Monday, September 30, 2019

Alice McGaw: “Mother of Anesthesia”

Nurses were the first professional group to practice anesthesia services in the United States. This started 125 years ago and little was known about anesthesia back then. One of the most famous nurse anesthetists was Alice McGraw. She was to be given the name â€Å"Mother of Anesthesia† for her expert application of anesthesia during surgery and her many published works regarding the procedure. Nurse anesthetists were pioneers in their field. Surgeons began seeking them out to help with anesthesia during surgery because they could provide undivided attention to the patient.The earliest records establish the beginning of nurse anesthetists in 1887. Since then, they have been instrumental in continuing improve anesthetic techniques and equipment. Although formal education for nurse anesthetists was not made available until 1909, it is the earlier nurse anesthetists who paved the way for safe anesthesia and opened door to this specialty for nurses. Patients reported less discomfo rt and the surgeons reported fewer deaths due to trauma during operations.Currently Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) are licensed professional nurses who go through extensive training after receiving their Registered Nurse (RN) degree. This is considered a specialized field and requires nurses to become board certified through a state exam before being able to practice as a CRNA. The purpose of this study was to inform and educate about the women in nursing who lead the way in development and application of anesthesia. Alice McGaw is little known to mainstream society and yet she provided some of the most comprehensive studies to this profession.She also spent her life as a practicing nurse anesthetist and earned the title â€Å"Mother of Anesthesia† Alice McGaw is known as the â€Å"Mother of Anesthesia†, a title given her by Dr. Charles Mayo. She was born in 1860 and little else can be found regarding her upbringing or schooling prior to 1893. It was in this year that she became the nurse anesthetist to Drs William J. and Charles H. Mayo of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Nursing anesthesia was the first clinical nursing specialty and in the beginning consisted of predominately women.Factors attributing to this were low wages, most nurses were female and it was considered to be a deferential position with the surgeon in charge of it all. Before the inclusion of nurse anesthetists in surgical procedures, most anesthesias had been administered by medical students or physicians with little or no anesthesia training. During the Civil War (1861-1865) anesthesia was used on the wounded but very little because it was considered too dangerous. It was not until 1878 that the first â€Å"official† nurse anesthetist came into being.The first school of nursing anesthesia was not formed until 1909. Surgeons began seeking nurse anesthetists to try to decrease the mortality numbers and because nurses could focus their entire atte ntion on the patient rather than on the operation. Anesthesia evolved differently in Europe and the United States. Chloroform was the preferred choice in Europe and ether the preference in the United States. One of Alice McGaw’s major accomplishments was her expertise in the open drop inhalation method of anesthesia using a combination of ether and chloroform.It was this expertise that earned her the title â€Å"Mother of Anesthesia†. She perfected this method while working for Dr. Charles Mayo and it was he who gave her this moniker. McGaw was also very concerned with the patient’s mental state prior to surgery. She believed that the patient should be prepared with soothing words before being anesthetized. She refined a technique that prepared the patient mentally so as to increase the effectiveness of the anesthesia It was this technique that lead to a decrease in mid-operative anesthesia being required.It was in 1899 that Alice McGaw published the first paper ever written by a nurse anesthetist based on her work in nursing anesthesia. The paper was titled â€Å"Observations in Anesthesia† and was published in the Northwestern Lancet. Alice McGaw went on to publish five papers total on the subject of nurse anesthesia. The paper in 1906 published in Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics was titled â€Å"A Review of 14,000 Surgical Anesthetics†. It noted that in the 14,000 surgical procedures for which she had been the anesthetist, there had been no complications or deaths attributed to problems with the anesthetic or its application.This was a milestone in the field of nursing anesthesia. . During the time that McGaw was the nurse anesthetist for Drs. William J. and Charles H. Mayo, she and Dr. Charles Mayo set up a showcase for surgery and anesthesia. This showcase attracted students from all over the world. This was not formal training but encouraged many students to implement McGaw’s technique with anesthesia. St. Mar y’s Hospital, where McGaw was the nurse anesthetist for the Mayo brothers later became the world famous Mayo Clinic. McGaw worked for Drs. William J. and Charles H.Mayo from 1893-1908. Between 1912 and 1920, almost 20 post graduate schools for nurse anesthesia opened. The Mayo Clinic was among one of those offering the program. It was McGraw’s early work that helped to achieve the success of the nurse anesthetist and its subsequent training programs. She and other like her pioneered the field of nurse anesthesia. Previously physicians were 95 percent male and nursing was not a specialized field. This changed with the addition of the nurse anesthetist. Nurse Anesthetists today are Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA).These are licensed professional nurses (RNs) who want o specialize in anesthesia. They are required to take extensive training and must be board certified by exam before being able to provide services to patients and surgeons. In 1931 the National Association of Nurse Anesthetists (NANA) was formed. It would later become the American Association of Nursing Anesthetists (AANA). It was the first national organization for practicing anesthetists and still exists today. In 1986, the Clinical Anesthesia Practitioner Award was established by the AANA.This award was to recognize the accomplishments of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists who have made important contributions to the advancement of nurse anesthesia. In 1998 this award became the Alice McGaw Outstanding Clinical Practitioner Award to honor McGaws achievements as a nurse anesthetist and for her publications on her work. Without Alice McGaw, nursing anesthesia would not have moved ahead as quickly. Her dedication to perfecting her craft and the publications that she allowed others to learn from were instrumental in the field of nursing anesthesia.Her training and showcasing taught others the importance of anesthesia and its application. Certified Registered Nurse Ane sthetists of today can practice their skills with confidence because of the importance Alice McGaw placed on knowing and perfecting the specialty of anesthesia. She was one of the most important forerunners in her field and her legacy continues to evolve with advancements and achievements based on her work. References 1. American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (2006) History of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Retrieved November 30, 2006 from http://www. aana. com/aboutaana. aspx? ucNavMenu_TSMenuTargetID=173&ucNavMenu_2. American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (2006) A Brief Timeline of Nurse Anesthesia Retrieved November 30, 2006 from http://www. aana. com/archives/timeline. asp 3. Bankert, M. Watchful Care: A History of America’s Nurse Anesthetists. New York: Continuum 1989 4. Evans, T. CRNA, MS What is a CRNA? (1998) http://www. anesthesia-nursing. org/wina. html 5. Michigan Association of Nurse Anesthetists (2006) History of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Retrieved November 30 , 2006 from http://www. miana. org/history/history. html 6. Thatcher, V. History of Anesthesia with Emphasis on the Nurse Specialist Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1953

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Valuating & Financial Prediction of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd

| Valuating & Financial Prediction of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd| AFX9540 BUSINESS FINANCE| | | | Executive Summary This report is written to offer a business analysis of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (FMG) where there will be a discussion on the background of the company, its return on the pre-post announcement of raising funds, the capital structure during the global financial crisis in comparison to its peers and the estimation on the share valuation in comparison to the actual share value. Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:  FMG) is an Australian iron ore mining company.The company has holdings of more than 87,000 km? in the Pilbara region of Western Australia making it the largest tenement holder in the state. It is listed as FMG on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). In 2008, the group loaded its first iron ore shipment bound for China. Fortescue have at least 10 Chinese steel mill contracts lasting for around 10 years. Baosteel was the first company to receive their iron ore. F or the share valuation, the report uses the CAPM model to determine the prevailing cost of capital and also uses the dividend discount multistage model to predict the share price for the company.The components of the CAPM model (i. e. risk free rate, company beta, Market return and growth rate) are calculated and predicted on historical data. The valuation data is then compared with the actual market price of the shares for the corresponding years and a brief analysis is then performed on the economic and internal reasoning behind any variance encountered. Table of Contents Executive Summary2 1. 0Brief overview of the company4 2. 0Capital Structure4 2. 1Funds raised by the company4 2. 2Usage of the fund5 2. 3Announcement date for the issue5 2. 4Share-return pre and post announcement5 2. Market return same period6 2. 6 Market Perception6 2. 7 Effect of recent financial crisis7 3. 0 Valuation of FXJ shares7 3. 1Risk free rate calculation8 3. 2Market rate calculation8 3. 3Beta calculat ion9 3. 4CAPM Calculation10 3. 5Growth rate calculation10 3. 6Share valuation11 3. 7Comparison of valuation vs. actual data12 3. 8 Evaluation of the variation13 4. 0 Conclusion13 Appendix 1: Cash rate target14 Appendix 2: Market data for beta calculation14 Reference & Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 16 . 0General background of the Firm Fortescue Metals Group Ltd is the New Force in Iron Ore and has joined the world's leading producers of iron ore. Since the Company was formed in 2003, its extraordinary growth has been unparalleled. Listed in the S;P/ASX 50 share index, Fortescue has firmly established itself as one of the world's largest producers and sea-borne traders of iron ore. From Construction to Production Construction of Fort escue's port, rail and mine project commenced in February 2006 with the turning of the first sod at the Company's port site at Anderson Point in Port Hedland.Just two years later in 2008, the open-access rail infrastructure was complete and  operations were underway  at the Fortescue Herb Elliott Port and at the Company's first minesite, Cloudbreak. Shipping started on 15 May 2008 and Project Completion was achieved within months. On 18 July 2008, Fortescue's fifth anniversary, the Company successfully mined, railed and shipped at a rate of 24mtpa (Million ton per annum) for a one month period. In the first full year of operations, Fortescue mined, railed and shipped more than 27 million tonnes of iron ore to customers in China. FinanceFortescue's project was founded on the raising of A$3. 7 billion capital, including A$1 billion equity, during two finance road shows in August 2006 and July 2007. The August 2006 raising was the largest single high-yield Asia-Pacific transaction, the largest high-yield bond project financing ever, one of the largest corporate bonds out of Australia and one of the largest global bond issues in the sector. Since then Fortescue has grown to become an S;P/ASX 50 company. Over 55,000 Australians have become shareholders in the proudly Australian founded and managed company.A substantial increase in Fortescue's Resource Inventory to 10. 03 billion tonnes in March 2011, including 1. 6 billion  tonnes of Reserves,  positioned the company as one of the world's major resource houses. This massive Resource Inventory was achieved in record time and was delineated from approximately 10 per cent of  Fortescue's 88,000 square kilometres of Pilbara tenements. 2. 0Capital Structure of the Firm 2. 1Funds raised by the company 1,326,316 number of Ordinary Shares were issued to generate A$6. 3 million. 2. 2Purpose of Fund 1,326,316 number of Ordinary Shares were issued as payment for a distribution of A$6. million due under the A$140m, R edeemable Preference Share issued with maturity on or before February 2017. 2. 3Announcement date of the issue The initial announcement date for this issue of the Ordinary Share was 15th September 2010. 2. 4Share return from two days before the announcement date to two days after the announcement. Holding Period Return=Ending Price-Beginning PriceBeginning Price ? 100 Holding Period Return=p1-p0p0 ? 100; P1 = Ending Price, P0 = Beginning Price | Date| Open| High| ow| Close| Volume| Adj Close*| 17 Sep 2010| 4. 87| 4. 92| 4. 83| 4. 84| 25,307,700| 4. 82| 16 Sep 2010| 5. 2| 5. 02| 4. 85| 4. 86| 15,360,000| 4. 84| 15 Sep 2010| 5. 03| 5. 08| 4. 99| 5. 03| 11,614,800| 5. 01| 14 S p 2010| 4. 99| 5. 07| 4. 97| 5. 02| 10,319,500| 5. 00| 13 Sep 2010| 4. 91| 5. 01| 4. 90| 4. 97| 14,643,800| 4. 95| | Closing price adjusted for dividend and splits Before the Announcement Date: Holding Period Return=p1-p0p0 ? 100 So, HPR=5. 02-4. 914. 91 ? 100 = 2. 24% After the Announcement Date: Holding Period Return=p1-p0p0 ? 100 So, HPR=4. 84-5. 025. 02 ? 100 = -3. 59% 2. 5Market Return same period | Date| Open| High| Low| Close| Volume| Adj Close*| 17 Sep 2010| 4,657. 70| 4,692. 50| 4,657. 0| 4,685. 10| 1,523,846,600| 4,685. 10| 16 Sep 2010| 4,703. 00| 4,707. 70| 4,648. 90| 4,650. 00| 1,813,657,000| 4,650. 00| 15 Sep 2010| 4,670. 10| 4,710. 50| 4,669. 90| 4,702. 70| 1,644,565,600| 4,702. 70| 14 Sep 2010| 4,661. 40| 4,688. 90| 4,661. 10| 4,669. 10| 1,422,233,600| 4,669. 10| 13 Sep 2010| 4,613. 30| 4,660. 90| 4,612. 70| 4,654. 20| 1,433,713,600| 4,654. 20| Closing price adjusted for dividend and splits Holding Period Return=Ending Price-Beginning PriceBeginning Price ? 100 Holding Period Return=p1-p0p0 ? 100; P1 = Ending Price, P0 = Beginning Price Before the Announcement Date:Holding Period Return=p1-p0p0 ? 100 So, HPR=4669. 10-4613. 304613. 30 ? 100 = 1. 21% After the Announcement Date: Holding Period Return=p1-p0p0 ? 100 So, HPR=4685. 10-47034703 ? 100 = -0. 38% 2. 6Market Perception From the above analysis it can be seen that the share performance of the company and the market was stable during the pre and post two days of the announcement. Previously before the announcement the performance of both is going the similar path (upward movement). On the other hand post announcement illustrated negative result (-3. 59% against -0. 38%) for Fortescue Metals Group Ltd.There might be two causes behind this; one, the share price have been over estimated for which the price had to be adjusted. Secondly, the investors did not take the fund raising issue positively as they might think it would not generate much fund for the company’s growth and thus unable to generate enough wealth for them. 2. 7Effect of recent financial crisis | | BlueScope| Fortescue Metals| Mount Gibson| OneSteel| Net Gearing| 2007| 0%| 0%| 0%| 46. 65%| | 2008| 0%| 0%| 25. 42%| 56. 72%| | 2009| 0%| 9%| 6. 29%| 28. 22%| | 2010| 14. 82%| 169. 90%| 3. 97%| 21. 45%| | 2011| 24. 43%| 183. 43%| -| 38. 36%|Table 1: Gearing ratio-peer analysis of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. We can conclude that the recent financial crisis did not affect the industry’s capital structure. As of now the mining industry is going boom. In the time of recession, most of the companies will not have enough profit to repay a debt so; investors are more interested in investing in mining industry rather than some other industry. By using the gearing ratio, it can be seen that Fortescue’s degree of leverage is higher, the more higher the  company is considered risky. However Fortescue Metals Ltd is very strong with their high growth rate compared to its competitors.For them paying off the debt would not be a big issue as they are enjoying three benefits which are; one, mining industry is going boom; two, Australian dollar (AUD) getting stronger; and three, Fortescue’s operations are well placed to maintain the 55mtpa rate across the 2012 financial year while development to 155mtpa conti nues in a mixture of brownfields and greenfields projects, scheduled to take place through to June 2013. 3. 0Valuation of shares The dividend discount multistage model is a procedure for valuing the price of a stock by using predicted dividends and discounting them back to present value.The idea is that if the value obtained from the dividend discount multistage model is higher than what the shares are currently trading at, then the stock is undervalued. Formula P0 = D11+R The required return can be calculated using the CAPM (capital asset pricing model) model, which becomes the cost capital of the project. Formula CAPM: E(r)= Rf+[? i (Rm-Rf)] 3. 1Risk free rate calculation The benchmark interest rate in Australia was last reported at 4. 75 percent. In Australia, interest rates decisions are taken by the Reserve Bank of Australia's Board.The interest rate needs to be adjusted yearly using the Effective Annual Rate. EAR = (1+in)n-1 EAR| 2011| 2010| 2009| Calculation| (1+. 0475/365)36 5-1| (1+. 0396/365)365-1| (1+. 0479/365)365-1| Rf| 4. 86%| 4. 03%| 4. 90%| Table 2: Risk Free rate 3. 2Market rate calculation The calculation of market return will include statistics from 5 years to counteract any data abnormality from recession or seasonal spikes. | 2005| 2006| 2007| 2008| 2009| 2010| 2011| Calculation| 4,229. 93,546. 1-1| 5,034. 04,225. 9-1| 6,310. 65035. 4-1| 3,947. 85,345. 8-1| 3,947. 85,345. 8-1| 4,324. 83,934. 4-1| 4,659. 84,309. -1| Return| 0. 1928| 0. 1912| 0. 2532| -0. 1549| -0. 2615| 0. 0992| 0. 0811| Average Market return based on five years performance is: Rm2011 = (0. 2532-0. 1549-0. 2615+0. 0992+0. 0811)5 = 0. 0034 = 0. 34% Rm2010 = (0. 1912+. 2532-0. 1549-0. 2615+0. 0992)5 = 0. 0254 = 2. 54% Rm2009 = (0. 1928+0. 1912+0. 2532-0. 1549-0. 2615)5 = 0. 04416 = 4. 42% 3. 3Beta calculation: The beta is taken from FinAnalysis. Beta (? ) is a number describing the relation of its returns with those of the financial market as a whole. The beta coefficient is a key parameter in the capital asset pricing model (CAPM).It measures the part of the asset's statistical variance that cannot be removed by the diversification provided by the portfolio of many risky assets, because of the correlation of its returns with the returns of the other assets that are in the portfolio. Formula for Beta is: i=1n[Ri-ER]2n-1 Data from 2009 to 2011 has been used and a data of 3 years is used to calculate the beta. | 2009| 2010| 2011| ?| 0. 91| 0. 80| 0. 88| A beta of greater than 1 indicates that the security's price will be more volatile than the market. Fortescue Metals Ltd has a beta of 0. 88; therefore it is less volatile than the market. 3. CAPM Calculation: Hence, using Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) as Required Return E(r)= Rf+[? i (Rm-Rf)] | 2009| 2010| 2011| Calculation| 4. 90% + [0. 88(4. 42%-4. 90%)]| 4. 03% + [0. 88(2. 54%-4. 03%)]| 4. 86% + [0. 88(0. 34%-4. 86%)]| Return| 4. 48%| 2. 72%| 0. 88%| Table 4: Cost of Capital 3. 5Growth Rate Calcula tion Growth rate calculation represents the  compounded annualized rate of growth of a company's revenues, earnings, dividends, etc. The formula for growth rate = Return on equity X Plowback ratio = ROE ? (1-DividendEPS) This growth rate will be used for the calculation of share prices for the last three years.ROE, DIV and EPS from 2009 to 2011 are shown below: | 2009| 2010| 2011| ROE| 13. 62%| 51. 57%| 75. 36%| DIV ($)| -| -| 7. 0| EPS ($)| 21. 90| 22. 12| 31. 88| Table 5: Financial data g2011 = ROE(2011) (1- Div(2011)/EPS(2011)) = 75. 36%(1-7/31. 88)= 58. 81% g2010 = ROE(2010) (1- Div(2010)/EPS(2010)) = 51. 57%(1-0/22. 12)= 51. 57% g2009 = ROE(2009) (1- Div(2009)/EPS(2009)) = 13. 62%(1-0/21. 90)= 13. 62% Below is the summary of the data discussed: Components| 2009| 2010| 2011| Er| 4. 48%| 2. 72%| 0. 88%| Rf| 4. 86%| 4. 03%| 4. 90%| Rm| 4. 42%| 2. 54%| 0. 34%| ?i| 0. 91| 0. 80| 0. 88| | 13. 62%| 51. 57%| 58. 81%| Table 6: Summarisation of component 3. 6Share Valuation To calculat e the value of the shares, we need to determine the method of valuation so; mixed stage dividend model can be used to calculate the value of the share. Bearing in mind the business nature, we can see an average of 41. 33% growth which is abnormally high. For the purpose of calculation we will presume this high growth rate will continue for another 40-45 years at least. As it is a new mining company and as we know that the return comes late so, the growth rate is high even after a long term.From 2053 onwards we assume that the business will grow at 7% rate, which we believe is a conservative approach, as because by then there will be many mining companies opening both domestically and internationally. China is progressing very fast and by next 15-20 years they will level up, not just China; India, South Africa, South America etc are also catching-up fast, so due to the high competition the market would not remain the same and it will change consecutively as forecasted. The valuation calculation will take this assumption towards establishing the model. P2009=i=20092012D0 (1+g)i(1+Ke)i + Pi(1+Ke)iP2010=i=20102012D0 (1+g)i(1+Ke)i + Pi(1+Ke)i P2011=i=20112012D0 (1+g)i(1+Ke)i + Pi(1+Ke)i | Growth Rate| Net Cash Flow| Cost of Capital| | D2009| | -13,643| 4. 48%| | D2010| | 1,877,963| 2. 72%| | D2011| 41. 33%| 4,206,365| 0. 88%| | D2012| 50%| 4,906,922| 0. 92%| | D2013| 55%| 6,767,080. 65| 0. 99%| | D2014| 60%| 10,435,594. 64| 0. 99%| | D2015| 60%| 16,587,385. 22| 0. 96%| | D2016| 60%| 26,477,415. 36| 0. 98%| | D2017| 60%| 42,346,454. 77| 1%| | D2018| 60%| 67,743,188. 44| 0. 95%| | D2019| 60%| 108,379,297. 7| 0. 96%| | D2020| 60%| 173,398,415. 1| 0. 98%| | D2021| 60%| 277,429,356. 2| 1%| |D2022| 60%| 443,881,664. 5| 0. 98%| | -| -| -| -| | D2052| 8. 19%| 13,101,273,811| 0. 98%| | D2053| 7%| 22,933,861. 67| 0. 98%| | | P2009| 3. 89| | P2010| 3. 61| | P2011| 5. 46| Table 7: Summary calculation 3. 7Comparison of valuation vs. actual data From the valuation calculated thr ough the process, now we will compare that with the actual data from the market. Year| Valuation Data| Actual Data| Variance| Comment| 2009| 3. 89| 3. 64| -6. 40%| Undervalued| 2010| 3. 61| 3. 96| 9. 64%| Overvalued| 2011| 5. 46| 5. 98| 9. 43%| Overvalued| Table 8: comparison of actual and calculated data 3. Evaluation of the variation The valuation of the shares seems to be in the right track compared with the market trend. Nevertheless, post state gives a more variable scenario. Dividend was replaced by using the net operation Cash Flow per share. The operation cash flow only represents the cash flow in the company’s operation activities; whilst the company also have investing activities and financing activities. Thus, only use of the operation cash flow in the valuation has a high percentage of uncertainty. According to the table above, the actual price is undervalued.The valuation can be endorsed to the lower than expected risk premium in the market resulting from the con trolled risk free rate determined by the government. Another issue can be AUD getting stronger compared to USD, resulting additional dent on the nominal cost of capital for the company. In the later part of the table, the actual price is overvalued. In order to illustrate this phenomenon, one possible reason is inflation. Inflation is an overall general rise in prices. As we know, global financial crisis happened few years back, the effect of the financial crisis was significant on the whole market and caused inflation.Therefore, due to inflation, the market prices are higher than the actual prices. Another possible reason is some unpredicted economic/natural events happened during this period and lead to movements of the market price. On the other hand the factors can be attributed to the assumptions and predictions using the calculation components. CAPM formula and Beta calculation has its own risk and de-merits. The growth rate is strongly manipulated by the industry’s lan dscape, economic status and political issues.The information available could also affect the actual share prices in the market which will impact on decision making for share buyers/sellers. The share price valuation will be varied from one investor to another depends on their information. As there is an existence of asymmetric information in the market, one cannot estimate the share price exactly the same with the actual share price. Besides, the investors behaviour are different between one another, hence, the pattern of the actual share price is not only based on market returns in general, but also depends on whether the level of the risk that the investors are willing to bear. . 0Conclusion In conclusion, we need to consider about inflation and unpredicted events when we investigate the market price. In addition, we need to distinguish nominal interest rate and real interest rate when we calculate. Appendix 1: Cash rate target: Effective date| New cash rate| Adjusted cash rate| | | 2011| 4. 75| 5 May 2010| 4. 75| 2010| 3. 96| 7 Apr 2010| 4. 50| | | 3 Mar 2010| 4. 25| | | 2 Dec 2009| 4. 00| | | 4 Nov 2009| 3. 75| | | 7 Oct 2009| 3. 50| | | 8 Apr 2009| 3. 00| | | 4 Feb 2009| 3. 25| 2009| 4. 79| 3 Dec 2008| 4. 25| | | 5 Nov 2008| 5. 25| | | 8 Oct 2008| 6. 00| | | 3 Sep 2008| 7. 00| | |Appendix 2: Market Data for beta calculation: Date| Open| High| Low| Close| Volume| Adj Close| 3/10/2011| 0. 81| 0. 94| 0. 79| 0. 89| 18267300| 0. 89| 1/09/2011| 0. 85| 0. 9| 0. 74| 0. 82| 16091200| 0. 82| 1/08/2011| 0. 87| 0. 92| 0. 68| 0. 85| 15948300| 0. 85| 1/07/2011| 0. 98| 1. 01| 0. 86| 0. 88| 11603100| 0. 88| 1/06/2011| 1. 09| 1. 09| 0. 94| 0. 98| 17479100| 0. 98| 2/05/2011| 1. 32| 1. 33| 1. 03| 1. 08| 21843500| 1. 08| 1/04/2011| 1. 29| 1. 37| 1. 25| 1. 32| 17067200| 1. 32| 1/03/2011| 1. 29| 1. 3| 1. 17| 1. 29| 18402900| 1. 29| 1/02/2011| 1. 34| 1. 46| 1. 28| 1. 3| 14583200| 1. 3| 4/01/2011| 1. 4| 1. 42| 1. 33| 1. 35| 10259000| 1. 5| 1/12/2010| 1. 37| 1. 46| 1. 36| 1. 4| 1 8060000| 1. 4| 1/11/2010| 1. 44| 1. 49| 1. 32| 1. 37| 15254000| 1. 37| 1/10/2010| 1. 45| 1. 55| 1. 4| 1. 45| 12209300| 1. 45| 1/09/2010| 1. 47| 1. 57| 1. 44| 1. 47| 10714700| 1. 47| 2/08/2010| 1. 48| 1. 52| 1. 33| 1. 44| 12983000| 1. 43| 1/07/2010| 1. 3| 1. 51| 1. 29| 1. 48| 10254300| 1. 46| 1/06/2010| 1. 52| 1. 52| 1. 26| 1. 32| 17287600| 1. 3| 3/05/2010| 1. 72| 1. 76| 1. 4| 1. 51| 19697600| 1. 5| 1/04/2010| 1. 79| 1. 83| 1. 72| 1. 73| 12311100| 1. 71| 1/03/2010| 1. 62| 1. 86| 1. 62| 1. 8| 16808300| 1. 78| 1/02/2010| 1. 7| 1. 88| 1. 64| 1. 65| 17412500| 1. 63| 4/01/2010| 1. 74| 1. 88| 1. 7| 1. 73| 13261300| 1. 71| 1/12/2009| 1. 63| 1. 75| 1. 56| 1. 74| 8904800| 1. 72| 2/11/2009| 1. 55| 1. 77| 1. 52| 1. 63| 11449600| 1. 62| 1/10/2009| 1. 72| 1. 8| 1. 52| 1. 61| 14759100| 1. 59| 1/09/2009| 1. 46| 1. 75| 1. 42| 1. 72| 18761900| 1. 7| 3/08/2009| 1. 49| 1. 55| 1. 4| 1. 47| 18455600| 1. 46| 1/07/2009| 1. 19| 1. 48| 1. 07| 1. 48| 15136300| 1. 46| 1/06/2009| 1. 15| 1. 35| 1. 15| 1. 22| 156 24600| 1. 21| 1/05/2009| 1. 18| 1. 18| 0. 99| 1. 14| 15047200| 1. 13| 1/04/2009| 1. 01| 1. 19| 1. 01| 1. 18| 16260500| 1. 17| 2/03/2009| 0. 95| 1. 08| 0. 8| 1. 01| 18923300| 1. 01| 2/02/2009| 1. 35| 1. 39| 0. 92| 1. 08| 9490000| 1. 07| /01/2009| 1. 64| 1. 76| 1. 25| 1. 4| 5383300| 1. 39| 1/12/2008| 1. 4| 1. 67| 1. 33| 1. 63| 7776700| 1. 62| 3/11/2008| 1. 94| 2. 09| 1. 12| 1. 35| 8740000| 1. 34| 1/10/2008| 2. 75| 2. 76| 1. 85| 1. 92| 6877000| 1. 9| 1/09/2008| 2. 82| 3. 11| 2. 59| 2. 64| 7193700| 2. 62| 1/08/2008| 2. 65| 3. 05| 2. 58| 2. 82| 10400800| 2. 79| 1/07/2008| 2. 9| 3. 2| 2. 57| 2. 75| 8612800| 2. 72| References & Bibliography * http://www. asx. com. au/asx/research/companyInfo. do? by=asxCode&asxCode=FMG * http://www. investsmart. com. au/shares/asx/Fortescue-Metals-Group-FMG. asp * http://www. fxj. com. au/shareholders/Fairfax_AnnualReport_2011. df * http://www. fmgl. com. au/IRM/Company/ShowPage. aspx/PDFs/2147-13354473/Appendix3 bAllotmentofShares * http://au. finance. ya hoo. com/q/ao? s=FMG. AX * http://datanalysis. morningstar. com. au. ezproxy. lib. monash. edu. au/af/company/issuedcapital? ASXCode=FMG&page=1&resultsperpage=25&xsl_predicate=&xsl_start_year=1999&xsl_end_year=2011&active=ISU_Sec1&xsl_start_date=1999-01-01&xsl_end_date=2011-12-31&xtm-licensee=dat#Active_ISU_Sec2 * http://www. asx. com. au/asx/statistics/announcements. do? by=asxCode&asxCode=fmg&timeframe=Y&year=2010 * http://www. specthuntley. com. au. ezproxy. lib. monash. edu. au/af/company/mainview? ASXCode=FMG * http://au. finance. yahoo. com/q/hp? s=FMG. AX&a=06&b=1&c=2008&d=05&e=30&f=2011&g=m * http://www. asx. com. au/research/market-statistics. htm ——————————————– [ 1 ]. http://www. fmgl. com. au/IRM/Company/ShowPage. aspx/PDFs/2147-13354473/Appendix3bAllotmentofShares [ 2 ]. http://au. finance. yahoo. com/q/hp? s=FMG. AX&a=08&b=13&c=2010&d=08&e=17&f=2010&g=d [ 3 ]. http: //au. finance. yahoo. com/q/hp? s=%5EAORD&a=08&b=13&c=2010&d=08&e=17&f=2010&g=d [ 4 ]. ttp://www. bluescopesteel. com/investors/annual-reports [ 5 ]. http://www. igo. com. au/IRM/content/investor/annualreports. htm [ 6 ]. http://www. mtgibsoniron. com. au/pages2/InvestRelations. aspx? PageID=IR_AR [ 7 ]. http://www. aspecthuntley. com. au. ezproxy. lib. monash. edu. au/af/company/annualratios? ASXCode=OST&xtm-licensee=finanalysis [ 8 ]. http://www. investopedia. com/terms/d/ddm. asp#axzz1aBqlpkfj Table 3: Market return [ 9 ]. http://www. tradingeconomics. com/australia/interest-rate [ 10 ]. http://www. aspecthuntley. com. au. ezproxy. lib. monash. edu. au/af/company/annualps

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Texas A&M bonfire disaster Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Texas A&M bonfire disaster - Essay Example This critical essay presents a brief look at what can be learnt from the previously mentioned incident and the essay illustrates how communications play an important role in disaster mitigation and emergency response. On November 18, 1999 preparations for the annual Texas A & M University bonfire which used to be an annual event on the eve of the football game between Texas A & M University and its archrival the University of Texas at Austin went horribly wrong when the forty foot stack which was being constructed for the bonfire collapsed. The collapse occurred during the early morning hours on the previously mentioned date. The stack that was being constructed consisted of approximately 5000 logs which were being stacked for a bonfire and as a result of the collapse twelve people died and another twenty - eight had to be hospitalized with serious injuries. 1 The incident was particularly sad because most of those that suffered were young people who were preparing for what was supposed to be an event that had been a part of the university tradition for a long time. The previously mentioned incident was an emergency response incident and although emergency medical personnel from the University Emergency Medical Service were on the scene at the time of the collapse, a 911 call was considered as being appropriate considering the magnitude of the disaster. The first 911 call was received at the City of College Station’s Emergency Communications Center at 02:43 hours and this means that a delay had possibly occurred before it was decided that a call had to be made for further assistance. The caller had reported that the bonfire stack had collapsed at the university campus and that as many as thirty people were suspected to be trapped under logs. Emergency response was swift and the first ambulance and fire teams arrived on the

Friday, September 27, 2019

Speech to inform and speech to persuade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Speech to inform and speech to persuade - Essay Example Fad diet constitutes simple diets that contain one or very few elements like cabbage and cottage cheese. Other than weight loss, there are other reasons why people would stick on fad food and these include taking a certain food to cure some diseases, some ignoring some food believing the food is harmful to his/her health, eating certain food to fulfill some lifestyle, being lazy or tired to prepare proper meal at home (Lappe , 23-77). This work tends to elaborate the disadvantages of fad diets. However, it is worth mentioning that this kind of diet also has got its good side. For instance, fast foods save a lot of time as well as effort to cook. The food is also cost saving since one does not incur the costs of cooking through buying the ingredients, fuel, serving utensils, and others. Instead, one walks to the nearby restaurant and picks the favorite fast food. It is convenient since there are no long lines to be served. It is considered reliable since one can get the same kind of food once he/ she makes an order thus there are no surprises or strange tastes experienced. Fast food is regarded fresh due to high turn over. Consequently, fresh food is made to cater for the high number of customers. Sometimes one is left with no choice but to pick the fast foods, for instance, when one is on a tight schedule. In this case, one is advised to pick healthier foods like the salads, bread products, lean meat, and boiled food instead of fried ones. One should avoid carbonic drinks as much as possible and instead order plain water, juices or milk containing low fats. The disadvantages of fad food include containing high sugar, fats or oil, salt and calories yet this are elements considered unhealthy when taken in high quantity as they cause complications like obesity, high blood pressure, among other ailments. Some fast foods contain high bacteria which are harmful to human life. Most fast

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Science Meets Real Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Science Meets Real Life - Essay Example This conclusion also has a chance of being faulty. There exists a chance of error in both of the final decisions sought over in the above description. To ensure our conclusion even more we enter our house once more and turn on the switch of another lamp to check whether it turns on or not. If this new lamp also would not turn on then it would be certain that there is no electricity in the house. The way this would be scientifically assessed is narrated a follows: Analysis: Either the bulb would glow or it would not glow. If the bulb glows in the second lamp then it may be decided that there has been a fault in the wiring of the initial lamp that was attempted to be turned on when the person reached home. There exists the possibility of a POSSIBLE ERROR here and that is that the lamp may not have been plugged into the socket properly. Just as the possibility of the lamp not being plucked into the socket was discussed, this possibility may also be assumed for the initial lamp. Hence the hypothetical testing of possibilities behind the non- functioning of the lamp continues unless and until all possible situations have been addressed. If the water is not coming out of the main water outlet then there arise two possibilities. Either there is no water in the overhead task or the tap has malfunctioned and is not letting water through. In order to clarify this situation the following scientific experiment is conducted: Analysis: If there is now water emission from any of the taps within the house then it may well be concluded that there must not be any water in the overhead water tank. However, if water is coming out of the other taps it may be assessed that there might be an airlock in the tap of the Garage that restricted water from coming out of it. Thus it was decided that if there was no water in the overhead tank then the tank would be filled by turning the water filling motor on. On the other hand if only the garage tap would

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Women psy final project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Women psy final project - Essay Example This reflects the low self-esteem most women suffer from. The book discusses ten pitfalls of women and how these â€Å"stupid† behaviors may be detrimental to their self-concept and gravely influence their perspectives in their lives. These are: attachment to a relationship no matter how bad it is, courtship and dating issues, devotion to a man despite maltreatment, passion or sex-too-soon, cohabitation or living together without the security of marriage, unfulfilled expectations, conceiving babies in order to keep a relationship with a man, subjugation to the point of tolerating a man to hurt a woman’s child, helplessness or the perception that one has no alternatives and lastly, granting forgiveness too easily to men who have wronged them. Women seem to base their identities on their men, and focus all their energies on keeping them. Usually, a man is desperately clung to, as if he is the source of her breath. Having a man won’t heal her hurts, resolve all her self-doubts and protect her from life’s challenges. Dr. Laura reminds women that it is their responsibility to become fully realized as a person by having dreams, a purpose, building their identity, so they take a more active role in the quality of their lives. Only then can other people – friends, spouses, children – share in their growth rather than become responsible for it. Nowadays, it is the women who seem to pine for men to select them instead of the other way around. Sometimes, a woman may be too intent on making a man want her that she does not even consider if she really wants him in the first place. Men â€Å"are often burdened with the task of being the source of affirmation and approval for the woman’s young, uncertain, developing or even somewhat damaged self-esteem.† (p. 36). Sometimes, it gets draining on the part of men since they are also

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Globalization and Multinational Corporations Essay

Globalization and Multinational Corporations - Essay Example The globalisation concept does not reveal the challenges leaving the companies to look at the positive side of the concept. There are very many management challenges due to different cultural issues and government intervention in different nations. As it will be discussed in the paper, countries differ in their levels of technology, development, availability of labour and resources and policies targeting trade and taxation. Both local and global companies normally do not have the right information concerning such issues thus end up making the wrong decisions in location and strategies (Karsten, 2000, pp.120-134). The best example of a multinational company to use is the Coca Cola Company as it has gone through very many challenges as it was in its race to meeting the global concept. Global strategy is defined in business as guidelines of an organisation to globalisation. For a firm to succeed in expanding globally it requires to define the extent to which it can expand its service and products provision. Local and global enterprises are facing a lot of challenges in expanding globally and this does not leave out the Coca Cola Company. The decisions Coca Cola makes on where it needs to locate its business are highly affected by the fact it usually defines how far it needs to allocate. Many multinational organisations that are failing expand unnecessarily. This occurs because of the lack of complete information on the different economic status of different nations. This limits them in attaining competitive advantage within the corporate world (Gupta, 2008, pp. 20-21). Strategic management Strategic management entails to plan and forecast, command, control, co-ordinate and organize. It is important for organizations to practice effective modes of management to ensure that at the end of the day they achieve their main objective; profit making. Though strategic management entails all this conditions, it is evident that they are not practised in all organisations globally. This is so because countries differ in their adoption of management strategies. This makes it hard for an organisation in a well established country that practises high management concepts to incorporate the concepts in another country that has not yet implemented them (Ghoshal, 1987, pp. 425-440). However, with Coca Cola being a multinational company for a very long time, it has identified that different areas need different ways of management though people are being urged to embrace global ways of management. Business courses and beliefs are very different in all nations. For instance, in developing countries, the business courses are outdated and it is only recently that they are trying to educate its people on the global strategic management principles. Many organisations that want to expand globally are misled by believing that all nations embrace the concept globalisation thus they set up their businesses in different localities only to find that they do not use the global strategies of management. This makes them to lag behind in making profits because they lack competent individuals to employ. It is evident that for a business to flourish there must be availability of labour within the area. Some multinational entities are forced to employ individuals from other countries which is a more expensive strategy because they demand a high pay for relocating from their native homes (Ghauri, 1995, pp.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Coffee Manufacturing Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Coffee Manufacturing Company - Case Study Example From this paper it is clear that   to illustrate our finding, the result of the calculation illustrates that the cash flow for the beginning of the first four years of the sales of the New Home Machine projection are correlatively negative ranging from -146.35 to -273.0. In this sense, company may tend to make a loss for the earlier stage of this new projection and spend more money on the promotion of this new project and test marketing cost and so on due to the new project having low reputation, credibility and lack of competition as it is a new entrant within the industry. As the discussion highlights capital budgeting expenditure is usually of very high value; therefore, the management must undertake a careful analysis before resolving to put money in such projects. This is because, if decisions are made without careful analysis, heavy losses can be incurred or else the management can abandon a very profitable project. As such, this project will involve extensive analysis using techniques such as IRR, NPV and PBP. The objective of this capital analysis is to find out whether the management of Coffee Manufacturing Company (CMC) should adopt Home Grinder Cappuccino Machine or abandon it altogether. The decision as to whether to adopt the machine or abandon it will depend on the outcome of different capital budgeting methods including payback method, Net Present Values, and Internal Rate of Return. The analysis will ensure that the management adopts the projects only when there is an assurance that it will be of substantial economic benefit and abandon i t if investing in it will not have any economic relevance. The analysis will involve a variety of capital budgeting techniques such as Net Present values (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Pay back method. To establish the present values, a discount rate, which in this case is the opportunity cost of capital, is used.  

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Canada Before Confederation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Canada Before Confederation - Essay Example Though the conquest occurred, there are historians who see it as a disaster to the Canadians. One example of such a historian is Michael Burnet. It is argued that people look at the Canadians as people who belong to the second-class or middle-class. They are no longer bourgeoisies but proletariats. The British have made businesses to be monopolies. They have also made the high levels of governments to be monopolies (Jerry, 2003). The conquest really devalued the Canadians. There warriors are now seen not to be strong enough to defend there country. The conquest completely injured their pride as a nation. They see that the white people look at them as though they are irrelevant (Bumsted, 2004). The British introduced industrial projects and commerce to Canada. The impact of the white bourgeoisies led to the decline stature of the native language, French. The people of Canada had to learn English. The commercial organizations and industries were run by the British people and it was an obligation to learn English to be employed. Moreover, the language that was used by the federal government was English. This led to so many English speaking individuals to migrate to Canada. It greatly affected Montral. The city was confused to be an Anglophone one because of the signs it used in its commercial language. Due to the use of English commercial signs, Quebec French was forced to incorporate American and Canadian English so as it could conduct some businesses for example, governmental roles, running businesses and trade. Many Canadians who went to the USA came back with some knowledge of English that led to incorporation of the words in the language. The British had taken over ther e vast share of land leaving them to occupy very small areas. There was worry for all the historians who were against the conquest that there would be survival of the Catholic and French culture in the industrial and urban English-led surrounding. They viewed the conquest as having enabled the British to control the economic, social and political ways of Canada. The only way Canadians could join the public offices was by denouncing catholism and becoming Protestants. The main suggestion from historians is that, the Canadians could use their culture and past experiences to organize their economic, political and social way of life. The British introduced democracy that the French Canadians were very much against. They were used to their nationalism concept of leadership. The Roman Catholic teachings guided them. Democracy was just but too secular for them (Bumsted, 2004). There was excess industrialization by the British that led to a division over conscription. The Canadians who were speaking English were blamed for this division. The Canadians who were speaking French did not have an equal place as those who spoke English. The new generation that was coming up in Canada did not inherit the Canadian religious ways. This has been largely blamed to the industrialization by the British. The conquest has made the new generation to be very secular and yet it was a Catholic dominated environment. Until the recent age, the French Canadians have extreme fear that they will lose their people to the Anglo-Saxon surrounding that was brought about by the conquest. They have been forced to form racial unity to protect their traditions and their own. They greatly insist on the differences between them

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Peru Essay Example for Free

Peru Essay The country of Peru is entrenched in a colourful history of wonder and innovation. This South American country has a diverse array of cultures, lands, foods and languages amoung other distinct and unique attractions. Peru is best known for its Incan mystical historic site, Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines. Peru also consists of the world’s highest navigable lake, Lake Titicaca which it shares with Bolivia. Despite Peru’s large pallet of exclusive appeals however, it does have internal problems in relation with its socio-economic realm; which has hindered its advancement as a society in many ways. Some problems in Peru revolve around poverty, a growing gap in inequality, and extreme debt to foreign corporations and organization such as the International Monetary Fund. Due to these problems and many others Peru remains a developing nation. This report will consist of four sections that will fully explore Peru and its people. The four sections are geography, society, economy, and the political system of Peru. Geography: Peru as a whole has an area of 1,285,216 km? in its territory. The countries of Ecuador (1,529 km border) and Colombia (1,506 km) border Peru to the north, while Brazil (border 2,822 km) and Bolivia (1,047 km) border Peru to the east. Chile (border 169 km) and Bolivia also border Peru to the south. Peru’s landscape can be best classified by three distinct regions. These regions are made up of a coastal region running parallel to the Pacific Ocean sea line, the highlands (the Andes), and the Eastern lowlands more specifically the jungle (the Amazon). Each section is distinct in its own characteristics which make Peru a diverse country. The coastal region of Peru houses Peru’s capital Lima amoung other large cities (such as Trujillo, and Chiclayo). This region is paramount for aquatic life and rich in gorgeous beaches. The highland region of Peru contains the Andes Mountains. This region is most known for the city of Cuzco (the highest above sea level city in the world). The land located there is also rich in valuable minerals (such as gold, copper, silver, gold, petroleum, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash which in turn has attracted a lot of corporations) . This region is also known for Machu Picchu, which is a historic landmark where the nobles and kings of the Incan empire once lived (the indigenous Peruvians). This site is also considered to be a mystical spot, a centre of worship, and an astronomic observatory for the Incas that have attracted a lot of tourists . Along the slopes of this region also lies the Altiplano plateau (a dry basin). This region more specifically is located near southeastern Peru. This section also borders Chile and is known for the Atacama Desert (the driest place on earth). In this desert located between the coastal region and the Andes lies Nazca. This land is also very famous for its ‘Nazca lines’. These lines are massive imprints of animal figures and other designs stretching across the desert which have remained there for centuries. To the East of Peru lies a massive tropical jungle named the Amazon Forest (the biggest in the world, it is as large as Western Europe or the whole of the US) . The Amazonian forest is the habitat of thousands of different species of animals and plants. It also is famous for medicines found there. The Amazon also contains one of the biggest rivers in the world named the Amazon River ‘its length lies anywhere between 6,259 km (3,889 miles) and 6,800 km (4,225 miles). It has over 1,000 tributaries, 8 of which are over 2,000 kilometers’ . To the very South of Peru integrated with Bolivia is Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable above sea level lake in the world) . Geographically Peru is very rich in resources and beauty, but for that same reason Peru faces significant environmental and political consequences. Some problems associated with Peru and its land is deforestation (some the result of illegal logging mostly in the Amazon regions); overgrazing of the slopes of the costal region and highland region leading to soil erosion; desertification; and other hazards such as air pollution especially in Lima; pollution of rivers and coastal waters from municipal and mining wastes . These problems have greatly limited Peru from retaining a healthy and secure environment for its citizens. Despite Peru’s problems with its environment, the majority of the Peruvian society cannot be completely held responsible. There are issues (such as powerful politicians and foreign investors) which greatly deprive Peruvian citizens from having the ability to truly govern themselves. Society: Peruvian society is highly stratified between the rich and the poor. Peru’s total population consists of 27,167,000 inhabitants. 71% of which subsists in urban areas while 29% of Peru’s total population lives in rural areas. There is a distinct difference in quality of life between the Peruvians who live in urban areas versus the people who live in rural areas (which is predominately poorer). Peru’s ethnicities are mainly divided by Amerindian 45%, mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 37%, white 15%, black, Japanese, Chinese, and other 3%. The official languages of Peru are Spanish (official), Quechua (official, spoken by the indigenous), and Aymara. The Spanish language in Peru is predominately used due to Peru’s history of colonization by Spain during the 1520s. Also because of the colonization of Peru, 90% of the Peruvian population is Roman Catholic. Peru in terms of specific characteristics of their overall population is quite common for a third world. According to the World Bank the average life expectancy for a Peruvian citizen is seven one years old. According to the World Health Organization, the life expectancy for most males in Peru is sixty-eight years old. While for females seventy-three years old is the most common age of death. The World Health Organization also explains that in Peru child mortality rates per thousand people are thirty-six for males and thirty-two for females; and for adults it is one-hundred and ninety-three for males, and one-hundred and thirty-three for females. Uncommon however to most third world countries, Peru’s literacy rates above the age of fifteen who can read and write for all of Peru’s population is 88% (95. 2% for males, and 86. 8% for females). For the most part, Peru’s social situation is extremely interconnected with Peru’s economy and its division of power. Economy: Peru’s economy is very dependent on foreign investment and aid. Like most developing nations, Peru is rich in natural resources, but poor in efficiency in retaining economic sovereignty in relation to the international market. Peru is heavily into debt with foreign corporations. According to the World Bank, as of 2006 Peru’s total debt per GDP was 30. 2 billion dollars US. According to the same source Peru’s total debt in service and exports as of 2006 was 12. 9 billion dollars US. This massive debt that Peru is chained to drastically diminishes Peru’s ability to have true sovereignty and the ability to provide the best interests for its people. For this reason 11% of Peru’s population lives below one dollar US per day (1995-2005) . But although a lot of Peruvians live in poverty, the country’s economic growth rate has been going up. It was said by Peru’s â€Å"Economy and Finance Minister Luis Carranza †¦ that Peru’s 2007 economic growth was 8. 3 percent, the highest since 1994† . This ironic actuality exposes the degree of inequality in Peru. If the nation itself seems to be improving, then so should the conditions of its people; but this is not true in this case. From a purely economics standpoint the World Bank dictates that Peru’s annual average annual growth of GDP per capita was 7. % in 2007. The World Bank also states that Peru’s main economic centers and industries are set up as follows: By percent of GDP, Peru’s agriculture sector is 6. 3%, the industry sector is 35. 2%, the manufacturing sector 15. 1% and Peru’s biggest sector being services accounts for 58. 5%. To give a better idea of what Peru offers to the international market in terms of exports, Peru is ‘the worlds leading silver producer and ranks second in copper and zinc†¦ Among other products, Peru is a global supplier of asparagus, fish, grapes, and organic bananas’ . These statistics show that Peru does have the ability to compete in the international market if it could set its own prices for the goods it exports and if it were not in debt to international organizations. But because Peru must oblige to institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization, Peru has no chance of removing the shackles of foreign power. Political System: Peru politically is a republic and contains a multi-party system that sponsors a president. The capital of Peru is Lima, and it is here where the President of Peru Mr. Alan Garcia Perez situates his reign . The major political parties in Peru are the Peruvian Aprista Party or PAP (Alan Garcia Perez is the leader of this party); the Independent Moralizing Front or FIM; the National Unity (Unidad Nacional) or UN; Peru Posible or PP; Popular Action or AP; Solucion Popular; Somos Peru or SP; and the Union for Peru or UPP. Peru has a democratic system where a president is elected through a party. The government similar to the North is divided into three branches the Executive, the Legislative made up by 120 members of the Congress who are elected for a five year-period; and the Judiciary, made up by the Supreme Court. Peru politically is in turmoil with its people. There are many groups such as the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) who oppose the neo-liberal type of government in Peru. Peru does have free democratic elects but history has shown in Peru (especially with president Fujimori) that most politicians have become corrupt and weak to foreign influences (especially the USA). To conclude the Peruvian people need to come together to conquer the influence of Western capitalism, inequality, and the rule of the elites in Peru. If Peru ever wishes to become truly independent and fair for all its citizens it must break off ties with dominating international organizations and nationalize a lot of its markets. Only when Peru is free of debt and agreements which favor the wealthy of Peru instead of all of its citizens will Peru find true development. Peru must utilize its vast amount of resources to help all of its citizens not just the elite.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Advantages of Discovery Learning

Advantages of Discovery Learning Jump to: Advantages of Discovery Learning Discovery learning was first put into writing by Jerome Bruner in the 1970s. In part II of his book titled The Quest for Clarity, Bruner discusses his views on the Act of Discovery. Bruner states his belief that to successfully educate, the educator must first assess what is already known. In this essay Bruner summarizes the basic principles of discovery learning, their benefits, its process, and a set of experiments that Bruner used which according to him, proved his theory. This essay will use research that supports Bruners theory in an attempt to prove that discovery learning is more effective than direct instruction and explain how educators should teach in result of the research. What is discovery learning? Discovery learning is an approach to learning that can be facilitated by specific teaching methods and guided learning strategies. For this essay the term discovery learning will refer to learning that takes place within in the individual, the teaching and instructional strategies designed by the teacher, and the environment created when these strategies are used. Direct or traditional instruction are strategies used in teacher led classrooms, including lectures, drill and practice, and expository learning. Bicknell, Holmes, and Hoffman (2000) describe the three main attributes of discovery learning as 1) exploring and problem solving to create, integrate, and generalize knowledge, 2) student driven, interest based activities in which student determines the sequence and frequency, and 3) activities to encourage integration of new knowledge into the learners existing knowledge base. The first attribute to discovery learning is a very important one. By exploring problems, and coming up with their own solutions, students are taking an active role in creating integrating, and generalizing knowledge. Students are not passively taking in information, as they would during a lecture, but are coming up with broad applications for skills by taking risks, solving problems, and examining unique, but useful experiences (Bicknell-Holmes Hoffman, 2000). This attribute of discovery learning dramatically changes the role of students and teachers, which some traditional teachers find hard to accept. The second attribute of discovery learning is that it encourages students to learn at their own pace (Bicknell-Holmes Hoffman, 2000). This attribute allow students learning to progress freely as the student is ready to learn new material. Students must obtain a high level of motivation and take ownership in their learning for this attribute to be met. The third major attribute of discovery learning is that it is based on the principle of using existing knowledge as a basis to build new knowledge (Bicknell-Holmes Hoffman, 2000). Students must be encouraged and provided with knowledge they already know to extend this knowledge and build new ideas. A good example of this is when students discover how to multiply a three digit number by a three digit number, by using their knowledge of multiplying a two digit number by a two digit number. The student would build on what they know about multiplication to come up with a new way of multiplying three digits by three digits. How discovery learning differs from traditional learning: The three attributes listed above combine to make discovery learning much different than traditional learning for five main reasons. First, learning is active rather than passive (Mosca and Howard, 1997). Second, learning is process oriented, rather than content oriented. Third, failure is important. Fourth, feedback is necessary (Bonwell, 1998). Last, understanding is deeper (Papert, 2000). Firstly, in discovery learning students are active in constructing their own knowledge. Learning is not defined as sitting back and taking in what is being said, but is defined as one seeking and creating their own new knowledge. Students are participating in hands-on, real life learning activities and solving real problems. The students have a purpose for finding answers and learning more (Mosca Howard, 1997). Secondly, the focus of learning is on the process and how the content is learned, rather than on the final product. Discovery learning focuses on how to analyze and interpret information in order to understand what is being learned. In traditional teaching and learning a lot of times the focus is on recalling information by rote memorization. This type of process oriented learning can be applied to many different topics instead of producing one correct answer for a specific question in a specific topic. Students will achieve a much deeper level of understanding in discovery learning. The emphasis is placed on mastery and application of overarching skills (Bonwell, 1998). Thirdly, failure in discovery learning is seen as a positive circumstance (Bonwell, 1998). Failure in discovery learning is related to a unique lesson learned from Thomas Edison. Edison is said to have tried as many as 1,200 designs for light bulbs before he found one that actually worked. When asked if he felt discouraged from all this failure, Edison responded by saying he never felt discouraged because he learned so many designs that didnt work. Discovery learning does not stress finding the correct answers each time. Cognitive psychologists have shown that failure is central to learning. In fact, if the student does not fail while learning, the student probably has not learned something new (Schank Cleary, 1994). Fourthly, an essential part of discovery learning is an opportunity for feedback in the learning process (Bonwell, 1998). Student learning is enhanced, deepened, and made more permanent by discussion of the topic with other learners (Schank and Cleary, 1994). In discovery learning, students are encouraged to discuss ideas with other students to deepen understanding. This is the opposite of the expectations in most traditional classrooms where students are expected to work in silence and find answers on their own. Lastly, after incorporating each one of the differences of discovery learning understanding becomes deeper. Learners internalize concepts when they go through a natural progression to understand them (Papert, 2000). Discovery learning is a natural part of human beings that begins from the time they are born. Humans are born with curiosities and needs which is the driving force behind why they learn. Infants learn to talk by discovery. The infant listens to others around them talk, mimics the sounds they hear, and begin to put together the pieces of language that they have discovered on their own (Percy, 1954). Discovery learning is a natural process in which students should be involved in on a day to day basis during school. Discovery learning allows for a deeper understanding by encouraging natural investigation through active, process-oriented methods of teaching (Percy, 1954). Advantages of discovery learning: What the research says Of the research that exists looking at the advantages of discovery learning over traditional learning, three main areas of focus have emerged: 1) motivation (Hardy, 1967), 2) retention (Alleman Brophy, 1992; Nelson Fayer, 1972; Peters, 1970), and 3) achievement (Hardy 1967; Mabie Baker 1966). A great advantage of the discovery learning method over traditional method is its ability to highly motivate students to learn. Discovery learning does this because it gives learners the opportunity to seek information that satisfies their natural curiosity. Discovery learning gives students an opportunity to explore their desires and therefore create a more engaging learning environment for themselves. To put it in simpler terms, discovery learning makes learning fun (Schank Cleary, 1994). In a study done by D.W. Hardy (1967), the students learning the principles of archaeology and anthropology through the discovery method of an archaeological dig were better organizers of information, more active in the task of learning, and more highly motivated that those who were taught in a traditional, lecture method. This example makes it easy to see that students would have much more fun actually digging out artifacts from thousands of years ago and making conclusions, than they would if th ey were to just read the same information from a textbook. When looking at information retention, discovery learning seems to at least match the level found when using traditional teaching methods, but could possibly increase information retention as well. Alleman and Brophy (1992) conducted a research study with college students by asking them to recall a memorable social studies activity that they did in kindergarten through the eighth grade. Many more students could easily recall activities that involved experimental learning, higher order applications, which are characteristics of discovery learning. Students also could recall more of the information that was retained from discovery learning type activities than they did from the traditional activities. Another study looked at the level of information retention in kindergarteners, but over a shorter timeframe. Peters (1970) compared kindergarten students learning mathematics using discovery learning methods and their learning using traditional methods. The results of this study found tha t students taught using a discovery learning method had equal, if not more, retention levels to those taught using a traditional method. Nelson Frayer (1970) also looked at the retention of concepts when they compared discovery learning methods to traditional methods. After studying 228 seventh graders who were learning geometry concepts, they found the same results as Peters (1970). When students are learning skills rather than facts, discovery learning has been shown to increase student achievement. Hardys (1967) archaeological study showed that students who were taught using the discovery learning method showed a positive difference in scores on both pre and post tests which measured anthropological understandings, over students taught using the traditional teaching method. Mabie Baker (1996) also conducted a study which yielded similar results. In this study, three groups of fifth grade students were taught concepts about nutrition using three different methods. One group used garden projects, one group used short, in class projects, and the other group was taught by traditional teaching methods. The group being taught using traditional methods only saw an 11% increase in pretest knowledge, compared to a 70%-80% increase in the other two groups that were being taught using discovery methods. Although discovery learning has many benefits over traditional learning, many teachers and school districts still teaching using the traditional lecture methods. Many educators believe that discovery learning cannot be used to cover the course content, discovery learning takes too much effort and time, and discovery learning will not work well with their large classes. According to the research, how should we then teach? After analyzing the research on discovery learning, five main teaching ideas emerge: 1) case based learning, 2) incidental learning, 3) learning by exploring/conversing, 4) learning by reflection, and 5) simulation-based learning (Schank Cleary, 1994). Teachers can use these ideas to incorporate discovery learning into their classroom environment on a daily basis. Case-based learning is the first teaching idea that comes forth in discovery learning. Case based learning has been around for a very long time as Harvard business school was one of the first schools to use this method (Merseth, 1991). Case based learning is just how it sounds, examining real life scenarios and cases and then applying them in new situations. Case based learning can be easily used when studying business, law, and medicine because there are numerous documented cases that deal with aspects of each of these. To use case based learning in the classroom a teacher must have cases readily available and easy for student access. Incidental learning in the second teaching idea that comes forth in discovery learning. Incidental learning takes place when students gain knowledge in passing (Schank Cleary, 1994). Many times incidental learning can take place in the form of game in which students are engaged in. This type of learning is best used when studying uninteresting topics or pure memorization because it gives students a motivation to learn these topics. Two good examples of incidental learning are having a classroom game show and creating a crossword puzzle on a topic of choice. The third teaching idea that emerges with discovery learning is learning by exploring. This type of learning is based on an organized collection of answers to questions that students can ask (Schank Cleary, 1994). This learning by exploring idea is very similar to the Socratic method of questioning. Curiosity is utilized with this method of teaching as students are given a problem to solve but they can only solve it by asking many questions. A good example of learning by exploring is a game called Whats in the bag? (Bicknell-Holmes Hoffman, 2000). To play this game, an object that is related to the topic being studied is placed in a bag. Students must then ask as many questions as it takes to try to figure out what this object is. This game helps students use prior knowledge and experiences to categorize information and discover what is in the bag. The fourth teaching idea that comes from discovery learning is learning by reflection. In this type of teaching the students learn to apply higher level cognitive skills because they must reflect on what they know to learn new information (Schank and Cleary, 1994). This type of learning by reflecting also helps students learn to ask better questions, and in turn do more sophisticated analyses (Bicknell-Holmes Hoffman, 2000). An example of a teacher using the learning by reflecting strategy will many times answer a students question with questions of their own to guide the student. This is also a model of how the student can ask better questions to themselves so that answers to unknowns can be found. The teacher does not directly answer the students question but rather guides the student with questions so they can find their own answer. This type of teaching requires lots of patience by both the teacher and the student as mistakes will be made. Students will learn to use these mistak es to help them better reflect on the topic and ask more sophisticated questions. The last teaching idea that comes from the research on discovery learning is simulation based learning. This type of learning is basically just role playing. The teacher will give the students a made up environment and situation in which the students must develop a complex set of skills or witness other students apply abstract concepts (Bicknell-Holmes Hoffman, 2000). Simulation based learning allows the environment and situation to be manipulated and adapted, with no real life consequences. This helps guide discovery as students can make mistakes and not have to worry about real consequences. Simulation based discovery also allows students to do things that would be impossible in real life, such as taking and planning field trips to other countries, or even outer space. Ever growing use of technology makes this even more possible as computers allow students and teachers to easily manipulate an environment without using much time or effort. This also makes the simulations much more realistic and authentic as pictures and videos from real places can be accessed at any time.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Identity in Tender is the Night and Appointment in Samarra Essay

According to the Merriam Webster, identity is the â€Å"sameness of essential or generic character in different instances† (Merriam Webster). An identity can be the qualities or beliefs that make a person different from another, but it is also the thing that connects them. A man’s identity stays with him â€Å"for the rest of his life† and is something that â€Å"[can] not change much† (O’Hara 202, 193). Identity is who one is born to, what one thinks, what one says, and what one does; John O’Hara and F. Scott Fitzgerald both utilize the theme of identity in describing the lives and actions of the central characters Julian English and Dick Diver in their novels, Appointment in Samarra and Tender is the Night. Discovering their individual identities is a journey for both men, and on their journey to self-discovery the men believe that by fixing their lives they will discover their identity. Both Julian and Dick struggle to maintain perfect or der in their lives by controlling fate, but their ancestral obligations lead to self-destruction and inevitable downfall. While Diver commits social suicide, English commits actual suicide, and the two seal their fates the second they try to change their journey. Sigmund Freud’s Oedipus complex is a feeling of sexual attracting of a child toward their parent; the fixation towards one’s father or mother can lead to choices of sexual partners or spouses that resemble the parent. The wives of Julian English and Dick Diver, Caroline and Nicole, marry their husbands because of their fatherly personas, and Caroline and Nicole’s own incestuous pasts shape and control their relationships with Julian and Dick. The superficiality of English and Diver and their inability to realize who they are lead to a need to contro... ... Is the Night." Modern Fiction Studies 4.2 (Summer 1958): 136-142. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Jennifer Smith. Vol. 19. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 Oct. 2013. Tate, Mary Jo. "John O'Hara and F. Scott Fitzgerald." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. "The Identity of the Fathers." Tender is the Night: The Broken Universe. Milton R. Stern. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994. 102-107. Twayne's Masterwork Studies 137. Twayne's Authors on GVRL. Web. 3 Oct. 2013. Tomkins, David. "Appointment in Samarra." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 21 Oct. 2013 "War and Grace: The Importance of Tender is the Night." Tender is the Night: The Broken Universe. Milton R. Stern. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994. 3-13. Twayne's Masterwork Studies 137. Twayne's Authors on GVRL. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Frankenstein is Not a Natural Philosopher Essay examples -- Shelley Fr

Smith’s article ‘Frankenstein and natural magic’ takes a literary approach to the analysis of ‘Frankenstein’ although this is supported by some background scientific knowledge. Through the article, Smith describes the impacts science has made on Frankenstein’s life . Smith plays close attention to Frankenstein’s childhood, where he discovered the ancient philosophers, and his Ingolstadt years. It is in these periods where Smith argues that Frankenstein is not a natural philosopher but a natural magician due to his affinity for the ancient natural sciences, the romantic genius he posses and by contrasting Frankenstein against traditional, enlightenment stereotypes of the natural philosophers within the text and the greater Socio-historical context. However, this is in contrast to the arguments of Sleigh, who by comparing Aldini to Frankenstein, attempts to rationalise his actions and draw parallels with the attitudes of the modern philos ophers. In Sleigh’s ‘Life, Death and Galvanism’ the analysis is significantly more scientific than Smith’s consequently this is done at the expense of true literary discussion and thus only brief passing references are made to Shelly’s ‘Frankenstein’ therefore the reader has to pry out comparisons between Frankenstein and Aldini. The article itself is the story of Aldini and his uses of Galvanism but it also draws on considerable philosophical ideas to analyse the thought process of Aldini. Like Smiths text, the article is chronological and details events from 1808 onwards. Her argument concedes that Aldini and Frankenstein may have had similar attitudes due to the nature of their work, their need for ‘Inspiration and their backgrounds. One could theorise that although Frankenstein shows to be mor... ...in. She argues that they have a similar attitude and their actions are only slightly dissimilar. Nonetheless, one can question the reliability of Aldini as a representative of natural philosophy because of Smith’s focal description of a natural philosopher, thus alerting us to Frankenstein’s incompatibility with the traits given to a natural philosopher. Thereby arguing that Frankenstein was no natural philosopher. Works Cited Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Joseph, M. K, Frankenstein; or The modern Prometheus. London, New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Sleigh, Charlotte. ‘Life, Death and Galvanism.’ Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and biomedical Sciences 29 (1998): 219-248 Smith, Crosbie. ‘Frankenstein and Natural Magic.’ In Frankesntein:Creation and Monstrosity, edited by Stephen Bann, 35-59. London: Reaktion, 1994. Frankenstein is Not a Natural Philosopher Essay examples -- Shelley Fr Smith’s article ‘Frankenstein and natural magic’ takes a literary approach to the analysis of ‘Frankenstein’ although this is supported by some background scientific knowledge. Through the article, Smith describes the impacts science has made on Frankenstein’s life . Smith plays close attention to Frankenstein’s childhood, where he discovered the ancient philosophers, and his Ingolstadt years. It is in these periods where Smith argues that Frankenstein is not a natural philosopher but a natural magician due to his affinity for the ancient natural sciences, the romantic genius he posses and by contrasting Frankenstein against traditional, enlightenment stereotypes of the natural philosophers within the text and the greater Socio-historical context. However, this is in contrast to the arguments of Sleigh, who by comparing Aldini to Frankenstein, attempts to rationalise his actions and draw parallels with the attitudes of the modern philos ophers. In Sleigh’s ‘Life, Death and Galvanism’ the analysis is significantly more scientific than Smith’s consequently this is done at the expense of true literary discussion and thus only brief passing references are made to Shelly’s ‘Frankenstein’ therefore the reader has to pry out comparisons between Frankenstein and Aldini. The article itself is the story of Aldini and his uses of Galvanism but it also draws on considerable philosophical ideas to analyse the thought process of Aldini. Like Smiths text, the article is chronological and details events from 1808 onwards. Her argument concedes that Aldini and Frankenstein may have had similar attitudes due to the nature of their work, their need for ‘Inspiration and their backgrounds. One could theorise that although Frankenstein shows to be mor... ...in. She argues that they have a similar attitude and their actions are only slightly dissimilar. Nonetheless, one can question the reliability of Aldini as a representative of natural philosophy because of Smith’s focal description of a natural philosopher, thus alerting us to Frankenstein’s incompatibility with the traits given to a natural philosopher. Thereby arguing that Frankenstein was no natural philosopher. Works Cited Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Joseph, M. K, Frankenstein; or The modern Prometheus. London, New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Sleigh, Charlotte. ‘Life, Death and Galvanism.’ Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and biomedical Sciences 29 (1998): 219-248 Smith, Crosbie. ‘Frankenstein and Natural Magic.’ In Frankesntein:Creation and Monstrosity, edited by Stephen Bann, 35-59. London: Reaktion, 1994.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Symbols and Symbolism in The Great Gatsby Essay -- Great Gatsby Essays

Symbolism in The Great Gatsby       Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby has more relevance in today’s society than it did when it was written. With the recent societal trend that emphasizes lack of morals and material wealth over a meaningful existence, Fitzgerald’s message really hits home. Which is more important - money or love? Social status or being true to oneself? Fitzgerald uses metaphor and symbols to great effect in order to illustrate what can happen when the pursuit of happiness becomes warped (by American ideals) into the pursuit of money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the major symbols in the novel is the color green. Green represents the hopes and dreams of people striving to accomplish the American dream of wealth and glory. Green is the color of money and is often used to purvey the concept of wealth, especially with reference to Gatsby. Whenever Gatsby's mansion is described there is always mention of the color green. His house is surrounded by "a large green lawn" or the "green ivy" which grows on his house. The interior of his car is described as "a sort of green leather conservatory" ... ...arning and take a second look to determine what is truly fulfilling in life. Works Cited Bewley, Marius. "Scott Fitzgerald's Criticism of America." In Modern Critical Interpretations: The Great Gatsby. edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1986. 11-27. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner Classic, 1986. McAdams, Tony. "The Great Gatsby: An Examination of Metaphor and Symbolism." In Readings on The Great Gatsby. edited by Katie de Koster. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press. 1998. 111-120.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Finance Case

CASESTUDY: Goodweek Tires, Inc. After extensive research and development, Goodweek Tires,Inc. , has recently developed a new tire, the SuperTread, and must decide whether to make the investment necessary to produce and market the SuperTread. The tire would be ideal for drivers doing a large amount of wet weather and off-road driving in addition to its normal freeway usage. The research and development costs so far total about $10 million. The SuperTread would be put on the market beginning this year and Goodweek expects it to stay on the market for a total of four years.Test marketing costing $5 mil-lion shows that there is a significant market for a SuperTread-type tire. As a financial analyst at Goodweek Tires, you are asked by your CFO, Mr. Adam Smith, to evaluate the SuperTread project and provide a recommendation on whether to go ahead with the investment. You are informed that all previous investments in the SuperTread are sunk costs and only future cash flows should be conside red . Except for the initial investment which will occur immediately; assume all cash flows will occur at year-end.Goodweek must initially invest $120 million in production equipment to make the SuperTread. The equipment is expected to have a seven-year useful life. This equipment can be sold for $51,428,571at the end of four years. Goodweek intends to sell the SuperTread to two distinct markets: 1. The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Market The OEM market consists primarily of the large automobile companies (e. g. , General Motors) who buy tires for new cars. In the OEM market, the SuperTread is expected to sell for $36 per tire. The variable cost to produce each tire is $18. 2.The Replacement Market The replacement market consists of all tires purchased after the auto-mobile has left the factory. This market allows higher margins and Goodweek expects to sell the SuperTread for $59 per tire there. Variable costs are the same as in the OEM market. Goodweek Tires intends to rai se prices at 1 percent above the inflation rate. Variable costs will also increase 1 percent above the inflation rate. In addition, the SuperTread project will incur $25 mil-lion in marketing and general administration costs the first year (this figure is expected to increase at the inflation rate in the subsequent years).Goodweek’s corporate tax rate is 40 percent. Annual inflation is expected to remain constant at 3. 25 percent. The company uses a 15. 9 percent discount rate to evaluate new product decisions. The tire market Automotive industry analysts expect automobile manufacturers to produce 2 million new cars this year and production to grow at 2. 5 percent per year thereafter. Each new car needs four tires (the spare tires are undersized and are in a different category). Goodweek Tires expects the SuperTread to capture 11 percent of the OEM market.Industry analysts estimate that the replacement tire market size will be 14 million tires this year and that it will grow at 2 percent annually. Goodweek expects the SuperTread to capture an 8 per-cent market share. You decide to use the MACRS depreciation schedule (seven-year property class). You also decide to consider net working capital (NWC) requirements in this scenario. The immediate initial working capital requirement is $11 million, and thereafter the net working capital requirements will be 15 percent of sales. What will be the NPV, payback period, discounted payback period, AAR, IRR, and PI on this project?

Sunday, September 15, 2019

“The Great Gatsby” chapter 8 Essay

In the beginning of the chapter, we are made aware of Nick’s discomfort and anxious attitude regarding Gatsby and what is to become of him, suggesting that he should get away for a week, but naturally, Gatsby refuses. He then goes onto describe the way that he and Daisy had first met and their relationship that had ensued, before Gatsby proposes he and Nick use the swimming pool for the first and last time that summer; Nick has work to attend, and so declines his offer to leave, but not before paying him the only compliment he gave to him. Towards the middle of the chapter, we are given an insight into George’s life just after Myrtle’s death, who realised he had nobody to go to and was desperate to know who had done such a thing to his wife, eventually coming to the conclusion that it must have been Jay Gatsby. We then meet the climax at the end of the chapter as Wilson not only murders Gatsby, while he waited for Daisy’s phone call, but also himself. Fitz gerald writes the chapter, as in the entire novel, through the persona of Nick, in a first-hand narrative. This aids in the telling of the entire story, in this chapter in particular, because Nick’s true devotion and loyalty to Gatsby as a friend, is evident in the respectful way and non-descript depiction of Gatsby’s death- â€Å"The chauffeur†¦ heard the shots†. In comparison to the description of Myrtle’s gruesome death in the previous chapter; â€Å"her left breast was swinging loose like a flap†; it can be argued that Nick’s self- conscious narrative may actually be quite biased, choosing to withhold information from the reader and, contradicting the way he claimed not to be judgemental in chapter 1, by deciding which characters deserve to be respected and free to die with their dignity intact, despite each of their individual mistakes. Despite Fitzgerald writing the chapter with aspects of tragedy, I do not believe the form of the chapter can be described as being so, but rather, as being tragic. For example, Gatsby’s hamartia is recognised completely in this chapter as his love and adoration of Daisy that hadn’t been returned, the way he takes the blame for Myrtle’s death without any sort of known gratitude, and his relentless trust and faith in her and the fact that he believes she is the key to his happiness and success in his life, eventually lead to his untimely demise while he still held onto the hope that she would return his feelings for her. This helps to tell the story because it is representative of society at the time, allowing  Fitzgerald to portray it as having provided a barrier between classes which could never be crossed, as Gatsby had attempted and was expecting of Daisy. An additional feature that makes the chapter tragic would be the catharsis experienced by the reader through Nick’s realisation of Gatsby’s mistakes; this is because the reader desperately hopes that Gatsby himself will somehow come to the same conclusions that seem so obvious to everybody else- â€Å"They’re a rotten crowd†¦ You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together† Throughout the chapter, Fitzgerald constantly makes connections between weather and the emotions within the novel, giving the impression that the setting of will somehow foreshadow and represent the outcomes later in the chapter. An example of this would be, â€Å"the night had made a sharp difference in the weather and there was an autumn flavour in the air†. This use of pathetic fallacy could be used to foreshadow the â€Å"sharp† pain that Gatsby, will later feel as he is shot; James Gatz represented by the â€Å"weather† in general as he had typically been a driving force in the events throughout the novel, having lots of influence over mood and behaviour. Autumn has many connotations, some of which could be the falling of leaves, which symbolises the decay of Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship, which has not yet become totally obvious to Gatsby at this point in the chapter. Meanwhile Gatsby stops his gardener from emptying the pool that he hadn’t yet used, In the same way that he is attached to the hope of making Daisy love him the way she used to, he insists on swimming in the pool as though it were still the summer that had just passed, seemingly overnight in contrast to the hottest day of the year in the last chapter, showing his incapability of forgetting the past, constantly trying to hold onto the memori es they shared and to relive their time together. Regardless of the fact that Gatsby’s past had been shared with us in chapter 6, in a relative time scale to the novel, Fitzgerald writes from Nick’s perspective, telling the reader that it is at this point in Gatsby’s life, that he had actually shared it with Nick. Nick describes the reasoning for this as being because â€Å"’Jay Gatsby’ had broken up like glass against Tom’s hard malice†. Irony is used in this to tell the story as, throughout the novel, Gatsby had been an enigma to all and now, suddenly he is seen as transparent and easy to see through. Also, the use of the word â€Å"glass† gives the impression that, as glass, though it may seem strong on the outside, is weak and easily shattered, the pieces of which can  never be put back together perfectly, Gatsby is finally portrayed as a human with real emotion, showing that he is easily broken, foreshadowing his murder at the end of the chapter. The author uses Doctor T.J Eckleburg’s eyes to represent the increasing meaninglessness of religion over time, particularly in the 1930s as, in the materialistic world between West Egg and East Egg nobody had turned to religion but instead, thrive off of materialism and wealth, and so Eckleburg portrays the eyes of God and his omniscient nature- â€Å"God sees everything†- which been left and forgotten by the wealthy, and fallen victim to the valley of ashes, yet still embodies a moral standard of which all are expected to follow, no matter their stature within society. As a result of this, the story is able to advance through the chapter as Wilson believes that by seeing the crime committed, God demands revenge and so, he leaves in search for the owner of the car who killed his wife.

Psychological Mindsets in the Black Cat, My Last Duchess

The reality of life is that at some point it will all come to an end. End, one referencing it to when one is pronounced dead. Since death is unavoidable, we must take into account death because it is the finalization of our lives spent on this earth as well as an account of the way we left this world. There are numerous ways that one can leave this world, some die peacefully while others may die by force.The following will reveal the psychological mindsets concerning death as depicted in Poe’s â€Å"The Black Cat†, Browning’s â€Å"My Last Duchess†, and Dickinson’s â€Å"Because I could not Stop for Death†, and the ramifications of perverseness, pride, and eternity In â€Å"The Black Cat,† Poe uses perverseness to explain the narrator’s pursuit to murder Pluto, the black cat, and eventually his wife. The narrator had once loved animals, but alcoholism contributed to his change of temperament and irritableness, which led to the a buse of his pets and his wife.His reasoning for gouging Pluto’s eyes out, and then murdering the animal was because it loved him as he rejected it. The narrator had a sense of self-loathing and self-hatred that made him want to continue doing wrong to Pluto, which we identify to be: This spirit of perverseness, I say, came to my final overthrow. It was this unfathomable longing of the soul to vex itself-to offer violence to its own nature- to do wrong for the wrong’ssake only- that urged me to continue finally to consummate the injury I had inflicted upon the unoffending brute (Poe 138).After the death of Pluto, another cat who resembles Pluto, but with an added splotch of white fur becomes the narrators’ new pet, which fills the void of the narrator’s loss of Pluto. The new cat begins to disgust the narrator: â€Å"By slow degrees these feelings of disgust and annoyance rose into the bitterness of hatred†¦I came to look upon it with unutterable loa thing, and to flee silently from its odious presence, as from the breath of a pestilence†(Poe 140). The narrator doesn’t inflict harm on the cat for a while because it reminds him of Pluto and his evil deed.Although, the narrator feels shame and guilt he is not remorseful of his actions due to his perverse spirit because really: â€Å"Evil thoughts became my sole inmates-the darkest and most evil thoughts. The moodiness of my usual temper increased to hatred of all things and all of mankind†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Poe 141). The narrator’s soul, which is full of madness and hatred, led him one day while his wife came with him to run some errands into the cellar, to attack the cat in rage. The cat had somehow made the narrator trip as he followed them into the cellar and this ignited fury from the narrator’s soul.His wife stopped his attempt to hit the cat with an axe and because of his wife’s actions, his madness shifted: â€Å"Goaded by the interference in to a rage more than demoniacal, I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain† (Poe 141). Poe uses the principle of perverseness in many of his other works as well as â€Å"The Black Cat† to portray: â€Å"To an ambiguous balancing of forces of attraction and repulsion (the seductive pull towards self destruction)† (Ketterer 28).This is the reason why the narrator’s perverse spirit caused him to murder with not much of a thought of remorse, but that he had committed a deadly sin, in which he found comfort in because what he was doing was leading him to his own self-destruction. Also, the narrator can be depicted as a victim to his mind, which led him to murder because when one reads Poe’s stories there tends to be an account where: â€Å"the imaging, then verbal expression create the fiend that overtakes the narrator’s reason†¦. ccording to the story’s analysis of the souls faculties, the human imagination crea tes a tangible, readily perceptible being† (Bieganowski 176-177). The narrator can be considered a victim, because the reader can sympathize that he is helpless and sick to the perverse spirit that becomes his nature. The narrator constantly in his mind goes through the continuous tugging between right and wrong and good and evil, till he finally wants it all to stop and in his mind, everything is distorted to do evil, in order to cease the tugging.In â€Å"My Last Duchess,† Browning uses the motive of pride to provide the Duke of Ferra’s reasoning for why he has his wife killed. In the beginning of the poem, the Duke of Ferra is addressing an ambassador, when he brings up a painting on the wall of his last Duchess. As his last Duchess is depicted, the Duke describes her as finding pleasure in the little things and not of the things he gave her. Furthermore she did not value his name nor admire him.By the start of the poem, the Duke of Ferra has shown his own ins ecurities about his last Duchess because he couldn’t control her and therefore the picture of her on the wall is now his dominance over her. As the duke talks of his Duchess, her actions in someway displeased him as she did a number of things wrong: â€Å"A heart-how shall I say? -too soon made glad, too easily impressed†¦somehow-I know not how-as if she ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name†(Browning 513). The Duke of Ferra is possessive, as well as arrogant and proud in nature.Due to his character and mania the Duke took everything his Duchess did as an offence because he wasn’t in control and so his pride led him to believe: Even had you skill in speech-which I have not-to make yourwill quite clear to such an one, and say you disgust me; hereyou miss, or there you exceed the mark-and if she let herself be lessoned so, nor plainly set her wits to yours, forsooth, and made excuse-even then would be some stooping; and I choose never to stoop (Brow ning 513).The Duke of Ferra justifies killing his wife before even mentioning that he has had her killed because in the Duke’s mind he see’s the Duchess’ smiles as incriminating. He thinks this because she didn’t just smile for him, but others as well, which is one of the jealousies that consumes him. The Duke’s jealous and possessive nature arouses his mania to be in complete control of a being, in this case his last Duchess. With all the Duke’s frustrations and concerns about his last Duchess off his chest and because of his own sense of pride for her to be what he wanted her to be: â€Å" I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together.There she stands as if alive† (Browning 513). The Duke refers to his last Duchess as standing there as if she was alive as a means to show his vain character. When the narrator looks at his last Duchess, he doesn’t just see in the painting the picture of her, but the painting is just another valued object, in which he is proud to possess. As pride is depicted for why the narrator went so far as to have his last Duchess murdered, the narrator’s actions can be self-evaluated to constitute the emotion of pride that overcame his judgment.With emotions there is more than the substantial basis to how one feels: â€Å"They are adaptive patterns of behavior arising from a person’s appraised relation to ongoing events†¦ beginning with appraisals of notable changes in an individual’s goals, motives, or concerns (Tangey and Fischer 65-66). From this explanation of emotions, the narrator adapted his sense of pride from his careful watch of his wife as more and more things that she did offended him. The narrator took into consideration every action his wife did from her smiles to her otal unawareness of the narrator’s notable name. Also from the explanation of emotions one can understand why the narrator didn’t simply just have his wife murd ered swiftly when he was displeased with her the first time. The narrator came to a gradual decision to have his wife murdered because of his emotions of pride and the sense of mania that grew from the displeasure of the ongoing events of his last Duchess, which lead him to believe what he couldn’t control, was a problem.Therefore, the narrator murders his wife due to the emotion of pride, which is defined: On the basis of a growing literature, we suggest that pride is generated by appraisals that one is responsible for a socially valued outcome or for being a socially valued person. Pride comprises action tendencies to present one’s worthy self or action to others such as a broad smile, beaming face, erect posture, celebratory gestures or comments, and comments that call attention to the self’s accomplishment. Internal reac-tions include increased heart rate and skin conductance as well as an erratic respiration.The subjective experience of pride involves an ex perience of one’s body or self as taller, stronger or bigger (Tangey and Fischer 66). In â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death,† Dickinson uses death to depict a seducing trip to eternity. From the first lines of the poem they predict the courteous and smooth passage from death to a place of eternity: â€Å" Because I could not stop for Death- He kindly stopped for me- the Carriage held but just ourselveles- And Immortality â€Å"(Dickinson 541). The Carriage driver is then depicted as being civil and courteous to the narrator.As the carriage driver is taking her closer and closer to death, the narrator passes childhood like memories till eventually they stop at her grave: â€Å"We passed the school, where Children strove at recess-in the Ring†¦we passed the Setting Sun- or rather-He passed Us†( Dickinson 541). Then the narrator describes what she is wearing, which is a gossamer, a tippet, and a tulle that shows she is under dressed because she begins to quiver and expresses the sudden chilliness. Then the carriage driver stops. One can imagine it’s a stop at the grave for we can conclude that the scenario is now darker and colder.The narrator uses the description of the house to depict the grave. The whole stop is the actual death of the narrator. The last stanza talks about the horse’s head that is pointed to eternity. This last part is in recognition that the narrator is guessing she’s headed towards eternity. We can infer that this whole experience for the narrator was a natural occurrence. We can also infer that since the carriage driver was courteous and civil, and created the whole attraction to death, that the narrator is going towards eternity.Furthermore since death for the narrator was a positive experience we can conclude that she will reach eternity. The occurrence of death in this story is linked to eternity. When one thinks of eternity it is a positive thought to what happens after our death. T herefore the whole experience of the carriage driver taking the narrator to her death had to symbolize the positive place that she would go next. This poem uses the seductive and attractive nature of the carriage driver to lure the narrator to her death, to the point where she doesn’t realize that she is dying because it came so naturally.The carriage driver is the male persona in this poem, because he creates a gentleman like approach to the narrator. To Dickinson death was an important part of many of her works. Emily Dickinson had an obsession for what happens after this life. This is one of the main inspirations for why most of Dickinson poems and stories revolve around death. This poem specifically â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death,† uses her ideology: â€Å" For Dickinson, thought does not stop just because death cannot or does not appear.Thus the thought-poem proceeds to â€Å"figure death out† in at least two ways, both of which rely on narrative ly precise imagery: one facing death†¦two the poet enacts through imagery the leap into the unknown of death† (Deppman 3). In â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death† Dickinson also uses: This category of personification carries two implications: first, that death becomes positive, becomes a thing or person and not an ab- sence or cessation, and second, that there is a relation of self to another beyond death (Death, the gentleman).All of the above maybe interpreted as strategies for a â€Å"creative† death-into-life approach (Nesteruk 28-29). Death was used in the stories of â€Å"The Black Cat,† â€Å"My Last Duchess,† and â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death†. The psychological mindset of death depicted in each story or poem explained why the narrator or the protagonist acted the way they did. In â€Å"The Black Cat,† Poe created a narrator whose perverse spirit led him to not only murder his cat, but his wife as well, in this mind debilitating circumstance where the narrator is leading a life towards self-destruction.In â€Å"My Last Duchess,† the Duke’s pride drove him to murder his last Duchess and possess her as a painting that he is proud to own. In â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death,† Dickinson uses a carriage drive to seduce the narrator towards her death, then eventually eternity. Works Cited Page * DiYanni, Robert. Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print. * Ketterer, David. Edgar Allan Poe Life,Work, and Criticism. Canada: York Press, 1989. Print. * Tangey, June P. , and Fischer, Kurt W. Self-Conscious Emotions:The Psychology of Shame, Guilt. Embarrassment, and Pride. New York: 1995.Print. * Bieganowski, Ronald. â€Å"The Self-Consuming Narrator In Poe's â€Å"Ligeia† And â€Å"Usher. † American Literature 60. 2 (1988): 175. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. * Nesteruk, Peter. â€Å"The Many Deaths of Emily Dickinson. † Emily Dickinson Journal 6. 1 (1997): 25-43. Project Muse. Spring 1997. Web. 28 Nov 2012. * Deppman, Jed. â€Å" Dickinson, Death, and the Sublime† Emily Dickinson Journal 9. 1 (2000):1-20. Print. * Schubert, Johan. â€Å" Between eternity and transience: On the significance of time in psycholoanalysis† 26 May. 2001. Web. 28 November. 2012 14 Research Paper English 1100C-7 Professor De Marco November 19, 2012