Senior Year – Memory Book

The final year of high school has now come. When my parent's told me that high school would fly by, they weren't kidding. I never put much thought into the fact that high school is a mere four years of my life. In the grand scheme of things, it's hardly any time at all. Although It really did fly by, I have enough memories to last a lifetime. I remember walking through the doors on my very first day of school as a freshman. I walked into room 315 and sat down in my first period class. It was world history and Mrs.. Francis was my teacher. I sat down, scared out of my mind, and waited for the bell to ring.That first bell tone signified the beginning of my high school career. My schedule was extremely easy first semester. I had Foods, Business Management, Consumer De, Lunch, Gym, Warrior Warehouse, English and Algebra 2. I had some incredible teachers, which included Mrs.. Tradeoff, Mr.. Gross, Mrs.. Burr, Mrs.. Chart and Mr.. Mere. I have had so much fun and I loved having each of the m. When second semester rolled around, It wasn't so easy. I only had four real classes, but a few of them were tough. My schedule went along the lines of Foods, Government, College Com H, Lunch, CICS, Warrior Warehouse, Gym, and Algebra 2.This year I was lucky enough to have Mrs.. Tradeoff, Mr.. Burr, Mrs.. Myers, Mr.. Hosking's and Mr.. Myrrh. They have been one amazing group of teachers. I learned so much from each and every one of them and I could not thank them enough. The beginning of my senior year, I was asked to be in the warrior warehouse Instead of having a study hall. Mr.. V called me down to his office and I remember being so scared because I never even knew where his office was. He then asked me to be In there and I said yes. I was thrilled because I have always thought I was a great leader and knew that I had a full Job to take on.It was my responsibility to make ere I did not let anyone steal and when a problem occurred I let Mr.. V know Immediately. It was such an ho nor that he asked me to be In there and let alone ask me again for the rest of the year. High school has been an emotional roller coaster for me. Eve stayed up until two a. M. Working on assignments, crying over boys, and deciding what to wear for picture day. I have met and lost friends throughout my four-year Journey, and I have changed more than I ever thought I would. However, the most important part of high school has been learning who I am. As clichà ©Ã‚ © as it may sound, high school is the place whereI found myself. Eve flourished with my strengths and struggled with my weaknesses. Though it was difficult at times, and I wanted to give up often, It was all worth It. High school has been full of crazy events, From the SST. Baldric's day rallies to the four and a half hour ACT, it has been one memorable journey. T Off It seems like only yesterday I was reading Romeo and Juliet in Mr.. Rebecca English class. Now, I am Just months away from graduating and starting my life. My g randpa once told me that I would spend four years trying to get out of high school, and the rest of my life trying to get back in.He was exactly right. I thought high school would be a drag and I would never get out. Being Just months away from graduating, I wish I could start all over. Although it has been an incredibly dramatic and emotional Journey for me, I don't regret a single moment of my high school career. I have had the chance to meet some amazing students and teachers. I have coasted through classes, and I have been pushed to my limit. I learned that learning has no boundaries and the things I learn in school will definitely come into play later in life. I Just wish I had taken a second to stop and look around. High school really did fly by.

Discuss the idea of the film narrator/narration in relation to verbal to visual issues

I will be looking at the different notions of the ‘narrator' in relation to both verbal and visual texts then I will be discussing the importance of montage and mise-en-scene in the construction of a film, otherwise the ‘narration' of a film. I will also examine concepts of the film narrator in relation to the verbal to visual process put forward by theorists and film scholars and use examples from the texts The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley (1984), The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje (1992) and Emma by Jane Austen (1816). I will also touch upon ‘focalization' within the context of the narrator. Before I discuss the concept of film narrator, I will briefly touch on the narrator of the literary text so as to realise the fundamental differences between them. In a verbal text, the narrator will fall into one of three basic types; the speaker who uses his own voice, one who assumes the voice/voices of other persons, and not speak in his own voice and one who uses a mixture of his own and other persons voices. Cuddon, 1998: 535) The distinction between the three are very important, where all are evidently still narrators, the speaker who uses his own voice or the first-person narrator is ‘active in the plot' whereby the speaker who do not use his voice, the third-person narrator is ‘outside or above the plot' yet still in the text (extra diegetic). In the verbal text, Emma, the story is told through an omniscient narrative. This narrator has the power to look into the character's psyche as well as manipulate the reader therefore their role as an objective narrator has failed; ‘Harriet certainly was not clever, but she had a sweet, docile, grateful disposition; was totally free from conceit; and only desiring to be guided by any one she looked up to. ‘ (Austen, 1816: 24). Here the narration is from the viewpoint of Emma describing Harriet's personality as she sees it. We do not know of her disposition as anything other than the way Emma prescribes. The problem here is that we get only a biased viewpoint and often you experience the author's intervention too. The third-person narrative in The English Patient is different; the storyteller stands further away from the immediate action. They do not attempt to intervene with the action other than tell it as it is presented; ‘She walks over the paved stones, grass in the cracks. He watches her black-stockinged feet, the thin brown dress. She leans over the balustrade. ‘ (Ondaatje, 1992: 32). In Wesley's The Camomile Lawn, there are constant transitions in focalizers as the novel is multi-voiced and follows the stories of several characters over many decades so the role of the narrator switches between characters often with just a space between paragraphs to separate the transitions. Still, it is easy to grasp and does not really intervene with the flow of the story. When making a movie, the two most important elements that matter are; a, everything that goes in the scene and b, the editing of the scenes. When referring to the scenes and its contents, it is known as mise-en-scene. Translated, it literally means putting-on-stage, and is ‘the arrangement of performers and properties on a stage for a theatrical production or before the camera in a film' (The American Heritage(r) Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000). This term refers to the staging of the film and the director's control over what appears in the film frame: dicor, direction of the actors, lighting, camera movement, choice of lenses and so on. In order to visualise the verbal text, importance is often placed into mise-en-scene. In Emma, the period in which the drama was set was evidently emphasised through the costumes in which the characters wore. The costumes in Emma depicted each person's social status and personality, traits that were of importance in the verbal text and therefore needed to be narrated in the visual text. Another important aspect in the novel was the abode of certain characters, something else that was significant in the literary discourse. Hartfield and Randalls, the homes of the affluent in the movie were very much larger-than-life, the viewer can almost feel the grandness through the screen and in contrast, the homes of Miss Bates and the peasants Emma and Harriet visited were very humble indeed, the carefully selected interior and costumes of characters tell more than the dialogue. At the start of the film, there is an animated spinning globe on the screen that has images of the main characters from the film on them. It shows Emma and Mr Knightley placed at the top of the globe, in the middle is Mr Elton and at the bottom of the globe is Miss Bates and Miss Taylor. This style of presentation in the movie is in itself a form of narrative whereby the director has decided to, in advance, set the social statuses of the characters before the film even begins. This is because in the film, there is only a voiceover narrative from Emma herself, the third-person narration from the literary discourse that has descriptive information is removed therefore it is necessary to include elements that can help the viewer to construct the story as Emma can not know everything that is happening, she is not omniscient. Writing Emma was basically a tool for Austen to make a mockery of the social snobbery present in the early 19th century and she does this by allowing Emma, an upper-class daughter of a rich man, to let her imagination and daydreams to overcome reason, then finally admit defeat to reality. The music in the background often sounds jovial yet there is an undertone of mockery, as though her character should not be taken seriously. She is introduced in the novel as; ‘Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her. ‘ (Austen, 1816: 7). In the film version, Emma herself could not have narrated this information as it would be inappropriate so therefore costume and behaviour (mise-en-scene) would have to articulate her character instead. In The English Patient, there were certain codes put into the choice of costumes, for instance, the character Katherine always dressed in the colour white, symbolic of purity, yet her character is having an adulterous affair with her husband's friend, perhaps it stressed the irony of her predicament. In the desert scenes, the expanse of barren land swamping the characters shows the loneliness that many of the characters are feeling, including Hana, Caravaggio and Kip. The use of non-vernacular music also creates the distance they are all at from their homeland. The next important aspect of filmmaking is the use of Montage. From the French for ‘assemble', the term refers to the process of cutting, assembling, arranging or editing of shots. In other words, it is ‘a method of putting shots together in such a way that dissimilar materials are juxtaposed to make a statement'. (Pennsylvania State University Website, 2002). The approach to editing was developed by Soviet filmmakers of the 1920s, notably Eisenstein. Continuity editing, or narrative montage is the assembly of shots that results in a smooth flow of narrative in an order making obvious sense in terms of time and place. This style is associated with American films of the studio era and may be referred to as classical cutting or decoupage classique. Emma displays techniques of this principle. Filmmakers of the sixties and seventies often made use of the Collision Principle for jarring transitions from cut to cut and to stress discontinuities in time and space. (Andrew J. Dudley, 1976: 42-71). This use of editing is effective for reflections of time memory, and emotional states, as seen in The English Patient and The Camomile Lawn. The English Patient relies heavily on the reflection of emotional states as Almasy is using his memory to tell us a story and therefore, the transition into his past is often smoothed along with the use of sound effects or montage to help jog his memory such as the thumping of feet on the ground immerged with the beating of drums to dissolve into an external analepsis. The concept of film narrator or narration has been theorised and analysed by many thinkers of the twentieth century. Linguistic ideologies have also been applied to the study of film and I will hereby observe those attempted by Jakob Lothe, Christian Metz and David Bordwell. Jakob Lothe argues in Narrative in Fiction and Film, An Introduction (2000) that the film narrator is ‘the superordinate ‘instance' that presents all the means of communication that film has at its disposal', that they are equated to the third-person narrator in a literary novel and act as the film maker's communicative instrument guiding the viewer's perception of the film. He illustrates his view with a diagram (1990:134-5) by Seymour Chatman (fig. 1) which shows ‘the multiplexity of the cinematic narrator', who is the sum of all these and other variables. The diagram demonstrates it is the viewer who constructs the narrative synthesis. This would link well with the views of film scholar David Bordwell who believes that film has no narrator, that the film narration is the ‘organisation of a set of cues for the construction of a story'. He sees narration as completely central in film but places importance on the viewers response, the perceived not the sender. This set of cues includes an indeterminate number of visual and auditory impressions that the viewer has to construct a story with (Lothe, 2000; 28). Christian Metz realised that film is not a ‘language' but another kind of semiotic system with ‘articulations' of its own. Cinema in relation to verbal language is not direct and is at best partial and complex. He advocated that ‘the analogy is strained at the level of appearance, for filmic signification doesn't at all look like verbal language'. Film image has a natural level of expressivity whereby the world speaks through the images in a normal or somewhat deflect way and it is up to the filmmaker to strengthen and work on these primary expressions if he wants to signify his own meaning. Andrew J. Dudley, 1976: 213-241) In The English Patient, screenwriter and director Anthony Minghella uses the power of sound to aid narration as well as Hollywood's typical narrative in relying heavily on the use of mise-en-scene. The exotic locales presented in the film really set the scene and romantic mood with which the film exudes, in a way, the viewer is almost overwhelmed by the scenery. The cinematography really speaks for itself and eliminates a lot of the narrative that was present in the novel in their attempt to set the place for the reader of the text. In The Camomile Lawn, the change in focalizers is rather subtle. In the literary text, we sense the shifts more consciously whereas with a visual narrative, the viewer is used to following different strands of plot at one go including those of several characters. As well as changes in focalizers, The Camomile Lawn also experiments with shifts in narrative time. It is debatable whether the story is set in present time with flashbacks external analepsis) or set during the war period and ‘flashing forwards'. It is suggested that the whole story was narrated from the viewpoint of Sophie even though she is not the most frequent focalizer throughout the novel but many things that happen often fall into Sophie's perspective and the consequences of other people's actions and how they affect her. In the visual narrative of The Camomile Lawn the film maker attempts to keep as much of Sophie's perspective as much as he can so as to keep in accordance to the intended author's wishes. As with all types of narration, we must consider if they are reliable or unreliable. All narrator's have an artificial authority and we as the reader or viewer ‘must accept [their information] without question if we are to grasp the story that is to follow' (Booth cited in Lothe, 2000: 25). The fundamental rule in any narrative fiction is often to believe the narrator unless the text at some point gives us a signal not to. When this is the case, the narrator becomes unreliable. In The English Patient, a reliable narrator tells the literary text and the film text is shot by an objective camera. This stays in coherence with the original and works well. In Emma, the novel is narrated in third-person but is unreliable as it is told through the perspective of the female protagonist and therefore bias. In the visual narrative, it employs a voiceover by Emma herself and therefore definitely is subjective. In The Camomile Lawn, the verbal discourse is told through a multitude of narrative levels, as well as changes in focalizers, and narrative time/space, the narrative perspective changes from first to third person continuously which is true also for the screen adaptation. In conclusion to my findings, it is true to say that the perceived authors of both verbal and visual texts cannot be compared so because it all depends on the intention of the produced effect. If a filmmaker takes a verbal narrative, he or she may or may not want to transpose all elements of the original narrative but on the other hand has something to aspire to, should they wish to take that path. With the texts I have chosen, that there are a variant of reasons as to why they have been chosen to be visual. The Camomile Lawn, was adapted for a television series therefore it had plenty of time to allow much of the original narrative to be kept in and stayed as close to the original in terms mise-en-scene too. The English Patient was transposed into a Hollywood blockbuster and therefore had no room for multiple storylines to override one another so the subplots were dropped significantly from the literary discourse and emphasis placed on one love story. Emma, on the other hand was more of a period drama with a moral story and was closely contrasted to the original in many aspects all except for the narrative perspective.

Exposures, Financial Contracts, and Operational Techniques Essay

Exposures, Financial Contracts, and Operational Techniques - Essay Example As the research declares the transaction exposure can be hedged through three types of contracts: forward market hedging, money market hedging, and option market hedging. The forward market hedging supposes to enter into a derivative contract when the object of the transaction exposure is determined. The contract from the derivative market will be liquidated with the funds obtained from the spot market. According to the paper findings in a money market hedge, the company which is exposed to transaction exposure borrows or invests in one currency and exchanges the proceeds for another currency. The proceeds for the loan or saving account are related to business operations when the hedge is covered or they are purchased from the market at the end of the contract when the hedge is uncovered. Operating exposure can also be offset by considering changing financing policies: using natural hedges, using back-to-back (parallel) loans, and using currency swaps. The first method considers matching the currency cash-flows. The success of this practice depends of the predictability and low volatility of cash-flows. Back-to-back loans are agreements between companies from different countries to borrow each other domestic currency for the period of contract. It is actually a credit swap, because the two companies borrow the currency which will be repaid.

Are Multinational Corporations Free from Moral Obligation Essay

Are Multinational Corporations Free from Moral Obligation - Essay Example This work will critically analyze the issue of there being any ethical consideration in the working of international organizations. According to Velasquez (1992, 319), morality does not exist in international corporations. This is simply because these corporations are not subject to the law of any nation in the world. In this way, they cannot be held responsible for breaking any law. Velasquez argues that morality is held and maintained when there is a higher authority to monitor any aspect of immorality. International corporations do, however, operate under now authority of any nation. His explanation for lack of morality is that according to Hobbsian Theory, men are likely to behave the way they want if they are not regulated. In this respect, men are likely to behave in ways that are targeting to gratify their personal interests. Velasquez argues that those international corporations that have some aspects of morality get discouraged by various issues. One of them is that if an international corporation is working within other organizations that do not value ethical considerations, it is subjected to high competitive pressure. On another hand, any international organization that works within an environment where ethical consideration are not regarded feel guiltless when they fail to observe the morality. When an organization is working within such environment, it is considered unfair if they continue to adhere to the laws of morality, which other organizations are not following (Velasquez, 1992, 320). Fleming (1992, 324-325), argues on a different point of view. This is by considering facts of presence of chief executive officers of organizations, managers and governments of nations in which these international corporations operate as important authority to foresee ethics. According to him, these agents have power to dictate moral and ethical considerations in any organizations. This is regarding their positions as decision makers of such

Phd proposal Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Phd proposal - Dissertation Example There is enough scope for both qualitative and quantitative analyses on the topic. Academic research can help to explore the existing ideas and find out new implications. This research proposal, therefore, includes review of the relevant literature that inspired the selection of the topic. The proposal also focuses on the theory to which the research will relate, the methodology supposed to be used and original contribution to knowledge by the research. Research Question Leadership and management: Can transactional leadership theory add new dimensions to the future leadership practices? Research Objectives 1. Explore the concepts of transactional leadership theory. 2. Compare transformational and transactional leadership theories. 3. Find out innovative implications and methods for organisational learning and knowledge management 4. Combine the concepts of the theory with the futuristic idea of empowering leadership. 5. Find out innovative ways to apply the theory in today’s g lobal business environment with the help of case studies and academic research. Review of the Literature Transactional leadership theory has the potential to develop innovative models in the context of modern and future management practices. Some principal concepts entailed in the theory are: 1. People can perform optimally when the commands are clear and definite. 2. A justifiable system of punishment and reward motivates the workers. 3. Monitoring the subordinates is an imperative so that the business expectations are fulfilled. 4. Obedience should be ensured among the subordinates. (Bass, 1985) For a while, this sort of theoretical approach may appear to be based on the older conventions and beliefs. However, re-emergence of this theory in the sphere of modern management research can be observed in the works of Harman and Bitz (2008). According to them, studies considering knowledge management (which is critical in today’s information based global business environment) and leadership as rational variables are limited. Future practitioners may consider exploring the concepts of transactional leadership theory and its dimensions in relation to knowledge management. In this context, it must be mentioned that all leaders exhibit both transformational and transactional leadership attributes which can amply help in knowledge transfer, sharing and creation (Harman and Bitz, 2008). â€Å"Some observers view transactional leadership as the poorer version of transformational leadership, noting that the latter has a more noble or moral drive.† (Andrews, Connell and Wescott, 2010). However, this view can be strongly dismissed because â€Å"Where transactional leaders foster societies that are open and focused on public value creation, and where learning is accommodated by progressive authorizing mechanisms, agents will have space to explore new beliefs, pursue good struggles, experiment with latent abilities, and ultimately generate change that benefits others (even if there is no transformational leader appealing to higher ideals).† (Andrews, Connell and Wescott, 2010) Experimental and quasi-experimental studies conducted by Avolio and his associates show that researches on path-goal model and transactiona

Claires Antiques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Claires Antiques - Essay Example Since the company does not want to pass the increased commission to its customers, they will have to make up for the $15, 190 decrease in profit for the clocks product line and $23, 310 and $25, 025 for dinette sets and bedroom suites respectively. The company can make up for this lost by asking distributors to sell a lower percentage of the total expected sales volume in order to lessen the commission expenses. 5. In calculating the new monthly break even volume for Claire's Antiques, we must take into account the changes in price and monthly fixed cost. Cutting the unit sales price by 10% will yield $3, 300 ($3, 700 x .90) for one dinette set. Fixed cost will be increased to $27, 250 to take into account the $1, 000 advertising cost. The new contribution margin is computed as $3, 300 minus variable material cost of $1, 280 which is equal to $2, 050. Break even in units can be generated by dividing the $27, 250 fixed cost by the new contribution margin of 42, 050. This will give 13 units for Claire's Antiques to break even each month.

Immigration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Immigration - Essay Example The public of the Americans have been against large scale immigration. Majority of them prefer living with the familiar than getting an experience of working with this new group of people whom they fear may not adapt to the American way of life. They do this independent of considering the positive impact made by the immigrants. However, the opposition has been more on some groups and less on others. This has been majorly based on the risk of the Americans losing their jobs and privileges to the immigrants. They fear that the immigrants will take their places in the sectors like the workforce since the immigrant’s engagement has brought significant changes in America’s wages (The National Voter, 2007). According to The National Voter (2007), majority of the immigrants go for economic opportunity. This does not mean that they take societal resources. They equally contribute to the growth of the resources since they take part in economic development (The National Voter, 2007). They take up jobs regardless of the pay, which Native Americans cannot

On the Privatization of IRS Tax Debt Collection Essay

On the Privatization of IRS Tax Debt Collection - Essay Example Now, what does this new development in the tax paying system tells the American people This tells Americans that despite being the world's most powerful country, the American government has its weaknesses and tax debt collection is one of them. In an ideal world, IRS as the primary handler of the country's revenues should have been capable and responsible to do its functions properly. Although the IRS fronts a positive face in light of this recent development for the privatization strategy, it does not hide the fact that in seeking the services of private companies, they are indirectly admitting incompetence or ineffectiveness on their recent and previous tax collection systems. Why seek the services of private sectors when the government agency itself should be or should have been capable given the capabilities and resources of the country Does it also mean that the employees of IRS are not capable enough to encompass the responsibilities of the government agency That they lack the needed skilled people in their side In this instance, public service has acknowledged defeat to private services. One other great concern of critics is that taxpayer's rights are greatly put at risk of violations on their rights given under this scheme.

Assignment 10 Chapter 9 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

10 Chapter 9 - Assignment Example Resource loading gives a project planner a rough estimate of the resources that are required for a given project. Resource loading is determined to a large extent by the time to be taken by each project activity. Resource loading differs from resource leveling in that resource leveling aims at appropriate resource allocation such that the activity is not over-allocated any resource. It also reduces any chances of under-allocation of resources. Resource leveling can be done by delaying or splitting an activity until when the required resource is available. Critical chain concept was developed to solve the problem of time wastage in project implementation. Critical chain is explained as the longest chain of project tasks that are logically dependent. Since the planner cannot be sure of the critical chain timeline, buffers are used manage and control any variations that might occur. Buffers ensure that the project finish date is not

The Neo Accountant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Neo Accountant - Essay Example A. Hopwood has correctly stated: "Accountants and other members of the management team searching for means of understanding and improving standard setting and budgeting; must therefore see the process in its entirety and respond to it as a complex human and technical problem rather than one standing in technical isolation." The Contingency Theory can best explain how management should respond to proposed change. The theory is summed up in two words: It depends! Accountants and other members of the management team will have to respond to each situation by looking at it whole. According to Fiedler's Contingency Theory of Situational Leadership, situations of proposed change that appear low in control must be managed in a directive and task-oriented manner. On the other hand, situations that are high in control must simply be dealt with in a supportive fashion; in this case, managers can stay out of their subordinates' way to a large extent (Boje). All changes in accounting practices are sure to have extensive effects on the organization as a whole and the community of people it is involved with. Accounting practices with the aid of latest technology that make an organization more efficient may improve the state of an entire economy. Given that finance is the basis of organizational operation, accountants cannot isolate themselves and be looking for an improvement in accounting practices without consulting other branches of management as a team. Consultation, then, has got to be the first step in the introduction of accounting or managerial change. This essential step to change involves many departments of management, including planning. Forecasters and planners along with those that propose change have to work in agreement before any lasting change can be implemented, let alone expected to have results that lead to increased efficiency, productivity, and profitability. According to Brewer, Brownlee, and Juras, who have writte n on the implementation of activity based costing and the change management process: "Implementing change in an organization is about ninety percent cultural and ten percent technical." To put it another way, applying accounting change is easy when it comes to the technical side of things. But organizational change is never about technicalities alone. Before applying new accounting principles expected to lead to greater organizational success, it takes a long time for any firm to convince the people that it must convince, and plan with the workforce it must plan change with. Vroom And Yetton's Contingency Model of Normative Leader Decisions is clear on this point. The model asks for consultation or the group decision process if the commitment of group is essential. But if the managers have got all the necessary information, they are advised to be autocrats, making decisions for all and going with the flow (Boje). Take the example of digitization alone for the simple fact that the technological age has brought tremendous change in all areas of human life. Bhimani writes about digitization only in an organizational context:Digitization impacts the form, substance, and provenance of internal accountinginformation with attendant consequences on the behavior and actions of organizationalparticipants and on the functioning of enterprises more widely. Knowledge about theinfluence of the deployment of

Analytical Support for Decision Making Self Reflection Essay Example for Free

Analytical Support for Decision Making Self Reflection Essay The analytical support for decision making course is really indeed touching every aspect from my daily job as a lead optimization engineer dealing with a huge drilling real time streaming data. In the past I have worked to prepare quarter review annual report for our center. Honestly, it was consuming a lot of time to construct a valuable presentation that will impress the upper management. As of time being ASDM is a strong aid to be creative in utilizing, analyzing, projecting illustrating for our daily data. Here I will highlight major subjects that I got so many benefits from: Data Gathering ASDM is a real guide to perform data analysis. It learns the first steps in how to gather data how to deal with it. The good part in the assignment is the data was real and taken from World Bank website and the challenge is to identify the best data find out ways to get the missing data by quantitative approaches. The lesson learned here is any data has to go through cleansing process to be worth for analysis to reach trustful results. Surveys As we are seeing many surveys floating around in every single website or newspapers in the media, the real question is how trustful the results are. Now with ASDM approaches, it is easier to now that, to dig deep in the survey process. How the survey was done, whom were the sample, location and the time it was conducted. In addition to the right guide in how to do different types surveys analyze the results for best decisions. Regression As regression deals with trends to find out the relationship level criteria help a lot in projection. In my daily work I’m dealing with many drilling trends, like the drilling rig hook load (HKL), surface torque while performing the drilling operation. My job is to identify the strong relationship between many drilling parameters do a projection. Like for HKL torque utilizing regression to find out the regression model in a specific formation will help us in identifying the normal / upnoraml trends prior drilling operation for better optimization savings. In addition the regression will help a lot in the projection ahead to the final drilling target depth. MCDA Multi criteria decision analysis is the decision maker best tool to identify take in consideration all the factors with relative to their weights influence in the subject matter. Real life is chain of continuous MCDA has to be taken but differs in size complication. Although, VISA software is a simple light, it is superior software to include every single step illustrate it with a nice simple way. Personally we are running many projects that take in consideration several factors MCDA is the best guide came at the right time.

The US border Security Essay Example for Free

The US border Security Essay Discussed in this essay is an outline of US borders and security related to them. The geographic and strategic value of the borders has been described in the beginning. Then the origin and purpose of United States Border Patrol has been discussed. Mentioned in the middle body are the steps or actions that USBP had taken so far in for safeguarding the borders along with the trouble they have endured in curbing issues such as illegal immigration, drug and human trafficking and screen immigrants for the signs of terrorism. Also discussed in length are human and drug trafficking that takes place across US border and how these things make their way into United States. The United States policy regarding border security is briefly discussed and the essay is closed with an analytical conclusion. US Border Security Since the beginning of civilization, borders have perhaps been the most valued asset nations consider themselves to have. Wars have been waged for the sake of their protection or expansion but they have been regarded sacredly none the less. As humanity progressed into the latter centuries, the concepts and its rigidity regarding the borders of a state kept on changing as the ancient world had open and unmanned borders. United States of America, since its creation has been guarding her borders with absolute zeal and dedication. Acquiring the half of the north American continent, United States is flanked by ocean on both its east and west side, whilst it shares its borders with Canada in the north and from Mexico in the south. Being one of the richest, most advanced and highly organized countries of the world, United States borders have been the object of fascination for its neighboring countries, specially Mexico being a third world country living right at the door step of US. Adhering to a strict and stern immigration and interior policy, people from all across the globe find it difficult to get entrance into the US without severe securitization. Offering the glorious prospects of freedom, financial security, safeguarding of rights and its ability to assimilate the diverse cultures of the world into its own, almost every person in the world has been enchanted by the prospect of living a life in the US, the Land of the Free. That is the reason its 8,000 miles long border have been violated enough times, specially from the south as immigrants from all across South American wishes to live a life of peace in the US. Along with the sea of illegal immigrants, US borders also face smugglers of both drugs and contraband items because of being one of the most lucrative markets in the world. Coupled with these troubles, US borders have been guarded highly as means of not permitting terrorist from making their way into US. The taste of 9/11 is something that US hasn’t quite forgotten yet. Thus, the border security of United States is not only one of the highest efficient and vigilant in the world, it is also one of the most sensitive one due to its immense size. Its importance can be summed up in the words of Ronald Regan as he said: The simple truth is that weve lost control of our own borders, and no Nation can do that and survive. We ignore Americas lost sovereignty at our own peril† (cited in www. usborderwatch. com) Overview The land border of US along with Canada spans 5,525 miles and is the longest non-militarized border in the world. There are 84 land POEs (Point Of Entry) along the northern border, which include but are not limited to three in Idaho,13 in Maine, three in Michigan, five in Minnesota, 10 in Montana, 12 in New York, 18 in North Dakota, seven in Vermont, and 12 in Washington. Around 250,000 people enter the United States from Canada. Canada is the single largest trading partner of the United States, with the total trade exceeding almost $372 billion in 2003. In fact, the largest trade link in the world is the Ambassador Bridge (connecting Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario) that has more than 7,000 trucks crossing daily transporting goods worth more than $120 billion per year. The southern land border with Mexico is 1,933 miles across and has 25 land POEs, six of which are in California, six in Arizona, two in New Mexico, and 11 in Texas. Over 800,000 people arrive from Mexico daily. Mexico is United States second largest trading partner, with the trade of $220. 3 billion in 2003, down from $247. 2 billion in 2000. The coast line of the United States is 12,479 miles long and there are 143 sea POEs. Some sea and river POEs are principally commercial ports while others receive passengers (Border Security: Inspections Practices, Policies, and Issues, 2004). In order to be able to cope with such a vast border from which not trade merchandise has been able to pass but also torrent of immigrants, either legal or illegal along with the high possibility of drugs, liquor, contraband items and smuggled good, US Border Patrol was founded in 1924 which after 85 five years is among one of the finest law enforcement organizations in the world. United States Border Patrol (USBP) Founded in 1924, the U. S. Border Patrol was established in El Paso, Texas, and Detroit, Michigan. Its primary purpose was to curb the illegal entry of aliens, contraband, and the flow of forbidden liquor from Mexico and Canada into the United States. Under the authority of the Immigration Act, approved by Congress on May 28, 1924, the Border Patrol was created as a uniformed law enforcement branch of the Immigration Bureau (â€Å"85 Years Of Protected By†, 2009). Back in those days, smuggling of liquor from Canada and Mexico was an immensely lucrative business and invited illegal immigrants to have a go at their lucks in United States. Today, the USBP’s primary mission is to detect and prevent the entry of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, and illegal aliens into the country, and to interdict drug smugglers and other criminals along the border. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 dissolved the Immigration and Naturalization Service and placed the USBP within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (Border security, the role of US border patrol, 2008). In the wake of 9/11, USBP’s funding and man power has been increased exponentially by the consent of Congress. Now having almost 18,000 agents in 20 sectors, and 164 stations all across the United States, its objectives and strategies also include the prevention of terrorists from entering the United States soil along with the detection and neutralization of weapons of mass destruction. Perhaps the toughest task USBP has to do is to curb the flow of illegal immigrants the swarms the borders of United States, especially the southern border. Due to the fact that over 97% of unauthorized migrant apprehensions occur along the southwest border, the USBP deploys over 90% of its agents there to deter illegal immigration. In 1993, a study commissioned by the Office of National Drug Control Policy pointed out to the fact that the southwest border was becoming the den of illegal immigrants noting as an example that 6,000 illegal immigrants attempted to enter the United States every night along a 7. 5 mile stretch of the San Diego border. The study also concluded that drug smuggling was a serious threat all along the southwest border, and recommended that the entries of the illegal immigrants should e prevented at the border rather than arresting them after entrance. This consequently led to USBP’s implementation of its first National Strategic Plan (NSP) in 1994. National Strategic Plan An endeavor to gain control over the overrun borders, NSP started out as a multiphase programs so as to maximize the USBP’s resources and their implementation on the areas of greatest entry of illegal immigrants and goods. The focus of the NSP was an operational strategy known as â€Å"Prevention Through Deterrence. † The strategy’s goal was to place USBP agents and resources directly on the border in order to prevent the entry of illegal aliens, rather than attempting to arrest aliens after they have already entered the country. Strategy’s phase I was called program â€Å"Hold the Line† at El Paso sector, which focused on the deployment of the agents deep into the borders in order to detect any alleged or attempted entries of border crossing rather than apprehending the culprits in the city streets and wasting precious time as it was relatively easy to catch border crossers in the wide open desert. The program wasn’t a complete success as it merely shifted the border crossing point from El Paso to somewhere else. San Diego’s Operation Gatekeeper followed after the El Paso program and many agents were deployed along the San Diego border. Aiding them was the state of the art ground sensors, infra-red cameras and stadium lights along with landing mats used as a border fence. Phase II of the program included the expansion of Operation Safeguard (1999) in Tucson, Arizona, operation Rio Grande (1997) in the McAllen and Laredo sectors of Texas, and an increased emphasis on securing the northern border. Phase III was set to involve the remaining areas of the southwest border as well as the coastal waters around Florida and Puerto Rico (Border security, the role of US border patrol, 2008). After the fateful events of 9/11, the USBP has modified its directives and prioritizing the prevention of terrorist penetration through the borders. As the investigations relating to 9/11 revealed that the terrorists had roamed freely across US with the status of illegal immigrant and prepared for the attacks from with in the US soil, USBP in collaboration with Immigration and Custom’s Enforcements, Anti Smuggling Units and CBP’s intelligence has directed all its attention towards the alien penetration across the US border. USBP revealed their new strategy to cope with the terror threats from entering US via illegal border crossing in March 2005. The five major points of that strategy are as follows. Establishing the substantial probability of apprehending terrorists and their weapons as they attempt to enter illegally between the ports of entry; Deterring illegal entries through improved enforcement; Detecting, apprehending, and deterring smugglers of humans, drugs, and other contraband; Leveraging â€Å"Smart Border† technology to multiply the deterrent and enforcement effect of Agents; Reducing crime in border communities, thereby improving the quality of life and economic vitality of those areas (Border security, the role of US border patrol, 2008). Striving hard to get the task done, the Homeland Security Department last year awarded one of the most ambitious technology contracts in the war on terror, a 10-year deal estimated at up to $10 billion to the global consulting firm Accenture. In return, the company would provide services to create a â€Å"virtual border that would electronically screen millions of foreign travelers. Termed as US-VISIT program, which stands for the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology, started in July 2003. The US-VISIT system must eventually cover nearly 7,000 miles of borders along Mexico and Canada, including more than 300 land, air and sea ports that witness 450 million crossings a year (Higam OHarrow Jr. , 2005, p. A01). Human and Drug Trafficking across US borders Aside from the newly instilled fear of terrorism, United States faces the troublesome elements of smuggling of drugs and human trafficking and most of these gruesome things wade their way into America by means of illegal border crossing. Addressing the human trafficking element first, â€Å"The U. S. State Department’s 2005 Report on Human Trafficking estimates that between 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year and almost 20,000 are trafficked across U. S. borders alone† (â€Å"Combat Trafficking in Persons†, 2005). The horrible side of this gruesome business is that most of the trafficked persons are children. Extremely lucrative and seemingly unobtrusive, â€Å"human trafficking is considered to be the third-largest source of criminal income worldwide, generating an estimated $9. 5 billion per year. It is also closely linked with money laundering, document forgery, drug trafficking and international terrorism. † (Keefer, 2006, p. 5). According to John P. Torres, deputy assistant director for smuggling and public safety at the United States Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cross border human trafficking is a â€Å"significant risk to national security and public safety† (Seper, 2004). Drug trafficking is the problem that has plagued US since its very beginning. The very purpose of the establishment of USBP was to prohibit smuggled drugs from entering American territory but even after 85 years, the problem has not been fully curbed yet. It is the most lucrative organized crime operation in United States with its annual income estimated to be â€Å"as high as $110 billion† (â€Å"America’s Habit†, 1986). Cocaine being the most sought after drug, as its roots of origin are literally buried in South American countries, other popular drugs such as marijuana and heroin make its way into United States by means of either maritime vessels or through southern border. The numerous drug cartels active in United States gets their drugs en route Mexico regardless of the joint ventures both countries engaged in so as to hamper the drug trafficking. Mexico itself cultivates heroin and due to its lightly guarded 2,000 miles border with United States is the chief trafficker of heroin in USA. Drugs also are brought in underground through tunnels; some 100 have been discovered since 1990 along the 1,950-mile U. S. -Mexico border. The most sophisticated tunnels have lights, air systems and hydraulics (Feyerick et al, 2009). Regardless of extra tight security since 9/11 drug somehow is making its way into United States and hasn’t completely been stopped yet. Aside from human and drug trafficking, the USBP also has to look out for items of contraband nature such as weapons and pirated merchandise. With such a huge number of people passing through both north and south borders of United States, hunting down illegal immigrants, terrorists, drugs and pirated merchandise has become a daunting task for USBP. United States Border Security Policy Aware of its much sought after status, United States border security has always been very clear and its primary motive is to make sure the safety and its borders from the swarms of illegal immigrants and smuggled goods. The primary emphasis of the policy is about the status of immigrants who crosses both the borders of north and south to gain access into United States. Being in excellent terms with the government of Canada, the northern border of United States is subjected to less scrutinizing as compared to the southern one that’s in contact with Mexico. The residents of Mexico are issued a special Mexican Laser Visa that grants them access into US for as long as 6 months. Southern border, being constantly breached by illegal immigrants and smugglers is a highly watched territory where thousands of people pass every day thus making it extremely difficult for CBP and USBP to keep an eye out for anomalies. Keeping that in mind, granting Visa is not the only procedure to gain access into United States. Interviews are conducted, data is cross referenced and surveillance is mounted so that only the right person could be able to go through the gates of US. In the post 9/11 times, the security checks has been doubled and it has become the â€Å"primary mission of CBP is to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the country. However, other components of CBP’s mission include interdicting other prohibited items such as illegal drugs, ammunition, firearms, and counterfeit goods; and monitoring trade compliance† (Border Security: Inspections Practices, Policies, and Issues, 2004). Conclusion The border patrol strategy was aimed at strengthening of United States immigration laws and strove for decreasing the number of illegal immigrants coming into the United States by increasing controls at the its borders. Previously the resources were primarily directed at strengthening the border patrol along the southwest border, to curb the entrance of illegal immigrants and smuggled goods but the terrorist attacks, however, brought attention to the northern border, which has been understaffed and lacked the necessary technology to adequately screen individuals seeking entry into the United States. Several pieces of legislation passed in the 107th Congress authorized and appropriated funding for additional staffing and resources along the northern border. Regardless of its outstanding services and capabilities, USBP has not been able to completely tackle the problem of illegal immigrants and smuggled merchandise. Many reasons, such the sheer size of the borders, the number of immigrants passing through it every and the dogged determinacy of people willing to enter the Land of the Free etc may contribute to its incomplete success. But that still doesn’t change the fact that US borders are much more safe and vigilant in the presence of United Stated Border Patrol. Reference â€Å"85 years of protected by† retrieved May 24, 2009 from http://www. cbp. gov/xp/cgov/border_security/border_patrol/85th_anniversary. xml/. â€Å"Americas Habit†, Drug Abuse, Drug Trafficking, Organized Crime Presidents Commission on Organized Crime, 1986, retrieved May 24, 2009 from http://www. druglibrary. org/SCHAFFER/GOVPUBS/amhab/amhabc3. htm/. â€Å"Border Security: Inspections Practices, Policies, and Issues†. CRS Report for Congress, 2004. Order Code RL32399, Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress. â€Å"Border Security: The Role of the U. S. Border Patrol†. CRS Report for Congress, 2008. Order Code RL32562, Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress. Feyerick, Deborah; Cary, Michael Steffen, Sheila. â€Å"Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U. S. agents say† April 16, 2009, retrieved May 24, 2009 from http://edition. cnn. com/2009/CRIME/04/16/creative. drug. smugglers/index. html/. Keefer, Sandra L. , â€Å"Human Trafficking And The Impact On National Security For The United States† March 2006, U. S. Army War College Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania 17013, p. 5-8. OHarrow Jr. Robert Higham, Scott. â€Å"US Border Security At Cross Roads† Washington Post, Monday, May 23, 2005, p. A01. Regan, Ronald. Quotation. Retrieved May 24, 2009 from http://usborderwatch. com/. Seper, Jerry. â€Å"Human Smuggling a Security Risk. † Washington Times. 19 May 2004, retrieved May 24 2009 from http://www. washingtontimes. com/functions/print. php? StoryID=20040518-103934-8980/. Trafficking in Persons Report, U. S. Department of State, 2005, retrieved May 24, 2009, http://state. gov/g/tip/tiprpt/2005/46606. htm/.

A Comparative Financial Analysis Of The Mobile Phone Industry Marketing Essay

A Comparative Financial Analysis Of The Mobile Phone Industry Marketing Essay A comparative financial analysis of the mobile phone industry and three of the leading mobile phone manufacturers, so as to determine the investment prospects in this particular industry. Contents Title Page No. Executive Summary 3 Industry Profile 4 Effects of Recession on the Mobile Phone Industry 4 PEST Analysis of the Mobile Phone Industry 4 HTC Corporation 7 Introduction 7 SWOT Analysis Motorola Inc. 10 Introduction 10 SWOT Analysis 10 Nokia Corporation 12 Introduction 12 SWOT Analysis 12 Financial Performance Analysis 15 HTC Corporation 15 Review of Key Financial Analysis 15 Ratio Analysis 16 Stock Review 20 Motorola Inc. 21 Review of Key Financial Analysis 21 Ratio Analysis 22 Stock Review 25 Nokia Corporation 27 Review of Key Financial Analysis 27 Ratio Analysis 28 Stock Review 32 Review by Expert Market Analysts 33 HTC Corporation 33 Motorola Inc. 33 Nokia Corporation 33 Other types of Investments 34 Savings Account 34 Fixed Rate Bonds 34 Personal Assessment 35 Recommendations 37 References 38 Appendices 45 Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4 1. Executive Summary The mobile phone industry is perhaps one of the fastest growing industries in the world today. A mobile phone is generally accepted as a necessity for every human. It has developed so much in the recent years that its hard to recognize its early incarnation. The original mobile phone was the size of a brick and affordable by a select group of people. Today, mobile phones are available in all sizes to suit every individuals needs. But, like all other industries, this industry too has been affected by the financial crisis of 2008-2009. In our financial analysis, we will be looking at the mobile phone industry and three of the leading mobile phone manufacturers. We will analyse the financial aspects of Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK), Motorola Inc., (NYSE: MOT) and HTC Corporation (TAI: 2498) We will look at the different financial reports published in the companies Annual Report, and calculate the different financial ratios to understand the investment opportunities in these companies shares. 2. Industry Profile The Mobile Phone Industry The mobile phone industry has grown dramatically in recent years. According to a report published by TomiAhonen Consulting, in January 2009, there were approximately 4 billion mobile phone subscribers around the world. Out of these, around 3.1 billion were unique. Also, new handsets have been selling at the rate of 1.15 billion per year. This figure keeps increasing year over year and so does the economy around it. 2.1 Effects of Recession on the Mobile Phone Industry The recent financial crisis of 2008-2009 has had severe effects on most companies of the world. As such, the companies from this industry too have felt its effect. In Q3 2008, Nokia lowered its market share outlook due to the weakening global economy (Silicon.com 2008). Nokias global device market share was 30% in the Q3 2010, down from an estimated 34% in the Q2 2009 (Nokia Corporation 2010). Nokia announced in July 2010 that their profits had dropped by 40% (Inside Ireland 2010) Even, HTC and Motorola have experienced slow growth as well as lower sales compared to earlier years, especially Motorola which incurred huge financial losses (HTC Annual Report-Motorola Annual Report 2008-2009). 2.2 PEST Analysis of the Mobile Phone Industry Political / Legal Mobile phone companies are largely multinational. As such they have to comply with the different legislations and regulatory bodies of different countries which have their own set of particular standards. An example of a regulatory authority would be the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) operating in the US and Office of Communications (Ofcom) in the UK. The mobile phone usage is spread geographically. As such, the companies from the mobile phone industry have a high exposure to different political climates. This increases the companies risk exposures. However, huge costs are incurred in complying with the different legal and reporting procedures in different countries. Also, sometimes, companies face stiff resistance from the national governments of some countries. A recent example of such a stand-off would be the one between RIM Blackberry and the Government of India (Daily News Analysis, 2010) and the Government of United Arab Emirates (Yahoo News, 2010). Economic Being global brands, mobile phone companies have to comply with the different taxation laws and trade laws applicable in the different countries of the world. Also, they have to take into account the foreign exchange rates while importing/exporting and pricing the devices. This generally has an effect on the device prices and subsequently on the operating income of the companies. Social Mobile phones have become an essential part of everyones lives. 9 in 10 adults in the US use at least one mobile device. 31% of mobile phone users check personal emails on their phones and 21% check their work emails. Internet browsing has become an important aspect of the mobile ecosystem. Approximately 1 billion users browse basic internet on their mobile devices, while around 450 million users use real internet on their devices. (Tomi Ahonen 2009) Access to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter is increasingly becoming an important feature of mobile phones. Health concerns have been raised by research institutes over the effects of radiation caused by mobile phones on the human body (NBC News 2008). Although the evidence is controversial, it has raised caution among the mobile phone users, and the companies are forced to develop new antenna systems for mobile phones to help reduce radiation. Technological The mobile phone industry is highly technology-driven. Mobile phone companies have to continually adapt themselves to the rapidly changing technology and introduce new products to keep up with the technological advancements and to meet the ever-changing demands from consumers. They need to keep investing substantially in the Research Development of new products and technologies. 2.3 HTC Corporation (TWSE: 2498)HTC Wordmark.png 2.3.1 Introduction: HTC Corporation (HTC) is a mobile manufacturer based in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. Its principal aspects are the research, development and manufacture of smart handheld devices including smartphones and PDAs (HTC 2010). The company is generally considered to be a pioneer in the smartphone and PDA segments of the mobile phone industry. The company initially was involved in developing smartphones based on the Windows Mobile platform, having made the worlds first PDA based on the platform (HTC 2010). However, since 2009, HTC is increasingly developing more devices based on Google Inc.s Android Operating System. But, as a means to strengthen its relation with Microsoft, HTC has recently launched a number of devices based on Windows Phone 7 (Mann, J. 2009). HTC is a member of the Open Handset Alliance, a group of handset manufacturers and mobile network operators dedicated to the advancement of the Android Operating System (Reardon, M. 2007). The HTC Dream was the first mobile smartphone in the world to use the Android OS. It was marketed by T-Mobile, in some markets, as the T-Mobile G1 (Wired 2008 HTC Press Release 2008). As of 2009, HTC obtained nearly 43.8%, 30.4% and 20.8% of its total revenue from North America, Europe and Asia, respectively (HTC Annual Report 2009). HTC Corporation was formerly known as Hi-Tech Computer Corporation. 2.3.2 SWOT Analysis: Strength HTC is a leading manufacturer of smartphones. It is a pioneer in many technologies. It had developed the worlds first PDA, and also the first smartphone using Windows Mobile. Now, it is a leading manufacturer of quality Android smartphones. As such, it has a good reputation as an innovative brand. Financial stability gives HTC the opportunity to invest heavily in Research Development of new technologies. Despite the financial crisis, HTC is doing significantly well in 2010 (HTC Report, Q3 2010). Also, good product quality has helped HTC establish itself as a reliable brand. HTC has been a pioneer in many of the technologies now common in modern mobiles phones. It has a plethora of patents designed and applied to modern communication devices (Google Patents, 2010). Also its product portfolio consists of a wide variety of smartphones based on a number of smart-platforms including the Android OS, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7 and HTCs own BREW OS. (HTC 2010) HTC has also developed a new cloud-based service called the HTC Sense to compliment its range of smartphones (HTCSense.com, 2010). Due to a number of quality products, HTC is steadily increasing its consumer base. Also, HTC is involved in exclusive tie-ups with respectable cellular companies such as T-Mobile (T-Mobile G1, G2), Orange (San Francisco) and Google (Nexus One). This helps better the image of the company in consumers eyes. Weaknesses HTC does not have a big brand image compared to its rivals Nokia, RIM Blackberry and Sony Ericsson. Also, its market share is significantly lower than that of its rivals. Also, HTC is involved in a number of law-suits with rival company Apple Inc. This is highly damaging to its reputation in the global corporate environment. (Reuters, 2010) HTC does not have an effective marketing strategy compared to its rivals, as a result of which its new product information fails to reach the consumers. Opportunities There is a huge demand for smartphones in recent times. HTC has the capability to satisfy these demands. HTC can continue to develop new touchscreen technologies and better smart features. Through effective marketing communication and public relations system, HTC can increase its brand value and target consumer base. Furthermore, HTC can enter new markets and establish its brand there. It can continue to develop and apply more of its innovative patents. Threats The threat of new technological developments and competition is high in the mobile phone industry. Also, one of the biggest threats to modern mobile phones is the huge mindshare commanded by Apples iPhone and its iOS Operating System. Every new mobile phone is consistently compared to Apples offering and its success or failure depends, to some extent, on how favourably it compares to the iPhone. This threat is present for HTC too, despite its large portfolio of Android devices. 2.4 Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) NYSE MOT.gifMotorola Wordmark.png 2.4.1 Introduction: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola) is a multinational telecommunications company based in Illinois, USA. It manufactures mobile phones and also designs and sells network infrastructure to worlds leading cellular companies. In 1986, Motorola devised the Six Sigma quality system which has become a global standard for quality improvement. In 1991, Motorola demonstrated the worlds first working-prototype digital cellular system and phones using GSM standard in Hanover, Germany. The worlds first two-way paging system was introduced by Motorola in 1995. Motorolas mobile department, as of 2009, has been solely focused on Google Inc.s Android Operating System. Motorola is an advanced innovator of mobile phone technologies. Motorola has just announced that its business will split into two separate publicly traded entities on January 4, 2011. The two new entities will be known as Motorola Solutions Inc. and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. and will continue to trade on NYSE with the new ticker symbols of MSI and MMI respectively (Reuters 2010). 2.4.2 SWOT Analysis: Strengths Motorola is a leading manufacturer of smartphones. It is a pioneer in many technologies. It had developed the worlds first GSM mobile phone. Now, it is one of the leading manufacturers of quality Android smartphones. As such, it has a good reputation as an innovative brand. Financial stability gives Motorola the opportunity to invest heavily in Research Development of new technologies. Being the worlds oldest mobile phone brand, it has considerable brand image. Also, Motorolas devices have a good build quality which establishes it as a reliable mobile phone manufacturer. Motorola has developed a new interface for its mobile phones called the MotoBlur which integrates the different aspects of ones social life. This has been quite popular with the consumers (Motorola Report, 2009). Weaknesses Motorola is consistently losing its market share to its rival companies. One of the reasons is the lack of an effective marketing communication strategy and also a weak PR system. Also, Motorola fails to introduce new products as frequently as its rival companies. Motorola is also slow in providing software upgrades for its current devices, which generally has a negative impact on consumers who want to keep their devices updated to the latest software version. Also, Motorola is involved in a number of law-suits with Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corporation over intellectual copyright infringement. This is highly damaging to its reputation in the global corporate environment. (Reuters, 2010) Opportunities There is a huge demand for smartphones in recent times. Motorola has the capability and technology to satisfy these demands. Motorola can also improve its market position by means of effective marketing strategies and a better PR system. Also, Motorola can improve its after-sales service for its devices. Threats Apples iPhone and it iOS Operating System are considered a huge threat to virtually every mobile phone brand. Despite its growing portfolio of Android devices, Motorola still has to overcome Apples threat. 2.5 Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) Nokia wordmark.png 2.5.1 Introduction Nokia Corporation (NOKIA) is a Finnish multinational communications corporation based in Keilaniemi, Espoo, Finland. Nokia is engaged in the manufacturing of mobile devices and in converging Internet and communications industries. It has over 123,000 employees working in 120 countries. Its products are available in more than 150 countries. Nokia has global annual revenue of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬41 billion and operating profit of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.2 billion as of 2009 (Nokia Corporation 2009). It is the worlds largest manufacturer of mobile phones which currently accounts for about 36.6% of the market share for mobile phone technology (IDC 2010). Nokia is a public limited liability company listed on the Helsinki, Frankfurt, and New York stock exchanges (Nokia Corporation 2010). Nokia plays a very large role in the economy of Finland. It is the largest company of Finland. The brand value of Nokia is valued at $29.5 billion. It is listed as the eight most valuable global brand in the Interbrand Best Global Brands list of 2010 (Interbrand 2010) and also on Bloomberg Businessweek Best Global Brands list of 2009. It is the first non-US company to be included in the list. (Bloomberg Businessweek 2010) 2.5.2 SWOT Analysis: Strengths Nokia is highly respected as a global mobile brand and it has a high brand value. It is the most preferred brand for mobile phones in Europe, as of 2009 (Eurobrand 2009) Nokia has a worldwide distribution network which makes it easier for Nokia to make its products available to wider target consumers. Nokia has a healthy financial background, which enables Nokia to invest consistently in Research Development. Also, the phones made by Nokia have a fairly user-friendly interface which enables it to be accepted by a wide variety of consumers. Nokia has a large product portfolio with something to offer to every type of consumer. It offers a wide variety of phones from the basic lower-end phones to the more expensive high-end smartphones. Weaknesses There are reports that indicate Nokia consistently losing its market share, as it fails to address the competition it faces from rival smartphone manufacturers like Apple Inc., RIM Blackberry and Google Inc. (Reuters 2010) Also, Nokia is involved in several controversial law-suits with rival company Apple Inc. This is highly damaging to its reputation in the global corporate environment. (Reuters, 2010) Nokia also lacks diversity in its managerial aspects. It has only two directors out of ten who are not Finnish. This reduces its capability to understand the different demands and trends across different parts of the world. (Nokia, 2010) Opportunities Nokia can increase its market presence by launching its products in new markets. It can also increase its market share in current markets by launching innovative products at competitive prices. MeeGo is Nokias upcoming operating system, which if marketed and implemented properly will turn around the fortunes of Nokia. As the mobile industry grows rapidly, Nokia can increase its market share by extensive advertisements and through effective marketing communication. Nokia can better its reputation and increase its brand loyalty by having a healthy Public Relations System. Threats The threat of competition is omnipresent in the mobile industry. The big threats to Nokias dominance are the smartphones developed by Apple Inc. and RIM Blackberry, which offer better products and services than Nokia. Also, the Android Mobile Operating System developed by Google Inc. is supported by a number of other big mobile companies and is consistently increasing its market share through a variety of smartphones from the cheap to the more expensive. The phenomenal growth of Android OS is a big threat to Nokias devices until it can provide an Operating System that can best Googles offering (Reuters 2010). Financial Performance Analysis 3.1 HTC Corporation 3.1.1 Review of Key Financial Data The statement of comprehensive income, balance sheet and statement of cash flows for HTC for the years 2006 to 2009 are represented in the tables 1, 2a, 2b, 3a and 3b respectively. 2007 We can see from the figures shown in the tables below that 2007 was an average year for HTC. The net sales have improved by 11.61% and the profit has increased by 12.76%. While the operating profit has increased 14.31%, the operating expenses have increased by a substantially more 49.97%. The main operating expenses incurred in 2007 were for selling and marketing purposes (62.30%). 2008 The net sales in 2008 increased by 22.27% and the net profit decreased marginally by 1.06%. Once again the operating expenses by 52.85% which resulted in a decrease of 0.92% in the operating profit. The main operating expenses for this year were for RD and selling and marketing purposes which increased by 59.80% and 46.31% respectively. On the whole this year was not so bad for HTC. 2009 In this year, HTC experienced the effects of recession. The net profit decreased by 26.65% while the net sales decreased by 5.3%. Although the operating expenses have increased by just 5.93%, the operating profit hugely decreased by 25.16%. The RD saw its expenses cut by 11.83% and the selling and marketing expenses again increased by 18.85%. Q3 2010 When compared to Q3 2009, the net sales has increased by 39.71% and the net profit also increased by 30.97%. The operating expenses continue to increase substantially by 38.37%. However, the operating profit has increased by 31.31%. The RD expenses increased by 16.22% and the selling and marketing expenses have shot up by 49%. On the whole, HTC recovered greatly during the first nine months of 2010. 3.1.2 Ratio Analysis According to the data collected from the income statements, the balance sheets and the cash flow statements, the ratio analysis has been divided in five parts, Profitability, Efficiency, Liquidity, Financial and Investment. However to judge a business, getting the information about the planned ratios is also important. Getting this kind of information is hard for people outside the business. In that case, this report may be biased. The ratios are listed in table 4. Profitability Ratios It can be seen from the chart below that the ROCE is decreasing steadily by about 15% each year. However, ROCE of 42.77% is favourable for the company. The operating profit margin and the gross profit margin are also decreasing, but as the chart depicts these figures are improving. Efficiency Ratios The average inventories period of HTC decreased from 27.8 days in 2007 to 22.4 days in 2009. This represents the decreased demand for mobile phones. The trade receivables to trade payables ratio has remained fairly constant throughout these three years. This means that the creditor and the debtor for HTC did not change much. The sales revenue to capital employed ratio has improved from 2.3 times in 2007 to 2.56 times in 2009. Liquidity Ratio For the business to have good liquidity, the current ratio and the acid test ratio should generally be greater than 2. The current ratio has decreased from 2.42 times in 2007 to 1.89 times in 2009. The acid test ratio has also decreased from 2.24 times in 2007 to 1.8 times in 2009. However, HTC still has a high liquidity as its ratios are quite near to 2. Financial Ratios The gearing ratio for HTC is 0% for all the three years. This means that HTC has no long-term liabilities. Also the interest cover ratio is much higher. According to these ratios, the profit for the year 2009 can cover 188,926 times the interest payable in 2009. Investment Ratios These ratios help investors to evaluate their investment options about HC Corporation. A dividend yield ratio of 6.65% means that investors can get a good cash return on their investment in HTC. But the earnings per share has decreased from NT$1.56 in 2007 to NT$0.90 in 2009. Also, the P/E ratios show that the confidence among buyers of HTC shares is low. 3.1.3 Stock Review According to The Financial Times, HTC Corp. (TWSE: 2498) has consistently outperformed the Taiwan SE Weighted Index over the last five years. On Jan 1, 2007 the common stock of HTC was priced at NT$ 645 and as of Dec 10, 2010 the price has soared to NT$ 897. This means an investment in the HTC stock gave a return of 39.07% during this period. Wright Investors Service has given HTC Corporation a quality rating of AAA1 (Appendix 1) U:ManXPMy DocumentsMy Pictureshtc stock.png Stock Performance over 5 years. Source: FT.com 2010 3.2 Motorola Inc. 3.2.1 Review of Key Financial Data The statement of comprehensive income, balance sheet and statement of cash flows for Motorola for the years 2006 to 2009 are represented in the tables 5, 6a, 6b and 7 respectively. 2007 We can see from the information represented in the tables below that the net sales have declined by 15% and a loss has been incurred by 101%. The operating expenses have increased by 21.65% and the operating profit decreased by 114%. The main operating expenses are incurred for selling, general and administrative purposes. The dividend for 2007 was $0.20 per share. In general, we can say that 2007 was not a financial good year for Motorola. 2008 In 2008, the net sales of Motorola decreased further by 18%. Also, the net loss increased by 8561%. The operating loss increased by 332% while operating expenses increased by only 2.67%. The dividend remained constant at $0.20 per share. Overall, we can say that Motorola incurred huge losses in 2008, partly due to the recession. 2009 Financial condition of Motorola improved over the course of 2009. Although there was still a net loss incurred, it was substantially less than 2008 which decreased by 99%. The net sales decreased even further by 27%. The operating loss decreased by 94% and the operating expenses decreased by 33%. The dividend for 2009 decreased to $0.05 per share. So, we can say that, although still in loss, Motorolas financial condition has recovered and this shows that Motorola has the ability to successfully implement solutions to its problems. Q3 2010 From the recent financial documents of Motorola, it is clear that it is slowly recovering its business. However, the financial condition of the company is still not very good. 3.2.2 Ratio Analysis Profitability Ratios As per the Ratio Table (Table 8) the ROCE and the operating profit margin for Motorola have remained negative for all the three years. This means the company has incurred losses throughout these years. But, the condition is generally improving since 2007. The gross profit margin is high for all the three years. This is not due to the product, but because of the low operating expenses. Efficiency Ratios The average inventories turnover period for Motorola is constantly increasing from 41 days in 2007 to 48 days in 2009. This means that there is a decreased demand for Motorola products over the years. It also means that recession has affected Motorola too. The sales revenue to capital employed is also quite low at 0.47 times in 2007 to 0.41 times in 2009. If trade receivables to trade payables ratio remains greater than 1, it means that the company has a good supply chain and has the ability to manage the trade receivables and trade payables. The TR/TP of Motorola is generally steady throughout these three years from 1.39 in 2007 to 1.24 in 2009. Liquidity Ratios The current ratio and acid test ratio of Motorola decreased from 1.78 times and 1.55 times respectively in 2007 to 1.63 times and 1.38 times respectively in 2008. However, in 2009, they increased to 1.92 times and 1.82 times respectively in 2009. This shows that the Motorola has good liquidity, although sometimes inventories can be seen as a risk to the company. Financial Ratios The percentage of long-term liabilities of Motorola is high, from 59.1% in 2007 to 63.5% in 2009. This is also a big risk for the company. The interest cover ratio is very low which means that Motorola does not make enough profit to pay its interests. Investment Ratios The dividend payout ratio shows a speculative situation of Motorola which is extremely low. Also the dividend yield ratio is low at 0.64% in 2009. The earnings per share is low. Motorola is not earning anything on its ordinary shares in issue. Even the P/E ratio is staggeringly low which means that the investors have no confidence in Motorolas business. 3.2.3 Stock Review According to The Financial Times, Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT) has outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the last week. However, the overall performance has been mixed. On Jan 3, 2007 the common stock of Motorola was priced at $20.57 and as of Dec 10, 2010 the price has dropped to $8.64. This means an investment in the Motorola stock would have resulted in a 57.99% loss during this period. Wright Investors Service has given Motorola Inc. a quality rating of ABNN. (Appendix 1) U:ManXPMy DocumentsMy Picturesmot stock.png Stock Performance over 5 years. Source: FT.com 2010 3.3 Nokia Corporation 3.3.1 Review of Key Financial Data The statement of comprehensive income, balance sheet and statement of cash flows for Nokia for the years 2006 to 2009 are represented in the tables 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11a and 11b respectively. These are compiled from the annual financial reports of Nokia for the said years. 2007 From the figures shown in the tables below, we can see that 2007 was a particularly good year for Nokia. The net sales have increased by 24.2%; and the profit has also increased by 67.3%. Although the operating expenses have a 17.8% increase, Nokia has gained more operating profit which increased by 45.5%. The main operating expenses incurred are for Research and Development (RD). The increase of sales and marketing expenses (32%) refers to the new products of Nokia (ibid). As can be seen from the table 2, the profit for the year is the highest compared with other years. The dividend for 2007 was à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬0.53 per share (ibid). Overall, 2007 was a successful year for Nokia. 2008 Nokias sales have decreased in 2008. The net sales also decreased by 0.7% compared to 2007; and the operating expenses have a significant increase of 33.5%. The Annual Report highlights the recession may have had a negative effect on the companys performance. The decrease in demand from consumers led to the profits reduction (NOKIA, 2008). In addition, the transfer of Finnish pension liabilities is a main reason for the increase of expenses (ibid). Both in 2007 and 2008, Nokia has recruited more employees because of which the wage expenses have also increased. The dividend for the year was à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬0.40 per share (ibid). To sum up, this year was not so good for Nokia. 2009 In this year, Nokias performance declined even further. The income statement shows a significant decrease in the net profit, which is less by 93.3%. The sales and the gross profit reduced by 19.2% and 23.7% respectively. The effect of recession was still evident on Nokias financial performance. As a result, the investment on RD remained same as that in 2008. Due to the reduced demand, the marketing and sales expenses have also reduced from à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬4830 million to $3933 million (NOKIA, 2009). The dividend for 2009 remained same at à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬0.40 per share. Overall, it is clear that Nokia started reducing the expenses to face lower demand in the mobile phone market. Q3 2010 Tables 5, 6 and 7 show the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement of Nokia in Q3 2010. It is clear that Nokia has slowly recovered its business in these 9 months. To be more specific, the net sales have a 4.7% increase compare to Q3 2009. Although the gross profit is lower than Q3 2009, the operating expenses have decreased substantially. In that case, the profit before tax has risen from -à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬426m to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬403m, which is good for the company. 3.3.2 Ratio Analysis Profitability Ratios From the chart below it can be seen that the ROCE is steadily decreasing from 2007. To be more speci

Albert Einstein :: essays research papers

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. Further to this, his parents initially believed him to be somewhat backward as he was late in starting to talk. Einstein was noted for saying that he waited until he could speak in complete sentences before he would say a word. He entered school at the age of six and to his parents surprise, he did very well. Albert did not mix well with other students, often preferring to play his own private games or reading books; he never liked school. At the age of 12 he was given a book on geometry, from that point on he taught himself anything he wanted to learn. "In 1905 Einstein received his doctorate from the University of Zurich for a theoretical dissertation on the Dimensions of Molecules, and he also published three theoretical papers important to the development of 20th century physics." (http://www.physics.gla.ac.uk/introPhy/Famous/ei†¦n/einstein.html) The first of these, on Brownian Motion, made significant predictions about the motion of particles that are randomly distributed in a fluid. This theory was later proven by experiment. The second paper, on the Photoelectric Effect, presented a hypothesis on the Nature of light. He not only proposed that under certain circumstances light can be considered as consisting of particles, but also stated that the energy carried by a photon is proportional to the frequency of the radiation. No one accepted this theory, even Robert Millikan was overwhelmed when Einstein prove this theory to be correct. "In 1915 Einstein published his third paper on the General theory of Relativity, his theory of Gravity."(http://www.humboldt.com/~gralsto/einstein/einstein.html) In this theory Einstein made his statement on equivalence, in which it’s impossible to distinguish between whether the force acting on a body is caused by the body accelerating or whether it’s gravity. For example, if you were weightless inside a lift in outer space and you then feel a force pulling your feet to the floor you can’t distinguish whether the lift is accelerating upwards, or whether there is a large volume of matter below causing the attraction. "The General Theory of Relativity describes gravity as being the result of a four-dimensional continuum (space-time) and that matter produces curves in this space-time with the measure of the curvature being a measure of the strength of gravity. In this perspective, bodies of matter follow the path of ‘shortest distance or least resistance’ and hence in the case of curved space-time around a star a planetary body would follow a ‘circular/elliptical’ orbit. Einstein’s theory was able to explain anomalies in the Mercury’s orbit which had eluded explanation from Newton’s Laws.

Gender and Sport Socialization Essay -- Papers

Gender and Sport Socialization Socialization is a life long process whereby the individual learns the appropriate roles and norms of behaviour within a particular society. From birth, children are socialised into sex-linked roles; in many instances males are expected to behave in a ‘masculine’ way and are encouraged to be involved in activities, such as sport, that are traditionally regarded as male. Women however are usually expected to behave in a ‘feminine’ manner; a vast contrast to the encouragement of males to be strong, powerful, forceful and aggressive. This is reflected in women’s participation in sport, and more importantly, their coverage in the print media, which is minimal in comparison to their male counterparts. Sport holds a significant place in our society. However women’s sport coverage suffers due to the positioning in newspapers, with their sporting stories often placed at the bottom of pages or at the inner, most inaccessible pages of the sports section. Women are often described in ways that stress weakness, passivity and insignificance, and in ways that...

hGH’s Effects on AIDS Wasting Syndrome :: Biology Biological Research Papers

hGH’s Effects on AIDS Wasting Syndrome "As for the fact that the disease tends to produce death, this is a matter of small significance. Life itself tends to produce death; living is a sort of gradual dying. All that distinguishes what is known is known as a healthy man from what is known as a diseased man is that the latter promises to die sooner – and even this probability is not always borne out by the event." H.L. Mencken What is Human Growth Hormone?. When asked to think about the human growth hormone (hGH) and its uses, many would envision an abnormally short man or woman who needs the hormone in order to grow to an average height. And in fact, this is one of the hGH’s most vital functions, yet there are many more uses for the hormone, unknown to much of the general public. Human growth hormone is a protein consisting of one hundred and ninety one amino acids and possessing a molecular weight of 21,700 (http://www.eng.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/FUNDAMNT/human.htm). It is produced in the pituitary gland of humans, where if functioning normally, it is secreted continuously throughout a person’s lifetime. The hormone promotes growth throughout adolescence and has a major role in the metabolism of adults (http://www.novo.dk/backgrou/backgrou/bahghuk.htm). hGH has many uses including the treatment of hypopituitary dwarfism, bone fractures, burns, and bleeding ulcers. In fact, until 1988 hGH was only used to tr eat those with growth hormone insufficiency, caused by a limited supply of the hormone (http://www.novo.dk/backgrou/backgrou/bahghuk.htm). However, with the widespread infection of the HIV virus, hGH has experimentally and effectively been found to benefit those suffering from AIDS wasting syndrome. What is AIDS Wasting Syndrome?. Often nicknamed "slim disease" in parts of Africa, wasting syndrome, in which there is intense loss of lean body mass, is killing people with AIDS. It is now the "second most frequently reported AIDS-related clinical condition in the United States, second only to Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (Weinroth, 1995). In wasting syndrome, the body begins to burn lean body mass and fat instead of the normal energy, making the body more susceptible to deadly infections. (http://www.critpath.org/newsletter/wtp/0496/growth.htm). The weight loss is very often associated with chronic weakness, constant diarrhea, and/or prolonged, unexplained fever (Weinroth, 1995).AIDS wasting arises in about 15-40% of late-stage AIDS cases (http://www.critpath.org/newsletter/wtp/0496/growth.htm). There is, however, a higher occurrence among women, Hispanics, and intravenous drug users. hGH’s Effects on AIDS Wasting Syndrome :: Biology Biological Research Papers hGH’s Effects on AIDS Wasting Syndrome "As for the fact that the disease tends to produce death, this is a matter of small significance. Life itself tends to produce death; living is a sort of gradual dying. All that distinguishes what is known is known as a healthy man from what is known as a diseased man is that the latter promises to die sooner – and even this probability is not always borne out by the event." H.L. Mencken What is Human Growth Hormone?. When asked to think about the human growth hormone (hGH) and its uses, many would envision an abnormally short man or woman who needs the hormone in order to grow to an average height. And in fact, this is one of the hGH’s most vital functions, yet there are many more uses for the hormone, unknown to much of the general public. Human growth hormone is a protein consisting of one hundred and ninety one amino acids and possessing a molecular weight of 21,700 (http://www.eng.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/FUNDAMNT/human.htm). It is produced in the pituitary gland of humans, where if functioning normally, it is secreted continuously throughout a person’s lifetime. The hormone promotes growth throughout adolescence and has a major role in the metabolism of adults (http://www.novo.dk/backgrou/backgrou/bahghuk.htm). hGH has many uses including the treatment of hypopituitary dwarfism, bone fractures, burns, and bleeding ulcers. In fact, until 1988 hGH was only used to tr eat those with growth hormone insufficiency, caused by a limited supply of the hormone (http://www.novo.dk/backgrou/backgrou/bahghuk.htm). However, with the widespread infection of the HIV virus, hGH has experimentally and effectively been found to benefit those suffering from AIDS wasting syndrome. What is AIDS Wasting Syndrome?. Often nicknamed "slim disease" in parts of Africa, wasting syndrome, in which there is intense loss of lean body mass, is killing people with AIDS. It is now the "second most frequently reported AIDS-related clinical condition in the United States, second only to Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (Weinroth, 1995). In wasting syndrome, the body begins to burn lean body mass and fat instead of the normal energy, making the body more susceptible to deadly infections. (http://www.critpath.org/newsletter/wtp/0496/growth.htm). The weight loss is very often associated with chronic weakness, constant diarrhea, and/or prolonged, unexplained fever (Weinroth, 1995).AIDS wasting arises in about 15-40% of late-stage AIDS cases (http://www.critpath.org/newsletter/wtp/0496/growth.htm). There is, however, a higher occurrence among women, Hispanics, and intravenous drug users.

Outline for Araby and Hills Essay

Six elements of fiction :plot, character, setting, point of view, voice and style, and theme. â€Å"The theme of a story abstracts its meaning from the concrete details of its plot, point of view, characterization, setting, and style† â€Å"Theme is a generalization about the meaning of a story. It is more than the subject of the story†¦ [and] is also different from the plot. †¦Theme comes last in a discussion of the elements of fiction because it is the consequence of all the other elements in a story. The structure and theme of a story are fused like the body and soul of a reader†¦. Though the summary of a writer’s theme is no substitute for the story in its entirety, your attempt to state it can help you to understand the story better† Compare and contrast two of the four short stories listed below. Begin your discussion of each story by stating what you think its theme is, and then describe how the other five elements identified by your editors contribute to articulating the theme. Use as many of the other five elements as you think are relevant in contributing to the theme; some elements will be more important than others, and one or two may not be relevant, depending upon your choice of stories. For example, point of view may be ‘neutral’ or non-judgmental, and voice (of the narrator/author) or style may also not be particularly relevant. Do not simply recite how each element, by itself, is present in the story. Your discussion of the elements should be integrated and you don’t necessarily have to identify the elements by name—e.g., you can refer to what happens in a story without calling it the plot or summarizing the plot, and you can refer to a character’s trait or personality without constructing a full profile of the character. The same can be said for point of view, especially where it is in the third person and not omniscient. Conclude your essay by drawing whatever parallels or contrasts you see between the two stories you have chosen. You should prepare by making an outline of the points you wish to make regarding the way each element contributes to a short story and then work from that outline. Be careful not to distort or overemphasize either story’s theme or any of its individual elements for the sake of drawing parallels or emphasizing differences between the two stories. Before ou finalize your essay, write a topic sentence outline of it and attach the outline to the paper. Your essay should be at least three pages, but only so long as is necessary to say what you have to say. Stories: William Faulkner, â€Å"A Rose for Emily,† pp. 146-52. Ernest Hemingway, â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants,† pp. 224-27. James Joyce, â€Å"Araby,† pp. 264-68. John Steinbeck, â€Å"The Chrysanthemums,† pp. 507-27.

Ecn 3000 Homework

Harris ECN 3000 Homework 1b. consumption the following information to answer questions 1-13 below. dickens countries, great of Greece and troy weight, put forward two true(p)s, ships and food, accord to the following business functions 1 ship = 4 pileus + 2 working class 1 food = 1 jacket crown + 3 labor. capital of Greece has 200 units of capital and snow units of labor avail competent to fetch ships and food. troy weight has one C units of capital and cl units of labor avail equal to produce ships and food. 1. Which good is capital intensive in intersection? Ship 2. Which good is labor intensive in turnout? Food 3.In which country is capital congenericly abundant? capital of Greece 4. In which country is labor relatively abundant? Tory 5. ground on your answers to 1 4 and using the Heckscher-Ohlin hypothesis, which country should define in the toil of which good? why? According to Heckscher-Ohlin hypothesis, countries will export products that utilise th eir abundant and cheap factors of production and bit products that utilize the countries scarce factors. As I said before, capital of Greece is capital relatively abundant, Tory is labor relatively abundant. When a matter is abundant, it becomes cheap.Thus, capital of Greece should specify in the production of ship, and troy weight should specialize in the production of food. 6. Calculate the limits of production for Athens and Troy. The limits of production for Athens 200/4=50 ships or 100/3=33 foods. The limits of production for Troy 100/4=25 ships or 150/3=50 foods. 7. Calculate the domestic name of conduct for Athens and Troy in terms of 1 ship. . 8. Based on your answer to question 7, which country should specialize in the production of which good? why? Athens MRT=0. 66 and Troys MRT=2. So we can know Athens has comparative advantage in ship, and Troy has comparative advantage in food.Thus, Athens should specialize in the production of ship, and Troy should specialize in the production of food. 9. scoop the production possibilities curves for for each one country base on your answers to questions 6 and 7. Athens 42 33 PPC CPC 0 25 50 Ships Tory 50 25 CPC PPC 0 25 38 50 Ships 10. Supposing that Athens and Troy harmonise to raft ships and food at an world-wide terms of get by of 1, what watching can you make about their relative demands for ships and food?Which country experiences the great gains from trade? 1 ship is exchanged 1 food on condition that they agree to trade ships and food at an international term of trade of 1. Athens should trade 12. 5 ships to Troy, and Troy should trade 8. 5 foods to Athens. Troy will experience the greater gains from trade. 11. Draw the consumption possibilities curve for each country on the same represent you drew for question 9. 12. Suppose Athens wants to down only 25 ships. How many an(prenominal) food will it be able to feature? How many ships and how many food would Troy be able to consume?If Athen s wants to consume only 25 ships, 58 foods will it be able to consume. 50 ships, 25 foods should Troy be able to consume. 13. Now, assume that only Athens discovers a new technology that allows it to produce ships using 1. 5 capital and 1 labor. What would be the effect on the pattern of trade between the two countries? Explain. Based on your assumption, Athens will diminution the cost of the ships. Then, the limits of production for Athens 100/1=100 ships or 100/3=33 foods. Athens maybe experiences the greater gains from trade.However, the demand of Troy cannot be ignored. Troy may not consume that many ships. 14. Suppose that instead of craft goods, Athens and Troy decide to trade 50 units of Athens capital for 25 units of Troys labor. How would the countries relative eudaimonia be affected? If this supposition were true, subsequently Athens and Troy trade capital and labor, they will have same enumerate of capital and labor. Then, the trades between these two countries arg on unnecessary. They can produce their own goods. Foods Foods