Baruch Spinozas Anti Anthroponcentric View Essay -- Philosophy Spinoz

At the point when Baruch Spinoza made his philosophical perfect work of art, the Morals, he realized that his thoughts (especially those of God) would be viewed as shocking in the extraordinary, prompting any number of terrible outcomes. This was the explanation that the Ethics were distributed in 1677, after death (p.97)1. His anxieties are well legitimized in the light of what he writes in the Appendix (p.145-149) to Part1: Concerning God (p.129-145) in regards to the partialities present in the brains of individuals. For, it is here that Spinoza straightforwardly challenges the common strict conventionality and tries to expel the very authoritative opinion that was the premise of their capacity. Spinoza attests in the Appendix (p.145) that there exist certain partialities in the psyches of individuals that keep them from understanding (and tolerating as obvious) the ends that he comes to after a completely sensible and for sure, geometrical procedure of thinking. The foundation of every one of these partialities, he further explains, is the practically all inclusive conviction that every Natural thing exist and act with some distinct objective being sought after. Further, he presents for examination the extremely solid humanoid attribution intrinsic in most human personalities that causes these individuals to have faith known to mankind having been made for the wellbeing of they. Finally comes the strict piece of this image, wherein humankind exists with the goal that it might venerate God, in this way shutting the hover of creation. Spinoza (normally, thinking about his way of thinking) dismisses this image and consequently endeavors in the Appendix to contend on the accompanying urgent focuses: 1) The explanation 1 Roger Ariew and Eric Watkins. Present day Philosophy: A treasury of essential sources. Indianapolis/Cambridge, 1998. Note: All references to Spinoza will be to this content except if otherw... ...e previous, Spinoza answers, â€Å"...the flawlessness of things ought to be estimated exclusively from their own temperament and power† and not regarding definitions in the creative mind. Besides, God had no choice in making the universe, (from Cor. 1 Pr. 32, p.142 as depicted already) and (from Pr.16, p.137) â€Å"from the need of the divine..(follows)..everything that can come surprisingly close to unbounded intellect†. Thusly, God must, of need, be the reason for everything, great and defective! 6 Taking everything into account, Spinoza gives a perfect contention that ought to promptly persuade the peruser of reality of his principle recommendation in the Appendix, for example that the significant explanation behind obstructions in the way of comprehension is the human-centric view of Nature that a great many people clutch, independent of the immensity of the inconsistencies innate in that see. 7

Affirmative Action :: essays research papers

Governmental policy regarding minorities in society Paper Q: What is a Definition of Affirmative Action: Governmental policy regarding minorities in society an arrangement to balance past segregation in utilizing or instructing ladies, blacks and so on. (Websters New World Dictionary.) The stage "affirmative action" was utilized in a racial segregation setting. Official Order No. 10,925 gave by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. The request showed that government temporary workers should make confirmed move to guarantee work candidates and representatives are dealt with "without respect to their race, belief, or national origin." An individual could characterize this announcement as a request to infer equivalent access and that's it. Q: What is the History of Affirmative Action? Governmental policy regarding minorities in society was executed with the thought and expectation that America would at long last become really equivalent. The strain of the 1960's social equality development had made it exceptionally clear, that the countries minority and female populace was not accepting equivalent and social monetary chance. The execution of governmental policy regarding minorities in society was America's first legitimate endeavor at taking care of a difficult it had recently decided to disregard. The historical backdrop of governmental policy regarding minorities in society has its underlying foundations in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and stems from the United States Supreme instance of Brown versus Leading group of Education of Topeka Kansas. In 1969, the division of Labor uncovered far reaching racial segregation of the Construction Department so President Nixon chose to consolidate an arrangement of "goals and timetables" that gave rules to organizations to follow and consent to governmental policy regarding minorities in society guidelines. Which carries us to today Q:What caused the claim. In the wake of applying to the University of Michigan Law School, Barbara was waitlisted then dismissed. Additionally, Jennifer and Patrick were waitlisted then dismissed by the University's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. In the wake of discovering that race assumed an enormous job in the University's affirmations approaches, each of the three understood that they would have been conceded had they been of a favored race †dark, Hispanic, or Native American. The three looked for legitimate portrayal to vindicate their entitlement to be liberated from racial segregation. Q: What wad the Plaintiff’s Point of View?      The three named offended parties and the class of dismissed candidates they speak to look for principally injunctive help to guarantee that future candidates will be decided as people regardless of race. It is out of line to be decided by the shade of your skin†¦ NO MATTER WHAT COLOR YOU ARE!!! WHITE IS A COLOR TOO       Q: What is the Defendants Point of View? . That the University ought to stay beyond reach to most of common laborers and most working class youth, however that it ought to be made â€Å"diverse† through the specific affirmation of a little level of minority understudies, who are given inclination over qualified white understudies.

Question of Human Rights

Question of Human Rights Human Rights Protection Nov 20, 2018 in Persuasive Essay Amnesty International Organization Famous German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz claimed that there is a large number of possible existent worlds, whereas people live in the best one among all others. However, everybody would agree that even this so-called best world demonstrates a lot of unideal cases of lie, betrayal, violence and awful crimes again humanity. That is why the question of human rights becomes an extremely topical issue to discuss. That is why various peace-making organizations direct their efforts to eliminate the number of human rights violations all over the world. That is why Amnesty International Organization is not just a random firm but a loud answer to the requirement of time. The section Who We Are on the official site of Amnesty International defines this organization as a global movement of more than 3 million supporters, members and activists in over 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. (Amnesty International) In 1961, Amnesty International arose on the international scene as an idea of a random British lawyer and became very influential organization that can truly change the decisions of local parliaments and courts in separate countries.

Social Class, Race, And Values - 1576 Words

Culture is a set of shared ideologies upheld by a community, and how those beliefs and values influence the way a community interacts with and adapts to the outside world. When explored further, culture can be broken down into subunits referred to as identity markers (e.g. social class, race, sexual orientation) that define an individual person’s character. Some markers are regarded as little more than simple facts, â€Å"he is in the middle class, she is black, he is gay.† While others are socially constructed, serving a greater purpose in the lives of those who they identify, forming a hierarchy of value (Harewood 2016 pg. 41). One can take great pride in their identity markers, utilizing them to drive their life in a direction deemed fitting†¦show more content†¦By incorporating religion into their musicals, the choral curriculum that Casey experienced followed the goals of LC by expressing creativity and immersion in the arts, while glorifying the Creator i n God-honoring productions. Veering away from elective classes, Casey was required to take two years of conformation classes. Twice a week for two months each year, Casey studied important Bible verses and memorized the books of the Bible, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles Creed. Looking back, she smiles and tells me â€Å"I remember each day of class would start with a song and our pastor would play the piano so passionately that it would shake under the energy and Godly force running through him.† Furthermore, in her core academic classes, religion continued to be incorporated into the curriculum. In Casey’s 8th grade science class, she was expected to explore and understand the evolutionary relationships among species and acknowledge the difference between prehistoric and modern life. Additionally, on top of leaning the material listed in the state standards, she was expected to know the creation story. Which lead our interview into the next content area, instr uction. Instruction took on a dual-format, teaching first what was expected by the state and then teaching what was believed in their faith. After teaching to the standardsShow MoreRelatedAdditionally, In His Book â€Å"Distinction,† Bourdieu Discusses1321 Words   |  6 Pagesdifferent class factions within social spaces, of the â€Å"sacred† sphere of culture that legitimates social order. Therefore, people undoubtedly know their place within society as well quickly identify other individuals who are within their class are other factions of society that are not parts of the upper class via their pretentious actions. (p. 6-7). According to Bourdieu, Class â€Å"is not defined by real property† but is determined by the structure of relations between values art, social graces andRead MoreCultural Concepts: Appiah’s Ideas and Mary Louise Pratts Analysis745 Words   |  3 Pagesone of the features of value is supposed to be based on the background of the culture th at is put on the spotlight with. The reason why a society appears different in one way or another as compared to another society is because the values differ and a difference in value will always yield to a difference in societal behaviors. This has however been influenced by the issues of globalization where interactions with other people from another society have shaped new societal values as well as influencingRead MoreSocial Stratification864 Words   |  4 PagesSOCIAL STRATIFICATION AND SOCIAL MOBILITY IN THE CARIBBEAN Presenter Ms. N. Lewis What is social Stratification? ï  ¬ This refers to the ranking of social groups according to one or more criteria deemed important to society. ï  ¬ The ranking indicates that some groups have more and others have less of what society values- for example, money, power and prestige. Types of stratification Systems There are two types of stratification systems: 1. Closed system of stratification 2. Open system of stratificationRead MoreEssay about Construction of the Self1194 Words   |  5 Pagescomponents such as gender, race, ethnicity, and social class, which shape and influence our values, beliefs, and impression of life. Understanding the difference between sex and gender allows one to grow into their own masculinity and femininity. Recognizing the history of one’s past in regard to their ethnic backgrounds and struggle will shape the development on one’s self. Having the luxury of money and power will affect the self and the way that one appreciates the value of the dollar or lack thereofRead MoreRace And Gender Play : A Woman At The Top Of Her Career Essay1350 Words   |  6 Pagessuburban dream. This paper will take a look into two different individual lives and how class, race and gender play a role in their position(s) in society. Interviewee (1) one is a man from Virginia, he has identified himself as a white male and acknowledge that he was in the working class system and once married moved into the middle class spectrum â€Å"in class systems, people may become members of a class other than that of their parents through both intergenerational and intragenerational mobilityRead MoreThe Theory Of Social Class1128 Words   |  5 Pagesfactor that affects identity is social class. The Marxism assumption is that socio-economic position is a fundamental element to shape identity. People are not individuals, but part of a class. The Marxist ideology is that of â€Å"false consciousness†, this meaning that some classes, the lower, working class, are not aware of the position they have to society. As a result, this is why they often work in jobs that are underpaid. Some Marxist theorists believe that class identity is procreated in cultureRead MoreUnderstanding Gender Identity and Sexuality1083 Words   |   5 Pagesargue that sex refers to biological essentialism and the idea that we are who we are because of our genetic material. On the other hand, gender is associated with the social constructionist theory, which argues that the way we are is dependent on our race, class, and sexuality. Because each person is different in their race, class, and sexuality, their gender becomes socially constructed. To argue that gender is not socially constructed would be to say that all people, for example, that are biologicallyRead MoreKarl Marx s View On Race And Ethnicity865 Words   |  4 PagesRace is rarely mentioned by the three early proponents of the field of sociology, Karl Marx, Emiele Durkheim and Max Weber. However, when it is cited, these sociologists voiced very diverse opinions on the matter of race and oppression. Marx regarded race as vestige of the pre-industrial era and thus, would be superseded by â€Å"reductionism† (Cite). Emiele Durkheim believed race, which he r eferred to as â€Å"ethnicity,† was a factor in connecting an individual to a subgroup of society, but played littleRead MoreEssay on Diary of a Victorian Dandy by Yinka Shonibare1512 Words   |  7 PagesBritish restrictions set in the Victorian Era by delving into the notions of race and social class. Specifically, by emphasizing the black dandy’s superiority over his white counterparts and introducing a harmonic interplay between lower and upper-tier social classes, Shonibare makes evident to public viewers that Victorian norms favouring upper-class society were not static and could have been transcended in both a racial and social context. Shonibare’s ironic inclusion of a blackRead MoreDà ©sirà ©es Baby Character Analysis1087 Words   |  5 PagesAcceptance of the Social Class, Gender, and Racial Value in Chopin’s Dà ©sirà ©e’s Baby Taking place in antebellum Louisiana, Kate Chopin’s Dà ©sirà ©e’s Baby places a strong focus on social class, gender, and racial value. Two characters that are limited by their acceptance of these are Dà ©sirà ©e and Armand, husband and wife with a newborn boy. Dà ©sirà ©e grew up at the Valmondà © residence where she was abandoned at a young age and Armand is a part of the elite planter class. Dà ©sirà ©e’s unknown ancestry along

Communication- Is It an Art or a Science Let Us...

CHAPTER MEANING, TYPES AND MODELS OF COMMUNICATION *Dr. AJAY KUMAR ATTRI Lecturer, Deptt. Of Education, MLSM College Sundernagar; Mandi (H.P) †¢ INTRODUCTION Over time, technology has progressed and has created new forms of and ideas about communication. The newer advances include media and communications psychology. Media psychology is an emerging field of study. These technological advances revolutionized the processes of communication. Researchers have divided how communication was transformed into three revolutionary stages: In the 1st Information Communication Revolution, the first written communication began, with pictographs. These writings were made on stone, which were too heavy to transfer. During this era, written†¦show more content†¦It marks the beginning of recorded history. Whereas the rise of book publishing and journalism facilitated the widespread dissemination of information, the invention of the telegraph, the radio, the telephone, and television made possible instantaneous communication over long distances. With the installation of the submarine cable and improvements in short-wave radio technology, international communication was greatly improved and expanded. In 1962 the first active communications satellite was launched; it provided the first live television broadcast between the United States, Europe, Japan, and South America. Today, satellite communications is used extensively for relaying television signals, telephone calls, and special teleconferencing calls that might in clude two-way video and graphics along with audio. The 20th-century development of mass media has played a major role in changing social, economic, political, and educational institutions. Telecommunication has been defined by international agreement as any emission, transmission, or reception of signs, signals, sounds, and writing. Recent advances in electronics have made mobile personal communications widely available and inexpensive, primarily through cellular telephony. Worldwide computer networks allow computer users to use modems to communicate rapidly and inexpensivelyShow MoreRelatedScience, Math, And Music Centers1634 Words   |  7 Pages The three content areas that I will be focusing on is science, math, and music centers. The science to children is finding out about different things about the everyday world that is around the children. Science is an active open-ended search for children for new knowledge. The major goal is to foster and support the intellectual de velopment that makes up a child’s preschool years. These developments include receptive and the child’s expressive language skills of the children, self-regulationRead MoreModes Of Inquiry And Social Media1076 Words   |  5 Pagesshaped and dictated our lives, and if for the worse or for the better. Luckily, we have many different ways of inquiring similar questions. The Arts Sciences Department at the University of Louisville gives us 3 distinctive divisions: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Humanities. These divisions are home to all of the different majors and thereby help us look at issues from multiple angles. Specifically, we can answer questions about social media by glancing through the lenses of Biology, GeographyRead MoreA Change Management Model For Xyz Corporations Satellite Television Customer Service Division1208 Words   |  5 Pagesabout the needed change. (The budget for the implementation is already in place and Appendix A Summarizes the 3-P art roll-out) Background It is important for the organization to understand that â€Å"change is a word that generates uneasiness in most of us. But most would agree that we can think of a time we had a good change in our lives† (Lotich, 2014). This is the message that needs to be relayed to employees is that as customer service is streamlined customer satisfaction will increase therebyRead MoreLanguage Arts Development Essay1695 Words   |  7 PagesEAT 1 Literacy and Elementary Reading REAT Task 1 Melissa Williams June 7, 2012 Language Arts development encompasses many different aspects of learning. There are many theories that suggest the different ways that children learn, but in the end there are six key concepts that each child must master in order to be fully proficient. These are reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and visually representing. These concepts build upon each other and work togetherRead MoreColor symmetry Essay884 Words   |  4 Pagescolor Mark can see the best. Do not believe it? Not highly scientific, right? That may not be the case for Facebook. In our daily life, colors actually affect our purchasing decisions. After all, sight is the strongest developed sense in most human beings. How do colors really affect us, and what is the science of colors in marketing? I am taking the principle of marketing class now, as we strive to make improvements to our product Earthgrains, studying this phenomenon is key. Let us dig into someRead MoreOptical Camouflage Technology1731 Words   |  7 PagesTHANDRA PAPARAYA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Department Of Electronics And Communications (ECE) Subject An Advanced Seminar on†¦ Optical Camouflage Author 1 Munakala .Nagaraju Mail id: tpistece403@gmail.com Contact Number: 7799224496 9966557668 Contact Address Thandra Paparaya Institute Of Science amp; Technology, Komatapalli, Vizianagaram Dist. ABSTRACT: Imagination is impetus to Read MoreWhat Are Public Health?1628 Words   |  7 Pagespromotes wellness by encouraging healthy behaviors. Public health also works to track disease outbreaks, prevent injuries and shed light on why some of us are more likely to suffer from poor health than others. The many facets of public health include speaking out for laws that promote health, spreading the word about ways to stay healthy, and giving science-based solutions to problems. Professionals in the public health field are committed to making health care accessible to all sectors of society andRead MorePoetry Is A Type Of Communication Essay1470 Words   |  6 PagesPoetry can help us to be aware of the changes that are otherwise not noticed, changes in our world. Poetry is something that we create. Poetry is stemmed from the roots of one’s life stories and experiences. Poetry is an outlet of human expression, allowing us all to share the untold stories of the journey’s that we travel. Poetry has no rules, therefore it can have endless results and can allow the poet to be completely vulnerable while fully clothe d. If you took the art from poetry, it would simplyRead MoreA Scientifically Literate Population Is The Essential Cornerstone Of An Innovative Culture1318 Words   |  6 Pagesarises from the fact that it is difficult for the public to trust â€Å"science†, simply because it is difficult for the public to truly understand or care about it. This poses an interesting question: How do we bridge the gap between what is percieved as â€Å"inaccesible scientific jargon† and public understanding and acceptance? The answer is clear: we must promote scientific literacy by increasing the quality of scientific communication. We must share what scientists and innovators have accomplished--afterRead MoreOleanna by David Mamet926 Words   |  4 Pagesmeans â€Å"What is, â€Å"something-other-than-useful.† The elaborate speech given by john highlights his pompous, self-centered character. We see that John uses his superior grasp of the English vernacular to intimidate Carol. His difficult and long speech confuses Carol making her feel stupid and less of a person. One example is when he attempts to explain â€Å"term-of-art† â€Å"it seems to mean term which gas through its use, to mean something to some†. Here John clearly passes his own opinion to Carol, He makes

Describe and Evaluate Lifespan Changes in Sleep Free Essays

Describe and Evaluate Lifespan changes in Sleep As humans grow from infancy to old age there are major changes in the amount and kind of sleep experienced. Babies sleep a lot more than children and adults also have different sleep patterns and different stages of sleep. They tend to sleep about 16 hours a day. We will write a custom essay sample on Describe and Evaluate Lifespan Changes in Sleep or any similar topic only for you Order Now But their sleep is not continuous. By the age of six months a circadian rhythm has become established (one main sleep wake cycle). By the age of give, children have EEG patterns like those of adults but they are still sleeping more and having more REM activity. During childhood, it is not uncommon for children to experience a variety of sleep disorders such as sleep walking and night terrors. During childhood, the need for sleep decrease, but in adolescence, it increases, to about nine of ten hours a night. Circadian rhythms also change so that teenagers feel naturally awake later at night and have more difficulty getting up early (a phase delay). Adult sleep is typically about eight hours a night, with 25% REM sleep. Childhood parasomsineas are rarer in adulthood but there is an increasing frequency of other sleep disorders, such as insomnia and apnoea. With increased age, the pattern of sleep changes; REM sleep decreases to about 20% of total sleep time. Older people also experience a phase advance of circadian rhythms – feeling sleepier early in the evening and waking up earlier. This approach to psychology is called the developmental approach and is important in highlighting the changes across a person’s lifespan. One suggestion as to why babies’ sleep patterns are so different from those of adults is that their sleep is an adaptive mechanism to make their parents life easier – daytime sleep means that parents can get on with their chores which enhances survival. Infants’ greater amount of active/REM sleep may be explained in terms of the relative immaturity of the brain, and is related to the considerable amount of learning taking place. The change of sleep patterns in adolescence may be linked to changes in hormone production at this age. These hormones are primarily released at night and therefore sleep patterns are disturbed leading to sleep deprivation. Hormone changes can also explain the upset to the circadian clock, which has been described as a delayed sleep phase syndrome by Crowley et al. ome researchers go as far as saying that schools should begin later to accommodate the poor attention span of adolescents in the early morning (Wolfson and Carskadon). In adults, the common perception is that a good night’s sleep is related to good health. To test this, Kripke et al surveyed over a million adults and found that there in an increased mortality risk associated with too much sleep. However, this was a correlational theo ry, and therefore does not account for extraneous variables. This means that a casual relationship cannot be established. It could be the sae that underlying illness may lead to increased sleep needs and to increased mortality. Reduced sleep in old age is partly a consequence of physiological changes, but may also be explained in terms of actual problems staying asleep, such as sleep apnoea or medical illnesses. The resulting sleep deficit in old age might explain why older people experience impaired functions, for example, of their alertness. Various treatments can be used to increase sleep at night, including relaxation techniques and melatonin to increase sleepiness. The research in this area shows that sleep patterns vary considerably with age, but these patterns are also influenced by cultural values as well as lifestyle habits (such as consumption of a alcohol, amount of exercise and so on). Tynjala et al found that sleep may also reflect cultural differences/ moreover in Korea, the mean sleep time was about 6. 5 hours (Shin et al) and the mean sleep time in Iran was 7. 5 hours (Glanizadeh et al), both supporting the view that sleep duration is shorter in Asia then Europe. How to cite Describe and Evaluate Lifespan Changes in Sleep, Papers

Cathedral Shiloh free essay sample

Cathedral Shiloh Analysing friction stories can lead to many conclusion by how the reader is taking thoughts from it. In this class, we have read many stories that have focused on many thoughts. We had stories that were focused on womens thinking, their speech and how they deal with their beloved ones. We also had stories giving details on wars, love, religion, and one of the most common topic gender. The two stories being discussed in here are Shiloh by Mason and Cathedral by Carver. These two stories have few things in common that can be described in a way that an tell us how the two men suffered throughout their lives on different aspects of their lives; of their personality. Cathedral and Shiloh are narrative stories told by two husbands who have totally different ways of living life and whose lives are figureatively at a different peek of their lives. We will write a custom essay sample on Cathedral Shiloh or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However, coming out of two different stories these two mens situation is alot similar. They both have a turning point in their lives, where these two men start thinking differently and they have major change in their personality. Another aspect of their life is marriage and their insecurity towards their wives. Throughtout this paper it will be more clear of how they are similar and different. According to the husband in Cathedral, we can make assumtions that he was very insecure with the blind man. On the basis, of how detailed he went on talking about the blind man and his wifes relationship throughtout years it tells us that he is little confused about his wife and Roberts relationship. For example, the husband is describing the time when she was working for the blind man: She read stuff to him, case studies, reports, that sort of things. She helped im organize his little office in the country social service department. Theyd become good friends, .. .. On her last day in the office, the blind man asked if he could touch her face.

Analyze the goals Essays

Analyze the goals Essays Analyze the goals Essay Analyze the goals Essay Analyze the goals and objectives using the mission statement as the basis.The Mission statement of Microsoft is as given below:â€Å"At Microsoft, we work to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential. This is our mission. Everything we do reflects this mission and the values that make it possible†The above statement tells about the intent of the company. For fulfilling the above mission, Microsoft needs to do specific tasks which are specific and also can be measure. These are known as goals.   Finally to achieve these goals, the company should use certain tactics which are classified as objectives.Looking at the above mission statement it can be said that one of the goals of Microsoft is to be a well-known global player, who would like to help people and businesses from all walks of life. In addition, the company wishes to make people attain their own goals by making them utilize their full potential. To attain this goal Microsoft set its objectives towards more effective worldwide sales and distribution network. In addition to this, the marketing strategy of the company should be designed such that people living anywhere in the world are aware of the company and its products and services. The entire system should be backed by an excellent customer support service which can take real-time feedback of these people.There are some common values that company that wishes to help people throughout the globe, should possess. Some of them are maintaining quality in products, transparency in processes, promptness and efficiency of customer service and concern over environmental issues arising directly or indirectly due to the products and services.Critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses, taking into consideration all the environmental factorsStrengthsa.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Due to the developmental activities taking place in many developing an d third world countries, the company has a very good chance of developing newer markets. Combined with the excellent brand image the company has, this is one of the biggest opportunity and asset for the company at this stageb.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The presence of Microsoft in multiple countries has given it a very wide exposure and capability to deal with people belonging to various cultures. This could be extremely useful while the company expands to a newer market or newer countryc.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The market of mobile and handheld devices is booming. With some strategic alliances which Microsoft could gain a string foothold in this field. The company’s dominant international presence in the PC market can be a big asset in forging such an alliance.d.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even while the handheld device market is on a rise, the desktop systems market is still very strong. The tried and tested software development process ensures rapid development and updates of the existing products. The experience of the company in this market also proves beneficial at the time of product innovatione.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Users rely on buying software from a company that is well-known and provides excellent customer support. Microsoft scores well on these issues thereby getting customer loyalty and this increasing revenuesf.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The superior technical image of the company attracts highly-skilled professional who increase the quality of labor force and in turn help in developing superior quality productsg.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The company’s strategy for expansion is very aggressive which makes it a very formidable competitor. Microsoft is also well known for its large number of acquisitions which help it in expanding the product portfolio and also control the competition.(Hafner, Hibbert p. 1, 3)Weaknessesa.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While the company enjoys top position in almost every area of software products, its biggest threat is the open-source software. The quality of these software considered by many, to be much better than Microsoft’s products which is not a very good signb.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The company’s products of late have been focusing on merely software upgrades. The few new software packages that have been released in the market like Microsoft Visio has garnered pretty lukewarm responses.c.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While the employees of the company are well-paid and are of a superior quality, the massive number of updates and installation deadline have le d to high attrition rated.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many users feel that the products have a single focus and do not usually work well when installed / combined with other products.e.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While the company enjoys very good image in the market, the reputation has been often threatened due to its entanglement in antitrust and permatemps Vizcaino litigation. The reputation has been further threatened by the fact that the company is very cut-throat in competition and plays very dirty towards its competitors by stifling their growth in all possible kinds of waysf.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The repeated forays of the company in the wireless market have proved to be pretty disappointingg.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The massive structure of the company which is essentially decentralized in na ture has led to the company having major problems with employee management.h.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Software piracy of commercial and consumer applications software on a global scale threatens revenue streams(Hafner, Hibbert p. 2, 4)Recommend a strategic model for the organization. Justify the choice of the model. Discuss a global strategy for this organizationStrategic modeling for an organization must be done taking care of the mission, goals and objectives of the company. The organizational structure of the company defines what present focus of the company is and paves its way towards achieving long terms strategic goals. The modeling means grouping of the organization into various clusters and their modes of interaction with each other. In addition an organization has to develop an information system to meet the inter- and intra- organizational demand for information processing (Burton, Obel p. 10)The present organizational structure of Microsoft is a decentralized organization which is falling into professional bureaucracy and red tape. To make the organization effective, the structure should be matrix like with a functional base. While there is no need for centralizing the company, a little less formalization would be very beneficial for the internal environment. Being a very big organization automatically means that the company structure is complicated enough. Hence, efforts should be made for more effective communication by cutting of channels (Burton, Obel p. 290-293)Microsoft needs to continue its strategy of building strategic partners across the globe. Increasing the size of its own company should be taken one step at a time, so as to give the management as well as its employees to adjust to the various necessary changes. Forging alliances would make sure that the company stays within the competition and not much of the company structure is disturbed, which is seen to be a very common activity in the co mpany (Menzefricke p. 5). The strategic alliances should be with companies in the newer countries who could act as distribution centers. The company should also start actively foraying in the mobile and handheld device market by actively forging alliances. The focus here should be on product innovation for bringing out quality products, instead of just consolidating the market. This would enable the company in getting quality products which can then be aggressively marketed.Identify the key performance indicators to measure the performanceKey Performance Indicators are used for measuring the performance of each of the defined objectives. Using this, a process can be analyzed based on cause and effect, which can be used to implement strategies having built-in metrics to track and measure the performance.Based on the goals and objectives of Microsoft, its KPIs can be figured out. As the company wishes to grow throughout the world one of the KPI could be market growth. This can be furt her detailed by taking the market growth for each country group or each country. The rate of increase in the market share is yet another KPI, as are the sales or revenue growth rates. Hence, the company should take the sales target combined with the market share and make an analysis of the newer markets entered in a fiscal year to measure its true performance rating. As improving the quality of customer support is also an objective, one of the KPIs could be also be higher rate of customer satisfaction achieved in a given period. This can also be further divided into the percentage of returning customers, response time taken on an average, customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction indices etc. (Woods, Joyce p. 99)Establish the information requirements and hence strategic information systems to give a competitive edge to the companyThe world of business has always been ruled by information. With the advent of digital techniques the technology has advanced at a very fast rate. This as e ffected the way in which information is passed between various channels in business. IT based information systems have become the order of the day. The integration of business with IT ensures many advantages for the company adopting the digital mode of communication (Dobrev p. 7, 9). The major impact is on the enhancement of products, its life cycle, reduction in management levels and ultimately reduction the cost. The company can effectively manage its internal environment and concentrate its external environment. As a company expands the business goals of the managers change. This brings about an increase in the complexity of tasks performed by the managers leading from a structured world to an adhoc unstructured one. Integrating IT with businesses helps in simplifying the process, hence providing for a more effective working environment (Galliers, Leidner p.1, 2)IT inherently depends on systems. While working with IT companies should not only focus on its competitors but should a lso take into consideration its various present and potential collaborators which whom a strategic alliance or partnership could be forged. A classic example is the alliance between Intel and Microsoft which gave both of them a massive increase in sales and revenues along with the lion’s share of the market (Shapiros, Varian p.10). As can be seen this gives a much needed competitive edge to the company intending to employ Strategic Information Systems within the organization.Discuss the ethical and social issues associated with usage of IS/IT in the organization.The emergence of IS/IT systems have brought about newer ways of passage of information and also newer rules to ensure that the information that is passed is authorized and correct. The major problem seen with the software industry is the piracy of the software packages. While many efforts are made to curb this yet the problem seems to lie wit users who do not think that it is a crime to use software without proper aut horizations.The other issue is social in nature. There is a complete profile available of most of the people in the developed people available on the internet. The security when breached causes a breach in the personal data which was heretofore known only to select few. Many people are not comfortable with this scenario and the growing number of internet crimes does not help the situation either.Microsoft faces both the types of issues within its organization. To tackle these issues an attempt should be made to create awareness among people about the nature of their faults related to the software field.Suggest how customer relations could be improved with the usage of strategic systemsCustomer relation is an important aspect for any business organization. In case of smaller business units, the relations are closer knit and personal. The customer-relation process is hence closely monitored and any mistakes are easily found and rectifies. Larger organizations have trouble in maintaini ng customer relations at the same level as the smaller businesses, and this problem increases proportional to the size of the project (Knox p. 9). For global organizations like Microsoft with a dominating presence in almost every country that uses computers and software, the problem is even more acute. Any system used for this purpose in addition to providing inputs for increasing customer satisfaction must also have the additional features of being integrated with the entire system and also have economy of scale.For maintaining the huge database of customers, 100 million of which are in US alone, Microsoft relies on high-end software tools and technology to manage the customer relations across the globe. With sophisticated tools like MS SQL Server 2000, the company can process up to 2 million customer records per day. For getting a comprehensive view of its vast client network Microsoft has designed and deployed data warehouse (Microsoft p. 2-3). This system is used to improve cust omer satisfaction and increase the customer loyalty. The tools can be used to keep in touch with each customer helping the company serve them better. The tool also helps all the units of the company serve their customers in a similar way. This is helpful as the company has a highly decentralized structure with as many as 60 subsidiaries with different niche databases and sizes. Also each customer can be a part of multiple databases, which helps in having a complete profile of the individual customer, helping the company to cater to each specific customer. Finally having a common tool also standardizes the entire system throughout the entire organization (Microsoft p. 6-14).

The Road to Success - Optometry essays

The Road to Success - Optometry essays Many people go throughout high-school and even some of college not knowing exactly what career they would like to work in. Knowing this is critical in choosing your classes and getting organized for your future. You should choose a career that you are interested in; something that you will be doing for the rest of your life every-day. It shouldnt be a career that your parents want you to do, or your decision only based upon how much yearly earnings you would make. Ive chosen the career of optometry. I am very interested in the medical field and I love working with and helping people. This career path is not a very easy one, but I believe if I put my mind to it I can achieve my dream. The duties of being an optometrist, the education and training needed, the skills and personality traits needed, and the salary and benefits all interest me very much encouraging me to proceed with my dream. An Optometrist, also known as an OD, examines, diagnoses, and treats and manages diseases and disorders of the eyes. Along with the treatment of the eyes, they also prescribe glasses and contact lenses, rehabilitating the visually impaired, and diagnosing and treating ocular diseases. Day to day, this work can vary and challenging. Performing routine visual exams, removing a foreign body from the cornea, evaluating a child who is not performing well in school, managing the care of the contact lens patients, prescribing medicating fro glaucoma, providing follow-up care after refractive surgery, and fitting a legally blind patient with a magnifying device that will enable the person to read. As known, all optometrists provide general eye and vision care; however, some optometrists work in a general practice, and other optometrists work in a more specialized practice such as contact lenses, geriatrics, low vision services, occupational vision, pediatrics, or sports vision or visio n therapy. Others in this field may choose to ent...

Leadership Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Leadership Studies - Essay Example From this discussion it is clear that to identifying what a leader’s objective is defines the leader’s aim. It is basically an inward attempt to sort out direction, velocity and purpose. Structuring follows defining wherein the leader outlines and charts that project or idea enabling him to know how to present, enact and complete the project. Structuring sends a message to the employees that the leader or management can be trusted because the leader has the ability to explain clearly the course which have been chosen to take. This study highlights that the leader must recruit people, making commitments, side-deals, complimenting, remonstrating and sometimes bargaining – to get things done. Therefore, it is imperative for the leader to be knowledgeable enough to be able to arrive to a sound decision. Leadership is the compass of living. No subject has been more explored in our day than leadership. Management luminaries and other thinkers are constantly addressing the issue. Many studies of leadership have already been done which resulted to the different approaches in its study. Leaders are made, not born. Leadership develops daily, not in a day. It is not like investing in the stock market in the hope of making a fortune. Studies and research have proven to be valuable tools in keeping an organization at par with the others, if not succeed. Learning one’s own strength and weakness and compare it with other similar organization can help gauge its standing and growth in a particular field. Th e study of leadership can be done in different ways. It can be through academic studies, qualitative studies, comparative studies and many more.

International Law , A treaty is basically an agreement between parties Assignment

International Law , A treaty is basically an agreement between parties on the international scene. Although treaties may be co - Assignment Example Sources of international law are referred as materials as well as procedures by which a state tends to impose certain guidelines and rules in order to regulate the international trade community. Moreover, international law is also characterised as a kind of obligation which exists between two or more states. It comprises international institutions which play major roles administrating the issues regarding legal matters in terms of global telecommunication, human rights and ‘the law of the sea’. It is a decentralized form of law which is developed by the states generally in the form of global conferences, treaties and usual international law enactments1. Based on this context, the study concentrates on the nature and operation of the treaties as a valid source of international law. Literature Review It is in this context that various studies have been conducted with the sole intention to understand the implications of international law in relation to the treaties signed b y two or more states. ... trines regarding the sources of international law studied by various scholarly writers concentrating on the conditions under which treaties and basic guidelines of the law acted as a hierarchy. As stated by Kennedy (1987), the ‘International Court of Justice (ICJ)’ whose operation is determined according to the international law, court is bound to be applied under the four sources i.e., ‘global conference’, ‘international custom’, ‘general guidelines of the law’ and ‘judicial decisions’. Notably, all these four sources have been mentioned in Article 38(1) of the Statue of the ICJ. Moreover this article also states that as per the enumeration of these sources, ICJ should be scrutinized in order to find the necessary legal concerns to resolve the cases of the states involved through treaties2. According to D’Amato (1962), treaties are often enacted as a source of ‘General Rules of the International Lawâ€℠¢. It is in this context that the example of the ‘Nottebohm Case’ which took place in the year 1955 is regarded as a significant illustration of ICJ’s judgements regarding treaties. Undoubtedly, this case has been considered as an isolated instance regarding the utilization of the treaties. It was fundamentally owing to the reason that this case was related with the report regarding the international tribunals where one party(s) supports the argument of the treaty while the other party(s) perceives a contradictory view concerning similar aspects. In addition, D’Amato (1962) affirms that customary international laws only recover the small section of the global functioning norms and frequently concentrate upon the interference of rules and regulations of the treaty within the field of customary practices. In modern times certain areas of

Factors Which Led To The Origins Of Agriculture History Essay

Factors Which Led To The Origins Of Agriculture History Essay The transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to that of an agriculturist, is considered by some, to have been inevitable as part of the natural evolutionary progression and development of man (Rindos 1986: 6). It is in our nature as humans to be progressive and, as such, we automatically follow a sequence of pre-ordained (Harris 1986: 12) and invariable steps in order to achieve higher levels of social development (Westropp 1872, cited by Barker 2006: 8). A lack of knowledge was the only factor that prevented the transition from hunting and gathering to farming; before the Holocene, man had simply not reached the cognitive nor cultural level required to formulate the concept of agricultural subsistence (Richerson et al. 2001: 394). Bender agrees, noting that the mental capacity and physical dexterity of the humans that were responsible for the origins of agriculture, in contrast to hunter-gatherers of 4million years ago, were significantly more advanced, which in turn enabled the development of more complex societies (Bender 1978: 209). This suggests that the accumulation of knowledge regarding their local environment and resources, led eventually to experimentation and ultimately domestication. At the Cave of Diaotonghuan in the Jiangxi province of China, there is a gradual growth in the number of rice phytoliths of domestic form in relation to those of wild form (Higham 2005: 242). This indicates a gradual assimilation of domesticates into their subsistence base following the acquisition of appropriate knowledge in regards to domestication of their local resources; this eventually led to total reliance on intensive agriculture. Similarly, at Abu Hureyra in Northern Syria, the percentage of gazelle bones decreases over the sites period of occupation, whereas the number of bones belonging to domesticates gradually increases, eventually becoming the dominant component in the villagers subsistence base (Watkins 2005: 214). This was not a rapid, single event, b ut a more gradual process in which the villagers steadily became more dependent on domesticates. These examples demonstrate how knowledge was the limiting factor and how the gradual accumulation of knowledge (Zvekebil 1986: 9) and the resulting familiarity with potential domesticates resulted in their manipulation (Braidwood 1960, cited by Cohen 1977: 8), and, ultimately, domestication. The varying rates at which different cultures adopted agriculture can also be explained by this model; it took different societies different amounts of time to acquire the required level of knowledge and familiarity with their local resources (Braidwood 1960, cited by Richerson et al. 2001: 399); until this was achieved, progression to domestication could not occur. It is a common assumption that the lifestyle that is concurrent with agricultural production is significantly superior to that associated with Hunter-Gatherer communities. It has been suggested by some that if the adequate level of knowledge and cultural readiness had been achieved in favourable ecological circumstances, then the advantages of agriculture would have appeared so discernable as to make the transition to a domestic mode of production axiomatic (Zvelebil: 1986(b): 8). It is wrong to make this assumption, however, as it is not inevitable that agriculture will bring with it an easier and more reliable lifestyle; indeed, it has been adduced that the emergence of agriculture bought with it a number of disadvantages. These include chronic malnutrition the consequence of an instable subsistence base and resultant famine increased labour input and reduced leisure time. Furthermore, the appearance of widespread stress does not occur until reliance upon intensive agriculture is well established (Rindos 1986: 38). The Kung!-San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert provide an interesting illustration of a modern hunter-gatherer group that has no need or desire to transfer to an agrarian way of life. Their subsistence base consists of varying wild materials, including both preferential and contingency resources; they operate on a schedule of strategic seasonal movements in order to exploit particular resources at specific times and locations throughout the year (Lee 1968, cited by Barker 2006: 29). Various mechanisms, including infanticide, allow population levels to be kept low and well within the capacity of the available food supply (Lee 1968, cited by Scarre 2005: 186) as well as enabling them to maintain their ubiquitous lifestyle. The Kung!-San do not suffer from any Puritan Ethos (Bender 1978: 206), and therefore the number of hours per day spent collecting food is kept to a minimum, relinquishing the majority of their time for leisure purposes. It can be s een, therefore, that the hunter-gatherer lifestyle can provide a reliable and varied subsistence base, as well as a more relaxed style of living; the incentives for transition to an agricultural lifestyle are not obvious. Because of this, it is possible that hunter-gather communities did not willingly accept to abandon their lifestyle of choice, but were instead forced by some external factor. Stark identified such factors as Push Models people were coerced into farming by some common factor or stress (Stark 1986, cited by Barker 2006: 36). Bellwood agrees, stating that there are no compelling reasons why hunter-gathers would have adopted agriculture, unless pushed (Bellwood 2005: 41). The origins of agriculture are often attributed to climatic variation, a significant push factor in the process of achieving intensified domestication (Moore 1986: 626). The study of ice cores, deep sea cores, and pollen profiles has revealed that the Post-Glacial period was characterised by a cold, dry and extremely variable climate. The transition into the Holocene, however, saw a shift to a more stable climate, with warmer and wetter conditions (Bellwood 2005: 20). It is this important climatic transition that is thought to have enabled the conversion to agriculture and is the foundation of a number of important hypotheses regarding agrarian development. An example of such is Childes Oasis Theory; he promotes that the melting of the European ice sheets at the end of the last glaciation would have forced rain bearing depressions north, promoting desiccation in the Near East. This in turn would have forced animals and humans into closer proximities around the ever decreasing number of water side locations. This allowed humans to develop a greater understanding of their local resources, and further to this, enabled them to realise the benefits of establishing a symbiotic relationship with the local fauna, as opposed to exploiting them using hunting strategies (Childe 1936 cited by Scarre 2005: 188); the advantages of this would simply have become obvious to them given the stress they were under from post glacial desiccation (Barker 2006: 14). An example of how desiccation can affects the subsistence base of a society can be found at Abu Hureyra. During the Pleistocene the villagers were dependent on a wide range of resources; they hunted wild cattle, sheep and gazelle, but also gathered a number of different plant species. With the onset of the Younger Dryas, the colder and more arid climate made gathering more difficult. The people of Abu Hureyra instead turned to intensive cultivation of rye, a robust cereal that could withstand the more difficult conditions (Watkins 2005: 214). Although this supports Childes idea that it was desiccation that caused the transition to agriculture, his theory in general is flawed and cannot be universally applied. Pollen analysis in the Near East confirms that the Early Holocene was indeed characterised climatically by a warmer, wetter regime and not by desiccation. The climatic transition in this region progressed from dry to moist, rather than the reverse, which devalues the foundation of Childes hypothesis (Wright 1977 cited by Rindos 1984: 15) due to the unsatisfactory environmental data which is the basis of his claims. The emergence of domesticated rye at Abu Hureya between 10800-9600BC, or during the Younger Dryas, is very early in contrast to other sites. For the most part, agriculture in the Near East was not adopted under desiccated conditions, but in the warmer and wetter conditions of the Holocene. The recovery and study of rice phytoliths at the Cave of Diaotonghuan in the Jiangxi province of China has revealed a correlation between climate change and the development of the domesticate. Within Zone G, which correlates to a period of more favourable climate, there is relatively high number of rice phytoliths. This number severely depreciates within Zone F, however, which is reflective of the colder and more arid climate of the Younger Dryas. The quantity of phytoliths once again increases significantly within Zones D and E due to a longer period of warmth between 8000-6000BC; the phytoliths here are evenly split between wild and cultivated forms. By Zone C, the phytoliths are entirely cultivated in form, and remain abundant, due to the continuing warm climate. This sequence reveals a correlation between fluctuations in climate and the quantity of rice phytoliths present. During colder periods, the amount of phytoliths decreases, whereas, they increase with more favourable climates. Ever increasing quantities of phytoliths of domestic form relative to the quantity of wild is also observable during the warmer periods (Higham 2005: 241). This demonstrates that it was during better climatic conditions that domesticates began to be more widely utilised, and not during periods of desiccation. Although Childes theory is, in general, flawed, there is evidence to support the claim that climatic variation did indeed have an effect on the origins of agriculture. One of the most interesting theories regarding the origins of agriculture considers the relationship between sedentism, population growth, and the availability of local resources; the transition to agriculture occurred, simply, because of disequilibrium between the number of available resources and swelling population numbers (Zvelebil 1986 (a): 9). Increased sedentism brought with it relaxation of mechanisms and birth controls previously used to keep population levels low (Rindos 1984: 19), which resulted in a significant increase in population numbers. The favourable, coastal, resource rich areas, that could previously support these smaller, hunter-gatherer populations, could no longer cope once the population had expanded beyond the regions carrying capacity. This led to expansion into more marginal zones (Binford 1968, cited by Bellwood 2005: 22 and Scarre 2005: 189), until further territorial extension became undesirable or untenable (Cohen 1977: 12); the populations of these ar eas were then forced to turn to agriculture as a means of subsistence intensification, allowing them to feed their growing numbers. This theory is particularly desirable as it not only accounts for why agriculture was adopted, but for why it occurred at differing rates at various different loci Population pressure had simply not yet reached the point where reliance upon agriculture was called for (Rindos 1984: 33). Unfortunately, there is an underlying problem with this hypothesis. As mentioned above, climatic change cannot be used as a globally extendable explanation for the change in subsistence base; climate, by nature, is regionally specific and the effects of it are therefore hugely diverse (Rindos 1984: 16). The favourable coast line habitats, which, according to Binford, were the areas where people first turned to sedentism, flourished with increasing sea levels. However, increased sea levels would affect differing coastlines in a number of ways (Cohen 1977: 7) the creation of superior habitats is just one of these. This would not have been a universal or uniform effect, and therefore cannot be a globally applied theory for the origins of agriculture. It still seems tenable, however, that population growth would have brought about a necessity for agriculture in order to provide a more stable food supply for an ever increasing population. Alternative views consider the origins of agriculture to be the result of social factors. Bender in particular promotes this idea, claiming that other factors, such as demography, are often considered to have played a much greater role than is realistic, whilst social structure is significantly over looked (Bender 1978: 204); ultimately it is the social relations that articulate society and set the evolutionary pattern'(Bender 1978: 218). In other words, it is social factors that bring about the most significant transitions and cause the greatest change. Competition between social groups is often considered to have led to the development of intensified food production in order to provide the specifically valued kinds of food deployed in competitive strategies and acts of reciprocity (Scarre 2005: 187). Feasting and the accumulation and distribution of prestige items were common mechanisms for achieving wealth, status and power. They are, however, expensive in terms of subsistence and require surplus resources (Zvelebil 1986(a): 10); hunting and gathering can only supply limited resources. This is why agriculture was developed in order to fund such reciprocal mechanisms via a more stable and consistent subsistence base. Alternatively, for Hodder, the domus the location of production and reproduction which constitute society and social relation (Hodder 1990: 39) was the social mechanism which drove the transition to agriculture. As a concept, it acted as a metaphor for the desire to control and transform nature; the individual experience of domestication led ultimately to intensification and domestication (Hodder 1990: 41). In summary, for economic domestication to be successful, it must be preceded by social domestication. Both of these examples illustrate how social pressure provided a positive incentive for hunter-gatherer societies to transfer to an agricultural lifestyle. Bellwood, however, considers an alternative view on how social pressures had an effe ct on the transition to domestication in certain landscapes, from the perspective of how hunter-gatherer communities were put under pressure from agriculturalists moving into their territories looking for regions of high agricultural potential. The relationship between the native hunter-gatherers and invading agriculturalists would have initially been one of exchange, and would have been mutually beneficial to both parties involved (Bellwood 2005: 41). It is often considered that contact with the agriculturalists would eventually lead the hunter gatherers to realise of the benefits of domestication, encouraging them to switch to this lifestyle. Bellwood suggests, however, that this may not have happened; he argues that as pressure on resources increased, along with increasing attempts by the agriculturalists to dominate the hunter gatherers, this would only have dissuaded them to change their lifestyle (Bellwood 2005: 41). This form of social pressure therefore acts only a deterrent to the adoption of agriculture. It can be seen therefore that no one explanation for the origins of agriculture is entirely satisfactory. This is to be expected, however; these factors are conceived at level that is too general to account for local distinctions (Moore 1986: 622). Domestication would have been adopted for a number of distinct and differing reasons, due to the diverse nature of the various loci where agriculture originated (Zvelebil 1986(b): 167). The origin of agriculture was not brought about by one driving factor it was not a monocausal phenomenon (Scarre 2005: 186). It was a combination of factors most importantly climatic variation, demographic change and social pressure, as well as the accumulation of necessary knowledge which would have combined in various ways to ultimately bring about a shift to food production.

Answer to the Corporate Finance

Chapter 14 Capital Structure in a Perfect Market 14-1. Consider a project with free cash flows in one year of $130,000 or $180,000, with each outcome being equally likely. The initial investment required for the project is $100,000, and the project’s cost of capital is 20%. The risk-free interest rate is 10%. a. What is the NPV of this project? b. Suppose that to raise the funds for the initial investment, the project is sold to investors as an all-equity firm. The equity holders will receive the cash flows of the project in one year. How much money can be raised in this way—that is, what is the initial market value of the unlevered equity? . a. Suppose the initial $100,000 is instead raised by borrowing at the risk-free interest rate. What are the cash flows of the levered equity, and what is its initial value according to MM? E ? C (1)? = ? ? 1 (130, 000 + 180, 000) = 155, 000, 2 155, 000 NPV = ? 100, 000 = 129,167 ? 100, 000 = $29,167 1. 20 155, 000 = 129,167 1. 20 b . c. Equity value = PV ( C (1)) = Debt payments = 100, 000, equity receives 20,000 or 70,000. Initial value, by MM, is 129,167 ? 100, 000 = $29,167 . 14-2. You are an entrepreneur starting a biotechnology firm. If your research is successful, the technology can be sold for $30 million.If your research is unsuccessful, it will be worth nothing. To fund your research, you need to raise $2 million. Investors are willing to provide you with $2 million in initial capital in exchange for 50% of the unlevered equity in the firm. a. What is the total market value of the firm without leverage? b. Suppose you borrow $1 million. According to MM, what fraction of the firm’s equity will you need to sell to raise the additional $1 million you need? c. What is the value of your share of the firm’s equity in cases (a) and (b)? a. b. c. Total value of equity = 2 ? 2m = $4m MM says total value of firm is still $4 million. $1 million of debt implies total value of equity is $3 million. T herefore, 33% of equity must be sold to raise $1 million. In (a), 50% ? $4m = $2m. In (b), 2/3 ? $3m = $2m. Thus, in a perfect market the choice of capital structure does not affect the value to the entrepreneur.  ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Berk/DeMarzo †¢ Corporate Finance, Second Edition 14-3. 185 Acort Industries owns assets that will have an 80% probability of having a market value of $50 million in one year.There is a 20% chance that the assets will be worth only $20 million. The current risk-free rate is 5%, and Acort’s assets have a cost of capital of 10%. a. If Acort is unlevered, what is the current market value of its equity? b. Suppose instead that Acort has debt with a face value of $20 million due in one year. According to MM, what is the value of Acort’s equity in this case? c. What is the expected return of Acort’s equity without leverage? What is the expected return of Acort’s equity with leverage? d. What is the lowest possible realized return of Acort’s equity with and without leverage? . b. c. d. 14-4. E[Value in one year] = 0. 8 ( 50 ) + 0. 2 ( 20 ) = 44 . E = D= 44 = $40m. 1. 10 20 = 19. 048 . Therefore, E = 40 ? 19. 048 = $20. 952m. 1. 05 44 44 ? 20 ? 1 = 10% , with leverage, r = ? 1 = 14. 55%. 40 20. 952 20 0 ? 1 = ? 50% , with leverage, r = ? 1 = ? 100%. 40 20. 952 Without leverage, r= Without leverage, r= Wolfrum Technology (WT) has no debt. Its assets will be worth $450 million in one year if the economy is strong, but only $200 million in one year if the economy is weak. Both events are equally likely. The market value today of its assets is $250 million. . What is the expected return of WT stock without leverage? b. Suppose the risk-free interest rate is 5%. If WT borrows $100 million today at this rate and uses the proceeds to pay an immediate cash dividend, what will be the market value of its equity just after the dividend is paid, according to MM? c. What i s the expected return of MM stock after the dividend is paid in part (b)? a. b. c. 14-5. (. 5 ? 450+. 5 ? 200)/250 = 1. 30 => 30% E + D = 250, D = 100 => E = 150 (. 5 ? (450-105) + . 5 ? (200-105))/150 = 1. 4667 => 46. 67% Suppose there are no taxes.Firm ABC has no debt, and firm XYZ has debt of $5000 on which it pays interest of 10% each year. Both companies have identical projects that generate free cash flows of $800 or $1000 each year. After paying any interest on debt, both companies use all remaining free cash flows to pay dividends each year. a. Fill in the table below showing the payments debt and equity holders of each firm will receive given each of the two possible levels of free cash flows. b. Suppose you hold 10% of the equity of ABC. What is another portfolio you could hold that would provide the same cash flows? 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 186 Berk/DeMarzo †¢ Corporate Finance, Second Edition c. Suppose you hold 10% of the equity of X YZ. If you can borrow at 10%, what is an alternative strategy that would provide the same cash flows? ABC Debt Payments Equity Dividends 0 800 0 1000 XYZ Debt Payments Equity Dividends 500 300 500 500 a. FCF $800 $1,000 b. c. 14-6. Unlevered Equity = Debt + Levered Equity. Buy 10% of XYZ debt and 10% of XYZ Equity, get 50 + (30,50) = (80,100) Levered Equity = Unlevered Equity + Borrowing. Borrow $500, buy 10% of ABC, receive (80,100) – 50 = (30, 50)Suppose Alpha Industries and Omega Technology have identical assets that generate identical cash flows. Alpha Industries is an all-equity firm, with 10 million shares outstanding that trade for a price of $22 per share. Omega Technology has 20 million shares outstanding as well as debt of $60 million. a. According to MM Proposition I, what is the stock price for Omega Technology? b. Suppose Omega Technology stock currently trades for $11 per share. What arbitrage opportunity is available? What assumptions are necessary to exploit t his opportunity? a. b. V(alpha) = 10 ? 22 = 220m = V(omega) = D + E ?E = 220 – 60 = 160m ? p = $8 per share. Omega is overpriced. Sell 20 Omega, buy 10 alpha, and borrow 60. Initial = 220 – 220 + 60 = 60. Assumes we can trade shares at current prices and that we can borrow at the same terms as Omega (or own Omega debt and can sell at same price). 14-7. Cisoft is a highly profitable technology firm that currently has $5 billion in cash. The firm has decided to use this cash to repurchase shares from investors, and it has already announced these plans to investors. Currently, Cisoft is an all-equity firm with 5 billion shares outstanding. These shares currently trade for $12 per share.Cisoft has issued no other securities except for stock options given to its employees. The current market value of these options is $8 billion. a. What is the market value of Cisoft’s non-cash assets? b. With perfect capital markets, what is the market value of Cisoft’s equity after the share repurchase? What is the value per share? a. Assets = cash + non-cash, Liabilities = equity + options, Non-cash assets = equity + options – cash = 12 ? 5 + 8 – 5 = 63 billion. Equity = 60 – 5 =55. Repurchase Per share value = 55 = $12 . 4. 583 5b = 0. 417b shares ? 4. 583 b shares remain. 12 b. 14-8.Schwartz Industry is an industrial company with 100 million shares outstanding and a market capitalization (equity value) of $4 billion. It has $2 billion of debt outstanding. Management have decided to delever the firm by issuing new equity to repay all outstanding debt. a. How many new shares must the firm issue? b. Suppose you are a shareholder holding 100 shares, and you disagree with this decision. Assuming a perfect capital market, describe what you can do to undo the effect of this decision. a. Share price = 4b/100m = $40, Issue 2b/40 = 50 million shares  ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice HallBerk/DeMarzo †¢ Corporate Finance, Second Edition 187 b. You can undo the effect of the decision by borrowing to buy additional shares, in the same proportion as the firm’s actions, thus relevering your own portfolio. In this case you should buy 50 new shares and borrow $2000. 14-9. Zetatron is an all-equity firm with 100 million shares outstanding, which are currently trading for $7. 50 per share. A month ago, Zetatron announced it will change its capital structure by borrowing $100 million in short-term debt, borrowing $100 million in long-term debt, and issuing $100 million of preferred stock.The $300 million raised by these issues, plus another $50 million in cash that Zetatron already has, will be used to repurchase existing shares of stock. The transaction is scheduled to occur today. Assume perfect capital markets. a. What is the market value balance sheet for Zetatron i. Before this transaction? ii. After the new securities are issued but before the share repurchase? iii. After the share repur chase? b. At the conclusion of this transaction, how many shares outstanding will Zetatron have, and what will the value of those shares be? . i. ii. A = 50 cash + 700 non-cash L = 750 equity A = 350 cash + 700 non-cash L = 750 equity + 100 short-term debt + 100 long-term debt + 100 preferred stock iii. A = 700 non-cash L = 400 equity + 100 short-term debt + 100 long-term debt + 100 preferred stock b. 14-10. Repurchase 350 400 = 46. 67 shares ? 53. 33 remain. Value is = 7. 50. 7. 50 53. 33 Explain what is wrong with the following argument: â€Å"If a firm issues debt that is risk free, because there is no possibility of default, the risk of the firm’s equity does not change.Therefore, risk-free debt allows the firm to get the benefit of a low cost of capital of debt without raising its cost of capital of equity. † Any leverage raises the equity cost of capital. In fact, risk-free leverage raises it the most (because it does not share any of the risk). 14-11. Consider t he entrepreneur described in Section 14. 1 (and referenced in Tables 14. 1–14. 3). Suppose she funds the project by borrowing $750 rather than $500. a. According to MM Proposition I, what is the value of the equity? What are its cash flows if the economy is strong? What are its cash flows if the economy is weak?What is the risk premium of equity in each case? What is the sensitivity of the levered equity return to systematic risk? How does its sensitivity compare to that of unlevered equity? How does its risk premium compare to that of unlevered equity? What is the firm’s WACC in this case? b. What is the return of the equity in each case? What is its expected return? c. d. What is the debt-equity ratio of the firm in this case? e. a. b. E = 1000 – 750 = 250. CF = (1400,900) – 500 (1. 05) = (612. 5,112. 5) Re = (145%, – 55%), E[Re] = 45%, Risk premium = 45% – 5% = 40%  ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 88 Berk/DeMar zo †¢ Corporate Finance, Second Edition c. d. e. 14-12. Return sensitivity = 145% – (-55%) = 200%. This sensitivity is 4x the sensitivity of unlevered equity (50%). Its risk premium is also 4x that of unlevered equity (40% vs. 10%). 750 = 3x 250 25%(45%)+75%(5%) = 15% Hardmon Enterprises is currently an all-equity firm with an expected return of 12%. It is considering a leveraged recapitalization in which it would borrow and repurchase existing shares. a. Suppose Hardmon borrows to the point that its debt-equity ratio is 0. 50. With this amount of debt, the debt cost of capital is 6%.What will the expected return of equity be after this transaction? b. Suppose instead Hardmon borrows to the point that its debt-equity ratio is 1. 50. With this amount of debt, Hardmon’s debt will be much riskier. As a result, the debt cost of capital will be 8%. What will the expected return of equity be in this case? c. A senior manager argues that it is in the best interest of the shareholders to choose the capital structure that leads to the highest expected return for the stock. How would you respond to this argument? a. b. c. 14-13. re = ru + d/e(ru – rd) = 12% + 0. 50(12% – 6%) = 15% re = 12% + 1. 0(12% – 8%) = 18% Returns are higher because risk is higher—the return fairly compensates for the risk. There is no free lunch. Suppose Microsoft has no debt and an equity cost of capital of 9. 2%. The average debt-to-value ratio for the software industry is 13%. What would its cost of equity be if it took on the average amount of debt for its industry at a cost of debt of 6%? At a cost of debt of 6%: D (rU ? rD ) E 0. 13 rE = 0. 092 + (0. 092 ? 0. 06) 0. 87 = 0. 0968 rE = rU + = 9. 68%. 14-14. Global Pistons (GP) has common stock with a market value of $200 million and debt with a value of $100 million.Investors expect a 15% return on the stock and a 6% return on the debt. Assume perfect capital markets. a. Suppose GP issues $100 mi llion of new stock to buy back the debt. What is the expected return of the stock after this transaction? i. If the risk of the debt does not change, what is the expected return of the stock after this transaction? b. Suppose instead GP issues $50 million of new debt to repurchase stock. ii. If the risk of the debt increases, would the expected return of the stock be higher or lower than in part (i)?  ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice HallBerk/DeMarzo †¢ Corporate Finance, Second Edition 2 (15% ) 6% + = 12% = ru . 3 3 189 a. b. wacc = i. re = ru + d / e ( ru ? rd ) = 12 + 150 (12 ? 6) = 18% 150 ii. if rd is higher, re is lower. The debt will share some of the risk. 14-15. Hubbard Industries is an all-equity firm whose shares have an expected return of 10%. Hubbard does a leveraged recapitalization, issuing debt and repurchasing stock, until its debt-equity ratio is 0. 60. Due to the increased risk, shareholders now expect a return of 13%. Assuming there are no taxes and Hubbard’s debt is risk free, what is the interest rate on the debt? acc = ru = 10% = 1 0. 6 x ? 1. 6 (10) ? 13 = 3 = 0. 6 x ? x = 5% 13% + 1. 6 1. 6 14-16. Hartford Mining has 50 million shares that are currently trading for $4 per share and $200 million worth of debt. The debt is risk free and has an interest rate of 5%, and the expected return of Hartford stock is 11%. Suppose a mining strike causes the price of Hartford stock to fall 25% to $3 per share. The value of the risk-free debt is unchanged. Assuming there are no taxes and the risk (unlevered beta) of Hartford’s assets is unchanged, what happens to Hartford’s equity cost of capital? u = wacc = 1 1 200 (11) + (5) = 8% . re = 8% + (8% ? 5%) = 12% 2 2 150 14-17. Mercer Corp. is an all equity firm with 10 million shares outstanding and $100 million worth of debt outstanding. Its current share price is $75. Mercer’s equity cost of capital is 8. 5%. Mercer has just announced that it wil l issue $350 million worth of debt. It will use the proceeds from this debt to pay off its existing debt, and use the remaining $250 million to pay an immediate dividend. Assume perfect capital markets. a. Estimate Mercer’s share price just after the recapitalization is announced, but before the transaction occurs. . Estimate Mercer’s share price at the conclusion of the transaction. (Hint: use the market value balance sheet. ) c. Suppose Mercer’s existing debt was risk-free with a 4. 25% expected return, and its new debt is risky with a 5% expected return. Estimate Mercer’s equity cost of capital after the transaction. a. b. MM => no change, $75 Initial enterprise value = 75 ? 10 + 100 = 850 million New debt = 350 million E = 850 – 350 = 500 Share price = 500/10 = $50 c. Ru = (750/850) ? 8. 5% + (100/850) ? 4. 25% = 8% Re = 8% + 350/500(8% – 5%) = 10. 1%  ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc.Publishing as Prentice Hall 190 14-18. Berk/DeMarzo â⠂¬ ¢ Corporate Finance, Second Edition In June 2009, Apple Computer had no debt, total equity capitalization of $128 billion, and a (equity) beta of 1. 7 (as reported on Google Finance). Included in Apple’s assets was $25 billion in cash and risk-free securities. Assume that the risk-free rate of interest is 5% and the market risk premium is 4%. a. c. What is Apple’s enterprise value? What is Apple’s WACC? b. What is the beta of Apple’s business assets? a. b. 128-25=103 million Because the debt is risk free, ?U = E ? E E+D 128 = (1. 7) 103 = 2. 11 c. rWACC = rf + ? ( E[ RMkt ] ? rf ) = 5 + 2. 11? 4 = 13. 4% alternatively rE = rf + ? E ( E[ RMkt ] ? rf ) = 5 + 1. 7 ? 4 = 11. 8% E D $128 $25 rE + rD = (11. 8%) ? (5%) = 13. 4% E+D E+D $103 $103 rwacc = 14-19. Indell stock has a current market value of $120 million and a beta of 1. 50. Indell currently has risk-free debt as well. The firm decides to change its capital structure by issuing $30 million in addit ional risk-free debt, and then using this $30 million plus another $10 million in cash to repurchase stock.With perfect capital markets, what will be the beta of Indell stock after this transaction? Indell increases its net debt by $40 million ($30 million in new debt + $10 million in cash paid out). Therefore, the value of its equity decreases to 120 – 40 = $80 million. If the debt is risk-free: D ? ?u ( E + D ) EV = ? u ? , ? = E? E E ? e = ? u ? 1 + ? ? where D is net debt, and EV is enterprise value . The only change in the equation is the value of equity. Therefore ? ‘ = ? e e E 120 = 1. 50 = 2. 25. E' 80 14-20. Yerba Industries is an all-equity firm whose stock has a beta of 1. and an expected return of 12. 5%. Suppose it issues new risk-free debt with a 5% yield and repurchases 40% of its stock. Assume perfect capital markets. a. What is the beta of Yerba stock after this transaction? b. What is the expected return of Yerba stock after this transaction? Suppose t hat prior to this transaction, Yerba expected earnings per share this coming year of $1. 50, with a forward P/E ratio (that is, the share price divided by the expected earnings for the coming year) of 14.  ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Berk/DeMarzo †¢ Corporate Finance, Second Edition . 191 What is Yerba’s expected earnings per share after this transaction? Does this change benefit shareholders? Explain. d. What is Yerba’s forward P/E ratio after this transaction? Is this change in the P/E ratio reasonable? Explain. a. b. ?e = ? u (1 + d / e ) = 1. 2 ? 1 + ? ? 40 ? ?=2 60 ? 12. 5 ? 5 = 6. 25 ? re = 5 + 2 ( 6. 25) = 17. 5% from the CAPM, or 1. 2 re = r f + b rm ? r f ? rm ? r f = ( ) re = ru + d / e ( ru ? rd ) = 12. 5 + c. 40 (12. 5 ? 5) = 17. 5 60 p = 14 (1. 50 ) = $21 . Borrow 40%(21) = 8. 4, interest = 5%(8. 4) = 0. 42. Earnings = 1. 50 – 0. 42 = 1. 08, per share = . 08 = 1. 80. 0. 60 No benefit; risk is higher. The stock pr ice does not change. d. 14-21. PE = 21 = 11. 67 . It falls due to higher risk. 1. 80 You are CEO of a high-growth technology firm. You plan to raise $180 million to fund an expansion by issuing either new shares or new debt. With the expansion, you expect earnings next year of $24 million. The firm currently has 10 million shares outstanding, with a price of $90 per share. Assume perfect capital markets. a. If you raise the $180 million by selling new shares, what will the forecast for next year’s earnings per share be? b.If you raise the $180 million by issuing new debt with an interest rate of 5%, what will the forecast for next year’s earnings per share be? c. What is the firm’s forward P/E ratio (that is, the share price divided by the expected earnings for the coming year) if it issues equity? What is the firm’s forward P/E ratio if it issues debt? How can you explain the difference? a. Issue 180 = 2 million new shares ? 12 million shares outstanding . 90 24 = $2. 00 per share. 12 New EPS = b. Interest on new debt = 180 ? 5% = $9 million. The interest expense will reduce earnings to 24 – 9 15 = $1. 50 per share. $15 million. With 10 million shares outstanding, EPS = 10 By MM, share price is $90 in either case. PE ratio with equity issue is PE ratio with debt is $90 = 60 . 1. 50 90 = 45 . 2 c. The higher PE ratio is justified because with leverage, EPS will grow at a faster rate.  ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 192 14-22. Berk/DeMarzo †¢ Corporate Finance, Second Edition Zelnor, Inc. , is an all-equity firm with 100 million shares outstanding currently trading for $8. 50 per share. Suppose Zelnor decides to grant a total of 10 million new shares to employees as part of a new compensation plan.The firm argues that this new compensation plan will motivate employees and is a better strategy than giving salary bonuses because it will not cost the firm anything. a. If the new compensation plan has no effect on the value of Zelnor’s assets, what will be the share price of the stock once this plan is implemented? b. What is the cost of this plan for Zelnor’s investors? Why is issuing equity costly in this case? a. b. Assets = 850m. New shares = 110. ? price = 850 = $7. 73 110 Cost = 100(8. 50 – 7. 73) = 77 m = 10(7. 73). Issuing equity at below market price is costly.  ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Hill Country Snack Foods Co Essay

Hill Country Snack Foods Company manufactures, markets, and distributes snack foods and frozen treats throughout the United States. Hill Country is overall well performed company. Sales, Net Income, ROE and ROA had increased at a steady rate. Company mainly focused on maximizing the shareholder value by the CEO and other management’s managerial philosophy. Currently, Hill Country uses a risk adverse strategy to choose their business or project. Hill Country’s industry is high competitive but it kept going well with cost efficiency and quick reaction to customer requirements. From these reasons, Hill Country has few risks. However, analyst and experts present that Hill Country’s excess liquidity with zero debt is going to lose benefit and fail to maximize the shareholder value. Risk may be hided in the steady company’s good performance. Pending retirement of CEO is one of risks. ii) Briefly discuss the current corporate culture Hill Country was a well-managed company with decisions which can make shareholder value. CEO and other management insiders also held a significant proportion of company’s common stock. It means that they have responsibility as employee and owner. Company also has strong commitment to efficiency and controlling costs. These are great power to survive in highly competitive markets. Another important of Hill Country’s culture and managerial philosophy was caution and risk aversion. From that reason they choose zero debt financing and fund internally hold large cash balances. From the discussion of our team members, some of members think that it is too risk aversion position. Only efficiency will be stuck in near future so they should invest somewhat risky project and raise the debt. The others think that it is unique and fresh and in snack and food industry, it may be good strategy and philosophy like Coca-Cola’s permanence. iii) How does the stock market evaluate Hill Country’s current situation compared to its peers in the same industry (base your discussion on the valuation in the stock market) As shown in Exhibit 2, we can easily check the financial status of Hill Country with two competitors. In comparison to Snyder’s, a company with a little larger sales, and Pepsi, a company with 47x more sales, Hill Country performs well given its size. Hill Country has 3.5 times more NI than Snyder’s. However market capitalization of Hill Country is 1,412 mil USD which is lower than Snyder’s 1,517 mil USD. Market doesn’t think that Hill Country has lower value which expresses future expectation. This could be a result due to its capital structure and risk aversion strategy. P/E ratio also shows the same judgment. In the part of book value of asset, Hill Country’s ROA is higher than Pepsi’s ROA. However Hill Country’s ROE is lower than Pepsi’s because of debt. This is another indication of market evaluation. iv) Discuss how much financial risk the company would face at each of the three alternative debt-to-capital ratios presented in case Exhibit 4(you may discuss based on the financial risk faced by firms with different credit ratings); As the debt-to-capital ratios increases, the possibility of bankruptcy and cost of financial distress increase. In the case of Hill Country Snack Foods, Co., the credit rating will be downgraded1 and interest rate will increase according to the increased level of debt. Interest coverage ratio which measures company’s ability to honor its debt payments also decrease dramatically as quality of debt increase. Impact on net income from changing in EBIT will increase and financing flexibility will get worsen with the increased level of debt. It also can lose chance to time the market if it has more debts as it has little buffer to issue new debt.

Dissertation Chapter about Training LDS Chaplains to do Effective Pastoral Care for Service Members who Have Been Affected by the Traumas of War

III. THE DATA AND THE TREATMENT OF THE DATA 1. The Data Needed This study intends meeting the intellectual, knowledge level, and abilities of the United States military chaplain corps in their diagnostic and treatment of those afflicted with combat related stress. The target population for the proposed study, thus, consists of two sample groups; (1) military chaplains, and; (2) members of the uniformed services who have served in hostile environments subjecting them to possible stress related (Unwin, Blatchley et al., 1999). 2. Data Collection   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Understanding the intrinsic value of the empirical characteristics of qualitative research is core to its philosophical underpinnings fitting into the intention of this study. Through empirical methodologies, qualitative research permits interpretation of constructs of social reality and exploration of first-hand experiences of research participants forming the philosophical underpinnings of this research methodology (Booker, 2009, 389+). Within this framework are the influences on social science open-ended research questions as they align with the intent of the study for outcome data gathering. This paper further discusses these items and provides an example of how these philosophical underpinnings apply to a specific research design and methodology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Booker (2009), â€Å"theoretical underpinnings† of qualitative research in researching and interpreting individual participation using empirical research methodology includes study tools of interviewing and observation. Her tenet as a teacher means assuring instruction of qualitative research has a philosophical framework of why and how qualitative research contributes to the study findings as equally as quantitative data (p 389+). In addition, according to Onwuegbuzie, Leech, Slate, Stark, Sharma, Frels, Harris, and Coombs (2012) philosophical underpinnings of qualitative research seeks data from such sources as â€Å"interviews, focus groups, surveys, observations, personal journals, diaries/memos, permanent records, transcription of meetings, photographs, audiovisual material, pictures, paintings, and field notes (p 16+)†. Booker (2009), as a teacher of qualitative research finds instilling the why and how importance of this type of data gathering tool is sometimes an uphill challenge even with her under and graduate students. To this end, Booker explains thinking in terms of â€Å"qualitatively† assists in overcoming what she interprets as a â€Å"resistance†. Her challenge to teach the philosophical underpinnings of qualitative research with its value to the social sciences and in particular educational research involves instruction of the changing nature of educational research using qualitative theories focusing on learner-centered instruction (p 389+). Remaining true to the spirit and intentions of this study relates to qualitative research philosophical underpinnings influencing social science research. At the same time, this type methodology specifically affects research questions, data collection approaches, and data analysis according to Booker (2009) in the social science field of psychology. From their own experiences, participants of qualitative research engage in proactive input guided by its philosophical underpinnings for obtaining socially pertinent first-hand information relating to the thesis. This provides how the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of qualitative research in the social sciences create pertinent questions for interviews, questionnaires, and other personal feedback of participants according to the type of data sought (p 389+). In her professional experience Booker (2009) educational research – incorporates â€Å"approaches of phenomenology, critical race theory, feminist theory, grounded theory, and the case study approach†. These hold to the intrinsic value of the empirical characteristics of qualitative research permitting interpretation of constructs of social reality and exploration of first-hand experiences of research participants alongside the hard numbers/statistics provided through quantitative research data (p 389+). Using the qualitative methodology of the phenomenology field shows the shift in education embracing the â€Å"philosophical focus on the individual† learner experience providing â€Å"in-depth description†. In this, Booker (2009) explains creating â€Å"significant and valid theories of learning and development† arise from this philosophical underpinning of qualitative research by incorporating use of â€Å"smaller scale observations and interviews† as a qualitative methodology. Booker incorporates the validity of qualitative research philosophy through learning from case studies (p 389+).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Walsh-Bowers (2002) conducted qualitative research using the methodology focusing on student and faculty participants as researchers in the field of psychology. Using interview feedback asking faculty participants describe â€Å"past and present research experience; how contextual features of the research relationship impinged upon their work; and their opinions concerning the potential for alternative methods, research relationships, and scientific-writing styles to gain legitimacy in the discipline (p 163+)†. His student participants’ open-ended qualitative interview questions included â€Å"how they learned to do research with humans and to write scientifically. In addition, he asked â€Å"what exposure they had to alternative methods (e.g., QR) and to complementary writing styles, and what they believed needed to change in psychology, if anything, to legitimize these alternative approaches to research conduct and report-writing (Walsh-Bowers, 2002, p 163+)†. Clearly, this example of qualitative philosophical underpinnings in a case study shows in Walsh-Bowers own definition is a process â€Å"characterized by inductive, flexible exploration of the phenomena of interest by which the investigator seeks to understand rather than predict and control these phenomena; careful attention to the quality of research relationships†. Within the framework of his focus, the feedback provided how â€Å"the inter-subjective nature of investigative processes; and cultivation of multiple and partial interpretations† affect the qualitative data gathering (Walsh-Brown, 2002, p 163+).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A phenomenological study is the most viable for this research with implementation in three stages, including a pretest, in-depth structured interviews, and a follow-up after analyzing the collected data conducting the pretest using an electronic questionnaire format of open-ended qualitative style questions. For security purposes, and to ensure confidentiality, participants will receive an individualized password to access the survey. Results of the survey will be sent directly to the researcher for analysis and thus not be posted anywhere on the site. Conducting the follow-up of the participants will take place via telephone interviews and email correspondence. The researcher will also gather secondary data and collate published studies from various peer-reviewed journals. Noy (2011) adds, the phone follow up is not easily ignored by the respondents in the qualitative methodology of data gathering even to the extent of emails potentially ignored. In the phone conversation, the interviewer has â€Å"the opportunity to make a pitch tailored to your potential respondent, as well as to develop a personal connection†. In addition, Noy explains how phone interviews provide time saving methodology over meeting participants in person. The most important stage of the research endeavor is ensuring the validity of the accumulated data (Foss Ellefsen, 2002). References Ano, G. G. and E. B. Vasconcelles (2005). Religious Coping And Psychological Adjustment To Stress: A Meta-Analysis. J Clin Psychol 61(4): 461-480. Astin, M. C., K. J. Lawrence, et al. (1993). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Battered Women: Risk And Resiliency Factors. 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