Thursday, November 28, 2019

Anerexia Nervosa Essays - Eating Disorders, Psychiatric Diagnosis

Anerexia Nervosa ANOREXIA NERVOSA In this paper, we will be describing a crucial disorder that affects many teenagers. This disorder is Anorexia Nervosa, better known as Anorexia. Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by constant dieting, rapid weight loss and the feeling of being to fat during weight loss. Most anorexics are women and teenage girls, who see their self as being overweight even though they are deathly underweight. The term Anorexia Nervosa means loss of appetite due to nerves, but the people with anorexia do not actually lose their appetite until the late stages of their starvation. Until then they just do feel hungry but they will not eat. There are numerous physical signs of anorexia but there are four main ones. They are: 1. Rapid loss of body fat 2. Wasting away of body fat 3. Pale dry skin 4. Irregular heart beat An anorexic may also have dehydration and fainting may occur. Anorexia also has many effects on the body. Anorexia may result in the shrinkage of internal organs, including the kidneys, heart, and brain. A person may also lose the ability to reproduce. As the heart muscle weakens, an irregular heart rhythm and heart failure are possible. Some other complications are: Constipation and difficulty urinating Muscle aches and cramps Swelling of joints Injuries to nerves and tendons Inability to concentrate Digestive problems People afflicted by anorexia have an extreme fear of gaining weight. In addition, to drastic dieting, they may also turn to vomiting and the use of laxatives to lose weight. Without treatment, anorexia can cause serious health problems and even lead to death. Anorexia is very dangerous, and professional help should be sought immediately. Prompt treatments will usually keep the problem from progressing, but some cases are very resistant to treatment and may require hospitalization. As many as 15 percent die from complications. Anorexia Nervosa occurs much more frequently in females than in males. The statistics show that 90% of all anorexics are females. Most often anorexia develops during adolescence or young adulthood, although there is some evidence that it may occur at a later age. Recent estimates suggest that one out of 250 teenage girl will develop anorexia. Although its focus is on food, anorexia is an illness of the mind. Often it begins with a relatively normal desire to lose a few pounds, then snow balls from many types of pressure. Some experts believe that a fear of growing up is the root of the problem. Another reason could be a subconscious rebellion against parents who set standards that are to high, consequently pressure mounts on the child and anorexia may start. All experts believe that food is not the central problem. Another reason maybe that, in our culture thin is in and dieting is normal behavior. The most effective way treating anorexia combines psychological treatment and medical consultations into one coherent whole. Psychological treatment (psychotherapy) may include either individual or family therapy. There are four major anorexic hospitals that can give help, they are in Highland Parks, Illinois, Eugene, Oregon, Columbus, Ohio, and in New York, New York. In conclusion, Anorexia Nervosa is a fearful disorder that should be taken seriously. If you know anyone who suffers from anorexia you should confront him or her immediately, and get them help. The faster you talk with them, the faster the disorder will be abolished. Physical Changes Mental/Social Changes Excessive Weight Loss Over the course of several months the person may lose 25 percent or more of their body weight. Unusual Eating Habits The person may develop unusual habits such as eating tiny bites to stretch out eating time. Absence of menstruation Rigid dieting greatly reduces female hormone levels, disrupting the menstrual cycle. Social Isolation The person may withdraw from family and friends to concentrate on losing weight. Peers may reject the person because of their behavior. Cavities and Gum Disease Poor nutrition and vomiting can damage teeth and gums. Extreme Physical Activity To burn calories and get rid of fatty tissue, the person may turn to long distance running, biking or heavy exercising. Hair, Nail, and Skin Problems Lack of protein in the diet may lead to dull stringy hair, brittle nails and dry skin. Poor Self Esteem People with anorexia generally lack self-confidence. They become

Monday, November 25, 2019

Get the Url of a Hyperlink in a TWebBrowser Document

Get the Url of a Hyperlink in a TWebBrowser Document The TWebBrowser Delphi component provides access to the Web browser functionality from your Delphi applications. In most situations you use the TWebBrowser to display HTML documents to the user - thus creating your own version of the (Internet Explorer) Web browser. Note that the TWebBrowser can also display Word documents, for example. A very nice feature of a Browser is to display link information, for example, in the status bar, when the mouse hovers over a link in a document. The TWebBrowser does not expose an event like OnMouseMove. Even if such an event would exist it would be fired for the TWebBrowser component - NOT for the document being displayed inside the TWebBrowser. In order to provide such information (and much more, as you will see in a moment) in your Delphi application using the TWebBrowser component, a technique called events sinking must be implemeted. WebBrowser Event Sink To navigate to a web page using the TWebBrowser component you call the Navigate method. The Document property of the TWebBrowser returns an IHTMLDocument2 value (for web documents). This interface is used to retrieve information about a document, to examine and modify the HTML elements and text within the document, and to process related events. To get the href attribute (link) of an a tag inside a document, while the mouse hovers over a document, you need to react on the onmousemove event of the IHTMLDocument2. Here are the steps to sink events for the currently loaded document: Sink the WebBrowser controls events in the DocumentComplete event raised by the TWebBrowser. This event is fired when the document is fully loaded into the Web Browser.Inside DocumentComplete, retrieve the WebBrowsers document object and sink the HtmlDocumentEvents interface.Handle the event you are interested in.Clear the sink in the in BeforeNavigate2 - that is when the new document is loaded in the Web Browser. HTML Document OnMouseMove Since we are interested in the HREF attribute of an A element - in order to show the URL of a link the mouse is over, we will sink the onmousemove event. The procedure to get the tag (and its attributes) below the mouse can be defined as: var   Ã‚  htmlDoc : IHTMLDocument2; ... procedure TForm1.Document_OnMouseOver; var   Ã‚   element : IHTMLElement; begin   Ã‚   if htmlDoc nil then Exit;   Ã‚   element : htmlDoc.parentWindow.event.srcElement;   Ã‚   elementInfo.Clear;   Ã‚   if LowerCase(element.tagName) a then   Ã‚   begin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ShowMessage(Link, HREF : element.getAttribute(href,0)]) ;   Ã‚   end   Ã‚   else if LowerCase(element.tagName) img then   Ã‚   begin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ShowMessage(IMAGE, SRC : element.getAttribute(src,0)]) ;   Ã‚   end   Ã‚   else   Ã‚   begin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   elementInfo.Lines.Add(Format(TAG : %s,[element.tagName])) ;   Ã‚   end; end; (*Document_OnMouseOver*) As explained above, we attach to the onmousemove event of a document in the OnDocumentComplete event of a TWebBrowser: procedure TForm1.WebBrowser1DocumentComplete(   Ã‚  ASender: TObject;   Ã‚  const pDisp: IDispatch;   Ã‚  var URL: OleVariant) ; begin   Ã‚   if Assigned(WebBrowser1.Document) then   Ã‚   begin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   htmlDoc : WebBrowser1.Document as IHTMLDocument2;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   htmlDoc.onmouseover : (TEventObject.Create(Document_OnMouseOver) as IDispatch) ;   Ã‚   end; end; (*WebBrowser1DocumentComplete*) And this is where the problems arise! As you might guess the onmousemove event is *not* a usual event - as are those we are used to work with in Delphi. The onmousemove expects a pointer to a variable of type VARIANT of type VT_DISPATCH that receives the IDispatch interface of an object with a default method that is invoked when the event occurs. In order to attach a Delphi procedure to onmousemove you need to create a wrapper that implements IDispatch and raises your event in its Invoke method. Heres the TEventObject interface: TEventObject class(TInterfacedObject, IDispatch) private   Ã‚   FOnEvent: TObjectProcedure; protected   Ã‚   function GetTypeInfoCount(out Count: Integer): HResult; stdcall;   Ã‚   function GetTypeInfo(Index, LocaleID: Integer; out TypeInfo): HResult; stdcall;   Ã‚   function GetIDsOfNames(const IID: TGUID; Names: Pointer; NameCount, LocaleID: Integer; DispIDs: Pointer): HResult; stdcall;   Ã‚   function Invoke(DispID: Integer; const IID: TGUID; LocaleID: Integer; Flags: Word; var Params; VarResult, ExcepInfo, ArgErr: Pointer): HResult; stdcall; public   Ã‚   constructor Create(const OnEvent: TObjectProcedure) ;   Ã‚   property OnEvent: TObjectProcedure read FOnEvent write FOnEvent;   Ã‚   end; Heres how to implement event sinking for a document displayed by the TWebBrowser component - and get the info of a HTML element below the mouse. TWebBrowser Document Event Sinking Example Download Drop a TWebBrowser (WebBrowser1) on a Form (Form1). Add a TMemo (elementInfo)... unit Unit1;interfaceuses  Ã‚   Windows, Messages, SysUtils, Variants, Classes, Graphics, Controls, Forms,  Ã‚   Dialogs, OleCtrls, SHDocVw, MSHTML, ActiveX, StdCtrls;type  Ã‚   TObjectProcedure procedure of object;  Ã‚   TEventObject class(TInterfacedObject, IDispatch)  Ã‚   private  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   FOnEvent: TObjectProcedure;  Ã‚   protected  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   function GetTypeInfoCount(out Count: Integer): HResult; stdcall;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   function GetTypeInfo(Index, LocaleID: Integer; out TypeInfo): HResult; stdcall;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   function GetIDsOfNames(const IID: TGUID; Names: Pointer; NameCount, LocaleID: Integer; DispIDs: Pointer): HResult; stdcall;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   function Invoke(DispID: Integer; const IID: TGUID; LocaleID: Integer; Flags: Word; var Params; VarResult, ExcepInfo, ArgErr: Pointer): HResult; stdcall;  Ã‚   public  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   constructor Create(const OnEvent: TObjectProcedure) ;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   property OnEvent: TObjectProcedure read FOnEvent writ e FOnEvent;  Ã‚   end;  Ã‚   TForm1 class(TForm)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   WebBrowser1: TWebBrowser;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   elementInfo: TMemo;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   procedure WebBrowser1BeforeNavigate2(ASender: TObject; const pDisp: IDispatch; var URL, Flags, TargetFrameName, PostData, Headers: OleVariant; var Cancel: WordBool) ;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   procedure WebBrowser1DocumentComplete(ASender: TObject; const pDisp: IDispatch; var URL: OleVariant) ;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject) ;  Ã‚   private  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   procedure Document_OnMouseOver;  Ã‚   public  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   { Public declarations }  Ã‚   end;var  Ã‚   Form1: TForm1;  Ã‚   htmlDoc : IHTMLDocument2;implementation{$R *.dfm}procedure TForm1.Document_OnMouseOver;var  Ã‚   element : IHTMLElement;begin  Ã‚   if htmlDoc nil then Exit;  Ã‚   element : htmlDoc.parentWindow.event.srcElement;  Ã‚   elementInfo.Clear;  Ã‚   if LowerCase(element.tagName) a then  Ã‚   begin  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   elementInfo.Lines. Add(LINK info...) ;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   elementInfo.Lines.Add(Format(HREF : %s,[element.getAttribute(href,0)])) ;  Ã‚   end  Ã‚   else if LowerCase(element.tagName) img then  Ã‚   begin  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   elementInfo.Lines.Add(IMAGE info...) ;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   elementInfo.Lines.Add(Format(SRC : %s,[element.getAttribute(src,0)])) ;  Ã‚   end  Ã‚   else  Ã‚   begin  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   elementInfo.Lines.Add(Format(TAG : %s,[element.tagName])) ;  Ã‚   end;end; (*Document_OnMouseOver*)procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject) ;begin  Ã‚   WebBrowser1.Navigate(http://delphi.about.com) ;  Ã‚   elementInfo.Clear;  Ã‚   elementInfo.Lines.Add(Move your mouse over the document...) ;end; (*FormCreate*)procedure TForm1.WebBrowser1BeforeNavigate2(ASender: TObject; const pDisp: IDispatch; var URL, Flags, TargetFrameName, PostData, Headers: OleVariant; var Cancel: WordBool) ;begin  Ã‚   htmlDoc : nil;end; (*WebBrowser1BeforeNavigate2*)procedure TForm1.WebBrowser1DocumentComplete(ASend er: TObject; const pDisp: IDispatch; var URL: OleVariant) ;begin  Ã‚   if Assigned(WebBrowser1.Document) then  Ã‚   begin  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   htmlDoc : WebBrowser1.Document as IHTMLDocument2;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   htmlDoc.onmouseover : (TEventObject.Create(Document_OnMouseOver) as IDispatch) ;  Ã‚   end;end; (*WebBrowser1DocumentComplete*){ TEventObject }constructor TEventObject.Create(const OnEvent: TObjectProcedure) ;begin  Ã‚   inherited Create;  Ã‚   FOnEvent : OnEvent;end;function TEventObject.GetIDsOfNames(const IID: TGUID; Names: Pointer; NameCount, LocaleID: Integer; DispIDs: Pointer): HResult;begin  Ã‚   Result : E_NOTIMPL;end;function TEventObject.GetTypeInfo(Index, LocaleID: Integer; out TypeInfo): HResult;begin  Ã‚   Result : E_NOTIMPL;end;function TEventObject.GetTypeInfoCount(out Count: Integer): HResult;begin  Ã‚   Result : E_NOTIMPL;end;function TEventObject.Invoke(DispID: Integer; const IID: TGUID; LocaleID: Integer; Flags: Word; var Params; VarResult, ExcepIn fo, ArgErr: Pointer): HResult;begin  Ã‚   if (DispID DISPID_VALUE) then  Ã‚   begin  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   if Assigned(FOnEvent) then FOnEvent;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Result : S_OK;  Ã‚   end  Ã‚   else Result : E_NOTIMPL;end;end.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Rally Round the Trade Name Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rally Round the Trade Name - Assignment Example The main characters, in this case, are Rally and Herman. Rally feels that Herman infringed his business because although his name is Herman he uses Rally as his business name. Rally fails to have solid grounds to sue because Herman established his business name first in this area of jurisdiction and hence he cannot be sued for it (Rally round the trade name, 2010). 1. Explain whether or not the fact that Gabby’s surname is Rally gives her the right to use it any way she wishes. In life, one has a right to use whatsoever name he or she decides as a business name especially when that name is your real name. In the movie, Gabby has a right to use her surname, but in her case the usage of her surname Rally is legal. For this reason, she is under the obligation to make sure that by using her last name she does not stir a conflict with an already existing company that uses the name. If within the same geographical area the company with the same name exists and uses it as its trade name or the name is part of a trading name, then serious consequences are likely to be faced. The law of the land permits the bona fide use of the surname only for the trade name. If an unregistered company is running in the same geographical area and it is using the same trade name, Gabby will still be a victim of an infringement of the trade name. Thus, she must take great care while using her surname as her company trade name. In commerce, it is of less concern or does not make any d ifference whether one is using his or her real name or whatsoever name. The issue will be if one is infringing on a business name of somebody else. Therefore, Gabby must register it first to use her surname as her trademark or trade name (Rally round the trade name, 2010).

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Collage of pharmacy admission essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Collage of pharmacy admission - Essay Example Pharmacology is one subject where I will not only be able to continue my interest in the subject of chemistry, but also at the end of my studies, have a promising career. This course in pharmacy will enable me to fly high and make my dreams come true. The reason I have chosen a degree in this subject is because of the wide range of opportunities that it provides. My focus in not just to complete the course in pharmacy, but also to go for higher studies in this field. Today, pharmacists’ skills are in high demand all over the world. Pharmacists are considered as expert health professionals and many doors of opportunity open to a career that offers security, flexibility, satisfaction and excellent rewards. In fact, it can be said that without a pharmacy sector, the health care is incomplete. It is a well known fact that pharmacists work in all kinds of places and work very closely with the hospitals, doctors and other health care professionals. Having a strong foundation in chemistry, my immediate goal is to get an admission in the pharmacy school and long term professional goal is to pursue my research interest by getting a doctor of pharmacy degree. I am sure to complete my degree in flying colors and by the time I finish my doctorate in pharmacy, I am sure to have a variety of opportunities which will help me achieve financial security. As of now, I will be able to devote all of my attention to the sole subject of my interest: chemistry and pharmacology. I have a positive mental attitude and I am confident that I will be able to complete with high scores in pharmacy. My positive motivation, sincerity, insightful, will all add to my success. I knew early on in my studies that this was a subject that I could excel in due to my natural inclination towards the sciences. I believe that my educational background and abilities would be an excellent base for my future studies. I am aware that this university is looking for students who have good

Monday, November 18, 2019

Yahoo Work-at-Home Edict Squanders Benefits Case Study - 32

Yahoo Work-at-Home Edict Squanders Benefits - Case Study Example Other attributes were due to making more calls per minute thanks as a whole to the more silent working environment. In the same survey, by Boom, it probed how the performance gains were doubled. Â  This is backed by most economies who agree that the call-center is mostly suitable for telecommuting, and in this, the worker's activities can be monitored. Yahoo in their memo to all workers, on the other hand, insisted that everyone should report to work and focus their claims that working side-by-side increases and guarantees collaboration, which improves everyone’s efficiency and productivity (Kennedy, 2013). Despite numerous studies having proofs on positive fruits of telecommuting, Yahoo still did not consider how productivity is enhanced through a workforce based on long hours at the office with limited attention to family and community. On a personal basis, yahoo’s step on their telecommuting policies was focused on a type of telecommuting that substitutes for time spent at the office, and give workers an opportunity to avoid long travels and strategize their work hours around family and community responsibilities (Kennedy, 2013). Â  For technology companies like Yahoo, it is somehow vague to develop a format of analyzing those working at home’s performance in the sense that they were structures, which were built by living at the office with peer and it provided splendid results. Even though most people lobby for working from homes claiming that it makes their lives remotely possible and affordable in relation to raising kids and maintaining a family. Yahoo’s head of human resource stated that communication and collaboration would be as significant as the company works in a more fun, well-organized and extremely fecund heights (Kennedy, 2013).

Friday, November 15, 2019

A review of capital structure theories

A review of capital structure theories 1.0 Introduction One of the most contentious financial issues that have provoked intense academic research during the last decades is the theory of capital structure. Capital structure can be defined as a Mix of different securities issued by a firm (Brealey and Myers, 2003). Simply speaking, capital structure mainly contains two elements, debt and equity. In 1958, through combining tax and debt factors in a simple model to price the value of a company, Modigliani and Miller firstly begin to explore a modern capital structure theory, and their work inspired this area study. However, the MM theory has no practical use because it lacks of direct guidance for companies to determine capital structure in real life (Baxter, 1967; Sarig and Warga, 1989; Vernimmen et al, 2005). During the past years, researchers strived to establish a more reasonable capital structure theory that can be put into practices efficiently, and they attempted to expand debt ratio and tax advantage factors into a new area. Myers (1984) states that only practical capital structure theories, which introducing adjustment cost that includes agency cost and information asymmetry problems, could provide a useful guidance for firms to determine their capital structure. However, from recent studies, Myers (2001) believes that how information differences and agency costs influence the capital structure is still an open question. From this perspective, it is very important to review the development of these two factors which make theoretical research having a strong relationship with reality. Thus, this project will summarize the capital structure theories orientated by agency cost and asymmetric information from extant literature. Also some gaps and conflicts among theories of capital structure will be found and discussed in order to further improve this area study. The rest of this project is arranged as follows. Section 2 will present the theories based on agency costs that causes the conflicts between equity holders and debt holders or managers. Section 3 will illustrate from two areas, interplay of capital structure and investment, followed by signal effect of debt ratio, to show the theories based on asymmetric information. In conclusion, Section 4 will summarize the entire essay and suggest further research direction of capital structure theory. 2.0 Capital structure theories based on agency costs Although Berry and Means (1931, cited in Myers, 2001) state an adverse relationship between the separated ownership and corporate control status, it commonly admits that Jensen and Meckling (1976) firstly conducted the research in how agency costs determine capital structure (Harris and Raviv, 1991). Over the past decades, researchers have tried to add agency costs to capital structure models (Harris and Raviv, 1991). The perfect alignment between firm investors and firm agencies, such as managers, does not exist (Myers, 2001). According to Jensen and Meckling (1976), company agents, the managers, always emphasize on their own interests, such as high salary and reputation. Also these company agents use entrenching investments, which make the asset and capital structure orientated by the managements knowledge and skills, to increase their bargaining power with the true company holders (Chen and Kensinger, 1992). However, Myers (2001) believes that the firm holders can reduce such transferred value through using different kinds of methods of control and supervising, but he further points out the weakness that these methods are expensive and reduce returns. As a result, the perfect monitoring system is out of work, and agency costs are produced from these conflicts. According to Jensen and Meckling (1976), the conflicts between investors and agencies are generally divided into two types. The first conflict occurs between debt holders and equity holders, and the second conflict is from between equity holders and managers. Consequently, all the capital structure theories based on agency costs can be also classified based on these two conflicts. In the rest of this section, each individual conflict will be separately discussed. 2.1 Conflicts between Debt holders and Equity holders Jensen and Meckling (1976) point out that agency costs problems happen in determining the structure of a firms capital when the conflict between debt holders and equity holders is caused by debt contracts. Similar to Jensen and Mecklings conclusion, Myers (1977) observes that since equity holders bear the whole cost of the investment and debt holders get the main part of the profits from the investment, equity holders may have no interest in investing in value-increasing businesses when companies are likely to face bankruptcy in the short term future. Thus, if debt occupies a large part of firms capital, it will lead to the rejection of investing in more value-increased business projects. However, in 1991, Harris and Raviv cast a contrasting opinion to adjust the capital structure theory based on this conflict. They point out that most debt contracts give equity holders a push power to invest sub-optimally investment project. If the investment fails, due to limited liability, debt holders bear the consequences of a decline of the debt value, but equity holders get most of yields if the investment could generate returns above the debt par value. In order to prevent debt holders from receiving unfair treatment, equity holders normally get less for the debt than original expectation from debt holders. Thus, the agency costs are created by equity holders who issue the debt rather than debt holders reason (Harris and Raviv, 1991). Tradeoff capital structure theory has a basic and strong relationship with this type of agency costs. However, different researchers hold various explanations of the relationship. Myers (1977) points out the debt cost reason, Green (1984) announces that convertible bonds can reduce the asset substitution problem which comes from the tradeoff theory, Stulz and Johnson (1985) consider about collateral effect. In the end, only Diamond model (1989) is widely accepted. If Equity holders do not consider reputational reason, they are willing to trade relatively safe projects, but this activity will lead to less debt financing (Diamond, 1989; Mike et al, 1997). Diamond model (1989) assumes two tradeoffs, risky and risk-free, to show that the debt repayment should consider both possible investment plans. Furthermore, Mike et al (1997) use empirical evidence to indicate how to use debt to trade off these two optional investment plans. Moreover, in 1991, Harris and Raviv expanded Diamonds model to three investment choices. They point out that one choice of investment can only contain the risk-free project, one option can invest in risk project and the last option combine both risk-free and risk projects. In fact, since the reputation factor is vital for a manager, managers are willing to choose risk-free investment projects that have more possibility of success. Consequently, the amount of debt is often reduced by managers. 2.2 Conflicts between Managers and Equity holders Jensen and Meckling (1976) also states that conflicts naturally arise between managers and equity holders since managers just hold parts of the whole firms capital. Consequently, firm mangers only benefit from part of the profit generated by their business activities, but they simultaneously bear the whole cost of these actions. However, Myer (2001) casts a different opinion about the reason of the conflict and claims that in fact, managers never bear the full costs of the business activities unless the manager is also the firms investor. He further maintains that the real cause of the conflict is due to an imperfect observable reward system between investors and managers, because both parties have different standpoints to measure their own interest, especially the rewards. There are two dominant models, the Harris and Raviv model and the Stulz model, to explain this area. Although both models have a common assumption that labor contracts cannot address the conflict between managers and equity holders, both models hold different opinions about debt release and the problem in the drawbacks of debt in the capital structure. According to Harris and Raviv model (1990), managers are designed to want to continue the companys current operations all the time even if equity holders prefer the liquidation of the company. However, in Stulz model (1990), managers are keen to invest all available funds even if the equity holders can benefit from paying out cash. Moreover, Harris and Raviv (1990) point out that debt alleviates the agency costs and the conflict results from giving equity holders the chance to speed up liquidation when cash flows are hard to predict. In contrast, Stulz (1990) based on Jenson model (1986) concludes that debt payments reduce free cash flow. He further maintains that the debt costs reduce the available funds of a profitable project, since the costs result from debt payment that more than exhausts free cash flow. As a result, capital structure can be determined by trading off debt advantages against debt costs. 3.0 Capital structure theories based on asymmetric information The development of information modeling provides a possible approach to explain capital structure. In these capital structure theories, company insiders, such as managers, are assumed to obtain all private information about the investment opportunities or investment return. Some theories try to find out how the allocation of capital structure passes the insiders information of a firm to outsiders. Meanwhile, in other theories, the purpose of the capital structure is to improve efficiencies in the companys investment activities under asymmetric information (Vernimmen et al, 2005). The rest of this section will be divided into two subsections based on both sets of theories mentioned above. 3.1 Interplay of capital structure and investment This area of research begins with two vital academic papers, Myers and Majluf (1984) and Myers (1984). According to Myers and Majluf (1984), the firms equity will be mispriced by the market when investors obtain less information of one firms assets value than the firms current insiders. Moreover, they further point out that if firms issue equity to absorb capital for a new investment, mispricing may make a net loss to the firms current shareholders. In Myers second paper (1984), he formally defines this as a pecking order capital structure theory. In this theory, a firms capital structure is determined by the purpose of the company to finance new investment. Furthermore, with the development of the Myers pecking order theory, researchers find some vital empirical implications of this theory. Krasker (1986) confirms the results of Myers theory (1984) and also shows that the larger the equity issue, the worse the asymmetric information problem and the firm with worse asymmetric information problems will often have a more under price problem. Ebsen (1986) finds that if managers could trade their firms new equity, the under price problem caused by asymmetric information will be reduced. Then Dierkens (1991) argues that the under price problem can be solved by information releases such as annual financial statement reports. However, some economists cast a doubt on the pecking order theory. These theoretical researches have a common feature that they all put investment situations under the pecking order theory but provide more finance choices for a firm. Brennan and Kraus (1987) state that it is not necessary for a firm to have a preference for financing through debt over equity and the under price problem can be addressed through various financing options and simple capital structure rather than solving asymmetry information problem. Their findings are also confirmed by Noe (1988). Moreover, in 1993, Nachman and Noe put Brennan and Kraus theory into practice and also come to the same conclusion. 3.2 Signal effect of debt ratio After discussing models which investigate the interplay of capital structure and investment, it is vital to turn to models in which investment is a fixed factor and only capital structure is regarded as a private information signal. The investigation of this area starts with the work of Ross (1977). According to Rosss capital structure theory, only firms insiders, such as managers, can get full information of the firms return distribution, but investors cannot. The main empirical implication of Ross theory is that there is a positive relation between firm value and debt ratio. However, further research combines debt and dividend policy together to show an opposite opinion that a firm value is determined by dividend and debt ratio rather than a single factor of debt ratio (Vernimem et al, 2005). Furthermore, in 1982, Heinkel improve Ross model. His model is similar to Ross but does not have the same assumption. Instead, high market value firms are assumed to have high total value but low quality debt, thus high market value firms has high equity value. This finding has been consistent with further capital structure theoretical research (Franke, 1987; John, 1987). Another debt ratio signal model is built by Poitevin (1989). He firstly points out the potential competition between an entrant and an incumbent under the asymmetric information. According to Poitevin model (1989), the marginal costs of entrant are private information obtained only by the entrant, and in a stable situation, the capital of high cost entrants does not issue any debt while low cost entrants never issue equity. However, Glazer and Israel (1990) cast a different conclusion against Poitevin. They maintain that low cost entrants are willing to issue equity since they can much easier use this finance approach to reduce marginal production costs than the high cost entrants. Nevertheless, Harris and Raviv (1991) point out the weakness of the Glazer and Israel model is that they ignore the dividends finance factor which has the same signal effect as debt. Normally, a capital structure theory should combine various basic finance factors together. In the end, Glazer and Israel recognize this weakness and claim that their results cannot be considered as a capital structure theory. 4.0 Summary and Conclusion To sum up, this literature review of capital structure theories is element arranged. The set of theories based on agency costs and the set of theories based on asymmetric information are separately presented in the passage. Moreover, each set of theories can also be divided into several subsections. Agency costs cause two types of conflicts among stakeholders, and these conflicts affect a firms choice of capital structure. Moreover, capital structure theories show that under an asymmetric information situation, capital structure has a strong reaction with investment activities and debt ratio has a signaling utility for the determination of capital structure. The range of the selected paper is from 1958 to 2005. These papers cover majority parts of the study including agency costs, interplay of capital structure and investment, imperfect information situations and debt signal effect. Also these papers are all from core financial journals, e.g. Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial Management, American Economic Review and Review of Financial Studies. Thus, this literature review can be considered to be efficient and thorough. This essay covers a considerable number of literatures which can present modern theoretical findings of capital structure. However, it should be noticed that the blooming period of capital structure theory is between 1970s-1980s. After 1990, the theoretical research seems to have developed very slowly, and the majority of papers in this field just review former findings since few new theories of capital structure come out. The direction of the theoretical research of capital structure should incline to be more practical. The future study should be extended in two areas. (1) Add psychosocial conditions and assumptions to improve extant capital structure theories. It is important to acknowledge that most capital structure theories cannot be used by companies in real life since these theories lacks of more reality factors. Thus, behavior finance could provide a new approach to extant theories. (2)Combine agency costs and asymmetric information problems together in one capital structure theory. Currently, both problems are discussed separately. However, companies often suffer from these two problems at the same time when they determine their capital structure. Consequently, it is necessary to set up a new theory based on both problems. Bibliography 1. Baxter, N. (1967) Leverage, risk of ruin, and the cost of capital, Journal of Finance, 22, pp. 395-403. 2. Brealey, R. A. and Myers, S. C. (2003) Principles of Corporate Finance. 7th edn. New York: The McGraw-Hill Company. 3. Brennan, M. and Alan, K. (1987) Efficient financing under asymmetric information, Journal of Finance, 42, pp 1225-1243. 4. Chen, A. H. and Kensinger, J. (1992) Uncommon Equity, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, 5(1), pp. 36-43. 5. Diamond, D. W. (1989) Reputation acquisition in debt markets, Journal of Political Economy, 97, pp. 828-862. 6. Dierkens, N. (1991) Information Asymmetry and Equity Issues. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 26(2), pp.181-199. 7. Ebsen, E. (1986) The Valuation Effects of Corporate Debt Offerings, Journal of Financial Economics. 15(1), pp. 119-152. 8. Franke, G. (1987) Costless signaling in financial markets, Journal of Finance, 42, pp.809-822. 9. Glazer, and Israel, R. (1990) Managerial incentives and financial signaling in product market competition, International Journal of Industrial Economics, 8, pp. 271-280. 10. Green, R.C. (1984) Investment incentives, debt, and warrants, Journal of Financial Economics, 13, pp. 115-136. 11. Harris, M. and Raviv, A. (1990) Capital structure and the informational role of debt, Journal of Finance, 45, pp.321-349. 12. Harris, M. and Raviv, A. (1991) The Theory of Capital Structure, The Journal of Finance, 46(1), pp. 297-355. 13. Heinkel, R. (1982) A theory of capital structure relevance under imperfect information, Journal of Finance, 37, pp.1141-1150. 14. Jensen, M. C. and William, H. M. (1976) Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure, Journal of Financial Management, 3(4), pp. 305- 360. 15. Jenson, M. C. (1986) Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers, American Economic Review, 76(2), pp. 323-29. 16. John, K. (1987) Risk-shifting incentives and signaling through corporate capital structure, Journal of Finance, 42, pp. 623-641. 17. Krasker, W. (1986) Stock price movements in response to stock issues under asymmetric information, Journal of Finance, 41, pp. 93-105. 18. Leland, H.E. (1994) Corporate Debt Value, Bond Covenants, and Optimal Capital Structure, Journal of Finance, 49(4), pp. 1213-1252. 19. Mike, B., Gromb, D. and Panunzi, F. (1997) Large Shareholders, Monitoring and the Value of the Firm, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112, pp. 693-728. 20. Modigliani, F. and Miller, M. H. (1958) The cost of capital, corporation finance, and the theory of investment, American Economic Review, 48, pp.261-297. 21. Myers, S. C. (1977) Determinants of corporate borrowing, Journal of Financial Economics, (5), pp. 147-175. 22. Myers, S.C. (1984) The capital structure puzzle, Journal of Finance, 39, pp.575-592. 23. Myers, S. C. and Majluf, N. S. (1984) Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have, Journal of Financial Economics, 13, pp.187-221. 24. Myers, S. C. (2001) Capital Structure, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15(2), PP. 18-102. 25. Nachman, David C. and Noe, T. H. (1993) Design of securities under asymmetric information, Working paper, Georgia Institute of Technology. 26. Noe, T. (1988) Capital structure and signaling game equilibria, Review of Financial Studies, 1, pp. 331-356. 27. Poitevin, M. (1989) Financial signaling and the deep-pocket argument, Rand Journal of Economics, 20, pp.26-40. 28. Ross, S. (1977) The determination of financial structure: The incentive signaling approach, Bell Journal of Economics, 8, pp.23-40. 29. Sarig, O., and Warga A. (1989) Some empirical estimates of the risk structure of interest rates, Journal of Finance, 44, pp. 1351-1360. 30. Stulz, R. and Johnson, H. (1985) An analysis of secured debt, Journal of Financial Economics, 14, pp. 501-521. 31. Stulz, R. (1990) Managerial discretion and optimal financing policies, Journal of Financial Economics, 26, pp.3-27. 32. Vernimmen, P., Quiry, P., Dallocchio, M., Fur, Y. L., Salvi, A. (2005) Corporate Finance: Theory and Practice, 6th edn. West Sussex: John Wiley Sons. Ltd.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Mother-daughter Relations and Clash of Cultures in Amy Tans The Joy Lu

     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Amy Tan is an American Born Chinese, daughter of immigrants, and her family shares many features with the families depicted in her novels. Tan's novels offer some glimpses of life in China while developing the themes of mother-daughter relations, cultural adaptation and "women with a past".   Tan’s novels share many themes and elements, but this paper will focus mainly on two episodes of the novel The Joy Luck Club: "The Joy Luck Club" and "Waiting Between the Trees"; and will make references to The Kitchen's God Wife and The Hundred Secret Senses. In the first place, mother-daughter relations between Chinese mothers and ABC daughters are not easy ones in Tan's novels. They are always problematic. Mothers want to bring up their children according to the Chinese ways, whereas daughters want to live their own life according to the "American Way of Life", despising Chinese habits and traditions, sometimes to the extent of being ashamed of their origins. Amy Tan herself confessed that, as a child, she used to put "a clothespin on her nose hoping to make it pert, to change its Asian shape."    In "Waiting Between the Trees," Lena St. Clair sees her mother, Ying-Ying as a weak-minded woman who needs constant help. This impression is aroused by Ying- Ying's traditional Chinese female education. In Ying- Ying's times, women used to be educated to be obedient, to honor one's parents, one's husband and to try to please him and his family. This education is based on Confucius's teachings: during her life a woman has to follow three persons during her whole life: at home, she has to follow her father; married, she has to follow her husband; and when her husband dies, she has to follow her son. Therefore a woman is not supp... ...hers and daughters which have their source in a clash of cultures. In her novels, she reflects Chinese history, traditions, education and superstition, together with may experiences takes from her family history, all of which provides a convincing representation directly inspired in the real everyday life of the Chinese colony in the United States.    Works Cited Tan, Amy (1989). The Joy Luck Club. New York: Ivy Books. -- (1991). The Kitchen God's Wife. New York: Ivy Books. -- (1995). The Hundred Secret Senses. New York: Ivy Books. Ng, Mei (1998). Eating Chinese Food Naked. Harmondsworth: Penguin.    Internet: Liu, Ping (1997). Adjusting to a New Society: A Study of Educated Chinese Women: http://www.ics.uci.edu/~tdo/ea/chineseWomen.html Interview with Amy Tan: The Joy Luck Club Lady: http://detnews.com/menu/stories/23098.htm    Mother-daughter Relations and Clash of Cultures in Amy Tan's The Joy Lu      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Amy Tan is an American Born Chinese, daughter of immigrants, and her family shares many features with the families depicted in her novels. Tan's novels offer some glimpses of life in China while developing the themes of mother-daughter relations, cultural adaptation and "women with a past".   Tan’s novels share many themes and elements, but this paper will focus mainly on two episodes of the novel The Joy Luck Club: "The Joy Luck Club" and "Waiting Between the Trees"; and will make references to The Kitchen's God Wife and The Hundred Secret Senses. In the first place, mother-daughter relations between Chinese mothers and ABC daughters are not easy ones in Tan's novels. They are always problematic. Mothers want to bring up their children according to the Chinese ways, whereas daughters want to live their own life according to the "American Way of Life", despising Chinese habits and traditions, sometimes to the extent of being ashamed of their origins. Amy Tan herself confessed that, as a child, she used to put "a clothespin on her nose hoping to make it pert, to change its Asian shape."    In "Waiting Between the Trees," Lena St. Clair sees her mother, Ying-Ying as a weak-minded woman who needs constant help. This impression is aroused by Ying- Ying's traditional Chinese female education. In Ying- Ying's times, women used to be educated to be obedient, to honor one's parents, one's husband and to try to please him and his family. This education is based on Confucius's teachings: during her life a woman has to follow three persons during her whole life: at home, she has to follow her father; married, she has to follow her husband; and when her husband dies, she has to follow her son. Therefore a woman is not supp... ...hers and daughters which have their source in a clash of cultures. In her novels, she reflects Chinese history, traditions, education and superstition, together with may experiences takes from her family history, all of which provides a convincing representation directly inspired in the real everyday life of the Chinese colony in the United States.    Works Cited Tan, Amy (1989). The Joy Luck Club. New York: Ivy Books. -- (1991). The Kitchen God's Wife. New York: Ivy Books. -- (1995). The Hundred Secret Senses. New York: Ivy Books. Ng, Mei (1998). Eating Chinese Food Naked. Harmondsworth: Penguin.    Internet: Liu, Ping (1997). Adjusting to a New Society: A Study of Educated Chinese Women: http://www.ics.uci.edu/~tdo/ea/chineseWomen.html Interview with Amy Tan: The Joy Luck Club Lady: http://detnews.com/menu/stories/23098.htm   

Monday, November 11, 2019

Cause and Effect of Corruption

There is a growing worldwide concern over corruption at the present time. Several factors are responsible for this. A consensus has now been reached that corruption is universal. It exists in all countries, both developed and developing, in the public and private sectors, as well as in non-profit and charitable organizations. Allegations and charges of corruption now play a more central role in politics than at any other time. Governments have fallen, careers of world renowned public figures ruined, and reputations of well-respected organizations and business firms badly tarnished on account of it.The international mass media feeds on it and scandals and improper conduct, especially of those in high places. The rising trend in the use of corruption as a tool to discredit political opponents has brought scandalous and corrupt behavior to international attention. Corruption can be a major obstacle in the process of economic development and in modernizing a country. Many now feel that i t should receive priority attention in a country’s development agenda. This greater recognition that corruption can have a serious adverse impact on development has been a cause for concern among developing countries.In a recent survey of 150 high level officials from 60 third world countries, the respondents ranked public sector corruption as the most severe obstacle confronting their development process. Countries in the Asia and Pacific region are also very worried about this problem and they are in substantial agreement that corruption is a major problem that is hindering their economic, political and social development, and hence view it as a problem requiring urgent attention at the highest level. Increasing public interest and concern over corruption have resulted in a large amount of scholarly research on the subject.Admittedly, there are still wide gaps in the current state of information and knowledge on the matter and much more remains to be done. Nevertheless, the oretical and empirical research that has been conducted thus far has yielded fresh insights into the problem. We now have a clearer understanding of the underlying causes of corruption, its consequences, and ideas and approaches on possible measures to combat it. At the same time, a better perspective has been obtained on the reasons why corruption persists in so many countries, and why it is difficult to deal with, although people throughout he world view it with disfavor. It is a common practice in many developing countries to institute price controls and to provide essential goods and services at subsidized prices to consumers. The official price for a key food item, such as rice, is fixed by paying a low administratively set price to farmers, while gasoline, electricity and charges for public transport and other essential items are provided at low subsidized prices. These mostly benefit city dwellers as they are the main consumers of these subsidized goods and services.The urban bias in the provision of subsidized food and other necessities stems from the political reality that city dwellers, especially the large masses at the lower end of the income scale, are more politically conscious, better organized and are easier to be instigated into civil unrest than the rural poor. It is usually discontent in the cities that ignites social and political upheavals in a country. Fixing prices at artificially low levels lead to demand exceeding supply for the subsidized goods so that the all too familiar shortages, rationing, corruption and black markets result.Several undesirable consequences follow. There is a loss of potential government revenue. For example, when those that have access to subsidized gasoline, such as government officials and car owners, sell it on the black market at several times the official price, they make large profits. These profits could be taken as revenue by the government, if there is no subsidy, no price distortion, and gasoline is va lued at its true opportunity cost, that is, charged by the government at its market clearing price.Setting low farm prices on rice and other agricultural products, to provide cheap food for city dwellers, means farmers are subsidizing the people in the cities. Likewise, low prices set on gasoline and energy contributes to deficits in the government budget. Fixing low prices on rice and agricultural products, in the wake of sharp increases in the prices of other domestically produced and imported goods, turns the terms of trade against farmers. This adversely affects their incentive to produce and hinders agricultural output. Low prices set on energy result in huge losses for the government enterprises engaged in this area.Consequently, they do not have the resources to invest in new facilities, to buy spare parts or to properly maintain existing machinery, and equipment that are falling into disrepair. The outcome is frequent breakdowns, unreliable and poor service, and general inab ility to meet requirements in terms both of generating capacity and in the quality of energy produced. Under-pricing energy has other harmful effects. Cheap energy leads to its uneconomic and wasteful use. When energy prices are kept at a level much below cost for decades, there is little incentive for its users to adopt energy efficient technologies and methods of production.So they are not sufficiently prepared for the large price adjustment that inevitably comes when low prices are no longer sustainable due to an internal or an external shock. The result is disruption in production, more corruption as bribery will be resorted to order to avoid payment of the higher charges, and increased inflationary pressures as higher energy costs will be passed on to consumers by raising prices. Thus, price controls, subsidies and the corruption and black markets they generate, can lead to undesirable social and economic consequences.This also illustrates the point that dismantling controls, g etting rid of subsidies and preventing price distortions form a key element in economic reforms and for the establishment of a properly functioning market economy. Unfortunately, corruption places severe constraints on a country’s capacity to undertake economic reforms. The rich and the powerful, the main gainers of a corrupt system, will therefore oppose reforms. The leadership in a country has a key role to play in combating corruption. It is an Asian tradition to hold leaders and those in authority in high regard and esteem.Hence the top leadership must set a good example with respect to honesty, integrity and capacity for hard work. Since fighting corruption will involve taking difficult decisions, the leadership must also display firmness, political will and commitment to carry out the required reforms. Honest and dedicated leaders are an essential, but not a sufficient, condition to counter corruption. Several other conditions are needed as well. Credibility is one of t hem. For success, the offenders both on the demand and supply side of a corrupt deal must be convinced that the government is serious about fighting corruption.Publicly try and punish some well-known corrupt people in the country. Some highly publicized trials and convictions of important officials and businessmen on charges of corruption have taken place in several countries. A publicity campaign to create greater awareness on the adverse effects of corruption and a clear and unmistakable official announcement on the desirability to bring it under control would be helpful. Ordinary citizens have a lot of firsthand experience with corruption, they are a good source of information and their help and cooperation should be solicited for the successful launch of an anti-corruption drive.Once people are convinced that a sincere and genuine effort to combat corruption is underway, they will respond and extend their full cooperation in resolving the problem. Just a little opening up and pr oviding opportunities for them to express their views on the matter will bring forth an outpouring of information, ideas and suggestions. A responsible press to gather, analyze, organize, and present information is considered vital to create greater public awareness and to provide the momentum for undertaking reforms to overcome corruption.Secretiveness has been a key factor that has enabled public officials and politicians to get away with corruption. A responsible and an investigative press has played an important role in many countries, both developed and developing, in exposing misconduct as well as in serving as a watchdog to limit corruption and preventing it from getting out of hand. The press has not always acted in a responsible manner, and like everything else in this world, it is not perfect. Nevertheless, its power to limit misconduct and improper behavior should not be underestimated.Views on the effectiveness of anti-corruption oversight or watchdog bodies are mixed. T here are instances where they have proved useful. However, in surveys and interviews of public officials and members of civil society organizations, most respondents do not have a high opinion of them. Improving institutions involves such things as improving the legal framework, promoting efficiency of the police force, strengthening the auditor general’s office, and appointment of a responsible inspector general empowered to investigate and prosecute corruption.A useful conclusion that has emerged from the current discussion and ongoing debate on the corruption issue is that corruption is a symptom of economic, political, and institutional weaknesses in a country. To be effective, measures against corruption must therefore address these underlying causes and not the symptoms. Emphasis must be placed on preventing corruption by tackling the root causes that give rise to it through undertaking economic, political and institutional reforms.Anti-corruption enforcement measures s uch as oversight bodies, a strengthened police force and more efficient law courts will not be effective in the absence of a serious effort to address the fundamental causes. Another observation that may be useful to bear in mind is that corruption is most prevalent where there are other forms of institutional weaknesses, such as political instability, bureaucratic red tape, and weak legislative and judicial systems. The important point is that corruption and such institutional weaknesses are linked together and that they feed upon each other.

Friday, November 8, 2019

The Other Side Of The Ledger Essays - Algonquian Peoples

The Other Side Of The Ledger Essays - Algonquian Peoples The Other Side Of The Ledger The other side of the ledger is an Indian view of the Hudsons Bay company. The Hudsons Bay companys 300th anniversary celebration where Queen Elizabeth II among the other guests was present, was no occasion for joy among the people whose lives were tied to the trading stores. During the past 300 years, the history has been written by white men. They have only focused on the generosity of the traders and the benefits brought to the Indians. However, there is a sharp contrasting view from what Indians have to say about their lot in the companys operations. At the time of the history, Hudsons Bay company was expended over 1 million square miles of land which is now known as Canada. The Ruperts Land at that time was occupied by the Indians. They (Indians) believed that the land belonged to all men and hence, the land owned by the individual was unknown. However, they failed to recognize that the white men had felt superiority to impose power over their identities. Hence, they just drifted bit by bit into white mens monopoly and never got out of it. Overall, I think, the film has covered up all the basic arguments of the Indians and has helped to understand the period and the people of that time. It has covered all the basic problems of Indians having with the Hudsons Bay Company. In the following, I have highlighted the main points covered in the film which illustrate the basic problems of Indians and to which I agree. As it is shown in the film, I too think that the introduction of the new weapons (i.e.: guns) was the beginning of the Indians revolution. All the other hunting methods were band. The distribution of weapons in Ruperts land was done by the H.B.C.. Since, company had established treading posts throughout the land and each post was run by the manager, raising up the cost for the weapons was in the hands of the post managers. Hence, they were continuously ripping off the Indians. During the 1869, when decision to sell Ruperts land was made, it was made by the company, not by the Indians. The land was sold to Canada at a very low price. Many treaties were written to compel Indians to give up their rights to their land. However, after the land was sold, Indian people became the responsibility of the govnt and the parliament. When the question of compensation was claimed, the govnt allowed the compensation of $3 a year and was only to those who signed the treaty to give up their right to the land. Such compensation I think, was not to provide financial support to the Indians but was a reminding of who owned the land, money, and most of all, the power. Further, the Indians culture was also being banished. Since Indians were living in the region which was cold and off the land, they were depended on the hunting and fishing. Some of the contemporary historians (loyalists) claim that since Canada was a free country, Indians could have proceeded further in success. Well, they had legal right to go to city just like other Canadian, but in order to do so they had to give up their hundreds years of culture and place. Hence, white mens place (city) seemed frightening, threatening and impersonal to them. Not only this, but since Indians were a minority, according to white men, they must learn to adopt their rules and regulation which were to stay away from the standard life style of the whites. If Indians didnt perform accordingly, they were to suffer the consequences. Thus, Indians stayed where they were. A glance on the economic position of the Indians to see how they were being swindled by the Hudsons Bay Company. Indians were the lower income earning groups in Canada. Their income was lower then $2000 a year. Company store was the only store where Indians could sell their fur. The prices for the fur were set by the company. Company not only set the prices for the fur but, also for the goods for which Indians traded their furs. Hence, they were paying double the price then what was being paid in the outside world. The cheques that Indians received from H.B.C. were only allowed to use in the company store. This lead to the deaths of the Indian people since they didnt have enough money to buy food. Now when

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Marketing Plan BrothersForChange Organization

Marketing Plan BrothersForChange Organization Introduction In order to establish a successful business, it is important to develop a comprehensive strategic plan which is the basic blueprint for actualization of a business plan. Reflectively, the strategic plan is inclusive of the SWOT of the business environment, penetration strategies, and success measurement parameters at micro and macro business environment.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Marketing Plan: BrothersForChange Organization specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Thus, this analytical treatise attempts to explicitly develop and review a strategic plan for the BrothersForChange organization located in San Francisco. The treatise reflects on the elements of marketing from micro and macro environment, mission, and organization value. Mission of the BrothersForChange Organization For an organization to succeed in marketing, it has to have both vision and mission for its marketing strategies. They act as th e guideline and reference point. The business refers to the vision and goals to determine if it is making positive progress. The business’s vision for the BrothersForChange is to create positive change in the lives of African American men and their families that have been impacted by incarceration and poverty. On the other hand, the marketing goal will be to acquire further funding for expansion of support services to the poor and homeless African American families in San Francisco. Besides, the organization will have a mission of adding value to the life of its target persons by offering emergency services and spiritual nourishment. Through its marketing, the organization will strive to ensure that it collects enough funds to support its charity activities for the next three years. Values of the BrothersForChange To be able to achieve the mission and the set goals, the BrothersForChange organization will require having a captivating position value statement and superior prod uct strategy. In this case, the organization’s positioning statement will be as follows; We do what everyone wants, helping the poor. We don’t discriminate our support to any group or race. We plan to touch more lives and help restore poverty stricken families. One of the product strategies that the organization should utilize is to make sure that it attributes the charity services to convenience and free. In planning strategy, culture defines all aspects of a business, both internal and external relationships. It is vital to consider the target sponsors which consist of religious groups, government agencies, private individuals, and other charitable organization.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Since the organization is based in San Francisco, it is necessary to review the business environment to establish the strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opp ortunities available amidst limited funding for the charitable activities targeting the poor and homeless African American families. This will be achievable through proactive focusing of the above values for the organization. Forecasting is of great importance since it enables proper planning through budget creation and prepares the organization for the financial period ahead. Information technology has enabled proper forecasting by enabling fast efficient data analysis, data storage and data mining operations greatly rely on this forecast to be able to plan themselves through creation of specific departmental targets, departmental costs and total revenue allocations. Micro Environment Analysis Strategy The first dimension of the strategic plan places the values of flexibility and dynamism. This implies that the BrothersForChange organization should focus on the internal processes for success. The internal report channel for communication with the potential sponsors should then be c ascaded down to the rest of the structures since the current channel is not flexible. The diagram below summarizes the two dimension of completing values framework proposed for the BrothersForChange organization. Technology The BrothersForChange organization should put out most of the documents such as marketing brochures in the local daily. This saves the company costs relating to printing, maintaining and circulating such documents. Based on the first dimension of the competing values framework, the BrothersForChange organization already has the advantage of flexible organization model, it is possible to adjust the size of the organization or eliminate advertisement that do not reach the fund-raising goal. Technological transformations and market niche classification are the two major factors that will define changes that happen in the BrothersForChange organization. Therefore, there is need for the organization owner to adapt quickly to change, work smarter, increase sponsor bas e and carry out duties that are outside his or her job description to remain relevant in the charity segment. However, the business may not benefit from this since limited funds may make application of technology difficult despite unlimited opportunity for expansion.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Marketing Plan: BrothersForChange Organization specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Organization SWOT Strengths The BrothersForChange organization has already established itself in the San Francisco region. It is already into the charity segment and has previous experience in the charitable activities. The organization has good terms with the local charitable organizations and private donors and can deliver services at no charge to those who need these services most. The organization has concentrated in the small families segment in offering charitable services that have been ignored by the big charity players. Weaknesses The organization has not operated in the United States for long enough hence may not have exact projections on the funds and their use. The organization depends on only person as the workforce hence may not maximize its activities in the market. The organization has the disadvantage of unreliability in charity service delivery since the single manager has to do all the work. Apparently, he cannot keep up with the demand despite working for long hours. Threats Too many charitable organizations are in the market of San Francisco, especially the big players with more credibility in offering charity services. The success of the organization will depend on the reception of their appeal for donor funding in the market of San Francisco. If the projections don’t add up, then the organization may take longer to raise funds or may end up collapsing. Opportunities The organization has an opportunity for unlimited expansion in the market of San Francisco with more than 100,000 small African American families in need of its services. The organization has the opportunity of attracting more donors through referrals since its local network is well established. The organization has the opportunity of diversifying charitable services beyond accommodation to counseling and social health support. Market force Strength Weakness Threat Opportunity Strategy Customized services Small market niche Changed preferences Business expansion Technology Local magazine easily accessible Target donors who are relatively traditional Changing media forms Online marketing Political and economic conformity Free market Unstable business model Economic swings Establishment of more branches within the city of San Francisco Legal conformity Limited conformity requirements Sensitive business environment Tax regime Structured operations Cultural aspects Conformity to the San Francisco culture Challenge of winning donors Changed donor preferences Opportunity for expansion Proc ess and systems Simple but effective system Limited scope of the system Limited staff due to low fund turn over Opportunity for expansion Macro Environment Analysis Competitive Advantage Sustainability Operation efficiency and market niche provide an indication of how well the organization manages its resources, that is, how well it employs its assets to generate sales and income. It also shows the level of activity of the corporation as indicated by the turnover ratios. Specifically, a high earnings ratio in an organization suggests that it is expecting stable high earnings in all its major market niches as an opportunity for future expansion. Economic swings pose a threat to this organization since many of the fund donors are likely to be affected by the swings. The main weaknesses include lack of diversification and expansion services. Political and Economic Aspects Essentials of political operation in the San Francisco market have limited influence on business operations due to its stability and policies on economic liberalization. The US is a democratic nation with limited cultural or religious stresses. There are no conflicts that can be seen to arise with the marketing of such organizations like the BrothersForChange establishment. This aspect of the countrys political and economic stability encourages smooth operations and predictability of the future operation trends. With the full support of political authorities to the charity community, the overall growth and development of various marketing networks is also encouraged. The government projects economic policies that are inclined towards diversification and promoting the role played by donors in the charity industry. Legal conformity In addition, the commercial laws in the US provide for trademark rights and patents which eliminate the risk of investors and protect start-up companies from fraudsters and copyright infringers. This is an assurance of protection against illegal trade, even if proces s of registration is time-consuming and very expensive. In the long run, this friendly political climate is expected to allow for the easy penetration and segmentation of the market by the BrothersForChange organization. However, with the current economic meltdown, expenditure on charities has declined as families have tightened their budgets in response.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Cultural Aspects Comprehensively, the marketer should review the technological awareness and lifestyle of targeted customers. Majority of the San Francisco population are aware of developments in technology and have embraced lifestyles where technology and innovative products have a part to play. Peoples lifestyles revolve around technology, from transport to communication. Since the services to be marketed by the BrothersForChange organization are technology-dependent, it is necessary to establish the estimate statistics on the same. Research has it that a large percentage of the potential donors have literary and basic technological skills. A properly modeled penetration strategy should create minimal disturbances in the market and the company. Because of this, it is important to establish means and ways to reach the potential market. To achieve this, it is important to segment and differentiate the San Francisco market using consumer-based market segmentation procedures. Process and systems The business will require relatively smaller operation area since its services can be centralized. Partnering with the community will enhance expansion since San Francisco region is easily accessible besides the high number of potential donors.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Was the Commerce Clause portion of National Federation of Independent Essay

Was the Commerce Clause portion of National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius correctly decided - Essay Example This was due to a perception that the act gave individuals who did not acquire health insurance covers the charge that was to have their incomes taxed by the internal revenue service as a penalty1. They claimed that the congress which is responsible for making laws that govern them, was indulging them in a commercial responsibility of which should not be the case. I agree with this notion as it serves as a disagreement which is aimed at protecting the rights of the minority. They act also had another provision; the Medicaid expansion program. This provision stated that the various states that make up America should provide medical assistance to adults whose income is below 133% of the federal poverty line which I feel is a good idea. This overwrote the Medicaid program that was in place during the time that offered medical assistance to expectant women, children, needy families, the blind, the elderly and the disabled. The Medicaid expansion program was funded by the federal governme nt same as it used the previous Medicaid program. The act further stated that states that did not comply with the act would be denied the entire federal Medicaid funding2. This also did not augur well with some individuals as the national federation of independent business and also twenty six states were against it. They therefore moved to the federal district court to file a challenge against the individual mandate and the Medicaid expansion program. The court of appeal however held that the congress was working within its constitutional mandate while passing the clause on Medicaid expansion but at the same time, it lacked authority to enact the individual mandate. Chief justice Roberts in delivering the court’s opinion concluded that â€Å"the anti-injunction act does not bar the suit (US constitution part II of 648 F. 3d 1235)3. This was because the anti-injunction act stated that anyone who wished to sue for any tax must

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Trying to fit in Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Trying to fit in - Essay Example The outcome was successful and I completed all tasks as expected by the group members. Before I expressed my willingness to join the group, I first assessed the openness and closeness of the group. It understood that the group was interested in discussing topics that concerned me since I could hear their conservations while seated next to them during my break time. I introduced myself sincerely and openly by greeting all members and telling them my name. I asked them on how long they had been working together and make a positive statement about the group. I also made a positive statement about myself and expressed my willingness to join and fit in the group since I shared the same objectives with all the group members (Crisp and Turner 108). The main objective of joining and fitting in the group was to combine our unique talents, skills and knowledge in accomplishing our classroom work. At the formation stage, each member talked politely and outlined the duties and responsibilities o f each individual. For instance, the group members openly provided suggestions on the time schedules of the meetings and also number of hours for the meetings. The members had adequate time to adapt to the unique personalities of each group member. For instance, the members selected a common mode of communication which was official English language (Crisp and Turner 109). ... In the group work decisions, the group laid down a framework of clarifying the factual ideas and suggestions of the members towards the discussion including reviewing academic literature that is contained in classroom notes. In addition, any arguments during the discussion were based on opinions, ideas and not individual personalities (Crisp and Turner 110). The members had diversity of opinions and view points on the discussion topics and the discussion process was well organised. Showing my confidence and asking questions made the other members easily accept me in the group. I also played an additional role of note taking and organizing the meeting venues which made me an active and crucial member of the group. At the fitting stage, I exercised my listening skills and leadership skills which were critical for the attainment of the group objectives. In deed, some members suggested that I should take up the group leader role due to my self-confidence, decision making skills, assertiv eness and politeness while dealing with conflicts or countering opposing arguments and ideas. Sitting next to the group and making positive comments made me easily join and fit in to the group. I attained my outcomes of fitting in to the group since the group provided me an opportunity to share my ideas and opinions and also counter the arguments of the rest of the members. I understood that individuals have different cultural backgrounds, personalities and values thus it is essential that group members focus on ideas and not differing personalities. It is important that group members familiarize themselves with discussion materials and clearly understand the rules and