Popular Approaches to Educational Planning in Developing Countries Essay

Educational planning is a worldwide practice found in both developing and developed countries. The developing countries and indeed all countries have placed a premium on education because of the persistent belief that formal education holds the key to national development and economic growth. In the light of this, the modern conception of educational planning has attracted specialists from many disciplines with each of them tending to see educational planning differently. In view of this attraction, the traditional approach to educational planning could no longer hold sway. In an attempt to find a most suitable approach to educational planning, different models have been developed by scholars. These include the social demand approach, the manpower approach, the cost-benefit approach and other remerging models. The choice of model to adopt is usually predicated on the peculiarities and other prevailing factors in a country. Generally however, scholars have tried to classify approaches to educational planning based on the level of development of a country. And this probably explains why some are called developing countries and others are developed countries. A thorough understanding of these approaches however requires some background information or knowledge. In doing, this we shall adopt the definition of the concept of educational planning as provided by Coombs (1970), identify key planning questions, trace the history of modern approaches to educational planning, and bring out most important planning issues in developing countries with example and illustrations. Educational Planning Because of the ubiquitous nature of education and educational planning, several scholars have offered different definitions. For example, Coombs (1970) in a UNESCO Publication titled â€Å"What is Educational Planning â€Å". says that: â€Å"Educational Planning, in its broadest generic sense, is the application of rational systematic analysis to the process of educational development with the aim of making education more effective and efficient in responding to the needs and goals of its students and society â€Å". Arising from this concept of educational planning are a succession of interdependent actions namely: i. Clarification of educational objectives  ii. Diagnosis of present conditions and recent trends iii. Identification and assessment of alternatives iv. Translation of plans into action and v. Evaluation and adjustment. This analytical process to educational planning entails preparing and subsequently evaluating a set of decisions or future actions aimed at achieving specific set of goals. Educational planning therefore is a fundamentally technical activity related to decision making process. Its purpose in the context of national educational programme and overall developmental objectives is to assess the implications of alternative sets of policy and thereby help decision makers choose that set which is most appropriate to the specified objectives. Events in the recent years have witnessed an increasing emphasis on the need to design educational policy in relation to overall set of objectives for economic and social development. Thus in addition to being a fundamental end in itself, education is now also viewed as an important means or instrument for increasing a nation’s economic and social welfare. This relationship makes it necessary to consider a variety of factors that previously may ha ve appeared irrelevant. The most important of this is to evaluate whether the size of structure of the educational system is appropriate from the perspective of national development objectives – or conversely to determine the educational capacity that will be required to permit a nation to reach its development targets. The second important characteristic of a new interest in educational planning is that it has focused attention on the structural interdependence and efficiency of the educational system. History of Modern Educational Planning A background history of the modern educational planning will greatly enhance our understanding of the emergence of the different approaches to educational planning in the developed and the developing countries. Prior to the Second World War (1939 – 1945), educational system everywhere was simple, less complex in structure and content, smaller in size and less intricately tied to the total life of nations. The only exception is probably the Soviet Union which in 1923 made an attempt to use educational planning to help realise a ‘new society’ through what is commonly referred to as the First Five Year Plan of the young Soviet Union. Before the war, the typical kind of educational planning had the following features a. It was short range in outlook (i.e. plan period was short, usually a year, rarely spreading beyond) b. It was fragmentary in its coverage of the educational system, the parts of the system were planned independently of one another. c. It was non-integrated in the sense that educational institutions were planned autonomously without explicit ties to the evolving needs and trends of the society and the economy at large; and d. It was non-dynamic kind of plannin g which assumed an essentially static educational model that would retain its main features intact year in and year out. However shortly after the world war (especially from 1945 to 1970), educational system and their environment all over the world were subjected to a barrage of scientific and technological, economical, demographic, political and cultural changes that shook everything in sight. The next twenty five years subsequently took Europe (industrialised nations) through four phases of development namely: i. The reconstruction phase  ii. The manpower shortage phase iii. Rampant expansion phase and iv. The innovation phase. Europe and indeed the entire world including the developing countries emerged from the Second World War with their educational system seriously disrupted and facing a heavy backlog of educational needs. Nations everywhere quickly settled for reconstruction and in the process it soon became evident that the conventional pre-war educational planning would not suffice for these reconstruction tasks. This arose because the recovery process was fast (partly on account of Marshall Plan assistance from the United States) and by the early 1950s these rebuilt economies had fully absorbed the available supply of skilled human resources; hence, manpower bottlenecks began to loom as the major obstacle to further growth. This led western economies to become more power minded and to look at educational planning through new eyes. No longer was education seen merely as a non-productive sector of the economy which absorbed consumption expenditure. It was now viewed as an essential ‘investment expenditure’ for economic growth. But as obviously important as manpower needs were finally conceded to be, they paled before another force that soon began to dominate the educational scene and gives sleepless nights to the political authorities and educational planners throughout Europe and North America. This other force was the explosive increase in popular demand for education which led to the rampant expansion phase. Virtually everywhere, the dominant thrust of strategy was to expand the pre-war educational needs as rapidly as possible – curriculum, methods, examinations and all with a view to accommodating a larger number and proportion of the youth population. These eruptions forced the educational system of industrialised nations into yet a fourth post-war phase called the innovation phase. This phase prompted the formulation and adoption of new planning concepts and tools which are now in use and taking shape. Educational Planning in Developing Countries Much of what was said above applies with even greater force to developing countries shortly after the European experience. There educational needs were even larger and more urgent but their educational systems unfortunately were less relevant and less adequate to their needs. It will be recalled that most of the developing nations of Africa were colonies during this period and were gradually fighting for political independence. During this period, the missionaries that introduced western type of education were not focused on rapid expansion of education. The colonial masters too had other pre-occupation. Formal western education was therefore at low ebb. At the same time, the armies and the soldiers including a few educated nationals of these countries have had exposure to Europe and North America and were therefore fairly acquainted with educational system in Europe and North America. Given this background, and starting from the 1950s, the developing countries responded similarly to their new circumstances with an educational strategy of linear expansion. Support was also received from global organisations like United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), International Institute of Educational Planning in this direction. At a series of UNESCO conferences early in the 1960s education ministers of Asia, Africa and Latin America set ambitious regional targets for educational expansion in their respective regions. These targets were widely adopted by individual nations. They called for 100% percent participation in primary education by the end of the target period and sharply increase participation in secondary and higher education. This expansion strategy manifests the adoption of the social demand approach to educational planning in some of the developing countries. A good example of this is the free education policy adopted by the Western and Eastern regions of Nigeria in the 1950s. Same goes for Nkrumah’s Ghana which introduced education for all policy in 1952. We shall examine this in greater detail later. In the view of Coombs (1970) the case for a manpower approach was particularly strong in developing nations because their overall development was conspicuously handicapped by shortages of all kinds of specialised or skilled manpower. Thus, it made sense to give initial priority to educating the most needed types of manpower for economic growth, for without such growth the desired long run expansion in education and other major social objectives would simply not be possible. Unfortunately, the developing countries were not equipped to do the kind of educational and manpower planning that the situation required and worse still, the rest of the world could not do much for them because the global supply of basic knowledge and experts for this kind of planning was acutely scarce. It is noteworthy however that UNESCO and other agencies played active and supportive role to assist.

Capital Structure in a Perfect Market

MBA  509  Recommended  Chapter  Questions These  questions  are  the  focus  of  what  I  am  covering  on  the  final  exam. Understand  the  answers  to  these  questions  and  should  not  be  surprised  by  anything  on  the  exam. Chapter 14: Capital Structure in a Perfect Market 14-5. Suppose Alpha Industries and Omega Technologies have identical assets that generate identical cash flows. Alpha Industries is an all-equity firm, with 10 million shares outstanding that trade for a price of$22 per share. Omega Technologies has 20 million shares outstanding as well as debt of $60 million. 14-5-a.According to MM Proposition I, what is the stock price for Omega Technologies? V(alpha) = 10 x 22 = 220m = V(omega) = D + E E = 220 – 60 = 160m p = $8 per share. 14-5-b. Suppose Omega Technologies stock currently trades for $11 per share. What arbitrage opportunity is available? What assumptions are necessary to exploit this opportunity? Omega is overpriced. Sell 20 Omega, Buy 10 alpha and borrow 60. Initial = 220 – 220 + 60 = 60. Assumes we can trade shares at current prices & Assumes we can borrow at same terms as Omega (or own Omega debt and can sell at same price). 4-6. Cisoft is a highly profitable technology firm that currently has $5 billion in cash. The firm has decided to use this cash to repurchase shares from investors, and it has already announced these plans to investors. Currently, Cisoft is an all equity firm with 5 billion shares outstanding. These shares currently trade for $12 per share. Cisoft has issued no other securities except for stock options to its employees. The current market value of these options is $8 billion. 14-6-a. What is the value of Cisoft’s non-cash assets?Assets = cash + non-cash, Liabilities = equity + options. non-cash assets = equity + options – cash = 12 ? 5 + 8 – 5 = 63 billion 14-6-b. With perfect capital markets, what is the market value of Cisoft’s equity after share repurchase? What is the value per share? Equity = 60 – 5 = 55. Repurchase 5b / 12 = 0. 417b shares = 55 / 4. 583 = $12 4. 583 b shares remain Per share value MBA  509  Recommended  Chapter  Questions These  questions  are  the  focus  of  what  I  am  covering  on  the  final  exam. Understand  the  answers  to  these  questions  and  should  not  be  surprised  by  anything  on  the  exam. 4-8. Explain what is wrong with the following argument: â€Å"If a firm issues debt that is risk free, because there is no possibility of default, the risk of the firm’s equity does not change. Therefore, risk-free debt allows the firm to get the benefit of a low cost of capital of debt without raising its cost of capital of equity. † Any leverage raises the equity cost of capital. In fact, risk-free leverage raises it the most (because it does not share any of t he risk). 14-12. Hubbard Industries is an all-equity firm whose shares have an expected return of 10%.Hubbard does a leveraged recapitalization, issuing debt and repurchasing stock, until its debt=equity ratio is 0. 60. Due to the increased risk, shareholders now expect a return of 13%. Assuming there are no taxes and Hubbard’s debt is risk free, what is the interest rate on the debt? wacc = ru = 10% = 1 0. 6 x ? 1. 6(10) ? 13 = 3 = 0. 6 x ? x = 5% 13% + 1. 6 1. 6 14-17. Zelnor, Inc. , is an all-equity firm with 100 million shares outstanding currently trading for $8. 50 per share. Suppose Zelnor decides to grant a total of 10 million new shares to employees as part of a new compensation plan.The firm argues that this new compensation plan will motivate employees and is a better strategy that giving salary bonuses because it will not cost the firm anything. a. If the new compensation plan has no effect on the value of Zelnor’s assets, what will the share price of the n ew stock be once this plan is implemented? Assets = 850m. New shares = 110 ? price = 850 = $7. 73 110 b. What is the cost of the plan for Zelnor’s investors? Why is issuing equity costly in this case? Cost = 100(8. 50 ? 7. 73) = 77m = 10(7. 73) Issuing equity at below market price is costly. MBA  509  Recommended  Chapter  QuestionsThese  questions  are  the  focus  of  what  I  am  covering  on  the  final  exam. Understand  the  answers  to  these  questions  and  should  not  be  surprised  by  anything  on  the  exam. Chapter 15: Debt and Taxes 15-1. Pelamed Pharmaceuticals has EBIT of $325 million in 2006. In addition, Pelamed has interest expenses of $125 million and a corporate tax rate of 40%. a. What is Pelamed’s 2006 net income? Net Income = EBIT – Interest – Taxes = (325 – 125) x (1-0. 40) – $120 million b. What is the total of Pelamed’s 2006 net income and int erest payment? Net Income + Interest = 120 = 125 = $245 million c.If Pelamed had no interest expenses, what would its 2006 net income be? How does it compare to your answer in part (b)? NetIncome = EBIT ? Taxes = 325 ? (1 ? 0. 40) = $195 million This is 245 ? 195 = $50 million lower than part (b). d. What is the amount of Pelamed’sinterest tax shield in 2006? Interest tax shield = 125 ? 40% = $50 million MBA  509  Recommended  Chapter  Questions These  questions  are  the  focus  of  what  I  am  covering  on  the  final  exam. Understand  the  answers  to  these  questions  and  should  not  be  surprised  by  anything  on  the  exam. 15-3. Suppose the corporate tax rate is 40%.Consider a firm that earns$1000 before interest and taxes each year with no risk. The firm’s capital expenditures equals its deprecation expenses each year, and it will have no change to its net working capital. The risk-free inter est rate is 5%. a. Suppose the firm has no debt and pays out its net income as a dividend each year. What is the value of the firm’s equity? NetIncome = 1000 ? (1 ? 40%) = $600. Thus, equity holders receive dividends of $600 per year with no risk. 600 E= = $12, 000 5% b. Suppose instead the firm makes interest payments of $500 per year. What is the value of equity?What is the value of debt? 300 = $6000 5% Debt holders receive interest of $500 per year ? D – $10,000 NetIncome ? (1000 ? 500) ? (1 ? 0. 40) = $300 ? E c. What is the difference between the total value of the firm with leverage and without leverage? With Leverage = 6,000 + 10,000 = $16,000 Without Levergae = $12,000 Difference = 16,000 – 12,000 = $4000 d. The difference in part  © is equal to what percentage of the value of the debt? 4, 000 = 40% = corporate tax rate 10, 000 MBA  509  Recommended  Chapter  Questions These  questions  are  the  focus  of  what  I  am  coveri ng  on  the  final  exam.Understand  the  answers  to  these  questions  and  should  not  be  surprised  by  anything  on  the  exam. 15-6. Arnell Industries has $10 million in debt outstanding. The firm will pay interest only on this debt. Arnell’s marginal tax rate is expected to be 35% for the foreseeable future. a. Suppose Arnell pays interest of 6% per year on its debt. What is the annual interest tax shield? Interest tax sheild = $10 ? 6% ? 35% = $0. 21 million b. What is the present value of the interest tax shield, assuming its risk is the same as the loan? PV(Interest tax sheild) = $0. 21 = $3. 5 million 0. 06 c.Suppose instead that the interest rate on the debt is 5%. What is the present value of the interest tax shield in this case? Interest tax sheild = $10 ? 5% ? 35% = $0. 175 million $0. 175 = $3. 5 million PV = 0. 05 15-8. Rumolt Motors has 30 million shares outstanding with a price of $15 per share. In addition, Rumolt ha s issued bonds with a total current market value of 4150 MILLION. Suppose Rumolt’s equity cost of capital is 10%, and its debt cost of capital is 5%. a. What is Rumolt’s pretax weighted cost of capital? E = $15 ? 30 = $450m D = $150m Pretax WACC = 450 150 10% + 5% = 8. 75% 600 600 b.If Rumolt’s corporate rate is 35%, what is its after-tax weighted cost of capital? WACC = 450 150 10% = 5%(1 ? 35%) = 8. 3125% 600 600 MBA  509  Recommended  Chapter  Questions These  questions  are  the  focus  of  what  I  am  covering  on  the  final  exam. Understand  the  answers  to  these  questions  and  should  not  be  surprised  by  anything  on  the  exam. 15-12. Milton Industries expects free cash flow of $5 million each year. Milton’s corporate tax rate is 35%, and its unlevered cost of capital is 15%. The firm also has outstanding debt of $19. 05 million, and it expects to maintain this level of deb t permanently. a.What is the value of Milton Industries without leverage? VU = 5 = $33. 33 million 0. 15 b. What is the value of Milton Industries with leverage? V L = V U + ? c D = 33. 33 + 0. 35 ? 19. 50 = $40 million 15-13. Kurz Manufacturing is currently an all-equity firm with 20 million shares outstanding and a stock price of $7. 50 per share. Although investors currently expect Kurz to remain an all-equity firm, Kurz plans to announce that it will borrow $50 million and use the funds to repurchase shares. Kurz will pay interest only on this debt, and it has no further plans to increase or decrease the amount of debt.Kurz is subject to a 40% corporate tax rate. a. What is the market value of Kurz’s existing assets before the announcement? Assets = Equity = $7. 50 ? 20 = $150 million b. What is the market value of Kurz’s assets (including the tax shield) just after the debt is issued, but before the shares are repurchased? Assests = 150 (existing) + 50 (cash) + 40 % ? 50 (tax sheild) = $220 million c. What is Kurz’s share price just before the share repurchase? How many Shres will Kurz repurchase? E = Assets ? Debt = 220 ? 50 = $170 million $170m = $8. 50 Share Price = 20 50 = 5. 882 million shares Kurz will repurchase 8. 50 d.What are Kurz’s market value balance sheet and share price after the share repurchase? Assets ? 150(existing ) + 40% ? 50(taxsheild ) = $170 million Debt = $50 million E = A ? D = 170 ? 50 ? $120 million $120 = $8. 50 / share Share price = 20 ? 5. 882 MBA  509  Recommended  Chapter  Questions These  questions  are  the  focus  of  what  I  am  covering  on  the  final  exam. Understand  the  answers  to  these  questions  and  should  not  be  surprised  by  anything  on  the  exam. 15-15. Suppose the corporate tax rate is 40%, and investors pay a tax rate of 15% on income from dividends or capital gains and a tax rate of 33. 3% on interest in come.Your firm decides to add debt so it will pay an additional $15 million in interest each year. It will pay this interest expense by cutting its dividend. a. How much will debt holders receive after paying taxes on the interest they earn? $15 ? (1 ? 0. 333) = $10 million each year b. By how much will the firm need to cut its dividend each year to pay this interest expense? Given a corporate tax rate of 40%, an interest expense of $15 million per year reduces net income by 15(1-0. 4)=$9 million after corporate taxes. c. By how much will this cut in the dividend reduce equity holders’ annual after-tax income? $9 million dividend cut ? 9 ? (1 ? 0,15) ? $7. 65 million per year d. How much less will the government receive in total tax revenues each year? Interest atxes = 0. 333 ? 15 = $5 million Less corporate taxes = 0. 40 ? 15 = $6 million Less dividend taxes = 0. 15 ? 9 = $1. 35 million [note: this equals (a) – (c)] e. What is the effective tax advantage of debt ? * ? (1 ? 0. 40)(1 ? 0. 15) ? * = 1? = 23. 5% 1 ? 0. 333 15-16. Markum Enterprises is considering permanently adding $100 million of debt to its capital structure. Markum’s corporate tax rate is 35%. a. Absent personal taxes, what is the value of the interest tax shield from the new debt?PV = ? c D = 35% ? 100 = $35 million b. If investors pay a tax rate of 40% on interest income, and a tax rate of 20% on income from dividends and capital gains, what is the value of the interest tax shield from new debt? ? * = 1? (1 ? 0. 35)(1 ? 0. 20) = 13. 33% 1 ? 0. 40 PV = ? C D = 13. 33% ? 100 = $13. 33 million MBA  509  Recommended  Chapter  Questions These  questions  are  the  focus  of  what  I  am  covering  on  the  final  exam. Understand  the  answers  to  these  questions  and  should  not  be  surprised  by  anything  on  the  exam. 15-19. With its current leverage, Impi Corporation will have net income next year of $4 . million. If Impi’s corporate tax rate is 35% and it pays 8% interest on its debt, how much additional debt can Impi issue this year and still receive the benefit of the interest tax shield next year? Net income of $4. 5 million ? 4. 5 = $6. 923 million in taxable income. Therefore, Arundel can increase its interest expense by $6. 923 million, which corresponds to debt of: 6. 923 = $86. 5 million 0. 08 MBA  509  Recommended  Chapter  Questions These  questions  are  the  focus  of  what  I  am  covering  on  the  final  exam. Understand  the  answers  to  these  questions  and  should  not  be  surprised  by  anything  on  the  exam.Chapter 16: Financial Distress, Managerial Incentives and Information 16-2. Baruk Industries has no cash and a debt obligation of $36 millionthat is now due. The market value of Baruk’s assets is $81 million, and the firm has no liabilities. Assume a perfect capital market. a. Suppose Baruk has 10 million shares outstanding. What is Baruk’s current share price? 81 ? 36 = $4. 5 / share 10 b. How many new shares must Baruk issue to raise the capital needed to pay its debt obligation? 36 = 8 million shares 4. 5 c. After repaying the debt, what will Baruk’s share price be? 81 = $4. 5 / share 18 16-3.When a firm defaults on its debt, debt holders often receive less than 50% of the amount they are owed. Is the difference between the amount debt holders are owed and the amount they receive a cost of bankruptcy? No. Some of these losses are due to declines in the value of the assets that would have occurred whether or not the firm defaulted. Only the incremental losses that arise from the bankruptcy process are bankruptcy costs. 16-4. Which type of firm is more likely to experience a loss of customers in the event of financial distress: a. Campbell Soup Company or Intuit, Inc.? Intuit Inc. its customers will care about their ability to receive upgr ades to their software. b. Allstate Corporation or Reebok International? Allstate Corporation – its customers rely on the firm being able to pay future claims. MBA  509  Recommended  Chapter  Questions These  questions  are  the  focus  of  what  I  am  covering  on  the  final  exam. Understand  the  answers  to  these  questions  and  should  not  be  surprised  by  anything  on  the  exam. 16-5. Which type of assets is more likely to be liquidated for close to its full market value in the event of financial distress? a. An office building or a brand name?Office building—there are many alternate users who would be likely to value the property similarly. b. Product inventory or raw materials? Raw materials—they are easier to reuse. c. Patent right of engineering â€Å"know-how†? Patent rights—they would be easier to sell to another firm. 16-9. Marpor Industries has no debt and expects to generate free cash flows of $16 million each year. Marpor believes that if it permanently increases its level of debt to $40 million, the risk of financial distress may cause it to lose some customers and receive less favorable terms from its suppliers.As a result, Marpor’s free cash flows with debt will be only $15 million per year. Suppose Marpor’s tax rate is 35%, the risk-free rate is 5%, the expected return of the market is 15%, and the beta of Marpor’s free cash flows is 1. 1. (with or without leverage). a. Estimate Marpor’s value without leverage r = 5% + 1. 1? (15% ? 5%) = 16% 16 V= = $100 million 0. 16 b. Estimate Marpor’s value with the new leverage. r = 5% + 1. 1? (15% ? 5%) = 16% 15 V= + 0. 35 ? 40 = $107. 75 million 0. 16 MBA  509  Recommended  Chapter  Questions These  questions  are  the  focus  of  what  I  am  covering  on  the  final  exam.Understand  the  answers  to  these  questio ns  and  should  not  be  surprised  by  anything  on  the  exam. 16-10. Real Estate Purchases are often financed with at least 80% debt. Most corporations, however, have less that 50% debt financing. Provide an explanation for this difference using the trade-off theory. According to tradeoff theory, tax shield adds value while financial distress costs reduce a firm’s value. The financial distress costs for a real estate investment are likely to be low, because the property can generally be easily resold for its full market value.In contrast, corporations generally face much higher costs of financial distress. As a result, corporations choose to have lower leverage. 16-11. Dynron Corporation’s primary business is natural gas transportation using its vast gas pipeline network. Dynron’s assets currently have a market value of $150 million. The firm is exploring the possibility of raising $50 million by selling part of its pipeline network and i nvesting the $50 million in a fiber-optic network to generate revenues by selling high-speed network bandwidth.While this new investment is expected to increase profits, it will also substantially increase Dynron’s risk. If Dynron is levered, would this investment be more or less attractive to equity holders than if Dynron had no debt? If Dynron has no debt or if in all scenarios Dynron can pay the debt in full, equity holders will only consider the project’s NPV in making the decision. If Dynron is heavily leveraged, equity holders will also gain from the increased risk of the new investment. 16-18. Which of the following industries have low optimal debt levels according to the tradeoff theory? Which have high optimal levels of debt? a.Tobacco firms high optimal debt level—high free cash flow, low growth opportunities Accounting firms low optimal debt level—high distress costs Mature restaurant chains high optimal debt level—stable cash flows, low growth, low distress costs Lumber companies high optimal debt level—stable cash flows, low growth, low distress costs Cell phone manufacturers low optimal debt level—high growth opportunities, high distress costs b. c. d. e. MBA  509  Recommended  Chapter  Questions These  questions  are  the  focus  of  what  I  am  covering  on  the  final  exam. Understand  the  answers  to  these  questions  and  should  not  be  surprised  by  anything  on  the  exam. 6-19. According to the managerial entrenchment theory, managers choose capital structures so as to preserve their control of the firm. On the one hand, debt is costly for managers because they risk losing control in the event of default. On the other hand, if they do not take advantage of the tax shield provided by debt, they risk losing control through a hostile takeover. Suppose a firm expects to generate free cash flows of $90 million per year, and t he discount rate for these cash flows is 10%. The firm pays a tax rate of 40%. A raider is poised to take over the firm and finance it with $750 Million in permanent debt.The raider will generate the same free cash flows, and the takeover attempt will be successful if the raider can offer a premium of 20% over the current value of the firm. What level of permanent debt will the firm choose, according to the managerial entrenchment hypothesis? 90 = $900 0. 10 Levered Value w/ Raider = 900 + 40%(750) = $1. 2 billion To prevent successful raid,l current managment must have a levered value of at least $1. 2 billion = $1 billion 1. 20 Thus, the minimum tax sheild is $1 billion – 900 million = $100 million, 100 which requires = $250 million in debt 0. 40 Unlevered Value = MBA  509  Recommended  Chapter  QuestionsThese  questions  are  the  focus  of  what  I  am  covering  on  the  final  exam. Understand  the  answers  to  these  questio ns  and  should  not  be  surprised  by  anything  on  the  exam. Chapter 17: Payout Policy 17-6. The HNH Corporation will pay a constant dividend of $2 per share, per year, in perpetuity. Assume all investors pay a 20% tax on dividends and that there is no capital gains tax. The cost of capital for investing in HNH stock is 12%. a. What is the price of a share of HNH stock? P=$1. 60/0. 12=$13. 33 b. Assume that management make a surprise announcement that HNH will no longer pay dividends but will use the cash to repurchase stocks instead.What is the price of a share of HNH stock now? P=$2/0. 12=$16. 67 17-7. What was the effective dividend tax rate for a U. S. investor in the highest tax bracket who planned to hold a stock for one year in 1981? How did the effective dividend tax rate change in 1982 when the Reagan tax cuts took effect? (Ignore State taxes. ) 58. 33% in 1981 and 37. 5% in 1982. 17-10. At current tax rates, which investors are most likely to hold a stock that has a high dividend yield? a. Individual Investors b. Pension Funds c. Mutual Funds d. Corporations 17-11. A stock that you know is held by long-term individual investors paid a large one-time dividend.You notice that the price dropped on the ex-dividend date is about the size of the dividend payment. You find this relationship puzzling given the tax disadvantage of dividends. Explain how the dividends-capture theory might account for this behavior. Dividend capture theory states that investors with high effective dividend tax rates sell to investors with low effective dividend tax rates just before the dividend payment. The price drop therefore reflects the tax rate of the low effective dividend tax rate individuals. MBA  509  Recommended  Chapter  Questions These  questions  are  the  focus  of  what  I  am  covering  on  the  final  exam.Understand  the  answers  to  these  questions  and  should  not  be  surpris ed  by  anything  on  the  exam. 17-16. Explain under which conditions an increase in the dividend payment can be interpreted as a signal of: a. Good news By increasing dividends managers signal that they believe that future earnings will be high enough to maintain the new dividend payment. b. Bad news Raising dividends signals that the firm does not have any positive NPV investment opportunities, which is bad news. 17-17. Why is an announcement of a share repurchase considered a positive signal?By choosing to do a share repurchase management credibly signals that they believe the stock is undervalued. 17-20. Explain why most companies choose to pay stock dividends (split their stock). Companies use stock splits to keep their stock prices in a range that reduces investor transaction costs 17-21. When might it be advantageous to undertake a reverse stock split? To avoid being delisted from an exchange because the price of the stock has fallen below the minimum required to s tay listed. 17-22. After the market close on May 11, 2001, Adaptec, Inc. , distributed a dividend of shares of he stock of its software division, Roxio, Inc. Each, Adaptec shareholder received 0. 1646 share of Roxio stock per share of Adaptec stock owned. At the time Adaptec stock was trading at a price of $10. 55 per share (cum-dividend), and Roxie’s share price was $14. 25 per share. In a perfect market, what would Adaptec’s ex-dividend share price be after this transaction? The value of the dividend paid per Adaptec share was (0. 1646 shares of Roxio) ? ($14. 23 per share of Roxio) = $2. 34 per share. Therefore, ignoring tax effects or other news that might come out, we would expect Adaptec’s stock price to fall to $10. 5 – 2. 34 = $8. 21 per share once it goes ex-dividend. (Note: In fact, Adaptec stock opened on Monday May 14, 2001 – the next trading day – at a price of $8. 45 per share. ) MBA  509  Recommended  Chapter  Question s These  questions  are  the  focus  of  what  I  am  covering  on  the  final  exam. Understand  the  answers  to  these  questions  and  should  not  be  surprised  by  anything  on  the  exam. Explain the long-term (3 to 5 years) relative stock performance of companies that have i) issued a seasoned equity offering ii) split their stocks Why would a stock split be a signal for good news?What is meant by â€Å"leaving money on the table,† when issuing an IPO? Why might issuing management be content to leave a lot of money on the table? Can you spot the period of a stock market bubble in the table below? (Hint: look for an oval! ) In retrospect, do you think it is a good long-term investment to purchase stocks where there has been huge amounts of money left on the table? Table 1 Summary Statistics for 6,312 IPOs with Offer Price ? $5. 00 Mean First-day Return 7% 15% 65% 12% 19% Average, 2001 Dollars Money Left on the Ta ble Gross Proceeds $2. million $10 million $82 million $29 million $17 million $42 million $72 million $161 million $397 million $81 million Period 1980-1989 1990-1998 1999-2000 2001-2002 1980-2002 Describe how investment banks allocate IPO shares using the â€Å"bookbuilding† method. Are IPOs, as a group and over time, good long-term investments in terms of average annual returns? Describe how IPOs are like Lotto tickets. (Low expected returns, but with relatively low probability of extremely large gains—buying into Microsoft, Intel, etc) Hint: this is the answer.Describe Graham and Kumar’s suggestive evidence that there is, indeed, a clientele effect for dividends. Which class of investors like high dividend yields? Which age bracket? How do these finding suggest a clientele effect? Chapter  14. Capital  Structure  in  a  Perfect  Market   Summary   1. The  collection  of  securities  a  firm  issues  to  raise  capital  fro m  investors  is  called  the   firm’s  capital  structure. Equity  and  debt  are  the  securities  most  commonly  used  by   firms. When  equity  is  used  without  debt,  the  firm  is  said  to  be  unlevered. Otherwise,  the   amount  of  debt  determines  the  firm’s  leverage. . The  owner  of  a  firm  should  choose  the  capital  structure  that  maximizes  the  total  value   of  the  securities  issued. 3. Capital  markets  are  said  to  be  perfect  if  they  satisfy  three  conditions:   a. Investors  and  firms  can  trade  the  same  set  of  securities  at  competitive  market   prices  equal  to  the  present  value  of  their  future  cash  flows. b. There  are  no  taxes,  transaction  costs,  or  issuance  costs  associated  with  security   trad ing. c. A  firm’s  financing  decisions  do  not  change  the  cash  flows  generated  by  its   investments,  nor  do  they  reveal  new  information  about  them. 4.According  to  MM  Proposition  I,  with  perfect  capital  markets  the  value  of  a  firm  is   independent  of  its  capital  structure. a. With  perfect  capital  markets,  homemade  leverage  is  a  perfect  substitute  for  firm   leverage. b. If  otherwise  identical  firms  with  different  capital  structures  have  different  values,   the  Law  of  One  Price  would  be  violated  and  an  arbitrage  opportunity  would   exist. 5. The  market  value  balance  sheet  shows  that  the  total  market  value  of  a  firm’s  assets   equals  the  total  market  value  of  the  firm’s  liabilities,   including  all  securi ties  issued  to   investors.Changing  the  capital  structure  therefore  alters  how  the  value  of  the  assets  is   divided  across  securities,  but  not  the  firm’s  total  value. 6. A  firm  can  change  its  capital  structure  at  any  time  by  issuing  new  securities  and  using   the  funds  to  pay  its  existing  investors. An  example  is  a  leveraged  recapitalization  in   which  the  firm  borrows  money  (issues  debt)  and  repurchases  shares  (or  pays  a   dividend). MM  Proposition  I  implies  that  such  transactions  will  not  change  the  share   price. 7. According  to  MM  Proposition  II,  the  cost  of  capital  for  levered  equity  is      8. Debt  is  less  risky  than  equity,  so  it  has  a  lower  c ost  of  capital.Leverage  increases  the  risk   of  equity,  however,  raising  the  equity  cost  of  capital. The  benefit  of  debt’s  lower  cost  of   capital  is  offset  by  the  higher  equity  cost  of  capital,  leaving  a  firm’s  weighted  average   cost  of  capital  (WACC)  unchanged  with  perfect  capital  markets: 1 9. The  market  risk  of  a  firm’s  assets  can  be  estimated  by  its  unlevered  beta: 10. Leverage  increases  the  beta  of  a  firm’s  equity: 11. A  firm’s  net  debt  is  equal  to  its  debt  less  its  holdings  of  cash  and  other  risk? free   securities. We  can  compute  the  cost  of  capital  and  the  beta  of  the  firm’s  bus

Human Health and Environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Health and Environment - Assignment Example In 1793, more than 5000 Americans died as a result of the yellow fever epidemic which started in Philadelphia. (Murphy, J., 2003) There are an estimated 200,000 cases of yellow fever, causing 30,000 deaths, worldwide each year. (Yellow Fever, 2009) On the other hand, The World Health Organization’s Guidelines for the treatment of malaria (2010) has reported an estimated 863,000 deaths in 2008 due to malaria. Still another similar factor yellow fever and malaria share is that they almost have the same symptoms. Both diseases make the victim feel feverish and body ache. Conversely, yellow fever can be different from malaria, too. Firstly, where malaria has a cure thanks to the medicine quinine (Agosta, W., 1997), there is only a vaccine for yellow fever and a cure dependent on the resulting illness manifested by the patient. (Hayes, J.J., 1858) The said vaccine was discovered by Max Theiler in 1937. (Monath, T., 2010) Secondly, the incubation fever for yellow fever is only for 3-4 days, malaria victims only show signs of the symptoms after 7 to 30 days. (WHO, 2010) Last but not the least, while yellow fever has mostly affected people in Africa and Latin America, deaths and cases of malaria are in sub-Saharan Africa. (WHO, 2010) 1.b) A mosquito’s bite causes malaria and yellow fever. Since North America goes through the winter season, egg production stops and there is no drive for the female mosquito to take blood meals. (Humphreys, M., 2001) Because there is no need to bite humans for blood, these diseases are not threats in North America. 1.c.) No single country in sub-Saharan African has shown a substantial decline in malaria, according to WHO’s Africa Malaria Report 2004 (Crowe, S., 2003) This can be attributed to two things: Africa is a tropical country and a poor one at that. Tropical countries only have two seasons: sunny and rainy. Inasmuch, the climate in tropical countries can be warm, humid or cool.

Laws in cyberspace (civil law) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Laws in cyberspace (civil law) - Essay Example However, the past 15 years have clearly shown that any activity carried-out on the internet is not only subject to rules, but these rules are stricter and more heavily enforced than those of the physical world. One needs only to look at the process of establishing and maintaining an online presence (website), the mediating efforts deployed by online shopping sites like eBay, the internet censorship imposed by certain countries and the direct transfer and strict application of copyright rules from the physical world to the internet. The mainstay of web presence for individuals and corporations alike has always been the website. John Barlow claimed that â€Å"We are creating a world where anyone, anywhere may express his or her beliefs, no matter how singular, without fear of being coerced into silence or conformity† (Barlow, 1996). It can be said that websites are the real estate of cyberspace, and although accessible to everyone, the process to obtain a website (from the domai n name to server space and bandwidth) is underpinned by a number of legally binding agreements between the user and the service provider. The scope of these agreements is to ensure i) compliance of the user with content and usage rules and ii) consent by the user to the recourses and sole authority of the service provider in case of a breach of content or usage rules. Indeed, because the internet relies on i) a physical infrastructure administered and maintained by service providers and ii) the preservation of goodwill of these service providers, the internet content hosted and transmitted by each individual service provider directly affects their goodwill. Therefore, websites with objectionable content ranging from child pornography to the promotion of hate crimes are routinely and rapidly removed from circulation by service providers in a sustained effort to avoid negative publicity, as was illustrated by Rackspace when they removed the website of Reverend Terry Jones promoting an ti-Islamic views last fall (Shaer, 2010). Therefore, John Barlow’s statement that freedom of expression is absolute on the internet is clearly wrong, as legally-binding agreements endow service providers with the authority to only allow conformal and non-offensive views to persist in cyberspace for any length of time. One of the internet-spawned phenomena which has rapidly evolved into an online shopping mainstay is eBay. John Barlow claimed that â€Å"Your legal concepts of property, (†¦) do not apply to us† (Barlow, 1996). eBay exists only to facilitate the transfer of ownership of material property between individuals, sometimes separated by great distances and located in distinct jurisdiction. Although typical eBay transactions usually take place without incident, there are a number of instances where eBay is asked by either party to mediate the resolution of a conflict regarding the property itself or the payment. The â€Å"Resolution Center† eBay empl oys is a court of sorts where both parties are invited to present their case and acknowledge eBay’s ultimate authority to rule on the transaction (â€Å"Resolving Transaction Problems in the Resolution Center†, n.d.). As our physical world encroaches more and more onto the internet with each passing day, John Barlow’s statements about the inapplicability of the traditional concept of property to

E-Commerce Cyber Marketing Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

E-Commerce Cyber Marketing Strategies - Essay Example Internet has become of the most phenomenon technological factor to most modern organizations, tapping the cost-effectiveness and affordability of the factor to achieve their objectives and goals (Krishnamurthy, 2006). As such, the internet has ingrained itself in the modern commerce and trade. Moreover, despite its rapid growth, analysts expect the internet to growth and advance further. The central goal of most organizations is to realize future threats and opportunities, and accordingly design a strategy. Commoditization of the internet has led to the development and evolution of electronic commerce, or E-commerce as commonly known (Hanson, 2000). Essentially, E-commerce refers to the concept of selling and buying services and products over computer networks or the internet. It incorporates technologies such as internet marketing, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, inventory management, systems, electronic data interchange, online transaction processing, and automatic data collection systems. E-commerce has led to the revolution of traditional marketing concepts, initiating strategies to enhance marketing strategies referred to as network marketing (Miletsky, 2000). This paper seeks to discuss and analyze four main E-commerce cyber marketing strategies: viral marketing, online advertising, permission electronic mail marketing, and search engine man agement and optimization. The paper also provides an analysis of their pros and cons, as well as a comprehensive comparison of the strategies. Lastly, the paper provides a decision-making criterion for selecting the best strategy. In marketing strategies, the most important factor to consider is to shorten the distance between consumption and production as well as reduce the lengthy circulation of commodities through numerous links. As such, the internet provides an ideal marketing platform, allowing consumers and producers to conclude their transaction in a click of a mouse button. This is the foundation of cyber marketing. Essentially, marketing is the communication between firms and customers with the intention of persuading the customer to purchase the goods and services of the firm. The increasing growth and popularity of the internet makes it an ideal target for marketing, supported by other significant factors such as cost effectiveness, reliability, speed, and accessibility (Bhusry, 2005). Consequently, marketers have come up with innovative strategies to tap the potential opportunity of E-commerce cyber marketing, including viral marketing, online advertising, permission electronic mail marketing, and search engine optimization. Viral Marketing Viral marketing essentially refers to the online word-of-mouth advertising. In this marketing concept, the firm provides something interesting that encourages others to spread marketing information about the product or service, cost effectively and quickly without much effort from the firm. Consequently, this potentially creates an exponential growth in the effect and visibility of the marketing message (Bhusry, 2005). In other words, the message spreads like a common cold virus form one person to the other. Cyber virus marketing is a very effective marketing strategy, and a successful campaign may present an opportunity of obtaining thousands of new every year. A prime example of a phenomenon viral marketing s trategy is Hotmail (http://www.hotmail.com), the first provider of free E-mail services (Krishnamurthy, 2006). The firm began offering free accounts, attaching a

Responsible Marketing and Advertising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Responsible Marketing and Advertising - Essay Example Arguably, these corporate businesses are themselves a subject of these systems of governance, regulation and responsibility but CSR demand corporate businesses to be subject and object of these systems simultaneously. In this connection, PepsiCo responsible advertising practices to ensure that only healthy choices are offered to schoolchildren are widely admired and echoed by corporate peers and competitors. If we zoom into corporate culture and behavior adopted by PepsiCo in previous two decades, its responsiveness to societal needs and demands became evident. A recent voluntary commitment of PepsiCo along with an alliance of multinational food and beverage manufacturers to advertise only the products of specific nutrition value to children under the age of 12 is an exemplary display of its socially aware corporate behavior. Stepping ahead of its competitors, PepsiCo has voluntarily adopted this policy as a global strategy not only in beverages rather it encompasses all food and sna ck’s brand of the corporation. Independent, third party sources have confirmed the success of PepsiCo compliance for this volunteer commitment to IFBA’s policy, formally known to be the policy for advertising to children by International Food & Beverage Alliance. The rate of this compliance is 100 percent for the year 2010 in USA and 98.5 for the rest of major Asian and European markets. Beyond this PepsiCo has taken another initiative. The objective of this initiative is to cut off the direct supply of all full-sugar soft drink to primary and secondary schools by the year 2012. This is a gigantic objective as far the corporate business is concerned. However, it is equally commendable for its social responsiveness on the part of a multinational brand like PepsiCo. Conclusion The need of socially aware and responsible advertising for children under the age 12 is globally recognized. However, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) does not validate its enfo rcement through legislative and disciplinary measures. The beauty of the concept is in its believe in corporate volunteer responsiveness owing to growing acceptance of corporations who are socially more aware of their responsibilities. A proactive approach in committing itself to IFBA’s policy for marketing and voluntarily barring its sales to primary and high schools has further endorsed the social image of PepsiCo as a brand that stems from society and remains committed to it. Access to Nutritious Food and Corporate Responsibilities Naturally, corporate actions and policies are focused to shareholders’ interest and even if it is not intended, they are commonly interpreted on these grounds. More recently, media and masses have begun to focus corporate behaviors towards society more closely and minutely. So it has become increasingly important for corporations to show responsiveness to social demands and needs. Especially for the deserving segments of the society, corp orations are closely watched and monitored. The National Diary Council and The Quaker Oats, a subsidiary of PepsiCo have jointly announced a program to increase the children's access to breakfast, nutritious snacks and physical activity. PepsiCo has responded to this societal demand quite vigorously and have engaged in several socially aware plans to ensure provision of nutritious food to children. The initiative of PepsiCo to engage other corporation in a socially responsive program has once again surfaced its

AALC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

AALC - Essay Example This has resulted to mistrust among the people in the country and community at large (Robert, 09) the vice has been rocking the community at an alarming rate. Many people are losing their lives, and critical injuries are being encountered since the inception of this dreadful act. To curb this menace, proper mitigation has to put in place. By providing viable information in agency board or committee, can lead to the arrest of these terrorists. Through well establish networking within the committees in the community, monitoring all suspicious movements within the community can be must easier. Through participation in community organization and agencies, gathering intelligence information and alerts for the police can aide to curb the problem. Voguish all terrorist occurrences the police are more concerned with the Big Fish. It is obligatory to come down hard on the supporters of the assassins. These personalities must be punished quickly and made to pay the price. The rationale behind this logic is to bring to a halt the terrorists from their followers owing to fear of retribution by the state this can only be done efficiently through community

Energy from Sunlight Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Energy from Sunlight - Essay Example Countries which receive a lot of sunlight in a year are in an advantageous position than the countries in the far north who do not receive sufficient sunlight. The term used for the incoming solar radiation striking a surface at a particular time is insolation. According to Solar Energy International, on a clear day, the total insolation striking the earth is around 1000 watts per square meter. (Solar Energy International) One of the ways to make use of solar energy is to use photovoltaic cells. The PV modules using arrays of PV cells is used to power a house. ". The PV modules should point towards the true south in the northern hemisphere. They should be inclined at an angle equal to the latitude of the place., so that they absorb the maximum energy throughout the year".(Hestnes, 27) According to TERI, an organization working for environmental concerns in India," :Solar energy can also be used to meet our electricity requirements. Through Solar Photovoltaic (SVP) cells, solar radiation gets converted into DC electricity directly. This electricity can either be used as it is or can be stored in the battery. This stored electrical energy then can be used at night."(TERI) The uses of the stored electricity generated using solar energy are many. Since it is stored, it can be used at night too. According to TERI, the stored solar energy can be used for "a.) domestic lighting. ,b.)street lighting, c)village electrification, d)water pumping, e)desalination of salty water, f) powering of remote telecommunications repeat stations and g)railway signals." (TERI) If energy is to be stored, then batteries would have to be used. Since the life of batteries are much shorter than the PV modules, it is better to... According to TERI, an organization working for environmental concerns in India,† :Solar energy can also be used to meet our electricity requirements. Through Solar Photovoltaic (SVP) cells, solar radiation gets converted into DC electricity directly. This electricity can either be used as it is or can be stored in the battery. This stored electrical energy then can be used at night.†(TERI)  The uses of the stored electricity generated using solar energy are many. Since it is stored, it can be used at night too. According to TERI, the stored solar energy can be used for â€Å"a.) domestic lighting. ,b.)street lighting, c)village electrification, d)water pumping, e)desalination of salty water, f) powering of remote telecommunications repeat stations and g)railway signals.† (TERI)  If energy is to be stored, then batteries would have to be used. Since the life of batteries are much shorter than the PV modules, it is better to get connected to a grid. Power can be sold   when it is in   excess and bought from the grid when   extra energy is needed .It must be remembered that   the selling rate is always less than the buying rate. Wherever batteries are used, they must be maintained.   Many countries have started using solar energy to augment their energy needs. According to a report in The Chronicle Herald of November 29, 2008, a town is Spain is making use of the space available in the cemetery to set up solar panels , because flat , open sun-drenched land is hard t come by in Santa Coloma de Gramenet.  

Create or use an existing company Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Create or use an existing company - Term Paper Example There are some main factors that company has to deal with. As most of the soft-drink and beer bottles are liable for reuse and recycling, company gets some of its raw material from defected and used bottles that are supplied back by the beer companies. However, a number of bottles do not reverse and company has to involve glass as the raw material of new bottles. There had been a stagnant increase in the market since last three years which provides and estimation for supposed upcoming market demands. In light of those factors company has to keep a safe number of bottles that can be supplied urgently when required by buyers. On the other hand, a large number of bottles made in advance can create a burden over company’s investing strength. That would also create a lack of fluency in company’s cycle of work. Thus, company has to involve a concrete Inventory management that keeps the overall demand and supply chain in a safe and trustworthy position to provide continuous pr ofit to Volga Glasses. The supply chain and IT Factors Obviously, the purpose of Volga Glasses’ is to enhance and manage its supply chain to perform with a perfect smoothness that does not shake even in the conditions of an urgent tide in market situations. Company uses elegant IT techniques to manage that smoothness. Chiefly the bills are collected as electronic data providing an exact record of supply over a particular period. While mostly a supply chain is maintained over longer period like a year or six months, Volga Glasses is bound to use three month estimation because of the nature of its assets and frequently wavering requirements. Three years ago company has ordered a software organization to design software for their inventory management. The software had produced good results while it had been quite dependent of human inputs and mandatory analysis by the supervisors of Volga Glasses. This software ‘Smart-Task’ bases its strategy in collecting the suppl y data and comparing the overall cost of raw materials added with the labor and mechanical expenses. Over the time it also manifests the comparative graphs of market tides during various supply chain periods. Company manages to base its strategies in short term chains such as three months as well as yearly managements of supply chains. During last years it had come out that Smart-Task has been accurate and efficient in processing the data to manifest a scenario of the market. However, during the recent immediate ups and downs of market the estimations of Smart-task have failed when external situations like a temporary recession had stricken the market of soft drinks. Therefore an analysis of Company’s requirement and reliability of IT over numerous patterns of system of research is mandatory. Synchronization of IT and HR Out of the data processing methodology of Smart-Task, it has come out that it depends solely on human inputs which provide a base for calculations and estima tions. Company’s HR department is responsible for providing the supposed information for future uplifts and lowering of market because Smart-Task puts the data in various graphs that ease the methods of comparisons provide a manifestation of supply chain. The requirement of advance inventory is calculated on a

World Religions Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

World Religions Report - Essay Example The Jehovah’s witnesses postulated the non-existence of hell, the non-existence of the Trinity, reduced the Holy Spirit from a person to a force and believed in the mortality of the soul. Similarly they do not celebrate Christmas as they do not celebrate holidays or birthdays. According to them Jesus never commanded Christians to celebrate his birth. On the other hand, he asked his disciples to memorize or remember his death. Thus, the most important annual event for the Jehovah witness is the commemoration of Jesus’ death. They also do not believe in the Christian doctrine of Trinity, the concept of the three persons in God- the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. To support its doctrines, the Watchtower organization (which is the author and teacher of all official Jehovahs Witness theology), has even altered the Bible to make it agree with its changing and non-Christian teachings. The lives of Jehovah’s disciples are thus governed by their understanding of the scr ipture as interpreted by the Watchtower Bible and Tract society of New York. For them Jehovah is the Supreme Being and creator of everything and Jesus is only yet another creation of this supreme entity. Even though they don’t believe Jesus to be the son of God, they believe that Jesus’ death was necessary for the atonement of the sins committed by the first man Adam. They strongly believe in the Word of God and resort to preaching as a major part of their missionary life. Thus, one finds the Jehovah witnesses moving from door to door, house to house preaching about God’s kingdom and interpreting the Bible. For them, â€Å"living by Bible principles gives purpose to life, promotes strong family ties, and develops productive and honest citizens.† (Jehovah’s Witnesses, 2004). Thus, they try to promote Bible education through preaching and the distribution of Bibles and Bible study aids. Until

The significance of Garibaldis contribution Essay Example for Free

The significance of Garibaldis contribution Essay Giuseppe Garibaldi was born in Nice, and, although he was a born a French citizen, he regarded himself as Italian. Despite the pressure placed upon him to enter the Church, he joined the Merchant Navy where a chance meeting with Mazzini altered the entire course of his life. One of Mazzinis greatest disciples was Garibaldi, who was inspired with nationalist fervour and patriotic enthusiasm. He quickly converted to share Mazzinis aim of a united Italy, but only an Italy united as a republic. A revolutionary plot in 1833 in Piedmont was introduced to cause mutiny in the army but it failed and Garibaldi was sentenced to death. Execution could not be carried out as Garibaldi left the country prior to the trial. He moved to Brazil and then on to Uruguay where his military ability was first displayed. He fought, defending Uruguay in an Austrian take-over, however, news of the Italian revolutions of 1848 reached him and he decided to return to his homeland. He did this with some out of date weapons and some of his colleagues. Word of his military campaigns in South America had by now reached the Italian States and upon his return, recruits assembled to join Garibaldis legion. Garibaldis contribution in South America had a profound effect on events later on in the fight for unification, as it was due to his military involvement that he came back to Italy a prominent figure. It was only due to his reputation that he was able to recruit so many men. Although Garibaldi was originally drawn to the cause of unification as one of Mazzinis supporters, he saw the powerful Piedmontese state and monarchy as a more realistic way of achieving unification. It was at this point that Garibaldi and his mentor Mazzini parted ways. Mazzini was only interested in a unified Italy as a republic whereas Garibaldi wanted unification by any means possible. This is also where Garibaldi shows contrasts with Cavour who was above all else Piedmontese. February 1849 saw the establishment of the Roman Republic. The Republic itself was short-lived; only lasted four months. Garibaldi played a role in resisting the Catholic countries assisting the Pope however, the defenders  were greatly outnumbered by the powers helping the Pope and the fall of Rome was inevitable. After the fall of the Republic, Garibaldi made an appeal for new recruits to fight the war against the stranger. Although he offered no provisions or promises, almost 5000 men were recruited. Despite this, on their journey to Venetia, 3500 were lost. Garibaldi escaped to Genoa where he was arrested and released on the condition that he leave Italy at once. Upon his release, he travelled to North America where he stayed until 1854. When he returned, Garibaldis significance is clearly visible. A revolt which began in 1860 in Sicily came to the attention of Garibaldi and he set sail for Sicily almost immediately. His unexpected conquests in Sicily and Naples precipitated the unification of most of Italy. When he reached Sicily, Garibaldi was a welcome fighter. His weak army of 1200 now reaching 3000 took Palermo forcing the garrison to return to Naples making Sicily his. In September 1860 Naples fell leaving Garibaldi as Dictator over the Kingdom of Naples. Cavour feared that Garibaldi would not stop and would attempt to take Rome so he advised Victor Emmanuel to take Rome first. When the two forces met, Garibaldi proclaimed Victor Emmanuel the first King of Italy Plebiscites held in the newly acquired land showed immense support for annexation by Piedmont. In 1861, Garibaldis aim of a united Italy came into being; however, it did not include Rome or Venetia. By way of unification under control of Piedmont, the Piedmontese constitution and legal system were extended over the whole country. Though Rome remained to be occupied by France, continuing pressure from Italian liberals came for it to be freed and incorporated into the new Italian Kingdom as the historical capital. Apparently, with the implicit support of Victor Emmanuel, Garibaldi set off with 3000 volunteers to conquer Rome. When Garibaldi reached Palermo, he was greeted by calls of Rome or death and suddenly, Victor Emmanuel disowned the march. Garibaldi and his men were shot at by local troops in Calabria and only 500 remained. The whole operation was a disaster for Garibaldi and an embarrassment for the government. In 1864, the Italian government agreed to protect Rome form attack and to move the Italian capital from Turin to Florence and in return  the French withdrew from Rome. Garibaldi saw this as a betrayal of the cause for unification and decided to make an attempt to recapture Rome. Garibaldi and his men began their march to Rome but he was arrested. Despite this his followers continued on their journey to Rome where they suffered defeat at the hands of the Papal army. Garibaldi attempted to re-join his army and did succeed; however, his planned revolution with the Roman people did not happen. This was the end of Garibaldis contribution to Italian history. Garibaldis contribution to the cause of Italian unity was considerable. He was a brilliant military leader and was determined to achieve unification. He inspired great enthusiasm in his men and made them feel compelled to devote their lives to the cause of unification. Although he encountered many failures such as his journey to Rome, his followers were loyal and determine to try to continue his efforts. His greatest achievement would be his success at conquering Naples and Sicily, as this made Unification inevitable however, he was distressed that Rome did not become part of the unified Italy in his lifetime as he believed Italy should be united with Rome as capital.

Risks Associated With International Business Transactions Economics Essay

Risks Associated With International Business Transactions Economics Essay International business has appeared in the history to satisfy the need of merchandises from long distance nations , it was an international trade . It begins in the 19th century BC where it has appeared in Assyrian merchant colony in Cappadocia . Camels allows Arab to move spices and silk from far east and trade it , establishing the silk road which make a connection to trade Chinese and Indian goods with the Romanian empire goods .Vasco de gamma ( Portuguese explorer ) has established a sea route between Europe and India . As international trade extent to reach all nations , the necessity of regulations or an international business law has been raised . The main convention for international trade was the united nations convention on contracts for international sale of good (CISG) which established by UNCITRAL (United nations commission on international trade law) . International Business Law involves two parts , private and public law , the private law related to international business transaction like international trade , finance trade , licensing and distributing agreements . the public law related to agreements that help to create a legal framework which international business takes place ( e.g. Treaties , Customs , Tariff.. ) International Business Transactions A business transactions begins when a buyer and a seller agree the terms and conditions to purchase a specific goods with a detailed quantity and price ( contract of sale ). In this contract , from the buyer point of view what is essential is to gain the ownership of the goods , for the seller what is important is to have the legal terms that provide receiving money . An International business transactions differ from domestic business transaction , because its usually include long distance which means higher risk in goods transiting , which mean higher insurance , how money will be transferred and who is responsible of the goods delivery , all that should be included and clearly in international business transaction contract . import Export trade Imports are goods or services that are made or grown abroad then purchased or receipt by the importer and distributed domestically . Exports are goods or services that are made or grown inside the nation then sold or rendered by the exporter to be distributed abroad The need of export import trade generally is because on country has an advantage over others in specific items , some countries have comparative advantages like manufacturing (ex. Germany , japan .. ) others have comparative advantage in natural resources like oil or gas ( ex. Saudi Arabia , Russia ) . Exporting can be direct or indirect .Direct exporting is when the manufacturer take the responsibility of most of the export processes , usually they use Foreign sales representative or foreign distributer in the exported country .Indirect exporting is when a company use intermediaries ( export trade company , export management company ) to enter the foreign market , usually happen because lack of capital or because the company do not have the needed experience to enter this foreign country . Trades usually governed by the laws and regulations of the trade countries , they use tariffs and non-tariffs barriers , this reflect the way that companies trade with each country . In 1947 nations accept General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , this movement occurred to liberalize trade by reducing tariffs and non-tariffs barriers . in 1995 WTO (World Trade Organization ) has been created to manage the rules and assist settling the trade disputes between WTO nations . foreign Direct Investment Foreign Direct Investment is when a company invest its workforces and resources to purchase or to build an operation in another country . those company called MNC (Multinational Corporation) . Countries usually welcome FDI because MNCs has many impacts over hosts country economics and political system . FDI is a major decision for any company because its full of costs and risks . MNCs companies has many ways to enter the market of a foreign country considering of many factors like capitalization , legal considerations and market condition, MNCs decide to enter foreign market as Joint Venture , Mergers , Subsidiaries or Acquisitions . When a firm owned 100% by a foreigner , its a wholly owned subsidiary . A joint venture is an organization that is created by two or more companies or with the foreign government they share risk and assets , companies use joint venture to reduce the risk of entering foreign market . ( e.g. Peugeot France has a joint venture with Dongfeng Motor China) A strategic alliance is an agreement between competitors to achieve common goal .(e.g. Airlines Coding share ) Licensing , Franchising Licensing is an agreement where the Licensor (Firm) grants a Licensee (Foreign Firm) the right to use its intellectual property ( patent , logo, formula , etc.) .Licensing can be completely within one country , but its a way that companies use to distribute its products with minimum risk taken , where there is a percentage of profit paid by the licensee to the licensor . Franchising is a form of licensing which the Franchisor (parent firm) offers equipment , material , trademarks , technology à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to the Franchisee (investor) , in the other hand the franchisee should pay a fee or a percentage of the profit to the franchisor .(e.g. McDonalds) Franchising is a good way to inter the foreign market because the franchisee will provide the capital for investment and the management and franchisee will deal with customer and labor problems , franchising usually associated with many legal requirements , it depends on the country , un US the federal trade commission is regulating the franchising . in other hand in china they eliminated most of the restriction on franchising . rISK aSSOCIATED WITH INTERNTIONAL BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS sTRATEGIC rISK Strategic risk means the risk of weak or bad strategic decision concerning the competitiveness the firm in the foreign country , its the risk of misanalysing of the porters five forces which are the threat of new entrants , threat of substitute products or services , Bargaining power of customer , Bargaining power of suppliers and the intensity of competitive rivalry . Usually MNCs companies is more concerned about this risk , where a well done study of the market is required before entering the foreign country . An example of a company which failed In the strategic risk consideration . Political risk International managers should understand the substantial effects of political decision making in country before beginning its business , and understand how political decision making can influence its business . Political movements and instability can make it difficult to the company to operate well . International manager should be aware of the ideology of the host country , the economic system ( communism , socialism ,capitalism ) and the political system ( democratic , totalitarianism ) and the structure of the host government , a risk of embargos and sanction of trades which usually used for political pressure rather that economic issues .Understanding the stability of host country political system can avoid many risks , a new and hostile government may replace the friendly relationships and hence expropriate foreign assets .The firm most understand the regional stability and international affairs of the host country . The firm can do political risk analysis to assist in firm deci sion making . operational risk Operational Risk is the risk concerning operational activities , machineries breakdown , supply of resources, logistics and inventory problems .By establishing a good operational risk analysis and evaluation , companies will be able to reduce operational loss, pre-detecting of illegal activities , reducing auditing costs and reduce exposures to future risks , and that well lead to reduce waste and improve processes , it will develop lead-time and add to efficiency in international business . In export Import international transaction , a delivery risk is an operational risk , where a buyer didnt receive ordered goods , it can happen because of workers strike , or delay in the shipment . One form of delivery risk is property risk , and its a loss or damage to the goods before they arrive. The risk of Pilferage can affect all types of trade transaction , specially import export one, this has been a problem for many years , a new way of boxing (cargo) and new technologies entered this sector to minimize the risk of pilferage . country risk When the firm decided to do business broad , it should consider the basic infrastructure needed for the firm operation , that what country risk means . Roads , Bridges and telecommunication, crime rate and corruption , internal conflicts or civil unrest and the economic condition ( unemployment rate , unskilled labor force etc. ) , terrorism , in the host country all that can make it difficult to enter or do business safely ,effectively , efficiently in that country . Country risk can be the Language and Cultural differences and the risk of exposure to foreign law and courts , a Lack of language differences awareness can cause many problems that will end in courts , an example of that , what happened in1975 , United states district court , between Gaskin (US citizen) and Stumm Handel GMBH (German company ) , an employment contract written in German has been signed by Gaskin ,who has no knowledge about German language . technological risk Lack of security in electronic transaction , absence of information technology infrastructure and the cost of rapidly developed technology , all that will result creating problems that will affect doing business in the host country . environmental risk Environmental risk may lead to damage the reputation of the Firm if firms function resulted pollution ( Air , water , environment .etc.) and that will cause risk to the firm .And vice versa if the host country has pollution , that may cause health problem to firms employees . economic Financial risk Changing in domestic fiscal or monetary policies , devaluation or inflation rate , GDP , unemployment rate and the ability of the host country to meet financial obligations , all that make an Economic risk that should be careful understood before conducting international business . In this area, Currency exchange rate can have big effect over international trade and investment decisions taken by the firm . Fluctuations in foreign country currency can diminish profits when the firm convert them back to home currency , some countries may create rules that will minimize the flexibility of the firm to send money outside the country , hedging strategies could mitigate some of the currency exchange rate. In export-Import international transaction a financial risk can be a payment risk , where the buyer will fail to pay for the ordered goods , it will costs a lot specially if the cost of shipment is so high (Because of sensitive or heavy shipments ). Summary The International Business environment has changes a lot in the last decades , with the high competitiveness of international market , International mangers now a days should be aware of economic , political , culture and other differences in the world to be affective in his position . The three main international business types , export-imports , FDI , and Licensing and franchising. In each type of them there are risks that should be considered and pre-determined to be able to build and plan a good strategy that will minimize any risk that may face firm international business.

Science Fiction Characteristics

Science Fiction Characteristics Introduction Science fiction is one of the most popular branches in the modern literature. At the same time, the origin of science fiction literature dates back to ancient times, when ancient writer attempted to represent their ideas in fictional forms and unite these fictional forms with their knowledge of the real life. In the course of time, the science fiction literature evolved consistently but it remained always focused on the representation of ideas, concepts and beliefs of writers, which were different from those that dominated in the real life but which were often closely intertwined with the real life or represented an alternative to various real life issues, problems and beliefs. As a result, the science fiction is an extremely rich genre of literature, which allows writers to develop new concepts and ideas and present them in the literary form as an alternative vision of the real life presented by the writers. In this respect, it is possible to refer to science fiction literary works created by outstanding writers, such as George Orwell or Robert Sheckley, who created numerous science fiction literary works, which proved to be not only routine science fiction books but they were also a sort philosophic works created by writer to convey their ideas and warn the mankind about risks that accompanied the development of the contemporary civilization. The major characteristics of science fiction literature In actuality, science fiction is a very popular branch in the contemporary literature. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the fact that the emergence of science fiction literature is closely intertwined with the technological progress of the world, which stimulates science fiction writers to create new works, where they depict fictional worlds that derive from the ongoing progress of science and technology. At the same time, science fiction literary works do not necessarily involve a solid scientific basis on the ground of which a science fiction book is written. What is meant here is the fact that science and technology are not necessary for the creation of a science fiction literary work. Instead, the desire of a writer to present an alternative view or concept is crucial because it is through the creation of a fictional, science fiction story, the writer can express his or her alternative view or concept. In this respect, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that science and technology are important for the development of science fiction literature but they are not crucial. What is meant here is the fact that science and technology rather give science fiction writers an insight, an idea to create the form in which writers put certain content or message, which they want to convey to the audience. In fact, they use scientific discoveries and technologies as tools with the help of which they construct their science fiction stories and write their books, in which they convey their ideas and concepts. In fact, science and technology is not the core of science fiction books. Instead, science fiction writers use science and technology to foresee the further development of the world or to present their alternative vision of the development of the world, as well as potential threats the mankind can face in the future. In this respect, it is possible to refer to the genre of anti-utopia in science fiction literature, which impact is particularly strong on works of Orwell and Sheckley as well. In such a way, science fiction literary works focus mainly on the development of alternative ideas, views, and concepts. Science fiction writers attempt to pose and answer the question what if and in the course of their works they suggest their ideas on the alternative development of the world, society, technologies and so on. Thus, science fiction literary works represent a kind of blend of fact and fancy, where science and technology are facts that lay the foundation on the ground of which writers develop their fancies and create their fancied world, which are different from the real world and the real life. Orwells 1984 On analyzing the development of science fiction literary works in the 20th century, it is hardly possible to ignore works created by George Orwell, whose contribution in the development of science fiction literature at large and anti-utopia in particular can hardly be underestimated. In this respect, it is possible to refer to one of the most popular and renowned works written by George Orwell, 1984. 1984 by George Orwell may be viewed as a classical example of a science fiction literary work because the entire work represents the vision of the new world fancied by George Orwell on the premise that the entire world has entered a new stage of its development, when the totalitarian regime establishes and rules the world. In fact, the author shows how the technologically advanced society is doomed to moral degradation, when the totalitarian regime establishes the rules of the life of the entire society, when people are not able or willing to learn the truth, where they cannot speak free ly and they cannot express their ideas and share them with each other. In this regard, George Orwell does not create just a fictional world. Instead, he constructs the new world on the ground of the totalitarian regimes that existed in Europe during World War II and in the post-war time. In such a way, his science fiction story is based on the analysis of the current situation, past and forecasts concerning the future society made by the author in his book. What is meant here is the fact that George Orwell created his 1984 as a warning to the society concerning the risk of neglecting democratic rights and liberties and oppression of individuals by the state. The fancied world created by George Orwell depicts vividly horrors of the totalitarian regime and total control over the life and behavior of individuals. The author shows clearly that the total surveillance and control lead to the degradation of the society, deprivation of basic humanistic values and the establishment of a severe regime, where individuals play the role of puppets, mechanisms perfor ming a set of functions conditioned by the state. In such a context, the equality and happiness promoted by the ruling elite are ironic, taking into consideration the privileged position of the ruling class depicted by the author in his book. At this point, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that this fictional book implies the real world and the existing social injustice and inequality, which the author criticizes and condemns in his science fiction book through the image of the Big Brother and the ruling party. On the other hand, the book depicts Great Britain, London ruined by the war which goes on permanently. In this regard, the author attempts to forecast the effects of World War III on the world and the life of the society. No wonder he reminds that who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past (Orwell, 2). Therefore, the author depicts his vision of the alternative development of the world, if the world slips toward totalitarianism and oppression of basic human rights and liberties. Orwells Animal Farm Animal Farm by George Orwell is another science fiction literary work which is, to a certain extent, similar to 1984 in terms of the critical analysis and condemnation of the totalitarian regime and society. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that Animal Farm is the allegoric representation of the rise and establishment of Communist in the world in terms of the particular farm where animals rise against the rule of humans and establish their own state. In actuality, the allegory was not a mere fancy of George Orwell. Instead, the book was based on the analysis of the Communist regime in the USSR conducted by George Orwell. He analyzed critically the utopian ideals of communism and represented it as animalism in his novel. In such a way, his science fiction book represents a combination of facts and fancy for the actual totalitarian regime and ideology influencing the development of the contemporary world was depicted critically, if not to say sarcastically, by the author in his Animal Farm. Similarly to 1984, George Orwell depicts the slip of the society toward totalitarianism. In fact, the author shows the negative impact of totalitarianism on the life of an individual. In this respect, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that his allegoric society in Animal Farm as well as the fancied society in 1984 mirror actual totalitarian regimes existing in the world, when both novels were written. Sheckleys Status Civilization George Orwell was a representative of the anti-utopian trends in science fiction literature in the 20th century. At the same time, his ideas influenced works of other writers. In this regard, Robert Sheckley was, to a certain extent, similar to George Orwell because he used science fiction literary works to depict his vision of the life of the society in the future. His Status Civilization is a particularly noteworthy science fiction literary work in terms of the depiction of the new type of society by the author. Unlike George Orwell, who depicts drawbacks and horrors of the totalitarian state, Robert Sheckley shows two sides of the worlds which exists next to each other. In fact, in his book Status Civilization, Robert Sheckley juxtaposes two antagonistic poles, two societies established on the similar ground but with a different inclination. To put it more precisely, Sheckley depicts Omega, where people has developed the cult of Evil, where they have to kill, steal and commit other crimes to make sense of their life and to worship the cult of Evil, whereas the Earth is a degrading planet, where people live in a presumably just world, where all people are equal and happy. In this regard, the Earth depicted by Robert Sheckley in his Status Civilization reminds George Orwells Animal Farm with its fundamental principle: All animals are equal but some are more equal than others. In Status Civilization, people inhabiting the Earth are not really equal and the society is not really just because pe ople may live in poverty and believe that they belong to the middle-class, which they define as the low-middle class, for instance. At the same time, the society depicted by Sheckley is not a mere fancy of the writer but it mirrors the actual society, divided into distinct classes, where a few people rule, whereas the majority represents the middle class and many live in poverty. In other words, similarly to Orwells science fiction literary works, Sheckleys fancied world has the ground in the real life. Thus, his work is based on facts, which are backed up with fancies Sheckely brings in to show readers prospects of the contemporary society which may slip to degradation and to the life in the world conditioned by robots or to the life in the world where people makes cult of Evil. In such a way, as a science fiction literary work, Status Civilization combines facts and fancy. Sheckleys Journey beyond Tomorrow The idea of the absurd society, like the society worshiping Evil, can be traced not only in Status Civilization, but in other works written by Robert Sheckley as well, such as Journey beyond Tomorrow. Journey beyond Tomorrow is another science fiction work, which depicts the future society, where technologies have reached a high level of development but the society depicted by the author is still full of absurd extremes. For instance, the main character is imprisoned by the existing justice system but freed on the ground of the decision taken by the electronic oracle. In such a way, Journey beyond Tomorrow is another science fiction work which shows the alternative view of the writer on the society and the development of the mankind. Sheckley takes facts from the contemporary life and uses his fancy to modify and create the future society, which is totally different from the contemporary one. Conclusion Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that science fiction literary works represent a combination of facts and fancy, where science and technology serve as tools with the help of which science fiction writers depict new worlds and new societies. Often writers depict their vision of the future society. Anyway, they create a fictional world, where the fancy is closely intertwined with some real facts taken from the real life but they are modified to the extent that the outcomes of writers fancies make the society and world described unique and different from real ones. At the same time, science fiction literary works represent views and ideas of science fiction writers, who attempt to create alternatives to the real world, where impossible is possible. On the other hand, many science fiction works, like 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell or Status Civilization by Robert Sheckely, warn the public against the development of negative trends in the contemporary society and the prevention of potential risks and threats to the normal life of individuals in the future.

junk :: essays research papers

Cody Harris World History – 3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  March 24, 2002 Chapter 21 Vocabulary 1. Philip II- son of Charles V, he inherited Spain, and Spanish Netherlands, and the American colonies. He was shy, serious and deeply religious. When the king of Portugal died without an heir, he gained the empire by being a nephew. His empire provided him with a enormous wealth. He also helped to drive the Muslims out of Spain. 1588, he launched the Spanish Armada but was defeated. 2. El Greco- real name Domenikos Theotokopoulos but called by the Greeks as El Greco meaning â€Å"the Greek†. His art often puzzled the people of his time. He used brilliant colors, sometimes clashing. His paintings showed deep Catholic faith of Spain, painting saints and martyrs as huge long-limbed figures that have a supernatural air. 3. Divine Right- the idea that God created the monarchy and that the monarch acted as God’s representative on earth 4. Absolute monarch- kings or queens who believed that all power within their state’s boundaries rested in their hands. 5. Edict of Nantes- a declaration that the Huguenots could live in peace in France and set up their own houses of worship in some cities. 6. Cardinal Richelieu- the ruler, in effect, of France under Louis XIII (1624), he had been a hard-working leader of the Catholic Church in France. He tried sincerely to lead according to moral principles, he was also ambitious and enjoyed exercising authority. He moved against the Huguenots, believing that Protestantism often served as an excuse for political conspiracies. He also sought to weaken the nobles’ power. He ordered nobles to take down their fortified castles. He increased the power of government agents who came from the middle class. He also wanted to make France the strongest state in Europe, and in order to do this he involved France in the Thirty Years’ War. 7. Skepticism- the idea that nothing can ever be know for certain 8. Descartes- a brilliant thinker wrote Meditations of First Philosophy. Later became an important role in the Enlightenment. 9. Louis XIV- the most powerful ruler in French history. His reign began as a 5-year-old boy. He became king in 1643, with the true ruler of France being Cardinal Mazarin, since Louis was so young. Mazarin’s greatest triumph was ending the Thirty Years’ War in 1648. Louis gained control at the age of 23 when the cardinal died. He made it a point to be surrounded by nobles for two reasons, it made the nobility totally dependent on Louis.

Rat Bite Fever Essay -- streptobacillus moniliformis, rna

One of the main causes of the disease known as Rat Bite Fever is from infection by the bacteria Streptobacillus moniliformis. This bacterium is commonly the cause of the disease in North America (Elliot, 2007). This disease is typically difficult to diagnose, leading to a delay in treatment and unnecessary increase in the severity of its symptoms. Cases of rat bite fever are rather rare in North America, and those resulting in death are even less common, making the study of its pathogenesis difficult. In order to better understanding this disease, work is being done to annotate the genome of the bacterium. Gene annotation is a process in which biological information is attached to a single gene or genomic sequence. Oftentimes, this is initially done automatically via computer analysis, and then later is manually annotated. That is the case here, where an automatic annotation has been performed for many of the genes within the S. moniliformis genome (Nolan, 2009), but it is necessary to manually annotate the genome in order to better understand the biological processes. The manual annotation includes identifying or confirming the gene’s role in coding, gene expression, biochemical function, and many other functions (Stein, 2001). Smon_0852 & Smon_0853: Smon_0852 is annotated as a Polynucleotide adenylyltransferase region, which is involved in the biological process, RNA processing, and its molecular function is ATP binding, RNA binding, hydrolase activity, and nucleotidyl transferase, according to GO. Pfam identifies that Smon_0852 is a part of the Protein domains Poly A polymerase head and Nudix family. The Poly A polymerase head domain is involved in adding the poly (A) tail to mRNA (Cao, 1992). The Nudix family is ... ...l structure of NGO0477 from Neisseria gonorrhoeae reveals a novel protein fold incorporating a helix-turn-helix motif. Proteins 78:1798-1802(2010). Stein, L. (2001). "Genome annotation: from sequence to biology". Nature Reviews Genetics 2 (7): 493–503.doi:10.1038/35080529. PMID 11433356. Tscherne, J.S., Nurse, K., Popienick, P., Michel, H., Sochacki, M. and Ofengand, J. "Purification, cloning, and characterization of the 16S RNA m5C967 methyltransferase from Escherichia coli". Biochemistry 38:1884–1892(1999). Yau, K. Cyclic Nucleotide-gated Channels: an expanding new family of ion channels Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 91(9): 3481–3483 (1994). Zhang H, Huang K, Li Z, Banerjei L, Fisher KE, Grishin NV, Eisenstein E, Herzberg O, Crystal structure of YbaK protein from Haemophilus influenzae (HI1434) at 1.8 A resolution: functional implications. Proteins 40:86-97(2000).