Citra Terranova

Citra was just a teenage girl when she was selected to become a scythes apprentice. She didn't want to kill, but she had to or else her family would be cursed. Of course, she did not want harm upon her own family, she loved them, therefore she became a scythe. This is my personal opinion about Citras future and you don't have to agree. So, with that being said, let's get started. Citra Terranova will grow up to remember that she's a killer, but she only did it to save her family. She will grow up to be a very successful pharmacist and will be a married mother with three loving, beautiful and smart kids. The oldest, Gerald, who is fifteen and wants to grow up to be a doctor. Gerald has autism and is the smartest out of the three. Anne is twelve and is an amazing gymnast and is practicing a double-back on flat, but she has learning problems and has dyslexia. The youngest is Logen who is eight years old, has skipped two grades and is the smartest kid in the fifth grade. Citras name originates in Indonesia, translated to English it means imagery. Her last name, Terranova, means southern Italian. Therefore, her ancestors must have some Italian in them. Citra will make lots and lots of new friends, she is a black belt in karatà ¨ and loves her job as a pharmacist. Her husband, Quinten, is a highly trained firefighter and has saved many people's lives. Citra and Quintin met after the 5/3 Bank collapsed into flames about twenty five years ago, at that time, Citra was working two jobs and is so stressed that she only gets about three hours of rest every night, four if she's lucky. Citra and Quintin are a perfect match because they are both determined to succeed and be the very best that they can be. But, the married couple didn't always get along as they wanted to. Quintin had a severe drug addiction and gambling obsession. Citra obviously hated this and wanted to get him the help he needed, but Quintin wouldn't do it. She doesn't want here kids to turn out like him so she moves into a new house, leaving Quintin and his problems. Soon after that, Citra demands a divorce with Quintin and a few months later, Citra is a single mom of three. Citra having to work two jobs now leads to a babysitter, the babysitter also gets them on and of the bus.

A Visual And Verbal Narrative

Malia Wittgenstein had finally made up her mind; she would pursue a promising job offer, with Starcom Fashion Design Company in Washington as a personal assistant to the director. Malia was willing to leave behind her usual life in Newcastle UK.Her lover; Jethro who was a Chef in a renowned Newcastle hotel, was not happy about her decision but he could not control her considering the fact that she had caught him flirting with a prostitute in a local pub. Jethro, had apologized profusely but Malia seemed to think that he was treating her that way because she was jobless at the time.Malia sat in the sitting room staring at the two bags she had packed for her departure. Emotions overwhelmed her, as she thought of her usual life in Newcastle. Malia had built all her life around Jethro but his betrayal in a drunken stupor had neutralized all her trust in him.As she stared at their portrait on the wall, so many emotions were running through her, she loved and hated him at the same time. Sh e smiled at the memories of good old times and shed tears when she remembered their latest scuffles with Jethro. Malia seemed to be sure that all she needed was to get away from Newcastle, and prove to Jethro that she could turn around and make it in life.She looked at a painting hanging loosely on the wall depicting a girl in pursuit. The painting seemed to collude with what she was going through and felt so much in touch with the painting. Suddenly she felt nostalgic and was not sure if she should go or not and tears filled her eyes.Malia was not sure if she was making a mistake or not by leaving Newcastle and more so if she was wrong about Jethro and if he really meant his love to her as he had promised earlier in a bid to try and coarse her not to leave him.She had decided to leave today because Jethro would be busy at work and would not try to stop her to leave through his sweet tongue. She cried and sobbed with a heavy heart not trusting if she could leave the life she had so much gotten used to. When she finally calmed she took a paper and a pen and wrote a letter to Jethro:To my first love,I never knew the meaning of love until I met you Jethro. You were the first man to take away my innocence and I don’t regret it because then I knew I loved you and you loved me. When my parents died and I lost everything, God brought you to my life and you have been the only family I have ever known.I am still hurting because you cheated on me the other day. I don’t know why, but I want to hate you so much yet I can’t because I still love you so much. Why did you hurt me so bad? Is it because I am jobless unlike you? This new job offer in Washington is promising and I think it will make me happy and that’s why I want to leave and let myself be.I hate to confess this but I don’t know if I will ever be able to get you out of my mind Jethro. Please don’t try to stop me because I won’t let you. I have to leave now don†™t worry I will get in touch after sometime. Jethro? Do you really love me as you are professing? Am I the woman of your dreams and are you certain that you really want to marry me as you told me last night?From your Cherry,Malia

Hardvard Case: TA Answers

1. This is a good deal for HPT’s shareholders and they did it for several reasons: First of all, TA’s operating business was spun off for federal income tax considerations. To maintain its status as an REIT for tax purpose, a large majority of HPT’s gross income had to be generated from real estate rents or mortgage interest. To meet these requirements, HPT was forced to divest itself of TA’s operating business. Second, the management of HPT believed that the rental income from TA’s sites would significantly diversify its revenue stream by providing exposure to a historically recession-resistant industry that did not follow the cyclical patterns of the hotel industry. Finally, the spin-off will unlock the hidden value of TA and the shareholder of HPT will receive shares of TA. As a result, this will create value for shareholders of HPT. 2. The HPT use the spin off for several reasons: Carve-out is partial spin-off, only unlocking partial hidden value. Most of the time, an equity carve-out ultimately results in the parent company fully spinning off the subsidiary. For HPT, carve-out can’t help them to avoid tax. Sell-off means selling assets, divisions, and subsidiaries to another corporation. For HPT, since they have just acquired TA, they have no reason to sell it unless there is a bigger profit than the sum of acquisition cost and the spin-off benefit. Issuing tracking stock –no legal separation or transfer of assets from HPT to TA First, issuing tracking stock will dilute the shareholders’ ownership. Instead, new spun off stock has no equity claim on the assets or cash flows of the old parent company (HTP). Second, for tax consideration, issuing tracking stock won’t help HPT to avoid tax. Third, overvalued market moods. if the investors are over-optimistic about the industry of TA, HPT can take advantage of it and have higher capital gain. But there is no evidence that investors have such mood about the TA industry. 3. Number of shares outstanding = 8628425(Exhibit 4), price per share=29 Equity value = shares outstanding * price= $250224325. There is no debt for new TA, cash equals $213205000 (Exhibit 7) Capital lease obligation = $105252000 (Exhibit 7). EV=Equity value+ debt (short+ long)-cash (and equivalents)+capital lease obligation= $142271325= $142. 27 (MM) The HPT gives $213 million to TA in order to cover up real estate properties and help TA to run its business without increasing leverage ratio. Also, it can help create better balance sheet, thus facilitating publicly trading and decreasing default risk by and large. 4. What is the fair value of one share of New-TA? 1) Multiple valuation method We use Pantry (PTRY) as comparable firm from three comparable firms. Because Pantry has a similar business model as New-TA, it leases most of its stores for operation instead of owning them (it owns 368 stores, but leases 1125 stores). Nevertheless, the other two firms own most of their stores, so they are excluded from our selection. Thus, EV/EBITDA=7. 1(data for 2007) Post-acquisition depreciation $18029000(Exhibit 9) P ost-acquisition EBIT $14936000(Exhibit 9) EBITDA = $32965000. (Exhibit 9) Based on our multiple valuations using 7. 1 times of EBITDA multiple, the fair value of New-TA is 234. 05(MM) Equity Value= EV- debt + cash – Capital lease obligation= $341. 99(MM) Price per share= $341. 99mm/8628425= $39. 64 2) DCF method (see Excel) 5. After the spin-off, New-TA has no debt outstanding so that it is easy to finance in the future operation. On top of that, the company’s leverage is low, which decreases the default risk of the company by and large. HPT retains its real estate and gives its operating business to the New TA, hoping that the New TA could focus on the its strong point and develop more aggressively in the market. Besides, there will generate some tax beneficial due to the spin-off transaction, which increases net income of the company. In addition, gross margins of New-TA are incredibly high, encouraging the company to grow at a faster speed and generate large amount of gross profits.

E-Businesss Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

E-Businesss Marketing - Essay Example By doing this an organization faces both the advantages and the disadvantages of conducting business internationally. Advantages include competing with multinational firms and exploiting regions more suited to the products of the firm. The disadvantages include; entering a new country successfully will require studying the culture of the country and adapting to the situation and the potential risk of failing. Security is one of the major issues that are being faced by any organization in the present world. Internet crime has been one of these problems for organizations doing business on the Internet. Viruses and hacking have become very common, steps to reduce these have been taken and are being taken. An organization doing business online must convince its customers that data transmitted about them while buying online is safe from hackers and alteration. This can be done by formulating a security policy that provides the most secure transactions. A good security policy not only builds trust within the consumers but also helps an organization build a reputable image. The organization should also be efficient in responding to potential threats that are present before they harm the organization in any way. Importance to systems privacy is given while formulating a security policy as it determines a user's freedom while using Internet to purchase from the organization's website. Integrity i s also given importance while formulating a security policy as to avoid policies that might hinder the cohesiveness of different systems that are integrated into the E-Business. Another major security issue apart from all these is the physical security of the system. Physical security ensures that a system is safe from physical damage and thefts. Ant viruses help organizations in conducting a secure e-business and Fire Walls help control the traffic flow, balancing activities and stopping unexpected actions. Fire Walls also restricts unauthorized access in the systems. A security system that I have recently been exposed to is McAfee Antivirus system that protects the System from viruses, hackers and different potential threats on the Internet. 3. Some of the specific security objectives for protecting Web business assets and customer privacy are: - How do you protect client computers from security threats - How do you protect information as it travels through the Internet communication channel - How do you protect the security of Web server computers Pick any one of these topics to give your discussion contribution. Protecting Client Computers from security threats is not a very easy task to accomplish but it's the most important one too. Until and unless a client computer is safe it's impossible to conduct e-business with trust. The main threats are hackers

Is MacIntyre's Critique of Modern Ethics Convincing Essay

Is MacIntyre's Critique of Modern Ethics Convincing - Essay Example It continues to point out to the inconsistencies and the groundless nature of major assumptions made in his philosophies. His argument of superiority of certain traditions is also criticized as well as other inconsistencies in his criteria. In After Virtue, when he says â€Å"one has to find its moral identity in and through its membership in communities,†1 he rejects the concept of individuality in moral issues. Lastly, this paper explores Hegel’s speculative logic of metaphysics as a contrary philosophy to Macintyre’s. MacIntyres Critique of Modern Ethics is not convincing. His claims that the ethical theory and practice are incomprehensible is groundless. The recipients of his criticism are the emotive who believe in the doctrine of emotivism. For them, the value upheld and the metaphysical aspects of people are attributes that are derived from own personal preference as opposed to adherence to objective validity. In this case, considering something to be good is not a root of making a rational moral decision, instead that is only based on personal preference. As such, MacIntyres critique is based on three major pillars as proposed by Aristotle (Brodie 1991). The first pillar considers the moral agent in the amateur person, the second one is the moral agent when one already has comprehension of is telos, and lastly, moral considerations that enhance facilitation between stages (MacIntyre 1999). Modernity fails to uphold the second pillar as the normative concept of telos cannot be used as a deter minant of good of bad behavior in the society. In this case, the good traits of an individual has to be eliminated, even if it is highly beneficial to the members of the society. This has to happen so that one can adopt new and alternative forms of norms other than the original one. It is only after such a disconnection that one can say that something about that traditional or society is good or one can qualify to understand the

The Benefits and Dangers of Nuclear Energy Essay - 1

The Benefits and Dangers of Nuclear Energy - Essay Example Controlled nuclear fission is used to generate electricity and uncontrolled nuclear fission is used to make nuclear weapons, such as atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs. Nuclear fission also produces a large amount of nuclear wastes. â€Å"In nuclear weapons, fission and fusion of certain slightly radioactive materials release energy in a huge explosion† (Medalia, 2004, p. 1). â€Å"The element uranium is the main fuel used to undergo nuclear fission to produce energy since it has many favorable properties. Uranium nuclei can be easily split by shooting neutrons at them. Also, once a uranium nucleus is split, multiple neutrons are released which are used to split other uranium nuclei. This phenomenon is known as a chain reaction. Nuclear Fusion: Nuclear fusion is the process of joining two atoms smaller than iron such as hydrogen or helium to produce heavier atoms and that large amount of energy is produced in this reaction, which is much more than the energy produced by nuclear fission. Nuclear fusion is the main source of energy in the universe because all the stars including the sun produce energy by nuclear fusion. Other than nuclear fission, man has not yet discovered a method to control nuclear fusion, and nuclear fusion is not used to generate electricity. Scientists are working hard to discover a method to control nuclear fusion so that it can be used to generate electricity. Nuclear fusion is only used in hydrogen bomb which is the deadliest weapon humanity has ever seen. The temperature required to start a nuclear fusion is so large that it is provided by the explosion of an atom bomb. Benefits of Nuclear Energy: The largest advantage of nuclear power is that it does not emit any harmful gases to the atmosphere like carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, or nitrogen dioxide, that is, no green house gasses like carbon dioxide is emitted to the atmosphere, and so using nuclear fuel can reduce global warming. As nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide are not emitted, acid rains can also be reduced. The only emission from nuclear reactors is water vapor. Hence nuclear energy is known as clean energy. â€Å"It is difficult to explain to a non-specialist (though it is actually true) that the nuclear reactor of a nuclear power station is nothing like an atomic bomb, that the power station burning coal or oil offers much greater danger and harm to the environment as well as a biological threat to people than does a nuclear station or breeder reactor of the same capacity rating† (Sakharov, 1978, p. 12). â€Å"Although the initial cost of building nuclear plants is high, th e running costs are relatively low. One reason the costs are low is that nuclear plants need only a small amount of uranium to produce a lot of energy. In fact, if the cost of uranium is doubled, costs would only be increased by 7%. 1 truck of uranium produces as much energy as 1000 trucks of coal!† (Advantages of Nuclear Power, 2012). Efficiency: Another major advantage of nucl

Compare TWO different approaches to the study of food, and discuss Essay

Compare TWO different approaches to the study of food, and discuss what you find attractive or unhelpful about them - Essay Example Furthermore, an underlying framework cannot remain constant since it is susceptible of transformation under external stimuli. Both structuralism and post-structuralism tend to provide a theoretical framework that can help in understanding how cultures are affected by their food and cooking practices but post-structuralism provides a relatively flexible approach that accepts human influence and effects of historic events on culture. In order to understand the nature and behaviour of food with the help of structuralism, it is important to analyze the framework of this approach. Structuralism is an inspired phenomena hailing from Gestalt psychology. Gestalt’s theory attempts to find out a rationale ground of how human mind works and derives patterns out of random or unobvious events. This approach further explains that events, individuals or objects having same attributes tend to form an alliance and stay together. Similarly, structuralism is an approach through which human behav iour can be analyzed with the help of different frame of references networked together. This network of relationships helps in identifying the actual position of a norm, ritual or an object in human life. Through this framework, early linguists and anthropologists tend to identify the signs showing common indications. Therefore, structuralism became synonymous with semiology. These semiotics or doctrines of semiology helped the literary thinkers to deduct common patterns from folk tales that helped in understanding relations of cultures to each other and their further evolution along with rationales of various norms and traditions. Although this approach was a result of literary research performed by Ferdinand de Saussure and Vladimir Propp however it was given a broader definition in 1960s by Claude Levi-Strauss. Levi-Strauss used this approach to analyze human patterns of kinship and myths. This research was further extended by various others such as Mary Douglas. Levi-Strauss per formed his further research to identify the reasons for existence of similar myths present in different cultures. He explained that no myth has a value in its singular form and in order to have a meaning; it is supposed to have a certain place in myth’s network or structure. Hence, myths exists universally and they are source of resolutions to social conflicts. Along with myths, rituals and traditions, food and activities related to it play a vital role in understanding relationships existing between cultures. Levi-Strauss (1966, 1970) helped in identifying common patterns among different cultures and segregated the manner of culinary art of cooking in three fundamental categories i.e. boiling, roasting and steaming. These fundamental cooking principles indicated that through norms and methods adopted by a group of people, a meaning is produced in a culture which is reproduced and evolved through other peripheral practices. Activities as diverse as food preparations and exist ence of millions of recipes concluded that there were some common factors underlying in these cultures and they indicated a particular pattern of kinship that is known to different groups and individuals existing in a society, operating at unconscious level

Transitions for children with special needs Literature review

Transitions for children with special needs - Literature review Example These points of transition are especially significant in the lives of the child and their family, involving considerable stress and challenges for families, children, receiving, and sending staff. Several theoretical frameworks exist that are significant in the conceptualization of the process of transition, especially for children with special needs. These include the Bio-ecological Model, the McCubbin and McCubbin Resiliency Model of family stress, adjustment, and adaptation, and the Conceptual Transition Model. Avalos-Snyder & Haugen (2014: p54) expounds on the Bio-ecological Model, discussing its focus on the development of children with special needs within the context of their immediate environment and their family, as well as the more distal and larger influences portended by the wider community. Relationships and interactions are viewed as being influential on the child’s development, occurring with the passing of time. Transition of children with special needs to school is characterized in this manner, in which the child is placed in the middle of the entire process and is influenced by their interactions with the immediate environment. McCubbin and McCubbin’s resiliency model of family stress, adjustment, and adaptation, as discussed by Rosenkoetter et al (2008: p34), concentrates on the vulnerabilities and strengths of the child’s family, such as the family’s ability to assess their child’s situation, problem solving, family functioning patterns, and their utilization of coping skills. The model uses these factors together in combination with consideration of the resources that are available to the family in its exploration of how these families adjust to change in the initial stages, as well as how they adapt to crises that they face. Dockett et al (2011: p49) applies the resiliency model of family stress, adaptation,

Student Counseling Service Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Student Counseling Service - Research Proposal Example b. Question #2: The wording of the question must change as: Which of the following best describes your age The responses given are ambiguous, e.g. 19 - 20 years; 20-25 years and so on. Where would the age of 20 years be captured The correct responses should be: Less than or equal to 18 19 to 20 21 to 25 26 to 30 and so on. d. Question #4: The question can be restated as: What is your religious affiliation Closed-ended options could be provided in the response list: Protestant Christian Roman Catholic Jewish Evangelical Christian Muslim Hindu Buddhist Others (please specify) e. Question #5: This is an ambiguous double barreled statement. Two issues, namely, cultural and religious, are mixed up here. It would be prudent to separate the two issues, and use a Likert scale for capturing the responses. The restated questions could be: In your opinion, the primary reason for seeking counseling service is: f. Question #6: The word "crises" is an inconsistent usage of terminology. Also, the period during which the services have been sought is not explicit. The question should be restated as: How many times between June 2005 and June 2007, have you used counseling service In the response list, 'several times', 'regular basis' is ambiguous. The response options should be recast as: Less than or equal to 5 6 to 10 11 to 15 16 to 20 h. ... Asian - Pacific Islander Native American Others (please specify) d. Question #4: The question can be restated as: What is your religious affiliation Closed-ended options could be provided in the response list: Protestant Christian Roman Catholic Jewish Evangelical Christian Muslim Hindu Buddhist Others (please specify) e. Question #5: This is an ambiguous double barreled statement. Two issues, namely, cultural and religious, are mixed up here. It would be prudent to separate the two issues, and use a Likert scale for capturing the responses. The restated questions could be: In your opinion, the primary reason for seeking counseling service is: Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly Disagree Agree Cultural factors: Religious factors: f. Question #6: The word "crises" is an inconsistent usage of terminology. Also, the period during which the services have been sought is not explicit. The question should be restated as: How many times between June 2005 and June 2007, have you used counseling service In the response list, 'several times', 'regular basis' is ambiguous. The response options should be recast as: Less than or equal to 5 6 to 10 11 to 15 16 to 20 g. Question #7: Not found... reflects casual approach to survey design h. Question #8: The question posed is not amenable to an objective analysis. A Likert scale is recommended. The question could be recast as: In your opinion, how would you rate the interactions of counseling staff with you: Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly Disagree

MSc International Management Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

MSc International Management - Dissertation Example Cultural diversity is a trend in the age of globalization. Meanwhile, the demand for localized products is growing. Adaptation is one innovation that global organizations have to apply in their marketing strategies to adjust to cultural differences. McDonald’s UK is the main focus in our study of standardization and adaptation. McDonald’s originally came from the United States. When it penetrates foreign markets, it has to adapt to the cultures of the country of destination. This is what they call adaptation, as opposed to standardization of products. McDonald’s UK suffered rough sailing in the initial stages. Later on, it adapted strategies. How the company did it is a test of the company’s desire to succeed is the primary focus of this paper. There are criticisms that McDonald’s do not apply diversity in its marketing strategy and that as an international organization, it is an agent of globalization. Adaptation is coping with a culture of a count ry where an organization operates. If an organization wants to do business in a country with a different culture, it has to adapt. It always has to cope with the local culture. Cross-cultural aspects affect the people in the organization, including organizational knowledge, marketing, product mix, etc. International organizations have their own way of doing international marketing. Some modify a little of their products and strategies, or adapt to the culture and behavior of the local community. 2. Literature Review A remarkable gap between standardization and adaptation is that it is still one of the controversial issues and has always been a subject of debate among international companies since 1961 (Vignali and Vrontis 1999; Elinder, 1961 cited in Vrontis et al., 2009). To date, international companies still battle over which one to choose. There have been numerous studies conducted on these two subjects but it remains a hot topic for discussion (Vrontis et al., 2009). Vignali an d Vrontis (1999 cited in Vrontis et al., 2009) stated that the debate started as far back as 1961 when advertising was one of the primary topics. Multinational companies wanted to standardize advertising, and to further apply it to other promotional mix and marketing mix. Until now the debate whether to standardize marketing (or to adapt new products) remains a focal point for discussion (Schultz and Kitchen, 2000; Kanso and Kitchen, 2004; Kitchen and de Pelsmacker, 2004; Vrontis et al., 2009). Ryans et al. (2003 cited in Vrontis et al., 2009, p. 478) pointed out that academic research on this subject has covered much of the literature on marketing. They pointed out that because of globalization, there has been a surplus of exports over imports, prompting international companies to minimize cost of production. However, firms realized that it was necessary to answer or meet the needs and wants of consumers. Meeting the needs and wants of customers is a primary marketing strategy of i nternational companies nowadays. A study was conducted by Hite and Fraser in 1988 on whether firms used standardization or adaptation in their international trade and business throughout many countries. The study utilized a sample of 418 Fortune 500 companies, and the findings were varied and, in fact, surprising. The respondents comprised of 66 percent international firms who advertised internationally, but of this percentage, only 8

Global Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global Business Strategy - Essay Example This further asserts that liberalism and structuralism dominates and applies to WTO system as an organization that is weaving global influence in world political economy. Liberalism, National Protectionism and Structuralism Liberalism theory is etymologically derived from individual’s love of freedom and democratic principles. Applied to governance, liberalism adheres to liberal democracy which is inclined to more peaceful administration of government. Pluralist liberalism contends that the inequitable distribution of power cause gaps and may result to international conflict while economic liberalism rest on economic interdependence of states to establish peace and cooperation (WTO, 2011). In regulatory processes, liberal policies and foreign relations are driven by the principle of accommodation. Under liberalism, individuals and private groups seek to promote their independent interests within the context of differentiation, individual autonomy and an unlimited competition b y seizing either absolute or comparative advantage (Roy, 2011). It seeks to limit the role of the state in the economic activities. Economic nationalism, on the other hand, refers to the set of policies which regulate the capital generation, economic control, labor management. Capital generation also deals with tariff imposition and some restriction on the movement of labor, goods and capital (The Economist, 2009). It is contrary to globalization, liberalization and unrestricted free trading. It seeks to assert the role of the state in managing national economy. Cross-national trading is consistent to economic protectionism and import substitution. As a consequence of this, economic protectionism extols the imposition of tariff trade to control national involvement in international trading and encourage their local industries to cultivate their business, unions and market for domestic competitiveness (Economist, 2009). Roy (2011) pointed that a country barring economic liberalizatio n would confront problem on decreasing trade relations and poor strategy in trade management. Under mercantile operations, protectionist economy prefer the exclusive trading within a region or country, hence, their raw materials and resources are not exported but are utilized for its own populace. Developing internal competitiveness proved advantageous for them to nourish their independence, inventiveness and innovation in managing domestic markets (Economist, 2009). It’s likewise aimed at stimulating its economy, free from external compulsion and to revolve their finances within. It is against foreign acquisition of national resource for multinational-sourced developments. Structuralism is a theory which focuses on framework or models about how an institution or organization coordinate and interrelate for the full completion of their tasks Structuralism relates to the ties of government and its people in an interrelated social fabric and operation of governance (Balaam & Dil ham, 2010). In trading, this points to the relation of investing countries to host nations in international trading relations. Since structure binds people, the political and economic relations are likewise sensitive to system of social behavior, culture, economic dynamism or political processes. It illustrates some frameworks and policies that are maybe extensive, diverse and sometimes complicated, especially on international market relations between less developed countries and the industrial or

Critical Review of Danger Boy Essay Example for Free

Critical Review of Danger Boy Essay Mark Williams’ â€Å"Danger Boy: Ancient fire† is set in 2019. It is a science fiction and time travelling novel. The text explores the effects of building a time machine. In Mark Williams’ novel, he examines the negative impact of futurist technology. Although the concept of time travelling may seem appealing at first glance, there is an ultimately destructive consequence that comes with it, like losing a love one. The novel opens with an argument between Eli’s father, Sandusky, and Mr Howe, a representative from a government department. Mr Howe persuades Sandusky to invent a machine that can slow down time in a force field. Sandusky’s wife, a scientist, assists Sandusky to invent the time travelling machine but she is sucked into the machine and travels back in time. Therefore, Sandusky is urged to produce another time machine that can slow down time with a more stable core. Upon starting up the machine, a piece of old paper emerges. Eli reaches for the newspaper and gets sucked into the year of Alexandria (415 C. E). Eli and his companion, a dinosaur and an Alexandrian, seeks to reunite Sandusky’s wife, returning to the present day life and save the world from the fatal disease that has slipped through time. The novel is structured by different narrative perspectives, in which different characters narrate the story from their personal point of view and experience. This type of structure of narrative point of views offers the reader a different perspective of the world from three characters: Eli, Clyne and Thea. The writer’s intention here may be to demonstrate the reality is never black or white, but can be interpreted and understood in different ways in different individuals. However, the one limitation to this type of structure is that the reader may experience confusion in attempting to understand the flow of the story, in which disputes the coherency of events. There are no obvious clues to indicate the change of the protagonist. The only visible clue available is the chapter title and the narrator’s name. Hence, this confuses us in terms of identifying the protagonist. As the reader continues to read, they will encounter an acronym many times before it gives its meaning. There are instances in the text when certain words such as â€Å"WHOMPEs† suddenly appear, which disrupts the flow of the story. Reading this novel for the first time will confuse the reader. As the reader progresses through the novel, Sandusky explains to Eli what a â€Å"WHOMPERs† is. It is a â€Å"Wide Orbiting Massless ParticlE Reversers. † The writers intention suggest that the scientific invention is an abstract idea which is foreign to humanity. The author uses a stream of consciousness to enable the reader to engage with the thought process of the character. When Sandusky answered Eli’s question about time, he replied ‘you go into the Fifth Dimension†¦hard to tell the difference between time and space, or when and where. Or even who and what. † This encourages the reader to think and be in the mind of the narrator. This is a really good idea for advanced readers who want to think beyond the novel. Williams’ got inspired to write the novel by his son. He got the idea when his son was running down the hallway yelling out â€Å"I’m a Danger Boy! † The novel’s setting is based on where he lives, which is LA. There could be a connection between the novel’s setting and where he lives. One connection is that LA is a place for relaxation and tourism. The main character travels to LA with his father to relax a bit after the tragic incident. One of the major themes in â€Å"Danger Boy† is time traveling. Time traveling is frequent in the novel. It happens when ever Eli puts his â€Å"WHOMPER† charged baseball cap on. Another theme them is history. History is shown in this novel from many perspectives. It is seen by going back in time to Alexandria (415 C. E). The main motif in the novel is a baseball cap. It is a motif because it’s a device that allows Eli to time travel. Without the baseball cap, Eli would just be like any other ordinary kid. This novel can be compared with Audrey Niffenegger’s â€Å"The Time Traveller’s Wife†. The two novels involve the same themes; history and time travelling. In â€Å"Danger Boy† Eli becomes a time traveller after he touches a time machine. He travels back in time to Alexandria. He can control when he wants to time travel, but can’t control on where it’ll take him. In â€Å"The Time Traveller’s Wife† Henry is born with a genetic disorder. This genetic disorder allowed him to time travel. There was one thing that he can’t control. It is where he lands from time travelling and when he time travels. Ultimately, Williams has created an adventurous and exciting novel. The book was exciting because it produced tension into whether the protagonists find Margret or not. The writer produced a text that was a bit difficult to read and establishment of the main character. The author shaped the words in the sentences really strangely which sometimes doesn’t make sense or it is not suitable, so the reader needs to re-read it to understand it. This novel should be raising questions about time travel, especially in the future.

Drug Discovery and Development Processes

Drug Discovery and Development Processes INTRODUCTION The human body is a miracle but it is also extremely vulnerable. Many illnesses and disorders are still untreatable. Fortunately science is always evolving. It is unravelling more and more secrets about how our body works and which process is occurring in conditions of sickness or health. The challenge is to use our scientific knowledge to discover new, innovative drugs, a new hope for the patients all over the world. Drug Designing or Drug Discovery and Development is an inventive process of finding new medications based on understanding of the biological target. Vast majority of drugs are small molecules designed to bind, interact and modulate the activity of specific biological proteins. These proteins which may also be receptors bind to and interact with other molecules to perform the numerous functions required for the maintenance of life. In many illnesses, one or more proteins or receptors in the body are not working correctly. That is what the scientists try to detect. If they discover which proteins or receptors cause an illness then these same proteins become the target for the development of a new drug. Thus, the target is the naturally existing cellular or molecular structure involved in the pathology of interest that the drug-in-development is meant to act on. Drugs work by interacting with target molecules (receptors) in our bodies and altering their activities in a way that is benef icial to our health. In some cases, the effect of a drug is to stimulate the activity of its targets (an agonist) while in other cases the drug blocks the activity of its target (an antagonist). DRUG DISCOVERY PROGRAMME A drug discovery programme initiates because of a disease or a clinical condition for which a suitable medical product is not available. It is this unmet clinical need which is the underlying driving motivation for the project. Developing a drug from an original idea to the launch of the finished product is a very labor-intensive, time consuming and expensive procedure which can take over 14 years to complete. Target-based drug discovery starts with a thorough understanding of the disease mechanism and the role of enzymes, receptors or proteins within the disease pathology. The initial research would include experimental procedures to identify proteins responsible of the disease and generation a hypothesis that the inhibition or activation of those protein or pathway will result in a therapeutic effect in a disease state. The outcome is the selection of a target which may require further validation prior to progression into the lead discovery phase in order to justify a drug discovery effort. During lead discovery an intensive search ensues with the help of a technique called High Throughput Screening (HTS) to find a drug-like molecule or biological therapeutic, typically termed as a development candidate, that will progress into the preclinical, and if successful, into clinical development and ultimately be a marketed medicine. Drug discovery process from target identification and validation through to filing of a compound and the approximate timescale for these processes. FDA: Food and Drug Administration; IND: Investigational New Drug; NDA: New Drug Application. DRUG TARGETS One of the most important steps in developing a new drug is target identification and validation. A target is a broad term which can be applied to a range of biological entities such as proteins, genes and RNA. A drug target is a key molecule involved in a particular metabolic or signal transduction pathway that is specific to a disease condition or a specific disease. Knowing the cellular targets of drugs is crucial if the process of drug discovery is to be made more efficient. Identifying the full spectrum of targets associated with a bioactive small molecule can lead to faster optimization, understanding of off-target side effects and the ability to minimize possible toxicities early on in the process. It is vital to have as much evidence as possible to support a target of choice before investing more resources in the target. Good targets share several features: involvement in a crucial biological pathway; distinction from any previously known target; functionally and structurally characterized; and druggable. A ‘druggable’ target is accessible to the putative drug molecule and upon binding elicits a biological response which can be measured both in vitro and in vivo. It also needs to be efficacious, safe, meet clinical and commercial needs. When searching for novel drug targets, candidates can be assessed according to how many of these features they have, as well as participation in a biological process critical to the disease. Identification of the target is followed by its validation which a process of physiologically, pathologically and pharmacologically evaluating a biomolecule. It might be performed at the molecular, cellular or whole animal level. The potential drug target is then subject to high-throughput screening against a library of drug-like compounds or to rational drug designin g. However, the term ‘drug target’ itself has several limitations. The following points should be kept in mind: First, a drug is disease-dependent, that is, every target is involved in a spectrum of diseases. Second, most human diseases are rather complicated and involve a number of risk factors, so there clearly are many different targets with respect to a specific disease. Targeting a specific target could not conceivably cure a disease. Third, there are many drugs targets the same target and one drug may have more than one target. The relationship between a drug and its target is not one-to-one but many-to-one. According to whether there are drugs available, a drug target can be classified into two classes: established drug targets and potential drug targets. The former are those for which there a good scientific understanding, supported by a lengthy publication history regarding both how the target functions in normal physiology and how it is involved in human pathology. Furthermore, there are many drugs targeting this target. The latter are those biomolecules whose functions are not fully understood and which lack drugs targeting them. Potential targets suggest directions for complete new drug research. At present, the most frequent protein targets for which successful drugs have been developed include proteases, kinases, GPCRs and nuclear hormone receptors. GPCRs and enzymes represent the most important classes of proteins for drug discovery. According to the DrugBank database, there are 435 effect-mediating drug targets in human genome. These structures are targets of 989 unique drugs, through 2,242 drug-target interactions. The dataset shows that receptors make up the largest group of drug targets: 193 proteins (44%) of the human drug targets) are receptors, and 82 (19%) of these are G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). In overall dataset, ~36% of drug targets are GPCRs. Ligand-gated ion channels are second largest receptor target class followed by receptor tyrosine kinases at the third place. Enzymes are the second largest group of target proteins in the human genome, comprising 29% of all human drug targets. Hydrolases are the most common class of enzymatic drug targets, comprising 49% of all human enzyme drug targets followed by oxidoreductases and transferases comprising 27% and 19% respectively. In addition, the majority (78%) of the enzyme targets are soluble proteins and not membrane-associated proteins. E.g.; cyclooxygenase 1 and cyclooxygenase 2, which belong to the oxidoreductase family are targeted by acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin).

Macbeth Summary: Selfish Ambitions

Macbeth Summary: Selfish Ambitions The play begins with the brief appearance by three witches and then moves to a military camp where the Scottish King Duncan hears news about his generals, Macbeth and Banquo. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also prophesy that Macbeths companion Banquo will beget a line of Scottish kings, although Banquo will never be king himself. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him. When Duncans death is discovered the next morning, Macbeth kills the chamberlains and easily assumes the kingship. Macbeth hires a group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. They ambush Banquo, but they fail to kill Fleance, who escapes. At a feast that night a ghost visits Macbeth. Macbeth goes to see the witches they show him a sequence of demons and spirits who present him with further prophecies: Macbeth is relieved by the prophecies given to him. Prince Malcolm, Duncans son, has succeeded in raising an army in England, and Macduff joins him as he rides to Scotland to challenge Macbeths forces. Before Macbeths opponents arrive, Macbeth receives news that Lady Macbeth has killed herself. When Macbeth learns that the English army is advancing on Dunsinane shielded with boughs cut from Birnam Wood, fulfilling half of the witches prophecy Macbeth is afraid. On the battlefield, Macbeth encounters the vengeful Macduff, who declares that he was not of woman born but was instead untimely ripped from his mothers womb. Though he realizes that he is doomed, Macbeth continues to fight until Macduff kills and beheads him, Malcolm is now the King of Scotland. Shakespeare utilizes imagery, symbol and hyperbole to expose the consequence of wanton ambition. Macbeth is a play in which the characters provide the reader with gory descriptions of carnage as the result of some sort of ambition. The description of the battle is rich in imagery as it depicts the savageness of war which smoked with bloody execution, Like Valours minion carved out his passage Till he faced the slave Which neer shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, Till he unseamd him from the nave to the chaps, And fixd his head upon our battlements (1.2.18-23). This depicts the behavior a brave solider such as Macbeth must execute in order to prove his bravery in the field and his willingness to serve his king in hopes of advancing in rank. The only reason a solider fights is for glory and honor both of which are critical in advancing forward in life. Macbeth only fights because he wants to be prompted to a higher rank, which his relentless determination in battle achieves as he is crowned Thane of Cawdor. The blood that stains Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are symbols of guilt for committing a murder merely for attaining more power Heres the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand (5.1.4345) This line by Lady Macbeth is rich in imagery, Shakespeare allows the reader to experience the horror that accompanies murdering someone. The bloods stench is so strong that not even Arabian scents, which are a luxury, can mask the foul smell of another mans blood. On a deeper level the blood which is equivalent to the murder has stained her not only her physical body but her soul and no matter what she tries to do she will always be tainted by that act. Macbeth is a perfect example of this when he has murdered king Duncan and feels that he can do nothing to wipe his hands clean of the blood; Will all great Neptunes ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas in incarnadine, Making the green one red.'(2.2.5859) Neptune is an allusion to the Roman god of the sea whose waters could not wipe the blood symbolic of the murder, meaning guilt, from Macbeths hands. Shakespeare uses hyperbole to captivate the readers attention that murder is in reconcilable when done for selfish reasons. Purpose: As a well know Satirist, Shakespeare goes to great extent to expound the consequences of harboring unbridled ambition. During this time Britain was divided into three parts, England, Scotland and. As a result of this fractured state Shakespeare witnessed much political turmoil at the hands of ambitious men. Shakespeare shares his disdain towards these temperaments through the story of Macbeth. The results of unchecked ambition are numerous, the betrayal that must take place for you to complete your goal, the guilt that overwhelms you and those close to you when you succumb to that ambition and do anything to fulfill it and the vengeance it erects in those who have been affected by unbridled ambition. In an attempt to get rationalize the murder of King Duncan; Macbeth concludes that he has no real reason to kill the king, other than his own ambition to become king. The results of this action demonstrates the dangers of unchecked ambition I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which oerleaps itself And falls on the other. (1.7). The quote is ironic because Macbeth recognizes the dangers of acting on such ambitions and realizes that it will most likely lead to his downfall but he still follows through betraying King Duncan who had just promoted and admired him for his loyalty and honor. The consequences of fulfilling your selfish ambitions are devastating to your psyche. By committing the murder Macbeth rapidly degenerates from the honorable solider he was, to a deceiving King who is void of any magnanimous qualities. From this instant, Theres nothing serious in mortality: All is but toys: renown and grace is dead; the wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees is left this vault to brag of (2.3) this is verbal irony because the other characters in the story believe he is being sincere about the murder but at this moment he is relinquishing himself of any personal qualities that may prevent him from being the cold and aggressive man Lady Macbeth wanted him to become. Further irony presents itself when Lady Macbeth exclaims as she sleepwalks Out, damned spot! out, I say! (5, 1) this is an outward manifestation of her inward guilt. After the murder of King Duncan both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth beginning to degenerate, Macbeth becomes a calculating tyrant while Lady Macbe th begins to feel guilt for her role in the deaths of Banquo and Macduffs family. The degeneration of the human mind is complete when Lady Macbeth commits suicide and Macbeth refuses to retreat despite knowing he is going to die. The downfall of Macbeth was that he allowed his ambition to take control of his life. Macbeth allowed other to influence his desires, like, Lady Macbeth and the witches. His mindset was morphed and because of this he gave into the wants and perceptions of other instead of being true to himself.

East Goes West :: essays research papers

One of the first works of fiction written by an Asian immigrant to the United States, Kang's novel describes his early adulthood with a poignant humor that touches not only on his most positive experiences in a new country--such as being befriended by other Korean Americans--but also on some of his worst: the time when college classmates convinced him to run a race in long underwear. Kang, however, never forces us to feel sorry for him; simply by relating his experiences to us in a uniquely crafted language that reflects both his extensive literary training and his own quirky sense of style, Kang manages to win our sympathy for an obviously gifted young man who faces discrimination and hardship during his first years away from home His struggle was long and hard, but he made the reader see the full picture. The joys, the downfalls, and even the times where he thought he could just give up. By making us relate to him, the reader could understand what they so previously where obliviou s to. I responded very favorably to his view of Korean culture but found his criticism of American culture distasteful.I did not fully receive the effect of Kang's humor until reaching the final sentence of the story. Before the final scene, Kang's wit serves the purpose of elevating the Asian Han in the eyes of his audience, but ultimately, it has a more serious, lingering effect. Ironically, it reveals the life of this character to be tragic, hopeless, and not at all amusing. The final line, delivered by Han's mistress, dismisses him from his post, for she requested "a house servant, not a comedian" (2001). Kang thus suggests here that regardless of the amount of effort Han puts into his work and no matter how honest his intentions, he will never be taken seriously nor given a chance to assimilate and improve upon his mistakes. Although he was expected "to work from morning to night" and "had never had to work so hard in his life with no time to himself," his intentions were never regarded as anything but lazy and laughter provoking. Upon learning that he is to be fired, he offers one final, wholehearted attempt to please an unsatisfiable woman: "But hoping still to make good, I dragged the vacuum cleaner in to do the living room, my usual morning task. The girl as usual giggled when she saw me. East Goes West :: essays research papers One of the first works of fiction written by an Asian immigrant to the United States, Kang's novel describes his early adulthood with a poignant humor that touches not only on his most positive experiences in a new country--such as being befriended by other Korean Americans--but also on some of his worst: the time when college classmates convinced him to run a race in long underwear. Kang, however, never forces us to feel sorry for him; simply by relating his experiences to us in a uniquely crafted language that reflects both his extensive literary training and his own quirky sense of style, Kang manages to win our sympathy for an obviously gifted young man who faces discrimination and hardship during his first years away from home His struggle was long and hard, but he made the reader see the full picture. The joys, the downfalls, and even the times where he thought he could just give up. By making us relate to him, the reader could understand what they so previously where obliviou s to. I responded very favorably to his view of Korean culture but found his criticism of American culture distasteful.I did not fully receive the effect of Kang's humor until reaching the final sentence of the story. Before the final scene, Kang's wit serves the purpose of elevating the Asian Han in the eyes of his audience, but ultimately, it has a more serious, lingering effect. Ironically, it reveals the life of this character to be tragic, hopeless, and not at all amusing. The final line, delivered by Han's mistress, dismisses him from his post, for she requested "a house servant, not a comedian" (2001). Kang thus suggests here that regardless of the amount of effort Han puts into his work and no matter how honest his intentions, he will never be taken seriously nor given a chance to assimilate and improve upon his mistakes. Although he was expected "to work from morning to night" and "had never had to work so hard in his life with no time to himself," his intentions were never regarded as anything but lazy and laughter provoking. Upon learning that he is to be fired, he offers one final, wholehearted attempt to please an unsatisfiable woman: "But hoping still to make good, I dragged the vacuum cleaner in to do the living room, my usual morning task. The girl as usual giggled when she saw me.

Cloud Computing Descends Essay -- Cloud Technology, United States, Job

An upgrade to cloud technology over the United States will potentially affect its workplace. It will lead to an increase in job creation all over the world, mostly due to its implementation at various institutions and companies globally and via many other services that will emerge to enhance or regulate this technology. In comparison to the initial machined technology, cloud computing offers instant delivery, simple & customizable usage, easy accessibility, cost reduction, thus increasing efficiency and demand and its wide range of acceptability. This technology, like any other, also has its disadvantages, though they are seemingly negligible in comparison. Cloud Technology is creating many jobs due to its implementation at most of the institutions such as the schools, companies, and even the government. This is to save expenses while increasing the overall efficiency and quality of their services. This will led to the formation of various additional services such as course instructions and certifications at educational institutions, and new companies to ensure the safety of cloud, thus creating more jobs. Even though its critics claim that this technology is decreasing the amount of jobs present in this field, but they fail to notice that the same amount of jobs are required to run the cloud technology and even more are created due to many of the cloud’s additional maintenance requirements. This is properly verified through many of the surveys including those of Microsoft which suggest that a large percentage of the hiring conducted by many tech companies are due to the Cloud Technology. The value of this market is also predicted to increase by six times its current value. As most people are aware of, there are various possibil... ...T Workforce."ZDNet.com. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. Stallman, Richard M. "Cloud Computing Threatens User Freedom and Should Be Avoided." Technology and the Cloud. Ed. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "What Does that Server Really Serve?" Boston Review (18 Mar. 2010). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. "Year for business to look to the heavens - PREDICTIONS 2014 -." Australian [National, Australia] 25 Feb. 2014: 27. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2014. McClure, David. "Federal Policy Fosters Government Adoption of Secure Cloud Computing." Technology and the Cloud. Ed. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "Cloud Computing: What Are the Security Implications." 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2014. Cloud Computing Descends Essay -- Cloud Technology, United States, Job An upgrade to cloud technology over the United States will potentially affect its workplace. It will lead to an increase in job creation all over the world, mostly due to its implementation at various institutions and companies globally and via many other services that will emerge to enhance or regulate this technology. In comparison to the initial machined technology, cloud computing offers instant delivery, simple & customizable usage, easy accessibility, cost reduction, thus increasing efficiency and demand and its wide range of acceptability. This technology, like any other, also has its disadvantages, though they are seemingly negligible in comparison. Cloud Technology is creating many jobs due to its implementation at most of the institutions such as the schools, companies, and even the government. This is to save expenses while increasing the overall efficiency and quality of their services. This will led to the formation of various additional services such as course instructions and certifications at educational institutions, and new companies to ensure the safety of cloud, thus creating more jobs. Even though its critics claim that this technology is decreasing the amount of jobs present in this field, but they fail to notice that the same amount of jobs are required to run the cloud technology and even more are created due to many of the cloud’s additional maintenance requirements. This is properly verified through many of the surveys including those of Microsoft which suggest that a large percentage of the hiring conducted by many tech companies are due to the Cloud Technology. The value of this market is also predicted to increase by six times its current value. As most people are aware of, there are various possibil... ...T Workforce."ZDNet.com. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. Stallman, Richard M. "Cloud Computing Threatens User Freedom and Should Be Avoided." Technology and the Cloud. Ed. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "What Does that Server Really Serve?" Boston Review (18 Mar. 2010). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. "Year for business to look to the heavens - PREDICTIONS 2014 -." Australian [National, Australia] 25 Feb. 2014: 27. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2014. McClure, David. "Federal Policy Fosters Government Adoption of Secure Cloud Computing." Technology and the Cloud. Ed. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "Cloud Computing: What Are the Security Implications." 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.

United States Department of State V. Ray

Marquise Green United States Department of State v. Ray Part I Every year millions of young adults graduate from their respective high schools, pack up their belongings, leave their parental guided homes behind, and set off for college. The first thing that comes to mind when leaving the parents behind is their first true sense of freedom. The freedom to do what they please with no curfew, no guidelines, and no pre-disposed consequences for their actions is the freedom they’ve been working hard throughout the maturing years of their childhood.Upon arrival it seems as though this is the case, but as time passes one realizes that the so called freedom they attained comes with an inherited circumstance. The privacy that you once had in the safety of your home in your bedroom is violated by the inheritance of a roommate and the dorm lifestyle. Some may not have ever had this privacy due to their initial guardians, but the fact remains, that you have to share your space, time, and livelihood with the accompanied male or female assigned. The right to privacy is protected by many laws in our country’s government.Included in these laws is the Freedom of Information Act in which the case at hand regards. In the United States Department of State v. Ray (502 U. S. 164, 112 S. Ct. 541) a group of Haitians seeking political asylum from our government, using the FOIA as a precedent for their reasoning, sought to receive the names and information withheld from them of Haitian emigrants who were previously sent back to Haiti upon arrival to the United States. The State Department in this case was known as the petitioner (plaintiff) and the respondent (defendant) was the Florida lawyer Michael D.Ray representing the Haitian nationals and his clients. In a more detailed summary, it was stated that a group of Haitians depressed with their countries devastations, sought to illegally immigrate to the U. S. seeking asylum as political refugees. As our nation’s g overnment caught attention of the immigrants, they imposed a plan to apprehend and reinsert the immigrants of who did not qualify for political asylum back into Haiti. Fearing the immigrants’ safety from persecution upon arrival, they comprised an agreement with the Haitian government to restrain from persecuting these individuals for their actions.Also, they set forth a series of interviews with the immigrants to follow up on the agreement’s standing. This is where our case’s foreground was cemented. The remaining Haitian nationals known to be the respondents, made a series of FOIA requests to government agencies for copies of the reports of the interviews the State Department held from the returning Haitians. They wanted to prove that there was indeed a fear of prosecution upon returning to Haiti that entitled the immigrants to asylum in the U. S.The problem at hand was that some of the information they received had been redacted or edited before the Haitian n ationals received them. The State Department’s reasoning is that upon assigning the agreement with the Haitian government and the returning immigrants they interviewed, they vowed that they would not disclose any information of their names and whereabouts for their safety due to an invasion of privacy. The respondents argued that the right to privacy is outweighed by public interest and the Freedom of Information Act gives them the right.The following case was settled in the Supreme Court with Justice Stevens delivering the ruling however, let us start with the District Court’s ruling. The District Court sided with the respondents and held that the invasion of privacy in this situation, giving away the names and addresses of the individuals was of little significance and was dominantly outweighed by public interest in the â€Å"safe relocation of returned Haitians. † They ordered the State Department to surrender the redacted information. Upon reaching the Court of Appeals, they too sided with the respondents though they disagreed with some of the pretenses.They first argued that the privacy of the Haitians was indeed significant given the fact that the respondents wanted the information to contact the returned Haitians directly and to question them, and second, that the returnees were previously promised confidentiality from our government. Though they argued these points, the court concluded that â€Å"the indirect benefit of giving respondents the means to locate the Haitian returnees†¦provided a public value that required disclosure. The Supreme Court then granted certiorari. Here lies a more detailed description of the FOIA.One precedent in the case was from John Doe Agency v. John Doe Corp. which it stated, â€Å"The Freedom of Information Act was enacted to facilitate public access to Government documents. † In the FOIA there are a series of 9 exemptions to disclosure of this information. These are put in place to ensur e the protection of federal agencies and certain information that shouldn’t be viewed by the public. Specifically in this case, Exemption 6 was used by the State Department stating that â€Å"personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Upon further examination of the FOIA and Exemption 6 they lean to the Department of Air Force v. Rose case as a precedent for their decision. The key concept in this exemption which the Court examined is â€Å"†¦a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. † The main points that the Supreme Court derived its decision from were that first; they felt that public interest had initially been satisfied by the disclosure of the redacted interview summaries, and the unredacted documents would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy.They felt that the addition of the redacted files would not give any further information that t he respondents seek. The second, was that the public interest the respondents rely on stems from they might find information outside of the Government files, which inherits â€Å"derivative use† that which the law doesn’t stand for. And finally that the respondents were seeking to attain information with hopes to find evidence that would challenge the integrity of our government officials. The Supreme Court concluded that â€Å"the proposed invasion of the serious privacy interest of the Haitian returnees is clearly unwarranted. With that being said the judgment of the Court of Appeals was reversed. The opinion preceding the decision was made by Justice Scalia and Justice Kennedy concurring in part and in the judgment. They stated that the majority agreed that whether to establish a public interest or to establish an invasion of privacy is impermissible considering derivative uses. They contended that the FOIA would be more sensible if it included â€Å"cause, produc e or lead to† when associating with clearly unwanted invasion of personal privacy.They believed that there shouldn’t have been an argument for Exemption 6. U. S. officials pledged confidentiality knowing that the information regarding the interviews is something that a person would not want to be shared, therefore an invasion of personal privacy. They conclude that there is nothing substantial about the other side’s argument for public interest that can compete, so this is â€Å"clearly unwarranted† and upholds to Exemption 6. Part II In the first case documenting my chosen case as a precedent, Long v. United States Department of Justice (778 F.Supp. 2d 222), petitioners brought action against the Department of Justice attempting to attain records relating to health care providers’ reports of vaccine administration and the reactions of the administration, specifically the vaccine types and dates. The DOJ stated that the reasoning for them withholdin g the information from the public was due to the FOIA’s exemption 6 regarding the personal privacy of the patients. They stated that the information would provide â€Å"specific medical information† about the named individuals.The District Court of New York held however, that even though the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 gives right to health care providers to withhold information, the DOJ had nothing that just justified their decision to withhold the type of vaccine administered or the date of the administration. The Court also stated that the DOJ failed to satisfy the burden of justifying the withholding under Exemption 6. With these findings, the Court initially granted summary judgment in way of the plaintiff and ordered the disclosure of the information.The DOJ then motioned for reconsideration which the Court granted. In reconsideration, the DOJ requested for summary judgment on both the FOIA’s Exemption 3 and 6. First, the DOJ stated that the vaccine types and dates were withheld under Exemption 3, which exempts disclosure by statute, due to statute 300aa-12(d)(4)(A) which prohibits disclosure of this information. The plaintiffs however, argued that the meaning of the word â€Å"information† is too broad and can’t specifically relate to the subject, vaccine types and dates of administration.Further, they contradicted the definition of the word â€Å"information† as defined in the statute to the actual dictionary definition to better prove their position in the argument. Though valid in point, it couldn’t outweigh the substantiality of Exemption 6 in which we find our initial court case as precedent. Exemption 6, stated prior, exempts disclosure of â€Å"personnel and medical files and similar files,† like these, due to a â€Å"clear, unwarranted invasion of privacy. In discussion of Exemption 6, the Court stated that it is set forth to â€Å"protect individuals from the injury and embarrassment that can result from the unnecessary disclosure of personal information. Basically the Court is weighing public interest versus personal privacy like in our original court case. In regards to our previous case’s relevance as a precedent in this case, the vaccine types and dates were linked to docket numbers which revealed the names and medical information of individuals that shouldn’t be disclosed. They quoted United States Dep’t of State v.Ray stating, (â€Å"disclosure of†¦ personal information constitutes only a de minimis invasion of privacy when the identities†¦ are unknown, the invasion of privacy becomes significant when the personal information is linked to particular† individuals). The Court realized that this put the information at risk of invading personal privacy and was the main factor in their final decision. In conclusion the Court ordered the reconsideration of the defendant, vacated the initial motion for summary judgment, and denied the plaintiffs cross-motion to receive the vaccine types and dates of administration.In my second case regarding my chosen case as a precedent, the FOIA’s Exemption 6 was also used to reach a decision. In Sherman v. United States Department of the Army (244 F. 3d 357) action was brought against the army to produce documents relating to service awards. These documents however, included the social security numbers of service personnel. The reasoning for Sherman’s lawsuit was because the Army redacted the SSNs from the documents pursuant to Exemption 6, knowing that this could cause risk for an unwarranted invasion of personnel privacy.The procedure for redaction was relatively expensive and the Army felt that if Sherman wanted the documents he should pay for it. Sherman argued that this was outrageous and that the documents shouldn’t have to be redacted. The U. S. District Court for Southern Texas agreed that this might be a potential personal privacy risk and ruled summary judgment in favor of the Army which later got appealed. In the Court of Appeals is where we find our case’s precedent. There were two main points in which analysis was needed, Sherman’s waiver argument and Exemption 6 balancing.In the waiver argument, Sherman, instead of contesting Exemption 6, argued that the Army uses SSNs publicly in several situations. He used recreational orders and services such as airlines, hotels, and other public organizations. Sherman backed his argument using other cases as precedent and also argued that allowing the Army to withhold material that was already released they will have power to selectively control the power of disclosure for any documents containing SSNs.The Court however, contended that even though the Sherman gave a valid argument that pertains to a group or agency, only the individual whose privacy is protected by Exemption 6 can waiver their individual privacy interests, declining Shermanâ₠¬â„¢s argument. The Court then moved to balancing the sides on the Exemption 6 issue. Basically what they’re doing here is deciding whether the disclosure of SSNs is indeed â€Å"clearly unwarranted† in respects to personal privacy interest. They leaned most of their premise on Congress and the laws that protect personal privacy.In evaluation, they came to the derivative use theory and noticed that certain implications could arise from the disclosure of Sherman’s request. In Justice Scalia’s concurring opinion of United States Department of State v. Ray Scalia states â€Å"†¦solely upon what the requested information reveals, not what it might lead to. † What this means in assessment is that the Army’s claim for defense is because this information could potentially lead to harm to the individuals through the possibility of identity fraud.In the conclusion of the analysis the Court claims that the redaction of the SSNs does not stop the public interest of attaining the award orders. Rather, it protects the individuals from an unwarranted invasion of their personal privacy. In Sherman’s argument he failed to identify that public interest (in the SSNs) would outweigh the personal privacy of the individuals through an unredacted disclosure. The Court reached a decision to affirm the districts court’s summary judgment in favor of the Army.

Exterminate the brutes Essay

â€Å"The Heart of Darkness† by Conrad is one of the great novels of English literature. This novel exposes the greed, malice and selfishness of the European men. They exploit the wealth of Africa in the name of civilizing the natives. They take away their ivory and in return gave them hunger, destitution, poverty, degradation and death. The English men of this novel lack morals and conscience. Conrad observed the hypocrisy of his countrymen and exposed it in a marvelous way in this short piece of art. In this novel he brings before us the nature of â€Å"western superiority† in primitive lands. Reading this story repeatedly, we know that the dark English coast before him recalls for Marlow the darkness of modern Africa, which is the natural darkness of the jungle but more than that the darkness of moral vacancy, leading to the atrocities he has beheld in Africa. This moral darkness of Africa, we learn later, is not the darkness of the ignorance of the natives, but of the Whitman who blinded themselves and corrupted the natives by their claim to be light-bearers. Walter Allen believes that, â€Å"The Heart of Darkness of the title is at once the heart of Africa, the heart of evil- everything that is nihilistic corrupt and malign – and perhaps the heart of man† According to Conrad himself, the story of â€Å"heart of darkness† is about the â€Å"criminality of inefficiency and pure selfishness when tackling the civilizing working Africa†. In the story Marlow makes much of the inefficiency and selfishness he sees everywhere along his journey in Africa. But it is the criminality of the civilizing work itself that receives the heaviest emphasis in the novel as a whole. J. W. Beach believes that Kurtz is the representative and dramatization of all that Conrad felt of futility and horror in what the Europeans in the Congo called â€Å"progress†, which meant the exploitation of the natives by the white men. Kurtz was to Marlow, penetrating this country, a name, constantly recurring in people’s talk, for cleverness and enterprise. But there were slight intimations, growing stronger as Marlow drew near to the heart of darkness, of traits and practices so abhorrent to all our notions of decency, honor and humanity that the enterprising trader gradually takes on the proportion of a ghastly and almost supernatural monster symbol for Marlow of the general spirit of this European undertaking On his journey up the Congo, Marlow comes across the forsaken railway truck, looking as dead as the carcass of some animal; the brick maker idling for a year with no bricks and no hope of materials for making them; the â€Å"wanton smashup† of drainage pipes abandoned in a ravine; burst, piled up cases of rivets at the outer station and no way of getting them to the damaged steam boat at the Central Station; the vast artificial hole somebody had been digging on the slope- all these and many more are the examples of the criminality of the inefficiency. Wilson Follet believed that in this novel, â€Å"the European is shown drained, diseased, a prey to madness and unutterable horror and death†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This proves that the white men over there, except the company’s accountant, are inefficient and selfish. They themselves do nothing, whereas on the other hand they exploit the natives to the maximum, they extract the maximum workout of them and pay them three nine –inch long brass-wire pieces a week, which are insufficient to buy them anything. As such most of the natives are starving and dying. This novel is a very faithful accord of the cruelties and atrocities perpetrated on the natives of Africa by their European masters. Talking of the roman conquest of England, Conrad says, it was â€Å"just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a grand scale, and men going at it blind-as is very proper for those who tackle darkness†. What Romans had done in England, the English did in South Africa. Marlow admits that English conquests, like all others, â€Å"means the taking away it from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves,† though Kurtz went to the African jungle with an idea to civilize the natives; he saw his mission in Africa as that of torchbearer for white civilization. But very soon he starts extracting from the natives human sacrifices to himself as god. Finally, his hatred for the natives plunged to the depth out of which came his prescription of the only method for dealing with primitive people: â€Å"Exterminate the brutes! † The European Whitman in Africa is parasites; they are hollow; they have no personal moral vision of their inhumanity and folly. They are also collapsible, because their society’s institutions are incapable to hold them up. Ivory has become the idol of the foolish run of European pilgrims; and Kurtz is no exception. † all Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz. † Joseph Conrad is a modern artist. He uses impressionistic technique of novel writing in his novel, â€Å" The Heart of Darkness†. The appeal of a novel, Joseph Conrad wrote, â€Å"must be and impression conveyed through senses â€Å". This impression could not be conveyed through the most complete inventory of details; it is an intuitive whole and must be rendered so, instantaneously. † the meaning of an episode is not inside like a kernel but outside enveloping it,† his spokesman Marlow declared. He avoids generalized narrative. He tell us the story in vivid impressions something like Virginia wolf. E. M. Forster in his seminal novel â€Å" A Passage To India’ too discuss some what â€Å"the Heart of Darkness† like situation. This novel discusses in detail the severe clash between the two fundamentally different cultures, those of East and West. The administration and their families residing there represent the westerners. Although these western people wish to maintain good relations with the easterners whom they govern, they have no desire to understand India or Indians. The Westerners rule the natives with an iron hand without caring for justice and fair play.

What Determines Are Destiny

It can be difficult to understand and realize what determines our destiny. There are Contradiction determining if our characteristics and behavior are primarily due to Genetics or the environment in which we live. Many factors and aspects of Lives influence us daily. These factors create different circumstances that lead us to determined our path. Dr. Judith Rich Harris states in the video that the similarity of children to their parents in personality, is entirely genetic†. In the video Dr.  Stanley Greenspan said that if parents feel they have no influence and everything is genetically determined, then they may not do what they need to do to help the babies be flexible, healthy and good capers. The video states that we are born with a set of genes that never change. When we are conceived, two sets of genes are joined into one. From that moment, DNA determines certain characteristics. We can now readily accept that genes determine our eye color, height, blood type, gender and other biological factors. But science has only begun to explore the role that genes play in human behavior. Some People believe that the power of genes, determines all consequence in our lives. But other people say that genes do not determine everything in a person life. There have been countless studies to find out if our destiny is written in our genes or determined by circumstance. Dr William R. Clark thinks that â€Å"Gene may well, determine how we behave in given situations. This way, the behavior can be caused from the Genes, and not by habits or education. Some features and of a person will never change, and other can be easily changed. The male speaker states that one of UCLA immunologist Dr.  William Clark says, that genes help to control how we interpret our environment. In many cases genes can be very useful and there can be a lot of similarities in gestures, talking etc. In many cases this similarities are done by children without knowing that their parents do these things the same way. It is the opinion of Dr. William R. Clark, â€Å"You’re dealt a particular hand of neurotransmitters and neurotransmitters receptors and again together, with other things of course in your biology and in your history, it’s to play out differently in different people. As fact, everything is very ndividual. There are children that are not similar to their parents and very different in character and features. Let consider what Dr. Steven Pinker said , â€Å"There has to be some kind of innate circuitry in place that allows us to create culture and acquire culture and do the learning. It was suggested that they do not operate without some input. Dr William R. Clark thinks that what you choose to learn, how hard you try to learn, and what you do with what you learn, you do some input. The ability to modify our behavior is what allows us to overcome genetic predisposition. In opinion of Dr.  David Moore, different genes are turned on and off in different circumstances. Personally I agree with that and I think that sometimes people act not by the rules made up by society, but by the genetic rules. They do this unconsciously. Speaker also states that â€Å"those circumstances thought maybe very subtle. Consider identical twins born with the same DNA; though raised alike, Nancy and Jenna are quick to point out they are individuals. Jenna says that Nancy was always very pretty spirited, and that she was a little bit more responsible. For each person their individuality is very important. It means being different from each others, doing something special and something that will surprise others. All individual have different interested, characteristics, and skills. People use creativity, through knowledge and new ideas, and implement them in their daily lives. Many people appreciate changes, as they bring a lot of new things. New things always have the upper hand, always attracting people and keeping them motivated. According to Dr. Stanley Greenspan, â€Å"Proper upbringing will depend on lots of nurturing interactions in your all years of life. † Dr Steven Pinker thanks that â€Å"Parents aren’t the only aspects of the environment? There is also the surrounding culture. As a fact, some people believe that in reality, the strongest social influences exist outside the home. Dr. Judith Rich Harris presumes that â€Å"Children live in separate worlds and each world is very important, but there is very little carry over from one world to the other. And what is carried over is whatever is genetic. As stated by Dr. Judith Rich Harris, â€Å"we get our genes from our parents but are guided by our peer. Nature vs. nurture purists believe that we are either molded entirely by our surroundings or our genetic makeup. Personally I think that upbringing is extremely important, and it determines the future character of a person. The children of immigrants do not resemble their parents in the language they’re speaking even in their culture. They resemble the people they grew up with. In a recent study, all that Dr. Judith Rich Harris said was back-up. The greatest influence was found on weather teen drink or smoke, has to do if weather their friends do. External influence can make a great different, as everything depends on the company and friends, who surround the particular person. Dr Judith Rich Harris thinks that â€Å"as long as you are within the normal range of parenting, how your child turns out is not up to you is up to the child. All in all, children and their perception of the situations and the world as a whole determine their habits, their communications skills and abilities. The whole future depends on what child experiences, who he communicates with who these people are. As was stated by child psychiatrist Dr Stanley Greenspan, this attitude can create irresponsible parenting. We encourage parents to be either passive or hopeless or helpless in the phase of certain challenges that they were assumed are genetic. Consequently, the genes and environment are like a dance, working together to make as who we are. Dr Stanley Greenspan thinks that maybe the environment sets the constraints, just as much of genes do . Dr David S. Moore stated that â€Å"if you throw Einstein in a closet, when he’s a baby because he had some insane parent, he would not grow up to be smart, He would wind up like one of those tragic kids who get’s found in a closet. â€Å" To sum it up, it can be stated, that whether it’s parents, peers or genetic predisposition, it seems our destiny our destiny is determined by a blend of factors. Dr. Greenspan is convinced, that â€Å"nature is a lock and nurture has provided the key for that lock. † In the present, scientist continue to study the nature of our DNA and how it reacts to environment as they think they will gain better understanding of the diseases and behaviors that affect our lives. All in all, it is almost impossible to determine our destiny, as the influence on the person’s life is unpredictable and there are many possibilities to change everything and to make a choice. I think both sides of the issue are correct to varying degrees depending on the issue. Obviously we are not able to change our height, shoe size, or natural hair color, but if we are plagued with a trait that is not considered â€Å"normal† that we want to change and do so, by all means we should. I think that upbringing and behavior, and our belief determine our destiny. It comes down to what is in our entire character makeup, and our ability to overcome the negative influences of our environment and take steps to modify the glitches in our personalities. It can be said for sure, that education plays the most important part in a person’s life and it determines the future and success of a person.

Body Shop

Anita Roddick, OBE, and The body Shop International Plc FEDBACK FOR QUESTION WEEK 3 for week commencing 19. 03. 12 1. Evaluate the Financial Position of the Company (at the time of the case study) and comment upon the apparent success or otherwise of its strategy, based on your findings. Introduction We may consider a company’s strategy from a number of aspects, but generally we are interested in answering the question: How well is the company’s present strategy working? To understand and analyse success in terms of strategy, we must begin by understanding what the strategy is.From Thompson, Strickland and Gamble (2012) we might examine the following areas * Identify competitive approach * Low-cost leadership? * Differentiation? * Best-cost provider? * Focus on a particular market niche? * Determine competitive scope * Broad or narrow geographic market coverage? * In how many stages of industry’s production/distribution chain does the company operate? * Examine r ecent strategic moves * Identify functional strategies We can also assess performance in terms of both quantitative measures (financial and strategic achievements against budget, plans, etc. and look to see if its performance is above or below the industry average. We can also look at qualitative measures (such as brand awareness /status, consumer attitudes to the company, and so on). There is only limited information in the case regarding some of these areas, but I will attempt to look first at the strategy followed by Body Shop, then at the financial ratios based on its figures, non-financial measures and then finally draw conclusions that attempt to answer the question.Strategy being followed by Body Shop Porter’s Generic strategies, as amended by Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson (2002) are shown below. If we consider first, their competitive approach, there is no evidence in the case study that Body Shop has any concern about Cost Leadership, and in fact we know from the Tradi ng Charter and Mission (case, page 539) that the firm pays above market rates for goods it buys from suppliers in poorer countries, where it can, which is not something a cost-leadership company would normally do.We also have plentiful evidence from the case that Body Shop occupies a unique position in the cosmetics retailing industry, as it takes a highly principled stance on many issues, as indicated in my earlier answer to question 2, and shown in the firm’s mission statement, which mentions many areas of Corporate Social Responsibility – ecological and ‘green’ issues, human and civil rights, against animal testing of cosmetics, and so on. The company must therefore be following a Differentiation strategy.The question then is whether this is broad or narrow in focus, as suggested by Thompson, Strickland and Gamble, as mentioned earlier – their competitive scope. The decision here rests on how one defines the market: Body Shop is a retailer that a lso manufactures, within the cosmetics industry. It is a specialist retailer, not selling anything apart from its own products and is not configured and structured like bigger retailers such as – in the UK – House of Fraser, Debenhams, Boots, Marks and Spencer or Tesco, all of whom retail cosmetics amongst many other product ranges.I therefore conclude that Body Shop is a Focused Differentiator. Firms that seek differentiation, according to Porter, seek higher profit margins through finding something unique about themselves, which consumers value more than the offerings of competitors. In the case of Body Shop we might see this as being their highly visible and principled ethical stance, and the range of products which they sell, being organic, fair trade and ethically produced and traded, so their competitive approach and scope is Focus Differentiation, as such a stance is not likely to appeal to all shoppers.Similarly, some, at least would be indifferent to the organ ic/fair trade/human rights etc appeal of the stores and others might consider the range of products to be relatively limited and not of sufficiently high brand status, as the products in Body Shop stores fit in price and value terms between the low-cost products offered in stores like Sainsbury and Tesco, and the high-end cosmetics of Helena Rubenstein, Elizabeth Arden etc, sold via stores such as House of Fraser and Debenhams.In terms of recent strategic moves, we can see from the case only that the firm has expanded reasonably quickly, via franchising mostly; from the case it seems that about 80% of stores are franchised out. In terms of functional strategies, we can see the small amount of vertical integration mentioned in the case, whereby the largest part of the business is involved in running the owned shops and franchise, and a small amount of manufacturing in terms of soap products, etc.It is important to note that for the next section, examining Body Shop’s finances, the franchising approach is important, as it has a major impact on revenues – however successful a store is, the majority of revenues will go to the franchisee, not the Body Shop. According to Cavusgil, Knight and Reisenberger (Called CKR in future – from p 246), the initial revenue to Body Shop will be from the franchising fee, but then they will get regular revenues from product sales to the stores and from the royalty fees. This is likely to amount to about 30% of revenue in total (25% from product charges and 5% royalty fee).Body Shop’s Financial Position We are asked to evaluate the firm’s financial position. Briefly, Body shop is a retailer that sells in around 45 countries and uses a mixed mode of Franchising and FDI though investing in owned retail stores. So far as I can tell, about 80% of the 1,208 stores are franchised. Franchising is a particular form of retail expansion, where, according to Cavusgil, Knight and Reisenberger, an entrepreneur buys into an established brand system. The best known franchise is probably McDonalds, but Body Shop is a medium-sized international franchise, given its range of countries and umber of stores (much smaller than McDonalds, which has over 33,000 restaurants worldwide, and annual revenues (2010) of about ? 15 billion. I will come back to this more modern data later in my answer. When examining the financial basis of a business, there are – according to Thompson Strickland and Gamble – five areas which can be studied – 1. Profitability (the profits made by the business on its activities), 2. Liquidity (the ability of a business to pay its debts [creditors] and collect money from customers [debtors]), 3.Leverage (the amount of money invested in the business by shareholder – v – the amounts borrowed from financial institutions, to fund the business and invest in its future), 4. Business Activities (amounts of stock held in the business, how quickly it t urns over, and so on), and 5. Stockholder Interests (the amount of money paid in dividends, value changes in share prices, etc. ) * According to the lecture notes in week 10, Ratio analysis can be used to: * Compare the performance of a company over a period of time. Compare the performance of your own company with that of one of your competitors or the industry sector. * Detect weaknesses in aspects of your operations, e. g. debt management, stock levels etc. which you can improve. * Assess a company's exposure to short term risk through its liquidity (ability to meet debts). * Determine a company's profitability. Much of this data is useful only when considered against the performance of other firms and we have no data from the case to illustrate any of this. However, I have approached the financial situation analysis in two ways.First I look at the basic ratios for the firm and comment on them; second, I have compared the latest data for Body shop, with a number of its contempora ries, both in retail and in franchising, in order to make some valid comparisons. Profitability the commonest ratios are Profit before Interest payments on loans, Taxation, Depreciation and other fixed costs like mortgage payments. Often referred to as operating profit or EBITDA; for Body Shop in 1995 I have calculated this as Profit for the year/turnover*100 (from figures, case pp553/4), this is 33. 5/219. 7*100 = 15. 24%.Calculated in the same way, net profit would be 21. 8/219. 7*100 = 9. 9%. Liquidity the commonest ratio here would be the Current Ratio, which measures balance of current assets against current liabilities, which for Body Shop yields a ratio of 2. 29:1. Similarly the Quick Ratio, which is a similar calculation but ignoring inventory or stock, would yield a ratio of 0. 83:1. This indicates that the business is not perfectly liquid and would struggle a little to pay off all of its debts (a ratio of 1:1 indicating perfection here) – but this is not seen as a p roblem when the ratio is over 0. . Without any share price data it is impossible to calculate meaningful ratios for stockholders, so we can only note that the dividend paid to shareholder appears high, at ? 11. 50 per share for 1995 (case, p. 554). A major measure for stockholders, however, might be Return on Shareholders equity, as this is the best comparison to the return that the investor might make if he or she had invested their money in a bank Savings account. For Body Shop I calculate this as: Net profit/Total Equity*100 or 21. /110. 6*100 = 19. 7%. However, these numbers by themselves, tell us only that the business is profitable and is a sound going concern, with a decent profit margin and a fair coverage against its debts. For shareholder it is making a very good return on invested amounts of nearly 20% – at a time when savings accounts would maybe have yielded 6%) and is paying a handsome dividend. We might conclude that the business is financially sound, therefore .Moreover, using Franchising as a way to expand internationally is a relatively low cost and low-risk method, according to CKR, as the franchisee pays for the initial setting up of the store; the stock; staff recruitment and training; and advertising and promotion. They also pay – in this case – to Body Shop PLC for the stock they must subsequently sell in their store and the franchise royalties on turnover. This is a very effective business model and allows a strategy of international expansion to take place reasonably quickly and at reasonably low risk. Conclusions General comments about the success of the strategy and body Shop’s financesBased on this evidence, it is possible to state that Body Shop’s financial position is clearly comfortable and they appear to have a sensible strategy for international expansion, which is sustainable, in that they have transferred the majority of risk for their expansion to the franchisee. The group should be able to comfortably expand its foreign operations in this manner, for a number of years. However, at the moment, as I indicated in my answer to question 1, the company at present has a very simple structure and this may have to change as the number of stores, and the number of countries in which they operate, continues to grow.We also know, from my answer to question 2, that in terms of what we might call non-financial measures, Body Shop is highly regarded as an excellent example of an Ethical and Corporately Responsible company. We might therefore conclude that both the financial and non-financial evidence as presented supports the view that B0dy Shop is a well-run business and has a sensible strategy that will allow it to expand. Comments updating Body Shop’s Position Without comparative data, however, it is impossible to make much more of an analysis or draw conclusions from the business.We know that the case ends in 1995/6 and that about ten years after this, the firm was sold t o L’Oreal, a very large, French-based cosmetics producer. This caused some controversy as it was not clear if L’Oreal still tested products on animals (they do) and if so, how such a principled owner as Anita Roddick could sell out to a large corporate that seemed to embody many of the things she had supposedly dedicated both her personal and professional life to fighting. However, the sale went ahead and the business has been part of the French company now for 7 years.Today (2011) it has expanded to 2,748 stores, of which 1,639 (59%) are franchised. This is interesting as it tells us that the proportion of franchised stores has fallen since 1995, even though the number of stores has more than doubled in 16 years. This would indicate a change in strategy, but it is not clear whether this was pre or post the L’Oreal takeover. Finally, in order to look at Body Shop in comparative terms, I prepared data for them and a number of rivals, which is presented below. | | Revenue ? billion| EBITDA ? million| EBITDA %| Net profit? million| Net Profit %| House of Fraser| | 0. 596| 36. 8| 6. 7| 8. 2| 1. 3| Debenhams| | 2. 112| 189. 7| 8. 98| 97. 0| 4. 6| Boots| | 23. 330| 1,444. 0| 6. 17| 221. 0| 0. 9| Marks and Spencer| | 9. 50| 852. 0| 9. 00| 523. 0| 5. 5| Tesco| | 60. 93| 3,810. 0| 6. 25| 2,670. 0| 4. 4| Body Shop| | 1. 01| 144. 4| 14. 2| 41. 2| 4. 1| McDonalds| | 15. 06| 4,670. 6| 31. 0| 3,093. 1| 20. 5| I chose data for several large retailers, like Tesco and M&S who sell at least comparative products to Body Shop, House of Fraser and Debenhams because they sell higher level products and McDonalds as the most obvious franchiser example.Regarding the large retailers, although Body Shop remains a small business, internationally speaking (just about ? 1 billion in turnover), its net profit margins are at the top end of those of its retailing rivals, but fall well short of its main franchise rival. My conclusion which I made at the end of question 2â €™s answer – that I am sure the impact of the ethical stance affects the performance of the company – is thus thrown into some doubt, but it would need much more research into the comparative financial data in order to prove or disprove this view.