or increases negligibly. The proportion of risk is less in such a firm. Second stage A stage is reached when increase in leverage has no effect on the value or the cost of capital, of the firm. Neither the cost of capital falls nor the value of the firm rises. This is because the increase in the cost of equity due to the assed financial risk offsets the advantage of low cost debt. This is the stage wherein the value of the firm is maximum and cost of capital minimum. Third stage Beyond a definite limit of leverage the cost of capital increases with leverage and the value of the firm decreases with leverage. This is because with the increase in debts investors begin to realize the degree of financial risk and hence they desire to earn a higher rate of return on equity shares. The resultant increase in equity capitalization rate will more than offset the advantage of low-cost debt. It follows that the cost of capital is a function of the degree of leverage. Hence, an optimum  capital structure  can be achieved by establishing an appropriate degree of leverage in  capital structure. Net Income Approach This approach states that, the cost of debt and the cost of equity do not change with a change in the leverage ratio(when D/E changes), due to which it is observed that there is a weakening in the cost of capital as the leverage increases. The cost of capitalcan be calculated by the use Net income approach; weighted average of cost of capitalcan be explained by the following equation; http://lh6.ggpht.com/cemismailsezer/R4_ZkNJ-ThI/AAAAAAAAADY/RZYaGVynnUw/image%5B5%5D where: Ko: average cost of capital Kd: cost of debt Ke: cost of equity B: market value of debt S: market value of equity As we know that cost of debt is less than cost of equity (Kd http://lh6.ggpht.com/cemismailsezer/R4_ZlNJ-TjI/AAAAAAAAADo/de5aDk2tbUo/image%5B8%5D The Net Income Approach assembles the investment structure of the firm which has a major influence on the value of the firm. Therefore, the use of control will change both the worth of the organisation cost of capital. Net Income is exploited in approaching the market value that firm possesses. In this analysis Ka decreases when the D/E ratio increases as the proportion of debt, cheaper source of finance, increase in the capital structure vice versa. Assumptions of net income approach the perception of risk is not altered by the use of liability for the investors; as a result, the equity capitalisation rate i.e. ke, and the debt capitalisation rate kd, remain constant with changes in leverage The debt capitalization rate is less than the equity capitalization rate The corporate income taxes are not considered. Numerical example: Assume that a firm has an expected annual net operating income of Rs.2, 00, 000, an equity rate, ke, of 10% and Rs. 10, 00,000 of 6% debt. The value of the firm according to NET INCOME approach: Net Operating Income NOI 2, 00,000 Total cost of debt Interest= KdD, (10, 00,000 x .06) 60,000 Net Income Available to shareholders, NOI I 1, 40,000 Therefore: Market Value of Equity (Rs. 140,000/.10) 14, 00,000 Market value of debt D (Rs. 60,000/.06) 10, 00,000 Total 24, 00,000 Note: The cost of equity and debt are respectively 10% and 6% and are assumed to be constant under the Net Income Approach Ko = Kd (D/V) + Ke (S/V) = 0.06 (10, 00,000/24, 00,000) + 0.10 (14, 00,000/24, 00,000) = 0.025 + 0.0583 = 0.0833 or 8.33% Modigliani Miller (MM) Approach Assumptions of the MM Approach Capital market is perfect. It is so when: Information is freely available Problem of asymmetric information does not exist Transaction cost is nil There is no bankruptcy cost Securities are fully divisible 100% payout ratio Investors and managers are rational Managers act in interest of shareholders Combination of risk and return is rationally chosen Expectations are homogenous Equivalent risk class No taxes Investors can borrow in personal A/C at same terms of firm. Proposition I Value of the form is equal to the expected operating income divided by discount rate appropriate to its risk class. It is independent of capital structure i.e. where, V = Market Value of the Firm D = Market Value of the debt E = Market value of the equity O = Expected Operating Income r = Discount rate applicable to risk class to which firm belongs Proposition I is almost similar to the Net Operating Income Approach. MM used arbitrage argument to prove this approach. MM argues that identical assets must sell for same price, irrespective of how they are financed. Arbitrage Process If the price of a product is unequal in two markets, traders buy it in the market where price is low and sell it in the market where price is high. This phenomenon is known as price differential or arbitrage. As a result of this process of arbitrage, price tends to decline in the high-priced market and price tends to rise in the low-priced market unit the differential is totally removed. Modigliani and Miller explain their approach in terms of the same process of arbitrage. They hold that two firms, identical in all respects except leverage cannot have different market value. If two identical firms have different market values, arbitrage will take place until there is no difference in the market values of the two firms. Example: Let us suppose that there are two firms, P and Q belonging to the same group of homogenous risk. Firm P is unlevered as its capital structure consists of equity capital only Firm Q is levered as its capital structure includes 10% debentures of Rs.10,00,000 According to traditional approach, the market value of firm Q would be higher than that of firm P. But according to M-M approach, this situation cannot persist for long. The market value of the equity share of firm Q is high but investment in it is more risky while the market value of the equity share of firm P is low but investment in it is safe. Hence investors will sell out equity shares of firm Q and purchase equity shares of firm P. Consequently the market value of the equity shares of firm Q while fall, while the market value of the equity shares of firm P will rise. Through this process of arbitrage therefore, the market values of the firms P and Q will be equalized. This is true for all firms belonging to the same group. In equilibrium situation, the average cost of capital will be same for all firms in the group. The opposite will happen if the market value of the firm P is higher than that of the firm Q. In this case investors will sell equity shares of P and buy those of Q. Consequently market values of these two firms will be equalised. Proposition II MM Proposition II states that the value of the firm depends on three things: Required  rate  of return on the firms assets (ra) Cost of debt of the firm (rd) Debt/Equity ratio of the firm (D/E) An increase in financial leverage increases expected Earnings per Share (EPS) but not share prices. Proposition II states that an expected rate of return of shareholders increases with financial leverage. Expected ROE is equal to expected rate of return on assets plus premium. The formula for re is: re = ra + (ra-rd)x(D/E) Implications of Proposition II- rd is independent of D/E and hence re increases with D/E. The debt crosses an optimal level, the risk of default increases and expected return on debt rd increases. Limitations of MM Approach- Leverage irrelevance theory of MM is valid if perfect market assumption is correct but actually it is not so. Firms are able to pay taxes and investors also pay taxes. Bankruptcy cost can be very high. Managers have their own preference of a type of finance. Managers are better informed than shareholders i.e. asymmetry of information exists. Personal leverage is not possible to be substitute of corporate leverage. 100% payout ratio is not possible normally. Analysis of Companies TVS Motors: TVS Motors hold one of the top ten two wheeler manufacturer and number three positions in Indian market, with turnover of $1 billion in 2008-2009 and is the flagship division of TVS group which is of worth $4 billion. TVS Motors manufactures wide range of two wheelers ranging from two wheelers for domestic use to two wheelers for racing. Manufacturing units are located at Housar and Mysore Himachal Pradesh Indonesia Has production capacity of 2.5 million units per year with strength in design and development TVS has recently launched 7 new products. Till now TVS has sold more than 15 million two wheelers and has employed 40000. TVS motor is the only Indian company to win Deming award for quality control in 2002. TVS Network spans over 48 countries. Particulars 2007-08 (in crores) 2008-09(in crores) OPERATING INCOME 45.31 121.08 INTEREST ON DEBT( I) 11.47 64.61 EQUITY EARNING 33.84 56.47 COST OF EQUITY (Ke) 4.13% 4.21% MARKET VALUE OF EQUITY 819.37 1341.33 COST OF DEBT (Kd) 1.72% 7.13% MARKET VALUE OF DEBT 666.34 905.98 VALUE OF FIRM 1485.71 2247.31 COST OF CAPITAL (Ko) 3.05% 5.39% WACC Calculation: For 2007-08 WACC= weke + wdkd We = E/(D+E) Wd = D/(D+E) = 1/(1.84) x 0.413 + 0.84/(1.84) x 0.172 = 0.2284 +0.078 = 3.051% For 2008-2009 WACC= weke + wdkd We = E/(D+E) Wd = D/(D+E) = 1/(2.11) x 4.21 + 1.11/(2.11) x 7.13 =1.995 +3.750 = 5.75% Hero Honda: Hero Honda Motors Limited is largest and most successful two wheeler manufacturers in India and it is India based. Hero Honda was a joint venture between Hero group and Honda of Japan till 2010 when Honda sold its entire stake to Hero. In 2008-09 Hero Honda sold 3.7 million bikes with 12% growth rate and captured 57% of Indian markets share. Hero Honda Splendor is worlds largest selling motorcycle sold more than 1 million units in 2001-03.C:UsersAAdityaDesktopindex.jpg In December 2010, the Board of Directors of the Hero Honda Group have decided to terminate the joint venture between Hero Group of India and Honda of Japan in a phased manner. The Hero Group of India would buy out the 26% stake of the Honda in JV Hero Honda. Under the joint venture Hero Group could not sell into international markets and the termination would mean that Hero Group can exploit global opportunities now. Since last 25 years the Hero Group relied on their Japanese partner Honda for R D for new bike models. So there are concerns that the Hero Group might not be able to sustain the performance of the Joint Venture alone. WACC calculation: For 2007-08 WACC= weke + wdkd We = E/(D+E) Wd = D/(D+E) = 1/(1.07)x34.73%+0.07/(1.07) x 8.33% = 33% For 2008-09 WACC= weke + wdkd We = E/(D+E) Wd = D/(D+E) = 1/(1.04)x32.41%+1.04/(1.04)x10.20% = 31.55% Particulars 2007-08 (in crores) 2008-09 (in crores) OPERATING INCOME 1201.96 1367.77 INTEREST ON DEBT( I) 13.76 13.47 EQUITY EARNING 1188.22 1354.3 COST OF EQUITY (Ke) 34.73% 32.41% MARKET VALUE OF EQUITY 3421.25 4178.65 COST OF DEBT (Kd) 8.33% 10.20% MARKET VALUE OF DEBT 165.18 132.05 VALUE OF F