Historic Preservations Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Historic Preservations - Annotated Bibliography Example Recent studies however show that historic preservations do not hinder economic development but instead can be a powerful economic tool through tourism, entertainment and environmental management (Laurie 38). The book summarizes on the positive impacts historic preservations can make to the economy and different approaches to enhancing the economy through historic preservations. This book can be a useful guide to states and nations that view historic preservations as a hindrance to the growth of their economy. The book was issued six years ago and had recent studies and information on ways to improve the economy through historic preservations. The author has included scholarly publications for reference which can be used for the purpose of more research and other academic works. The book is a viable source for this research because it has information in determining if historic preservation affects the economy of the country. Historic preservation and sustainability are the key concepts of this book. The author has put together works of different authors who attended the National Forum on Historic Preservation Practice, which was held in March in the year 2009 (Longstreth 1). The forum aims at making historic preservations sustainable. The author summarizes on how nations and states can involve the community and its people in the sustainability of historic sites and heritage. Many nations enacted laws, regulations and policies to preserving the environment and historic sites. The author looks at how setting up schemes like irrigation schemes, urban waterworks and agricultural lands can bring sustainable growth to the nation and what consequences can arise from using alternatives that are thought to bring sustainable result. The author wrote this book five years ago and has discussed on the limitations and benefits of historic preservation laws to the public,

Legal and Illegal Immigration in the U.S. Essay Example for Free

Legal and Illegal Immigration in the U.S. Essay Immigration Immigration in the United States has grown to an all time high. Now when someone hears the word immigration they automatically think of illegal immigrants from Mexico. But its people from all countries, legal and illegal. I will give my reasons why the United States should place more restrictions on immigrants. When the two World Trade Center towers where destroyed everyone immediately thought of terrorists. Later United States intelligence linked it to Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden had his people from his army come to the United States and get information on how to carry out his plan. The terrorists even trained on U.S. soil to get more knowledge on how U.S. machinery, security, and aviation works. Now those terrorists came to America legally. Most of the immigrants come here illegally. I think that the U.S. should place troops on the Mexican boarder and the Canadian boarder to minimize the number of illegal immigrants entering the country. Now someone may argue that immigrants contribute to the strong U.S. economy by filling jobs, and even paying taxes. And that tighter restriction would compound the economic harm from the terrorist attacks. But the truth is the nation cant afford to have immigrants in the county when INS cannot track them. Furthermore more the immigrants have taken job opportunities from the native-born Americans, and lowered wages. Im sure that if the United States doesnt fix this problem the unemployment rate will grow much higher in our country. I feel that the United States should place much more restrictions on the people coming into the U.S. Legal and illegally. I have already said that many immigrants have taken many job opportunities away form the native born Americans and that the U.S. cant afford to track them. Now Im not saying that we should ban people from our country, but our nation needs to screen people much better then the way they are now.

how to safely change a flat tire :: essays research papers

How To Safely Change A Flat Tire While changing a flat tire may seem to be simple enough, there are some safety tips you should know first. „h Always park on level ground away from oncoming traffic. „h Always place the gear shift lever in park or in gear in the case of a manual transmission. „h Always set the emergency brake and remove the keys from the ignition. After you have completed each of these procedures you will be ready to change the flat. Step 1: Remove the jack, spare tire and lug wrench. To prevent personal injury, remove the spare before raising the vehicle. Step 2: Remove the wheel cover by prying it away from the rim using the flat end of the lug wrench. If your vehicle is equipped with custom wheel covers or locking lug nuts, consult the owner's manual for proper removal instructions. Step 3: Next loosen each lug nut two full turns. Never remove the lug nuts completely during this step. Step 4: Following the instructions on the jack or in the owner's manual, place the jack under the vehicle as recommended by the car's manufacturer. Then raise the tire approximately two inches from the ground. This will allow enough room to remove the flat and replace it with the spare. WARNING: Never place your hands or feet under the vehicle or tire once it has been raised. Step 5: Now remove all of the lug nuts. When removing the lug nuts place them inside the wheel cover. This will make it easier to find them to put them back on. If you have trouble loosening a stubborn lug nut, spray it with WD-40 and let it set for about two minutes. This will help make the job easier. Step 6: Next remove the flat tire from the working area. Flat on the ground behind your car is the best place as this will help prevent it from rolling into traffic and it will be out of the way as well. Step 7: Place the spare tire onto the hub by holding the outer sides of the tire. Never place your hands in the center of the rim or under the tire. Step 8: Put each of the lug nuts back on with the tapered end of the nut facing the rim. When they are all on, make sure they are snug, not tight. This is just to help align the rim to the hub and hold the tire in place until the car is lowered.

9/11 :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout history there have occurred many tragic events. On Sept. 11, 2001 and Aug. 29, 2005, two unforgettable event have occur, where is will be remember throughout the ages of the United States history. In this essay I ¡Ã‚ ¯ll be discussing the impact to the life ¡Ã‚ ¯s and the economic changes in the U.S.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the tragic day of 9/11 a day that will be unforgettable, happen in the pages of American history, the unthinkable happen. The terror stuck the heart of the big apple, New York City, two planes crashed into the world trade center and total chaos occurred, and lives have been lost, and many injured. The terror didn ¡Ã‚ ¯t end there, other plane hit out nations capital Washington DC, The Pentagon. Thousands of lives were lost in a single morning, people scatter for help and to be saved, and some die from trying to save them. The aftermath of this tragic event occurred have help brought us Americans close together and to support each other in times of greater needs regardless of all the events that occurred.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On Aug. 29, 2005, a great nature disaster occurred in the city of New Orleans, hurricane Katrina. Flooding and drowning hundreds of people, and destroying billions of dollars building and house and etc ¡Ã‚ ­, these tragic events have cause millions to be homeless and many deaths. In these times of need people fight to survive and to get back what they have lost.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  These two events have affected everyone through out the world, many people struggling to live and to move on in life, some just can ¡Ã‚ ¯t let it go, both tragic incidents cause a lot of great pain and lost, an affected the US greatly. The American economic has greatly increase in price of everything, from the food we buy and to the gas use need for our cars, has sky rocketed, because of these tragic event which help rebuild and recover what was lost from these events.

Literatur review

Correspondence to this article should be addressed to Christian Magallon, Department of Psychology, University of California, Merced, CA 95348. Email: [email  protected] edu Abstract In the contemporary world, inequality between males and females in the workplace is becoming a critical issue. This has been often considered a part of our past and yet now in modern times men and women are entering into the workplace in equal numbers but women still face gender discrimination in their occupations, especially in managerial positions.There are certain limitations and restrictions that women encounter while in workplace. There is a common idea that people firmly believe, hat women are not suitable for upper division positions because they do not have the characteristics suitable for those positions. It is very important to understand the basic biases and factors which are deterring women from reaching their goals and creating inequality in a male dominated workplace. The main factors aff ecting gender inequality in the workplace which have been studied here are leadership, power and perceptions.Keywords: gender bias, sexual discrimination, workplace segregation Fiction This research seeks to support the fictive notion that gender equality exist oday and gender biases are a thing of the past regardless of current efforts to create equality among genders in the workplace. To increase understanding of factors affecting women this study focuses on: leadership, power, and perceptions. Throughout history there has been a struggle for equality. The suffrage movement and later affirmative action were efforts to increase equality among genders.As the economy of the nation changed to a more industrialized one it demanded more workers. While Men were at war, the demand of workers needed for war production increased. Women decided to do their part to help with the war efforts: taking over the Jobs left by men. This was a huge step for women, and the realizing of women's potenti al in the workforce. Women were now becoming more and more present in the workforce, diversifying the population of employees. The introduction of women brought with it new theories through research, assessing and further supporting the existence of inequality for women in the workforce.To further assess and support the existent inequality between men and women; research was obtained through a search on the University of California, Merced's library data base. Over 278 studies preceded using key descriptive words: women, power, perceptions, and leadership. Studies found support the differences within gender and the workplace. Looking in detail at studies like Roos and Brook (1981) that assessed data from the 1974-1977 that showed that women have a large earning gap compared to men due to sex segregated characteristics at an occupational level.The research showed, women mostly work at low paying Jobs and they are less likely to exercise authority in those jobs. In a related study on economics, Mano-Negrin (2004), showed a significant ncrease in participation of women in the labor market without a parallel decrease of gender wage gaps. Adler (1994) research results showed that men hold higher position, higher supervisory, and authority compared to women. Women have less access to power and authority at work. Policymakers and supervisor make equal rules for them but women exercise less power than men.Aviolio (2009) results showed a significant difference in the effect sizes for leadership interventions conducted with all-male and majority-male participants versus all-female and majority-female participant studies. Bosak (2008) showed in their study that women perceive themselves less suitable for high positions because the perceived notion that they do not associated with masculine characteristics of men. Research has served as evidence for change. Major developments include formation of new associations and legislations.The Association for Women's Rights in Deve lopment purpose is to strengthen movements that advance women's rights and promote gender equality worldwide (AWID). The Equal Pay Act was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 (EEOC). The Equal Pay Act was a law against reduction of wages that iscriminates due to sex. President Kennedy emphasized : â€Å"Adds to our laws another enter the labor force they will find equality in their pay envelope. â€Å"(EEOC) However, regardless of efforts it is clear that subtle biases of gender still contribute to discriminate against women in the workplace especially in male dominated workforce.Existential biases affect the prevalence of women in leadership, Job performance, and male dominated careers. It is important to understand underlying biases and factors in the work place that may hinder woman from reaching a state of equality among men in the workforce. Factors studied across genders in the workplace: leadership, power, and perceptions. Leadership and Power Let us first observe the two omnipresent notions that are leadership and power. It has long been understood and accepted albeit bias, that leadership and power are traits commonly associated with the male sex.Also, positions of power and of authority are linked to such generalizations. For example, this can be seen in the workplace where women are often segregated into professions that ultimately reduce the possibility of exercising autonomy and supervisory authority Oaffee, 1989). We see time and time again that women, when being considered for a position are subject to a bias comparison that subjugates their attempts at equality and fair judgment. The majority of the time the employers that are doing the considering prefer masculine gender characteristics to feminine characteristics (Goktepe & Craig, 1989).In their study, Goktepe and Craig found that interpersonal attractiveness and sex role orientation are both associated with the emergent candidate for the position. In this, we can see that it is of the utmost importance to understand what influences he emergence of a leader and note any difference between genders. So persistent is this notion of a gender bias that even women themselves cannot escape acknowledging it and even falling susceptible to its ideas.We see this recurring problem in several common patterns, one being that of women feeling vulnerable and out of place because they have no female role model in a position of power to revere. This lack of stimuli results in a reduction in chances of women to take on a leadership role (Carbonell & Castro, 2008). In Carbonell and Castro's study we see when confronted with a female leader model, for more than half the time women ake the leadership position, but when faced with a male leadership model the results are underwhelming.And, the men in that study felt indifference when faced with either model, signifying a common acceptance of male superiority or dominance. Other studies have also supported this disparity of ideas concerning the similarity between women and managers. In a study conducted by Brenner , Tomkiewicz and Schein (1989), we observe that men perceive successful middle managers as having those characteristics, attitudes, and temperaments more commonly ascribed to men in general than to women in general.Although the omen in this study Judged both male and female characteristics equally viable, it was only a function of change in the perception of women in general rather than a change in the perceived requirements for managerial success or even any perceptions of men in general. In other words, what has been perceived as approved managerial characteristics in the past has not changed. What has changed is how forward in positive and equally thinking is in truth very misleading.Yes behaviors have changed but sadly male managers still hold onto their original attitudes which involve a skewed sense of what the proper qualifications may be. It seems that blind ignorance may also affect aspects of occupational labor in the workplace. In the study by Cann and Siegfried (1990), there is a strong indication that the behaviors people recognized as indicators of a successful leader included those that are viewed as feminine. Leaders must be â€Å"behaviorally androgynous,† they must have the flexibility to exhibit both male and female characteristics.Thus, effective leaders are those that can appease an assortment of demands, and yet we witness the constant reminder of a societal gender bias implicating female characteristics as weaker and even less desirable. One can only wonder why some choose to ignore a possible fine addition to a firm because of a commonly held notion of gender superiority. Presumed notions of gender superiority in leadership qualities can easily be ascertained from many studies that have been conducted in the past, involving commonly held societal beliefs.But, these same bias notions of leadership qualities can be enhanced by certain workpl ace organizational climates. The atmosphere in which business involving the hiring of future employees or any upper level position is conducted, can be greatly affected by the pressures that are applied during that time. In a study done by Katz (1987), when put into a discriminatory setting the test subjects preferred to hire males. In the same study test subjects were put into a nondiscriminatory setting and the results proved to be quite interesting, the preference levels were almost equal between male and female candidates.From this information we can gather that a significant catalyst for discriminatory thinking is in part caused by the organizational climate that someone is in. Currently, sexual discrimination and gender bias in the workplace is alive and well. It is a widespread problem that is inhibiting many women's rights and allowing or an unfair advantage for the opposite sex. Most of todays research concerning this notion is focused on investigating the debilitating effe cts that negative stereotypes have on the targets of said stereotypes (Hoyt & Blalscovich, 2007).In order to move forward and overcome this bias and discrimination we must discover new avenues in which to employ a politically correct attitude towards those individuals of the fairer sex. Perceptions Understanding perceptions of society, focusing on perceptions of women in the workplace, helps increase understanding of the existent gap between genders at work. There are many factors that may contribute to the differentiation in treatment and appointment to leadership between genders in the workplace. Trentham, and Larwood (1998), examined the effects of power and willingness to discriminate in the workplace.Results show that people have a predisposition to discriminate against women. This study found that people in top positions of organizations had higher tendencies to discriminate against women than people with lower positions of authority. Individuals in power affect the dispositio n of a person of lower status to act in a discriminating manner often times going against own personal beliefs. The importance of this study is that biases exist against women due to perceived (1993) analyzes perceptions and attitudes of past events, and future measures implemented to reduce gap between genders in the workplace.Results show that men feel that past measures affected their careers more negatively, however both genders showed equal dissatisfaction with past measures. Men agreed with eliminating systemic barriers that limit advancement for women but where against preferential treatment. This clearly states that both gendrs have self interest in mind. Women want help to go up the ladder, men see that as a threat, therefore isapprove. Self interest conflicts held by men may hinder women from reaching equality in the workplace.Another study that looked at perceptions of leadership qualities in groups of similar gender was done by Prime, Jonsen, Carter, and Maznevski (2008) . This study looked at managers perceived qualities associated with leadership and gender. The study hypothesized that the qualities associated with leaders was more prominent in men than in women. Results show that in women respondents perceived women as more effective than men in: planning and role modeling, providing intellectual stimulation, and problem solving. Men on the other hand attributed that men were better at delegating than female leaders.Both men and women perceived and stereotyped women leaders as being more competent in supporting. The study indicated that both genders were attributing more positive ratings to their gender than the opposing gender. This study indicates that self perceptions also affect beliefs of self and others in ability in the work place. Perceptions of the meaning of equality are different among individuals according to their self interest. Other studies examine perceptions of gender and leadership oncerns in the workplace over time.The study do ne by Koch, Loft, and Kruse (2005) takes a look at changes in perceptions of women in leadership. With an increase of women in leadership the study compares the amount of change in beliefs now to the beliefs held 20 years ago. Results showed a tendency for gender association that went along with social perceptions; men were associated with terms: hard, strong, and aggressive. Women were Judged as soft, sentimental, and delicate. Although data shows a shift towards associating women with leadership; it is not significant as the orrelation between men and leadership.Despite efforts to close the gap of inequality it still exists in positions of leadership, small shift seen of women in leadership, is not dismissed. Perceptions of femininity in leadership Johanson (2008) seeks to find if prior conceptions of leadership exist between genders in perceived: conception, structure, masculinity, femininity, androgyny, and overall leadership ability. Results support the hypothesis that leadersh ip ratings were associated with masculinity and structure; the positive correlation between consideration and femininity was clearly supported.Leadership positively correlated with structure and not conception. The study indicates the importance of beliefs and associations of leadership without environment influence on perceived individual leadership style. This study proves that individuals still show a predominant belief that leadership is more closely associated with masculinity and structure than femininity and conception. Individuals overall continue to think of leadership as male oriented. For women characteristics associated with femininity are still not seen as positively affiliated with leadership characteristics.A study that demonstrates the effects of on the perceived suitability of women and men in leadership of failing or succeeding organizations. This study looks at the inequalities that women encounter when trying to advance in the workforce. The study hypothesized th at women are appointed to leadership positions when risk of failure and criticism are high. Results show that in general women are preferred over male candidates. The results state that the male was selected over a female when the company performance was improving. Women where often selected as the suited individual to take a leadership position in a ompany that was declining.This study shows that there is a clear preference of men to successful companies. This may be due to perceptions and beliefs of the individuals who appoint leaders toa position. This study looked at the suitability of both men and women in a management position Ted H. Shore (1992). The study focused on the potential of performance in managerial positions by assessing cognitive ability, Job advancement, interpersonal and performance skills. Despite women rating higher than men on performance style dimensions, they received lower ratings in management potential.Management ratings of both genders were comparable. The study results serve as evidence of subtle gender bias within the workplace. Stating that despite higher performance rates in women the actual advancement in the Job is the same as men of lower performance rates. The study analyzes perceptions of woman's interpersonal skills compared to men. Assessors deemphasized the fact that women outperformed men; giving more credit in interpersonal skills. A mismatch is perceived of women and attributes associated with management due to stereotypical and perceived views of women.Finally a tudy done by Wolf, and Fligsteing (2009)looks at factors that contribute to the unequal distribution of women compared to men in positions of authority focusing on education, experience, tenure, marriage, children, that help map how and why some individuals are in positions of authority. The study looks at composition of the workplace and situational beliefs of employers and women in notions of authority. The study assesses factors that influence Job charac teristics and allocation of male/ female in authority. The study concluded that men are given more authority than women in the workplace.The importance of this study highlights factors like traditional gender roles, personal choices, and self perceptions that affect the prevalence of women in authority. Conclusion According to McTavish and Miller (2009) there are both pros and cons to the modernization agenda. Reform and structural change have led to greater opportunities for women. Reform and modernization in organizational procedures have led to somewhat gender friendlier environments. However, there are paradoxes in the modernization agenda. It seems like women have to conform to masculinist styles of management.Many of the reforms are actually leading to re-gendering of job roles and procedures. (McTavish and Miller, 2009, p. 361-362). In the article Women's Leadership Development Strategic Practices for Women and Organizations Hopkins, O'Neil, Passarelli, and Bilimoria (2008) p ropose seven areas of leadership development practice along with recommendations in each of these categories for consultants and human resources professionals working with individual women and organizations. They state that leadership development positive outcomes at both the individual and organizational levels.They assert that esponsibility for developing the human, social, and political capital of women resides at the individual and the organizational levels. They also state that leadership development of women employees is a major business advantage to organizations. Also stressed is that principal importance must be placed on women feeling connected to the goals and objectives of the greater organization and conceptualizing a comprehensive picture of themselves as vital organizational partners. They also emphasize that consulting psychologists and human resources professionals have an essential role in helping women and organizations.They conclude that the assembly of leadershi p development that appreciates and addresses women's unique contributions will result in women fulfilling their individual potential and in organizational transformation, the two principal goals of effective, sustainable leadership development.

The Dictionary Defeats Dogma

The Dictionary Defeats Dogma The Dictionary Defeats Dogma The Dictionary Defeats Dogma By Mark Nichol Responses to one of my recent posts brought up two interesting related issues: misunderstandings about idioms and their origins, and about linguistic terms. First, numerous readers wrote to Daily Writing Tips recently to inform me that I had misspelled a word in one of the items in â€Å"35 Fossil Words†: It’s â€Å"just desserts,† not â€Å"just deserts,† to refer to getting what you deserve, I was told. But as I noted in this post last year, deserts is commonly misspelled desserts in this idiomatic phrase; years ago (perhaps influenced by the name of a bakery called Just Desserts), I, too, had long assumed that the latter spelling was correct. The word, however, is related to deserve, though except for occasional use of the singular form in legal documents, it is unknown outside the idiom and the phrase â€Å"get (one’s) just deserts† and its truncated version, â€Å"get (one’s) deserts.† Many idioms are similarly misunderstood; another example, also listed in my recently posted roster of fossil words, is â€Å"beck and call.† In a post on my esteemed colleague Mignon Fogarty’s popular website Quick and Dirty Grammar Tips, numerous commenters insisted with variously amusing and alarming self-righteousness that despite definitive linguistic documentation of the idiom the correct phrasing is â€Å"beckon call† (what kind of call? a beckon call) or â€Å"beck or call† (because, honestly, why would somebody both beck and call?). (Thanks to Daily Writing Tips visitor Roberta for the link.) The post you’re reading right now is intended not to ridicule people who misunderstand idiom (after all, a couple of paragraphs up, I admitted doing so myself, and I am not prone to self-ridicule), but it is intended to drop a hint to those who might doggedly cling to dogma, stubbornly misapprehending a word or phrase’s source. Many elements of English are of uncertain etymological or syntactical origin, but most are well attested, and corroboration is a simple matter of looking something up online or in print. A bumper sticker word to the wise: Don’t believe everything you think. The related issue is the term â€Å"fossil words.† Some Daily Writing Tips readers took exception to that phrase and to my definition of such terms as those that â€Å"survive only in isolated usage,† arguing that they employ some or many of the listed words. (Does that mean, more than one person asked, that that makes the correspondent a fossil?) However, note that the definition of the titular phrase, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is â€Å"A word or other linguistic form preserved only in isolated regions or in set phrases, idioms, or collocations.† By â€Å"isolated usage,† I meant not â€Å"frequency of use† but â€Å"scope of use†; these words are rarely, if ever, uttered other than as part of the idiomatic phrases they are associated with. When was the last time you used bated other than in the expression â€Å"bated breath,† or mettle when it was not preceded by something like â€Å"test your†? If you can tick off the occasions on your fingertips, you likely have a season pass to a Renaissance fair. And to that I say, â€Å"Huzzah!† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Passed vs PastHang, Hung, HangedHonorary vs. Honourary

National Sales Tax vs Income Tax essays

National Sales Tax vs Income Tax essays The National Sales Tax vs. The Income Tax Only days after the last elections for Congress in November of 1994, Congressman Bill Archer declared his strong desire to tear out the income tax by its roots. After that, Newt Gingrich and Bob Dole formed a commission to consider new alternatives to the income tax. That lead to more than a half dozen congressional panels holding hearings on that subject. So there is no longer a question of whether the income tax system will be replaced or not, the question now is, what should it be replaced with? Well, a national sales tax is an option that cannot be ignored, even though it may not be the best solution. The case for a national sales tax begins with one greatly appealing line. It will allow us to completely eliminate the income tax, possibly even repealing the 16th Amendment, an amendment that authorized the income tax and made it a part of the government in the first place. However, the change would come at a cost greater than seems fair: we would give up the income tax for a sales tax system that is more If the government sets out to collect a new tax at the register when something is bought, it will then have to extend that tax beyond the retailer to every single layer of production as well. The government would absolutely have to do this because a great amount of tax evasion would certainly take place. Soon enough, the national sales tax would become a very complex, multi-rate, value-added tax, or VAT. To generate enough revenue by taxing goods at the retail level only, a sales tax of at least 20 percent would have to be put into place. Suddenly, consumers will be seeing that everything they buy has been increased in price by that 20 percent. However, the people will not want to pay that high of a tax, so they will find ways to say that the products they buy are tax-exempt goods, they will buy the goods on the black...

Honor Thyself Essays - Gender, Ttir, Thorstein Staff-Struck

Honor Thyself Essays - Gender, Ttir, Thorstein Staff-Struck Honor Thyself Honor is something that is earned, but it must also be defended in order to be upheld in the eyes of all. In ?Thorstein The Staff-Struck? one?s respect is based on their honor alone. Honor is the essence of a life worth living. In this story, a life without honor means that the life is worthless. Death is better than having no honor. Men will easily give their lives without second thought to earn, and protect it. Honor?s role in ?Thorstein the Staff-Struck? takes on several roles, but all of them are to achieve one common goal. The various roles take on the common goal of achieving honor itself. Thorstein?s nick-name ?the Staff-Struck? is a strain on his honor because his masculinity is being questioned after his first bout with Thord. Thorstein?s first reaction to the blow to his head by Thord?s staff is not thought of as being honorable. He didn?t respond in a way that would defend his honor. He needed to stand up for himself to accomplish that trying task.. His response to Thord?s blow was thought of as a cowards response. That meant his honor had been shamed by his own action, or lack of the correct actions. After that, Thorstein?s integrity was belittled in the eyes of others. One?s honor Page 2 lies not only in the eyes of one?s self, but also in the words, and eyes of all present, and around. Thorstein had to avenge his honor in the eyes of the spectators for himself. Thorstein?s father prompted his vengeance though. Thorstein could not simply sit back, and be humiliated by his own father. That was just too much for him to deal with, nor did he want to try. He knew he must honor his father by bringing, and restoring honor to himself. His response, although late, was honorable. Timing is a crucial part of vengeance in this story though. Bijarni, the ruler of Hof, had a different role in society, but his honor was still of great importance. Bijarni?s honor was questioned by his servants, his wife, and others because they felt his reverence had been stained by Thorstein. His lack of action against Thorstein made him weak in the eyes of others. He had been challenged, but he had not yet accepted the challenge. When honor is seen as challenged there must be action taken or soundness will be questioned. Thorhall and Thorvald questioned Bijarni?s honor in gossip, and in rumor. Bijarni then instructed the two to leave, and return with Thorstein?s head, as he can not stand by while his servants continue to question his credibility and valance to stand up for his departed entourage. That would be dishonorable to himself. When honor is questioned it shows doubt, and damages its credibility, therefore it is not respected by others. When honor is not respected, one?s image can be severely damaged, or tarnished. When ?Bijarni the killer?s? own wife insults his honor he must continue the ongoing struggle in protecting his trustworthiness, and defend himself once again by proving himself to her to. This honor system is an ongoing saga of life itself in the time of ?Thorstein The Staff-Struck?. He must first put her in her place for such reasons as her behavior and actions resembling ?in his eyes?, that of a typical women. His role as master must be Page 3 made clear to her, as well as his honor made clear to Thorstein before he can even begin to rest assured that his position as ?Bijarni he killer? stands true and strong . Bijarni thinks and acts in a manner that reflects upon the relationship between a man?s masculinity and his honor. In the era in which the tale originates, masculinity and honor are somewhat integrated. This relationship between the two also proves itself true in Thorstein?s dealings with Bijarni?s men, and eventually Bijarni himself. A great deal of a man?s ability to uphold, and gain honor relies on the amount of masculinity that he is capable of displaying, and using in his own favor. The timing of this display is also crucial because when it?s not being displayed it can easily be questioned as to whether or not it even exists. The display is crucial because it must be made clear to the eyes in a society were action takes all precedence over everything else. This is a time of actions. Actions tend to speak louder than words in this type of an

Price and Demand in the UK Tennis Tournament Essay

Price and Demand in the UK Tennis Tournament - Essay Example The intervention of this situation has both negative and positive consequences. For instance, the set price from the government’s perspective is a positive factor that can enable it to control and regulate the average prices in order to achieve a given level of market output. Moreover, this will enable consumers to afford the prices because of their relative low nature (Taylor, 2008). However, this intervention will help create a black market for illegal transactions resulting from the technique of first comes, first to be served because scrupulous individuals will access the tickets in advance with the aim of selling them later in the black markets at high prices for profit. For instance, according xxx the price of a ticket in the black market is around $379.12, which is higher by about $273.76 of their actual price in the market. Therefore from the society’s point of view, this is a negative consequence which increasing the standard of living (Banerjee & Duflo, 2011). In addition, this intervention and development of the black market will have negative repercussions on the general economy. Firstly, it will result to underestimation of the gross domestic product (GDP) and national income of the UK. Therefore, because of this the government cannot be able to determine the real status of the economy in order to establish correct policies aimed at improving the standards of living for its citizens. Secondly, the rise of the black market can create employment opportunities for the local people.

Personal narrative Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal narrative - Term Paper Example As most of the people (say, who face certain psychological problems) used to say, I would like to point out that my problem is different from others. I am from Los Angeles, California. My problem stemmed out from the understanding that I am a biracial child. My mother is black and my father is from Romania (say, Romanian race). My parents were ready to love me like their own child. But my sisters were so jealous and teased me a lot (maybe, because of my skin tone). As a child, I suffered the same and used to shrink myself to my personal life. But Jean Lau Chin opines that family (private domain) is a safe place for a biracial individual but society (public domain) is not (Chin, 2009, p. 60). The support from my parents and teacher helped me a lot to acquire self-confidence. But I was well aware of the fact that one must try hard to have an amiable and amicable personality. The evolution of purpose and meaning of my life begins with my habit of reading. For instance, the Linguistic ca tegories trait helped me to realize myself as an individual. But I believe that our DNA decides our character. Besides, one’s personality is molded by cultural characteristics and family circumstances. As pointed, the real problem was my hesitation to accept my real biracial identity. As a biracial child, there was less similarity among my sisters, brothers and me. This bothered me a lot and my character and behavior became more rebellious and problematic. Once, my father asked me about the real problem behind my odd behavior. Then I revealed the problem which I had been facing. Then, my father asked my mother about the problem I had been facing in our family. Both of them told me that my identity as a biracial child is not a problem. They further added that I can overcome the problem because they are ever ready to help me. This incident helped to gain confidence. At my school, I was forced to face a number of problems from my classmates and school

Land Law in Real Facts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Land Law in Real Facts - Essay Example Last year, Bentley and Damian too died of the accident leaving the property to Damian’s children because Bentley had left his property to his brother and Damian had left his shares of the property to his sons. Now Damian’s sons want the house and evict Alice. ‘A constructive trust comes into existence, regardless of any party’s intent, when the law imposes upon a party an obligation to holds the specific property for another. The person obligated becomes by force of law a constructive trustee towards the person to whom he owes performance of the obligation’ (Donovan waters, p378). The said property, despite the fact that the children of Damian had legally inherited the property from their father, Alice may be considered as the strong equity owner of the property. Alice has a strong estate and land interest in the property. This factor becomes significant when considering the question of unconscionability and applying the law of estoppel which primarily operates in the form of constructive trust. Therefore, it is important to know that Under (Law of Property Act 1925 s 199(1)(ii)(a)), the occupant(s) of the property has major interests ‘since it is implicit in Williams & Glyn’s Bank v Boland 1, Midland Bank v Dobson 2and Lloyds Bank v Rosset 3 that the beneficial interest (of the third parties) under this trust precedes the court order’ (Milney, 1997). It is an important consideration that belief involved in proprietary estoppel cases can be in any rights in and over the property. In the last 47 years of her life with her partner Bentley, Alice of assured that ‘he would do the right thing by her’ which was also seconded by Bentley’s brother, Damian, and co-owner of the house. The good intentions of the owners expressed verbally and the fact that she had been a resident of the house for more than 47 years, gave her the right to contest the will of Bentley and Damian. Â  

Why has the conflict between India and Pakistan been so intractable Essay

Why has the conflict between India and Pakistan been so intractable - Essay Example However since independence the relations between the two nations have been very sour with India and Pakistan having fought three battles against each other. The situation has reached an alarming intensity as both these nations are nuclear armed and another conflict between the nuclear armed nations can lead to a global catastrophe. The conflict between the two nations has continued since 1947 and has even starched longer than the cold war. There have been a number of contentious issues between the two nuclear powered nations however the conflict becomes intractable because of the fact that there is a territorial dispute between the nations. According to a research a conflict between two nations can be termed as intractable when specific tangible stakes involving land territory or other tangibly divisible aspects become symbolic in the sense that they are converted into intangible aspects in terms of zero sums that make it difficult to break and divide (Khan, 2009, p.61-62). The confl ict between India and Pakistan can be termed as intractable considering the fact that the bone of contentious issues lies in the disputed territory of Kashmir in which both the nations stake their claim. India refuses to Pakistan’s claim that Kashmir is their part as the area has a majority of population that follows the Muslim religion. India on the other hand being secular nation rubbishes the latter’s claim as it believes in the accession treaty signed by Maharaja Hari Singh, the last king of Kashmir in which he agreed to accede Kashmir into India (Ganguly, Diamond & Plattner, 2007, p.52). The following section would try to deeply analyse the aspects that have led to the conflict assuming such an intractable nature that still continues to capture global attention. Analysis In order to better understand the reasons behind the intractable nature of the conflict it is very necessary to look back to the history that led to the creation of these two states. The conflict between the two nations can be traced to the days of British colonialism in which both the nations were under the British rule commonly referred to as the ‘Raj Era’. In order to consolidate their rule in the nation, the English applied the ‘Divide and Rule’ policy taking advantage of the large number of diverse religious communities in the nation by turning one community against the other. In 1947 when the British decided to grant independence, it divided the unified India into 547 princely states. In addition to this the last viceroy of British India, Lord Mountbatten also encouraged the Muslim league leader Mohammed Ali Jinnah in keeping up his demand to either accept him as the ruler of independent India or carve out a separate state of Pakistan comprising the north western states of Punjab, Baluchistan and Sind. Mahatma Gandhi, the main architect of the independence movement in India had to accept the partition plan of India following which the unified India was divided into India and Pakistan (East and West). Post partition India chose to remain secular while Pakistan declared itself as an Islamic nation bound to ‘Sharia’ laws. The partition resulted in widespread riots claiming thousands of lives across both the borders and also left thousands homeless and orphaned. Meanwhile, the focus of the issue shifted to Kashmir that was a Muslim dominated area and on the basis of this Pakistan launched an armed assault on the state that was not a part of India or Pakistan and was under the rule of Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Jammu province. Unable to stand the attacks by Pakistan, Maharaja Hari Sing

Short summary for two articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Short summary for two articles - Essay Example At the same time, good news for long-term investors is that 10-year yield has consistently traded above 2% since last May and all types of bonds have shown increased yields by the last quarter of 2013. The article ‘Situation analysis: Preparing for Fed’s next move’ is pertinent in its observation that strategic initiatives of Federal Reserve during financial crisis that had called for drastic measures now need to be tempered with fresh inputs. It was primarily created to avert banking crisis by providing financial and policy related stimulus to US economy. Its recent move to gradual transition from aggressive policies especially regarding Treasury bond is important step towards neutral stance. The quantitative easing relies on productive deployment of cash into economic growth processes like capital investment through low interest rates and available liquidity. It brightens the prospect of sustainable and healthy growth of economy that would ultimately encourage greater employment

Why has the conflict between India and Pakistan been so intractable Essay

Why has the conflict between India and Pakistan been so intractable - Essay Example However since independence the relations between the two nations have been very sour with India and Pakistan having fought three battles against each other. The situation has reached an alarming intensity as both these nations are nuclear armed and another conflict between the nuclear armed nations can lead to a global catastrophe. The conflict between the two nations has continued since 1947 and has even starched longer than the cold war. There have been a number of contentious issues between the two nuclear powered nations however the conflict becomes intractable because of the fact that there is a territorial dispute between the nations. According to a research a conflict between two nations can be termed as intractable when specific tangible stakes involving land territory or other tangibly divisible aspects become symbolic in the sense that they are converted into intangible aspects in terms of zero sums that make it difficult to break and divide (Khan, 2009, p.61-62). The confl ict between India and Pakistan can be termed as intractable considering the fact that the bone of contentious issues lies in the disputed territory of Kashmir in which both the nations stake their claim. India refuses to Pakistan’s claim that Kashmir is their part as the area has a majority of population that follows the Muslim religion. India on the other hand being secular nation rubbishes the latter’s claim as it believes in the accession treaty signed by Maharaja Hari Singh, the last king of Kashmir in which he agreed to accede Kashmir into India (Ganguly, Diamond & Plattner, 2007, p.52). The following section would try to deeply analyse the aspects that have led to the conflict assuming such an intractable nature that still continues to capture global attention. Analysis In order to better understand the reasons behind the intractable nature of the conflict it is very necessary to look back to the history that led to the creation of these two states. The conflict between the two nations can be traced to the days of British colonialism in which both the nations were under the British rule commonly referred to as the ‘Raj Era’. In order to consolidate their rule in the nation, the English applied the ‘Divide and Rule’ policy taking advantage of the large number of diverse religious communities in the nation by turning one community against the other. In 1947 when the British decided to grant independence, it divided the unified India into 547 princely states. In addition to this the last viceroy of British India, Lord Mountbatten also encouraged the Muslim league leader Mohammed Ali Jinnah in keeping up his demand to either accept him as the ruler of independent India or carve out a separate state of Pakistan comprising the north western states of Punjab, Baluchistan and Sind. Mahatma Gandhi, the main architect of the independence movement in India had to accept the partition plan of India following which the unified India was divided into India and Pakistan (East and West). Post partition India chose to remain secular while Pakistan declared itself as an Islamic nation bound to ‘Sharia’ laws. The partition resulted in widespread riots claiming thousands of lives across both the borders and also left thousands homeless and orphaned. Meanwhile, the focus of the issue shifted to Kashmir that was a Muslim dominated area and on the basis of this Pakistan launched an armed assault on the state that was not a part of India or Pakistan and was under the rule of Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Jammu province. Unable to stand the attacks by Pakistan, Maharaja Hari Sing

Kiowa& Colorado History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kiowa& Colorado History - Essay Example They stationed themselves in southeastern Colorado, western Kansas, and western Oklahoma. They had some fights with Comanche, who were more populous tribe, but eventually these tribes created a confederation, between 1790 and 1806. By 1840 Kiowa became alliances with other tribes as well, such as Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Osage. â€Å"Provisions of the 1865 Little Arkansas Treaty forced the Kiowa and Comanche to relinquish lands in Kansas and New Mexico, and the 1867 Medicine Lodge Treaty established a 2.8 million acre reservation in southwestern Oklahoma. There the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache were confined following their subjugation at the end of the Red River War in May 1875. Kiowa-Comanche-Apache (KCA) Reservation lands were allotted in 1901† (Kiowa, para.2) At the beginning of the 21st century there are about 12000 Kiowa living in Colorado and Oklahoma. Kiowa developed a bison-hunting culture, together with the buffalos they moved around to the places of grazing. Kio wa lived in tee-pees, so it was easy for them to move around. Kiowa captured wild mustangs and trained them to use in warfare, for hunting purposes, as well as the means of transportation. Kiowa organized themselves by age, as well as by sex. As the person would get older he/she would move to the next social age organization. Brothers and sisters avoided interacting with each other after the age of ten.

Business Survival in a Recession Essay Example for Free

Business Survival in a Recession Essay

John Fantes: Ask The Dust

John Fantes: Ask The Dust In Ask the Dust, Los Angeles has a false stereotype of fame and fortune. Arturo tries to fulfill this desire by quickly spending his sparse income on a lavish lifestyle before being broke again. As the book progresses, each paycheck Arturo receives is a small stepping stone for him to learn from his financial mistakes, preparing him to be financially smart in the Los Angeles workforce. The first paycheck Arturo receives is ten dollars from an insurance policy his mother cashed in. Dearest Mother , Thanks for the ten dollar bill à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it will come in handy for various odds and ends. Ask the Dust, page 21. Arturo quickly spends $9.10 in one night at a burlesque show and on a prostitute, leaving him ninety cents for the bleak future to come. The second paycheck Arturo receives wasnt expected by any means. A letter he wrote to the Editor-In-Chief J.C. Hackmuth, is developed into a short story (The Long Lost Hills ) and printed in the magazine for $175.00. At the rate of inflation that paycheck in todays economy is the proportion of $3,000. Arturo, trying to fulfill his own stereotype of being a successful Los Angelino immigrant, squanders his paycheck on a lavish lifestyle and delusions of grandeur. The third and final paycheck we see is the paycheck for Arturos novel, The Story of Vera Rivken, $500.00 paid to Arturo Bandini. At this point, Arturo has made an abundant amount of financial mistakes. The fame and fortune that Los Angeles promises was finally his and now he was financially responsible enough to not squander it. Arturo spends his money more wisely this time around, a 10 year old used Ford is the extent of his expenditures. When Arturo and Camilla buy a pure white collie, he cringes at the idea of spending twen ty five dollars. In the context of the situation, he isnt cheap but isnt throwing his money away either. The fact that Arturo has been contracted for his book exemplifies that he has succeeded as a writer. His being able to overcome the urge to squander his $500.00 is an example of how he succeeded in overcoming the false hope of Los Angeles. In Ask the Dust there is an exact image all the immigrants have in mind when they speak of Los Angeles, the land of promise, prospect, and new beginnings. Although this dream did come true for Arturo, it did take him a lot of work and hardships in order to get there. Arturo thought it was going to be easier due to the booster propaganda that was advertised. Arturo and Camillas constant work ethic are prime examples of how you can make it in Los Angeles, although the vices of Los Angeles (i.e, marijuana, delusions of grandeur) can pull you back down to the poverty level. Catherine Kordich states in her article Border Dust that these booster posters and propaganda were aimed at a receptive audience , leading Midwesterners to believe that living in Los Angeles is easy. The majority of immigrants that make the journey down to Los Angeles were able to keep a few dollars in their pocket so they could still keep the Los Angeles dream alive. Then you have a struggling writer like Arturo Bandini who finally writes his novel and makes $500.00 for it. The posters used are quite simple now that we can look back on it ( works cited booster photo example ). The poster shows a playful Latina holding up the sun. She has a bright yellow two piece on as she frolics through the tiny missions and downtown Los Angeles coastline. Now, this poster dream is what lures in the immigrants west. Its the bait and switch routine. When Arturo gets to his room in the Alta Loma he has an awe inspired moment. He sees his first palm tree and thinks of Egypt, Palm Sunday, and Cleopatra. This is obviously a representation of his delusions of grandeur. He sees Los Angeles holding the Palm Trees praising him like Jesus or Cleopatra. He then has a harsh realization that the palms are covered in soot from the carbon monoxide from the tunnel and its crusted trunk choked with dust and sand that blew in from the Mojave and Santa Ana deserts. Ask the Dust, page 16. In that moment he realizes this isnt what he saw in the ad, a tiny room , soot covered palm trees, dust rolling in from the desert. As the story progresses, his image of Los Angeles gets more and more corrupted, starting off with the palms trees and progressing to the marijuana club. Arturo gives a good insight into the real Los Angeles Youll eat hamburgers year after year and live in dusty, vermin-infested apartments and hotelsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. But youll still be in paradise, boys, in the land of sunshine. Ask the Dust, page 46. Arturo has come to the realization that there is false hope in Los Angeles. He is about to ask his mother for money to go back home before he gets an unexpected check from Hackmuth. There have been several examples of immigrants going back home to their state of origin, the Memphis kid , an ugly young man trying to find love in all of Los Angeles, eventually giving up and moved back to Tennessee. Under the Booster poster illustrations there is a mass of immi grants like Arturo trying to get back home realizing they have made a huge mistake in having hope for Los Angeles. The boosters and propaganda that led Arturo to the beautiful Los Angeles were paid advertisements in order to create a metropolis on the west coast. The answer to a majority of problems is always money. When Arturo makes the decision to come to Los Angeles to concentrate on his writing, the outcome would be fame and fortune. David Fine goes into the background of this ideal Los Angeles in his book, Imagining Los Angeles : A city in fiction. The background to this idea was created by many writers and entrepreneurs dating back to about 1880 when writers were creating a myth to reconstruct history in a more positive light. Giving the missions a noble and positive meaning and reinvigorating the Native American culture. Harrison Otis, publisher of the Los Angeles Daily times , made an empire out of land and worked hard to make the Los Angeles Daily Times a reputable newspaper. He got an aqueduct built over 240 miles in order to bring flowing water to Los Angeles. Since he owned a massive amount of land that he paid basically nothing for, he made amazing amounts of profits in just about two years from immigrants buying property . He was a millionaire and built a metropolis to do so. Is it ethical to create a metropolis and give false hope to immigrants? Many would say no. But in Arturo Bandinis case, like many others, he was quite successful in creating a new life for himself in Los Angeles. By the end of Ask the Dust we see Arturo succeed in his dream, he writes a novel , has a beautiful Mexican girlfriend , and even has a pup name Willie. Los Angeles gives false hope to all immigrants. So as quick as Arturo is instilled with hope, it is quickly taken away. For a majority of immigrants, the hope in traveling to Los Angeles is to have a new beginning, fame, fortun , and love . Arturo Bandini is obsessed with the idea of fame and fortune. He has an irrational fear of women, because he has never been with one. When he meets fellow immigrant Camilla Lopez, he has a strong love hate relationship with her. In the beginning of the book, his delusions of grandeur make him feel superior to her in every way. As the book progresses and they actually spend more time together, he realizes Sammy, the bartender with tuberculosis , is Camillas love interest. Although Sammy does not love Camilla, they are all intertwined in seeking out Love as their hopeful Los Angeles dream. Arturo always has his fame and fortune to occupy himself when Camilla is on his mind. Although when he finally publishes his book and succeeds in his dream, all he can think about is Camilla. Since Camilla has had a nervous breakdown and gone missing, Arturo becomes frantic to please her. The story seems to come to the end when Arturo, Camilla, and their pup Willie move into a beach house in Laguna. When Arturo comes back shes gone. He tracks her down to Sammys shack in the desert. He informs Arturo that Camilla and the dog walked over the ridge and into the empty desert. Frantically Arturo gives up hope after searching for her. This entire sad ending relates to the false hope given by the Los Angeles dream. Camilla cannot find happiness with Sammy or Arturo, so she reverts back to her native land from which she came. There is 100 miles of desert so its highly unlikely she survived. She gave up hope for her Los Angeles dream. Arturo, on the other hand, realized what actually matters in his life, his Los Angeles dream was always Camilla Lopez. Los Angeles A False Hope By Matthew Caire Works Cited Page Fante, John. Ask the Dust. Harper Collins Publishers. New York, NY 1939. Fine, David. Imagining Los Angeles : A City in Fiction. University of Nevada Press. Reno, Nevada 2000 Kordich, Catherine J. John Fantes Ask the Dust: A Border Reading. Maskers and Tricksters 20 (1995): 17-26 Kellogg, Carolyn. John Fantes Ask the Dust grows with time. Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Ca 2009 Southern California United Airlines. Illustration . Southern California United Airlines Partnership Working in Health and Social Care | Essay Partnership Working in Health and Social Care | Essay Ololade Abasa Summary of Report This report looks at how partnership working is developed, the benefits and legislation governing partnership relationship in the UK. And how there is now a shift from professional to patient autonomy. Health and social care is a vast service sector undergoing rapid change, with new government initiatives giving it a higher profile than ever. The report is a brief overview and not in depth focussing on the main points and benefits of collaborative working and the sharing of information with some focus on Stafford hospital following the Francis report. A working or collaborative partnership or partnership in general could be defined as â€Å"two or more independent bodies working together or collectively to achieve more efficient outcomes than could be possible by working individually or separately† (Joint improvement team 2009). When two people come together to share risks and profits in a business for the good of others. (The concise English dictionary 1992). The focus today in frontline health and social care is on giving service-users more independence, choice and control. These developments mean there’s greater demand for well-trained multi-agency and multi-skilled collaboration of team’s organizations and people across a range of services giving more opportunities and choice to service users. In this report will focus among other things, looking into working in partnership in the health and social sector in general and some philosophies, concepts, relationships, models and legislation of collaborative and working in partnership. Different working practices exist across the health and social care sector, which will be part of what this report will also look into briefly with what may be perceived to be barriers to developing an effective partnership relationship within the health and social care sector and strategies that can be developed to improve or overcome these barriers. Concepts of Partnership Working For partnership in health and social sector to be successful in delivering services to service users there has to be co-ordination, co-operation and most importantly clear communication between partners for the partnership to survive. This did not seem to be the case (in our case study) at the Mid Staffordshire NHS foundation trust Stafford hospital in 2007 which led to the public enquiry in 2010 by Robert Francis QC. (The Francis Report). Some of the philosophies and concepts of working in partnership that will be discussed are: Power sharing Autonomy Making informed choices Independence Empowerment: Respect. this is giving health care users the choice or opportunity to take care of their health decisions and control their lives if they are capable of doing so (Gibson 1991) patients do have a right to information and choices offered to them.(National Health Care in England (NHS2013)) Health care staff should be encouraged to listen and be involved in decision making that involve their patients’ health care treatment. Patients unable to make informed choices or decisions regarding their health and treatment should be accorded respect and dignity, by health care professionals who take on such decisions with the patients interests at heart. (Mental Capacity 2005) Autonomy allows the decision as to will see or attend to their treatment requirements and processes with little or no interference from health care professionals. Autonomy basically gives most of the power of decision making and choice to the patient. Independence relates to freedom being accorded to service users to feel free in the health and care setting. Service users are allowed privacy and the opportunity to take care of themselves as they desire provided they have the mental capacity and ability to do so. Health care professionals are duty bound to provide up-to-date information to service users regarding patient’s treatment and care and any risks relating to their welfare. (Care Quality Commission). Collaboration is the lynchpin to power sharing this involves organizations collaborating for a common purpose this enables a common understanding of duties to share and achieve set objectives in a partnership (Gallant et al. 2002). Respect focusses on offering service users the choice to decide on aspects of their care or health with minimum intervention (Health and social Act 2008) and fairly without any discrimination (Equality Act 2010). Partnerships have become more necessary today in the health and social care sector, service users issues which atimes could be complex in nature requiring input from a number of professionals and services is more important when designing services than the traditional, centralizing distinctions between community nurses and social workers, or community justice workers and social workers. Different areas and sections of the society have their specific needs and requirements prevalent to the area, for example Enfield may require more specialized care for elderly people than neighbouring or other areas. Also a service user with a health issue may need a particular type of care package that was previously available or provided by the national health service and social services, in the new way of working together the health and social care could come together in partnership to provide a seamless or a one stop shop which meets the needs of service users. Needs over time could change in the s ame area that traditionally provide a specific service, partnerships may be formed to respond to these type of changes and flexibility. (Aldridge, N. 2005) Models of Partnership From time to time it will become necessary to evaluate the partnership relationship, there should always be a care and backup plan should something go wrong. An effective joint contribution can have positive impacts on service users and providers of services. These were some of the factors that were not implemented or ignored among many others at the Stafford hospital. The Green paper, every child matters, was published by the government in 2003, with a view to safeguard and support young people in need of help and at risk. (Children Act 2004). Under section 18 of the children act 2004, the director of children services has the responsibility of ensuring that local authorities meet specific duties (Department of Education 2013). According to health and social care act 2008/12. Local authorities should work together in partnership with education , health and social care organization to support vulnerable service users by making sure health care workers are properly trained and valued, deal with core problems and intervene to protect children before a crisis situation gets out of control. (Susan Balloch, 2001) Figure 1 (Health Social Care Partnership Model) Figure 1 above shows a typical model of a partnership working across the health and social care. The hybrid model among other models applicable that shows different partnership functioning in an organization, is likened to an umbrella for some models with organizations working tactically in combination with other models to achieve the best services. This was not the case at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust (Stafford hospital) according to the Francis report, where corporate self-interest and cost control were put ahead of patients and their safety, a lack of care, compassion, humanity and clear leadership. With the most basic standards of care not observed. The failure of collaborative working and an effective partnership model working effectively and efficiently across the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust have identified a number of barriers to establishing effective professional partnership. (Babington and Charley, 1990). There could be other barriers, for example health professionals not sharing the same goals, lack of communication, an organization feeling superior to the other for various reasons. (Scott Reeves, 2010) Legislation for Partnerships Legislation is, ‘’Law which has been enacted by parliament† or a governing body, and a Policy the statement of an agreed intent that sets out an organisations’ views with respect to a particular practice. Setting out principles and rules that provide the direction for an organisation to follow. A Practice is the step-by-step method of implementation of the policy and responsibility. The current and relevant legislation for organisation practice, policies and procedure affecting partnership working in health and social care include: Equality Act 2010, Care Standard Act 2000, Disability Discrimination Act 2005. Care Standards Act (2000) (England and Wales) Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), the act ensures that any working environment should be safe and free from hazards for both employers and employees. Human Rights Act (1998), empowers individuals if they feel unfairly treated can resort to court action. Manual Handling Regulations (1992), covers the safe moving and handling of equipment, loads and patients. Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (1995) (RIDDOR) In the scenario case of the Mid Staffordshire NHS foundation trust at the Stafford hospital in 2007, there was enough legislation in place at the time to have prevented the incidents and scandal that took place in at the hospital at the time. But working practices and policies were lacking, relaxed not in place or plainly ineffective or not in force or enforced. (Susan Balloch, 2001) Effects of Negative Working Partnerships Hospital management and staff, nurses etc, mental health and GPs, social services care and service users, and so on, all within the health and social care sector. The differences in working practices across the health and social care sector cannot be more pronounced in the negative impact it can bring more than what has been seen and the numerous scandals and mistakes that happened at the Stafford hospital Mid Staffordshire NHS foundation trust, where patients were left unattended, patients drinking from flower vases. There was no collaborative working practices in place, where the planning process should involve a number of practices and practitioners working together (cited in the oxford university press 1996 pg. 317). Professionals and organizations should be working together, for example GPs (general practitioners) first point of call for patients health problems, Support workers, bringing some form of independence to vulnerable service users by helping and support of vulnerable service users and recommending available services. A disjointed service sector with different working practices not harmonised can not only be very ineffective, wasteful and more expensive but can also end up to be dangerous to service users, in the absence of any form of follow up and or expertise which may well be available but not accessed or utilised. The Team Ro les that Meredith Belbin identified are widely used in organisations. They are used to identify peoples behavioural strengths and weaknesses in the workplace. This information can be used to: Build productive working relationships Select and develop high-performing teams Raise self-awareness and personal effectiveness Build mutual trust and understanding Aid recruitment processes (Evans, D. Killoran, A. 2000) Case Study When most a times outcomes of partnerships are scrutinized or looked at it often almost involve a tragic case, in this report I have been looking at the tragic case of a patient which I refer to as patient A. which prompted a case review in Greater Manchester. A Multi-disciplinary and multi-organisational partnership with good communication and relationships with organizations and people from different disciplines will enlarge the efficiency and size of the service team to service users which allows for a holistic approach and responsiveness to service delivery, better value for money with reduced duplication of services. Looking again at our case scenario of patient A, (a 64 year old male) who was not mentally and physically able to defend himself, and made few demands on the health and social care services for support and did not have much support considering his condition to exercise control over his own life, the outcome of these failure in partnership was that patient A was not empowered to make choices and neither were the professionals supposed to be on the lookout for vulnerable people empowered with responsibilities or resources to make necessary changes, and neither the health professionals get to understand the issues or get involved fully and should be accountable for lack of action. There was no body or institution tasked to monitor situations adequately leading to no proper assessment of the situation even by psychological professional services, these outcomes can also be attributed lack of proper information gathering and sharing which led to exclusion of necessary and important partici pants, contributors and help to give patient A that was readily available due to lack of a clear leadership, clarity of role and a unified information and management system. For positive outcomes in partnerships and to provide person centred care it is essential that communication between interagencies, individuals, key people, service users family and friends, G.Ps, nurses, opticians, dentists, Physiotherapists, O.Ts, psychologists etc. to be really effective. Any barriers to communication should be minimised to ensure good communications. There should be an opening of a subject to widespread discussion and debate to enable the communication of ideas to all those working together in the partnership, so that they can be used and lead to change. This should be an on-going activity which is used to inform changes to policies and procedures within the workplace and involves the sharing of good practice leading to reduced professional isolation. (Frances Sussex, 2008) Barriers to Effective Partnerships While working in partnership is significantly crucial and important in the health and social care sector, working in collaboration and partnership across various agencies can be a daunting task, as there need to be an understanding of respective duties, roles, and organizational structure of different professionals, agencies and their language, therefore this could frustrating and be a barrier that could lead to poor communication and misunderstanding, coupled with the fact of having to deal with different legislations, funding streams, professional complexes and organizational structures. Where there is a perception of superiority differences in status between individuals or partners in a partnership, this creates a barrier for a proper partnership relationship. There could be ways in which the above stated barriers could be overcome. The sharing of objectives, goals and outcomes. Sharing information and the use of a standard and common terminology. Meetings not being too formal and joint team building activities. Having joint training and face to face working. A full commitment to the partnership relationship with a clear demarcation of roles. (Hudson, B. 2002) If we look at one of the above points for example having joint training and face to face working will create a closer relationship and understanding in partnership relationships by reducing formality, improving understanding among partners, and an opportunity to bring up any problems or issues that may require resolving. Recommmendations Having looked at the issues relating to patient A, published in the Guardian newspaper of Friday 12 March 2010 a Serious Case Review such as that of Adult A gives an invaluable lesson to be learnt in what can be done to prevent such incidents and tragedies. A range of strategies need to be considered to improve outcomes and partnership working. Professionals working in different health and social care services have a shared responsibility to know what their role is individually within any partnership, with measures to be taken jointly or individually to protect vulnerable people from preventable harm. Before dwelling on inter-agency co-operation and participation, it is important to consider the promotion, participation and empowerment of the service user. The effectiveness of interagency collaboration and information sharing can be diminished and less productive if the service user does not feel part of the process and the chances of a successful outcome will be significantly reduced. Hence it will be produce a better outcome to work in partnership with carers, families, advocates and other people who are sometimes called significant others. In order to work well in partnership, there has to be good communication and you will need to have good communication skills. Some suggested strategies for an improved and positive outcome for an effective and productive partnership in the health and social services are to: Analyse the importance of working in partnership with others. Develop procedures for effective working relationships with others. Agree common objectives when working with others within the boundaries of own role and responsibilities. Evaluate procedures for working with others. Deal constructively with any conflict that may arise with others. (Department of Health (DH) 2007) Conclusion In conclusion, having looked at the issues at the Stafford hospital coupled with the issue of patient A in Manchester, the factors that have impacted the hospitals could be looked at as down to lack of the full and proper training coupled with effective implementation of partnership with relevant bodies like the voluntary sector and families. Most of the factors discussed above will have impacted on the provision of effective services to service users References Aldridge, N. (2005) Communities in Control: The New Third Sector Agenda for Public Sector Reform. Social Market Foundation. Bulloch S. Taylor M. (2001). Partnership Working. Great Britain. Evans, D. Killoran, A. (2000) Tackling health inequalities through partnership working: learning from a realistic evaluation. Critical Public Health, 10, 125-140. Martin V. e1 al. (2010). Managing in health and social care. Rouleledge. Oxon. Cameron, A. and Lart, R. (2003) Factors promoting and obstacles hindering joint working: a systematic review of the research evidence, Journal of Integrated Care, vol 11, no 2, pp 9-17. Dowling, B., Powell, M. and Glendinning, C. (2004) Conceptualising successful partnerships, Health S9cial Care in the Community, vol 14, no 4, pp 309-317. Department of Health (DH) (2007) Putting people first: a shared vision and commitment to the transformation of adult social care, London: DH. Hudson, B. (2002) lnterprofessionality in health and social care: the Achilles heel of partnership? Journal of lnterprofessional Care, 16, 7-17. Huxham, C. Vangen, S. (2005) Managing to Collaborate: The Theory and Practice of Collaborative Advantage. Routledge. Larkin, C. Callaghan, P. (2005) Professionals perceptions of inter.professional working in community mental health teams. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 19, 338- 346. Vaughan, B. and Lathlean, J. (1999) Intermediate care models in practice, London: The Kings Fund. Btcc national can:. Mark Walsh. (2003). Duncan. M .. Heighway. P. and Chaddcr. P.201 0 . II calth and safety al work essential. 6th ed.London: la pack publishing Ltd. Health and social care. Bleenationa J level 3. Caroly AJdworth (2010). Health and social care Btech level 3. Beryl stretch and Mary Whitehouse (2010). lnlemational health and social care. Neil Moonic and Gou~11cth Windsor (200). Introduction to health and safe~ at work. Phil Hughes. Ed ferett (2011 . Managing in health and social care. Vivien martin. Julie Charlesworth. Euan Henderson  (2010).

buddhism :: essays research papers

Buddhism is a major religion, founded in northeastern India. Buddhism was based on the teachings of Siddhartha Guatama, who is known as â€Å"Buddha† The Enlightened one. Buddha is divided into two major groups known as â€Å"The way of the Elders† and â€Å"Mahayana† the great vehicle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Siddhartha Guatama was born in 563 BC in Kapilavastu near the Indian-Nepal border. The young prince withdrew all his luxury and went on a quest for peace and enlightenment. When he attained the enlightenment he had been seeking, Buddha began to preach. Going from place to place, getting more and more disciples for his ministry called the â€Å"Sangha†. Buddha did not leave a written scroll or a book of teachings. So as a result later followers wrote his beliefs. At the center of Buddha enlightenment was the realization of the four noble truths. 1) Life is suffering 2) all suffering is caused by ignorance of the nature of reality and the craving, attachment and grasping the result 3) suffering can be ended by overcoming ignorance and attachment 4) the path to the suppression of suffering is the â€Å"Noble Eightfold path†, which consists of right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindedness and right contemption. Also according to Buddhism a person is only a temporary combination of aggregates that include the material body, feelings, perception, predisposition or karmic tendencies and consciousness. Buddhism spread rapidly throughout India. Missionaries introduced the religion to southern India, to the northwestern part of the land and to Sri Lanka. Buddhism had reached Myanmar by the 5th century AD. It was adopted by the Thai people between the 1100s and 1300s, and then moved into Laos and Cambodia, about the beginning of the Christian era. Buddhism was carried to Central Asia, from there it entered China by the early 1st century AD, influencing Chinese culture and, in turn, adapting itself to Chinese ways.

Essay --

Jane continues her new life at Thornfield now with the interest of Mr. Rochester and she thinks about the concept of marriage. Charlotte Bronte shows the way each character thinks of each other and how they treat each other. Jane is treated like an invisible un-acknowledgeable maid. Mr. Rochester treats her oppositely unlike his guests. While Jane sits and observes the guest she has an interesting analysis on their looks, behavior and status. Jane’s response to Mrs. Ingram’s engagement made her look like she is better than Mrs. Ingram. When Mr. Rochester’s guest first arrived Jane did not interact with them rather than Adele who wanted to see them. Jane felt that there was no use for her to be friendly with them. Jane doesn’t know them and took the advice of Mrs. Fairfax by sitting at distance and let the guest get comfortable. Jane also felt that as governess she will only assist Adele and Mr. Rochester’s which is the reason for her long stay with the guests. â€Å"But understand that so long my visitors stay I expect you †¦ †(Mr. Rochester, 183). Jane could have socially approached them ...

Marvel Case

MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT GROUP Bankruptcy and restructuring Introduction Marvel entertainment group was started by Martin Goodman in 1939. It originally was a comic book business, known as Marvel Comics now. We have no way to forget the images of X-men, Spider-Man, and Thor. Marvel Entertainment Group has had a glorious history, and a dominant position in the comic market. However, this glorious empire regretfully elapsed in the end. The historical rise and fall influences not only comic fans’ life, but most importantly to its investors and the financial market.Here we discuss in detail about the reason Marvel file for bankruptcy, the evaluation of the restructuring plan, equity worth per share under restructuring plan, its influence on the debt rising ability to other firms in the group, and why the portfolio managers choose to sell their zero coupon bonds. Part 1 Analyzing problems: why did Marvel file for Chapter 11? Were the problems caused by bad luck, bad strategy, or bad ex ecution? After taking a deep look into its performance of a six-year period, we reached the conclusion that the fall of this comic star is mainly caused by bad strategy it adopted, especially the one to acquire Skybox.Though the first two issuance of debt did bring along good operating results, Marvel’s core business began to falter shortly after the third issuance. The sales of three major business lines: Sports and Entertainment Cards, Children’s Activity Stickers, and Published comic books all decline significantly after 1993. The main reason for this decline can be explained by the fact that child entertainment is becoming more diversified, with alternatives appearing such as video games. Besides that, collectors’ declining willingness to invest in comic books drive the sales down dramatically.However, these reasons have little things to do with luck: because a successful and experienced entertainment company like Marvel should have the ability to notice thi s kind of demand change. What is more, sufficient market research should also be done when deciding long-term business strategies. But the creator of Spider man really disappointed us by heading for a totally wrong direction at the turning point of this industry. To be qualified as a bad strategy adopter, Marvel decided to acquire Skybox in 1995. At that time, Marvel has a leverage ratio as high as 52%, which made it hard to pay back the huge debt when revenues are declining.Moreover, the declining demand for entertainment cards will make this expansion unlikely to boost its revenues. We can see more clearly from its operating and financing ratios that this acquisition resulted in worse performance of the whole Marvel group. Marvel’s operating and leverage ratios 1991 Operating Ratios Sales Cost of Sales Cost of Sales/Sales SG&A SG&A/Sales Net Income Net Income/Sales Leverage Ratios Total Debt Shares Outstanding Share Price Market Value of Equity Debt/D+E EBITDA EBITDA/Sales Interest Expenses EBITDA/Interest $115. 10 58. 50. 57% 21. 4 18. 59% 16. 1 13. 99% 1992 $223. 80 112. 6 50. 31% 43. 4 19. 39% 32. 6 14. 57% 355. 3 98. 6 12 1183. 2 23. 09% 67. 8 30. 29% 6. 5 10. 43 1993 $415. 20 215. 3 51. 86% 85. 3 20. 54% 56 13. 49% 324. 7 102. 6 26 2667. 6 10. 85% 114. 6 27. 60% 14. 6 7. 85 1994 $514. 80 275. 3 53. 48% 119. 7 23. 25% 61. 8 12. 00% 585. 7 103. 7 16 1659. 2 26. 09% 119. 8 23. 27% 16. 5 7. 26 1995 $829. 30 538. 3 64. 91% 231. 3 27. 89% -48. 4 -5. 83% 934. 8 101. 3 12 1215. 6 43. 47% 34. 7 4. 18% 43. 2 0. 80 1996 $581. 20 372. 4 64. 07% 168 28. 90% -27. 9 -4. 0% 977 101. 8 4 407. 2 70. 58% 40. 8 7. 02% 42. 7 0. 96 97. 7 5 488. 5 35. 5 30. 84% 3. 5 10. 14 As we can see from the number facts above, both operating and leverage ratios show that bad performance of the company became even worse after the acquisition. On one hand, during this six-year period, Marvel’s operating ratios decreased greatly: Net Income/ Sales dropped from 13. 99% of 1991 to -4. 80% of 1996. Besides, the cost of Sales/Sales rose significantly from 50. 57% to 64. 07%. At the same time, SG&A/Sales also increased from 18. 6% to 28. 9%.On the other hand, the leverage ratios also showed that the leverage is already quite high before it made the acquisition decision. During the period from 1991 to 1995, the operating results were not satisfying and leverage coverage kept falling. Based on this situation, Marvel’s decision makers still expanded further, resulting in a worse situation: after the acquisition, its interest coverage ratio dropped rapidly to only 0. 96; the EBITDA/Sales ratio also declined to 7. 02%. Therefore, we can see clearly that the bad strategy Marvel adopted is the main reason for its bankruptcy.When facing with both an internal problem—financial distress, and external threats—declining demand for cards, Marvel should absolutely seek growth within existing business rather than impudently expand through acquiring Skyb ox. Part 2 Evaluation of the proposed restructuring plan: will it solve the problems that caused Marvel to file Chapter 11? As Carl Icahn, the largest unsecured debt holder, would you vote for the proposed restructuring plan? Why or why not? In early 1996, Perelman announced a restructuring plan in order to bail out.According to the plan, $365 million would be invested in Marvel in exchange for 427 million new Marvel shares to maintain the 80% ownership; Marvel would acquire Toy Biz, using its revenue to serve Marvel’s debt and offset Marvel’s NOLs; debt with a face value of $894. 1 million would shift into equity. In our perspective, this new plan can only solve part of Marvel’s recent problems, while it would be helpless to completely help the company out. The proposed restructuring plan is supposed both to relief Marvel’s debt burden and to increase the liquidity. To achieve this goal, Marvel planned to increase equity investment, and retire 894. milli on of debt, whose interest would be secured by 77. 3 million of Marvel’s shares. In these cases, Marvel would acquire new financing support without giving away part of its ownership, which is vital for the tax and NOLs purpose of the company. Besides, the leverage ratio would decrease sharply as a large proportion of debt would turn into equity, given that the market price of stock would not decline significantly. As a result, the plan could solve the liquidity problem of Marvel, as well as solve the problem that led Marvel to violate specific bank loan covenants.However, the company misemployed the newly acquired liquidity in the wrong place. Rather than transforming its original business strategy, which is problematic, into newly emerging industries such as video games to increase revenue, Marvel would maintain its original business lines, majority of which face downturns in the market. At the meantime, Marvel would continue to expand its current business by acquiring remai ning shares of Toy Biz. As what was mentioned previous in this report, the main reason why Marvel filed Chapter 11 was that it mistakenly bought business that produces non-demanded products.S&P downgraded the company’s debt by noting that Marvel’s earnings â€Å"have fallen while it has added debt to make acquisitions†. To acquire Toy Biz, an estimated $361. 5 million would be paid in cash by Marvel. Though Marvel believed that the acquisition would help generate sustainable cash flow to the company, we consider the revenue of Toy Biz, a company which is closely related to Marvel’s current business lines, is far from guaranteed as a foreseeable downturn in traditional entertainment industry. It means that the relieved debt burden could be ultimately offset by the prudent acquisition.Marvel would be inevitable in crisis. Furthermore, the debt holders, debt of whom would be transformed into equity, would not be fully paid off. After the restructuring plan w as announced, the stock price of Marvel plummeted. From what was shown in Exhibit 3, Marvel’s stock price continued to decline afterwards. Under the downward pressure of share price, the value of the collateral shares for the bonds are now much lower than it used to be at the time of the bonds being issued. In other words, the new shares could now only cover partially the face value of original bonds.For Carl Icahn, the largest unsecured debt holder who would have to invest in the highly discounted share once the restructuring plan is passed, whether or not its investment could be paid back would be doubtful. Though Bear Stearns, a company who prepared financial projections for Marvel’s acquisition of Toy Biz, predicted modest growth for Marvel and significant growth for Toy Biz, and that Marvel was valued more as a going concern, the argument of Bear Stearns is questionable and hard to be guaranteed. Therefore, as Carl Icahn, we would not vote for he proposed restruct uring plan. Part 3 Evaluation of Marvel’s equity: how much is Marvel’s equity worth per share under the proposed restructuring plan assuming it acquires Toy Biz as planned? What is your assessment of the pro forma financial projections and liquidation assumptions? We proceed to estimate equity worth per share by employing the capital cash flow method. Capital cash flow valuation incorporates mainly two approaches: starting with NI or starting with EBIT. Concerning the difficulty of reaching for such items as EBIT, we prefer the NI method particularly.Then the whole valuation process could be divided into two parts: calculation of PV (CCF) and number of shares. Part 1: PV (CCF) How to determine the discount rate is crucial for PV (equity value). This valuation uses data from Exhibit 10. Marvel entertainment group asset beta Risk-free rate Risk premium Pre-tax WACC Note: Pre-tax WACC = Rf + ? a * risk premium We use the five-year yields on US treasury bills, notes, and b onds for correspondence with our estimation time range starting from 1997 and ending in 2001. It gives us the pretax WACC as 11. 35%, used as our discount rate in the case. Then we proceed to the next section of CCF, based on information on Exhibit 9. Table 3. 1 has all the calculations shown in explicit steps with our desired result as equity value = 435. 99. Part 2: number of shares outstanding Up till now, equity value per share is only one step away with the missing number of shares, which is presented directly underneath Exhibit 6, as 528. 8 Therefore, we can come straightforward to the final calculation as: Equity value per share = 435. 99/528. 8 = 0. 2 What makes this case special is that distressed M&A could offer substantial corporate strategy opportunities in the troubled economic times ahead, while at the same time, the value of such opportunities could often be hidden amidst the confusion and distress of bankruptcy, such as the one listed as follows. Liquidation value is presented in table 3. 2. 0. 65 6. 36% 7. 5% 11. 235% Part 4 Will it be difficult for Marvel or other companies in the MacAndrews and Forbes holding company to issue debt in the future? Yes. It will become much harder for other companies in the MacAndrews and Forbes holding company o issue debt in the future, under the influence of Marvel’s bankruptcy. In 1995, S&P and Moody’s downgraded the holding companies’ debt from B to B-. Again, in 1996, Moody’s downgraded Marvel’s public debt once more. After the huge volume debt of Marvel downgraded by two rating agencies, Marvel had announced that it would violate specific bank loan covenants due to decreasing revenues and profits. Because downgrading of debt increases the chance of default, and the default probability would surely bring difficulties to other companies in the MacAndrews and Forbes holding company to issue new debt.This would happen step by step. First, the low credit rating indicates a hi gh risk of defaulting on a loan and, hence leads to high interest rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor. Then, Investors realize this risk and therefore would require a higher default premium to compensate the risk. After that, increased default premiums would raise the cost of capital for the holding company. Given the increased risk premium and default possibilities, Marvel and other companies in the MacAndrews and Forbes holding group would having more difficulties issuing new debt in the future.Some difficulties would be generated from Perelman, because debt holders and creditors where raising questions about the integrity on the judgment decisions from Perelman. Judge Balick approved Marvel did not discriminate unfairly against non-affecting creditor classes and provided it was fair and equitable to all classes. In reaction, a lawyer challenged the Bearn Stern’s conclusions and insinuated Bearn Sterns had multiple levels of conflicts due to the contingency fee p rovided by Perelman. In the end even the Vice-Chairman of the Andrew group had to come with a statement to overcome all the negative sounds in the market.Anyhow it looks like Perelman’s reputation was damaged already. Also, this would influence the whole company’s reputation and the credibility of issuing new debt. Part 5 Why did the price of Marvel’s zero-coupon bonds drop on Tuesday, November 12, 1996? Why did portfolio managers at Fidelity and Putnam sell their bonds on Friday, November 8, 1996? On Nov 12, 1996, Marvel’s zero-coupon bonds fell by more than 50% when the spokesman for the Andrews Group announced the details of the proposed restructuring plan. According to he announcement, Perelman was to purchase, through Perelman-related entities, 410 million shares of newly-issued Marvel common for $0. 85 per share, 81% discount to the then prevailing market price of $4. 625. After Marvel met the managers of Fidelity and Putnam, those two institutional investors sold their Marvel bonds on hand immediately in response of the meeting before the announcement of the restructuring plan. Public holders predict Fidelity and Putnam should have the insider information about the restructuring plan.Their action made the public holder feels the restructuring plan is not favor to the bond holder and therefore sold it to avoid a greater loss. Apart from that, Marvel’s zero-coupon bonds were secured by its equity, rather than the company’s assets or operating cash flows. Due to the problem Marvel suffered, their share price dropped. Once the stock price dropped below $11. 6 per share, the collateral would not be sufficient to cover the debts. The public debt holders might consider that these bonds were no longer worthy to be held to maturity while the credit risk soared. Therefore they sold the bonds in arge quantity under the deteriorated signals in the market. As a result, the bond price plunged. Due to the restructuring plan, t he prices of Marvel’s shares and bonds dropped 41% and 50% respectively. On Nov 8, 1996, Howard Gittis, vice chairman of Andrews Group, called Fidelity Investments and Putnam Investments, two of the largest institutional holders of Marvel’s public debt, and asked them what they would like to see in are structuring plan. Portfolio managers at Fidelity and Putnam decided to sell more that $70 million of Marvel bonds at a price of $0. 37 per dollar of face value on the next day.Perhaps, during this conversation, they got some detail information of the plan which proved the present value of Marvel’s bonds was overvalued. It gave the chance for them to avoid tens huge losses in diminished value that would have followed and suffer the time they continued to hold the bonds already existing facts were revealed. To explain the portfolio managers at Fidelity and Putnam sell their bonds on Friday, November 8, 1996, we can compare the value of the bond value at the market a nd the expected equity value belong to the public holders after restructuring, Bond value on November 8, 1996, Face value of $894mn X 0. 37per dollar of face value = $ 330mn Equity value belong to the public holders after restructuring, $ 77mn shares X $0. 49 (our projected equity worth per share) = $ 38mn We found that the market value of the Marvel bond is far higher than the value of the future equity worth belongs to the bondholders. So, the bond selling price of Fidelity and Putnam is relatively much attractive rather than the converted equity value after the restructuring plan. ConclusionIn the above analysis, we reached at the conclusion that Marvel’s bankruptcy mainly resulted from its bad strategy and management problems. First, it chose to expand in a wrong time and to a wrong direction. Second, its restructuring decision can only solve its liquidity problem temporarily, and Carl Icahn should veto the restructuring plan. Third, Marvel Entertainment Group in this cas e will have bad influence on other companies and make it hard for them to issue new debt in the future. We also use the capital cash flow method to calculate the equity worth under the restructuring plan.Generally speaking, it does sound that attractive and only resulted in investors’ chagrin. Table 3. 1 (millions) Net (loss) income + depreciation or amortization – change in working capital – capital expenditure + amortization of goodwill – equity in net (loss) income in unconsolidated subsidiaries + minority interest in Toy Biz + provision for deferred taxes +Interest Capital cash flow Growth rate of each year Geometric growth rate Discount rate Present value of CCF Sum of Present value Debt value of Sept. 996 Equity value ? ? ? Terminal cash flow = CCF2001 * (1+g)/(r-g) We use geometric average here because of the rule of thumb: the more volatile the return stream, the more important it uses geometric average Because the market value and book value of d ebt are nearly the same, we directly subtract the debt value from Sum of PV (CCF) to get the final equity value. -7. 12% 11. 235% 248. 21 1412. 99 977. 0 435. 99 192. 3 91. 04 162. 12 118. 67 600. 52 1997 (35. 7) 34. 5 75. 4 83. 0 30. 5 0. 1 3. 0 9. 8 71. 0 271. 6 1998 17. 5 43. 4 11. 5 67. 4 21. 8 0. 2 -8. 3 68. 0 238. 1 (12. 33%) 1999 (12. 1) 44. 1 (44. 3) 47. 4 21. 5 (2. 2) -6. 3 64. 6 125. 3 (47. 38%) 2000 27. 6 44. 8 42. 0 46. 7 21. 2 (3. 2) -8. 1 61. 0 248. 2 98. 08% 2001 33. 6 45. 9 (2. 0) 45. 1 21. 5 (4. 4) -5. 8 56. 6 202. 1 (18. 57%) 1022. 67 Terminal CF 1022. 67 Table 3. Liquidation value Cash Accounts receivable Inventory Deferred income tax Income tax receivable Prepaid expenses and other current assets Current assets PP&E (net) Goodwill and other intangibles (net) Investment in subsidiaries Deferred charges and other assets Total assets Accounts payable Accrued expenses and other current liabilities Short-term borrowings Current portion of long-term debt Current liabil ities Long-term debt Other long-term liabilities Total liabilities Minority interest in Toy Biz Liquidation value Sep-96 35. 9 257. 2 99. 1 32. 5 18. 2 58. 2 501. 1 87. 7 595. 3. 2 72. 7 1260. 4 95. 8 170. 1 28. 7 625. 8 920. 4 0 56. 6 977. 0 102. 9 180. 5 Millions adjustment % 100 85 50 0 100 0 value 35. 9 218. 6 49. 6 0 18. 2 0 322. 3 Note s 1L 2L 3L 4L 50 50 0 0 43. 9 297. 9 0 0 664. 0 5L 6L 7L 7L 90 90 0 0 86. 2 153. 1 0 0 239. 3 8L 8L 9L 9L 0 0 0 0 239. 3 9L 10L 0 0 424. 7 11L 12L Note: all adjustments are based on our group’s estimations, prepared from the 1996 standpoint. ? The second entry accounts receivable is adjusted downward to 85%, based on the â€Å"rule of thumb† of liquidation situations, note (2L), (5L), and (8L) are done likewise.To make it more precise, expert appraisers are needed for specific consultation. ? Notes (3L), (4L), (7L), (9L), (10L) and (11L) identify the items written down to zero if liquidized. ? Note (6L) were written down to 50% bec ause of the perceived value of Marvel’s character portfolio (Spiderman and X-man did enable them steal the thunder), while we still need someone expertise for more accurate estimation. ? Lastly, subtracting liabilities from assets in Table 3. 2 gives us the liquidation valuation of $424. 7 million