The Historical Development Of Social Work Essay - 2618 Words

The historical development of social work and relationship to my career in social work Social work started as people helping each other out. Whether it was helping a neighbor, friend or just helping someone in need. According to DiNitto, D. M., McNeece, C. A. (2008), it states, â€Å"Since the dawn of civilization, altruism has been called a survival impulse because mutual aid helps people survive in hard times† (p. 4). Looking at by motivating cooperation rather than conflict, it promotes harmony within. (n.d.). Altruism is defined as (1) Loving others as oneself. (2) Behaviour that promotes the survival chances of others at a cost to ones own. (3) Self-sacrifice for the benefit of others (â€Å"By motivating cooperation rather than conflict, it promotes harmony within,† n.d.). Therefore, showing brotherly or sisterly love to one’s neighbor or a person in need is altruism and this has been going on for a long time way before the social work came into effect. This was a way to help people who may have lost their job and did not have anything left or people who are disabled and in one way, shape or form they were unable to work, people came together to help and this was the beginning. Social work came about because of the effort of many people. The first person is Dorothea L. Dix. Mental issues have always been an issue that people did not know what to do with. People presumed mental issue as a disease and did not know how to treat it. Dorothea Dix became a pioneer for theseShow MoreRelatedContemporary Social Theory And Functionalist Approach1457 Words   |  6 Pagespreference over other in contemporary social theory these themes consist of relationship between society and self, nature of social life, possibility, and role of social transformation, structure of social institutions and themes such as class, gender, and race. Contemporary social theory is given importance due to the fact that helps in evaluating the societal features easi ly. In this paper, the three different contexts that contribute in the development of contemporary social theory are discussed and explainedRead MoreRepresentation Of Class And Class Struggle1166 Words   |  5 PagesLater theorist like Hall and Chakrabarty assert traditional early social science premised on white patriarchal, male dominated European colonialism and ideology alone, does nott consider the important values of other cultures and the articulation of race in the historical development and Capitalism. Thus they assert that the past, and present practices and histories of other races, cultures’ and cultures practices thwart the totalizing attempt of the earlier theorist like Gramsci and Bourdieu. ChakrabartyRead MoreEssay on social policy1190 Words   |  5 Pagesand Social Care Student Name Unit 7: Social Policy Assessor name: Christine Pratt Date of Issue Completion date 27/01/2014 07/03/2014 Student No. Submitted on Assignment title Learning Outcome Learning outcome Assessment criteria LO1 Understand the significant historical and contemporary landmarks in social welfare provision 1.1 Understand the origins of social policies 2.1 Analyse the processes involved in the development ofRead MoreAdditionally, In His Book â€Å"Distinction,† Bourdieu Discusses1321 Words   |  6 Pagesclass 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 and other resourcesRead MoreThe Manhattan Project National Historical Park1471 Words   |  6 PagesPreserving a monument that represents a past event is essential for the mind to understand both the physical and social reality of life. Throughout the United States, there is an estimate of 50 preserved National Historical Parks and 90 preserved National Historic Sites acros s the country. While some symbolize the births and/or homes of well acclaimed people, such as the Sagamore Hill House which was the home of 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, others represent the horribleRead MoreMasterpieces Always Come With Good Reasons And Fantastic1716 Words   |  7 Pagesprogress with facts makes a work more convincing; on the other hand, those fantacies and make-ups show a writer’s reflection on facts and reasons he or she received, and are extensions of those facts and reasons, rendering the work interesting and even more convincing. In three famous and classic works, On Liberty, Hard Times, and The Communist Manifesto, we can see how writers combine facts with fictions and compose excellent works. I. On Liberty by John Stuart Mill In his work On Liberty, Mill startsRead MoreIntroduction. The Pilgrimage Of Faxian And Xuanzang To1548 Words   |  7 Pagestheir experiences of pilgrimages have significant effects on not only development of Buddhism in China as well as cultural exchange between China and India. Faxian and Xuanzang actively participated in various Buddhist activities in India. Their travel experiences were maintained in detailed records of their precious books, which are preservation of valuable historical information such as Ancient Buddhism, geography and social customs in order to study India, Sri Lanka, and other countries. MotivationsRead MoreCapital Analysis : Capital And Income Inequality Essay1743 Words   |  7 Pagesa lot of historical and theoretical work on the interplay between economic development and the distribution of income and wealth. Based on historical and statistical methods, his work shows the rate of capital accumulation in relation to economic growth. Some of his major works are Wealth and Inheritance in the Long Run, Should We Make the Richest Pay to Meet Fiscal Adjustment Needs?, Top Incomes Over the Twentieth Century : A Summary of Main Findings [chap. 1]. His most recent work is WorldRead MoreEncountering Development1547 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World † Escobar, A. (1995). Encountering development : the making and unmaking of the Third World. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press. Goal: â€Å"That the essential trait of the Third World was its poverty and that the solution was economic growth and development became self-evident, necessary, and universal truths. This chapter analyzes the multiple processes that made possible this particular historical event.† (24) Method:Read MoreMarx vs Weber vs Engels Essay1735 Words   |  7 Pagesthe study of social science. Amongst the respective gathered ideals of the esteemed sociologists: Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Max Weber include through discussion as to the origins of Capitalism, as well as the role and effects it plays upon civilized societies. Whereas Marx and Engels view of Capitalism fall within similar boundaries, Webers opinion of the matter differs in regard to the formers in several ways. In similarity, both parties agree that history [or sets of historical change(s)]

The Function Of Gun Control - 1387 Words

The function of guns in society is a very controversial topic that has long been debated. There are those who believe that guns have no purpose in the hands of private citizens and civilians. Whereas, others believe that guns are the very foundation that protects American’s rights and liberties stated in the Constitution. Under the second amendment that was ratified in the Supreme Court’s ruling in 1791, Americans have the right to bear arms at the level of an individual, not just the â€Å"well regulated militia.† For the vast majority of Americans, the central issue associated with gun control is the upshot of crime, which rolls over onto public health. Americans are twenty times more likely to be killed by a gun than any other developed nation on Earth. It is a sobering fact that today, there have been more American deaths by guns than American deaths caused by wars dating by to the American Revolution. Gun control advocates believe that having stricter gun co ntrol laws will make guns less accessible and more difficult to gain possession of by people who should not have them such as criminals or the mentally ill. They reason that this will cause a decrease in the number of deaths. Gun ownership proponents argue that the creation of such laws would interfere with American citizens’ rights to bear arms (for self-protection against crimes and unjust government.) Following these laws would also create other issues such as law abiding citizens being prey to criminals due to theirShow MoreRelatedThe Issue Of Safety And Gun Control896 Words   |  4 Pagesis old enough to buy a gun, but not a beer? The concern of a gun-crime being committed by a young man/woman is high, but what if they want to go hunting with their father? It doesn’t seem so bad now. Some people may think that our President isn’t effective enough, but there are too many people supporting each side for the President to make a large, yet fair decision. Ther e may be two sides to the story, but what is the right option? This question of safety and gun control has become part of an on-goingRead MoreControl The Azimuth Angle Of An Anti Aircraft Gun879 Words   |  4 PagesAbstract: The goal of this project is to control the azimuth angle of an anti aircraft gun. Anti aircraft gun is a type of counter measure gear used to fire tracer rounds to the hostile aircraft. It is a fixed ground gun system which can rotate in azimuth as well as in horizon. It can track the tail of an airship and hunt it down. The first effective anti aircraft gun was used in world war I. But, the most drawback was that, it was human controlled thus human casualties was high. To dominate overRead MoreThe Argument Against Gun Control Essay1141 Words   |  5 Pagesthis paper, I consider the topic of gun control. First, I present Dixon’s argument in support of gun control, which is that all personal guns should be banned. Second, I introduce Huemer’s argument against the regulation of guns, which is that banning personal firearms is not justified. Third, I critique Huemer’s argument against gun control on the grounds of three claims. First, the right to own a gun is nul lified by its negative repercussions. Second, gun control does not violate an individual’s rightRead MoreThe Debate About The Gun Laws875 Words   |  4 Pagescases with children and teenagers involving gun shooting or being arrested in the crossfire. The debate about the gun laws has set, become one of the most controversial topics in US society and failing to dead end. Increasing of lives being affected by this â€Å"killing machine†, the concerns arise with the highest ever as how to prevent the danger of gun while there are millions of them in the market places. It is a tragic to know that someone is affected by guns almost everyday in news from either hometownRead MoreEthics of Gun Control1659 Words   |  7 PagesThe Ethics of Gun Control The phrase Gun Control means different things to different people. One bumper sticker states that Gun Control means hitting your target. However one defines gun control, the mere mention of it brings controversy. Opposing sides have for years fought over the laws that govern firearms. For the purposes of this paper Gun Control is defined as policies enacted by the government that limit the legal rights of gun owners to own, carry, or use firearms, with the intent ofRead MoreGun Violence : Gun Control And The Violence Essay1241 Words   |  5 Pagesmajor issue in American society would be gun control and the violence it brings. We live in a time where technology allows news to spread rapidly and every week gun violence crimes seem to be in the news. These crimes start to divide us as a society. â€Å"Each year for the last decade in America, more than 30,000 people have died due to firearms† (Swanson, 2015). From 1968 to 2015, we had about 1.6 million deaths due to firearm re lated deaths (Swanson, 2015). Gun violence only seems to be getting worseRead More Gun Use Must Be Strictly Regulated Essay763 Words   |  4 Pageslive in. Drugs, guns, and alcohol are all detrimental to human beings. Among them all, however, guns are known to have the most direct impact on human lives. Many murders have been made, many threats, and suicides. Many cases have been able to take place because of guns. Therefore, gun control must definitely take place in the society that we live in today. Then, why do some people desire the country to require everyone to have a gun in their homes? Why is it that they want the guns to lie around asRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Gun Control875 Words   |  4 Pagesissue of gun control laws has become a prevalent topic of debate throughout American society. This debate stems from two opposing arguments over gun control. Some feel gun control laws are fair and not the contributing factor to these mass shootings, whereas, others feel that there is an urgent need for strict laws in order to end the problem of mass shootings. There are numerous pros and cons to the enforcement of stricter gun control laws but we must note a few things: stricter gun control laws wouldRead MoreIntro:. The Debate Over Gun Control Laws Is A Very Controversial1234 Words   |  5 PagesThe debate over gun control laws is a very controversial issue in the United States and out of the many issues currently up for debate in American politics, there is no other topic that has a partisan divide quite as deep as the debate over gun control. Few people advocate for mass shootings or other forms of gun violence, except of course for the perpetrators of such actions. It may be easy to blame the recent uptick of gun violence in recent years on the sheer prevalence of guns in American societyRead MorePros And Cons Of Gun Control1511 Words   |  7 PagesGun control is a policy that the government limits the keeping and using of guns by citizens. Acco rding to Firearms and Federal Law: The Gun Control Act Of 1968, the Gun Control Act is designed to provide support to Federal, State, and local law enforcement officials in their fight against crime and violence. (Journal of Legal Studies). Firearm is an epochal invention. But unfortunately, no matter in the past or now, guns and firearms are often misused. Therefore, gun control policy exists. In

Purchasing Concepts and Models WalMart

Question: Discuss about thePurchasing Concepts and Modelsfor WalMart. Answer: Introduction The report will discuss in detail about the purchasing model of the company called Wal-Mart. Three components will be covered in the report that is the supplier selection criteria, purchasing cost analysis and ICT for purchasing operations and management. With so many people spending a huge amount of money on the goods and services the success of the company largely depend on the overall communication with the suppliers, the amount paid to the purchasing of goods and services and the role of information and communication technology in suppliers operations (Shaw et al., 2012). Also, the role of purchasing manager is also transforming the industry and has become very crucial which usually involve money value which is staggering with each passing day. There are some reports and surveys which show that companies are spending a huge sum of money on the purchasing manager. In the company like Wal-Mart, the role of purchasing manager become even more crucial since the entire business cycle depend highly on suppliers and their efficiency as a manufacturer. It is important to understand here that with so much money spent on the outsourcing of some services which are complex by nature and calculate the best kind of values which means that for c ompanies, buying and implementation of procurement decisions as per the demand (Shaw et al., 2012). Supplier Selection Criteria and Related Issues Supplier selection is defined as a process where the company can recognize, test and then contract with some vendors. The process of vendor selection also deploys a lot of financial resources on the company, and in return, companies also expect some significant advantages from contracting with suppliers that offer some value as well. The process of supplier selection consists of recognizing them, collecting the data, formation of the terms of the contract, negotiation and testing their efficiency and effectiveness (Shaw et al., 2012). Following are the detailed discussion of supplier's process: - Recognizing the potential of suppliers: - to sustain this fierce market, it is crucial to growing the present suppliers but also looks for new and innovative kind of suppliers. Some reasons make new type providers essential. First there exist different kinds of vendors that are higher in some manner to the existing providers. For instance, a new type of vendors that grows a different kind of production and technology or aligned with the process that permits it to decrease the cost of production which about dominates output and technicality related to it (Mani et al., 2014). There is supplier's qualification that screens and it also involves a different kind of features. The buyer has the power to contact past customers and at the same time also asks about the delivery performance of the suppliers. Information needs to vendors: when the buyer has recognized the potential suppliers, the very next step in the selection of suppliers is formally asking about the vendors who give data related to goods and services. Some things cover following aspects: - Request for proposal is given when the buyer can sense the market and also offer a statement of work that consists the set of performance that is needed. For instance, the RFP can define a formed part with particular strength, resistance to fire and the higher level of flexibility, however, mentions that specific composition of different material (Mani et al., 2014). Suppliers can respond to RFP with various details on how one can satisfy the performance of the buyer needs and the price that can be accepted for certain things. Then there is a request for different quotes where the customer can grow a statement for work that defines the present specification for different goods and services (Mani et al., 2014). Contract terms: the process consists of a contract that is present between the suppliers and buyers. The data received from different suppliers through various kind of requests defined in formal contractual terms that are before the contract (Dai Blackhurst, 2012). Negotiation can be set for contract awards decisions that the buyers that considered every qualification as well as terms for a contract that can be offered (Mani et al., 2014). A qualification for suppliers that are considered exogenous, for instance when the reputation of the providers is based on historical performance and it does not change the short terms. Evaluation of vendors and contract award: this part of buyer tests the suppliers, decides the winner of the contract and also performs the follow-up that examines the future supplier's selections. Suppliers test is the process where the buyer can rank the orders different kind of suppliers (Dai Blackhurst, 2012). The code of ethics includes the respect for the individual, service to our customers, with striving for excellence. Walmart works on the code of ethics or conduct for Medical Corporation with accountability, integrity to fellow employees, potential customer and clients. The issues are concerned about the rules and regulations which are set in regard to the equal opportunities, including equal pay for equal work for any corporate environment. The code of conduct includes the regular basis with training utilized in order to ensure a greater understanding for codes to sign corporate code of conduct. Purchasing Cost Analysis Purchasing cost analysis can be defined as a breakdown and tests of different kind of costs. The basic model is utilized, but in practice, the breakdown will have a lesser and bigger degree or level based on the need of the purchase in the company, the more sophisticated kind of purchase the more will be the depth of the breakdown. For example, a buyer of the manufactured parts is needed to understand the prices and percentages of the cost of raw material, logistics and different kind of overhead (Dai Blackhurst, 2012). Here it is important to understand that it's hard to understand the definition and there are companies like Wal-Mart, options of lump packaging, marketing, and sales expenses goes into the complicated part. It is also important to get a different kind of methods that is the easy way to understand the concept. There is non-disclosure of different concepts, or there is also some agreements to provide the information as well. One can ethically agree to keep the data con fidential in any way and also remember the agreement by writing it. In some cases, when there is any suspicion for suppliers that make the part and also may also require signing the agreement as well. The company can also decide not to disclose any information related to cost and purchases. At the same time, the supplier may not understand or know the overall costs, and this situation can be harmful since it is easy to slip into a case where no one performs since the cost of purchase was underestimated (Thornton et al., 2013). On the other hand, the supplier can also need to provide some cost since one is paying a lot which cannot be justified on an economic level. In either case, all the situations require an action which brings immediate remedy. There can be two type of cases where a new kind of supplier or periodically based reviews on performance. In the event of a new supplier, it has to go through the process for qualification; there is also a risk of loss for new customers that make everything very responsive to the analysis of cost. It is important to compare the cost structure to other suppliers and also test testing the reasons for differences. The purchasing of goods may not impact or receive a discriminatory kind of price which can be risky for the company (Thornton et al., 2013). There are some edges or risks in case of sourcing, and at the same time, there are some advantages as well that shows that suppliers can justify the difference in costs. Renewal of contractor testing the other ideal time specifically when there have been some cases of fail or loss in recent time. Suppliers and consumers have the option to test and analyze on reducing costs over the past time. Deleting the value further reduce the price. For instance, when one buy a part for $100 and the organization eliminates per piece cost despite the logistics or packaging costs then there is saving of $2 that can be applied to the reduction of the price to 98 dollars (Xie et al., 2011). The use of ICT for Purchasing Operations and Management The operation of the company like Wal-Mart is for different kinds of approaches that aim at managing the inventory and supply chain. It also covers the performance from the sales. The overall success of the company is based on effective management of return in operation management (Chai Liu, 2014). Particularly, the management of the company covers all kind of decisions of service management, and these types of decisions are related to some issues and cases that any manager can face on a daily basis. In turn, there is also a priority that shows the importance of different kind of decisions areas in operations, and it exists in the business as well. There was a time of the inter-organizational system which is also known as IOS which is expressly supported by the automation of many kinds of manual based function like setting the accounts and placing the orders. There is the range of new kind of characteristics for different sharing the information, communication, and collaboration that has increased different systems (Chai Liu, 2014). Various studies show that there are around thirty thousand of IOS that are in use presently and also support large proportion B-to-B functions. In the present time, there are different network leaders as well like Dell or Wal-Mart that have made significant changes and took efforts to bring the advantages of collaboration with some suppliers by utilizing the specific form of IOS in supply chain management. It is important to give a lot of understanding about the benefits that these kinds can provide to suppliers and this is why there is a challenge of interest on both sides. Despite any importance, studies have shown that leaders especially the suppliers has aimed at gaining the advantages that are driven from supply chain management system by different kind of network leaders (Chai Liu, 2014). The network of suppliers can be characterized by a principal amount of vendor firms that work with different kind of system leaders. The association between the providers and the network manager, described as asymmetrical. There are network leaders that play a significant role in understanding the quality of vendors. The advantages of the information technologies are distributed in an uneven manner and skewed in support of many kinds of network leaders (Olson Wu, 2011). Although when there is a participation of suppliers, it is necessary for different kind of network leader to drive the advantages and the company of suppliers can be seen as a benefit from various kind of networks. Despite the network leaders who can be seen as advantages is at the cost of suppliers, many times change the functions and costs for them. For example, the move from vendor managed inventories move the tasks based on supervising and at the same time maintaining the inventories of the suppliers and also creates advantages for different network based leaders, and it also adds to the functions perfumed by the suppliers. In a similar manner, there is also a quick response based programs that help in creating different advantages for auto production and retailers while burdening providers with making more deliveries and also incurring a higher cost for holding the inventory (Olson Wu, 2011). Conclusion Wal-Mart has the vast network of committed kind of suppliers that assist them in satisfying the requirements of millions of consumers all across the world every week. The company takes it as a responsibility to manufacture the product and services. The company is committed to working very closely with the suppliers and to find more methods to associate with different kind of new suppliers as well (Johnston Marshall, (2016). It is important for the company to understand that when any provider are based on similar kind of region and the buyer is also very vulnerable towards the cost. For example, a cost of transportation between the location of buyer and the area of a supplier. In this case, there is any risky situation like strike at port of origin with the vulnerability of consumer (Hassini et al., 2012). Therefore the selection of suppliers in a different kind of location decreases the correlation that exists between the buyer and the supplier. However, this also assists the buyer when one can prevent the windfall by low-cost suppliers (Tate et al., 2011). Reference Adams, N. E. (2015). Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive learning objectives.Journal of the Medical Library Association,103(3), 152. Chai, J., Liu, J. N. (2014). A novel believable rough set approach for supplier selection.Expert systems with applications,41(1), 92-104. Dai, J., Blackhurst, J. (2012). A four-phase AHPQFD approach for supplier assessment: a sustainability perspective.International Journal of Production Research,50(19), 5474-5490. Hassini, E., Surti, C., Searcy, C. (2012). A literature review and a case study of sustainable supply chains with a focus on metrics.International Journal of Production Economics,140(1), 69-82. Johnston, M. W., Marshall, G. W. (2016).Sales force management: Leadership, innovation, technology. Routledge. Mani, V., Agrawal, R., Sharma, V. (2014). Supplier selection using social sustainability: AHP based approach in India.International Strategic Management Review,2(2), 98-112. Olson, D. L., Wu, D. (2011). Risk management models for supply chain: a scenario analysis of outsourcing to China.Supply Chain Management: An International Journal,16(6), 401-408. Shaw, K., Shankar, R., Yadav, S. S., Thakur, L. S. (2012). Supplier selection using fuzzy AHP and fuzzy multi-objective linear programming for developing low carbon supply chain.Expert systems with applications,39(9), 8182-8192. Tate, W. L., Dooley, K. J., Ellram, L. M. (2011). Transaction cost and institutional drivers of supplier adoption of environmental practices.Journal of Business Logistics,32(1), 6-16. Thornton, L. M., Autry, C. W., Gligor, D. M., Brik, A. B. (2013). Does Socially Responsible Supplier Selection Pay Off for Customer Firms? A Cross?Cultural Comparison.Journal of Supply Chain Management,49(3), 66-89. Xie, G., Yue, W., Wang, S., Lai, K. K. (2011). Quality investment and price decision in a risk-averse supply chain.European Journal of Operational Research,214(2), 403-410.

Trust our Senses Essay Example

Trust our Senses Paper The world is a big place, filled with people full of curiosity and with their own individual quests. People are constantly talking, looking, hearing, smelling, and gaining knowledge from things and people from their environment. The scope of knowledge gained on a day to day basis is therefore vast. To what extent though, is this knowledge we acquire true? People are constantly seeking for answers to their questions or solutions to their problems; in a way, they seek a pathway to truth. The quote: rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness give me truth (Thoreau) justifies that truth is a necessity of life and every man seeks it to distinguish between reality and fantasy. To understand truth, we need to know its three basic theories. The correspondence theory states that a statement is true if it corresponds to a fact. The Coherence theory says that a proposition is true if it fits in with our overall sets of belief. Finally, the pragmatic theory states that a proposition is true if it is useful or works in practice. We will use these three theories to understand when our senses can be trusted to give us the truth. We will write a custom essay sample on Trust our Senses specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Trust our Senses specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Trust our Senses specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The human species are said to have the weakest of all senses in terms of potency because they can be easily deceived. Perception is a very sophisticated issue because not everything we perceive is real. Optical illusion for sight, not hearing low and high frequency sounds, knowing what a thing tastes like because of its label or the fact we know what it is, not being able to differentiate between different smells, and the reflex reaction for the sense of touch are vivid examples of how things we perceive through our senses sometimes differs from objective reality. We can simplify this by saying that senses just provide the raw information which is then processed through knowledge in the brain to give us a clear and bigger meaning of that information that we believe is true. Therefore, our senses themselves cannot be relied upon to give us the truth. Ultimately, we can never know the absolute truth but only get relatively close to it by combining our senses along with the ways of knowledge- this is the only time we should trust our senses to give us truth. Before getting into details of when we should trust our senses to give us truth, let us look at a classic example of Helen Heller. Even though she was not born blind and deaf, a disease led her to the pit of blackness at a very young age. She was the first deaf blind person to graduate from college. Sight and hearing are considered to be the most important of all senses because it is these that shed light on the outside world and help us stay in touch with our surroundings and communicate with the society around us. Helen proved that her senses were not the only requirements to know the events and survive in the bustling world around her, but language, emotions, perception, and reason- the ways of knowing are equally crucial in order to perceive the truth. Language is a human mode of communication that is not limited to verbal speech only; but also includes visual, auditory, or symbols that can be easily manipulated. Language is constantly surrounding us: when we describe something, express our feelings, write, point out at something, make a sad droopy face, or even when we touch someone or something. Language is one of the main ways by which we acquire knowledge from the world around us and is one of the many pathways that leads to truth because it is through language that we can express our beliefs. Language can also be seen in plants (chemically) and animals (special gestures or sounds through positive reinforcement) furthermore proving how involved it is in our day to day basis. A person like Helen Keller came to communicate by the sense of touch when she realized that motions her teacher was making on her palm, while running cool water over her hand, symbolized the idea of water. Because she was blind and deaf, she had no idea of the concept of language, words, or how to express herself. She found a way around this complication by the means of language through her sense of touch. She used the Tadoma method of touching the lips and throat of others as they speak, combined with fingerspelling letters on the palm. Therefore, she made the sense of touch her mode of communication (her language) and used it in her day to day life to acquire knowledge from the world of underlying facts around her. Over her years of experience and practice, she obtained a set of beliefs that unveiled the blackness and shed light on the world of facts around her, thus applying to the theories of truth. The Eskimo-Aleut language has a hundred words for the word snow; therefore they see the truth in much more detail because of the deeper meaning than other people who do not speak the language. Words can also mean different things in other languages and expressions (body language) can be easily misinterpreted. This is why in order to get the truth, one needs experience with language; this might take a long time but would take us closer to the ultimate truth. Emotions are often deceiving and can seem as an obstacle to the truth we seek. According to the James Lange theory, emotions are generally physical in nature and it is these that trick our senses. This suggests the weak property of emotions because it can be easily hindered due to our physical nature. For instance, if we are deserted on an island and have not eaten or drank anything for quite some time, our emotions kick in causing us to hallucinate and even the slightest sound would cause us to be suspicious. However, if the source of the problem was dealt to (hunger and thirst), then no such thing would happen. It is also because of emotions that our reasoning skills weaken. This also suggests that emotions can be controlled. Emotions however, can give us truth- for instance, if we see a dead mean and smell his rotting body, we would instantaneously feel sad and have a sick feeling. The fact is that the man has died, and believing that triggers the emotions, thus we know it is true the man has died. Emotions are very dodgy in terms of giving us truth. Thus, it is of great importance that reasoning (another way of knowledge) is introduced into the whole spectra in order to separate the hindrance of emotions from the truth we seek through our senses. Seeing that the Senses cannot decide our dispute, being themselves full of uncertainty, we must have recourse to Reason; there is no reason but must be built upon another reason: so here we are retreating backwards to infinity. Michel de Montaigne. This bias quote towards reasoning greatly implies the use of reasoning and logic in order to give us the truth, because senses by themselves are full of uncertainty. It is this that causes us to think about the validity of day to day arguments and knowledge we acquire and think of its greater implications in the world. It makes us question about things we already know and the new things we are told. For instance, when we think we see a dead man walking, we reason out that if a man is dead, his heart his not beating and there is no blood being pumped through his body, thus no electrical impulses are being send to his brain and therefore he cannot be walking, or in fact, he cannot be alive. Thus, we apply the basic facts of how the human body works and come to a conclusion that the dead man walking was not the truth because it fits in with our overall sets of belief. In order to get close to the absolute truth, we need to set apart our emotions just like Helen Keller did and think logically, or simply reason out. The final way of knowing- perception, is also vital for achieving the truth. Everything we see, hear, taste, smell, or touch, is not necessarily what we expect it to be. As said before, we know what something tastes like only because of its label or we can see what it is. If we were to blindfold a person and make him describe the texture of a rock and a pebble, he might not be very accurate in describing it unless he actually sees the size of the rock and the pebble. Usually, in perception, the confirmation by another sense is required in order to fully believe in what we see, hear, taste, smell, or touch. Helen Keller must have perceived the world in a very different way as compared to us. Losing two of her most important senses that help us perceive the world, her certainty of knowledge would be questioned. Certainty depends on perception, and perception depends on senses working together, and senses working together depends on reason and language, all of this combined is what gets us closest to quest of pathway of absolute truth we intend to seek.

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buy custom Iron Man essay A tragic hero is a potent and a virtuous character in a tragedy. He is a man of noble structure and not an ordinary man. He has outstanding quality and greatness about him. A tragic hero gets destined for downfall, suffering or defeat. That tragedy is brought up by the hero making an error of judgement or having a fatal flaw combined with fate and other external forces. The fortune changes from bright to awful, despite the hero being morally blameless. However, in most occasions, his downfall and destruction is for a greater cause, fame or principle. Tragic hero has other traits among the ones named above. He is usually of a noble birth, having or showing qualities of high moral character, such as courage, generosity or honour. He is also associated with some stature or high position such as a king or nobleman. He must be a trustworthy person who matters to us, we see him as a worthwhile person. A tragic hero commits the tragic flaw that causes his downfall. He makes serious errors in judgement which led him to committing the deed which begins his downfall and misfortune. The heros flaw may be an error, mistake or blunder that causes his predicament. It is an imperfection that makes the tragic hero be viewed as a failure. Since he gets adored by many, a tragic hero must elicit both pity and fear from the audience (Perrine 21). Due to a heros flaw, the punishment he gets is a rversal of his fortune from super to poor. However, his action of flaw and downfall results in an increase of self awareness and self knowledge. The suffering the hero goes through after his flaw is a conscious act and he must be willing to suffer. He fights in vain against another force and his suffering must result in a lesson learnt. Instead of the downfall being destruction to the heros character, it acts as a stepping stone to the heros achievements after he recognizes his mistakes. At times, it may be viewed as a waste of human potential when the heros misfortune results to his death. However, this is not a pure loss as it results to greater knowledge and awareness. In contrast with the tragic hero, modern hero does not have to be of a high estate and may not be born noble, but rather an ordinary person. He is not born in a noble way. In most cases, the misfortunes of a modern hero may not result to his death. The occurrences to a modern hero may not result to in an epiphany of awareness or knowledge (Misra 63). However, a modern hero may have a flaw that result to a misfortune. An example is Martha Stewarts. She was not born in a noble way and did not grow up living in a noble way. She was taught ordinary jobs of cooking, sewing and gardening at an exceptionally young age. She would work part time to pay for her expenses, and she became famous when she began to work as a model. She had a retail store, wrote for the New York TTimes, branches in publishing, merchandizing and providing products in many different areas (Crutcher 97). A trait that was common to a tragic hero is seen in Marthas downfall that started from a slip of moral judgement. Her flaw and blunder was becoming greedy for more power and money that overrode her trusty judgement. Her fatal flaw was greed and dishonesty. She also committed a crime in misleading a federal investigator and obstructing an investigation that landed her in prison. In our culture, we value our heroes from their achievement, success in business ventures and leadership positions. We do not value the underdog as a hero, but we value the strong and the favourite (David 46). Intelligence is also a valued trait in our modern hero. It is the abilities of self-awareness, planning and ability in problem solving. For a tragic hero, a flaw could cause a misfortune that would lead to the death. For a modern hero, the flaw would lead to a misfortune that would only result to awareness and not death of a hero. The case of Martha flaw just caused a power trip because of all of her achievements, but it did not cause death to her (Warner 52). A modern villain can be compared to a tragic hero in that they both have flaw, mistakes and blunder. The characters tend to have a negative effect on other characters. They are malicious and get involved to crime and wickedness. Buy custom Iron Man essay

4 Ways You Can Use Your Holiday Break to Gear up for the New Year

4 Ways You Can Use Your Holiday Break to Gear up for the New Year Once you’ve settled down from all  the  excitement  of the holiday season, it’s important to look towards the New Year and have a plan. It can be temping to procrastinate and forget about your workplace responsibilities, but staying on track even in the face of a relaxing holiday is very important.   Instead, consider using downtime over the holiday break this year to set yourself up for a great start to 2017. Here are four ways to set yourself up for a productive 2017 and get ahead of the inevitable New Year’s resolutions.1.  Think about what you’ve done in 2016Take a look at your past year. You have the luxury of doing this without the day-to-day distractions of emails, meetings, and requests from colleagues, so take advantage of the time to stop and review. What worked for you in the past year? Did you start new habits that made your day easier? Did you cut out distractions? Start a new job?On the flip side, be honest about what didn’t go so well. If you felt like you didn’t have enough time to get everything done, what could you have done to streamline your schedule?2. Think about your goals for 2017.Once you get a picture of how your year went and what you might be able to do to improve next year, set some reasonable goals. Try not to fall into the New Year’s resolution trap, where we set goals based on a kind of idealized version of ourselves. Sure, it would be great if you could change everything on day one- no junk food, hitting the gym every day, never checking Facebook at work, or other worthy resolutions. Human nature usually has other plans, though, and we often slip right back into our previous ways by, oh, February.For your professional goals, make sure you’re staying practical and possible. If you think you’d like to change jobs, give yourself a timeline (complete with achievable steps) throughout the year. For example:February: Update your resume.March: Research potential c ompanies and recruit a friend to run through practice interviews with you.April: Start applying for job openings.Regardless of whether or not you want to leave your current job, think of the bigger picture: what would you like to be working on? If there’s a dream project you have within your existing role, or one that would be a little bit of a stretch for you, start mapping it out. Make an outline of what would be involved, and have a plan ready to discuss it with your manager after the holidays.Whatever your goals are, it’s crucial to do your prep work. The SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Timely) guideline is very helpful for building goals, weeding out unworkable ones, and saving yourself some grief.3. Catch up on unfinished business.Was there something you wanted to check off your to-do list before you rushed out the door for the holiday? Now’s your chance to take a crack at it without calls, meetings, or other workday tasks getting i n your way. I know it’s your time away from the office, but if you take two hours now to set yourself up for the return to work, think how calm you’ll feel next week while everyone else is scrambling to get back to work.4. Reach out to your network.The new year gives you an easy â€Å"in† to reach out to someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Even if you don’t have many of your professional contacts on your annual Christmas card list, a â€Å"Happy New Year!† note is a great opportunity to reconnect for 2017.Even if you do all four of these things, you’ll still have plenty of time for holiday joy and relaxation with friends and family. Think of it as an investment in yourself for the next year†¦ and you don’t even have to hit the gym or give up that bad habit to do it.

Peter the Great's Reformation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Peter the Great's Reformation - Essay Example Peter instituted state wide reformation from military ranks to beard taxation, all of which helped Westernize Russia. These westernizing reformations forced Russia modernize, and adoption of European culture whether the people liked it or not. Peter the Great's most significant changes to the state were the improvements to the Russian military and also the expansion of the Russian industry. Throughout his reign, Peter the Great's ambitious westernizing reformation of the Russian military and industry transformed Russian into a strong and well respected European power at the expense of the countries laboring serfs. After the crushing defeat against the Swedish at the Battle of Narva, Peter the Great realized he had to reform the Russian military they wanted to stand a chance against the European powers. Although Peter's army was very large the soldiers were in sufficiently trained and inadequately equipped (Hosking). Peters officers and soldiers were not accustomed to fighting the European style battles involving open field. Peter knew that if he wanted match the European powers he needed to teach his officers western military tactics, modernize the weaponry for the soldiers, and raise funds to apply these changes. Peter also adopted European style uniforms for his army to express formality and contention to the Western powers. With this large, formal, advanced, and educated army, Russia could safely protect its newly acquired lands, contest European powers such as Sweden.

Blighs Claims and Liabilities in Tort Case Study

Blighs Claims and Liabilities in Tort - Case Study Example Tort may include that this personal violation or wrong can be negligent or intentional such as battery or defamation of character. Torts can also be violations of personal property as well. Strictly speaking, torts are called civil wrongs as opposed to criminal wrongs. However, torts like battery can be both a tort and a crime and the defendant can face both civil and criminal penalties. Torts may be committed with force or without force to the person or to the property in possession. Tort laws have been enacted to provide relief for the damages incurred and deter others from committing the same injurious acts. Under most tort laws, a person can sue for an injunction to stop the continuation of an injurious act or for monetary damages. Under Tort law, a person can also sue for loss of earnings capacity, pain and suffering, and reasonable medical expenses in the present and projected into the future. Some of the more specific torts include trespass, assault & battery, negligence, products liability, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Tort liability fall into three categories: intentional, negligent and liability. (i) Negligence: Negligence is a tort which depends on the existence of a breach of duty of care owed by one person to another. In order to claim damages under 'negligence', the following conditions must have been satisfied. In the above case, the de... b) The defendant breached the duty of care c) Breach causing harm in fact d) The injury / loss was caused by the breach and damages need to be awarded e) Breach being a proximate or not too remote a cause, in law In the above case, the defendant Mr. Hood had negligently left the keys in the ignition, because of which, Mr. Fletcher took the cruiser without Mr. Hood's permission and hit Mr. Bligh's barge. This has resulted in damage to the property of Mr. Bligh. If Mr. Hood had properly locked it, and had not left the keys in the ignition itself, the damage wouldn't have happened. As such, 'negligence' has provided a cause of action against Mr. Hood. In Donoghue v. Stevenson's case , Mrs Donoghue could sue the manufacturer of Ginger Beer for negligence, since he had not exercised due care in checking the contents of Ginger Beer which had decomposed snail in it. (ii) Vicarious Liability: It is not sure whether Mr. Fletcher is an employee of Mr. Hood. If he is an employee of Mr. Hood, Mr. Bligh can claim damages from Mr. Hood under Vicarious liability as well. "Since his employee harmed the barge of Mr. Bligh in the course of his employment, he is required to bear responsibility for it. In one of the tort cases, the conductor of a bus drove the bus negligently and injured a pedestrian. The court ruled that the owner of that bus is liable for conductor's irresponsible act, since the accident happened during the course of employment. (iii) Intangible Economic Interests / Monitory loss: Because of the above act of Mr. Fletcher, the barge was damaged and took a day to repair. As a result, Mr. Bligh was unable to use it to carry on his transport business and lost a day's profit, there being no other barge available. Mr. Bligh, can claim the monitory loss

Organisation on learning Essay Example for Free

Organisation on learning Essay Background: Previous research suggests that the organisation of information is integral to its storage in and recall from memory. Aim: Differences with regard to the use of categorisation of information have been observed between cultures and age groups, so the aim is to find out the degree to which categorisation affects the learning of information in 16-18 year olds. Method: 20 participants aged 16-18 had 60 seconds to learn as many words as they could from a grid containing 24 words. The grid contained 6 words in 4 different semantic categories and was either categorised (control) or randomised (experimental). Participants then recalled as many of the words as they could. The amount of words that they recalled was observed. Results: The difference in the number of words remembered between the two conditions was found to be insignificant when put to the independent t-test and tested at the 0.05 level. In fact, participants in Condition B (randomised) recalled more words on average than those in Condition A (organised). However, participants in Condition B showed 68.83% categorisation upon recall, compared with 0.5% that would have been shown if participants recalled the words in the order that they appeared on the radomised grid. Conclusion: The results suggest that the degree of organisation of information upon presentation does not affect the amount of information remembered. However, the actual process of mentally organising the information may be a significant factor in the amount of information remembered. Individual differences may affect the way the information is organised, but this study found that categorical organisation was the most common form of this. Introduction Much evidence suggests that information in memory is highly organised, and that we remember large amounts of information by associating it with other similar pieces of information already stored. It may even be that the organisation of information is a prerequisite for information to be stored; for example, Mandler (1967) stated that memory and organization are not only correlated, but organization is a necessary condition for memory. From this viewpoint, it follows that, by definition, any information stored in the memory must be organised somehow. It may also be that the organisation of information upon presentation facilitates its storage, and that if information is not organised, people will attempt to create their own methods of organisation (Tulving, 1968). Categorical clustering is a term coined by Bousfield (1953) in order to describe one type of organisation in learning. In his research, he presented participants with a list of 60 words (15 from 4 different categories: animals, anthroponyms, professions and vegetables) and asked participants to free-recall the list. He found that, despite not having been told what the categories were, participants tended to recall the words according to their category and thus demonstrated the phenomenon. Bower et al. (1969) presented participants with words which were arranged into conceptual hierarchies. For one group, these were arranged in hierarchical form, and for the other they were listed randomly. The participants who were presented with the words in hierarchical form recalled almost 31/2 times as many words as those to whom they were presented randomly, suggesting that the organisation of the words upon presentation facilitated their storage in memory. A similar trait has also been observed with naturally occurring stimuli. Rubin and Olson (1980) asked students to recall the names of as many members of staff in their school as they could, and found that students showed a strong tendency for the members of staffs names to be recalled by their respective departments. This also shows evidence for categorical organisation. They further found that students who re-arranged word cards into more categories remembered more words on average than those who created less categories, and that those who were not told to actively remember the words, instead just sort them, remembered the same amount as those asked to remember them. These indicate that not only does categorisation increase the amount of information remembered, but the active process of organisation may even cause the information to be remembered. More support that organisation and learning are intertwined comes from Kahana and Wingfield (2000), who found that the relation between organisation and learning remained the same even after significant differences between participants mnemonic abilities had been taken into account.  One case study which suggests that memory is highly organised comes from Hart et al. (1985). Having almost made a complete recovery from a stroke two years previously, M.D. experienced no problems except that he was unable to name different types of fruit and vegetable or sort them into categories. However, he was able to name and sort types of food, for example, and vehicles, which suggests that his inability to carry out these tasks was limited to specific semantic categories. Aims The findings of this previous research suggest that organisation does play a large role in the storage, structuring and restructuring of information in memory. However, organisation does not necessarily imply categorisation, which is what will be tested here. Also, in a similar way that Gutchess et al. (2006) found that age and culture affected the way in which categorisation was used in memory, it may be that young people in turn use it differently. So, the following experiment aims to investigate the effects of organisation on learning in 16-18 year-olds. More specifically, it will investigate the degree to which organisation of information upon presentation affects the storage and recall of words presented in a randomised grid. Following on from research by Bower et al. (1969) and Rubin and Olson (1980), two hypotheses have been drawn:  Experimental hypothesis  Participants will recall, on average, fewer words when the words given are listed randomly, than will the participants for whom the words are listed categorically.

Strategies Of Success From Stanford :: essays research papers

Everything that has ever ‘come about’ in the world, started in the beginning as an idea. In order for anything to be invented, the inventor had a dream, an idea to make something that would help them and the people around them. Schools today, teach students to change the world- to take charge and stand up for things you believe in. The former president of Stanford University, Clark Kerr, once said, â€Å"The university is not engaged in making ideas safe for students. It is engaged in making students safe for ideas.† This statement can be taken two ways, both positive and negative.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We’ll save the best for last and, for now, start with the negative. This whole statement can be taken as a pessimistic view of the future. It seems to say that we, the young men and women of the next generation, are unable to continue doing things the way they were done in the past. It seems to say that we need to be taught how to think, and be told that what we want to gain isn’t the right thing. It’s like telling a little child that there is no Santa Claus- everything we believe in is completely changed. â€Å"†¦Making students safe for ideas.† Reading this alone makes it seem as if Julian, Erika the students are not smart enough to decide on his or her own which ideas to take advantage of. As if, the ideas are the ultimate prize and we, the students, are the contestants in a game show, competing to the death to have the best idea of all. It seems to say that we need to be conditioned and shown just what an ‘idea’ is and what to do with one. If you compare it to a gun, for example, you need to be taught how to take proper care of a gun, what to do with one and what not to do with one. The same idea can be put as a meaning for this quote. If you look at it through my eyes, the positive side of the quote has a much bigger impact on me than the negative side does. The optimism seems to jump out at me, blazing like a beachside sunset. This entire quote seems to say, in it’s own way, that schools are here to show the students that their imagination is completely limitless.

Distribution of Wealth

Since time immemorial, there is an alarming inequality existing among men. It is ironic how wealth is distributed with apparent discrepancies, resulting to an overwhelming amount of money acquired by some while others remain in the pits of poverty. Perhaps some would perceive the possession of billions of dollars as morally unacceptable, while others would view this as a natural consequence of human nature. It is quite alarming how extreme standards of living is plaguing our society and impairs our basic function as human beings. But this has been the problem since the first existence of man. And perhaps this nothing but a natural tendency, and that the actual nature governing mankind is that there is a law of equity.Individual needs is basically thought to determine his resource acquisition. Or at the very least, it would serve as a baseline or a standard as to how he would lead a decent kind of living. Therefore philosophers and people in general have defined that the needs of soci ety would be the primary established factor for justice and wealth distribution. Are men created equal therefore should not acquire more than his neighbor? Or are men inherently unequal, being that others are superior than the ones next to them?Some ask, â€Å"Is it right that some people have acquired billions of dollars through business dealings while other people live in great poverty?† Two renowned philosophers have shared their views on how the distribution of wealth should be. John Locked said, â€Å"God gave the world to men in common.† He believed that the available property in nature has become the restriction within which man sets his labor and standards of living. It is his belief that each man has his own right to work, to own, to consume, and not to be transgressed.   He further elaborated, â€Å"Which  measure did confine every man’s possession to a very moderate proportion, and such as he might appropriate to himself without injury to anybody , in the first age of the world† (Hutchins 1952, p. 1047).Locke discussed this rule of property, which is â€Å"that every man should have as much as he could make use of† without both inflicting injury towards others and passing judgment on them. It actually was quite ideal and it worked quite successfully in previous times, when there most societies promote freedom and free enterprise. Locke thought that this world could provide enough land for each and every human being who wishes to build a home and that everything that the world holds would have been enough for people to survive had it not been for the invention of money. Because of this, people have become occupied by their ambitions of acquiring more wealth, wealth in the form of imperishable commodities with great excess.There should have been enough resources for everyone to live on, yet these resources seem scarce for most. The world is given to men and therefore each has an equal right to everything the earth could offer. How much a man works would determine how much he earns. His labor would equate his wealth acquisition as his capacity to consume is regulated by his ability to produce. If one has excessive amounts of wealth, then this entails that there is waste. And this waste is a violation of nature’s laws. Because of money, man has become able to accumulate wealth through time, saving inheritance and working for more to bequeath. Because money is not perishable by time, man only keeps on having more of it without any possible limits. Money allows wealth accumulation without causing injury towards others (Hutchins 1952, p. 1047).Rousseau on the other hand, believes that there is an inequitable acquisition of wealth and that men are created unequal. He believes that it is not money itself that is  the cause of the existence of inequality of mankind, but the property itself. He even thought of the first man who has made an enclosure to a piece of land and claimed it his that made others believe him is actually the real founder of civil society. As it has become a right to establish ownership of a property, this wealth amassed makes one to want more and expand what he already owns.Others tend to ignore the poverty that surrounds them, and when asked if they take notice on these, as perceived by Rousseau, they try to not care as it would affect their interests of owning more. They want to protect their possessions from the threats of being attacked or taken. Mankind has established a civil law that they propose is for the purpose of security for everyone, yet the truth is that they only initiate this as to secure their ownership of property and power.This instead results to the violation of the rights of the poor, as it only curtails their chance to improve their standards of living. It actually chains the poor and only makes the rich even wealthier. This consequently lead to the destruction of natural liberty, it only fixed the law of property and inequ ality, and turned transgression into a right, only for the advantage of the few (Hutchins 1952, p. 1048). When others’ are harmed, man is therefore given the â€Å"right to punish the offender, and be executioner of the law of nature† as proposed by Locke.Rousseau believed that it is contrary to nature that only a few should be privileged to have an extensive amount of wealth while others, a multitude of others, are in dire need of the basic necessities of life. This is why he proposed that there should be a government that would repair this and allow each and everyone to be provided with the minimum needs that they have. A â€Å"government should prevent extreme inequalities of fortunes† not by forcibly taking a man’s possession from him,  but instead prevent him from accumulating it. It is more of preventing the people from becoming poor or too rich (Hutchins 1952, p. 1048).It is indeed a fact that each human being should have an equal access to whate ver resource they need. They should be given equal opportunities to survive and to lead a certain standard of living fitting them. Cause I believe that there is indeed inequality and inequity among mankind. Both Locke and Rousseau presented strong thesis on the question of wealth acquisition. Theirs are quite complementary to some degree as they share that each man has a right of property. Each affirmed that the problem of poverty is not a problem that could be easily resolved, nor would there really be a solution to it, once the right of property is admitted. The right of property is said to be sacred and is a basic right of citizenship to a country, yet there is quite a difficulty in securing the property of individuals without attacking it on another.I believe that it is true poverty is an inevitable consequence of property, as war is an inevitable consequence of sovereignty, and in neither case can the cause be abolished. Both proposed that men should be equal, and men should pr event, as asserted by Hegel himself. Men should think that they are equal, as to prevent transgression against each other. But the truth is that everyone is created different, and these differences entail that there are inequalities in abilities and skills among man. But it does not mean that one has a greater importance than the other, they are simply different.But their differences in particular areas mean that it can be in the form of wealth. Men as a whole are equal, but in particular aspects, they are not. And that is the truth that the universe holds. I believe that Rousseau’s proposal of a government safeguarding the interests of its citizens by preventing mass wealth acquisition or extensive resource scarcity is ideal. But this is as promising as it is almost impossible.Because just as communism failed, humans have this natural tendency to outdo the other, and that the selfishness inside would dominate the want to put things in their proper places. Those who would enf orce these proposals are themselves men and therefore fallible, making the entire thesis too unrealistic in for the human setting.If Locke was asked the given question, he would say that it having wealth despite the poverty of others is immoral but technically moral. Because money has legitimized wealth accumulation as it allows one to become richer without causing another human being to become poorer. However it is immoral, as men are created equal and must all have enough resources necessary for them to lead decent lives. Men are not accountable to his neighbor unless he transgresses the other’s rights. He only answers to himself therefore he has the right to become whatever he pleases within the bounds of not causing harm to others.If Rousseau answers the same question, he would say that it is definitely immoral, however a common occurrence, and must be prevented by all means. This is why he proposed that a government should prevent extreme ends in society. This is quite t he dream of many, as all have wanted a society that exists in respect. That there should be a society with its member without any source or reason of jealousy, or competition, because everyone should have enough. But the truth is, man knows no bounds and does not want enough. Man wants to have plentiful of everything, and this is the major source of all the conflicts in our world today and for all of history. In times when he himself is threatened of his possessions, his life or other material wealth, he would not instinctively act in accordance for the common good but for the good of himself alone. And if given the chance to have access to conveniences that the world has to offer, he would definitely take it.The central issue that plagues mankind is the existence of money or property or any form material possession. Perhaps it is immoral in the sense that it creates disparity and it questions what moral obligation does a human being have. For indeed, how can one sleep at night in t heir lofty beds while others sleep in the dumpsters with newspapers as their blankets? How can a person spend on useless jewelry when his money can actually save millions of lives from the face of death because of starvation? And how can life be so cruel to those who did not intend to become poor but because they are born that way, they have to suffer the same kind of life?Both philosophers attempted to condemn the existence of money. But money is one commodity that governs human existence and will dictate man’s society for eras to come. It is almost impossible to put equality among people. People determine what they would have, and they must work for what they need. This is the concept of equity for it is quite unfair that one would work harder than the other and acquire just as much just because they are told equal. It is more appropriate that man works for himself and has every right to become whatever he pleases as long as he does not violate the rights of others.Works Ci tedAdler, Mortimer J. â€Å"Wealth.† A Syntopicon of Great Books of the Western World.  Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952. 1038-1049.

Should a foreign state provide a mortgage

Should a foreign state provide a mortgage for a diplomatic mission of another foreign state? BY FeltxR02 Diplomatic Law Should a foreign state provide a mortgage for a diplomatic mission of another foreign state? Until the beginning of the 20th Century was generally recognized the principle of international law according to which foreign states cannot be sued in courts of a foreign country (the principle of absolute immunity). This has proven to be unsustainable due to increasing economic activities of public authorities. It has been abandoned by most Jurisdictions.In Germany for example the principle of limited immunity is now practiced since the beginning of the 1960s. Therefore foreign States only enjoy immunity when they act in the name of their sovereignty (acta lure imperil). For claims arising from economic activity (acta lure gestionis) the foreign state cannot rely on its freedom of Jurisdiction. This can certainly be seen in a mortgage, because in international law not the purpose of government action, but he nature of the action determines whether it is a actum Jure imperil or lure gestionis.So there is generally a private law relationship between the bank and the ambassador, as a representative of the country. With the threat of payment default, the bank could therefore theoretically initiate enforcement and claim the money in court. Problems arise, however, in the enforcement of the claim, since Article 22 paragraph 3 of the Vienna Convention of 1961 rules that the buildings of an Embassy re excepted from any enforcement.For actions of enforcement or execution against a foreign State it is not allowed to take any measures against the things the diplomatic missions needs for its diplomatic representation and to the performance of their official functions (ne impediatur Legatio). In resume it can be dangerous for the bank to give the mortgage to the countries representatives, though you have the possibility of trying to enforce your claim.

The Principle Events In The Evolution Of The Earth Essays

The Principle Events In The Evolution Of The Earth Essays The Principle Events In The Evolution Of The Earth The Principle Events in the Evolution of the Earth's Atmosphere The literal translation of the word atmosphere is sphere of vapors. The Earth's atmosphere is a protective sphere of vapors, or air that surrounds the Earth and provides it with a layer of insulation from the harmful rays of the sun. It is a vital part of the Earth, and has changed dramatically since the beginning of time. The earth's atmosphere has gradually changed since the Earth's birth approximately 4.6 million years ago. In the beginning, the Earth's composition was very different that how it exists today. A long time ago the Earth's atmosphere was very similar to today's Venus and Mar's atmosphere. It had about 95% carbon dioxide, 2-3% nitrogen, and very little, less than 1% oxygen. Today the Earth contains 79% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 3% water vapor. It is evident that there were many events that happened over billions of years that have contributed to this change in the Earth's atmosphere. The Earth had developed so drastically because of the tremendous dust and gas cloud within the Milky Way galaxy. The Earth grew larger as huge meteorites hit it, and the surface was covered with dust. Volcanoes began to form and emitted lava, ash, and most importantly gases. Carbon dioxide, water vapor, and nitrogen were released into the atmosphere from the volcanoes. This process is called outgassing, and took place within the first million years or so of the Earth's formation. Then, about 4 billion years ago, the planet cooled, and the outgassed water vapors condensed into clouds. It rained and produced the oceans, and even enough to cover 95% of the Earth. In addition, because it rained, there was less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide was lost over billion of years, as the ocean formed there was a chemical reaction in which carbon dioxide and water formed carbonic acid. It is shown in the equation CO2 + H2O = H2CO3. The carbonic acid dissolved oceanic rock into sand, silt, and mud. It is evident because of this geochemical process occurred there is more carbon in the rocks and minerals and there is less in the Earths atmosphere. The Earths first ever oxygen emerged about two millions years ago because of ultraviolet radiation. The water in the Earths atmosphere was split into oxygen and hydrogen because of the ultraviolet radiation from the sun. The equation for this process is UV-* 2H20 -* 2H2 + O2. The first ever oxygen is from the ultraviolet radiation that occurred in the Earths atmosphere. It is interesting to note that 600 million years ago only about 1% of the Earths atmosphere was oxygen. Significant quantities of oxygen did not begin until plants arrived on the scene. The percentage of oxygen increased when plant life evolved and photosynthesis began to happen on the Earth. The first ever plants were blue-green algae, which lived the Earths oceans. Plants used sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make their food in a process called photosynthesis. The process of photosynthesis can be easily seen in the equation 6CO2 + 6H2O = C6H12O6 + O2. The plants breathe in carbon dioxide and then release oxygen during photosynthesis, within 500 million years oxygen was the second largest part of the atmosphere after nitrogen. As oxygen became a greater part of the atmosphere the ozone shield emerged. The shield was formed when solar ultraviolet radiation forces the reaction for oxygen to form ozone, also known as 03. The ozone protects the Earth and its inhabitants from the harmful radiation from the sun. In conclusion, the Earths atmosphere has changed dramatically since the Earths origin about 4.6 billion years ago. There are many factors that contributed to this change over time. By getting a better understanding of our Earths atmosphere we can use in many useful ways. We can use this knowledge of the atmosphere for a worthy cause in many areas of science and greatly benefit from it.

How to Remove Rust Stains

How to Remove Rust Stains Rust stains can be a challenge to remove because the stain consists of tiny iron oxide particles, plus some treatments actually set the stain rather than remove it. Use a little chemistry know-how to successfully remove a rust stain. Materials You Will Need Lemon or lemon juice and table saltOr mild dishwashing soap and ammoniaOr a commercial rust-removal product Instructions for Removing Rust Stains First, do not make the stain worse by applying chlorine bleach as this will react with the rust and may intensify the discoloration.Remove as much of the rust stain as possible before applying a treatment.Follow the instructions on the package if you are using a commercial rust-removal product.Squeeze lemon juice onto the stain so that the spot is thoroughly saturated.Sprinkle salt onto the lemon juice.Allow the salt and juice to react with the stain for 24 hours. Refresh the lemon juice to keep the spot damp.Blot the stain (do not rub, as this may damage the fibers).Rinse the spot with cool water. Repeat the process if needed.Another method is to apply a mixture of 1/4 teaspoon of mild liquid dish soap in 1 cup of warm water. Thoroughly saturate the stain and allow the solution to react for at least five minutes. The surfactants in the detergent will help to lift the rust particles.Blot the stain with a clean white cloth or paper towel and rinse it with cool water.Repeat this proces s until the stain is removed or until no more discoloration is picked up by the cloth. Thoroughly rinse the spot with water to remove all traces of cleaning solution.If the rust stain persists, saturate the stain with a solution of 2 tablespoons of ammonia in 4 cups of warm water.Blot the spot with a white cloth or paper towel.Rinse the spot with cool water.For carpeting or upholstery, layer clean cloths or paper towels over the spot to remove any moisture.

Facilities Operations and Management Assignment

Facilities Operations and Management - Assignment Example The researcher states that through the exploration of the responsibilities of the facility’s manager, the reader will be presented with a practical understanding to the myriad of responsibilities and the activities that are covered in the management of restaurant chains. Through the exploration of the responsibilities of the manager of the facility, more light will also be shed to the issues, concerns and the practical aspects of the manager, in supporting the business, towards making it profitable and improving its profitability. Through the review of the four main areas identified, the paper will point out the management best practices employed by a facility in the hotel and hospitality industry, aimed at creating a sustainable competitive advantage. The main importance of managing a facility effectively is that it enables it to keep its best employees and to satisfy its customers; the two groups are the most important stakeholders in a business. The first major role of a fa cility’s manager in a hotel is that of acting as the standard bearer for the hotel business. The roles covered under this area of responsibility include communication, promotion, facilitating performance and maintaining the different aspects of the staffs of the facility. This area of responsibility requires the (facility) hotel manager to practice management by objectives, where he/ she employ a performance appraisal system characterized by a variety of traits. The first trait is that of taking the actions and completing the documents that help to evaluate the performance of staffs, with the aim of improving it, reducing the challenges they face and improving their satisfaction within the workplace.

Illegal Immigration and High Rating Crimes in the United States Essay

Illegal Immigration and High Rating Crimes in the United States - Essay Example The intention of this study is hate crime generally as crime that is targeted at victims due to their affiliation to particular a social group. The social group may be defined in terms of disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation, race, religion, class, age, ethnicity, nationality, social status, gender, or gender identity according to Lipman, J. and Francine. Better stated, hate crimes are crimes that are motivated by bias usually taking the form of assault, violence and at the worst, murder. Other forms of hate crime include harassment, bullying, insults, verbal abuse and the use of offensive words in writing or painting, just to mention a few. Hate crimes inflict a lot of psychological and sometimes physical pain to victims of the crime. It basically infringes on people’s fundamental and civil rights. Statistics show that the United States of America has high rates of hate crimes, the Black Americans commonly being the victims. In fact, out of 8000 reported hate crimes in the US recorded in 1995 by the FBI, about 3000 cases involved Black American victims. This minority group faced the highest level of victimization in the year. However, this is not to say that Minority groups such as the Hispanics, Muslims, Gays, Jews, Native Americans and Asians do not face a lot of hate crimes. Illegal immigration is the act of foreigners violating national immigration laws and/or policies by entering and residing in a place without official authorization. Illegal immigrants are naturally aliens.... ate crime include harassment, bullying, insults, verbal abuse and the use of offensive words in writing or painting, just to mention a few (Stotzer, 2007). Hate crimes inflict a lot of psychological and sometimes physical pain to victims of the crime. It basically infringes on people’s fundamental and civil rights. Statistics show that the United States of America has high rates of hate crimes, the Black Americans commonly being the victims. In fact, out of 8000 reported hate crimes in the US recorded in 1995 by the FBI, about 3000 cases involved Black American victims (Stotzer, 2007). This minority group faced the highest level of victimization in the year. However, this is not to say that Minority groups such as the Hispanics, Muslims, Gays, Jews, Native Americans and Asians do not face a lot of hate crimes. Illegal Immigration in the United States of America Illegal immigration is the act of foreigners violating national immigration laws and/or policies by entering and resi ding in a place without official authorization (Miller, 2007). Illegal immigrants are naturally aliens. The United States suffers illegal immigration as a result of the wide perception, by people across the world, that the country is a haven of opportunities. As of 2008, the Center of immigration studies estimated that close to 11 million people illegally lived in the US (Bahrampour, 2010)). Other bodies give slightly different statistics relating to illegal immigrants in the country. The Pew Hispanic Center reported in 2005 that about 55% of the illegal immigrants were Mexicans, 3% Africans, 6% Canadians and Europeans, 13% Asians, and 22% Latinos (Passel, 2006). There are many people who have had conducted studies related to illegal immigration and associated problems. According to Miller

Modern Retail Architecture Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8000 words

Modern Retail Architecture - Coursework Example As like in yoga or any other method preferred for solemn meditations, it was believed that the creation and preservation of a preferred environment increases the sense of well being of a person. Be it health wise or business wise the main point is to put any behavioral effect in the people subjected to the certain complexities and patterns relevant to environmental architecture and psychology. It has been known that man's visual system is receptive to the patterns their indivualism or personal traits prefer to conceive or perceive either in terms of visual or auditory reception. Human mind seeks to organize data when faced with random unknown visual information, filters it and automates to switch to anticipating patterns. In effective advertising, the artist has to feel and travel the complexities and inadequacies of human nature by subduing several personalities and differing public opinions or comments regarding a certain art or architecture in order to promote whatever product one has to promote. In layman's terms, being in the shoes of the target market segment, analyzing their choices and neutralizing product quality and what it has to offer to the customers as well. In this present technology, advertising is much more complicated in form and in production. Tastes of the market differ as our flow of life alters the very need of our existence. That is the cost of having facilitated technological advances. Technology, architecture, psychological captivity will take its own run also to directions only an artist can define in his own imagination and scheme. II. Psychology in Architecture At this stage I would like to direct the readers to that point where psychology meets architecture. Psychology proves to be a very useful tool to capture the target market. It has been in practice with regards to the product designs and branding, imaging of a certain business from their uniforms down to their product lines systems and designs. Take it from the very logical competition of the mobile or cell phone market. It constructs its model from being functional to being convenient to being used as leisure or games gadgets. A theory turned into reality and the model is right there and being featured in US magazines and computer books right in front of our very own eyes. This human perceptual function works relatively in the Gestalt rule which seeks to explore the works of the human mind through form or shapes. In architecture, one gets to know to imagine and anticipate what the clients want and how the customers interact with their physical environments. The deal here is anticipation and captivity of the customer's inspirations with regards to effects in colors and design information. 1 It is a very good way of emerging the attributes of ones products and building or room that contains it that will prove to challenge the information architect. In design, we have to achieve maximum performance of our designs through the acceptance and base visual perception relating to mental associations from the eyes down to the brain among users and items /design interface. Note that our human memory is the primary

Core Context Overview Ratios And Evaluation Finance Essay

Core Context Overview Ratios And Evaluation Finance Essay Kesko Corp is a diversified retail business headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. Founded in 1940, it deals with food trading, logistics, data and network management, building and home improvement alongside agricultural supplies, car and machinery trading. Apart from Finland, the company operates through subsidiaries like Kesko Food, Musta Porssi, Konekesko, Indoor, Intersport in Norway, Sweden, Russia, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus and Latvia. 2. CORE: Context, Overview, Ratios and Evaluation Context: External Kesko has around 2,000 stores structured as chain operations in parts of Nordic, Baltic, Scandinavian regions. Kesko and K-retailers comprise of K group which employs approximately 45,000 employees with year 2011 turnover stands at â‚ ¬ 12 billion. By 2011, Kesko Corporation has circa 19,000 employees with net-sales around â‚ ¬ 9.46 billion. An increase of 7.8% from last years (â‚ ¬ 8.77 billion). Finnish net-sales rose by 7.3% and other countries operations increased by 10.1%. Main drivers of success were food trade, building, car and machinery business. Earning-per-share of 2011 stands at 1.85 compared to 2.08 in 2010. A dividend of â‚ ¬ 1.2, 65% of the EPS was issued. Keskos market share is 35% and local major competitors are: S-Group (45%) Suomen Lahikauppa International competitor includes: Lidl Internal Kesko is controlled by its shareholders. Shareholders elect the Board of Directors and Auditor. Kesko Group is managed by the Board and the Managing Director who is also the President and CEO. CEO and President are selected by the Board of Directors. The company has Corporate Management Board having 7 members that control different divisions and responsibilities of the group. All Kesko Board members are non-executive directors. In 2011 it was decided by the Board that all of its members are independent of its companys shareholders. The Board ensures that the companys administration, operations and accounting as well as financial management controls are in place. Shareholding as below: The companys share capital is â‚ ¬ 197.2m. Total number of shares is 98.6m of which 31.7m are classed as A shares and 66.9m are B shares. Share A carries 10 votes and Share B one vote. Key group strategies include: Growth in Russian Regions Investment in development of store network Development of e-commerce Healthy profitable growth and increase shareholder value. All in all Keskos capital expenditure in growth stands at â‚ ¬ 425m in year-2011. Six new K-citymarket stores, 17 K-supermarkets in food business, 4 new K-rauta stores in building and home-improvement, 1 Kodin Ykkonen departmental store. The aim is to open 10 new stores in Russia with approx. â‚ ¬600m expenditure till 2015. Overview: Kesko: YEAR 2011 â‚ ¬m 2010 â‚ ¬m Turnover % Change 9,460 7.8% 8,776 Cost of Sales % Change 8163 8.17% 7546 Operating Profit % Change 281 -8.4% 307 Profit after Tax % Change 197 -8.8% 216 Operating Cash flow % Change 215 -51% 438 Capex % Change 427 30.2% 328 Total Debt (Long + Short term) % Change 400 -16.1% 477 Total number of Employees % Change 18,960 4.1% 18,215 The difference between costs and sales determines the operating profit. Though turnover is healthy, decrease in operating profit can be attributed to increase in cost of sales. Expenses also increased and in totality affected the profit position. Increase in capital expenditure is due to expansion in international markets and machinery which impacted negatively on the cash-flow position. Total debt position decreased which shows a healthy sign of effective use of company resources. Employee number remains constant. Koninklijke Ahold: YEAR 2011 â‚ ¬m 2010 â‚ ¬m Turnover % Change 30,271 2.5% 29,530 Cost of Sales % Change 22,350 3.4% 21,610 Operating Profit % Change 1,347 0.8% 1,336 Net Income % Change 1,017 19.2% 853 Operating Cash flow % Change 1,786 -15.4% 2,111 Capex % Change 881 -21.1% 1117 Net Debt % Change 1,088 47.6% 737 Total number of Employees % Change 218,000 2.3% 213,000 In comparison to Kesko, Ahold is 3 times bigger company as above. c).Ratio Analysis The ratio analysis is made up of performance, working capital, liquidity/solvency and shareholder ratios. Performance ratio is how well the company manages its assets and converts them into revenue and how efficiently converts its sales into cash. The better these ratios are the better value for shareholders. Kesko in comparison with Ahold Performance calculations 2011 2010 Change in 2011 Ahold 2011 Gross margin 2011: 13.7% 14.0% -0.3% 26.17% 1297/9460 2010: 1230/8776 Expenses/sales 2011: 18.1% 18.4% -0.3% 21.72% 1721/9460 2010: 1622/8776 Net margin* 2011: 2.9% 3.5% -0.6% 4.45% 281/9460 2010: 307/8776 Asset turnover 2011: 3.6 3.4 0.2 2.92 9460/2565 2010: 8776/2550 Return on 2011: 12.5% 13.9% -1.4% 12.99% Capital 281/2233 employed * 2010: 307/2210 Gross margin has declined because of increase in cost of sales sub-sequentially affecting the net margin. Slightly better asset turnover shows improved sales performance by every â‚ ¬ invested in the given year. Given the retail nature of the business this is normal. ROCE is not a matter of huge concern, however needs to be monitored closely. The ROCE decline could be the reduced profits attributed to shareholders. Ahold on the other hand shows big numbers. From retail perspective, Keskos performance is not bad at all. There are few dips in the numbers which are usual for a transactional retail business. d).Working capital is used to measure the companys short-term financial health. It is also called operational liquidity for the period of 12 months. Positive working capital can prove that the company can pay its short-term liabilities well. Negative working capital will increase the risk of default on short-term liabilities. Keskos working-capital ratios Working Cap Calculations 2011 2010 Change Ahold 2011 Inventory days 2011: 38.8 days 36.6 days 2.2 23.9 (divided by CoS) 867 x 365/ 8,163 2010: 757365/7,546 Debtor days 2011: 27.0 days 25.8 days 1.2 9.1 (divided by 700 x 365/9,460 sales) 2010: 620365/8776 Creditor days 2011: 51.3 days 52.4 days -1.1 39.8 (divided by CoS) 1148 x 365/ 8,163 2010: 1,085 x 365/ 7,546 Some difference year-on-year. Increase in inventory days shows negative cash-flow and control on inventory. Increase in debtor-days is bad for cash hence the cash position. This could be poor collection or price negotiations for discounts. Also seems like customers are taking longer to pay. Early payments to creditors depict the decrease in creditor-days, a virtuous gesture for suppliers but not good for cash. (d).Liquidity and Solvency ratios also a measure of companys ability to pay its short-term obligations also called a Quick ratio. This means that the current assets should outweigh current liabilities to stay positive. It also indicates the companys ability to meet interest payments. Higher the level of capital compared to debt, the lower these ratios are. Liquidity calculations 2011 2010 Change Ahold 2011 Current ratio 2011: 1.33 1.49 -0.16 1.13 2161/1625 2010: 2407/1616 Acid test 2011: 0.80 1.02 -0.22 0.81 2161- 867/1625 2010: 2407-757/1616 Solvency 2011 2010 Change Ahold 2011 Interest cover 2011: 13.40 18.05 -4.65 281/21 4.01 2010: 307/17 Gearing 2011: 0.18 0.21 -0.03 0.56 400/2233 2010: 477/2210 Decrease in current ratio is due to in-efficiencies in debtor and inventory turnover. Shortfall in cash has deteriorated acid test which is more conservative than current ratio. Variation in interest cover is an imminent concern given its retail landscape and possible inability to meet its debt obligations. Keskos cost of sales needs to be addressed to better manage profits sub-sequentially improving its cash reserves to shield the interest-cover shortfall. Decrease in gearing is a positive sign, showing Keskos good portion of equity is in place displaying monetary strength. e).Shareholders and Investment ratios Return on equity is the measure to see how much profit is left for shareholders. Higher this ratio, higher the profit for shareholders. Shareholders can decide to withdraw this profit or keep it invested in the business as retained earnings. Earning per share is a measure of firms profitability. Dividend cover is the number of times a firms dividends to shareholders is paid from its net profits. Higher the cover, more the ability to pay the shareholders. PE ratio measures price compared to earnings. The bigger the earning, more potential of rise in future earnings. Shareholder Calculations 2011 2010 Change Ahold 2011 Ratios 2011: ROE 197 / 2,233 8.8% 9.7% 0.9 17.3% 2010: 216 / 2,210 2011: 1.85 2.08 0.1 0.92 EPS 197 / 99 2010: 216 / 99 2011: Dividend Cover 1.85 / 1.20 1.54 times 1.6 times 0.06 2.30 EPS / Dividend 2010: Per share 2.08 / 1.30 PE Ratio 2011: 24.1 / 1.85 2010: 34.70 / 2.08 13.0 16.82* -3.82 11.48 Low ROE is result of low profit. Debt in the company also affects ROE, but in Keskos case debt has been reduced which might not be relevant for decline in ROE. Keskos increase in intangible assets can also result in low ROE. EPS is declined resulting from decline in operating profit, and possible increase in capital expenditure from last year. But still manageable and shows strong growth potential. Dividend cover is constant but relatively lower than Ahold. PE ratio is declined from previous year. This may show low market confidence in 2011. *http://www.kesko.fi/en/Investors/Share-information/Key-indicators-by-share/ f).Conclusion and Recommendation: Kesko is a strong company with year-on-year growth. However year 2011 has underperformed. The year seems a bit challenging ranging from its high cost of sales and higher volatility in its share price. Given its higher interest payments shows a possibility of higher borrowing costs. Increase in intangible assets (Computer Software, Licences) and expansion cost in the form of CAPEX is also a driver of declining cash-flows. The seasonal nature of operations arising from seasonal fluctuations took a toll on profits which are not earned throughout the year. Depending on Keskos segmental characteristics these profit variations are possible. Kesko Strengths Diversified product portfolio Effective Business model Growth in E-commerce Strong chain support functions Weaknesses High dependency on euro-zone. Lack of skilled labor Foreign exchange risks Changes in the Groups structure by creating a new subsidiary in Russian market and transferring 36 stores to the subsidiary has also affected Keskos performance. Uncertainties in the euro zone, volatility in consumer demand is affecting the appetite for CAPEX in the euro zone. Hence the reason of strong expansion in Russia. E-commerce is booming with international customers creating alternative benefits for Kesko. Future looks favorable for Kesko. Low investment in euro-zone will offset high CAPEX in Russian region. Steady growth in the food business expects to continue. Home and building business is expected to balance against consumer demand. Net sales are expected to grow next year i.e. 2013. All in all the growth-story looks good for Ahold. Ahold has the means to acquire Kesko. However my recommendation would be hold the acquisition desire for now till numbers become promising. As an alternative a 20% shareholding now will be suitable for Ahold. In both scenarios, if Kesko does well in the future, Ahold is sure to benefit from its interest in Kesko. Answer 3: The cash-flows of the project are below: Year 0 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Sales Revenue 0 300,000 510,000 680,000 450,000 240,000 Loss of Contribion (35,000) (35,000) (35,000) (35,000) (35,000) Variable Costs (160,000) (240,000) (280,000) (210,000) (140,000) Fixed Costs (22,000) (22,000) (22,000) (22,000) (22,000) Op Cash flow 65,000 195,000 325,000 165,000 25,000 Working capital (70,000) (70,000) (70,000) (70,000) (70,000) Capital Cost (500,000) Residual Value 100,000 Net Cash flow (500,000) 78,000 338,000 598,000 278,000 98,000 Depreciation of 80,000 is not included in fixed costs as it does not affect cash. Head office overheads are also not a constant fixed cost over 5 year period so not including in the fixed costs. The Payback time is approx. 2 years 6 months. Net Present Value calculation is below with discount rate of 15%. Year Cash flow PV Factor PV 0 (500,000) 1.0 (500,000) 1 78,000 0.870 67,860 2 338,000 0.756 255,528 3 598,000 0.658 393,484 4 278,000 0.572 159,016 5 98,000 0.497 48,706 NPV 424,594 NPV is positive, so recommendation to the board is to go ahead with the project With adding back depreciation of 40,000 i.e. 80,000 x 5 at the end of 5 year: Year Cash flow PV Factor PV 0 (500,000) 1.0 (500,000) 1 78,000 0.870 67,860 2 338,000 0.756 255,528 3 598,000 0.658 393,484 4 278,000 0.572 159,016 5 98,000 0.497 48,706 Depreciation (400,000) NPV 24,594 NPV is still positive, so recommendation to the board is to go ahead with the project. The IRR is 43.7%, where NPV becomes zero. Answer 4: Usefulness of Company accounts to assess value of companies Hello friend, In order to understand company accounts, the financial accounting statements provide a representation of financial position and performance of the company. Company accounts are made up of 3 statements: Balance Sheet (aka Statement of financial position) Income Statement ( aka Profit and Loss account) Cash-flow statement Cash-flow statements show how much cash came in or went out in a particular period. For example, I started a business of selling flowers with  £40. On Tuesday morning, I bought flowers worth  £40 and sold three-quarters of flowers for  £45 cash that day. My cash-flow position during Tuesday will look like this: Cash invested by me:  £40 Cash from sales of flowers:  £45 Cash paid to buy flowers: ( £40) Closing balance of cash  £45 Income statements show how much wealth i.e. profit is generated or lost by the company over a period of time. Profit and loss can be defined as increase or decrease in wealth through trading activities. For income statement it shows wealth generated on Tuesday. It represents the difference between the value of the sales made and the cost of goods sold. Sales revenue:  £45 Cost of goods sold (3/4 of  £40) (30) Profit  £15 It is the cost of flowers sold that is matched against the sales revenue to get profit. Not the whole cost of flowers is shown as unsold flowers in my case  ¼ of  £40=  £10 will adjusted against the future sales revenue that it will generate. Balance sheet shows accumulated wealth of the business at the end of the given period. It also shows what form have that wealth taken? For balance sheet the wealth created at the end of Tuesday trading. It will show list of resources held at the time. Cash (closing balance)  £45 Stock or inventory for resale  £10 Total assets  £55 Equity  £55 Equity is the stake of the owner in the business. Where-as assets include cash and stock. Cash is a vital resource for a business to function. It is used to retire debt and or for the purchase of stock. However, reporting cash alone will not portray the health of the business. The changes in cash do not tell us how much profit is generated. Thats why income statements are used. A balance-sheet on the other hand shows total wealth of the business. Cash is only one form in which wealth can be held, however in bigger businesses there are land, machinery and equipment is also classed as wealth in the balance-sheet. A combination of these statements states the financial position and health of the company. The relationship of these statements can be seen by a figure below: Another way to valuing a business is through company assets, price of parallel business and finally the cash-flow. Company assets are appraised to assess their value deducting any liabilities. The sales of similar business are valued in the area of your business. Location is very important in valuing the business though the limitations include undermining the value of your business by management and sales. The most effective way is the liquidity of the business i.e. cash position minus liabilities. You know what is coming your way. Issues: Issues related to these statements are the way they are presented. Use of creative accounting can somehow alter the real picture and position of the company. Audited company accounts are seldom used by investors or potential buyers, primarily for the reason of creativeness. Depending on the nature of your query for valuing the company, apart from simplified company accounts mentioned above, it can vary from share price to ratio analysis to cost of capital or debt and so on.