Mongols in the Middle East

The Mongols were raiders, clan warriors, and rulers of a transcontinental empire in the thirteen century.   Also referred to as the Tatars and barbarians, they conquered Persia before moving on to Europe with the Khan of Khans, Genghis Khan as their most important leader.   Eventually the Mongols made an empire for themselves which is known as the largest contiguous empire in world history. In Europe, the Mongols first attacked Hungary in the year 1241.   They smashed all military opposition in Poland and the Balkans before regrouping to push west.   The Mongol invasion of all Europe could have been completed in the course of a year.   However, an unexpected message arrived to call back all Mongols to Genghis Khan.   Europe was partly delivered.   But Islam was not. By the year 1220, the Mongols had captured Samarkand and Bukhara.   And, in the year 1255, the Mongol rulers of Persia went to war against the Caliph of Islam in Baghdad.   Led by Genghis Khan’s grandson, Hulagu Khan, they invaded Syria and Palestine, and in 1258, captured Baghdad, destroying the city and killing the Abbasid Caliph in the process. Baghdad, before the Mongol invasion, was one of the centers of intellectual activity for the entire globe.   By attacking the center, the Mongols pretty much snuffed out the intellectual flowering of the time.   Besides, the city had had its agriculture supported by a canal network thousands of years in age.   The Mongols also destroyed the physical structure of Baghdad – before then referred to as the City of Peace – by filling in the irrigation canals and leaving Iraq  too depopulated to restore them.   The barbarians had killed around eighty thousand people of Baghdad. After Baghdad, the Mongols marched westward, but were halted at Ayn Jalut, one of the decisive battlefields of history near Nazareth in Israel.   In the year 1260, the Turkish and Egyptian forces routed the Mongols at Ayn Jalut, thereby preventing the enemy from attacking Egypt and North Africa.   The Golden Horde Mongols of Russia sided with the Turks and the Egyptians to turn against their own kind. By coming into contact with the Muslims through invasions, countless Mongols began to embrace Islam.   Ghazan Khan Mahmud, a Mongol ruler, officially adopted Islam as the religion of the state at the dawn of the fourteenth century.   During this period, the Mongols built mosques and schools, and patronized all sorts of scholarship. Then again, Tamerlane, the world conqueror, appeared among the Mongols, leading the barbarian forces to sweep down on Central Asia, India, Iran, Iraq, and Syria; occupying Aleppo and Damascus; and threatening the Mamluks.   The Muslims survived their invaders.   Nonetheless, the damage had been done.   Some of the regions occupied by the Muslims in the past did never recover fully, and the Muslim empire never fully regained its enormous power held in the past. The Mongol invasions happened to be a major cause of subsequent decline that set in throughout the heartland of the Arab East.   The Mongols, in their sweep through the Muslim world, had killed and deported innumerable scholars as well as scientists; destroyed libraries along with their irreplaceable works; and thereby set the stage for general intellectual decline in the Middle East.   By wiping out the invaluable cultural, scientific, and technological legacy that  the Muslim scholars had been preserving for some five hundred years – the Mongols had left an indelible mark on the minds of the Middle Easterners.   After the Mongols, the Middle East never really reached the height of intellectual supremacy it once had reached. The Mongols came to rule the entire Middle East except for Egypt.   Traditionally the worshippers of heaven, the Mongols had believed in their divine right to rule the entire world.   The Muslims in the Middle East had also believed in their own supremacy until this time.   This is because the Holy Qur’an had referred to the believers as the best of communities raised on earth.   The Mongol invasions were a bitter disappointment for the Muslims of the Middle East, seeing that they showed how the great Muslim Caliphate could be routed easily by a band of barbarians. A serious setback for the Muslims of the Middle East, Mongols ruled the Middle Easterners from Persia instead of Baghdad, crushing the Arab sense of superiority in the process.   The masters had turned into subjects.   This, indeed, was an important lesson for Middle Easterners, seeing that the events of the centuries to come held even greater blows in store for them. Muslim historians have asserted that the Mongol invasion of the Middle East was a punishment from God for the rulers of the Muslim world that had turned to corruption.   Moreover, God does not tolerate arrogance on the part of a race that comes to rule another.   The Middle Easterners had, by this time, seen tremendous successes almost everywhere in the world.   And yet, the Abbasids had overthrown the Umayyads, thereby setting the stage for Middle Eastern decline.   This is because Islam does not set brother against brother.   It may very well be that rulers from the Middle East had begun overthrowing one another for power alone rather than  Islam.   In fact, the same pattern was applied among the Mughal emperors of the subcontinent, who too were eventually overthrown by â€Å"outsiders†. When the Ottomans were overthrown by â€Å"outsiders† after the First World War, it was a reminder for the Muslim world.   As a matter of fact, the Mongols were brought to mind.   Once again, the Muslim Caliphate had been done away with. One of the reasons cited by Muslim scholars for the fall of the Muslim Caliphate is that many of the caliphs who came after Prophet Muhammad and his friends, Abu Bakr, Usman, Umar, and Ali – were defeated because they had built grand empires at the cost of discarding thoughts about the afterlife.   In fact, right up to the Ottomans, the Muslims had formed a truly magnificent empire. Harems were common, and there was just too much excitement over worldly affairs to let the afterlife be of much concern to the rulers as well as their subjects.   In actuality, Muslims are meant to be focused on the afterlife instead of worldly affairs.   Even though the grandeur of David and Solomon is not disdained, many of the caliphs of Islam after the first few ones are truly known to have turned too much attention on worldly affairs.   This, according to Muslim historians, was one of the chief causes of Middle Eastern decline. The Mongols stay in the consciousness of the Middle Easterners today as a reminder of the brutal past – a past for which only they were held responsible.   The reminder is beneficial.   In point of fact, the history of the Mongols among the Middle Easterners is only meant to bring the Muslims of the Middle East closer to God, and the real spirit of Islam.      

Kearlsey Case Study Essay

Tony Kearsley applies for a position as a firefighter with the City of St. Catharines and was accepted on condition that he were to pass a medical examination by a doctor specified by the city. However, during the medical exam the doctor discovered that Kearsley had an atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat) and refused to pass him. Kearsley took it upon himself to consult a medical specialist who advised him that his condition would indeed not affect his ability to perform his job as a firefighter. Kearsley then filed a complaint against the city with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. At the Commissions Bored of Inquiry hearing, the doctor who had originally examined Kearsley testified that atrial fibrillation led to increased risk for stroke meaning his heart could fail to pump sufficient blood to his organs during the extreme conditions that come with firefighting. The Board of Inquiry called a medical expert in atrial fibrillation. The expert testified that the increased risk for stroke in someone of Kearsley’s age was inconsequential. The expert further testified that there was no increased risk for heart failure in someone like Kearsley because he was otherwise in good health. Meanwhile, after Kearsley got turned down by the St. Catharines fire department, Kearsley had become a firefighter in the City of Hamilton, achieving the rank of first-class firefighter in October 2001. 2. Why did the Board of Inquiry rule in Kearsley’s favour? The Board of Inquiry ruled in Kearsley’s favour because they came to the conclusion that Mr. Tony Kearsley had in fact suffered discrimination. The Board noted that it would have been the City of St. Catharines responsibility to seek an expert opinion when confronted with a medical condition such as that found in Kearsley. The Board also indicated that this was the procedure used in other municipalities. The City did not follow their responsibilities which led to Mr. Kearsley’s unfair treatment and discrimination based on disability. For these reasons, this is why I think the Board of Inquiry most definitely ruled in Kearsley’s favour. 3. Do you agree with the decision in this case? Why or why not? I strongly agree with the decision of the case. Tony Kearsley was without a doubt, discriminated based on disability which is illegal in Canada. I feel like the city of St. Catharines defiantly should have handled this matter in a more ordered and professional way, as it seems that none of the facts in favour of the city of St. Catharines truly added up. I feel like the city jumped to conclusions too quickly not taking into account that Tony Kearsley was still fully capable to fulfill all duties of a firefighter. They did not treat Mr. Kearsley as an equal after finding out he had a disability; this is an act of discrimination and this is illegal. The city of St. Catharines owes at the least these things to Mr. Tony Kearsley in return for their lack of knowledge towards him while doing their job. 4. In what ways in this case a question of human rights? This case is a question of human rights because it is strongly discriminating against disability in the workplace. The Ontario Human Rights Code provides in part: 5(1) Every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to employment without discrimination because of †¦ handicap. 10(1) â€Å"because of handicap† means for the reason that person has or had, or is believed to have or have had a) any degree of physical disability that is caused by illness. 17(1) a right of a person under this Act is not infringed for the reason only that the person is incapable of performing of fulfilling essential duties or requirements attending the exercise of the right because of handicap. It is obvious at once that a person with very bad eyesight is not discriminated against when refused a job as a truck driver nor a person with inadequate strength when refused a job as a police officer or firefighter. There is no doubt that St. Catharines considered that Mr. Kearsley had a physical disability, atrial fibrillation. The issue is whether St. Catharines was justified in concluding that because of this perceived disability; Mr. Kearsley was incapable of performing or fulfilling essential duties as a firefighter. It was later found out that Mr. Kearsley could indeed perform all duties as a firefighter, as he got hired by the City of Hamilton later that year. Therefore, Mr. Kearsley was discriminated against based on disability and this is without a doubt, a question of human rights.

Influence of US Marcellus Shale exploration & production on Russian Thesis Proposal

Influence of US Marcellus Shale exploration & production on Russian LNG export in Shtokman_proposal - Thesis Proposal Example The increasing supplies of shale gas in the US have substantially reduced US needs for Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), and this shift in demand has resulted in several geopolitical implications. This paper will examine the effects of US Marcellus Shale exploration and production on Russian LNG export in the Shtokman area of Russia. Russian is among the world’s largest natural exporter. The Shtokman fields are some of the largest gas fields holding more than 3.8 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, as well as slightly more than 37 million tons of condensate gas (Barker 1). The Shtokman field, discovered by Soviet geophysicist Vladimir Shtokman in 1988, has not been explored due to the extreme climatic conditions in the Artic, as well as the depth of the sea as it varies from 1,050 to 1,120 feet. Russians scientists also warn that the development of Shtokman field will encounter problems as global warming sets free icebergs into the Arctic. In order to counter this challenge, the Shtokman Development Company will utilize floating removable platforms that can easily be removed in emergency situations. Knowledge about the existence of shale gas in the US is not new as geologists have known of the existence of shale formations for quite a long time. The principal hurdle has, however, been the issues of costs and technology. These have diminished over the last decade by the advent of new technologies that yield substantial cost reductions, hence making shale gas production in the US a reality. The net production of shale gas in the US has increased from a low amount in 2000 to more than 10 billion cubic feet each day in 2010. These figures will quadruple by the year 2040 and meet the requirements of natural gas in the US. It is paramount to note that without the constraints of government policies, as noted in other fuels such as coal, natural gas will play a significant role in the US energy market, as well as the entire

How do the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation and the Scientific Essay

How do the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation and the Scientific Revolution connect with the history of the Greeks and Roma - Essay Example The texts were written in Latin and the books that were published were only those that had been approved or written by the church. Since the church declared and controlled literary movement, there were no voices thrown upon them. However, upon the period of Renaissance, Europe’s literature revolution began. People started to write books in vernacular language. Through this, common people found the books more accessible even without knowing Latin and criticisms and criticisms on the church and politics began to rise. People begin to argue upon what is true and what is written in the Bible, from which the texts are written and published by the church itself for which, by reason, were thought by the people to be politically biased and thus, not true. One clear example is tackled by Niccolo Machiavelli. In his â€Å"The Prince†, he rejected the common Christian view that the state is an entity under the control of divine power. These brought changes as to exemplifying the v anishing of the control of the church upon literature. Along with the Renaissance, the movement of the Protestant Reformation brought extreme behavioral changes on the Greek and on the Roman cultures and traditions and shaped the whole of Europe’s history. These changes were triggered upon Europe’s views and religion.

Health and safety risk assessment in civil engineering projects Essay

Health and safety risk assessment in civil engineering projects - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the welfare of people operating or working within the confines of any manufacturing or engineering environment is of main importance. Every worker should expect to be capable of carrying out their task in a safe manner that has no negative effect on their health and wellbeing. In fact, many organizations not only reduce risks and make improvements to the working environment but try to make their own working environment superior to others, making it a competitive aspect when recruiting staff. Health and safety in the field are about measures designed to protect the health and safety of workers, visitors and the general public who may be affected by workplace activities. Safety measures about controlling and reducing risks to anyone who might be affected by these activities. Health and safety are controlled largely by legislation and regulations and the law is continually being revised and updated. It is important that organizations are aware of these changes and keep up to date with developments. This unit provides an understanding of hazards and risks associated with health, safety, and welfare in an engineering workplace. Learners will develop an understanding of the requirements of health, safety and welfare legislation and regulations and of their roles in complying with the related legal obligations. Ideally, this unit would form a key component of the program, as the content is applicable to many engineering situations. Learners will be required to undertake full risk assessments and to appreciate the significant risks encountered in the workplace and the measures taken to deal with them (Melchers, 2002). They will also study the principles of reporting and recording accidents and incidents, again within a legal context. The main aim in civil engineering is to manage risk, eliminating or reducing it to acceptable levels (Melchers, 2002). Risk is the combination of the possibility of a failure event, and the risks resulting from the failure. For example, the extent of a particular failure may result in risks fatalities, injuries, property damage, or nothing more than annoyance. It may be regular, occasional, or rare happenings. The acceptability of the failure depends on the combination of the two. Probability is often more difficult to predict than severity due to the many things that could cause a failure, such as mechanical failure, environmental effects, and operator error. Any specialist in the field should be able to assess and comprehensively report on any environmental principle, from aquatic to marine science, air, soil, geology, geo-hydrology, archaeology, ecology, rehabilitation, or any such science connected to the environment. Safety engineering tries to lower the occurrence of failures, and make sure that when failures do happen, the results are not life-threatening. For instance, bridges are designed to carry loads well in excess of the heaviest truck likely to use them. This reduces the possibility of being overloaded. Most bridges are designed with back up load paths, so that if any one structural member fails, the structure will remain standing. This reduces the severity if the bridge happens to be overloaded. Safety should starts during the early design of a system. Engineers should consider what bad events can happen under what conditions, and predict the related accident risk. They should propose safety mitigation requirements in specifications at the start of development or changes to existing designs to make a system safer. These may be done by fully getting rid of any type of hazards or by lowering accident risk. More often, instead of engineers influencing the design, they should prove that an existing, completed design is safe. If the engineer discovers significant safety problems late in the development process, correcting them can be very costly (Great Britain, 2003). This type of error has the potential to waste large sums of money and likely more important, human

Communicable Disease Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Communicable Disease Paper - Essay Example Chicken pox can be spread easily through sneezing or coughing, even rapidly. Furthermore, any direct contact with the secretions of the blisters will spread the chicken pox from one person to another. An individual who is infected is contagious and infectious two days before the rash appears or any sign of chicken pox appears. This continues for about four to five days. â€Å"Varicella has an incubation period of between 10 and 21 days - i.e. the rash will appear from 10 to 21 days after the virus has infected the patient.† (Medical News Today, 2014) There is no way of reducing the length of time a child has chicken pox, only making the symptoms more bearable. A vaccine against chicken pox is used as part of the normal vaccination program. â€Å"They are mainly caused by the varicella virus which is either caused by the direct contact with blisters or through sneezing and coughing.† (Gosh.nhs.uk, 2014) Every individual usually catches chicken pox once in a lifetime. As it is one of the most communicable diseases, mostly children catch chicken pox sooner or later in their lives. Mainly everyone near the infected individual is at risk if they have not gone through this disease before. It is not possible to alter the time-period for which a child has chicken pox. â€Å"However, in most cases there is no need to keep the child away from nursery or school if they have been in contact with chicken pox but not caught the illness.† (Webmd.com, 2014) It is not possible to alter the time-period for which a child has chicken pox. Vaccinations, however, are used as part of the general program. If a child has fever, it should be brought down using paracetamol as it is effective from the start. This is done because when a child has chicken pox, he must be kept cool and in a normal temperature. Heat and sweating makes itching worse, hence the condition of child gets worse. A child suffering from this disease should be

Fire Service Leadership-405 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fire Service Leadership-405 - Essay Example Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was born on 09/08/1828 in Brewer, Maine. Chamberlain was an excellent student and graduated from Bowdoin College in 1852. He went on to study at the Bangor Theological Seminary after graduation. He got married to Fannie Adams, and accepted a teaching position at Bowdoin College in 1855. The couple had five children. He was a believer of the strength of the American form of government, which was threatened by secession of the south in 1861. He left his position to volunteer his services to the State in 1862. Despite his lack of military experience, his education landed him the rank of lieutenant colonel for the 20th Marine Infantry Regiment. The regiment was assigned to Butterfield’s â€Å"Light Brigade† of the Fifth Corps, Army of the Potomac. The Maryland campaign of the fall of 1862 was his first battle experience. During the battle of Antietam on 19/17/1962 the 20th Maine Infantry was held in reserve. The 20th Maine was put in the forefron t of the battle in Fredericksburg, Virginia on 12/12/1862. He had been promoted to Colonel by the summer of 1863. The charge of the 20th Maine Infantry under his leadership contributed largely to the Union victory at Round Top. He led his brigade at the battles of Wilderness, Spotsylvannia Court House, North Anna and Cold Harbour in 1864. He returned in 1865 after miraculously recovering from an injury as brigadier general to lead his troops at the Battle of Five Forks. After the battle, he was placed in command of the First Division of the Fifth Corps. He rode at the head of his troops in the Grand Review of the Army of Washington. He was elected governor of Maine in 1866. He accepted the position of president at Bowdoin College in 1871, and he restructured the college to include science and engineering curriculum. He resigned from his position in 1883 due to ill health, and remained active in veteran circles. He was honoured with the Congressional Medal of Honor for

Fiscal Policy and Aggregate Demand in the UK Essay

Fiscal Policy and Aggregate Demand in the UK - Essay Example Simply, the monetary policy of the government is to control the liquidity balance in the economy affecting the movement of the macroeconomic variables by adjusting interest rates. On the other hand, fiscal policy is an attempt of the government for influencing the economic activity by changing the level and rate of taxation and government expenditure. (Grant and Vidler, 2000, pp 165-167). In the UK, Bank of England is responsible for controlling and directing monetary movement in the economy with the monetary policy. The Bank of England has the power to set the rate of interest independently along with requirements. In case of fiscal policy, the government itself has taken important steps in strengthening the fiscal policy framework since taking office. The government directs the fiscal policy decisively and confidently for sustaining medium-term public finances based on the authoritarian rules and regulations. If possible the fiscal policy supports the monetary policy regarding the movements of the economic and financial parameters of the country. This balancing approach of the fiscal policy together with the monetary policy endows with the stage of solidity essential for accomplishing the Governments fundamental economic purpose of providing a high and sustainable growth and employment in the economy.  

The ANKRD42 Gene Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The ANKRD42 Gene - Dissertation Example If so, the program determines the locations of the start and stop codons. The length of the protein, the presence of the Kozak consensus sequence at the start codon and the length of the reference predicted protein are weighed by the program as positive. From the research, the results show that the ANKRD42 gene was found to exhibit bright bands of the expected size. Ciliated cells exhibited strong immunoreactivity in cilia, neuronal cells were moderately stained while other normal cells exhibited weak stains or negative expression. The gene is well expressed with the expression being detected in normal cells including the testis, brain cerebellum, fetal brain, heart, Rathke's pouches, cecum, urinary bladder, spinal cord, prostate, salivary gland, thymus, skeletal muscle and small intestine among other tissues. Due to this, it was put aside and no further tests were conducted to investigate its potential as a cancer marker. MAEL Gene The MAEL gene is described as maelstrom spermatogen ic transposon silencer which creates a protein that was initially located in Drosophila melanogaster in the nuage perinuclear structure. It is believed to have a functionality that is similar to the spindle gene class. The gene Maelstrom is a protein-coding gene that is associated with diseases such as gonorrhea and essential hypertension. The gene encodes a novel protein that is distributed in the cytoplasm of the nurse cell as well as the oocyte until the protein disappears in stage 7 of oogenesis.

Ethical issues in international business Essay Example for Free

Ethical issues in international business Essay When we pay a large tip to secure a specific table in a restaurant. There is usually some personal happiness-related reason behind our action. Among many of our reasons could be that we want to be nearer to performers on the stage in order for us to secure a better view for our enjoyment. Another reason could be that we want to have a specific view available for us while we dine. If we do not pay a large tip, then there is a bigger risk that we would not get the table that we want. Therefore paying the large tip reduced that risk significantly and makes us likely to get what we want. This case is the same as when a business company pays a bride to certain entities in order to secure a contract. When perceived in Bentham’s perspective, â€Å"happiness† to a business may be equated to progress and profit which in turn may be acquired through appropriate business actions such as securing profitable contracts. The company pays a certain amount in order to get more business which will eventually pay back several fold. This is exactly the utilitarian principle that Bentham explained which may be neatly applied to both cases. In the restaurant, the customer pays a larger tip in order to enjoy the â€Å"happiness† of a specific table. In business, the company pays a bribe in order to enjoy the â€Å"happiness† of obtaining a contract. Although one of the two situations is illegal, that does not mean that the principle between the two situations are different. In as much as companies are not allowed by law to make bribes for contracts, slipping a $50 for a waiter to secure a seat often happens without the knowledge of the waiter’s supervisor. In that sense we may see that both actions to have moral repercussions. It is just that one tends to be more pronounced with respect to its consequences than the other.

Climate Change in the Holocene period

Climate Change in the Holocene period Wai Kai Choi Executive Summary This assignment is about is the climate change in Holocene period the most important cause of the development of agriculture and I will discuss others area as well like people and plants. The three areas I have chosen to discuss is East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and America. Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi, and other life forms for food, fiber, biofuel, medicinals  and other products used to sustain and enhance human life. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated  species created food surpluses  that nurtured the development of civilization. Contents (Jump to) Agriculture Species Climate Change East Asia Sub-Saharan Africa America Conclusion Bibliography Agriculture For a large food production through leaving of hunting and gathering because the animal is killed, which cannot reproduce and for agriculture it will continue to produce by nature. People have been forced to agriculture because they think it is more labour intensive than hunting and gathering, and they had no alternative. It has been developed because of people desire by wanting special status foods, which is what the social need and want to generate our lives by competition with other that normal will produce power by having desire for new statuses and new things. Figure 1: The origins and spread of agriculture (Scarre, D. 2013, p189) The demographic theory suggested that people need to adopt agriculture follow by the end of the ice age and the rise in world population. Agriculture did not start during the Pleistocene because the cold, glacial climate was not favourable to it. Agriculture was impossible in the Pleistocene ice age because the climate was extremely cold and dry, containing higher levels of carbon dioxide, and varied greatly sometimes in periods of a decade or less. (Scarre, D. 2013, p186) Species Figure 2: Summary of the numbers of megafaunal genera (Perspectives in (human) ecology, 2007) The Holocene death includes the disappearance of megafauna, which is the end of the Ice Age that, starting between 9,000 and 13,000 years ago. This may have been due to the loss of the mammoth  that had maintained grasslands  that became birch forests without the mammoths. The new forest and the resulting forest fires may have induced climate change. Such disappearances might be the result of the proliferation  of modern humans  which led to climate change. Climate Change The world is getting warmer by the temperatures has risen upon an average 2 to 5 oC and the Arctic sea ice is getting less, which will cause a rise in sea level. Holocene Climatic Optimum is describing the earlier southern warm period, which is between 8,000 to 10,500 years ago that was immediately following the end of the last ice age. (Scarre, D. 2013, p177) Figure 3: Temperature changes (Brahea Axel,2013) The key reason on agriculture developed is the relationship between human and the environment which is suggested by Oasis theory. The climate became warmer, causing vegetation to increase and shift from one type to another. People adapted to this by changing the foods they ate and altering their lifestyle. Many people began to domesticate plants and animals at this time, both as a direct and indirect response to climate change, thus the origin of agriculture. (Scarre, D. 2013, p186) End of Ice Age the climate changes, which the human response is established to save Antarctica by every land of the globe for agriculture that the human societies increasingly prolific and new forms of social and economic activity developed. East Asia In 8,000 years ago, Northern China has been the domestication centre for foxtail millet and broomcorn millet, these are the species that they have produced and in 7,500 years ago these species is widely cultivated in the Yellow River basin. Later on in Southern China rice was domesticated and in Northern China 5,000 years ago, they domesticated soybean, then around 2,500 BC orange and peach has originated in China. The climate change has an impact in China, which created higher rainfall and warm temperate forest belts. (Wikipedia, 2014) The vegetation experienced different changes over the Holocene in various sub-regions. Near the boundary between modern forest and temperate steppe in Northeast China, forest showed clear expansion in the middle Holocene. In central China near the boundary between forest and desert, vegetation showed various patterns at different sites. Further west of the Tibetan Plateau near the boundary between highland meadow and desert, forest expanded at most sites during the early and middle Holocene. Our synthesis indicates that the climate in the marginal region was slightly moist in the early Holocene, wettest in the middle Holocene, and dry in the late Holocene, though there are regional differences as reflected by vegetation change. This general pattern is very different from either monsoon- or westerly-dominated regions. The maximum moisture occurred during the early Holocene in the monsoon region, while the arid central Asia dominated by the westerlies was dry in the early Holocene and wettest in the mid-Holocene. The interplay of the Asian summer monsoon, westerlies, topography and regional vegetation factors might have contributed to this spatial complexity. It is hard for people to stop hunting and gathering to change it to agriculture because there are forms of wild and animal to be domesticated. This intensive gather together of a very limited number of species just by hunting and gathering. â€Å"This transition from gazelle hunting to sheep and goat herding, where it seems that gazelle never were brought into the domesticated category and that when domesticated animals come into use it’s actually replaced by sheep and goat.† (Watkins, T, 2014). Sub-Saharan Africa There are three areas, which are independently developing agriculture is Ethiopian highlands, Sahei and West Africa. In Ethiopian highlands the most famous domesticated is coffee out of all the other domesticated that are khat, ensete, noog, teff and finger millet. For Sahel domesticated are sorghum and pearl millet. The first domesticated in West Africa is kola nut, which has become an ingredient in Coca Cola and the other domesticated is oil palm, African rice and yams. (Wikipedia, 2014) In Africa agriculture have been they cultivated for millennia came after their domestication elsewhere. The re-domesticated in Africa 5,000 years ago in a place called Papua New Guinea they have domesticated taro and Asian yams. African Humid Period is a wetter period of time due to a strengthening of the African monsoon by changes in summer radiation, which is between 16,000 and 6,000 years ago. In Green Sahara during this period, it has produced numerous of lakes by the rainfall of nature that have contain the wild animal of crocodiles and hippopotamus fauna, this is caused by climate change, it has an effect on the species of agriculture and animal. South Africas southern coastal margin is recognised as being a highly dynamic climatic region that plays a critical role in both regional and global atmospheric and oceanic circulation dynamics. Our understanding of the past dynamics of this system, however, has been limited by the number and nature of datasets available that can be used to infer changes in key climatic parameters in the region. Combined, a negative relationship is apparent between temperature and humidity in this area of the southern Cape, and these changes can for the first time be clearly linked to variations in Antarctic sea-ice extent and shifts in the southern westerly storm track. This dynamic is a reduction in sea-ice extent and a southward shift of the westerlies are manifested regionally by increased temperatures and a phase of marked aridity. America In early 8,000 to 6,000 BC in Mesoamerica has domesticated is corn, beans and squash, but the beans came later on in 4,000 BC, also South America has domesticated potatoes and manioc. Around 2,500 BC they have grown sunflower, sumpweed and goosefoot in America. People in this regional most of them relied on hunting and gathering for millennia, which farming life have not been developed until the second millennium BC. (Wikipedia, 2014) The first peak of the warmth in North Amercia from 11,000 to 9,000 years ago when the Laurentide ice sheet is still chilled, then 4,000 years later it has experienced warming, which the temperature suddenly rises and the ice sheet slowly melt. Three other factors must be added to this is complex solar cycles, Earths orbital variations, it also called Milankovitch cycles, which occur over intervals of tens to hundreds of thousands of years, and different rates of change and climatic conditions depending on location. The retreat of the continental glaciers of the Wisconsinan stage began in central North America around 10,000 years ago, but it did not occur in northern Canada and Alaska until nearly 6000 years ago. The retreat has yet to occur in Greenland. Sea level rise from the melting of the glaciers affected coastal areas globally, so much so that in the late 1800s, some scientists believed that this sea level rise should be the defining characteristic of the Holocene. Conclusion For this report question I agree with it that I think the development of agriculture is the beginning Holocene period the climate change, which has an affect the globe by the temperature have been rise that have caused the ice sheet slowly melt, which will cause the sea level rise and it has produced warmer and wetter weather. This is a great time for develops agriculture because to grow food from the ground, it need water, which is the rain and sun, which make the earth warmer. It is the most important cause of agriculture to production more different types of food and the large species is disappearing by the climate change, this mean animal is dying by an animal not produce enough to keep a life in this period and condition of the environment is not suitable for them. Bibliography Axel, B., 2013. Mini Ice Age?. [Online] Available at: http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/39737-mini-ice-age/page-7 [Accessed 04 12 2014]. human-macroecology blogspot, 2007. Perspectives In (Human) Ecology. [Online] Available at: http://human-macroecology.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/background-how-humans-alter.html [Accessed 01 12 2014]. Perkins, P., Scarre, C. Watkins, T., 2014. Track 2. [Sound Recording] (The Open Univeristy). Scarre, C., 2013. Chapter 5 The world transformed: from foragers and farmers to states and empires. In: C. Scarre, ed. The human past. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, pp. 177-199. Watkins, T., 2014. Track 2. [Sound Recording] (The Open University). Wikipedia, 2014. Neolithic Revolution. [Online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic_Revolution [Accessed 01 12 2014]. Scarre, C., 2013. Chapter 5 The world transformed: from foragers and farmers to states and empires. In: C. Scarre, ed. The human past. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, pp.189. Scarre, C., 2013. Chapter 5 The world transformed: from foragers and farmers to states and empires. In: C. Scarre, ed. The human past. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, pp. 177. Scarre, C., 2013. Chapter 5 The world transformed: from foragers and farmers to states and empires. In: C. Scarre, ed. The human past. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, pp. 186.

American Identity Essay -- History Indians Historical Essays

American Identity Works Cited Not Included American identity has been created by many events throughout the course of history. This country was founded on the clashing and mixing of many different cultures and lifestyles. One of the most important periods of time for this country was during the period of conflict between Americans and Native Americans over land rights. Americans had an idea of manifest destiny and that this land was theirs for the taking. The Americans were going to walk through anyone who opposed them in this quest for land. The treatment of the Indians during this time period was harsh, cruel, and violent to say the least. It is in this treatment that Americans came to view the Indians as a ?racialized other? and where race began to matter. This early thinking is what created our American identity which is based on race.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the early settling of this country, when the English first encountered the Indians they viewed them as uncivilized beasts. ?The first English colonizers in the New World found that the Indians reminded them of the Irish? (Takaki, 28). To the English the Irish represented a lower and uncivilized class of people, a group that the English considered to be beneath them. This association was the beginning of creating an ?Indian Race.? The Indians were different then Irish in they had a reddish tint to their skin. This was important because this lead further to their separation by their color. The Indians were further looked at as...

Programming Languages Essay -- essays research papers

Programming Languages A programming language is a set of English-like instructions that includes a set of rules for putting the instructions together to create commands. A translator changes the English-like commands into numeric code that the computer can understand. The most common type of translator is a compiler. The compiler is program that reads English-like commands in a file and than creates another file containing computer readable numeric code or commands. I will be talking about some of the major functions and uses six high-level programming languages.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Java was developed by Sun MicroSystems and released in 1995. Java is based on C and C++ and incorporates many features object-oriented languages. It is a compiled language, but it’s code output is interpreted. This makes Java ideal for cross-development. The downside to its interpreted code is speed. Java’s object-oriented is fundamental, and all code and data in a Java program exist within the object-oriented class. Java’s exception handiling with try, catch, and throw statements provide the solution for writing reliable code that responds to all possible error conditions. Another advantage of Java is a String class that does away with null-terminated, length byte and other types of strings. It is also multithreaded which a class can easily provide code that runs concurrently with other programing. Another advantage is the lack of a pointer-type data and memory management which tends to be a very bug-prone area. Memory is organized by Javaâ⠂¬â„¢s virtual machine garbage collector. Java provides a rich class library in beavery bug-prone area. Memory is organized by Java’s virtual machine garbage collector. Java provides a rich class library in the forms of packages imported into modules. Since Java is interpreted locally on the user’s system, a security manager can completely control disk access, window creation, and memory management. C was developed by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labortories in 1972. C was originally designed as symbolic code that formalized programming prasctices used at the time. In 1978 C blossomed into what was to become the most popular programming language ever. C offers programmers three advantages: The first is general pourpose programming which allows you to write games, business software, utilities, mathematical models, wordprocessors, spredsheets,... ...equence. Cobol has a certain minimum amount of code that is required for all programs, this is usually called a shell program. Delphi is a Rapid Application progarm which now progrrammers can use tools which are more intuitive and visual. Delphi uses Object Pascal as its foundation language, which has been one of the fastest compilers in the business. Also object-based extensions has been added to the language to support good programming practices and efficent code. Delphi is capeble of using OCX controls, which is a 32-bit OLE-based custom control. Delphi also allows you to create OLE automation servers and clients. These automation objects give you the flexibility of creating programs that perform tasks in the backround and put the results back to your application. Anoter advantage for Delphi is the ability to write multi-threaaded applications. In a multi-tasking enviorment thi is important, as your applications become more comple, it is necessary to execute your applications in seprate pieces, which are called threads. In conclusion, the following was an overview of six high level languages. Many are similar, but there are very distinct features and advantages to each language

Descriptive Essay - College Dorm Room -- Descriptive Essay, Descriptive

Filthy College Dorm Room As I lifted my head, I was greeted by at least fifty naked models, all in various X-rated positions, each eyeing me with an expression that suggested nothing but lust and desire. I stepped into the room, only to be overwhelmed with at least twenty-five more girls stripped of any trace of clothing. Although my legs were begging to walk my sickened body out the door, I brought myself together and looked at the reason I was forcing myself to stay there. I had to pee so badly, and a small, filthy toilet was only a few short steps across the chilled tile floor. My bare feet felt every speck of dirt underneath them, and I laughed at the thought that I respectfully took off my shoes before coming in. The heavy stench of mildew continued to coat my lungs so thickly I was tempted to hold my breath. I focused only on my destination and tried to figure out how anyone, even if they are college freshmen full of testosterone, could turn the walls of their dorm bathroom into a Playboy magazine. After going about my business, I reached for the brass door-handle that would let me out of the tiny room, which consisted of the toilet, a small shower, a moldy rug, and a trash can that was overflowing with tissues and toilet paper. A few pieces of blue gum were carelessly stuck on top of the heap. I hesitated, however, to let my hand touch the door-handle in fear of what might be living on it. I took the chance and grabbed the smooth metal anyway, turned it as quickly as I could, and stepped out of the bathroom to the sink to wash my potentially diseased hands. Chad, who came with me to Joe's dorm, stood nervously in the living area, his hands hanging onto the rims of his pockets. The porcelain sink, which I am assuming... ...e building, and took a deep breath of fresh air. Not only did the environment of the dorm appall me, but I was thoroughly shocked that I could be so blind when it came to Joe. My mind flashed to other people in my life, and I thought about how their outside images may easily conceal their true ways. Joe's dorm made me realize that the depictions I have of a person are often misleading or simply untrue. Chad was now just behind me, and Joe was following him. Joe stopped in the doorway. As we proceeded to walk down the hallway, we passed four gray doors, each identical to Joe's. As we neared the glass doors of the exit, Chad turned around and said to Joe, sarcastically, "Yeah I hope we didn't interrupt you. You weren't tidying up or anything, were you?" He then replied, as he gradually closed the door, "What are you talking about, man. This place is clean."

Organisational Structure Changes Essay

From the information provided it seems that the conflict is arising in the operational area between the manufacturing and marketing department. Both departments are seeking their own division goals and are neglecting the overall effect on the organization. Indeed the manufacturing manager is probably regarding the marketing section as the extra expense, while the marketing manager perceives the manufacturing branch as the threat. This conflict being at managerial level will most likely transmit to the section’s staff, increasing the divergence between the two. The problem not only lies at the departmental area, but also at executive stage. Indeed this conflict should be managed at top management level by adhering more to the marketing concept. The first change that should be implemented is in the organizational structure from a functional one to a category management combined with brand teams. Such structure consists of routing a category manager for each shoe product line. This team will comprise marketing staff, like brand managers, information specialists and sales people, and individuals from other departments, such as research and development professionals, finance manager and staff from manufacturing, distribution and more. By including manufacturing staff with marketing employees, one can diminish such conflict because the production people would realize that marketers work is important for the organization and thus the threat element will decrease. Top management should also commence showing the utility of each department for the organization, by for example preparing value added statements in order to further sustain the aforementioned point. If this conflict would still be present after such changes in structure, it might be necessary to perform changes in the operational management of such sections.

A Brief History of American Political Parties

One will be making a wrong assumption to believe that the political parties we hear and see today just sprang and start existing in a day. These parties have come a long way and definitely have where they are coming from and where they are going. In this essay, I will attempt a brief and concise of the major political parties in America. This I intend to achieve in the following paragraphs.First, the major political parties that I will focus on in my essay will be the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, not that there are no other political parties but time and space will not allow me to make an exposition into their history. Apart from the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, we have other majority parties like Libertarian Party, the Constitution Party and the Green Party as majority parties.The Democratic Party has come a long way to be the oldest political party in America and is presumably the oldest in the world. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison founded the Democr atic Party in 1792 with other rivals of the then Federalist Party. The party was called Democratic-Republican Party. This was the platform that gave Thomas Jefferson the opportunity to be the Democratic President of the United States in 1800. The list of presidents the Democratic Party has produced is; Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, William J Bryan, Franklin D Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton.The Republican Party is the second majority party in America. Anti-slavery expansion activists and modernizers founded it in 1854. The popularity of the Republican Party rose when Abraham Lincoln was voted president to be the foremost Republican president in the America. One notable thing is the role the party played in the American Civil War and Reconstruction. The party has had the seat in the white house under the auspices of Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Bush. In terms of position, the Republican Party is rather socially conventional and economically to lerant.The Libertarian Party was founded in December of 1971 and is regarded as the third largest party in the United States. The party has its members in public office and is most popular of the other continuing third parties.Another third party that is worth mentioning is the Green Party that was founded in 1984. The philosophies that are linked with this political party are Green Politics, Liberalism and Progressivism. The party gained prominence during the Raphael Nadar’s campaign in 1996 and 2000.Also, it will be important to consider the Constitution Party of America, which was founded in 1992 and was regarded as the U.S. Taxpayers Party but the name of the party was altered in 1999. The party can be credited to have produced a public officer in Montana by the name Rick Jore.Reference:Greenfield, Steve (March 20, 2005) â€Å"The Decline of the Green Party.† CommonDreams.orgwww.prenhall.com/magleby

Response to Othello Essay

In the play Othello, originally written by William Shakespeare but reproduced by Michael Lynch and James Beggs, the overall entertainment value differed tremendously amongst its viewers. To determine the entertainment value, one must look at the theme, subject, individuality, and the verisimilitude of the play. I think the theme of Othello is that love is a powerful feeling that can easily be deceitful. In Othello, Desdemona and Othello both share a love for each other in which seems unbreakable, yet when others begin to feel jealous the feeling of love amongst others in the play becomes a lie. The subject of the play, Othello, is betrayal and loyalty. In this play, it had revealed ironically that one’s loyalty might cause one’s betrayal. Iago, a main character and the cunning instigator of the play, uses his loyalty to assist him in betraying Othello, and which in turn eventually leads to Othello’s tragedy. The play was not very unique in that there are many plays with a similar format, yet the outcome was not predictable. While watching the play, one could expect perhaps a more happy or comical ending to a short tragedy. Rather than ending in happiness, Othello ended with a number of deaths and many heartbroken, deceived people. I think Othello was somewhat believable in that the actors portrayed the characters in a respectively believable manner. The play never broke convention, and the majority of it was throughout a variety of people’s views. From watching this production, I have learned that in order for a production to be believable, it must follow suit of one or many perspectives throughout the play. Also, I learned that when acting in a play that is based on a time other than the present, the characters must put themselves in that time and infer what it was or will be like. The protagonist of the play was one of the main characters, Othello, and the antagonist of the play was another main character, Iago. Throughout the entire play, Iago attempts to sabotage Othello and his wife Desdemona’s marriage. The main conflict is that Othello and Desdemona marry and attempt to build a life together, despite their differences in age, race, and  experience. Their marriage is sabotaged by the envious Iago, who convinces Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful. As Iago gathers Cassio and Roderigo to help in his twisted scheme of things, the action rises. Iago tells the audience of his plan of action; he tells Roderigo he can have a second chance at Desdemona, arranges for Cassio to lose his position as lieutenant, and gradually insinuates to Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful with these men. What Othello fails to see is that Desdemona really is a loyal wife. In fact, her loyalty towards Othello is invisible to him. Through Iago’s manipulation, Othello suspects Desdemona of having an affair with another man and started to become insane. At the same time, Othello is loyal to Desdemona and he expects the same in return from Desdemona. This makes him become mad crazy and begin to crave the thought of murdering Desdemona. Othello is set in Venice throughout act 1, and then moves to Cyprus for the duration of the play. The time period is the late sixteenth century during the wars between Venice and Turkey. The play opens up in Venice, and a man is being hung by a noose for the wrong he had done. It then shifts to outside Desdemona’s aunts house, and resides in Cyprus after that. Othello’s time evolution goes in a timely order, over a span of a couple days. The mise en scene (total picture of the production) was overall decent. I believe the lights were very well designed and executed, especially in the scenes in which the moon and sun were seen. Furthermore, the music was also appropriate and the effects of the drums during battle scenes made it somewhat believable. The production of this play was very well made, granted that it was a very old play originally written during the time it took place, and acted out in the twenty-first century. The protagonist, Othello, was played by Jelani Brown. His performance overall was done very well. Many times in the play it was difficult to understand what he was saying due to a pronunciation maybe, or a technical issue. Otherwise the pronunciation issue, Jelani Brown produced an incredible performance. His character development was on track and he displayed great articulation. The antagonist, Iago, was played by Jon Cates. I think he was the best actor in the play. Throughout the entire play, he made the small things in theater really stand out; such as his facial expressions, body language, tone, and speed of speech. His character was meant to be played as someone who is basically up to no good and wants the others in play to love him, by making  them all hate each other. Iago was also my favorite character in the play mostly because he truly nailed his character. I feel that Jon Cates had an outstanding performance. Desdemona, the beautiful, innocent, sought-after young woman was played by Corrine Bryant. At first it was a little hard to get into Corrine Bryant’s character because she took a little longer than the others to develop. The other two main characters, Cassio, played by Jerris Ramirez and Roderigo, played by Justin R. Alvarez were perfect for their parts as well. Roderigo gave the play its comical appeal as he was a little oblivious at times and Iago had to get in his face and break it down for him. Jerris Ramirez and Justin R. Alvarez’ characters were played with great heart and made the play enjoyable for the audience. If I were to rate Othello based on a star system, I would give it four stars. Although I did like the play, I feel that the ratings should be devised of much more than just of someone’s like or dislike. I would probably not watch the play again, I think once was enough for me. I would recommend the play to people who enjoy Shakespearian tragedies, as this play was just that. I didn’t like how the play was set in the 1600’s, a time that is so far back that there is little entertainment. The play was very well put together and personally, I enjoyed it. I liked that the play was based on events that actually happened during that time period, rather than an unbelievable play.

Porcini’s Pronto

Porcini's Pronto: â€Å"Great Italian cuisine without the wait! † Porcini was opened in 1969 as a family-owned restaurant chain and its business was successful with 4% profit margin. Porcini’s was renowned with its attention to quality and price premium was relatively small compared to its quality and artful presentation. Porcini’s was able to maintain its high product and service quality mainly because it was a family-owned restaurant chain which gave considerable amount of control and of its safe approach on company expansion decisions.However, the management was also viewed as go-slow and comparing to its competitors like Olive Garden and other full-service chain restaurants like Denny's, Porcini’s brand recognition was much lower. The U. S. restaurants industry had three major segments: fast food, single location full-service restaurants, and full-service chain restaurants. Porcini's senior management came up with a Pronto concept which could possibly open up a new area which no one has entered yet.Key features of the Pronto concept included locations at interstate highway exits, Porcini's quality food and service with faster turnover of tables, and limited beer and wine selection. Main competitors would be fast food chain which has been operating along the interstate systems for decades and specifically targeting for travelers, and also full-service chain restaurants like Denny's. It will be critical to come up with a clear differentiator to its competitors, on both quality and service, and position itself against them.Chef Molise was taking it very serious on developing a special Pronto menu which would be less extensive with slightly lower price than Porcini’s traditional menu. Also, Halloran, who was Porcini’s HR director, put significant amount of effort onto recruiting the right people and form a â€Å"Pathfinder Team† with 3 or 4 outstanding Porcini’s employees at each new Pronto’s locati on. One full week of training and indoctrination in the rapid, quality service strategy and its implementation elements would be given.On the hiring side, it was a serious one. Pronto job applicants would have to pass several screens which include interviews with HR, then Pathfinder Team, and the manager. And a personality assessment test was given. It would seem logical and make sense to put focus on creating a customized menu, hiring the right people, and form a team with existing outstanding employees to bring current best practices to the new restaurants. However, it might be in the wrong direction or overkill sometimes.For the customized menu for Pronto, it was basically a stripped-down version of traditional Porcini’s menu, so what differentiated it from Porcini’s? And why customers should come to Pronto which had less menu choices, and not Porcini’s? Even though it’s a faster service didn’t mean customers would accept lower food quality, eve n just a slight one. And most importantly, Porcini’s didn’t ask if it mattered to them. On getting the right people for Pronto restaurants, was it actually a good idea to form a team with existing employees, while the business nature was much different?Porcini’s focused heavily on food and service quality, where Pronto focus on quick service experience without sacrificing much food and service quality. It would be doubtful if employees could switch their practice so easily and quickly. If they could not, imagine how it might impact the new hires in the team. In order to make sure Porcini's Pronto could maintain the same level of quality of food and service, a customer questionnaire system was created to collect information on customer satisfaction.The idea was great and it offered a discount card to customers who took the questionnaire, in order to bring up questionnaire completion rate and encourage repeat visits. However, the entire questionnaire focused only on food and service quality like meal quality, courtesy and efficiency of server, restaurant cleanliness etc. , with almost no questions around the time for taking orders, food serving, and pay bills etc. Also, questions like â€Å"are you traveling or live in the neighborhood? † could give a sense of what were the customer segments and did it align with the targeting customers originally.In addition, it should ask the customer to rank the importance of the factors, or simply ask the most important thing mattered to them e. g. Food, service, time, place etc. Without customers telling the importance of each factor, Porcini would have no clue on what to be focused on. Another set of metrics to be collected would be metrics around internal operations e. g. how long to seat a customer and take her order, to prepare a typical entree, and so forth. This could be done by having secret shoppers for instance, and it would be valuable information.After all, the Pronto concept was to of fer â€Å"Great Italian cuisine without the wait†, if Porcini could not guarantee acceptable table turnover time, success could not be claimed. In order to grow the business, there were three options: company-owned, franchising, and syndication. First of all, what do we want to focus on? At the very beginning, Pronto should not be expanded too quickly before it could find out and establish the winning strategy. The first few restaurants were crucial and steps should take slow.Also, full control should be obtained otherwise it could easily go out of track. Also, the failure rate of franchising was pretty big. Porcini’s could not afford to have restaurants closed down and affected its brand name. Syndication could give Porcini’s full control on restaurant operations. It would also be easier to get a good location as prime undeveloped locations were mostly owned by investors. However, upfront costs were high. At this point like a testing phase, it would be better t o take a slower and less costly approach before Pronto concept proved itself to be success.Company-owned would be the best option to start with and Porcini’s should consider franchising and syndication after seeing profits from the Pronto restaurants and also a reliable standards could be come up which could be applied quick to many restaurants. To conclude, the Pronto concept was aimed at a market space where no one had entered before and Porcini’s wanted to claim this space. However, an important question to ask would be why no one entered this space in the first place? Or did anyone entered but failed?It seems that in order to deliver good quality of food and service while making it a â€Å"Pronto† service is a big challenge itself. Not to mention the target customers are along the interstate highways, are they looking for good quality of food, fast service, or a nice place to chill? Seems that Pronto concept consists of all these elements, however, none of t hem is a real differentiator. Porcini’s management will definitely need to think about positioning and competitive advantage which Pronto could bring to the table.

Informative Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Informative - Research Paper Example (Darby 50). The amendment came as part of the bill of rights of 1791. There amendment relates to the provision of the bill of rights of English of 1689. The amendment got its inspiration from the Titus Oates of England case. This was after King Henry II took up power in 1685, where Titus was under trial for cases involving the execution of people who were under accusation by Oates. Titus was under a prison sentence, including ordeals involving pillory and whipping while pulling a cart as part of the punishment. There was taking up of the case by the United State Supreme Court jurisprudence on the eighth amendment. Oates punishment was inclusive of penalties that were random and excessive; they were also manner that does not follow the law of precedence. There was a death sentence evasion for Titus because if dead, honest witnesses would not testify against the accusations. Before the eighth amendment took effect in the USA, England had given a declaration that was against cruel and p unishment that were unusual and had gotten approval by the parliament in 1689 and had taken effect as a law the same year. The judges were to adhere to the rule, for the bill of right had an illustration that excessive fines were not to be given to individuals, unusual and cruel punishment were also under abolishment as seen in the case of Furman v. ... Until its implementation, people of Virginia including Patrick Henry and George Mason made their efforts in ensuring that the restriction was under application by the congress. There is a warning that if the implementation is not underway, the congress would give severe and unusual punishment to the people. The Virginians said that the congress should adopt practices of civil laws rather than using common law. At the time, common law was in use, in France, Germany and Spain, through the consistent pressure by the two Virginians the congress was in agreement that adoption of the provision was necessary. The final solution was the changing of ought to shall by James Madison in 1789 (William 67). In accordance to the Supreme Court, The eighth amendment does not allow entire punishment as well as punishment that over boards the crime and considers the perpetrators competence. Regarding the Robinson court opinion, Justice Peter Stewarts held that cruel inflictions and unusual punishment w ould be a violation of the eighth amendment. The Supreme Court has been implementing the law by indicating that a punishment must not be severe enough to degrade the dignity of human beings. It states that a punishment is unusual and cruel if the punishment is unacceptable by; the whole society and its infliction are wholly a fashion of arbitration. Punishment is cruel and unusual if the punishment is not in accordance to patent. There is implementation through the case of Wilkerson v. Utah, where there was public desertion and burning alive of Wilkerson taken by Justice Brennan, where he said that, no state would allow a law that violates any

SWOT ANALYSIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

SWOT ANALYSIS - Essay Example As matter of fact, via SWOT analysis, many process limitations are numerated, but the most useful information aren’t highlighted. Therefore, the management ought to carry extra analysis to determine the best factor to use during evaluation. Competitive advantage ca n be defined as standing a better a better chance to lure customers in non-monopolistic market structure. According to porter (2012), competitive advantage can only be gained by either cost reduction or product differentiation, but not both. Therefore, a strategic value chain analysis can easily identify stages in production either impact positively on differentiation or reduce costs. Customer satisfaction goes hand in hand with profit maximization goal. Perception that a product is of high value by customers not only reduces their bargaining power but also increases their willingness to purchase. Only satisfied customers can be retained. Therefore, success in value chain analysis depends on how well customer needs are addressed. Ovidijus Jurevicius | 25.04.2013. (2013, April 25). Value Chain Analysis | Strategic Management Insight. Retrieved  February  14, 2015, from

SC2001C Community Culture and Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

SC2001C Community Culture and Change - Essay Example and religious identities was constantly contested.† However, a dynamic British State was established out of a manifold of economic, ethnic, religious commitments. This is due to the different Acts of Union, from 1536 to 1800 were formulated for political homogeneity rather than an actual unification of diverse cultures (ibid). In this paper, it will be argued that diversity and cultural differences in contemporary British society actually disrupt or weaken the cohesion of British community and its larger society. This argument will be supported by various allusions on historical and current developments in Britain through initially establishing a distinctive British culture and identity. Culture and identity are very intricate phenomena. Identity can come from various origins and show itself in various ways. An individual can feel a strong sense of distinctiveness as a person, as a member of a community interest group, or a social group, or a racial and ethnic group, or the same sex, through community bonding or through a shared national legacy. According to Linda Colley (1992) identities are not similar to hats. Most individuals can and do assume different identities simultaneously. Identity is frequently identified through allusion to others. As Cohen (1995) asserts, â€Å"You know who you are, only by knowing who you are not† (36). A sense of identity is rooted from and is strengthened through cultural features such as food, music and others that shape the unprocessed material for constructing identity symbols. Mackenzie (1978) believes that identity is based on diversity and can be rooted from state, race, religion and class. Culture and identity can be e ducated by history forming ancestral origins and by geography advancing a sense of membership. As Smith (2000) illustrates, a soon-to be Englishman requires two elements as identifiers, a football team and a tone of voice. People, hence, become conscious of their culture through their identities whereas

Economic Implications of the EU's Single Currency on German Economy - Dissertation

Economic Implications of the EU's Single Currency on German Economy - Research Plan - Dissertation Example Research Questions and Rationale for the Chosen Research Questions 1. What are the negative effects being created through the introduction of a single currency Euro on the German economy? 2. Does the benefit outweigh the disadvantages of using fixed exchange rate policy? 3. What are the economic consequences of using fixed exchange rate based on the economic experiences of Germany? Several authors suggest that it is wrong to believe that the use of a single currency could solve economic problems related to high unemployment rate, high inflation rate, low exportation volume, and economic stagnation (Carbaugh, 2009, p. 282; Frankel & Rose, 2002). For this reason, the first research question in this dissertation plan aims to identify and determine the negative effects associated with the introduction or use of a single currency on the economic situation in Germany. The EU’s single currency was implemented for the purpose of enhancing the inter-regional and inter-state trading amo ng the members of the European Union easier (European Commission. The EU Single Market, 2011). On top of the significant reduction in the cost of inter-regional and inter-state trading, the use of EU’s single currency could increase the market opportunities and promote price stability for the EU members (Canuse & Driga, 2010; Goodhart, 2007; Luker & Townroe, 1999). Considering the economic advantages associated with the use of a single currency, the second research question aims to determine whether or not the disadvantages of using a single currency under a fixed exchange rate policy outweigh its economic benefits. As a huge country, Germany was highly dependent on the exportation of agricultural, mining and industrial products since 1950s (Boyes, 2007). As part of examining the economic consequences of using a single currency, the third research question aims to explore how the use of a single currency under a fixed exchange rate policy has adversely affected Germanyâ€℠¢s ability to export agricultural, mining and industrial products today. Detailed Overall Planned Structure of Dissertation The proposed structure of the dissertation is based purely on secondary research data. In gathering related literature for this research topic, the researcher utilized the available books and other academic research materials and journals from the library of ____________(insert name of school) on top of the electronic reading materials which can be easily located using the Internet. In providing the readers with a better idea behind the need to introduce a single EU currency among the members of the European Union, the introduction part identified the 27 countries that agreed to become a part of the European Union. Aside from discussing the main purpose of conducting a literature review on this subject matter, the introduction part also provided a clear explanation behind the need to implement the Euro currency back in 1999. Since this study aims to determine t he economic implications of using EU’s single currency on German economy, the body of this research paper focused on addressing the research questions which served as a guide in conducting a literature review on this subject matter. In line with this, the body of the research paper includes determining the negative effects of introducing a single Euro currency on Germany’

The Travels of a T-Shirt - Government Subsidies Essay

The Travels of a T-Shirt - Government Subsidies - Essay Example In agreement with government subsidies, this form of government intervention reduces the cost of production and encourages the producers to increase output. Government intervention/producer subsidies are of various forms. An example is state subsidies. State subsidies are financed from general taxation or by borrowing (Schuster, 2006). Government subsidies cause various productive firm’s supply curve to shift to the right. The amount spent on subsidy by the government is equivalent to the subsidy per unit multiplied by total output (Day & Schoemaker, 2005). A direct subsidy commonly offered by a government to supplement consumer’s demands has the effect of boosting demand. This results in an outward shift of demand. Examples of subsidies include an input subsidy, bails, fiscal assistance (loans and grants), government grants to cover losses made by business and a guaranteed on the factor cost of a product. Subsidies make sense in various demand and supply situations of the economy. The travels of T-shirt in Global Economy represents some of the scenarios in which subsidies may play a crucial role in the examination of market forces, power and politics of world trade (Rivoli, 2015). The overall international trade topic is a very crucial topic to discuss in the abstract though when this topic is focused on a single product, it is easy to be dealt with (World Bank Group, 2011). Subsidies in the international trade in most cases dwell with specific products. Only in extreme cases in the world economy do subsidies deal with conglomerate products. Through the story of travels of T-shirt, globalization advocacy is portrayed critically as the major issue behind international trade and individual country’s economy development (Prono, 2006). The competitive economic markets and increased living standards at the expense of the maximum and minimum wage bills among different

WASHINGTON CONSENSUS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

WASHINGTON CONSENSUS - Essay Example Only the annual budget of Nestle grew more than any African country under this globalisation of economy (Robert N. Gwynne and Cristbal Kay 1999). So the launch of these reforms in the name of structural adjusment programmes on the advice of IMF and world Bank there has attracted a lot of criticism in the thirld world countries. The policies that were originally formed to give a boost to the GNPs and GDPs of the least developed and developing countries in the world.But on the contrary in most of the economies these policy presciptions have played havoc with the unemployement and poverty due to the capitalism's tantacles wide spread from the first world in the poor countries. The major criticism has come from latin american and ex-soviet republics . They majorly see the capitalism as the main monster creeping in the world on the wheels of the multinalnal companies.Ultimately the buzzwords of globalization, capitalism, neo-liberal agenda and Washington Consensus became familiar and syno nymous to each other. People in the third world have been debating these terms ever since early 1950s. Most of them argue that there is an important sense in which disagreements on the character and consequences of capitalist ways of organizing economic life actually triggered the nineteenth century emergence of modern social science. This disagreement in the ex socialist and some Latin states stands at the center of the twentieth century political debate on how best to organize advanced industrial societies; and they remain main elements dividing capitalist societies, in former communist societies, and in whole of the under-developed... There is no denying the fact that the policy prescriptions under the Washington Consensus have widely been criticized from all around the world. This situation has basically arisen from immediate debacle of soviet republics and the transitional economies were not ready for reforms immediately. The Latin America, south Asia and Africa were not ready as yet. Those countries that blindly adopted these policies did not have a better taste of these policies. People reacted badly and results were not favorable politically. The economic reforms have to be adopted very prudently, slowly and gradually in all political wisdom by the leaders. But this is also a fact that free market economies are the order of the day. The WTO has at least now been setting favorable incentives for the least developed and underdeveloped world. The international competition cannot be beaten by mere agitation from the third world. The reform in the production process and compliance with the ISO certifications and i ntellectual property rights has to be complied with all the countries in the world equally. However the safety nets for the protection of poorest of the poor people have to be provided by the respective governments. It is still widely believed that growth in GDPs is not vastly trickling down to the poor segments of society. Corruption in the developing countries is rampant and rich elite is taking the advantages of new reforms. Poor have to be defended any way.

Unit 5 Discussion Domestic Violence Research Paper

Unit 5 Discussion Domestic Violence - Research Paper Example arning theory which states that contextual and situational factors such as stress, individual-couple characteristics, aggressive gait and family violence aid family violence. Biopsychological theory ties together biological factors such as alcoholism and testosterone levels and psychosocial factors such as stress to understand family violence. There is also the feminist theory which asserts that family violence is a culmination and manifestation of the degradation of women. The chosen topic is important in the course because it helps organisations and those in the human resources management (HRM) to regard comprehensively, the magnitude of family violence. The same will also help organisations and HRM to appreciate the limits which they must keep to as they attempt to mitigate the effects of family violence at the workplace. Just as Gosselin (2009) observes, when an organisation fails to determine boundaries in its quest to alleviate the effects of domestic violence as a way of promoting employee welfare, it oversteps its mandate and runs the risk of unduly heightening its operational

Child Devlopment Essay Example for Free

Child Devlopment Essay Cognitive Development consists of imagination, sequencing, problem solving and memory, all these are featured in the boy I observed, Aaron King who was the little boy I chose to observe. He is a four year-old preschooler at the above named learning center. I started observing Aaron at the beginning of their circle time. During the circle time, Aaron amongst other fourteen kids in his classroom, sang the popular American Song: â€Å"IF YOU ARE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT, CLAP YOUR HANDS†¦. † While singing this song, the children’s voices were up and loud which indicated that they enjoyed singing songs. Aaron’s participation was great, he was so excited about the choruses, clapping stomping of his feet. All the children in turn repeated and imitated all the actions of the teacher; as she needed the audience and focus of the kids for easy understanding of the wordings including choruses of the song. Aaron standing close to two other kids, a boy and a girl sang the song with seriousness while clapping their hands stomping their feet at the same time. The teacher taught the Safety signs briefly. The children’s literacy is very high while learning safety signs as they were very interested in the emphasis laid in the safety signs. In order to ensure that the children understood what they were taught, the teacher asked Aaron what a particular sign stood for which he answered correctly. For example, stop sign is signified by a red color while â€Å"no bicycle† sign is signified by a cross on a bicycle, so on and so forth. The teacher taught the kids about â€Å"Me† book which described the parts of the body, however, she asked Aaron to touch his hands, elbows cheek which he did correctly. After singing the clapping song and some other songs, the teacher changed the activity to coloring books. Meanwhile, Aaron moved from one place to another. He jumped and hopped around the classroom showing excitement. At a time, the teacher had to sit him down â€Å"Aaron sit down and do your coloring † He sat down to color while another boy watched him doing the coloring. Bryan Joy who sat together sharing the same table with Aaron were also coloring; they also talked to one another in friendly manner while looking at each other’s work. Aaron was as excited as he was coloring his book. He finished his coloring using nice colors to color different animals indicating that he had a good taste. He also made a ship with legos, I asked him why he made a ship, and he told me that he would like to be an architect. Aaron amongst others was able to write their names and figure out pictures on the paper. For example, the letter Bb for ball and drew a line to join the letter to the picture of ball. He was able to do that for all the alphabetic letters to compliment individual pictures on the paper. Soon, Aaron stood up to go to the library; as he got to the place where the inscription of â€Å"Quiet Zone† was, another boy ran towards him and pushed him together with the book that he just picked â€Å"Alphabet adventure†. He staggered, but he immediately got control of himself while he looked so surprised that he was pushed without doing anything. He reported the matter to the teacher â€Å"Ms. Patty, Josiah push(ed) me † then the teacher told Josiah to say sorry to Aaron which he did, then they both hugged one another. Thereafter, he went to sit down quietly in the library corner to read his book. He opened up the book so fast as if he knew where to read, then he stirred at a page that really caught his attention and started reading quietly. In summary, Cognitive Development is a very important outcome of learning for preschoolers as they always have their brain developed through creative arts. This consists of imagination, sequencing, problem solving and memory; all these are featured in the boy I observed. Acting drama is acting another character by putting on the costumes – for example, acting as a professional doctor or a lawyer or a nurse can be an eye opener to the preschoolers on what profession they may aspire to be in the near future; Aaron wants to be an architect, he says he likes to put up beautiful buildings. A good imaginative skill is very important for preschoolers to become smart; similarly, sequencing – doing things in an orderly manner is also a good learning skill. Ultimately, Aaron Kingsland has all these qualities. Child Development 201 A Preschool Language Literacy Development Observation Child’s Name: Aaron Kingsland (An imaginary name) Date: October 7th, 2011 Time: 9:00am – 11:30am. Observer’s Name: - Location:Early Creativity Learning Center Classroom LANGUAGE LITERACY DEVELOPMENT OBSERVATION OF A PRESCHOOLER 4 YEARS OLD. My observation of language and literacy in a preschool classroom for children of four and five years old was interesting. Aaron Kingsland (four years old) was the preschooler at the above named learning center whom I chose to observe. I started observing Aaron at the beginning of their circle time. The kids in the classroom were seventeen in number – eight girls and nine boys. I observed Aaron in particular in the class for two and half hours from the beginning of the circle time till the end. The primary language used by the teacher was English; Aaron also speaks same language as well as the whole class. Language is said to be a means of communicating ideas, feelings. There are four basic developmentally appropriate practices and clear language outcomes in the preschool classroom I observed. They are Literacy Development, Intellectual, Physical, Social and Emotional Developments. Literacy is a very important developmental appropriate practice. The four basic skills which young children need are Speaking, Listening, Writing and Reading. These were ultimately displayed by Aaron in the circle time activities performed that morning. During the circle time, Aaron amongst other seventeen kids in his classroom, started to sing the popular American Song: â€Å"IF YOU ARE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT, CLAP YOUR HANDS†¦. † If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands } Thrice. If you are happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. } If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands } If you are happy and you know it, stamp your feet †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦} Thrice. If you are happy and you know it, nod your head †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ } Thrice. If you are happy and you know it, do all three †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. } Thrice. While singing this song, the children’s voices were up and loud which indicated that they enjoyed singing songs. Aaron’s participation was great, he was so excited about the choruses, clapping stomping of his feet. All the children in turn repeated and imitated all the actions of the teacher; as she needed the audience and focus of the kids for easy understanding of the wordings including choruses of the song. Aaron standing close to two other kids, a boy and a girl sang the song with seriousness while clapping their hands stomping their feet at the same time. The teacher taught the Safety signs briefly. The children’s literacy is very high while learning safety signs as they were very interested in the emphasis laid in the safety signs. In order to ensure that the children understood what they were taught, the teacher asked Aaron what a particular sign stood for which he answered correctly. For example, stop sign is signified by a red color while â€Å"no bicycle† sign is signified by a cross on a bicycle, so on. After singing, the teacher changed the activity to coloring books. Meanwhile, Aaron moved from one place to another. He jumped and hopped around the classroom showing excitement. At a time, the teacher had to sit him down â€Å"Aaron sit down and do your coloring † He sat down to color while another boy watched him doing the coloring. All the Children talked and cooperated with one another in friendly manner. Bryan Joy who sat together sharing the same table with Aaron were also coloring; they also talked to one another in friendly manner while looking at each other’s work. Aaron was as excited as he was coloring his book. He finished his coloring using nice colors to color different animals indicating that he had a good taste. Soon, Aaron went to the library and sat close to the place where the inscription of â€Å"Quiet Zone† was hanging. He picked a book â€Å"Alphabet adventure†. He went to report a boy who pushed him on his way to the library to his teacher, he said â€Å"Ms. Patty, Josiah push(ed) me † The teacher took an appropriate action by telling Josiah to say sorry to Aaron and he did, then they both hugged one another. Thereafter, he went to sit down quietly in the library corner to read his book. He opened up the book so fast as if he knew where to read, then he stirred at a page that really caught his attention and started reading quietly and studiously. In summary, Language and Literacy development is the use of words to communicate ideas, listen and comprehend others’ ideas. Reading, talking and expressing what they do and following directions go a long way for preschoolers Through reading, Aaron amongst other peers has book knowledge, comprehension and appreciation of what he read. More importantly, literacy goes a long way in our society and even in the world.

Introduction to Special Education Essay Example for Free

Introduction to Special Education Essay * students with exceptionalities exhibit differences in learning and behaviour that significantly affect their educational potential they have exceptional needs that cannot be met by typical approaches to schooling * special education is constructed and delivered to suit the specific strengths and needs of students with exceptionalities The Modern History Of Special Education. * special types of educational services provided as far back as the 18th century * modern era of special education began in the 1960s during the civil rights movement (rejected existing practices of separately educating students who were different) * early forms of special education designed to reduce perceived threats to normal students History Of Special Education (Legislation Affecting Special Education) * some Canadian provinces enacted special education legislation as early as 1969 * 1975 ground breaking legislation in U. S.  Education for All Handicapped Children Act. * least restrictive environment * individualized education program (IEP) * categories of exceptionality * 1978 Javits Gifted Talented Students Act brought number of identifiable categories to eleven * 1990 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) added traumatic brain injury and autism to create the thirteen categories used today * IDEA â€Å"children with disabilities† instead of â€Å"disabled children† The No Child Left Behind Act: signed into law in 2002 * addresses four critical concerns. * accountability of educators for student academic achievement * flexibility of specialized funding implementation to maximize student achievement * option for parents to change child’s school if achievement is not at expected level * use of scientifically proven methods to have all children reading by end of grade three Is NCLB Making a Difference? Criticisms: * students with exceptionalities not exempt from district-wide or state-wide yearly achievement tests (law recently changed – flexibility option) * lack of available funding. * more emphasis placed on math and reading at the expense of other curricular topics To date, NCLB legislation has not significantly affected special education practices in Canada. How Is Special Education In Canada And The United States Similar? * basic practices follow the same conceptual models * major difference is way it is governed * U. S. operates under federally-mandated laws * each Canadian province and territory has own education legislation * most relevant federal law in Canada is Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Prevalence Of Students With Exceptionalities * vast majority of classrooms now include students with exceptionalities * statistics difficult to acquire in Canada * U. S. Department of Education (2002) * 8. 8% of all students have exceptionalities * 85% of these have mild disabilities * twice as many males as females Inclusionary Practices * until the mid 1980s, special education services delivered wholly or partially separated from regular classrooms * all Canadian provinces have currently adopted philosophy of inclusion. * students with exceptionalities are provided with appropriate educational programming in  appropriate environments * regular classroom is first placement option * Inclusionary Practices * inclusion better than integration or mainstreaming because it does not try to â€Å"fix the child† to suit the system * inclusion does not replace the term special education because it does not provide specific definitions for implementation * educators support inclusion but are concerned about its lack of procedures for implementation Non-Categorical Model. * data-based approach to instructional planning * does not rely on specific labels * proponents feel that labels frequently stigmatize, isolate, and stereotype individuals with exceptionalities * more concerned with functional educational services than outcomes of assessments Categorical Model * students’ needs and abilities are defined and then identified, classified, and categorized * most widely used and accepted approach. * allows educators to design effective educational interventions without over-generalizing the characteristics of specific categories to any one child * textbook emphasizes categorical model * teachers need to know the criteria used to identify students with exceptionalities and how the criteria varies across categories * allows teachers to readily notice problems that children may be having * eliminates confusion and frustration when teaching students with exceptionalities.

Importance Of Capital Structure To A Firm Finance Essay

Importance Of Capital Structure To A Firm Finance Essay Capital Structure of a company refers to the composition or make-up of its capitalization and it includes all long-term capital resources, viz. Loans, reserves, shares and bonds,-Gestenberg Introduction Capital Structure is one of the most complex areas of financial decision making because of its interrelationship with other financial decision variables. Poor capital structure decisions can result in high cost of capital thereby lowering the Net Present Values of projects and making more of them unacceptable. Effective capital structure decision can lower the cost of capital , thereby increasing the value of the firm. It is particularly important for small business owners to determine a target capital structure for their firms, since capital is expensive for such small businesses. Capital structure decisions require considering a variety of factors. In general, companies use debt more when they have steady, constant sales levels, assets that have good returns for loans and a high growth rate . On the other hand, companies that have poor credit ratings, conservative management, or high profitability rely on equity capital instead. Capital Structure Capital structure is a business finance term that describes the proportion of a companys capital, or operating money, which is obtained through debt and equity or  hybrid securities [1]. Debt consists of loans and other types of credit that is to be repaid in the future, usually with interest. Equity involves ownership  interest in a corporation in the  form  of common stock or preferred stock. Equity financing does not involve a direct obligation to repay the funds which is in contrast to debt financing,. Instead, equity investors are able to exercise some degree of control over the company as they become part-owners and partners in the business. The goal of a companys capital structure decision is to maximize the gains for the equity shareholders. The optimal capital structure is the one that maximizes the price of the stock and simultaneously minimizes the cost of capital thus striking a balance between risk and return. [2] A firms major decision is its financial decisions which can be analyzed in the theory of Corporate Capital Structure that is based on a model developed by Dodd(1986) and is determined mainly by cost variables- equity, debt and bankruptcy risk and other potential variables such as growth are, profitability and operating leverage. The primary advantage of debt financing is that it allows the founders to retain ownership and control of the company. Equity investors claim does not end until their stock is sold as compared to debt obligations which are limited to the loan repayment period, after which the lender has no further claim on the business. Debt financing tends to be less expensive for small businesses over the long term, though more expensive over the short term, than equity financing. The major disadvantage is that it requires a small business to make regular monthly payments of principal and interest. Due to such regular payments, young companies often experience shortages in cash flow. Debt financings availability is often limited to established businesses which is a disadvantage associated with it. Since lenders primarily seek security for their funds, it can be difficult for unproven businesses to obtain loans. The main advantage of equity financing for small businesses is that there is no obligation to repay the money. The investors in equity financing often prove to be good sources of advice and contacts for small business owners. The main disadvantage of equity financing is that the founders must give up some control of the business. Some sales of equity, such as initial public offerings, can be very complex and expensive to administer. Such equity financing may require complicated legal filings and a great deal of paperwork to comply with various regulations. Features of a Capital Structure Capital structure is that level of debt-equity proportion where the market value per-share is maximum and the cost of capital is minimum. It should have the following features: Profitability/Return: Studies have shown that the relationship between debt-equity ratio and a firms profit margin is such that for a firm which prefers to finance its investments through self-finance are more profitable than firms which finance investment through borrowed capital, firms prefer competing with each other than cooperating and firms use their investment in fixed assets as a strategic variable to affect profitability.[3] Solvency/Risk: Capital Structure of a firm indicates how much the company is leveraged by comparing what it owes to creditors and investors to what it owns. It reveals the degree to which the companys management is willing to fund its operations with debt, rather than equity. Lenders are sensitive about this feature as a high debt-equity ratio will put their loans at risk of being unpaid.[4] Flexibility: Flexibility is the ability to make decisions that the firm thinks are most apt even when others disagree. The level of flexibility the management can have depends on how the firm is financed. Debt offers little flexibility relative to equity. However, the flexibility offered by equity depends on the extent to which shareholders are inclined to agree with managements strategic choices. The flexibility benefit of equity is high only when the share price is high.[5] Conservation/Capacity: If a firm starts with a specific business risk, then the total risk associated with stock and debt is not affected by the capital structure. This is called conservation of risk. Risk is neither created nor destroyed.[6] Debt capacity involves the assessment of the amount of debt that the organization can repay in a timely manner without forfeiting its financial viability.[7] Control: The capital structure of a firm shows when control is allocated to only shareholders and when to others like creditors, or the management team. Generally the shareholders get control when the firms cash flow is sensitive. Also , debt value and firm value are negatively correlated when debtholders have veto power[8]   Determinants of Capital Structure Capital structure of a firm is determined by various internal and external factors. The macro variables of the economy are inflation rate, tax policy of government, capital market condition. The characteristics of an individual firm, termed as micro factors (internal), also affect the capital structure of enterprises. This section presents how the micro-factors affect the capital structure of a firm Size of a Firm: There is a positive relation between the capital structure and size of a firm. The larger the firms the more diversified they are. They have easy access to the capital market, receive higher credit ratings for debt issues, and pay lower interest rate on debt capital. Further, larger firms are less prone to bankruptcy and this implies the less probability of bankruptcy and lower bankruptcy costs. Hence, the lower bankruptcy costs, the higher debt level.[9] Growth Rate: There is a contradictory relation between the growth rate and capital structure. The equity controlled firms tend to invest sub-optimally to get wealth from the enterprises bondholders. They are more flexibility in their choice of future investment. Hence, growth rate is negatively related with long-term debt level.[10] Business Risk: There is a negative relation between the capital structure and business risk. Lesser the stability of the earnings of the enterprises, the greater is the chance of business failure and the greater the weight of bankruptcy costs on enterprise financing decisions. Hence, as business risk increases, the debt level in capital structure of the enterprises should decrease.[11] Dividend Payout: There is an adverse relation between the dividend payout ratio and debt level in capital structure. The low dividend payout ratio means increase in the equity base for debt capital and low probability of going into liquidation. As a result of low probability of bankruptcy, the bankruptcy cost is low. This implies high level of debt in the capital structure.[12] Operating Leverage: The use of fixed cost in production process also affects the capital structure. The high operating leverage-use of higher proportion of fixed cost in the total costs over a period of time-can magnify the variability in future earnings. There is a negative relation between operating leverage and debt level in capital structure. The higher operating leverage, the greater the chance of business failure and the greater will be the weight of bankruptcy costs on enterprise financing decisions. Industry Life Cycle: Firms tend to adopt different financing strategies and a specific hierarchy of decision-making as they progress through the phases of their business life cycle. Debt is fundamental to business activities in the early stages, representing the first choice. However, in the maturity stage, firms re-balance their capital structure, substituting debt for internal capital.[13] Degree of Competition: Debt ratios are reduced as the scope of competition falls. For oligopolies, debt ratios show a significant and positive effect on prices.[14] Company Characteristics: Variables of size and growth opportunity in total assets reveal a positive association with the leverage ratio, however, profitability, growth opportunities in plant, property and equipment, non-debt tax shields and tangibility reveal inverse relation with debt level.[15] Forms of Capital Structure Capital Structure can be of various forms: Horizontal capital Structure: The firm has no component of debt in the financial mix. Expansion of the firm is through equity and retained earnings only. Vertical Capital Structures: The base of the structure is a little amount of equity share capital which serves as the foundation for a super structure of preference share capital and debt. Pyramid Shaped Capital Structure: Large proportion consisting of equity capital and retained earnings. Inverted Pyramid shaped Capital Structure: Small component of equity capital, reasonable retained earnings and increasing component of debt. Replacement Modernization Expansion Diversification Capital Structure Decision Desired Debt-Equity Mix Existing Capital Structure Payout Policy Effect on Return Effect on Risk Effect on Cost of Capital Value of Firm Optimum Capital Structure Capital Budgeting Decision Need for Funds Capital Structure Decision Process Internal Funds Debt External Equity DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO CAPITAL STRUCTURE Weighted Average Cost of Capital It is the expected rate of return on the market value of all the firms securities. Anything that increases the value of the firm also minimizes the WACC if operating income is constant. It is a calculation of a firms cost of capital in which each category of capital is proportionately weighted. All capital sources   common stock, preferred stock, bonds and any other long-term debt   are included in a WACC calculation. The WACC equation  is the cost of each capital component  multiplied by its proportional weight and then summing:   WACC = E/V * Re + D/V * Rd * (1- Tc) Where:   Re = cost of equity   Rd = cost of debt   E = market value of the firms equity   D =  market value of the firms debt   V = E + D   E/V = percentage of financing that is equity   D/V = percentage of financing that is debt   Tc =  corporate tax rate   Assumptions There is no income tax, corporate or personal. The firm believes in paying all of its earnings and dividends. A 100% dividend payout ratio is assumed. Investors have identical probability distributions of operating income for each company. The operating income is not expected to grow or decline over time. A firm can change its capital structure instantaneously without incurring transaction costs. rd represents the cost of debt For 100% dividend payout, re represents cost of equity V = D + E. ra is the overall capitalisation rate of the firm. It can also be expressed as: ra = rd[D/(D+E)] + re[E/(D+E)] NET INCOME APPROACH According to NI approach both the cost of debt and the cost of equity are independent of the capital structure; they remain constant regardless of how much debt the firm uses. This means that, the average cost of capital declines and the firm value increases with debt. This happens because when D/E increases, rd which is lower than re, receives a higher weight in the calculation of ra. This approach has no basis in reality; the optimum capital structure would be 100 per cent debt financing under NI approach. This can be illustrated with the help of a numerical. There are 2 firms A and B similar in all aspects except in the degree of leverage employed. Firm A Firm B Operating income(Rs.) 10,000 10,000 Interest on debt(Rs.) 0 3,000 Equity Earnings(Rs.) 10,000 7,000 Cost of equity capital 10% 10% Cost of debt capital 6% 6% Market Value of equity(Rs.) 1,00,000 70,000 Market value of debt(Rs.) 0 50,000 Total value of the firm(Rs.) 1,00,000 1,20,000 The average cost of capital for firm A is 10%. The average cost of capital for firm B is 8.66% NET OPERATING INCOME It is the opposite of NI Approach. According to NOI approach the value of the firm and the overall capitalization rate are independent of the firms capital structure. That is, ra and rd are constant for all degrees of leverage. Now, re = ra + (ra rd)(D/E) The market capitalizes the firm as a whole at a discount rate which is independent of the firms debt-equity ratio. In the absence of taxes, an individual holding all the debt and equity securities will receive the same cash flows regardless of the capital structure and therefore, value of the company is the same. An increase in the use of debt funds which are cheaper is offset by an increase in the equity capitalization rate. This happens because equity investors seek higher compensation as they are exposed to greater risk from increase in the degree of leverage. They increase the capitalization rate re as the leverage increases. Numerically, this can be explained. Two firms A and B are similar in all aspects except the degree of leverage employed by them. Firm A Firm B Operating income(Rs.) 10,000 10,000 Overall capitalization rate 0.15 0.15 Total market value 66.667 66,667 Interest on debt(Rs.) 1,000 3,000 Debt capitalization rate .10 .10 Market Value of debt(Rs.) 10,000 30,000 Market value of equity(Rs.) 56,667 36,667 Degree of leverage 0.176 0.818 Equity Capitalization for Firm A= (9,000/56,667) = 15.9% Equity Capitalization for Firm B = (7,000/36,667) = 19.1% TRADITIONAL APPROACH The traditional approach argues that moderate degree of debt can lower the firms overall cost of capital and thereby, increase the firm value. The initial increase in the cost of equity is more than offset by the lower cost of debt. But as debt increases, shareholders perceive higher risk and the cost of equity rises until a point is reached at which the advantage of lower cost of debt is more than offset by more expensive equity. The principal implication of the traditional approach is that the cost of capital is dependent on the capital structure and there is an optimal capital structure which minimizes the cost of capital. At this level, the real marginal cost of debt and equity is the same. MODIGLIANI AND MILLER POSITION Similar to NOI Approach Value of the firm is independent to its capital structure i.e. Independence of total valuation and the cost of capital of the firm from its capital structure NOI is purely conceptual, Doesnt provide operational justification Supports NOI and provides behavioral justifications. Assumptions: Capital market is perfect (i)Investors are free to buy and sell (ii) Well informed market (iii) Firm investors can borrow on the same terms (iv) Rational behavior of investors (v) No transaction cost Homogeneous risk class All investors have the same expectations of the firms EBIT No Corporate Tax Preposition I The value of a firm is equal to its expected operating income divided by the discount rate appropriate to its risk class. It is independent of its capital structure.'[16] V= D + E = O/r Where: O is the expected operating income; r is the discount rate applicable to risk class. MM invokes an arbitrage argument to prove the preposition. In equilibrium, identical assets sell for the same price, irrespective of how they are financed. This is also known as the law of conservation of value. Arbitrage Argument Consider two firms U and L, similar in all respects except in their capital structure. Firm U is unlevered, financed by equity alone and firm L is a levered firm. Firm A Firm B Operating income(Rs.) 1,50,000 1,50,000 Interest 0 60,000 Equity Earnings 1,50,000 90,000 Cost of equity 0.15 0.16 Market value of equity 10,00,000 5,62,500 Cost of debt 0.12 Market value of debt 0 5,00,000 Market value of the firm 10,00,000 10,62,500 Average cost of capital 0.15 0.1412 The value of the levered firm is higher than that of the unlevered firm. Such, a situation, argue MM, cannot persist because equity investors would do well to sell their equity in firm L and invest in firm U with personal leverage. For example, if an investor owns 10% equity in firm L, he would: Sell his equity in firm L for Rs. 56,250 Borrow Rs. 50,000, an amount equal to 10% of Ls debt at an interest rate of 12%. Buy 10% of firm Us equity for 1,00,000. His income remains the same. Old income from investment in firm L New income from investment in firm U 10% firms equity income 9,000 15,000 12% interest on loan of Rs. 50,000 (6,000) 9,000 9,000 When investors sell their equity in firm L and buy the equity in firm U, the marker value of firm L tends to decline and the market value of firm U tends to rise. This process continues until the market value of both the firms become equal. As a result, the cost of capital for both the firms becomes the same. Preposition II Firm A 100% equity Firm B 50-50%ratio Expected earnings per share (Rs.) 4 5 Price per share(Rs.) 20 20 Expected return to equity shareholders 20% 25% An increase in financial leverage increases the expected earnings per share but not the share price. This is because the change in the expected earnings is offset by a corresponding change in the return required by shareholders. We know, re = ra + (ra-rd)(D/E) Preposition II states that The expected return on equity is equal to the expected rate of return on assets, plus a premium. The premium is equal to the debt-equity ratio times the difference between the expected return on assets and the expected return on debt. The general implications are that for low levels of debt, the firms debt is considered risk-free. This means that rd is independent of D/E and hence re increases linearly with D/E. As the debt reaches a threshold limit, the risk of default increases and the return on debt rd rises. To compensate this , the rate of increase in re decreases. This happens because, beyond the threshold level, a portion of the firms business risk is borne by the suppliers of the debt capital. WACC Warnings Sometimes the objective in financing is not maximize overall market value but to minimize the WACC. If MMs proposition 1 holds true then they are equivalent objectives. However, if they dont, then the capital structure that maximizes the value of the firm also minimizes its WACC. Warning 1: Shareholders want management to increase the firms value. They are more interested in being than in owning a firm with low WACC. Warning 2: Since shareholders demand higher expected rates of return than bondholders, therefore debt is the cheaper capital source, so WACC can be reduced by borrowing more. However, this extra borrowing leads the stockholders to demand a still higher expected rate of return.[17] Criticisms of MM Theory Firms are liable to pay taxes on their income. Bankruptcy costs are quite high. Agency costs exist because of conflict of interest between managers and shareholders. Managers have a preference for a certain sequence of financing. Personal leverage and corporate are not perfect substitutes. TRADE-OFF THEORY OF CAPITAL STRUCTURE It states that a company chooses how much debt finance and equity finance to use by balancing the costs and benefits. It states that there is an advantage to financing with debt which is the  tax benefits of debt  and there is a cost of financing with debt which is the costs of financial distress including  bankruptcy costs of debt  and non-bankruptcy costs. A firm that is  optimizes its overall value focuses on the trade-off when choosing how much debt and equity to use for financing. COSTS OF FINANCIAL DISTRESS Different firms and different industries will have different magnitudes of costs if they encounter financial distress. With some firms, distress will result in both customers and suppliers fleeing. With other firms, the fact that a firm is close to bankruptcy will not affect customers. When a firm experiences financial distress several things can happen. Arguments between shareholders and creditors delay the liquidation of assets. Bankruptcy cases take years to settle and during this period machineries and equipments rust and become obsolete. Assets sold under distress conditions, fetch a price lesser than their economic value. The legal and administrative costs associated with bankruptcy are quite high. Managers may lower the quality of goods, give unacceptable customer service, ignore welfare in a bid to survive in the short run. BANKRUPTCY COSTS OF DEBT   These the increased costs of financing with  debt  instead of  equity  that result in a higher  probability  of  bankruptcy. The fact that bankruptcy is generally a costly process and not just a transfer of  ownership  implies that these costs negatively affect the total  value  of the firm. These costs can be thought of as a financial cost, because as the probability of bankruptcy increases the financial costs increases. PECKING ORDER THEORY  OR  PECKING ORDER MODEL It  states that companies  prioritize  their sources of financing according to the law of least effort, or of least resistance, preferring to raise equity as a financing means of last resort. Hence, internal funds are used first, and when that is depleted,  debt  is issued, and when it is not sensible to issue any more debt, equity is issued. This theory prefers internal financing when available and maintains that businesses adhere to a  hierarchy  of financing sources and, and debt is preferred over equity if external financing is required. AGENCY COST   It is an  economic  concept that relates to the cost incurred by an organizations associated with problems such as divergent  management-shareholder objectives and  information asymmetry.   The information asymmetry causes the agency problems of  moral hazard and  adverse selection. Agency costs mainly arise due to divergence of control, separation of ownership and control and the different objectives the managers consider. KINDS OF ANALYSIS FOR CHOOSING THE CAPITAL STRUCTURE Leverage Analysis EBIT EPS Analysis ROI ROE Analysis Ratio Analysis Cash Flow Analysis Comparative Analysis Capital Structure Policies in Practice We will see a few in detail. LEVERAGE ANALYSIS : Leverage arises from the existence of Fixed Costs. There are two kinds of Leverage: Operating Leverage: arises from the firms Fixed Operating costs such as salaries, depreciation, insurance, property taxes, and advertising outlays. Financial Leverage: arises from the firms Fixed Financing Costs such as Interest on Debt. Sales Sales 500 units 600 units Revenues 500,000 600,000 Variable operating costs 250,000 300,000 Fixed operating costs 200,000 200,000 Earnings before interest and taxes 50,000 100,000 Operating leverage arises from the existence of fixed operating expenses. When a firm has fixed operating expenses, 1 percent change in unit sales leads to more than 1 percent change in EBIT. Consider the case of a firm, XYZ Limited which is currently selling a product at Rs 1000 per unit. Its variable costs are Rs 500 per unit and its fixed operating costs are Rs 200,000. The earnings before interest and taxes at two levels of sales, viz., 500 units and 600 units, is shown below: In the above example, a 20 percent increase in unit sales leads to a 100 percent increase in profit before interest and taxes, thanks to the existence of fixed operating costs. Hence, fixed operating costs magnify the impact of changes in revenues. This the magnification works in the reverse direction as well. Degree of Operating Leverage It refers to the sensitivity of PBIT (or EBIT) to changes in unit sales or Sales. Picture1.png It measures the effect of change in sales revenue on the level of PBIT. Financial leverage emanates from the existence of fixed interest expenses. The use of fixed-charges sources of funds, such as debt and preference capital, along with owners equity in the capital structure is known as financial leverage (or gearing or trading on equity). When a firm has fixed interest expenses, 1 percent change in profit before interest in taxes (PBIT) leads to more than 1 percent change in profit before tax (or profit after tax or earnings per share). Consider the case of XYZ Limited, which currently has an PBIT of Rs 50,000. Its fixed interest expenses are Rs 30,000 and its tax rate is 50 percent. It has 10,000 shares outstanding. The profit before tax, profit after tax, and earnings per share for XYZ Limited at two levels of PBIT, viz., Rs 50,000 and Rs 60,000 are shown below: Case A Case B Profit before interest and taxes 50,000 60,000 Interest expense 30,000 30,000 Profit before tax 20,000 30,000 Tax 10,000 15,000 Profit after tax 10,000 15,000 Earnings per share 1 1.50 In the above example a 20 percent increase in PBIT leads to a 50 percent increase in profit before taxes (or PAT or EPS), thanks to the existence of fixed interest expenses. Hence, fixed interest expense magnifies the impact of changes in PBIT. The magnification works in the reverse direction as well. Degree of Financial Leverage It refers to the sensitivity of PBT (or PAT or EPS) to changes in PBIT. The financial leverage employed by a company is intended to earn more return on the fixed-charge funds than their costs. The surplus (or deficit) will increase (or decrease) the return on the owners equity. Combined leverage, or total leverage, arises from the existence of fixed operating costs and interest expenses. Due to the existence of these fixed costs, 1 percent change in unit sales, leads to more than 1 percent change in PBT (or PAT or EPS). Consider the case of XYZ Limited, which currently has revenues of Rs 500,000. (Rs 500 units are sold at Rs 1,000 per unit). Its variable costs are Rs 500 per unit and its fixed operating costs are Rs 200,000. Its fixed interest expenses are Rs 30,000 and its tax rate is 50 percent. It has 10,000 shares outstanding. The financial profile of the company at two levels of sales viz. 500 units (the current level) and 600 units (a level 20 percent higher than the current level) is shown below. Sales Sales 600 units 500 units Revenues 500,000 600,000 Variable operating costs 250,000 300,000 Fixed operating costs 200,000 200,000 PBIT 50,000 100,000 Interest 30,000 30,000 Profit before tax 20,000 70,000 Tax 10,000 35,000 Profit after tax 10,000 35,000 Earnings per share 1 3.5 In the above example, a 20 percent increase in unit sales leads to a 250 percent increase in earnings per share, due to the existence of fixed operating costs and interest expenses. Also, fixed costs magnify the impact of changes in unit sales. Degree of Combined Leverage It refers to the sensitivity of PBT (or PAT or EPS) to changes in unit sales or sales. PBIT-EPS Analysis EPS is sensitive to changes in PBIT under different financing alternatives. where EPS = earnings per share, EBIT = earnings before interest and taxes, I = the interest burden, t = the tax rate, and n= the number of equity shares. Break-Even PBIT Level Consider the following data for ABC Limited. Existing Capital Structure: 1 million equity shares of Rs. 10 each Tax Rate : 50 percent ABC Limited plans to raise additional capital of Rs. 10 million for financing an expansion project. In this context, it is evaluating two alternative fina