Impact of Announcing Dividends on Share Prices of Corporations Listed Dissertation

Impact of Announcing Dividends on Share Prices of Corporations Listed in the Saudi Stock Exchange - Dissertation Example In the past, research tended to confirm the absence of impact of dividend announcements on shareholders’ value on condition that taxes and market imperfections are not present. For this reason, companies would prefer to invest its excess funds (which are not needed for business operations or expansion) in positive net present value projects available to it, in lieu of a dividend payout. It is also generally accepted that market valuation of stocks is dependent upon future earnings – when future earnings are lacklustre, the stock’s market value would go down or remain flat. Should companies pay out all its earnings, therefore, funds that may be reinvested for future productive undertakings are depleted, creating a dampener for new dividend declarations. Also, if dividends were taxable, shareholders may put off the declaration of additional dividends in order for their tax liabilities to be prevented from increasing. Despite these disadvantages to dividend declarat ions, however, companies continue to resort to cash dividends in order to signal information about future earnings (Uddin & Chowdhury, 2008). What is interesting in Saudi Arabian situation is that Saudi Arabia is a non-tax economy, and one would tend to believe that market imperfections are kept to a minimum. The country therefore presents some interesting possibilities towards confirmation of certain principles espoused by Modigliani and Miller, particularly concerning the signalling theory of dividends. This therefore leads to the objective of the study, stated below. 1.1 Objective of the research study The objective of the study is to determine the impact of dividend announcements on the share prices of corporations that are listed in the Saudi Stock Exchange. The purpose is to determine the degree to which informational content is conveyed by unexpected announcements of dividends, as discerned from the stock price changes beyond levels ordinarily expected. This information would be important to all participants in the stock market, including regulators, policy formulators and investors. 1.2 Statement of the problem The study addresses the problem of how market efficiency may be determined through stock price movements in relation to their corresponding market-moving announcements – that is, the release of announcement of dividends other than that already expected by investors. Knowing how this may be determined, the study shall also apply this method in assessing the efficiency of the Saudi Arabian stock market in factoring in the information content of these announcements. 1.3 Main research question The main research question may be stated thus: How efficiently does the announcement of dividends get factored into the prices of stocks trading in the Saudi Arabian stock market? 1.4 Research subquestions The study proposes to answer the main research question by seeking answers to the following subquestion: Q1: How may extraordinary stock price fluctu ations be reliably measured? Q2: By what criteria may unexpected dividend announcements be determined, vis-a-vis expected dividend declarations? Q3: Having distinguished extraordinary stock price fluctuations from regular movements, and unexpected divide

Pony Trap Essay Example for Free

Pony Trap Essay Susan Hill the creator of the woman in black , successfully creates fear through out her novel. It comes in ebbs and flows by using different techniques throughout to build up the tension. This book is a gothic horror which is a new genre but using the traditional horror aspects, one of the first books in the categories is’ The castle of Otranto’ published in 1767. They are typified by their dark, lachrymose atmosphere of hatred and fear. Hill used many traditional techniques such as the stereotypical use of pathetic fallacy reflecting the dark mood. The setting as its deserted and away from society, isolation , a ghost with hauntings all follow the conventional aspects. However the modern twist to hills novel is that the characters are unconvential, as in the normal gothic story the man is the scary character haunting a venerable or innocent young woman such as in’ Dracula’ he suck blood from all sweet caring ladies. Unlike in this case there is a ambitious young man being haunted by a revengeful young woman. From this the tension from new and old ways combine to create a heart pumping book which fear deeply impacts the reader. Fear is created in many ways in the chapter ‘The Sound of the Pony trap’ and many other chapters. The chapter† the sound of the pony trap† creates and builds fear and tension through out using a climax technique. Similar to other chapters in the novel it is developed throughout with no clear resolution at the end. In this chapter Hill uses pathetic fallacy frequently to make a prediction what is going to happen next, as Arthurs mood reflect the weather. At the beginning of the chapter he describes the feeling trying to get back the causeway as’, as the weather is really bad you are expecting this night to be a bad one and develop the scene of fear, from the Woman In Black. However after Keckwick arrives to pick up Kipps at 2am the weather was described as ‘all was so changed’. This shows that the mood to Kipps is so relived to see Keckwick to save him so the weather reflects his thoughts. Then finally the main element to the developing aspect of fear is haunting. These parts where the Woman in Black haunts Kipps are the moments when a cold feeling runs through the readers body and start to panic a little. The main haunting in this chapter is the sound of the pons trap and over all this is the most fearful part that distressed Kipps the most. The woman in black puts sounds in his head as a cart has over turned in the marshes and they are drowning so shouting for help with the cry off a child’s voice. After ‘an outburst of helpless sobbing’ , he was so overwhelmed by this a grown man cried over it. The haunting of the woman in black really breaks Kipps and this is the detrition of the man in till he becomes ill with fright. Fear is created, as hill shows how it effected Kipps and this is the part where the reader starts to feel afraid and fear is created.

Comparison of Specific Heat Capacity of Different Metals

Comparison of Specific Heat Capacity of Different Metals Samerah Mansha Aim The aim of this investigation was to measure the specific heat capacity (SHC) of various different metals such as aluminum, iron and brass of different volumes to find out if they all have the same SHC or different. Additionally, insulation was used to measure how efficient insulation was against heat loss. Hypothesis Previous research in background information states that there should be a difference between the SHC of aluminum, brass and iron. Null Hypothesis There will be no difference between the SHC of aluminum, iron and brass. Prediction The SHC of aluminum will be higher than iron and copper, this is because the volume the less dense the meta lis, thus the higher the SHC because the metals contains big atoms which slowly heat up thus more energy is needed to make the molecules get hot and move around. Insulation will also make a difference by conserving the heat energy, which will give more accurate results as more heat will most likely be conserved and not lost. Background information: Thermal energy is the amount of energy of a substance or system which is associated to its temperature. Heatandtemperatureare both related with thermal energy but differ. Heat is the transmission of thermal energy from one object to another due to temperature differences between them.Heat is the total energy of all the molecule motion within the object and is measure in joules. Whereas temperature is a measure of degree of hotness of an object, i.e.how hot or cold,therefore it’s a measure of average thermal energy of molecules within substance and measured in degrees Celsius. Temperature can be measured via the Celsius and Kelvin scales. The Celsius scale is built upon two fixed points, the freezing mark at 0 °C and boiling point at 100 °C, whereas Kelvin scale is based on absolute zero at -273 where particles have minimum energy. The Celsius scale has degrees the same size as Kelvin,but Kelvin scale starts 273 lower than Celsius absolute zero scale, for example 0  °C is 273 degrees. When heat energy is transferred to an object, its temperature increase is dependent upon, the mass of object, the material the object is made from and lastly the amount of energy transferred to object. The more heat energy transferred to object results in a more temperature increase. The SHC of a substance is known as the amount of energy needed to change the temperature of 1kg of substance by 1 °C. Different substances have different SHC e.g. water, oxygen and metals. Water has a high SHC of 4200 j/kg °C, School Physics, 2013. This therefore makes water suitable for storing heat energy which is efficiently useful for transporting it around home via heating pipes. Metals are good conductors of heat, yet non-metals are usually poor conductors of heat which are called insulators. Heat energy is simply conducted from hot end of object towards the cold end and the electrons within metal leave their atoms therefore move around within the metal as free electrons. The metal atoms which are left behind are known as charged metal ions.These ions are placed carefully together whilst vibrating constantly.The hotter the metal becomes, it results in the the vibrations gaining more kinetic energy. As a result, this kinetic energy gets transferred from hot parts of metal towards cooler parts via free electrons.These free electrons then move throughout the metal, each colliding with many ions transferring heat energy as they go along. Metals with a high SHC take a lot of heat energy and take a long time to heat up and cool down. Heat can be transferred via conduction, convection and radiation.Conduction is thermal energy transfer which occurs in solids that are in contact with each other, causing particles to gain energy and vibrate, passing on heat energy to nearby particles, resulting in rise of temperature at other side. Convection is another type of thermal energy transfer which occurs in liquids and gases where particles freely move. Particles with kinetic energy move from hotter regions to cooler regions, transferring thermal energy. Radiation is known as heat transfer that doesn’t need contact between heat source and heated object,due to heat having the potential to be transmitted via empty space by thermal radiation. Heat can also be stored in the form of insulation. Insulation prevents or reduces heat from escaping an object by providing a barrier between areas that are significantly different in temperature. Materials 12v immersion heater of 50w power Block of aluminum, iron and brass with a hole in the middle Wires 6V power Supply Ammeter Stop Clock Top Pan Balance Thermometers Insulation Stop watch Ruler Insulating material Method: Firstly all the metal blocks were weighed via a top pan balance The metal blocks were then measured via a ruler for their length and diameter. The thermometer was put into each of small whole in the metal blocks so that the initial temperature could be measured. Figures1: Measuring the initial temperature of the metal blocks. The immersion heater was connected up to a 6V voltmeter and ammeter via wires. The 6v power supply and was switched on until the immersion heater was warm. The immersion heater was put into the large hole in the metal blocks and the stop clock was started. After 10 minute the power supply was switched off and the temperature of the block was measured and recorded. This method and chosen measurements were chosen as previous research using a similar method gained successful results via this method; therefore to improve reliability a similar method was used. As heat was lost during the practical, a modification was made order to prevent heat loss, which involved the same experiment to be repeated in the same way but this time the metals were surrounded with insulation material to reduce the amount of heat loss and would result in more reliable results. Figures: Aluminum, brass and iron wrapped up in insulating material. Safety The immersion heaters were checked before use; any that were faulty were rejected and replaced. Heat resistant gloves were worn when handling the immersion heater and the heated up metals to preventing any burns. The wires were also checked thoroughly to see any defaults. Additionally, the power supply was made sure it was turned off when not in use to prevent any electrocution. Results Table: 1 Measurements of the metals Table: 2 Results of the non-insulated metals. Due to heat being lost to the environment, an insulating material was wrapped around the blocks Table: 3 Results of the insulated metals. Analysis Equation for SHC = E = m Ãâ€" c Ãâ€" ÃŽ ¸ Heat energy (E) = Mass kg (m) x SHC J/g °C (C) x Temperature change °C (ÃŽ ¸) Table:4 SHC calculations of the non-insulating metals Table:4 SHC calculations of SHC of insulating metals showing more accurate results which will be used throughout the discussion and conclusion. Graph:1 Graph showing the comparison of SHC results of metals with and without insulation. Observations The results of the insulated aluminum showed the highest SHC, as aluminum takes 0.121J of heat to raise 1 gram by 1 °C.With the least SHC being the insulated iron needed 0.055J of heat to raise 1 gram of the given metal by1 °C. The results showed that insulated metals showed an overall increase of SHC of the metals, thus more accurate as more heat is conserved and is not much heat would be lost to the environment. The metals without the insulation showed a lower SHC due to heat being lost to the environment, thus are less accurate. Discussion Research states that the accepted value for SHC of aluminum is 0.903J/g °C,therefore it would seem that my result of 0.121J/g °C is not accurate, when errors are taken into account. The accepted value for SHC of brass is 0.380/g °C and the result achieved within the experiment was 0.055/g °C which was again quiet far off. The accepted value for the SHC of iron is 0.44/g °C and the result achieved from the experiment was 0.051/g °C. Graph:3 Comparison of results of SHC from this experiment and actual published SHC. The published values of SHC show that iron has a higher SHC than brass, but within my experiment brass has a slightly higher SHC value than iron. Overall the results achieved from this experiment are quiet significantly lower than the actual SHC values for the given metals. This therefore shows that even with insulation a lot of heat was still lost from the metals. Conclusion Regardless of the SHC results not being as accurate as the published results, the hypotheses and prediction was proven correct and were fully supported by the evidence of the results achieved within this experiment, as each metal had a different SHC value thus showing variation. This is due to the metals having different volumes. It was also predicted that aluminum would have a higher SHC than iron and brass, which was proven correct as aluminum had a larger volume thus less dense so it would need an higher SHC because more energy is needed to heat up SHC is therefore affected by the volume of a metal, as the atoms and molecules found within the metal are packed differently thus heat up at different rates, Evaluation As the SHC results achieved were not as accurate to the published SHC values, this may due to limitations which may have been present within the experiment such as the first being the accuracy of the measuring thermometers which only allowed one to measure in whole degrees and has an a error of 0.05 °C. To overcome this limitation a digital thermometer which is more exact could have been used to achieve more accurate readings. It was also quiet difficult to keep the current constant which would have affected the SHC as different flow of current allows a different flow of electrons to transfer to flow of heat energy, thus a resistor could have been used to control it. Another limitation could have been because it was difficult to get all the results at the same time, i.e. the temperature and current at correct time, using a scientific computer to measure the variables would remove any human errors with reaction times when measuring time and this would achieve temperate reading within few milliseconds. The results showed that even no insulation on metals heat was still lost thus couldn’t achieve an accurate SHC values. Regardless of having insulation heat was still lost which could have been the reason for the inaccuracy. Additionally another limitation could have been that the insulating material used was all different for each metal, thus showing that different. This effects the results as different insulation materials have different properties, thus reducing reliability as not all materials could have been useful in conserving heat energy. On the other hand, the use of electrical balance to measure the masses of the metals within experiment avoided any uncertainties and errors related to the mass value, thus increasing reliability of data to some extent. Overall to improve reliability the experiment could have been repeated four times to obtain average SHC results leading to more accurate results, thus helping to reduce random errors. References Appendix 1

Turning Back Time Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Turning Back Time Progeria, an extremely rare disease caused by a slight genetic defect, victimizes every 1 in 4 million children. , (3). At the moment, there are twelve cases of Progeria in the US, and no more than one hundred have been reported around the world. While the child suffering from Progeria will appear to have no symptoms at birth, the tell tale signs of the fatal disease will begin to surface within a few months, (1). The common first symptom of a child who may be a Progerian is that the ends of their shoulder bones will be re-absorbed into their bodies. Soon, he or she will be underweight and undersize for his or her age. Hair loss and dental decay will follow. The disease slowly eliminates body fat. Eventually the Progerian will become afflicted by arthritis and take on the appearance of a person five to ten times their age, (6).On average, a Progerian will live to be thirteen. Usually their death will be due to a cardiovascular disease such as heart attack or stroke. Over the past four years, a lot of progress has been made studying Progeria. Researchers have concluded the cause of this disease is most likely due to a "single letter misspelling in the genetic code on a single chromosome, which is a coiled strand of DNA within the cell". After examining twenty Progerians, eighteen were found to have the same genetic abnormality. The 19th case had a similar 'misspelling' in a nearby gene. The 20th case did not have "classic Progeria", (2).The gene which was found to be abnormal in eighteen of the cases, is responsible for making the protein called 'lamin A'. If this protein is defective, premature cell death occurs. This protein structures the inner layer of membrane surrounding the nucleus. Each Progerian e... ...theory of evolution could be found on the cover of a Hallmark birthday card. References 1)Medlineplus, General information about health problems and diseases http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001657.htm 2)Progeria Research Foundation, One of the few websites dedicated to the study of Progeria http://www.progeriaresearch.org/links/links.htm 3)Progeria Project, Provides articles and information about Progeria http://www.progeriaproject.com/Archive/articles.htm 4) Link from Berkely University Website, Interesting facts about lifespan http://www.cgfi.org/materials/speeches/berkely_address.htm 5) USA Today, Article about Progeria http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/2003-04-16-agin-gene_x.htm 6) CNN Link from Homepage, Detail the health issues involved with Progeria http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/conditions/04/17/aging.gene/

Batman & Joker

The Joker is conventionally viewed as the villain of The Dark Knight, but his actual role is far more complex. The entire film is an examination of the nature of duality, but not necessarily polarity. The duality of The Dark Knight is more problematical: while issues such as good versus evil and life versus death are addressed, the usually clear cut divergences are given unexpected dimensions. The centerpiece of this complexity is the Joker who acts more as a force of amorality than immorality.The version of duality that is explored in the film is the element that elevates it far above typical comic book fair. While the very basis of comic book plot history is good versus evil in the form of hero versus villain, ultimately the villain that is most threatening to Batman is not the Joker, but the man who begins the film as a figure that even Bruce Wayne admits is more heroic than Batman: Harvey Dent. It is Dent’s actions that leave Batman running through the night with the polic e hot on his heels.Of course, it is the Joker’s actions that lead Dent and Batman to this climax. The Joker is the repository of duality and is at the same time the personification of the rejection of the easy route of polarity. Rather than act merely as a villain, the Joker’s role is ultimately as unknown and mysterious as the dual claims he makes about the origin of his cars. The Joker’s duality can even be extended to suggest that he is both good and evil or neither good nor evil. The Joker is chaos and disorder and anarchy.Those are words that generally have a negative connotation, but out of chaos and disorder and anarchy arrives something different. That something may be worse, but it may also be better. The point is that nobody can predict the outcome. The Joker himself asserts that he has no plan, likening himself to a dog who would not know what to do with a car if he ever actually caught one. Considering the Joker’s affinity for being less than truthful, that claim may be subject to questioning, but even if he does have a plan, it hardly matters.After all, he is no more in control of the outcome of his plans than anybody else. The most profound scene in The Dark Knight is one that provides insight into the Joker’s role as a force for amorality. When he’s having his conversation with Harvey Dent in the hospital the Joker observes that a convoy of soldiers dying is ignored because it is all part of the plan, but a Mayor being assassinated is a tragedy that creates chaos for an entire city. He’s right, of course, but what he’s really saying is that society has its priorities completely out of whack.A convoy of soldiers dying should be more important than the death of one person. The Joker’s tossing off Gotham City into chaos is an act of extreme duality. It is both bad and horrific in the here and now, but ultimately it may potentially serve the greater good by revealing to the city and its citizens just how out of whack their priorities really are. The Joker’s amorality is viewed as psychopathic and sociopathic and villainous, but there is little question that he manages at least one very vital positive outcome. His actions reveal the corruptibility of Harvey Dent.Surely, it is better for Harvey Dent’s own dark side to surface, as a result of the Joker’s actions, before he gains too much power than after. From this perspective, the Joker must be seen not as a villain, but as a positive force for good. He must also, at the very same time, still be viewed as force for evil. He is both and yet neither. He is the very quintessence of the concept of duality, containing both darkness and light and the mystery of each. If Martians were to visit the earth there are certainly many films that could accurately convey human culture.The first film to show Martians should be a film that reveals the potential for good and evil of our species. This idea should be pursued to give aliens an understanding of the complexity of our genetic makeup. Schindler’s List is the perfect film for this because while it obviously shows the darkest corners of humanity’s capacity for evil in the person of Amon Goeth and the scenes involving the liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto and the concentration camps, it also works to reveal the flip side of that coin in the person of Oskar Schindler himself.Schindler’s List is worthy of being viewed by aliens precisely because it does not try to hide the depths to which humans have sunk; it also works to let them know that one us can change the world. Another film that Martians should view as insight in humanity is Airplane. Humor, of course, may very well be a peculiarly human trait that is not duplicated anywhere else in the universe, but this idea seems unlikely. It is important to show alien life forms how vital laughter and comedy is to society, and how it has been throughout history.There are funnier movies, of course, but Airplane contains visual gags, verbal humor, and non-stop bits that perhaps more than any other movie show the full range and extent of the type of humor enjoyed by human beings. While it is true that aliens may not â€Å"get† it, showing them this kind of movie is a way to introduce alien species to what may be one of the most identifiable characteristics of our race. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a film that conveys another important element of humanity; our thirst for knowledge and the quest for an understanding of what is beyond our own limited span of intelligence.While the special effects may serve to induce laughter among actual space travelers, Stanley Kubrick’s monumental film showcases how humanity has been capable of imaging that which we do not know. The film reveals our own internal logic as far as space travel and how it might be carried out, but it suggests that we understand the connection between ancient events and time and sp ace far into the future and far away.In addition, 2001: A Space Odyssey might, with its limited dialogue and reliance on music and visual effects, be the best choice for reaching an alien intelligence that cannot understand our language. And for that very reason, D. W. Griffith’s Intolerance is also a film that should be used to greet Martians. The lack of dialogue as a result of it being a silent movie is just one reason for its inclusion, but perhaps even more important is the content.The film tells four different stories from four different time periods and so represents an adequate attempt to let the Martians get a glimpse of human history. Since religion is such an important aspect of humanity, the story of Jesus Christ as told in Intolerance is quite obviously a significant story to show alien visitors. The modern story’s tale of how a man turns to a life of crime because of societal pressures works in much the same way as Schindler’s List to assert the co mplexity of our species. Each segment of the Intolerance extols the virtues of love and respect and mutual understanding.Perhaps nothing would be more apt to show aliens visiting this planet than to show them a story made of four different components that suggest that despite our failings and despite the fact that evil actions are committed on a daily basis, the underlying foundation that has kept humans alive on this planet for thousands of years is the capacity to meet our failings directly and work through them to evolve and become ever more civilized. A civilization that can address the concerns of a species from an alien world can be most perfectly realized through the history of cinema.

Courage of a Black Women Essay

The story tells of one lady who goes through all kinds of hardships, discovers the proficient, content, and proud woman hidden inside of a young shut-mouthed girl. The Color Purple, the third novel written by the Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker, has been both respected and berated in numerous essays and reviews. Although the critics agree to disagree about many aspects of this novel one thing is clear, The Color Purple shows that â€Å"the survival and liberation of black women through the strengths and wisdom of others. (Draper, 1810) In Walker’s personal view, the Black women’s history falls into three parts; the woman suspended, the artist confused and held back in her desires to create, living through two centuries when her main role was to be a used unvalued source of labor in the American society, and the modern woman. The feminist Alice Walker writes in a pattern. Her female characters move in a common cycle, first the woman were cruelly abused, and their spirits and bodies scarred, then the confused woman desires most to be a part of the American life, and lastly the modern woman shows the qualities of the developing an uprising model. Before Celie who is the main character, makes her way into the cycle the story sets her as a child with energy of wanting to learn, love, and enjoy life. She and Nettie, her sister attend school on a regular basis, complete all of their chores, and still make time to talk to play, or to just spend time together. Then, just as Celie reaches womanhood, she finds her way into the first stage of the cycle; the rejected woman. The rejected woman plays the role of the brutal abuse with a corrupted spirit as well as body. Celie’s body is first desecrated through her stepfather’s sexual abuse. Followed by this comes continuing sexual and physical abuse by her husband Mr. ______. Here, Celie slips into the second stage of the cycle; the woman who is held back. In this stage the character desires most to become a part of mainstream American society. In most cases, they are also victims of psychological abuse that separate them from their roots and real contact to the world. The profanity and abuse her body survives, not accepting that her spirit is broken when not only have her children been taken away from her by her stepfather, but Nettie is forced by Albert, to leave his and Celie’s house. During this time of sorrow and loneliness, there is one unique sparkle in Celie that surfaces with the thought of a lady named Shug Avery. â€Å"Shug Avery was a woman. The most beautiful woman I ever saw. She more pretty then my mama. She bout ten times more prettier then me. I see her in furs. Her face rouge. Her hair like somethin tail. . . An all night long I stare at the picture. An now when I dream, I dream of Shug Avery. She be dressed to kill, whirling and laughing. † (Walker 16) The final stage of the cycle; is the modern woman, one who realizes her strengths, her weakness and accepts them. In this stage, the lady works with what she has. Celie approaches this stage only with the help of Shug Avery during her stay with Albert and Celie. As fate would have it, Shug becomes deathly ill after a performance in Celie’s hometown. All of Celie’s years of wondering about Shug Avery comes to an end here. In the story, Albert goes to see Shug sing and Celie wants to ask him so many questions. â€Å"What she wear? Is she still the same old Shug, like in my picture? How her hair is? What kind of lipstick? Wig? She stout? She skinny? She sound well? Tired? Sick? Where her children at while she singing all over the place? Do she miss ’em? † Shug and Celie start off on a bad foot, however, after Celie begins to take care of Shug and nurse her back to health they develop the only kind of friendship and love, that can snap Celie back to reality. Through Albert and Shug’s relationship, Celie finally hears from her sister Nettie. Thirty years has passed since they last spoke. Why? Well, Albert never let Celie go through the incoming mail. By doing this, he keeps her in a innocent unaware state. Which anyways, thanks to Shug who takes the letter from the mailbox, she gives Celie a sense of hope for herself. In that letter Celie learns that Nettie is still alive and that her two children are with her. After searching the rest of the house, her and Shug find all of the letters that Nettie has sent to her for the past thirty years. Celie learns that her family is coming home. Eventually Celie leaves Albert, seriously only to become attached to Shug. Anyways, when Shug needs to have her â€Å"last fling† and leaves Celie, Celie realizes that she can do just fine by herself, like that completing the cycle. This is one of those stories with a lot of self-help potential. Celie loses everything that matters to her, becomes a victim of unthinkable abuse both in her child life and adulthood. Then, she reunites with her sister. Nothing is impossible for a woman to accomplish in this world. After Celie leaves Albert, she starts her own business and runs it throughout the rest of her days. The novel really declares the truth behind the belief of â€Å"survival and liberation of black women through the wisdom and strength of others. (Draper, 1810) Celie’s survival through this story is due greatly to Shug, and even Albert. Her gratitude to Shug is the most definitely recognized, because if it was not for Shug ,Albert never would have stopped beating her, in addition to that her spirit would never have been renewed, and lastly she never would have heard from her sister again. Basically if it isn’t for Shug, Celie’s existence will have been a pointless one. If she hadnâ€⠄¢t gone mad, she probably would have died from loneliness and despair. Like Shug, Albert is a character who significantly affects Celie’s life. Albert represents Celie’s stepfather at the beginning of their marriage. He controls her and aparts her of everything she holds with love, but him, himself, is victim. He has a weak will and no initiative to accept responsibility for his actions. He shows her that he is just as lonely as she. Albert helps her to reach an understanding about her stepfather and about himself. Through a friendship, that develops after their marriage ends, she also forgives them. Celie’s stepfather, who she calls Pa, and Albert are two of the major male characters in the novel. They share more similarities than what they differ. Celie’s stepfather, Pa, is a cheater . After Celie’s real father dies, this man who has received word that there is a new well-off, slightly out-of-sorts, widow in town, settles in and sweet-talks Celie’s mother right down the aisle. Celie is two years old at the time. Well, this man enjoys his new life and his new wife, but when she refuses to do as he says to him who does him turn to? Pa uses his power of authority to force Celie into a situation no barely fourteen year old girl should be in. Never had a kine word to say to me,† Celie says, â€Å"Just say You gonna do what your mammy wouldn’t. . . When penetration begins to hurt, I cry. He start to choke me, saying You better shut up and git used to it. But I don’t never git used to it. † (Walker, 1) Even sadder is that after her mother dies, not only must she take care of the house and her sisters and brothers, but she has to willin gly offer herself to Pa in order to spare Nettie. Pa is a true abstract of a tyrant, using his authority for low blows like this. Of course Albert begins the same way. Albert marries Celie because first of all he can’t have Nettie and secondly he needs someone to watch his children. After his decision to marry Celie, him and Pa have a little chat. â€Å"Pa say, Your sister thinking bout marriage. Didn’t mean nothing to him. My brother pull my dresstail and ast can he have some blackberry jam out the safe. I say, Yeah. She good with children, Pa say, rattling his paper open more. Never heard her say a hard word to nary one of them. Just give ’em everything they ast for, is the only problem. Albert say, That cow still coming? No love materializes between these two and their marriage is one similar to one of arranged royal weddings. Of course when he reaches his house, him on a horseback, her on foot, a young Harpo â€Å"laid her head open with a rock. † His punishment is a oral punishment. Albert is, like an uneasy child, running from his responsibilities and avoiding the consequences of his actions. Not to mention, Alber t has a set free quality he, like Celie finds an understanding about himself and attempts to adjust for all that he has done in the past. He makes peace with Celie, and although he releases himself from his past. Albert is truly the most compelling character in this novel, next to Celie. In looking at Albert and Pa we find many incite into the human psyche. As symbols, one represents an immense amount of bad will, the other represents the same but allows for change. The major symbol of the novel is the color purple. It has many meanings, positive and negative. Purple symbolizes love of truth, patience, humanity, and spirituality along with sublimination, martyrdom, and resignation. In connection with the novel, Celie is the symbol of patience and humanity. She never asks for anything from anyone. When things don’t go her way, she waits. For example, she waits for Nettie’s letters for thirty years. On the other hand, Celie also shows a great bit of surrendor in her patience. Culturally, purple signifies virtue and faith just as Celie does. During her and Shug’s conversation about sex, Celie tells Shug she feels nothing during sexual intercourse with her husband. Shug understands this to mean she is still a virgin, but in reality Celie provides her body to Albert but not her spirit or her soul. Another purple reference is to the Easter holiday. How coincidental that the color purple is associated with the resurrection of Jesus Christ and this novel, considering that Celie does have a â€Å"rebirth† of her own as she moves through Walker’s cycle. Overall, the color purple, as a prize, represents a winner over all classes, strangely coincidental isn’t it. The use of purple as a symbol is a virtue to this novel but also a fault. In the preparation of death, Roman soldiers carried amulets of purple amethyst. There are many virtues as well as faults in this novel. One of the most obvious faults in the story is its likeness to a fairy tale. â€Å"Celie becomes the ugly duckling who will eventually be redeemed through suffering. This trait links her to all the heroines of fairy tales from Cinderella to Snow White. † (Harris, 159) At the conclusion of the story not only does Celie find her sister but also both of her lost children. Another example of the novel’s surreal quality, the woman Celie fantasizes about for years, not only lands in her house but falls in love with her. Likewise, let’s ask what The Color Purple, ultimately, predicates. â€Å"In true fairy-tale fashion, it affirms passivity; heroines that do little to help themselves,† says Trudier Harris in â€Å"The Color Purple Stereotypes and Silence. † The entire novel contains a virtual acceptance of cruelty, violence, and violation. Some things about this novel are too good to be true. Others are too horrifying. In uncovering a novel’s differences and meaning, the story can become a vehicle of the social and political views of the author. Being a feminist, there are a few strands of admiration to the feminist community in Celie. She is a woman that triumphs over impossible odds. The feminine relationship between Celie and Shug has been said to pay a debt to lesbians. â€Å"She pays homage to the lesbians by portraying a relationship between two women that reads like a schoolgirl fairy tale in its ultimate adherence to the convention of the happy resolution. † (Harris, 160) Born-again feminists receive their dues in Albert and career-minded women are acknowledged in Shug. The Color Purple, a story of one lady, named Celie, who triumphs through adversity to discover a proficient, content, and proud woman hidden inside of a young timid girl, is one that brings hope to any woman. A novel written by Alice Walker, it has been reviewed many times over, but even though the critics analyze and pull apart what very well could just be an enjoyable yet thought provoking story, they agree that one thing is clear, The Color Purple affirms the idea that the survival and liberation of the black woman can only come through learning from our past misfortunes and manipulating them to meet beneficial ends.

Mount Vesuvius According to Pliny

Mount Vesuvius According to Pliny Mt. Vesuvius is an Italian volcano that erupted on August 24* A.D. 79 blanketing the towns and 1000s of residents of Pompeii, Stabiae, and Herculaneum. Pompeii was buried 10 deep, while Herculaneum was buried under 75 of ash. This volcanic eruption is the first to be described in detail. The letter-writing Pliny the Younger was stationed about 18 mi. away, in Misenum, from which vantage point he could see the eruption and feel the preceding earthquakes. His uncle, the naturalist Pliny the Elder, was in charge of area warships, but he turned his fleet to rescuing residents and died. Historical Importance In addition to Pliny recording the sights and sounds of the first volcano to be described in detail, the volcanic covering of Pompeii and Herculaneum provided an amazing opportunity for future historians: The ash preserved and protected a vibrant city against the elements until future archaeologists unearthed this snapshot in time. Eruptions Mt. Vesuvius had erupted before and continued to erupt about once a century until about A.D. 1037, at which point the volcano grew quiet for about 600 years. During this time, the area grew, and when the volcano erupted in 1631, it killed approximately 4000 people. During the rebuilding efforts, the ancient ruins of Pompeii were discovered on March 23, 1748. Todays population around Mt. Vesuvius is about 3 million, which is potentially catastrophic in the area of such a dangerous Plinian volcano. A Pine Tree in the Sky Prior to the eruption, there were earthquakes, including a substantial one in A.D. 62** that Pompeii was still recovering from in 79. There was another earthquake in 64, while Nero was performing in Naples. Earthquakes were seen as facts of life. However, in 79 springs and wells dried up, and in August, the earth cracked, the sea became turbulent, and the animals showed signs that something was coming. When the eruption of the 24th of August began, it looked like a pine tree in the sky, according to Pliny, spewing noxious fumes, ash, smoke, mud, stones, and flames. Plinian Eruption Named after the naturalist Pliny, the type of eruption of Mt. Vesuvius is referred to as Plinian. In such an eruption a column of various materials (called tephra) is ejected into the atmosphere, creating what looks like a mushroom cloud (or, perhaps, pine tree). Mt. Vesuvius column is projected to have reached about 66,000 in height. Ash and pumice spread by the winds rained for about 18 hours. Buildings started to collapse and people began to escape. Then came high-temperature, high-velocity gasses and dust, and more seismic activity. *In Pompeii Myth-Buster, Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadril argues that the event occurred in the fall. Translating Plinys Letter adjusts the date to September 2, to coincide with later calendar changes. This article also explains the dating to A.D. 79, the first year of Titus reign, a year not referred to in the relevant letter. ** In Pompeii Myth-Buster, Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadril argues that the event occurred in 63. Sources Volcanic Phenomena at Pompeii[formerly at www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/europe/pompeii.html Pompeii][formerly at volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/img_vesuvius.html Vesuvius Italy][formerly at vulcan.fis.uniroma3.it/vesuvio/79_eruption.html The 79 AD Eruption of Vesuvius]

Competitive Environment of M.I.C.E Tourism in Vietnam Essays

Competitive Environment of M.I.C.E Tourism in Vietnam Essays Competitive Environment of M.I.C.E Tourism in Vietnam Essay Competitive Environment of M.I.C.E Tourism in Vietnam Essay The Five Forces model of Porter will be applied in this part ?Bargaining power of customers Although there are some strong competitors are also providing M. I. C. E, the market in the North is joined by very few players. Therefore, the choices for Northern customer are somewhat limited. Despite the fact that they may come to Saigontourist of FidiTour in the South but it seems to be no convenient and cost effective. Hence, the bargaining power of customers in the market for NACI is at moderate level. It is also notable that for M. I. C. E tours, customers are more likely to come back for more if they satisfied, so that brand loyalty exists. As the result, the company should try to provide the customer with the value they demand and together with reasonable post purchase services, NACI may win their hearts. ?Bargaining power of suppliers In the context of an M. I. C. E tour, the suppliers would be ticket providers, transportation companies, and some related services providers. The number of these players is not small. Therefore, company can have many options when deciding these suppliers (most of them) and the cost of switching is not quite significant. On the other hand, some suppliers have relatively high power. For example, if NACI order the flights from Vietnam Airlines, and due to some economic influences; they may change the faire and the company still has to take the price even when they cannot renegotiate with customers about the changes in transportation cost. Therefore, the bargaining power of suppliers over NACI may vary due to the type of services/ products they provide to the company. Threats of new entrants Vietnamese Government tried to promote the country as the destination for tourism; they even paid nearly $280 thousand for an advertisement on CNN about Vietnamese attractions (Vietnam Travel, Vietnam tours with foot prints, 2008). Also in the focus point, the development of M. I. C. E is encouraged by government policies. Although the demand for this type of tour is increasing s teadily, the market is still very new and very promising. However, as the matter of fact, any tourism company want to offer and operate an adequate M. I. C. E tour would be required to have high investment in term of infrastructure, distribution network, relationship, etc. Besides, since the business of M. I. C. E is B2B type, the customers (business clients) are more likely to come again if they satisfy with the value the received. By building up this relationship, business customers can have higher certainty on what they paid for. And brand loyalty exists. Therefore, the market is still open for new players, but not anyone can become new entrants. One must have strong financial situation and expertise to compete in the industry. Threats of substitutes The feature of the M. I. C. E tours is gathering customers in one location in a combined package including business and entertainment activities; and customers may come from different places. Therefore, there are no other tours that have similar functions in the industry; and company will not have to worry about the threats of direct substitutes. On the other hand, due to the hard conditi on of economic, many companies and organization might want to cut the cost, while the expenditure of activities in M. I. C. E tours can be quite significant. Hence, these companies might think of using advance of information technology instead of using the traditional M. I. C. E tour. That technology is called voice IP it allows people to talk and even see each other over the internet from different locations. By using it, people can still holding virtual conferences without gathering in a real physical place. The advantage of this technology is lower cost, more convenient. However, people will not have the entertainment elements as in the traditional way; besides, virtual communication does not ave effect like a face to face one. Therefore, this is somewhat possible but not clearly a substitute ?Competitive rivalry within the industry Main operation areaStrengths achievements SaigontouristSouth VietnamHave been doing business for more than 30 years, The name Saigontourist have become well-known in the industry, and they are considered as one of the largest tourism companies in Vietnam. Being a member in the M. I. C. E Vietnam is also on e of their advantages in the market. FiditourSouth VietnamEstablished in 1989, known as Tan Dinh Trade Travel Service Co, they have good experiences and commerce support. Fiditour is also a big tourism company which name is known in some oversea countries. CITESouth VietnamEstablished in 1999, Best Travel Agency Indochina 2008 rewarded by Travel Weekly (Asia) Although there are some tourism company in the North of Vietnam are providing tours that have some features of M. I. C. E, however, none of them were able to offer the full package to customers. Comparing to the Southern competitors, its parent company is also well established and owing a wide relationship network. Besides, the company itself will have a five star resort being completed in year 2008. And one important thing is that NACI’s main operation area is focus on the North of Vietnam while the other three big competitors are doing business a little far away in the South. Hence, it would be reasonable to have a positive thinking that the market in the North is still open for NACI to launch this new tour.

A New Airplane Program of Boeing 767 Case Study - 1

A New Airplane Program of Boeing 767 - Case Study Example At the same time, in 1966 company was facing a lot of pressure for the development of new plane as it had been long since the last plane was launched. There were a lot of apprehensions among the directors as the company had not enough experience of developing a plane of their own. Project Uncertainty and Risk Management, the project management was not effective in Boeing 767 program, is the first weakness. Since the company did not have any past experience of cockpit design for two persons, it resulted in many difficulties in the successful execution of the final product. There should have been a thorough analysis of design before getting the final approval. Another weakness was that the geographic locations of production were also not considered. This hence became a major weakness as the transportation of parts was important on time. Time also became critical also due to the change in the design of cockpit. The strength was that the conversion of conversion from two-person to the three-person cockpit, which a very big risk was handled very intelligently. First strength was that the delivery of the planes was just one month delayed. This conversion also raised project uncertainty concern. As the parts were designed for two-person cockpit and payments were already made. The strength of project management was that it was decided that modification experts will fix this problem once parts are installed. This resulted in minimization of the risk of production disruption. Hence the projected uncertainty arising from risk was avoided. This made the design of new cockpit more adaptable to changes. In terms of quality management, another weakness aroused due to this conversion for space. This risk seemed to disrupt the modification of the thirty planes which were almost ready and were also ready to be flown. However, many managers opposed this approach as it violated the fire control systems and may result in working environment without fire system for some time till the new system gets installed again

The Law as a form of Deterrence for Drinking and Driving Research Paper

The Law as a form of Deterrence for Drinking and Driving - Research Paper Example According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in the reporting year 2009, alcohol related offenses across the US totaled 15,331 out of 71,048 traffic related offenses, and some studies have placed this estimate at as much as 60 % of all fatalities. Stated in terms of a percentage, this represents over 20 % of all traffic offenses According to the NHTSA, this is a drop overall in the past few decades which coincides with tougher sentencing, greater public awareness and higher conviction rates. However, the numbers continue to be alarming which means that something within the correlation of deterrence and public perception along with convictions and arrests has not been entirely successful. The following will argue that however much deterrence is a factor in the decline of incidents, it is not sufficient to make that much of a significant impact. Toward demonstrating this thesis, the following will look at the legal and social transformations that have taken place, and in turn, examine the nature of deterrence. Before examining the data, existing literature and arguments for and against the relative success of deterrence, a few remarks concerning methodology need to be stated or outlined. In the field of social research, and indeed, any scientific research, there is an important distinction to be made between a correlation and an association that is causal in nature. [Kothari, 2008, p. 138]. There is a common methodological problem with mistaking a correlation as a causal relationship, and this has significant bearing on the following analysis. A simple and absurd example can best illustrate the problem of mistaking a correlation for a causal relation. If we were to say that sea-gulls like eating marine life because they are white, would be a clear mistake of confusing a correlation for a cause. While it is true that sea-gulls eat or diet on seafood to speak, and it is true (mostly true for the sake of an argument) that seagulls have white coloring, it is not true that the color of a bird is going to effect the dietary practices of the bird. The prevalence of the color is being confused for a cause in this instance. While absurd, the example nonetheless highlights an important preliminary methodological consideration. The following will look at the correlations of deterrence as it pertains to lowered amounts of drunk driving offenses and fatalities, but it will do so cautiously. This common problem in social research will be kept in the foreground of the analysis, and concerning ultimate causes of the decline of offenses, this analysis will suspend making an conclusive judgments, and in turn, focus on the 'correlation' of variables that are associated with deterrence and their prevalence. STRATEGIES FOR DETERRENCE. LEGAL STRATEGIES & INTERVENTIONS: Before blood levels became the way in which DUI was determined, arrests used to be done on the basis of the officer acting as a witness and by them administering some basic road-side tests that would evaluate the co-ordina tion and response time of the individual who was suspected of DUI [Chambliss, 2011, p. 63]. Because of the relatively subjective nature of the investigating techniques, and many of the successful challenges to the enforcement of this, the measurement of blood alcohol levels, through blood, breath and urine, became the more accurate standard, and in almost all states the blood alcohol line is .08 % [Chambliss, 2011, p. 64]. Moreover, a more accurate way of measuring blood alcohol levels, impacted the conviction rate for offenders [Chambliss, 2011, p. 65]. However, it did also create a few problems regarding the administration of the test. If a police officer suspects a driver of DUI they can ask them to submit themselves to a

Autobiography of Malcolm X Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Autobiography of Malcolm X - Essay Example Malcolm X was born, Malcom Little to Earl Little and Louise Helen Norton. His father was an outspoken Baptist lay preacher and supporter of Marcus Garvey. Malcom described his father as a big black man who had lost one eye. According to Malcom, three of Earl Little’s brothers died violently at the hands of white men, and one of his Uncles had been lynched. Malcom’s life was one of hardships, and disappointments, (Malcom graduated from junior high school at the top of his class, but dropped out soon after an admired teacher told him that his aspirations of being a lawyer was not a realistic goal for a nigger) He had many misadventures and skirmishes with the American legal system. On January 12, 1946 shortly after his return to Boston, he was arrested for burglary after trying to steal back a stolen watch he had left for repairs at a jewelry shop. Two days later, Malcom was indicted once again for carrying firearms. On January 16th, Malcom was charged with Grand Larceny and Breaking and Entering. Malcom was sentenced to eight to ten years in Massachusetts State Prison. It was while he was serving time for Burglary, when Malcom began to study the teachings of the honorable Elijah Mohammed, the leader of the Nation of Islam. The â€Å"Black Muslim† doctrine as espoused by Elijah Mohammed placed a premium on Black unity; Mohammed emphasized how critically important it was for all black people to unite under the nation to improve their position in life. ... from serving his prison term, Malcom joined the nation of Islam and adopted the name Malcolm X. Malcom explained the name by saying the "X" is meant to symbolize the rejection of "slave names" and the absence of an inherited African name to take its place. The "X" is also the brand that many slaves received on their upper arm. This rationale led many members of the Nation of Islam to change their surnames to X. The press treated Malcolm X with disdain and labeled him a troublemaker. Due to the media coverage and his unwitting and tenacious will to call them as he saw them, he became persona non grata to some, hated by others (blacks and whites) and distrusted by those who had no idea of a black man's plight in America. Yet, he was heralded by many as a champion of civil rights which went beyond constructive engagement. In 1953 Malcom went to live with Elijah Mohammed in Chicago. He soon returned to Boston and became the minister of the Nation of Islam Temple number eleven. In 1954, Malcom was selected to lead the Nation of Islam mosque #7 on Lenox Avenue in Harlem, and he rapidly expanded its membership. Malcom was a compelling public speaker, and he became known to a wider audience after a local television broadcast in New York City about the Nation of Islam, which was not very well known at the time. Malcom was aware that his fame was a cause of much envy in the nation, and he became careful in his public appearances not to irritate them. Malcom was soon seen as the second most influential leader after Elijah Mohammed himself. He opened additional Temples, including one in Philadelphia, and was largely credited with increasing the Nation of Islam membership from 500 in

About japanese history Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

About japanese history - Coursework Example One would argue that if any punishment or the seppuku had to be committed; it should only have affected the alleged perpetrator; in this case Asano. Why kill him and his entire army? What is worse, his lands and all properties were to be taken. This type of punishment was just too harsh. And to imagine that it came from Kira, the supreme judge at the time!. The ronins were to be made leaderless besides confiscating their property. Their entire generations were to be wiped off the surface of the land. Irrespective of the strict nature of the laws, it is unjustifiable to kill impose seppuku on Asano and his men. A lesser form of punishment should have been used instead. In fact, I view the actions of the 47 ronins as heroic. They were revolutionary and although they knew they would be punished for killing Kira and his officials, they showed courage and loyalty to Asano who had refused to accept the bribe. I find Seppuku punishment just too irrational. The consequences of the actions of the ronins are that they proved they could be loyal to their master and that they could set an example even for future generations. This was a great sacrifice that would be very significant in marking neo-Confucianism. The Bakafu law and the Confucian classics most of the time complements each other in that they allow for revenge (Kaempfer et. al. 15). In this case, the revenge for Asano’s death is justified. He was a true Confucian. He was courageous enough to die for his master, an honorable act in Japanese history. He was a faithful servant. Through the revenge, they showed that they were real chuushingishi. During this era, it was also fashionable to avenge the death of a relative, friend or a master. A likely consequence of the killings would be that different factions would be divided about the authenticity of the punishment. Obviously, there would be varying views. The Confucians would want to justify the actions of Asano and the 47

Development and Evaluation of Participant-centered Biofeedback Essay

Development and Evaluation of Participant-centered Biofeedback Artworks - Essay Example Research Question: Is there biofeedback that is associated with rap and hip-hop visual art and which depicts different experiences and reactions among individuals? If there is or isn’t a reaction, how does it relate to the mind – body experience? ABSTRACT (your descriptive summary of what the research article is about – write last – and write as if this paragraph was to be included as part of a literature review for a research paper) The concept of physiopsychology is one which is now being approached in society as an essential component of experiences in art work. Specifically, it states that there is an association with art and everyday life, as well as how this relates to both the mind and the body, as well as associations with experience and how this changes specific influences (Khut 2006: 24). Examining the mind – body influence in different pieces of art work also creates a different understanding of the importance of art while questioning wha t types of effects it has on individuals and society. This paper examines the mind – body effect and experiences in rap and hip – hop visual art as a genre as well as how this affects the individual experiences, interactions and reactions within society. This examination will help to further designate the way in which this genre is associated with behaviors, characteristics and concepts that are associated with the physiopsychology of hip hop visual arts. OVERVIEW Detailed Content Summary Purpose The purpose of this study is to show how the mind and the body link together in the creation of artwork. It also shows how specific aesthetical techniques link to the mind – body relationships and create a sense of reflecting experiences through the use of aesthetics. This will be done specifically with the mind – body link to hip hop and African – American visual arts as a genre, specifically because it carries a specific type of interactions and messages to society that might work positively or negatively with the mind – body experience. References The references to be used will be based on others which have studied the mind – body relationship to various types of artwork. This will be combined with studies that have been given in relation to hip hop and rap visual art which have shown the mind – body relationship. There will also be references in terms of the overall ways in which the physiopsychology is linked to art work, specifically to define and show the relationship with art and everyday life, as well as how different components affect the mind and body. Theoretical Frameworks The first theory used will be based on biofeedback. This states that there is a direct relationship to the mind and body because of the aesthetics that are defined within a given art work (Khut, 2006: p. 18). There will also be reference to this same theory in terms of somaaesthetics, which states that there are influences within e xperiences and which shows that there are practical relationships which can be determined when interacting with various types of artwork (Khut, 2006: p. 29). Another set of theories will be based on the concepts of cultural identities. This forms the individual experiences, behaviors and attitudes which are created and also build a specific type o

The Automobile Industry in the US in 1920s Essay

The Automobile Industry in the US in 1920s - Essay Example In 2009, China successfully challenged its position, taking over as the second largest producer. Currently, America stands third in mass production of automobiles [1]. At the onset of the American automobile industry, a large number of manufactures came on the scene, and vigorously vied for the domination of the local market. However, towards the end of the 1920s, only three major companies had managed to control the market. Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler were the big players in the country. These companies continued to thrive strongly, even after the Great Depression and the advent of the World War 2. In the 1970s, a mishmash of rocketing oil costs, fervent competition from foreign brands, and tightening government laws greatly affected the companies negatively. From then on, the companies experienced widely fluctuating fortunes, but by 2008, the business was undergoing severe havoc. This resulted to the fall of General Motors and Chrysler, who had to file for bankruptcy. The Fo rd Company managed to stay afloat all through these trying periods, and is currently gaining momentum to regain its lost glory [2]. The Ford Company came into being from the original idea of its owner and founder, Henry Ford. Currently, the company stands second among the world’s biggest automobile producers. The multinational conglomerate is now currently worth about $167 billion dollars. Though the company specialized in automobiles, it now also runs Ford Credit, a venture that rakes in around $3 billion dollars annually. In addition, it also possesses The Hertz Corporation, which is the biggest car-rental company in the world. The corporation now produces a wide range of vehicle brands. These include Ford, Mercury,... This essay discusses the automobile industry, that is a huge part of the engineering sector and is involved in the devising, growth, production, and selling of vehicles. It is one of the major industries in the world in terms of economic worth and revenue. The definition of the industry, though broad, is limited to the production and sale of automobiles, and does not include after-sales services like repair and maintenance. The industry is laden with events and milestones that marked its start and evolution to what it is currently. Firstly, the researcher dicusses the onset of the American automobile industry and mentiones companies, such as Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, that were the big players in the United States in the 1920s. The researcher discusses the Great Depression that happened in the late 1920s and severely depleted General Motors’ financial strength. This was what that gave the Ford Company a much-needed lifeline. The General Motors’s market share al l but disappeared, thereby greatly depleting its income avenues. The market stake of the Ford Company shot up drastically. In conclusion, the researcher states that Ford company managed to survive through the trying times mainly due to the backing of its continuous perfect performance of its financial services sector. However, reclaiming its position as the world’s biggest automotive producer is not an easy task. The frequency of changing technology and fluctuation of markets will certainly be a problem for most companies.

About japanese history Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

About japanese history - Coursework Example One would argue that if any punishment or the seppuku had to be committed; it should only have affected the alleged perpetrator; in this case Asano. Why kill him and his entire army? What is worse, his lands and all properties were to be taken. This type of punishment was just too harsh. And to imagine that it came from Kira, the supreme judge at the time!. The ronins were to be made leaderless besides confiscating their property. Their entire generations were to be wiped off the surface of the land. Irrespective of the strict nature of the laws, it is unjustifiable to kill impose seppuku on Asano and his men. A lesser form of punishment should have been used instead. In fact, I view the actions of the 47 ronins as heroic. They were revolutionary and although they knew they would be punished for killing Kira and his officials, they showed courage and loyalty to Asano who had refused to accept the bribe. I find Seppuku punishment just too irrational. The consequences of the actions of the ronins are that they proved they could be loyal to their master and that they could set an example even for future generations. This was a great sacrifice that would be very significant in marking neo-Confucianism. The Bakafu law and the Confucian classics most of the time complements each other in that they allow for revenge (Kaempfer et. al. 15). In this case, the revenge for Asano’s death is justified. He was a true Confucian. He was courageous enough to die for his master, an honorable act in Japanese history. He was a faithful servant. Through the revenge, they showed that they were real chuushingishi. During this era, it was also fashionable to avenge the death of a relative, friend or a master. A likely consequence of the killings would be that different factions would be divided about the authenticity of the punishment. Obviously, there would be varying views. The Confucians would want to justify the actions of Asano and the 47

The Automobile Industry in the US in 1920s Essay

The Automobile Industry in the US in 1920s - Essay Example In 2009, China successfully challenged its position, taking over as the second largest producer. Currently, America stands third in mass production of automobiles [1]. At the onset of the American automobile industry, a large number of manufactures came on the scene, and vigorously vied for the domination of the local market. However, towards the end of the 1920s, only three major companies had managed to control the market. Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler were the big players in the country. These companies continued to thrive strongly, even after the Great Depression and the advent of the World War 2. In the 1970s, a mishmash of rocketing oil costs, fervent competition from foreign brands, and tightening government laws greatly affected the companies negatively. From then on, the companies experienced widely fluctuating fortunes, but by 2008, the business was undergoing severe havoc. This resulted to the fall of General Motors and Chrysler, who had to file for bankruptcy. The Fo rd Company managed to stay afloat all through these trying periods, and is currently gaining momentum to regain its lost glory [2]. The Ford Company came into being from the original idea of its owner and founder, Henry Ford. Currently, the company stands second among the world’s biggest automobile producers. The multinational conglomerate is now currently worth about $167 billion dollars. Though the company specialized in automobiles, it now also runs Ford Credit, a venture that rakes in around $3 billion dollars annually. In addition, it also possesses The Hertz Corporation, which is the biggest car-rental company in the world. The corporation now produces a wide range of vehicle brands. These include Ford, Mercury,... This essay discusses the automobile industry, that is a huge part of the engineering sector and is involved in the devising, growth, production, and selling of vehicles. It is one of the major industries in the world in terms of economic worth and revenue. The definition of the industry, though broad, is limited to the production and sale of automobiles, and does not include after-sales services like repair and maintenance. The industry is laden with events and milestones that marked its start and evolution to what it is currently. Firstly, the researcher dicusses the onset of the American automobile industry and mentiones companies, such as Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, that were the big players in the United States in the 1920s. The researcher discusses the Great Depression that happened in the late 1920s and severely depleted General Motors’ financial strength. This was what that gave the Ford Company a much-needed lifeline. The General Motors’s market share al l but disappeared, thereby greatly depleting its income avenues. The market stake of the Ford Company shot up drastically. In conclusion, the researcher states that Ford company managed to survive through the trying times mainly due to the backing of its continuous perfect performance of its financial services sector. However, reclaiming its position as the world’s biggest automotive producer is not an easy task. The frequency of changing technology and fluctuation of markets will certainly be a problem for most companies.

The Han and Rome Essay Example for Free

The Han and Rome Essay From 206 B.C.E. 220 C.E., the Han dynasty, in China, accumulated many political control methods, as did Imperial Rome reigning from 31 B.C.E. – 476 C.E. However, there were more differences than similarities between the two empires/dynasties. Two main differences were China and Rome’s territorial expansion and their political philosophies (mandate of heaven and monarchy). A similarity between these two empires would be their centralized government adopting bureaucracy. China put their trust in the mandate of heaven, which is a Chinese political theory that gave those in power the right to rule from a divine authority. Imperial Rome relied on a monarchy system, which put Augustus Caesar (Julius Caesar’s son) into power. Another factor that differentiated Han China and Imperial Rome was their territorial expansion. Imperial Rome expanded from Italy to Spain, Gaul, Macedonia, Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece and Britannia. However, although Han China expands throughout Asia, they felt they did not need to expand much to sustain their power. Nonetheless, what allowed Han China and Imperial Rome to resemble each other, was there centralized bureaucracies. This is a government system in which all of the important decisions are made by one or a few authorities in a region. Rowland 2 Han China (206 B.C.E. 220 C.E.) and Imperial Rome (31 B.C.E. – 476 C.E.) discriminate more with their political methods, than relate to one another. Two distinctions would be their political philosophies, mandate of heaven and monarchy, and their territorial expansion concepts. One aspect that helped them relate to one another was that they shared the ideal of a centralized bureaucracy.

Report on the Strategic Approaches of BNP Paribas

Report on the Strategic Approaches of BNP Paribas The objective of this report is to critically evaluate and analyze the strategic approaches in the operation of a financial institution of our choice. The chosen institution of study is BNP Paribas. This report will include a PESTEL analysis, an evaluation of the Singapore environment examining the political, economical, social-cultural, technological, environmental and legislative aspects of the environment and an application of the theory to BNP Paribas. In addition, we will look at the organizations products, target market, strategies and critical changes, the application of Porters five forces model, and conduct a SWOT analysis looking at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats presented to the organization. This will be followed by a STP analysis, looking at the segmentation, targeting and positioning of the organization, as well as a financial statements analysis and recommendations for future development strategies for the organization. Introduction of the Company BNP Paribas has been at the forefront of the banking sector with a 10 year history and deep-rooted traditions in innovation banking which has led them to the success they are today. They have earned the title of being Frances premier bank and are known for their strong market positions and robust risk management. They have risen to become a global leader in the provision of financial services and its brand is the companys major asset, ranking 6th most valuable banking brand according to Brand Finances 2010 rankings (Brand Finance, 2010  [i]  ). This ranking is largely due to the Groups financial strength and part due to its success brought about by Michel Pà ©bereau former CEO who led BNP to merger opportunities that transitioned the company (SP, 2010  [ii]  ). With such noted growth and success, the company truly lives up to its motto the bank for a changing world, incessantly evolving and adapting successfully to the ever-changing environment, seizing opportunities that come along with a strong focus on achieving its goals, carefully planning and managing its business activities and ensuring effective cost-cutting measures. Nature of the business BNP Paribas is a universal bank providing a diverse range of banking services predominantly offering and specialising in three core business areas: corporate and investment banking services, investment solutions services and retail banking which includes services for personal finances and equipment solutions. Its financial services are offered to a variety of customers both individuals, corporate businesses and other financial institutions (BNP Paribas, 2010  [iii]  ). Present situation On 23rd July 2010, Fortune Magazine had presented its annual global rankings of Americas largest corporations. Achieving a modest improvement from 2009, BNP Paribas placed 18th in this years rankings and 7th largest Banking Corporation in the banking sector based on revenues and sales (CNN, 2010  [iv]  ). Such positive results achieved by the Group can be attributed to its strong Board of Directors who possesses the skills, leadership, performance and experience required to lead the way into the future. BNP Paribas success also stems from the effectiveness of their diversified and integrated business model and their committed focus on investment strategy and innovation. Mission BNP Paribass mission is to achieve its goal to become the bank for a changing world. In order to achieve this, they plan to provide diversity, creativity and efficiency that generate performance gains and to value differences among people in various countries.  Respecting and promoting differences among employees are major assets when it comes to the bank for a changing world (BNP Paribas, 2010  [v]  ). See Appendix 1 for its core values. Vision BNP Paribas is determined to be a benchmark banking group with focus placed on customer satisfaction and the active pursuit for improvements in its earning capacity. BNP has adopted the motto of bank of the changing world from its core values and it is their core values which motivate and direct them towards their vision (BNP Paribas, 2010). Goals Technological development, globalisation, environmental issues are challenges that face both businesses and individuals today. BNP Paribas is committed to assisting its customers to confront these rapid changing issues. Therefore, the Groups goal is to constantly seek out new sources of progress by developing innovative ideas and initiatives (BNP Paribas, 2010). An Application of PESTEL to Singapores environment BNP Paribas Singapore A PESTEL analysis is essential in every organization as certain factors within the macro-environment will have significant impact on the organization and the decisions it makes. There are various political, economical, social and cultural, technological, environmental and legislative factors that need to be taken into consideration (Kotler, P Armstrong, G, 1999  [vi]  ). Each will be discussed further below in context of Singapore and its impact on BNP Paribas. P- Political The Peoples Action Party (PAP) dominated the political scene since 1959 (Janus Corporate Solutions, 2010  [vii]  ). The partys choices of action, ideas, policy-making and planning proposals are well supported by the community and the integrity and effective leadership demonstrated by the PAP secured economic growth and political stability. With the adoption of a collective leadership style with its corrupt free-government image, Singapores government has maintained a strong sturdy political framework. It is Singapores political stability and corrupt-free environment that banks like BNP Paribas see Singapore as an opportunity to venture into the Asian markets. Their success in Singapore was led by Singapores aim to liberalize the banking sector which they followed in 1999. This move was rewarded as they became one of the pioneering foreign banks. E- Economical  [viii]   The hustle and bustle economic scene of Singapore is part due to its geographical location. Its strategic location which houses an industrious population though it lacks physical resources and has a relatively small domestic market has given the country an economic importance in Southeast Asia. Singapore carried out an economic strategy to overcome its problems and achieved an average of 7.8% growth from 1965 to 2009 (US Bureau of Public Affairs, 2010  [ix]  ). Though its economy has suffered setbacks due to pandemic outbreaks, the economy bounced back each time. See in Appendix 2 on GDP and Government Debts. BNP Paribas must firstly identify the relevant economic factors that would influence their company. Singapores tourism scene is an opportunity to target those tourists needs financially. In addition, economic growth is tied with profits made as such it is another motivating factor to operate in Singapore. S-Social Cultural Social factors are the demographic and cultural aspects of the environment such as age and gender distribution, religion and employability rates, which can impact the demand for a firms products and the availability and motivation/willingness to work. See Appendix 4 on analysis of GDP and employment rates. BNP Paribas has contributed much to the employability in Asia. According to an article in Forbes Magazine titled; BNP Paribas Wealth plans Singapore hiring spree (2010), BNP plans to increase its employees count in Singapore from 300 as of 2008 to 500 employees, while other banks like DBS and Deutsche Bank plans job cuts. This increase in employees is a result of BNPs involvement in the wealth management business and their aim to be the largest most profitable and attractive for its clients and their assets as explained by Serge Forti (BNP Chief Executive for Asia Pacific Wealth Management) (Forbes, 2010  [x]  ). T-Technological Singapore has sophisticated state-of-the-art Telecommunications and Internet facilities which cater to the needs of its users, providing them with high quality communications accessible worldwide. Innovation is a strong differentiating factor in the banking sector. It is a core tenet of the BNP Groups strategy. Innovation will enable them to adapt quickly to the ever-changing environment and to deliver the best quality products and services to its clients. An example of innovation demonstrated by BNP Paribas is in its photovoltaic loan  [1]  (BNP Fortis Bank, 2010  [xi]  ). E- Environment The leading researcher on Global Warming, an American government scientist Hansen (2007) believes that the speed of the natural changes is dwarfed by the changes that humans make to the atmosphere and surface (Hansen 2007)  [xii]  . This scientific evidence has created greater environmental awareness among individuals and businesses. Since then, there has been a growing desire to protect the environment. Singapores Government environment commitment extends to the ecological footprint of business organizations and could accelerate the potential environmental leadership role that transnational corporations can play. The greatest challenge in the climate change action is to make people aware of the consequences of our actions. As such, BNP Paribas has launched programs to raise their awareness of the impacts of Climate Change. L-Legislative According to Singapore Academy of Law (2006)  [xiii]  , there are specific laws that banks are required to abide to. As such BNP Paribas must follow the common laws and principles as stated in relevant Acts passed by Parliament  [xiv]  . The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) who publishes and administers Acts and Subsidiary legislation governs legislation in the financial industry. Changes in legislation can affect a firms cost for adaptation and demand of goods and services. Singapores economic policy is to promote wealth through sustained and stable economic growth, guided by the free market economic system which allows market forces to determine the pattern of trade (ADB, 2010  [xv]  ). In addition, Singapore does not have any sector-specific policies; this freedom within the policies could provide BNP Paribas with an advantageous opportunity to manipulate this area. Financial Analysis A financial analysis uses financial performance indicators to judge the performance of the company. It looks at 5 categories of ratios which are; Profitability, Liquidity, Efficiency, Investor and Financing. The tables below are the summarized results for BNP Paribas from Year 2005 to 2009 (5-year performance analysis); Profitability Ratios Ratios Year 2005 Year 2006 Year 2007 Year 2008 Year 2009 Gross Profit 100% 100% 100% 100% Gross Profit à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬27,648miilion à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬29,823miilion à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬22,105 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬31,909 million Revenue/Sales à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬27,648miilion à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬29,823miilion à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬22,105 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬31,909 million Net Profit 26% 26% 14% 18% Net Profit à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬7308 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬7822million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬3021million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬5832million Revenue/Sales à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬27,648 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬29,823miilion à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬22,105 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬31,909 million Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) 15.8% 5.7% 9.5% Profit before Interest Tax à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬7308 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬7822million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬3021million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬5832million Average Capital Employed à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬45,065+53,799/2 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬53,228+53,799/2 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬53,228+69,501/2 million Return on Assets (ROA) 0.51% 0.46% 0.15% 0.28% Net Income à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬7308 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬7822million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬3021million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬5832million Total Assets à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1,440,343 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1,694,454 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2,075,551 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2,057,698 million (Source: Created for the purpose of this assignment) The table above shows that for every sales dollar, the same amount will be available to cover its expenses and profits. This is relatively bad for the company if there were any fixed expenses that require payment after the gross profit has been calculated. The return on assets (ROA) tells the efficiency of the company in using its assets to generate profits. The table above shows that ROA has a decreasing trend reaching as low as 0.28%. The net profit is a result of deducting all expenses from gross revenue. In this case, the net profit over the 4 year period has decreased to 18%. Therefore this suggests that the companys widely known success does not match with its actual financial performance. Liquidity Ratios Ratios Year 2005 Year 2006 Year 2007 Year 2008 Year 2009 Current Ratio 87c 73c 81c 53c (Source: Created for the purpose of this assignment) Current ratio gives an indication of the companys ability to pay its short term liabilities and debts with its short term assets. A low ratio below 1 suggests that the company will have trouble paying its debts and liabilities. This shows the companys efficiency in its operating cycle in turning its product into cash is weak. As such, the company is financially unhealthy and they would need to develop strategies to go about providing more financing for the company or they may run into liquidity issues. Efficiency Ratios (Source: Created for the purpose of this assignment) Ratios Year 2005 Year 2006 Year 2007 Year 2008 Year 2009 Debtors Collection Period 276 days 282 days 431 days 313 days Trade Receivables à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬20,919 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬23,008 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬26,079 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬27,379 Revenue/Sales à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬27,648 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬29,823miilion à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬22,105 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬31,909 million The debtors collection period ratio is an indicator of the period of time taken for money to be collected from debtors. The figures above suggest that the debtors collection is relatively slow, especially in 2008. This could have been caused by the Global Financial Crisis which caused worldwide panic and market fluctuations. By 2009, BNP Paribas was able to reduce its debtors collection period by 313 days. Although this figure is an improvement to 2008, it is still considered to be slow for debt collection. This will have an impact on the liquidity issues faced by the company. If the company can reduce its debtors collection time, it will have the necessary funds to resolve its liquidity issues and raise its current ratio above à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1 or even à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2 which suggests the company has more than enough assets to cover its liabilities. Investor Ratios Ratios Year 2005 Year 2006 Year 2007 Year 2008 Year 2009 Earnings per Share (EPS) 6.77 7.81 8.25 5.20 2.99 Dividend Cover 2.68 2.59 2.53 5.36 2 EPS à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬6.77 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬7.81 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬8.25 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬5.20 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2.99 Dividend per Ordinary Share 2.53 3.01 3.26 0.97 1.50 Price/Earning Ratio (P/E Ratio) 8.50 9.24 8.12 5.52 18.13 Current Share Price per share à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬57.56 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬72.13 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬66.97 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬28.71 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬54.20 EPS à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬6.77 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬7.81 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬8.25 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬5.20 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2.99 (Source: Created for the purpose of this assignment) The EPS is the core tenet in determining a shares price. It shows the companys ability to generate income which is allocated to each outstanding share of common stock. A positive increase in EPS suggests that the company is finding more ways to earn profits. However, it does not seem to be the case in 2008 and 2009 where EPS fell sharply. There is no stability in the EPS pattern. BNP Paribass dividend cover fell sharply in 2009. However, a low dividend cover may be acceptable if a companys profits are at a stable level, while a company with fluctuating profits indicates dividends are at risk. The difference in the market price and earnings movement will cause the price earning ratio to fluctuate. BNP Paribass P/E ratio in 2009 shows that there is a disconnection between the market price and the profits as such, it has caused the P/E ratio to rise. A low P/E ratio is potentially good for investors as there is a chance for making profits. Financing Ratios Ratios Year 2005 Year 2006 Year 2007 Year 2008 Year 2009 Debt to Equity Ratio 7.83 8.80 11.98 8.29 Total Debt à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬352,918 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬473,504 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬637,592 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬568,130 million Total Equity à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬45,065 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬53,799 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬53,228 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬69,501 million Debt Ratio 0.31 0.28 0.26 0.28 Total Debt à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬352,918 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬473,504 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬637,592 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬568,130 million Total Assets à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1,440,343 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1,694,454 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2,075,551 million à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2,057,698 million (Source: Created for the purpose of this assignment) A high debt equity ratio is a result of high debt usage in financing operations. This is particularly true for Year 2008 with a debt/equity ratio of 11.98. However, each year from 2006 show a high debt/equity ratio. This shows BNP could potentially generate more profit without outside financing. If this were to increase earnings by a greater amount than debt cost, then the shareholders of BNP Paribas would benefit from receiving more earnings. However, there are greater costs involved which may outweigh the return the company generates on debt through investment and its operations. BNP Paribass debt ratio from Year 2006 to 2009 is below 1 as such, this indicates that the financial institution has more assets than debt as evident in the Statement of Financial Position. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) BNP Paribass corporate social responsibility plays a major role in its environment and forms an integral part of its business ethics and embedded in its core values. They have taken charge of leading companies in implementing environmental friendly practices by signing up to the United Nations Global Compact in 2003 and in its financial sector initiatives, BNP has encouraged companies to include climate change issues in their investment decisions and have brought together companies to promote responsible behaviour by companies within the community. BNP has also signed up for Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) which provides assistance to companies in incorporating environmental, social, and corporate governance concerns into their mainstream investment decision making practices (BNP Paribas Annual Report, 2009, p.118  [xvi]  ). See Appendix 5 on CSR as a management duty. Porters Five Forces Model Analysis Diagram 3: Porters Five Forces Model Source: Porter, M 2008 Threats of New Entrants (Strong) Singapore is relatively lenient when it comes to foreign businesses operations set up in Singapore since the country has a pro-business environment with rich cultural diversity and stable politics. We can also suggest the threats of new entrants may be strong because financial institutions are becoming universal, providing a diverse range of financial services and not just restricted to banking services. The new entrants are exploring innovative banking as such BNP Paribas adopts innovation as a key driver to outshine its competitors. Bargaining Power of Suppliers (Weak) The power of suppliers in influencing BNP Paribas is considered to be weak. The customers being the depositors do not have control of the interest rates set by the bank or on any internal operations, whereas for corporate clients, the bank still holds a greater power in the offering of services and package deals to its larger clients. The Credit Market provides the source of raw materials and liquid assets which is unmeasurable. Lastly, the Central Bank being MAS is responsible for the issuance of currency, supervision of financial services and stability surveillance and who is of last resort and provider of liquidity in the markets. Therefore, the Central Bank who controls the liquidity in the markets has some power in its influence on BNP Paribas as a whole than in day to day operations (Ackerman, J 2008  [xvii]  ). Bargaining Power of Buyers (Medium) The buyers of BNP Paribass products are the customers themselves; the depositors whom have some power in deciding which bank they would settle for. However, for the corporate clients, it is difficult to determine the differences in the services provided/offered by each bank as there is no specific service offer to each bank. Threats of substitute products or services (Strong) There are a variety of financial services being offered from various banks in Singapore who specialises in different business lines and have various experiences and successes. BNP Paribas Singapore faces greater threats towards its Corporate Investment Banking as well as Asset Management services. However, though various banks offer similar services to them, like its threats from new entrants, innovation is their key to compete with substitute products, to set themselves apart from its competitors (Bernet Partner, 2008  [xviii]  ). Rivalry among existing firms (Strong) There is intense rivalry among the financial industry. BNP Paribas competes with money centre banks, super regional banks and institutional asset management providers and financial planners. In Singapore, there are 113 competitive commercial banks, 49 merchant banks and 3 finance companies and three local banks; DBS, UOB and OCBC , the three largest banks in Southeast Asia (MAS, 2009  [xix]  ). BNP Paribas faces strong competition from in the area of asset management as Singapore is the premier asset management locations in Asia (MICA, 2009). A central location for the provision of risk management, insurance broking and offshore insurance services in which BNP is engaged in. It is BNPs innovative strategic plans and its prime financial attention to serving customers needs which sets them apart from its competitors.

Mendels Peas and Hawkweeds :: Heredity Genes Mendel Research Essays

Mendel's Peas and Hawkweeds Works Cited Missing Many Scientists have contributed to the field of genetics. Yet the groundwork for today's modern genetics can be found in the work done by one man, Gregor Mendel. While there were many scientists who tried to answer the same questions before him, none were able to come to the successful conclusions he did. Before Mendel's experiments, many other theories had been in place to answer the questions about why we look like our parents. Many of these beliefs were myths, and the true reasons behind heredity were not sought, because creation was the belief of the majority of people. Some of these beliefs include "'The preformation theory"' (Bowler, 2), in which it was believed that "the embryo grew from a perfectly formed miniature already present in the mother's womb ( or the father's sperm)." (Bowler, 2) Another theory was that of "'blending inheritance' in which the offspring's characters were always intermediate between those of its parents." (Bowler, 3) It was in the time of these theories that Mendel did his work, which was dismissed as stated in the story. Mendel was a monk who taught in the monastery, and he did his experiments in the garden outside the monastery while teaching as said in the book. His main focus was on the garden pea, Pisum sativum. One peculiarity of pea reproduction is that the petals of the flower close down Tightly, preventing pollen grains from entering or leaving. This enforces a system of self-fertilization, in which sperm and eggs from a particular flower Unite with each other to produce seeds. As a result, individual pee strains are Highly inbred, displaying little, if any genetic variation from one generation to The next. Because of this uniformity, we say that such strains are true-breeding. ( Snustad, 42) In his experiments, Mendel tested many different traits. Among them were the following traits and the frequencies each appeared in: Mendel was successful in his experiments, because he tested one trait at a time, as compared to other scientists who tried to follow multiple traits. This is what allowed him to be successful, although with what we know now, it is easier to follow many traits at a time. In his first set of experiments, he crossed tall varieties with dwarf varieties. To do this, He carefully removed the anthers from one variety before its pollen had matured and then applied pollen from the other variety to the stigma.