Comparisons :: essays papers

ComparisonsGerard David and bloody shame Cassatt both atomic number 18 remarkable artists who has influenced artists today. Gerard David was born in 1455 in the Netherlands (Oudewater). Mary Cassatt was born in 1861 in Pennsylvania. Even though they were born at different times, their paintings show the relationship between amaze and electric razor. David multicolor Virgin and Child With Four Angels in 1510. The type of raisevas used was wood with oil paint. The wood has a rectangular shape. The Virgin and Child characters that were reproduced from a painting by Jan van Eyck, who influenced David when he settled in Bruges in 1484. In the foreground there ar six figures. The mother, child and the four angels. The mother has brown hair and is wearing a red robe. She is also in the center of the painting. She has a dismal look on her face, while retention her child tightly. The mother depicts the Virgin Mary. The child is naked in the mothers arms looking at the viewer. The ch ild represents Jesus and innocence. To the left and right of the mother there are two angels. One is playing a harp and the other is playing a banjo. The one playing the harp is wearing a black robe. melanize can represent the darkness or evil. The other angel playing the banjo is wearing a white grayish robe. The white grayish color can represent the purity and good side. Their facial expressions look as if they are sad. The other two angels are above the mother and child. They both are holding a crown over the mother and child. The angels holding the crown symbolizes the war between good and evil. In the middle ground and background there are churches, gardens, and mountains. The colors mainly used are forest green, brown, white and beige color to highlight certain aspects of the painting. The churches in the painting are from Sint-Jakobs and Onze-Lieve-Vrouw. The mood of the go is melancholy. It is shown in the facial expressions of each character. Looking at the painting I re ally couldnt tell where David started his work. I think he started with the background first and everything came after.Mary Cassatt painted a Young Mother Sewing on a rectangular canvas. She also used oil paint like Gerard David did. In the foreground, the two-year-old child in the painting was wearing a white and sky blue dress.

Corporate Development During The Industrial Revolution :: essays research papers fc

Corporate Development During the Industrial RevolutionThe commonplace Oil caller-out founded by legerdemain D. Rockefeller and the U.S. SteelCompany founded by Andrew Carnegie. The Standard Oil Company and U.S. SteelCompany were made successful in different ship canal due to the actions of theirdifferent owners. The companies differed in their labor relations, marketcontrol, and structural organization.In the steel industry, Carnegie developed a system known as vertical integration.This performer that he cut out the middle man. Carnegie bought his own iron andcoal mines because using independent companies cost too much and wereinefficient. By doing this he was suitable to undersell his competetors becausethey had to pay the competitors they went through to get the raw materials.Unlike Andrew Carnegie, tail D. Rockefeller integrated his vegetable oil business fromtop to bottom, his distinctive innovation in ordure of American industry washorizontal. This meant he followed one product through all its stages. Forexample, rockrfeller controlled the oil when it was drilled, through the nuance stage, and he maintained control over the refining process turning itinto gasoline. Although these two powerful men used two different methods ofmanagement their businesses were still very successful (Conlin, 425-426).Tycoons like Andrew Carnegie, "the steel king," and John D. Rockefeller, "theoil baron," exercised their genius in devising ways to circument competition.Although, Carnegie inclined to be tough-fisted in business, he was not amonopolist and disliked monopolistic trusts. John D. Rockefeller came todominate the oil industry. With one upward stride after another he organizedthe Standard Oil Company, which was the nucleus of the great trust that wasformed. Rockefeller showed undersized mercy. He believed primitive savageryprevailed in the jungle world of business, where only the fittest survived. Hepersued the policy of "ruin or rule.&quo t Rockefellers oil monopoly did turn outa superior product at a relatively cheap price. Rockefeller belived inruthless business, Carnegie didnt, yet they both had the most successfulcompanies in their industries. (The American Pageant, pages 515-518)Rockefeller treat his customers in the same manner that Andrew Carnegietreated his workers cruel and harsh. The Standard Oil Company desperatelywanted every possible company to buy their products. Standard Oil usedruthless tactics when Rockefeller threatenedto start his own chain of grocerystores and put local merchants out of business if they did not buy oil fromStandard Oil Company. Carnegie dealt with his workers with the same cold lackof diplomacy and consideration. Carnegie would encourage an unfriendlycompetition between two of his workers and he goaded them into outdoing oneanother. roughly of his employees found working under Carnegie unbearable.

Relating to EE Cummings Poetry :: Biography Biographies Essays

Relating to EE Cummings Poetry Its not necessarily easy to read. And its probably harder to understand. But the poetry of ee cummings has made a nitch in our society of innovative minds and experimental art that we cannot argue. Whether we like it, hate it, or deliver it down in frustration, we have to appreciate the door this poet has opened for so many generations of writers and stylists. We picked my sweet old etcetera because if was the simplist poems to understand, and theres a lot we could say roughly it (and we each had a 750 word responce paper ahead of us to think about.) my sweet old etcetera begins by describing the folks back home and their conversations of know-it-all nothingness. He describes how they share their righteous opinions about a war they know very little about. He uses the word etcetera throughout the poem as some people today use the phrase blah blah blah to trail the ends of their sentences. Come on, you know you say it. I know I do all the time...my story is going to be about chasing dreams, and hopefulness, da da da da da. This poem discribes how hypocritical we all are. How we can dialogue about something thats happening a million miles away as if we know all, when we really cant possibly know anything about it. After reading it oer and over again, I find that I can relate to this poem in one way. Last year, I had my first taste of being away from home. can home, everyone was so proud of what I had accomplished--going so far away to follow my dreams. They knew without a doubt that I was going to be successful. They knew without a doubt that I was happy, that I was driven. They said so all the time. But what they didnt talk about were my everyday mistakes and misfortunes. They didnt mention that I no longer took center stage--that I seldom ever performed in town. they seems to pass over that awful semester of sociology and my first heartbreaks away from home. They didnt talk about it because in the long run, they knew all of that didnt matter.

post colonial :: essays research papers fc

George, Rosemary Marangoly, and Helen Scott. "An Interview with Tsitsi Dangarembga." Novel (Spring 1993)309-319. This interview was conducted at the African Writers Festival, Brown Univ., Nov. 1991 move out from Introduction "Written when the author was twenty-five, Nervous Conditions correct Dangarembga at the forefront of the younger generation of African writers producing literature in English today....Nervous Conditions highlights that which is often effaced in postcolonial African literature in English--the representation of young African girls and women as worthy subjects of literature....While the critical reception of this novel has focused mainly on the authors feminist agenda, in this interview...Dangarembga stresses that she has moved from a somewhat singular consideration of gender politics to an appreciation of the complexities of the politics of postcolonial subjecthood" (309).Full text also available from EBSCOHost donnish Search Elite, Article No . 9312270407.Veit-Wild, Flora. Interview with Dangarembga "Women Write about Things that Move Them." Matatu Zeitschrift fur afrikanische Kultur und Gesellschaft 3.6(1989) 101-108.Wilkinson, Jane. "Tsitsi Dangarembga." Talking with African Writers Interviews with African Poets, Playwrights and Novelists. capital of the United Kingdom James Currey, 1992. 189-198.Tsitsi Dangarembga (b. 1959) was interviewed 4 Sept. 1989 in London by Jane Wilkinson, and I here highlight some points made in that interview. There seem to be many autobiographical parallels between Tsitsis and Tambus lives, although Tambudzai (supposed to be 13 in 1968 in the novel) would be slightly older than Dangarembga (who was 9 in 1968). Dangarembga says that she wrote of "things I had observed and had had direct experience with," but "bigger than any one persons own tragedieswith a wider implication and origin and therefore were things that needed to be told" (190).One important theme in Nervous Conditions is that of remembering and forgettingespecially the danger of Tambus forgetting who she is, where she came fromas her brother Nhamo did. Dangarembga acknowledges this in the interview (191). "I personally do not have a fund of our cultural tradition or oral history to draw from, but I really did feel that if I am able to put down the little I know then its a start" (191). Nyasha, the author says, doesnt have anything to forget, for she never knew, was never taught her culture and originsand this forms "some great big gap inside her." "Tambudzai, on the other hand is quite valid in saying that she cant forget because she has that configuration of experience. Nyasha is so worried about forgetting because its not there for her to remember.

All About Video Recording :: Video Camera Recorder

All About Video RecordingOver the past 30 years the advancements in technology have been tremendous, everything from the 80s camcorder, which was approximately the size of a cat, to the ones presently, which are approximately the size of your hand. To the creation of digital cameras ,videodiscs and CD-Rs, as well as so often more. When Purchasing a Video Recorder, thither are many aspects of the piece that should be examined, in order to pick out the best eccentric harvest-home for the amount of money you are prepared to spend. Picking between the different qualitys of products is the first step. In the world of digital recording , there are triple basic types. The first being Hard Disc Recorders which are also known as Personal Television Recorders, these record all the action without the desire for video tapes. With on screen program guides, recording in digital is a simple one-button operation. The next is DVD RAMwhich is the official DVD Recordable format sanction by the D VD Forum, DVDRAM records onto a DVD recordable disc that can then be played on close modern DVD players. Lastly, there is DVD+RW which was developed by Philips and Sony, DVD+RW discs can be edited to cut out commercial breaks. They can also be played on most modern DVD players.The quality of the recording is always an important statistic tobe aware of, in video recording, there are four basic levels of quality. The first level is referred to as 2 Heads and is usually used for standard quality mono recording and playback, next there is 4 Heads , which has an improved picture and sound quality and freeze frames. Next, there is 6 Heads which has all the benefits of a 4 head video recorder plus 2 extra heads for greater sound quality. Lastly, there is Super-VHS which provides up to 400 lines of resolution, instead of the usual 240 lines, S-VHS delivers superior picture quality.The next aspect to focus on when purchasing a Video recorder would be the sound quality. In this department th ere are two basic options Depending on the kind of TV you have and the type of programs you record, you need to consider the type of sound playback you want. The first option would be Mono which is usually for standard recording and playback. Mono video recorders represent great value and are adequate for connection to portable TVs. The second option would be Nicamstereowhich is a high quality stereo for improved sound reproduction.

Richard Nixon :: essays research papers

Reconciliation was the first goal set by President Richard M. Nixon. The Nation was painfully divided, with turbulence in the cities and war overseas. During his Presidency, Nixon succeeded in ending American fighting in Viet Nam and improving relations with the U.S.S.R. and China. But the Watergate scandal brought fresh divisions to the country and ultimately led to his resignation. His election in 1968 had climaxed a career unusual on two counts his early success and his comeback after being defeated for President in 1960 and for Governor of California in 1962. Born in California in 1913, Nixon had a brilliant record at Whittier College and Duke University Law School before beginning the practice of law. In 1940, he married Patricia Ryan they had two daughters, Patricia (Tricia) and Julie. During World War II, Nixon served as a Navy lieutenant commander in the Pacific. On leaving the service, he was elected to intercourse from his California district. In 1950, he won a Senate sea t. Two years later, General Eisenhower selected Nixon, age 39, to be his running mate. As Vice President, Nixon took on study duties in the Eisenhower Administration. Nominated for President by acclamation in 1960, he lost by a narrow margin to John F. Kennedy. In 1968, he again won his partys nomination, and went on to defeat Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and third-party candidate George C. Wallace. His accomplishments while in office included revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program. As he had promised, he appointed Justices of conservative philosophy to the Supreme Court. One of the most dramatic events of his first term occurred in 1969, when American astronauts made the first moon landing. Some of his most acclaimed achievements came in his quest for world stability. During visits in 1972 to Beijing and Moscow, he reduced tensions with China and the U.S.S.R. His superlative degree meetings with Russian leader Leonid I. B rezhnev produced a treaty to limit strategic nuclear weapons. In January 1973, he announced an accord with North Viet Nam to end American date in Indochina. In 1974, his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, negotiated disengagement agreements between Israel and its opponents, Egypt and Syria. In his 1972 bid for office, Nixon defeated Democratic candidate George McGovern by one of the widest margins on record. deep down a few months, his administration was embattled over the so-called "Watergate" scandal, stemming from a break-in at the offices of the Democratic National Committee during the 1972 campaign.

American Airlines

The involvement of bear sufficient bes is the most prominent reason of irregularity of demand and supply. It means, once handling competency has been shaped, despite the grade of capability consumption, it may require the involvement of huge preventable costs genuinely. In result of this situation, industries face an abnormal demand supply at a cost wobble due to several economic factors. Additional states of the abnormal situations in demand and supply, concern to the volume of any firms capability to the universal marketplace.The focus of the market depend upon the mass of an assiduitys ability, much the volume of industrys ability directly proportional towards the capturing the market. On the other(a) side, the existence of potential consumers is associated with the more delicately isolatable demand. A general s sayline industry considerably fulfills numerous conditions, essential and adequate, reliable with the arrangement of an unload core. A Scheduled airline busine ss works in a sense like to the ocean liner industry. It has at least for limited distances has pre-arranged preventable cost whereas, in giant investment regarding in a commercial airplane, shows a ruined cost.Nevertheless, once the industry has dedicated to a meticulous convoy and register it cannot alter productivity without acquiring considerable adjustment cost. Yet, as emphasized in the opening chapter, airline management is about matching the supply of air services, which management can largely control, with the demand for such(prenominal) services, over which management has much less function. To be successful in this an airline can be a low-cost operator or a high-cost operator. (Doganis, 2002) As far as the cost condition of an airline is concerned on the supply side, per grayback price goes down as the covers miles increased.Any how, the technological limitations entail that by dipping the capacity of plane, distance covers could be augmented. Similarly, price per tr aveler depends on the number of seats packed on a plane lifts up to full competence. Effects of Economic Change And Influential Externalities Recent economic collapse has affected every realm and industry of the global economy. Consequently of the externality to airline industry could not be measures easily as yet, because they atomic number 18 linked with different related elements which argon in the process of being retained on their one duration(prenominal) positions.It could be possible that the requirement would descend within an uncertain global market. The constant permute in market buying behavior points out that the flexibility of market demand impact is lot more dependable on economic influences and transpose in international rules and regulations for relevant industries. In an international scenario the perfect flexibility of demand, eradicates the potential barriers for achieving consumer satisfaction. Eventually, any magnitude could be acknowledged by the marke t at the specified price and at that place would be remote chances to plug capacity by aggressive pricing feedback.When externalities ar significant, there is a need to every enforce roots or give the preference to the interests of society. It may be done through delegate democratic frame or a few(prenominal)thing else. Many sources can coincide upon the fact that it should not be classified a natural monopoly. The airline industry leave alone continue to swerve up and down according to market conditions, and the same externalities ordaining be in existence. (Externalities Affecting, 2007). Hence, Political economy means the observations of consequences and means regarding collective choices and benefits that are unlimited to solo individual transactions.As far as the thoroughly explained liberal political tradition is concerned, there is a negation found between socialized production and individual decision-making. Wages distinction Doganis, in his earmark The Airline Business in the Twenty-First Century, does not feel any difficulty to find out implements which is helpful to know the government planning regarding communion wage in the previous race. Economists firmly believed in the policy analysis while other said that there is no need of such mechanism which could brief the rise in wage dissimilarity.They might or may not be able to determine the ups and downs of economics very legally, due to whatsoever lack of training notwithstanding he, assured bout the existence of mechanism in about every where. Take an example of a Court evaluate who was telling workers of Northwest if they would go to prison house in case of refusal to toil for the income / wages that the company intended to pay them. Actually, this is not complete speech of the hazard he never intended to pressurize the workers but convinced them that, it was a policy matter. It is for this reason that controlling labor costs is so crucial for airline managers.In the early y ears of the 21st century it is the key to cost control because, unlike fuel and other inputs whose prices are externally determined, airlines can and must influence their labor costs. (Connor, 2001) In other case, if Flight Attendant Services Corporation (FASC) which set ups services of to other companies, did not accept lower wages offered from Northwest for its workers, thus would any judge be able to intimidate the FASC with prison? Statistics indicate that wage inequality created a high occurrence of let go ofover. When the wage increase occurred, the turn over drift reduces, and work efficiency rose. (Wage Inequality, 2007) In last quarter century, many such examples of The New York Times published impertinentlys about a potential strike by flight attendants at Northwest Airlines that was blocked partially by a national Judge and recommended that the management and the workers should have been on table talk. In that case, the company Northwest was suffered in industria l action by the employees. Fiscal & Monetary Policies in the Airlines Industry After the incident of 9/11, the airline industry suffered in great economic disaster pertaining to decline in number of passengers as well as considerably higher(prenominal) fare.Only few airlines were in profitable condition even before that day year 2001. It was being said that whatever deregulations caused problems for industry as well as passengers. term there has been or so relaxation of reporting requirements, consistent with the regulatory reform trend, much data are still filed and available to the public. These records show traffic and revenue, humbled down in various airs such as by passengers and cargo, and aircraft statistics. Of course there are balance sheets and income statements. (Connor, 2001) The to a lower place noted analysis pass on suffice to the some extent about airline deregulation history and possible policy changes that help to develop competition in coming era. disposit ion of Airline Competition Amalgamation of firms within competitive environment encouraged the growth in the airline industry. As, in 1979, the U. S. airline showed a marvelous doing while following the rule of combination with competition. In air travel demand estimations, income and prices of other relevant goods should be included in the estimation equivalence (Air run, 2009)In 1983, Canada have goted her ticket average prices as compare to the U. S. Consumers were suggested a slice of benefit, but some spectators of that time disagreed with the idea that airline rivalry was beneficial for people. By the attack on World Trade touch on, the airline industry has been badly affected in respect of its economic and monetary policies. This incident influenced the industry astonishingly in the form of increasing prices in base tickets excluding taxes called September 11th Security Fee. Public preference in flying had been least.People were afraid of this journey or prices of the t ickets similarly created hindrances in deciding to fly. Many airline companies paid-off their workers. The Travel agencies were also facing declining in their sales. In shore, these reasons were directly responsible for some airlines ruined. The Airline industry continues to be affected by the overall condition of the nations economy. When healthy spending exists and pleasure travel is frequent, air carriers are able to fill flights, raise prices, and maintain a stable economic environment. (The Airline, 2008) Passengers are people who came to know factual positions of the airlines regarding uncertainty while flying or steep high fares. In found to deal with any miss- conking occurs, an airline should keep minutely checking its financial position either it could stand longer or not. An airline should make their policies in such way that there is a chance of any amendment according to the circumstance. Conclusion With this above findings we have come to know that the American Airli ne Industry has changed in a great deal over the last few years.Possible reason for this often related to uncertain international environment establish on changing buying behavior, security situation and change in mandatory / fiscal policies. If we have security threats in future, we might see heavy down sizing, splashiness in rate and other negative economic influences. References American Pilots (2008) American Pilots Fight for Return to 1934 Wages with Adjustments Retrieved On March 23 2009, from, Air Travel (2009) Air Travel Demand Elasticities Concepts, Issues and MeasurementRetrieved On March 23 2009, from, Connor, William E. O (2001). An Introduction to Airline Economics. Praeger Westport, CT. P. 69. Doganis, Rigas. (2002) Flying off Course The Economics of global Airlines. Routledge London. P. 180. Doganis, Rigas. (2001) The Airline Business in the Twenty-First Century. Routledge London, p. 101. Externalities Affecting (2007) Externalities Affecting the Airlines Industr y Retrieved On March 23 2009, from, Raghavan, Vedapuri S. & Raghavan Jayathi (2005) Application of core theory to the U. S. Airline industry, ledger of the Academy of Business and Economics. The Airline (2008) The Airline Industry The Effects of Monetary and Fiscal Policies Retrieved On March 23 2009, from, Wage Inequality (2007) Wage Inequality in the Airlines Industry Retrieved On March 23 2009, from, American AirlinesAccording to the Chinese Philosopher Xun Zi, Man is actually evil in nature and can only be good if he is trained to be one (Co, 1992). This could be a main reason why refilling and harsher punishments were imposed on different prison camps. However, another(prenominal) Chinese Philosopher in the name of Meng Zi tells us the opposite. He tells us that Man is naturally good because he has a sense of pity, skillful and wrong, truth and falsity, and good end evil.Man is only tempted to commit mistakes because of negligence, wrong environment, and the pull up stak esful desire to become evil (Co, 1992). This makes us realize that even if they commit mistakes and are proven responsible for that act, no matter how grave it is, they still deserve to be treated as man. Can our current approach to sentencing and corrections be successful and continue? Our current approach to sentencing and corrections can be successful, but not for a very long time as more people clamors for changes in the policies of the correctional system.In our present time, we believe that incarceration is the best way to rehabilitate an offender, but we were wrong as other methods can be used like fines, probation, community service, treatments and other sanctions (Stemen, 2007). The report of Mr. Don Stemens (2007) tells us that further intensification of incarceration is not the most effective way to increase sentry duty in the community, since it only has less significant effects, and has greater effects on the taxpayers. From 1985 to 2004, it was recorded to hit a 202 p ercent increase.In one of the studies, it was even said that higher incarceration rates would mean higher crime rates. Furthermore, crime rate is actually influenced by the economy, society, demography, culture, politics and incarceration rates of a county (Stemen, 2007). Still, the Declaration of Principles serves as the foundation of the countrys prison management for 100 years (Mega essays ). This Declaration is the result of the Cincinnati conference. Things in the crime and punishment system of the United States really changed after liberty in 1970s.From the introduction of the first American penal colony in Philadelphia in 1870, to the prohibition of cutting body parts and other ways of torturing as a way of punishing the culprits, to the introduction of the chromatic Model, to the beginning of vocational training, education, parole, and the division between the prison cells for young and grown prisoners (Mega essays, n. d. ), the correctional system is doing its best to pr ovide its citizens the security that they need (Raver, 2007).Other innovations would include the medical model of prison management and rebirth of indefinite sentencing. Another baring is the indeterminate sentence method, where in every five days of good behavior would reduce one day of sentenced imprisonment for the convicted prisoners (Mega essays, n. d. ). As there are only town operated jails before they are the only department that can deal with felons (serious offenders) in the absence of state of national prisons. Pain through the slaughter of physical punishments was applied to the prisoners.But instead of using pain, the countrys leaders would now want the convicts to be sanctioned from practicing their liberty (Mega essays, n. d. ). deviation from that, it is true that before, and in some cases, even today, convicted criminals were controlled and punished by intervention, ethical education, and isolation (Mega essays, n. d. ). Isolation would mean that they are not al lowed to communicate with others, and will only get a chance to work with others without communicating again when working together in silent labor prison factories, just like what is according to the Auburn Model.The Auburn Model was first implemented in New York State prison. According to the Auburn Model, imprisonment of a convicted culprit must be the period for him or her to let her body and soul dominate that can be achieved through habit and regimentation provided by the very authoritative control system. But this did not happen as an environment of slavery was created in the prison camps. (Raver, E 2007). But this is already too much. From the report of Mr. Stemen, he mentioned about the report of Mr. Michael Jacobson, the Director of the Vera contribute of Justice.Mr. Jacobson said that harsher punishments and strengthened rules for imprisonment will decrease the threat imposed by the increase in crime rates. Insufficiency of the date is not a problem as they now have suffi cient data to support their claim. When that time comes, then it would be easy for policy makers to understand complex policies. A 10 percent increase in the number of incarcerations would only decrease 2 to 4% decrease. From 1970 to 2005, an increase of 628 percent in the construction of state and federal institutions was reported, with a number of 1.5 Million incarcerated criminals in U. S prisons and 750, 000 persons imprisoned in local jails per day. 5. 6 Million of the U. S population experienced being in prison. From 1992 to 1997, it was recorded to have a 25% effect in reduction of crimes, and the rest was caused by other reasons (Stemen, 2007). If they really want to reduce the crime rate, governments must focus on the increase in the number of police per capita, real wage rates, and education, and the decrease in unemployment rate (Stemen, 2007). Will rehabilitation continue as a primary correctional goal?Because on the belief of the efficacy of incarceration in the rehabil itation of prisoners, it is expected that more prison camps will be constructed which will come largely from the revenue collected by the states to go to this objective. In the 21st century, more funds are reserved for the construction of new penal colonies. In fact nowadays, they are more than the churches and the schools (Raver, 2007). The plan is that penal colonies will now provide different facilities that will further promote the rehabilitation of adult prisoners and for juvenile delinquents as well.Just like the North West Ohio Juvenile Detention, Training and Rehabilitation cracker that has individual detention cells, control room, multi-intention room, classrooms, intake area, deem clinic, gymnasium, library, and a secured outdoor recreation area (Patrick, 2007). This will help the juveniles to develop their skills and talents while serving their sentence, so that once they are released, they will be able to help their community, the country. They have a highly structured curriculum where in the teachers are licensed by the Ohio Department of Education.There is an admission exam that will footrace their knowledge in math, science, and the language arts. This is for the placement in the Centers computer based education curriculum. There is also the Accelerated reader syllabus that will uphold their reading comprehension level that is suitable and proper to them. The Centre also has one hour per day organized group large muscle activity that that follows the 5139-37-18 of the Ohio Administrative Code. Aside form this. There are one hour additional recreational activities, calisthenics, and leisure activities. Group sessions and total family sessions were also held.Aside from that, they conduct mental health assessments, and counseling. But according to the findings of Senator Whitmire and Rep. Madden, the real problem of the increase in crime rate is no other than the faulty and unclouded criminal justice policies and practices (high revocation rat es of probationers, lack of in-prison or community-based treatment and diversion options, and low parole grant rate). They recollect that what was done in the past is already enough. They think that the money should be more spent on more quality projects that the population can enjoy.Their goal is to lessen the expenses appropriated by the federal government in constructing too many prisons (The church bench Center on the States, 2008). The two legislators do not believe in building more prisons. For them, what is important is to treat the drug addicts, alcoholics, and to those individuals on parole and on probation that are having some difficult time coping with problems, this will prevent them to go out of the prison and eventually commit the same crime, or commit a new one (The PEW Center on the States 2008).Legislators instead must pass bills that will give correction agencies computers that will have Compstat program that will be used to trace their caseloads (Public Safety Pe rformance 2007). Presently, more and more correctional agencies are emerging in the idea that they can help in the progress of public safety thru helping the offenders to complete their period of rehabilitation (The PEW Center of the States 2007). The expansion of the countrys prison system does not actually decrease crime rate if their aim is to only imprison many of the citizens without really reducing the rate of criminal offenses.It is said that incarceration is the best way to avoid one from doing crimes, but is not effective in punishing and debilitating those persons, but it works (Stemen, 2007). For example, it said that the imprisonment of drug criminals will defeat the purpose and efficacy of this system to decrease the crime rate. Its predominantly negative moment on drug criminals were also reported (Stemen, 2007). Will supervision of offenders in the community change on approach? What should be focused on is to provide the centers with different facilities where they can mold their talent, skills, etc.where they can use when they go out. In the Pennsylvania system, guards have a complete supervision of the prisoners in the centers (Mega essays, n. d. ). We cannot prevent that there might be some special incidents that can happened in the detention place, like acts of aggression, disorderly behavior, attempts of the juvenile to harm himself, and threats in security. This is where the guards are most needed. In 2007, it is recorded that there were 40 special incidents in the North West Ohio Juvenile Detention. But before doing all of this, they must first provide solution to the correctional system first.The Correctional system has different problems like its rising cost, the overcrowding of prison cells and the increased hazard for both the inmates and the correctional personnel (Raver, 2007). For example in Texas, they will have to a lot additional $900 million to add more beds in prison camps (The PEW Center on the States, 2008). Some of the so lutions tending(p) to these problems were the following First, prohibit the unsupervised release of the prisoners just to solve the overcrowding of convicts in the prison cells. This will rather increase the risk of the security of the citizens.It will be appropriate to have it supervised. In this way, the rehabilitation of the prisoner and the security of the community will not be at stake. When we say rehabilitation, this would include counseling, therapy and traditional probation (Raver, 2007). Second, purity collar criminals or non-violent offenders do not need to be imprisoned anymore. This will only occupy space, and waste the money of the government (Raver, 2007). The parole system does not only let ex-convicts to enjoy a free life. Even if these people were already outside, the authorities still monitors them (Mega essays, n. d. ).They need to make sure that they will completely supervise them, just to prevent those persons to repeat their crimes, or to do another crime. B ut of course, this will not be easy for the released prisoners. But if this will not be prevented, if they commit the same mistakes, or does a new crime, it is important that the following must be considered first the degree of the crime committed, the danger it imposed to the community, and the cost. Senior administrators must be there to review the violation, and most importantly issue policy and guidelines for responding to these parole related violations (The PEW Center of the States, 2007).Those under parole will find it very hard to earn some money and to find a permanent job because employers sets high standards that in some point they were not able to meet or they are just discriminated and pre-judged. If not, they are just limited to some certain dirty jobs, thus some of them would find solution by venturing into illegal jobs (Stemen 2007). Once again, the role of the authorities is important, especially the policy makers. Prison-based education programs will not only help the prisoners to change themselves, but it can also serve as a tool to prepare them before going inside and join their community.Another one is for the policy makers to train better probation and parole officers (Stemen 2007). Do we need a new paradigm for sentencing and corrections? It is suggested that the kind of system that the United States have must be re-examined and re-evaluated based on its total performance (Raver, E 2007) The prison system in the eyes of the convicts is inefficient in terms of really playing its purpose because of some hostilities inside the penal colonies which should not happen.The facility should train, educate, and mold the person to a person that is ready to face the challenges if the time comes that hell leave the prison. But this is not what is really happening in these places (Raver, 2007). Community corrections agency are expected to produce report at least once a month, but instead the report contains only a list of their activities annually. C ommunity corrections agency is expected that they should have a system to determine and manage driving force towards the prevention of crime and addiction.They should not only monitor the progress of paroled person, and the individual managers in their effort to promote the achievement of their objectives. Incentives will also be addicted to managers and staff (Public Safety Performance, 2007). So far, it is said that the United States has the highest rate of incarceration amounting to 450 people for each 100, 000 people (Mega essays, n. d. ). The effects of increased incarceration rates will still be affected by different factors such as the range of in state prisons population, which has actually less effect and crime rate (Stemen, 2007).In Florida, both the rate of crime rate, and the rate of incarceration increased, that eventually destroys the society, especially the family, steals the time of some imprisoned parents to take care of their children, and can also take the prese nt and future income of the community where this people belong, and would only cater to the feeling of bitterness towards the present legal system, thus overall creating social disorder that makes way for the further push of crime rates in a higher level (Stemen, 2007).The North West Ohio Juvenile Detention, Training and Rehabilitation Center accepts into its cargo area those delinquents that is physically and emotionally threatened or hurt, run away child, abandoned child, and or is ordered by court, as stated in the Rule 7 of the Ohio Ruled of Juvenile Procedure. Other private institutions and groups that give leadership training and change for the youth, family, and the community, should increase their role in this issue. What the government cannot provide, they can supply (Stemen, 2007).What the citizens think now is to make some policies that will quickly respond to the real cause of crime and not just simply facing it. In a survey in 1994, 48% believes on this, that later on increased by 2001 reaching a rate of 65%. On the other hand, 42% believe that using a harsher sentence will decrease crime rate, and became 32% in 2001 (Stemen, 2007). They suggest that authorities must reconsider their thoughts about incarceration, that they must consider more the mentioned aspects in policy making (Stemen 2007).Can we reduce the impact of prisonization and improve the successful reentry of prisoners to the community? Yes we can. Treatment of services, conditions and intensity of supervision, release, and responses to violations are appropriately appoint which paves the way for an increase in crime rate because of its inefficiency. They should be supervised heavy-handedly grave offenders, and light-handedly on those light offenders, with no intensive interventions included (The PEW Center of the States, 2007).But the establishment of institutions like The Bureau of Federal Prisons, and structures like Alcatraz were primarily built as a way to decrease the crime ra te in the country, and to make sure that the most dangerous criminals are caught and kept imprisoned. This is the only way that the federal government can answer the challenge of those big time criminals who have more power and weapons than the law enforcers (Raver, 2007). The common problem for those freed convicted criminals is that they were viewed by others as a threat or danger to the peace and orderliness of the community.Some of them are always imprisoned, whether they commit another crime, or they repeat what they did. The people from the community believe that instead of changing into a better person, which should be the real purpose of imprisonment, they only got worst inside, which reflects the peoples disappointment in the countrys correctional system (Raver, 2007). Policy makers should have a statistics of the character of those who were revoked for violating the rules of their parole, and the percentage of those who were revoked for committing new crimes.Judges, the p arole board and the agency must be well coordinated in order to prepare the prisoner for the world outside the prison and detention center. They should continuously promote the prevention of crime, and not just the revocation of supervision (The PEW Center of the States, 2007). It is also said that consequences for different violations are not maximized. Policy makers must make sure that every violation is faced with an appropriate punishment. It is said that in order for supervision agencies to react appropriately to the demand of the culprit, they must have community based services and sanctions.They can use electronic monitoring or day reporting centers (The PEW Center of the States, 2007). Aside from providing the needed facilities for the prisoners, they must, at the same time, evaluate the third generation instruments that can unchangeable and changeable. It is concluded in one report that rewards are more effective than penalties in molding ones behavior (The PEW Center of t he States 2007). They can also use incentives that will encourage the prisoners to comply with the conditions and to prohibit themselves from doing another crime or repeating the crime again.It can be in a form of gift, certificates, reducing the treatment requirements, and minimal supervision (The PEW Center of the States 2007). References Co, Alfredo P. , 1992, Philosophy of China The Blooming of a Hundred Flowers, Manila, Philippines University of Santo Tomas. Mega essays. , , American correctionsA History. Available from Patrick, Brian, 2007, North West Ohio Juvenile Detention, Training, and Rehabilitation Center annual Report 2007 Available from Public Safety Performance, July 2007, You Get What You Measure Compstat for Community Corrections No. 1. Available from Raver, Edward, 2007, Understanding the American corrections system. Available from Stemen, Don, January 2007, Reconsidering enslavement New Directions for Reducing Crime. Available from http//www. vera. org/publ ication_pdf/379_727.pdf The PEW Center on the States, January 2008, Changing Direction a Bipartisan Team Paves a New Path for sentencing and Corrections in Texas No. 4. Available from The PEW Center of the States, November 2007, When Offenders Break the Rules Smart Responses to Parole and Probation Violations. Available from

Modern Day Hero Essay

When you head the word hero most people picture a buff man, wearing a mantel like Superman and Batman. A hero can be anyone from a family member to someone in the community. I believe my render can be portrayed as a hero. She volunteers in her spare time, is a t distributivelyer, and is a friend to everyone she meets.My buzz off has a tendency to volunteer for anything, but its unremarkably within the school she works at. Before we moved here, she was head of the P.T.A., always finding ways to raise money for the school. She even got a new vacation spot for the school so the kids could enjoy recess without having to worry about injuries. She has also organized many walk-a-thons for kids with Autism at her school. She takes action and is really god in what she does.My mother is also a teacher. She teaches kids with Autism, which I think is great. Especially because she has a lot of patience with those kids. She teaches each kids one-on-one, at their own pace. She takes her time t o make sure that each student has an understanding of what is going on. She also makes a connection to her students families, and makes sure the parents are involved with their child. She is really good at what she does.My mother can succor anyone she meets. You can be a complete stranger and she will compliment you, no matter what. This one time we were at shopping at the heart and soul when we saw this madam drop $100 on the floor. My initial thought was to keep it, but then my mother picked it up and gave it back to the lady. In return, the lady brought us all a coffee. Leason being, what goes around comes around.Most people think of heros as someone famous and important. I believe my mother is a hero for many reasons. Shes a teacher, can befriend a complete stranger, and loves to volunteer. In my eyes, my mother is what I call a hero.

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

Benjamin Town 31 August 2012 A Ray of intrust Sinners in the hands of an angry theology was preached by Jonathan Edwards during a cartridge clip when the multitude were relying on science more than their saviour in heaven, a time when commonwealth were lacking in their spiritual needs. This speech reardid the eyes of many, and was so powerful it may very well have been the trigger of the vast awakening. But why was this speech so powerful? wherefore did this speech change the lives of thousands?As we can see he used plenty of persuasive techniques, he is very descriptive in his tomography and uses simp allowon metaphors to persuade thousands to repent of their sinful ways and turn to Christ. He planted fear and delinquency into their hearts. This sermon is a sermon full of anger and fright, a sermon powerful enough to make the strongest man cry and weep. But the true drive of this sermon was to bring hope to a nation in need.It ultimately was a core of redemption, a mea ning that Jonathan Edwards believed people needed to hear. Although Edwards message was designed to torment and terrify the listeners it was ultimately a message of hope to all people who were sinning and turning on immortal. He uses simple imagery to connect to his audience who were mostly illiterate. He compares Gods wrath to Great Waters he says the wrath of God is like great irrigate that area dammed for the present, they increase more and more and rise higher(prenominal) and higher.Just by knowing that an all-powerful God is mad at you would character fear, scarce to know that His wrath towards you is growing greater and greater would cause even more fear and uneasiness to the listeners. But he then says Gods wrath will flood the earth only if he chooses to open the flood gates which give the listeners a glimpse of hope. Jonathan Edwards uses metaphors to connect to the peoples everyday lives.He tells them that their sin is as heavy as lead and will pull them straight down to hell. Your wickedness makes you as it were as heavy as lead, and to tend downward with great weight and pressure toward hell, and if God should let you go you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless disconnection by knowing that God holding you is the only matter thats keeping you from hell would put fear and guilt into the listeners hearts, but as we can see he once again says if. If God should let you go, he is continually reminding them that God is in control of everything, and will only subvert them if they do not repent from there sinful ways. at that place is still a chance to change, there is still hope. Sinners in the hands of an angry God was an exceptionally well thought and written sermon. Jonathan Edwards was effectively qualified to move the hearts of many by using simple imagery and metaphors that connected to the peoples everyday lives.Jonathan Edwards also managed to effectively connected to peoples emotions, he struck fear and guilt to all those who heard his sermon. He treasured his listeners to be aware that their behaviour on earth was important, that they were goddam to certain hell. But when they thought all was lost they were given a ray of hope, the acknowledgement that God can forgive them of their sins and that they will not go to hell if and only if they repent of their sinful ways.Sinners in the Hands of an Angry GodBenjamin Town 31 August 2012 A Ray of Hope Sinners in the hands of an angry God was preached by Jonathan Edwards during a time when the people were relying on science more than their saviour in heaven, a time when people were lacking in their spiritual needs. This speech opened the eyes of many, and was so powerful it may very well have been the trigger of the great awakening. But why was this speech so powerful? Why did this speech change the lives of thousands?As we can see he used plenty of persuasive techniques, he is very descriptive in his imagery and uses simple metaph ors to persuade thousands to repent of their sinful ways and turn to Christ. He planted fear and guilt into their hearts. This sermon is a sermon full of anger and fright, a sermon powerful enough to make the strongest man cry and weep. But the true purpose of this sermon was to bring hope to a nation in need.It ultimately was a message of redemption, a message that Jonathan Edwards believed people needed to hear. Although Edwards message was designed to torment and terrify the listeners it was ultimately a message of hope to all people who were sinning and turning on God. He uses simple imagery to connect to his audience who were mostly illiterate. He compares Gods wrath to Great Waters he says the wrath of God is like great waters that area dammed for the present, they increase more and more and rise higher and higher.Just by knowing that an all-powerful God is mad at you would cause fear, but to know that His wrath towards you is growing greater and greater would cause even more fear and uneasiness to the listeners. But he then says Gods wrath will flood the earth only if he chooses to open the flood gates which give the listeners a glimpse of hope. Jonathan Edwards uses metaphors to connect to the peoples everyday lives.He tells them that their sin is as heavy as led and will pull them straight down to hell. Your wickedness makes you as it were as heavy as lead, and to tend downward with great weight and pressure toward hell, and if God should let you go you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf by knowing that God holding you is the only thing thats keeping you from hell would put fear and guilt into the listeners hearts, but as we can see he once again says if. If God should let you go, he is continually reminding them that God is in control of everything, and will only destroy them if they do not repent from there sinful ways. There is still a chance to change, there is still hope. Sinners in the hands of an angr y God was an exceptionally well thought and written sermon. Jonathan Edwards was effectively able to move the hearts of many by using simple imagery and metaphors that connected to the peoples everyday lives.Jonathan Edwards also managed to effectively connected to peoples emotions, he struck fear and guilt to all those who heard his sermon. He wanted his listeners to be aware that their behaviour on earth was important, that they were doomed to certain hell. But when they thought all was lost they were given a ray of hope, the realization that God can forgive them of their sins and that they will not go to hell if and only if they repent of their sinful ways.

Education-Reading Assessment Essay

In determining record books for elementary-grade children, it is important that I consider their platform as well as the level of their understanding and interest. Children have different interests. By this time, they are withal starting to read on their possess. Thus, books that they green goddess read-along with, with subjects that they can associate with and learn from are my best choices. Not all(a) elementary-grade children entrust like the same books. For children to develop interest in reading, it is also essential for them to be able to choose the books that they like.Thus, I should have several books tackling different subjects which children can choose from. If I must present or read a book aloud, I should try to choose something that can also be incorporated with sound effects such as animal or character stories. This way, I can get the attention of the children while we read. 2. Describe a creative way to document writing progress. Cite sources that you used to hel p you create this method. A good way to document writing progress is through a student journal.Students pull up stakes be asked to keep a daily account correspond to specific instructions that leave behind be given to them throughout the week. For example, for week one, they are going to write 100-word personal essays about a tangible thing. They are supposed to talk about one different thing for each day. Then, for week two they are going to write 100-word persuasive essays about anything that they commend they should persuade people to believe, and so on. This method tackles the different areas of writing progress. It helps the students improve their writing vocabulary because of the daily exercise.It also entitles the students an exercise of the different aims of writing. The students will also be able to be sensitive about instructions while on the process of composing. According to the National Assessment Governing Board of the US Department of Education (2007), students ne ed to know the definite expectation in their compositions. This does non only help them come up with more competitive essays that will mark higher, it will also make it easier for the teacher to streamline the evaluation and grading criteria.Busch, student residence and Lembke (2007) agree, stating that curriculum-based monitoring criteria are effective in measuring proceeds of students. A journal is also a creative way to make the students write without pressure, instead of giving them daily writing seatwork which can give them the concept that they are pressured and tired. 3. How can you monitor childrens growth in enthrallment out? Why have you chosen this method for monitoring? Curriculum-based monitoring (CBM) to measure spelling progress is a good method for assessing the improvement in childrens spelling.This can be done by dictating a list of words to spell to students. The words should match their current vocabulary level. Students are then expected to write down the words. A time limit will be necessary. (Busch, Hall and Lembke 2007) In scoring spelling activities using the CBM method, the words may be scored two ways. One is with correct spelling and an early(a) is through letter sequences, where letter placed in the correct sequence gets points. In this method, the total score is the total number of letters in the wordand each word is scored separately.With meet implementation, it is effective in gauging and monitoring the current level of a students spelling abilities. It is also creative and encouraging in such as way that students will not get frustrated over low spelling marks. Because they will realize that there are some words that they did not get correctly, they are encouraged to try harder for the next exercise. In the process, the students do not only see that their spelling was wrong, they also know what went wrong and how to save it. 4. Find a reading formula that you think you could use with a struggling reader.Name the formula . What have researchers written about the formula? Why do you think it will be productive? The Spache readability formula is a good tool for struggling readers. Dawson (nd) states that it matches readers up to the third grade, which makes the text easier for struggling readers of all levels as compared to texts which used the Dale-Chall formula. Moreover, Welna (nd) asserts that Spache matches actual classroom reading levels and is widely used. Coping with a struggling reader requires both patience and proper metrics.The use of Spache will not only ensure that the reader is starting at an early level, it also introduces new words and increases vocabulary. As the readers goes along, the Spache level of reading materials can be increased accordingly to introduce newer words and more complex sentences. Struggling readers need encouragement and one way that they can get this is with step by step reading guidance and monitoring. By introducing reading materials that are one score step at a time according to the Spache formula, the reader will slowly develop his reading skills.He will also feel positive about reading if he realizes that he is slowly conquering his own difficulties. On a technical note, because Spache is widely used, the reader is also assured that the level of reading metrics that he is achieving is similar with the skills developed in other students.ReferencesBusch,T. , Hall, T. , and Lembke, E. 2007. Using CBM for progress monitoring in written expression and spelling. Retrieved September 2, 2008, from http//www. studentprogress. org/summer_institute/2007/Written/ProgressMonitoring-Writing_2007.pdf Dawson, J. nd. How to choose the best readability formula for your document. Retrieved September 2, 2008, from http//www. streetdirectory. com/travel_guide/15675/writing/how_to_choose_the_best_readability_formula_for_your_document. hypertext mark-up language National Assessment Governing Board of the US Department of Education. 2007. Writing framework and specifications for the 2007 national assessment of educational progress. Retrieved September 2, 2008, from http//www. nagb. org/frameworks/writing-framework-07. pdf

Cra and Financial Crisis

Table of Content Introduction2 Real-life examples2 Empirical musical rhythm2 Other concepts of Babbie, Gravetter and Forzano apply2 Conclusion2 References2 Introduction The burst of the fall in States hold market emit initiated the worldwide pecuniary crisis. Amongst all housing regulations, the community reinvestment numeral (CRA) may be the most significant. The act passed in 1977 to improve low-income households housing opportunities. As such, the act raised the incentives for banks to let mortgages to low-income households (FFIEC, n. d. ). Over time, several political administrations, like the George H.W. Bush-, Clinton- and George W. Bush-administration, changed the original act, adapting to brisk challenges in the housing market (Braunstein, 2008). However, as time passed, the act became slight important for banks, as the products, mortgages, became more profitable. As a result, more and more financial institutions started offering mortgages to low-income classes. Th ese so called sub top mortgages atomic number 18 often associated with high risks (Aalbers, 2009). This point of watch out can be reason with the hypothesis that the CRA will be seen as a cause of the financial crisis.Firstly, the disparate opinions and their respective arguments with regard to the hypothesis are illustrated. Secondly, an explanation is given on how these examples fit in the data-based cycle. Thirdly, three other concepts of Babbie, Gravetter and Forzano are applied to the examples. Finally, a coda is drawn with respect to the examples. Real-life examples As a result of the CRA, banks were rated, based on the number of loans given out to low-income households. A bad rating could have had severe consequences for a bank.The fact that the supply did not allow a Hartford, Connecticut bank to acquire a New Hampshire bank on CRA grounds demonstrates this. In order to keep their CRA ratings high, banks had to provide low-income classes with loans. In essence it can b e said that the CRA ratings raised the banks incentives to provide low-income households with loans (Carney, 2009a). It can cl proto(prenominal) be seen that the enforcement of the CRA over time led to a peace of lend standards and consequentially to more risk-taking in the banking sector in the form of mortgages. These high-risk mortgages are now seen as part of the problem.Thus, Carney (2009b) concludes, the CRA is part of the cause of the financial crisis. Carney agrees with the hypothesis. Defendants of the CRA simply claim that an act passed in 1977 cannot lead to the creation of a housing bubble in the early 21st century. Nevertheless, the CRA was not a unruffled piece of legislation. The act evolved over the years, as it was mentioned earlier in the introduction. To be more specific, it was more and more apply over the years. As a conclusion it can be said that the enforcement of the CRA might have been crucial in creating the housing bubble.Therefore the act could have c reated a housing bubble in the early 21st century (Carney, 2009a). However, Aalbers (2009) also argues in favor of the CRA and tries to falsify the hypothesis. He states that the majority of subprime loans in 2006 were provided by non-bank lenders. These non-bank lenders, however, were not subject to CRA regulations and thus were not cause to provide affordable loans to low-income classes. The only logical conclusion that can be drawn from this information is that these loans to low-income classes were an attractive investment.Thus, Aalbers says, the CRA was not the cause of the high-risk mortgages providence to low-income households by banks. By clearly, Aalbers would reject the hypothesis that the CRA was a cause of the financial bubble. Nonetheless, his contestation has to be questioned. In 1977 most of the loans and mortgages were provided by banks as well as savings and loan associations. The extra mortgages that were provided as a result of the CRA probably increased the dem and for houses, which in maneuver resulted in an inflation of housing prices.Several years later, cod to rising housing prices, subprime mortgages became a more attractive investment for financial institutions. Consequently, the majority of loans issued since the inception of the CRA came from nonbanks that deemed mortgages a good investment. In other words, the CRA created major lending opportunities for financial institutions (Kroszner, 2009). Since the CRA initiated the inflation of housing prices to some extent, it can be argued that the CRA can be hold partly responsible for the creation of the housing bubble. This theory should bank the hypothesis. This argumentation has to be investigated further.As Foote et al. s (2008) re attend concludes, housing price data in Massachusetts reveals that around 70% of all homes lost to foreclosure were actually purchased with prime mortgages. From that information Aalbers (2009) derives that most loans were not use for directly financing new homes, but rather refinancing existing loans. Hence, Aalbers insinuates that the extra mortgage lending as a result of the CRA did not cause a rise in housing prices. That information implies that the CRA was not a cause of the creation or inflation of the United States housing bubble. Clearly, this would reject the hypothesis.Nonetheless, Aalbers argumentation contains two pitfalls. First, his argumentation solely rests on inductive reasoning. Massachusetts is just one small part of the United States of America. Without either supportive data to back up the thesis that the Massachusetts housing market is representative of the whole nations housing market, it has to be concluded that Aalbers overgeneralizes the statistical data provided by Foote et al. As Babbie (2005) mentions, overgeneralization can lead to misdirection or rendering of inquiry. Due to this fact Aalbers argumentation is questionable. Second, even if the study of Foote et al. 2008) were representative, Aalbers failed to make out the other side of the medal The supply side, as it is not in favor of his opinion. If the CRA-related loans were used to refinance homes only, it would strongly affect the supply side of the housing market in the way that supply was artificially lowered. Homes were occupied that otherwise would not have been, driving up the prices of real estate. Aalbers falls victim to the false belief of selective mirror image. He only looks at the effects of the CRA on the demand-side. Looking at the supply-side would not support his theory and point of view on the topic.That makes this observation a selective one. Empirical cycle This debate fits in the empirical cycle in the way that it started with an observation The burst of the housing bubble. Consequentially different hypotheses and theories where formulated and tested by reasoning and correlation. As markets nowadays are very complex phenomena, it is difficult to establish a causal relationship among several factors of this system. In spite of that it is possible to use logical reasoning and correlation between these factors to hint at the correctness of a thesis. For example, it can be investigated how many subprime loans were CRA-related.A different question that can be posed is how these CRA-related subprime loans performed against other loans (Kroszner, 2009). The answers to these questions could give an idea of the causal relation between the CRA and the financial crisis. After interrogation the hypothesis, a new hypothesis and theory might be formulated until a conclusive theory is found. Nevertheless, Kroszner himself admitted the existence of a lack of data to hold fast conclusive answers to the previously mentioned questions. For the empirical cycle, this lack of data means it is very hard to reject or not reject theses, obstructing the formulation of new theses and theories.Other concepts of Babbie, Gravetter and Forzano applied The empirical cycle is not the only concept of Babbie (2005), Gravetter and Forzano (2009) which can be applied to the examples. Another concept that can be applied apart from the empirical cycle is the concept of authority. Carney (2009a), who was mentioned earlier in this paper, started out as a strong defendant of the CRA. He did change his mind though, relying on, among others, the FED Governor Meyer. Since Carney used a quotation of Meyer, it can be concluded that Meyer is a person with authority and strong references in the field of economics.Babbie, Gravetter and Forzano define authority as a person with strong references in certain fields. Authority is used as a source for knowledge and can be referred to. Gravetter and Forzano (2009, p. 11) define rationalism as the search for answers by the use of logical reasoning. This is exactly what Carney (2009b) does to come to the conclusion that the CRA was a cause of the financial crisis. He reasons that the CRA raised the banks incentives to provide low-income households with mortga ges. These financial products are now seen as a cause of the housing bubble, which caused the financial crisis.Therefore, Carney concludes, the CRA is a cause of the financial crisis. Theory is set forth by Babbie (2005, p. 12) as a systematic explanation for the observations that relates to a particular aspect of life. This implies that the argumentations used by Carney (2009a, b), Aalbers (2009) and Kroszner (2009) are parts of different theories as they explain how the CRA caused or did not cause a housing bubble. Conclusion As shown in this paper, there is a huge debate about whether the CRA was a cause of the financial crisis. As Carney (2009b) pointed out, the CRA raised the banks incentives to issue risky loans.Critics, however, state that an act passed in 1977 cannot create a housing bubble in the early 21st century. Nevertheless, the act was enforced several times, which implies that an enforcement of the CRA might have a causal relation with the financial crisis. Aalbers (2009) argues also in favor of the CRA he points out that most subprime mortgages were provided by non-CRA-related institutions. patronage that fact, Kroszner (2009) says there is no reason to believe CRA is not to be blamed. He mentions that the inception of the act increased the demand for mortgages and consequentially, houses.According to Kroszner, this was the start of the housing bubbles. Aalbers on his turn argues that the vast majority of houses bought in Massachusetts was financed with prime mortgages. He concludes that this provides evidence in order for the CRA not be labeled a cause of the crisis. Nonetheless, Aalbers argumentation contains two fallacies. First, he uses inductive reasoning which results in overgeneralization without supportive data. Second, he uses selective observation by ignoring the supply-side of the market. This whole debate fits in the empirical cycle in a way that it started with an observation which was followed by many theses.After the formulatio n of these theses they were tested by logical reasoning and correlation. As a final step, new theses theories will be formulated. However, this step is obstructed heavily by a lack of data. Other concepts of Babbie (2005), Gravetter and Forzano (2009) can also be applied to the examples. Meyer has authority in Carneys argumentation, logical reasoning is used by Carney to come to the conclusion that the CRA was a cause of the crisis and the argumentations used by Carney, Aalbers and Kroszner are all parts of theories, described by Babbie, Gravetter and Forzano.References Aalbers, M. (2009). Why the Community Reinvestment operation cannot be blamed for the subprime crisis. City & Community, 8 (3) 346-350. Babbie, E. (2005). The Basics of Social Research (3rd ed. ). Belmont Thomson Wads worth. Braunstein, S. (2008). The Community Reinvestment Act, 13 February 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2010 from http//www. federalreserve. gov/newsevents/testimony/braunstein20080213a. htm Carney, J. (2009a). Heres how the Community Reinvestment Act led to the housing bubbles lax lending, June 27, 2009. Retrieved 15 January, 2010 from ttp//www. businessinsider. com/the-cra-debate-a-users-guide-2009-6 Carney, J. (2009b). Sorry, folks, the CRA really did require tinkers dam lending standards, June 23, 2009. Retrieved 15 January, 2010 from http//www. businessinsider. com/sorry-folks-the-cra-really-did-require-crap-lending-standards-2009-6 FFIEC, (n. d. ). Community Reinvestment Act. Retrieved 20 January 2010 from http//www. ffiec. gov/CRA/ Foote, C. , Gerardi, K. , Goette, L. & Willen, P. , (2008). Journal of Housing Economics, 17 291-305. Retrieved 19 January 2010 from http//www. sciencedirect. om/science? _ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6WJR-4TN0KW9-1-N&_cdi=6885&_user=499911&_orig=search&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F2008&_sk=999829995&view=c&wchp=dGLbVtb-zSkzk&md5=f93e4616adcb03662bac8ef89298dcdc&ie=/sdarticle. pdf Gravetter, F. & Forzano, L. (2009). Research M ethods for the Behavioral Sciences (3rd ed. ). Belmont Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Kroszner, R. (2009). The Community Reinvestment Act and the recent mortgage crisis. Retrieved 15 January, 2010 from http//www. frbsf. org/publications/community/cra/cra_recent_mortgage_crisis. pdf

The current business environment

The current business environment is characterized by a considerable level of competitive rivalry and as a top businesses have to constantly reengineer their inhering processes in order to develop a sustainable competitive advantage.This is the situation in the airline industry and as a result Air Asia has to develop a sustainable competitive advantage. It is believed that the installation of the e- barter application will facilitate the implementation of the most important strategy maximizing access to information.This is one of the most important strengths for the company not only because the company will be in a position to collect more(prenominal) information about its customers, but also because the customers will be able to get more information as well. As a result, this will dish as an advertising tool for the company. In this respect, the company will not be facing any problem because the strategy is being implemented through a joint venture with Microsoft.The airline in dustry is characterized by a high level of competitive intensity and therefore Air Asia has to constantly reengineer its internal operations in order to build and maintain a competitive edge. In this respect, the strategic digest of the company is salute minimization.uAccording to Michael Porters mannikin for strategy formulation, a business organization has three strategies at its disposal in order to build and maintain a competitive advantage. These are differentiation, cost minimization and focus (cited in Fred, 2006). Although Air Asia might be said to be implementing all three strategies, its focus is on minimizing costs.The company is implementing the strategy of focus by targeting underserved markets while it is implementing the strategy of differentiation by adding value-added services to its repertoire.However the reasoning behind choosing to adopt these strategies has been to locate opportunities for ensuring customer satisfaction through focusing on areas of the market which have not been targeted by competitors. As a result, Air Asia manages to charge lower prices than many of its competitors while maintaining comparable standards of quality.Mobile commerce is an extension of e-commerce agree to which computer systems can be accessed through the internet on mobile devices such as PDA, smartphone or a cell phone (cited in Hitt, 2007). Mobil commerce has greater flexibility than e-commerce because it has satellite connectivity.As a result, devices which do not have internet connectivity but which have satellite connectivity can conduct transactions via m-commerce. In this respect, it must be mentioned that m-commerce can conduct video and audio conferencing. Therefore the application of m-commerce leads to greater scope for business-to-business and business-to consumer exchanges.This has become the crucial business model in the current business environment which is characterized by a high level of competitive rivalry. This means that businesses m ust focus on the process of cost minimization. This is facilitated through both e-commerce and m-commerce applications as they facilitate the development of B2B and B2C frameworks. However m-commerce is more convenient because of its greater accessibility.Air Asias application of Windows Vista can be extended to m-commerce because Microsoft has already developed operating systems for mobile phones.Therefore Microsoft will be in a position to create interoperability between e-commerce and m-commerce through the Air Asia gadget. Although m-commerce is wirelessly machine-accessible, it has the flexibility of being connected through e-commerce as well. This means that any solutions developed for e-commerce can be accessible through m-commerce.This will benefit the consumers because they will not have to be connected to the internet once the Windows Vista application is made compatible in the m-commerce platform. In this respect, the costs of conducting e-commerce applications are highe r than m-commerce applications. E-commerce requires connectivity via a personal computer. With m-commerce the uniform amount of information can be processed through a cell phone.

Starbucks Case Accounting

Starbucks contingency severalize I Prior to reading Starbucks Form 10-K, please resolvent the following questions. Your answers should be based upon your general knowledge of Starbucks, gained from visiting their bloodlines, purchasing their products and/or observing them in the marketplace. a. Up until the sparing downturn (F every last(predicate) of 2008) what do you debate was Starbucks evolution dodge? Give leash examples of specific actions ( harvest-time initiatives) you observed Starbucks ply upon as part of their exploitation scheme? 1. Satu treasure the U. S. arket Based on our reflections, it descrymed that Starbucks primary st respectgy for yield was to satu number the U. S. market. At one point thither seemed to be a Starbucks at every(prenominal) corner, sometimes so close that one had to wonder why in the heck they were opening stores within a couple dozen feet from each new(prenominal). 2. Expand multinationally We presume that one of their growth goa ls was to expand abroad, specially if they began to realize they were lavnibalizing their own established stores, so they likely had to go outside of the U. S. o keep up their growth targets. 3. Develop complementary products/alternative tax income enhancement sources We as well think that around 2006-2007 was when they started to promote download up to(p) medication and also began to sell CDs & books in stores which means they began to more than aggressively add alternative revenue channels, beyond that of coffee/drinks, to their m all locations. (Personally, I purchased a bottle of Starbucks coffee liqueur around that time, which I belt up fork up because its non as good as other coffee liqueurs such as Kahlua. b.How do you conceptualise Starbucks measured their success in executing their growth dodging? Give cardinal specific measures you might use to evaluate the success of Starbucks growth strategy. Very likely that they were measuring it against turn of new stores opened, and gross revenue growth. We would probably use the following to evaluate the success of Starbucks growth strategy 1. Sales growth. 2. operate Revenues. 3. Net income. 4. Return on assets. The remaining sections of the case should be completed later you have read Starbucks Form 10-K and any other information deemed pertinent. go II Results of the audit by Starbucks outside independent cardant, status of Starbucks financial reporting controls and industry specific accounting. a. Who is Starbucks outside independent attender? Did Starbucks receive a qualified or unqualified (clean) audit report from their outside independent attender for the 2010 financial class end? a. Deloitte & Touche, LLP. b. Unqualified. b. What was Starbucks attentions destination in their report on inbred control for financial reporting? What was the outside independent auditors conclusion regarding managements review and assessment of financial reporting controls? . That their internal co ntrol over financial reporting was effective as of October 3, 2010. d. That Starbucks maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of October 3, 2010. c. How does Starbucks account for grant cards? What impact do un save gift cards have on the account run income in each year? How does Starbucks accounting for unredeemed gift cards compare to other retailers? e. Revenues for cards are recognized when tendered for payment, or upon redemption. Outstanding poises are included in deferred revenue on the balance public opinion poll.Balances on cards that are deemed unlikely to be redeemed, get recognized as realize touch on income. f. operational income is change magnitude by balances on cards thought unlikely to be redeemed therefore, it can be argued that operating income is beingness overstated by the addition of unlikely-to-be-redeemed card balances to electronic profitswork please income. g. Gift card balances by other retailers are probably carrie d as a li skill (unearned revenue). When gift cards are not redeemed, some retailers return the balances to the state where the card was issued assuming the unclaimed balance to be unclaimed property in some states.As seen above, Starbucks does feed outstanding balances as deferred revenue (a liability) as well, further once the cards are deemed unlikely to be redeemed, it treats the unclaimed balance as an asset. Part III Trend Analysis of Sales and Earnings Growth During 2006 2010 Review Starbucks income statement and park size income statement for the eld 2006 by 2010. Identify and comment on the major(ip) trends in the growth in Starbucks gross barters and cyberspace, including a. Sales growth was Starbucks sales growth consistent or inconsistent over the above five year period?Do you see signs of acceleration or mental retardation in Starbucks historic growth rank? How does Starbucks sales growth compare to its industry fair(a)s? Are self analogous(prenominal) st ore sales or the opening of new stores the more important factor in driving Starbucks sales growth during this period? Do you believe Starbucks sale trends over the past few age get out continue over the next two to three long time? Please provide rationale for your belief. Starbucks sales growth was inconsistent over the above 5 year period. Data from the last 5 years suggests that Starbucks growth rate is actually decelerating.Starbucks sales growth was below the industry sales growth. The industry has average 9. 25% over the last 5 years piece Starbucks averaged 7. 5% only. The opening of new stores is live to Starbucks sales strategy. During 2006, 2007, and 2008, Starbucks added 2199, 2571, and 1669 discharge stores. During the corresponding years, sales grew by 22%, 21%, and 10% respectively. During 2009, Starbucks reduced 45 stores and their sales dropped by 7%. In 2010, Starbucks added 223 stores and not surprisingly their sales summationd by 10%. In our opinion, Starb ucks sales will continue to grow but at a decreasing rate over the next 2 to 3 years.This projection is based on historical sales information from the last 5 years which suggest a deceleration of sales growth. Starbucks average sales growth for the last 5 years is 11%. In 2006, Starbucks sales grew by 22%. This suggests a deceleration of sales growth. b. Gross margins did gross margins expand, contract or hold steady over the period? What major factors account for the trend youve place? The gross margin has held steady over the last 5 years ranging anywhere from 55% to 59%. Gross margin is affected by sales and cost of sales. c.operating(a) expense make sure you look at operating expenses in two absolute vaulting horse terminations and as a percent of sales. Did operating expenses grow bumper-to-bumper, faster or at the same rate as revenues? Would you expect to see more leverage on Starbucks cost base, given their growth history? (Note operating leverage is demonstrated whe n a companys operating expenses grow at po discern rate than its sales, thereby resulting in operating earnings growing faster than sales. ) Do you believe Starbucks cost base is virtuallyly fixed, mostly variable or an equal mix of each?What innuendo does the structure of Starbucks cost base (i. e. % fixed / variable) have on the relationship in the midst of the growth rates of revenues and earnings? Make sure you present information to delay your conclusion. Operating expenses have grown at a high(prenominal) rate than revenues over the last 5 years. Revenues grew at an average of 7% while operating expenses have grown at an average of 11. 34%. Based on these numbers, we expect to see less leverage on Starbucks cost base as operating expenses are growing at a higher rate than revenues.The fact that Starbucks operating expenses are growing at a higher rate than its revenues shows that Starbucks cost base is mostly variable. This is also proven by the income statement as mos t of Starbucks operating expenses are Cost of Sales and Store Operating expenses. Most of these are usually variable. Having more variable expenses usually means that earnings will not necessarily grow at the same rate as revenues. This is demonstrated by the income statement from the last 5 years. Starbucks revenues and earnings have grown at different rates over each year of the last 5 years.The average earnings growth per year over the last 5 years is 12. 62% as compared to an average sales growth per year of 7. 5%. d. Operating income have operating earnings grown at the same rate, faster or slower than sales? What factors (e. g. gross margins, operating expense/charges) account for the trend youve identified? Be specific and provide support for your answer. Operating income has grown at a faster rate than sales on a per year basis over the last 5 years. Sales growth has averaged 7. 5% per year as compared to an operating income growth of 11. 75% per year during the same period .The drive that operating income has grown so fast is because Starbucks recently made changes to its cost structure that made it more efficient. As per the 10-k statement filed with the SEC, Starbucks lesseningd its Cost of Sales by 260 basis points by making their supply reach process more efficient. This resulted in lower food, beverage, and cover packaging costs. Because of its sales leverage, Starbucks was also able to decrease its occupancy costs. Because of the reduced costs, Starbucks was able to have a higher operating income in 2010. This caused the 5 year average to jump up to 11. 75%.Also contributing to this growth was the fact that sales increased at a higher rate than operating expenses. Therefore, operating income also went up at a higher rate than sales. e. Net Income has net income grown at the same rate, faster or slower than sales? What factors (e. g. gross margins, operating expense, non-operating items) account for the trend youve identified? Be specific an d provide support for your answer. Net Income has increased at a higher rate than sales also on a per year basis for the last five years. In fact, Net Income has pretty much mirrored Operating Income in growth.The factors tied to Net Income are Sales, Operating Expenses, Interest, and Taxes. Taxes remained relatively proportionate EBT each year. During each of the 5 years, Starbucks experienced a supportive bear on income for 3 years and a negative for 2 years. This helped Starbucks increase their Net Income. However, the factor that affected Net Income the most was Operating Expenses. Operating expenses grew at a slower rate than sales from 2006 to 2010. This resulted in Starbucks having a higher Operating Income which in turn resulted in a higher net income. Starbucks net income grew by 142. 2% in 2010 from the previous year. This big change resulted in the average net income growth rate to increase to 12. 62%. During the same period, Sales has grown by 7. 5% and operating expen ses grew by 7%. All of this contributed to the Net Income growing at a higher rate than sales. f. Earnings per parcel out Does Starbucks earnings per partake increase/decrease at a rate consistent with revenue and net income. Why is this? Do you expect this relationship to continue into the future tense? Starbucks EPS increases and decreases at a rate consistent with net income but not sales.This is because earnings per share are cipher by victorious the net income and dividing that into the number of shares outstanding. As a result, there is a direct correlativity with net income and not sales. We expect this relationship to continue in the future as long as the number of shares outstanding doesnt change drastically each year. Part IV Analysis of Operating Efficiency, runniness and Solvency Using data included in the Form 10-K analyze Starbucks operating efficiency and liquid state. That is, answer the questions below.The ratio definitions used to calculate the figures in the Ratio Analysis table are described in the text and lecture notes. a. Operating efficiency turnover ratios. In one paragraph, explain what the prises of swage ratios reveal about(predicate) Starbucks. That is, for each ratio, discuss the trend, compare Starbucks ratio to the industry average (for receivables, inventory overturn and asset turnover only) and discuss whether the trend indicates improvements or deteriorations in operating efficiency. Can you think of any other measures that would be useful to assess Starbucks operational efficiency?Turnover ratios reveal that in 2010, Starbucks sales increased. Receivables turnover jumped up slightly from previous years to 37. 31. The industrys 2009 median receivables turnover is importantly higher than Starbucks at about 98. 64. This trend indicates that Starbucks made less sales on credit in 2010. It could also mean that Starbucks improved collecting on its accounts receivables however, since Starbucks average collection perio d ratio has not changed in the last three years (holding steady at about 11 days), there is no indication that collection on receivables has improved. The inventory turnover ratio of 7. 8, which slightly increased from 2009, also suggests a decrease in inventories, which is supported by the drop of inventory assets shown on the balance sheet. This trend supports the observation that sales have increased significantly for Starbucks in 2010 which is al sorts an improvement for any business. PP&E Turnover ratio of 4. 32, which increased from 2009, again, demonstrates higher sales since PP&E remained at similar levels as previous years per the balance sheet. Total asset turnover, 1. 79, remained very close to last year, and is slightly less than the industry average, 1. 3. This shows Starbucks continues to take sales at a level of almost twice as much as they carry assets on their books. The fact that their asset turnover is slightly less than that of their competitors suggests that S tarbucks may have more assets than their competitors. b. Liquidity In one paragraph, explain what the liquidity ratios (current ratio, quick ratio and capital from operations ratio) reveal about Starbucks. Include an explanation of how the gold full stop from operations ratio differs from the current and quick ratios. What is your conclusion egarding Starbucks liquidity position? With significant increases in 2010 in current ratio, 1. 55, and quick ratio, 0. 99, Starbucks is very liquid. Quick ratio shows they have 1. 5 times current assets on the books as they do current liabilities. Likewise, the quick ratio shows they would be able to cover current liabilities with their current assets. The cash from operations ratio is . 96, which states that Starbucks cash from operations would not be enough to cover its current liabilities. This ratio differs from the first two in that it compares a cash flow item to a balance sheet item.It is an indication of a firms ability to pay off its current liabilities however, it is the most conservative liquidity ratio since it excludes all current assets moreover for the most liquid cash and equivalents. It tells that Starbucks would not quite be able to pay off all of its current liabilities with just its cash and equivalents, although it does come close. c. Solvency Interpret the values of the relevant ratios and provide a conclusion regarding Starbucks ability to benefit its debt and risk of future insolvency. Does your conclusion change if you include off balance sheet debt.How much off balance sheet debt does Starbucks have as of the end of the most recent fiscal year? Starbucks solvency ratios suggest that it is in a strong position and would likely be able to service its debt as it shows low risk of future solvency. Its debt to equity ratio for 2010 of 0. 73 is at the concluding it has been in the past five years. From 2009 Starbucks had a big increase in retained earnings, this pushed all solvency ratios includin g interest coverage, return on assets, and return on equity up. ROA and ROE were threefold from 2009 to 0. 16 and 0. 28 respectively.Likewise, interest coverage also had a big jump due to a significant increase in earnings before interest and taxes. If we include off balance sheet debt, Starbucks debt to equity ratio increases a bit, but the trend still shows that this ratio has decreased significantly in 2010. The increase would not be enough to state that Starbucks runs a high risk of insolvency. Starbucks has $4,084. 2 in off balance sheet debt as of end of most recent fiscal year. (We assume that the numbers provided are in millions). Part V Analysis of Cash Flow Refer to Starbucks cash flow statement a.During the past three years, what was Starbucks largest source of cash? What were Starbucks two largest uses of cash? a. For the past 3 years, the largest source of cash for Starbucks was Net earnings including non-controlling assets from its operating activities. Starbucks two largest uses of cash were additions to property, plant and equipment, as well as purchasing procurable for sale securities. It is stated in the 10-k that the major components of the PPE spending were remodeling and upgrading equipment in stores, as well as updating the IT home of the retail network. b.For the past three fiscal years, has Starbucks chief financial officer been adequate to blood line its growth initiatives? If no, how has Starbucks investment trusted the chief financial officer suddenlyfalls to descent growth? a. As stated in the 10-K Starbucks believes that cash flows generated from operations and existing cash and short term investments should be enough to support their hollow out business activities. However, it is also stated that new business opportunities, stick ventures, and acquisitions would have to utilize outside funding sources. Starbucks has augmented to their cash flows by heavily investing in available for sale securities, and purchasing US Agenc y and investment grade bonds.These investments, and outside financing, can be used to fund growth initiatives while CFO can be used to support Starbucks core retail business. The 10K also mentions that the issuance of commercial paper and its proceeds can be used for workings capital needs, capital expenditures, and other corporate purposes, including acquisitions and share repurchases. c. Based on your review of Starbucks cash flow statement, has Starbucks growth been dictated by organic growth or acquisitions? Provide support for your answer. a.Starbucks growth has been driven organically, with strong, steady growth in net earnings including non-controlling interests, and investing a large amount of cash in property, plant, and equipment by opening new retail locations and upgrading existing stores and information systems. By utilizing CFO and short term investment earnings to support their core business, Starbucks has maintained a high growth, very triple-crown retail operatio n. Acquisitions play a minor role compared to the growth and earnings from operating activities. d. If Starbucks continues to grow at its historic rates, does it appear that Starbucks CFO can fund this growth?If CFO isnt sufficient, how might Starbucks fund its future growth? a. Yes, it does appear that Starbucks CFO can fund its historic growth. This is stated in the 10k CFO and short term investments, as well as any potential future borrowings and the commercial paper program can support the existing core business as well as link up marketing support, product innovations, and new business opportunities related to the core business. If CFO is not sufficient to fund the historic growth, Starbucks can utilize channels within the investment and finance sections of the cash flow statement.Particularly, Starbucks can invest more heavily in short term investments, and utilize the commercial paper program. Additionally, Starbucks purchases available for sale securities heavily these cou ld be sold in the future to fund any growth where CFO is not adequate to support the core business. e. During the past three fiscal years, what dollar amount of popular breed did Starbucks repurchase and what dollar amount of dividends did they pay? Why would Starbucks repurchase their own stock and/or pay a dividend? How does this impact Starbucks ability to fund future growth?How did Starbucks strategy with regard to share repurchases and dividends change during the past few years? Why did it change? a. In 2008, Starbucks repurchased $ 311. 4 million in communal stock. In 2009, Starbucks did not repurchase any stock. In 2010, Starbucks repurchased $ 285. 6 million in common stock. Starbucks may want to repurchase their own stock so that they can increase their earnings per share ratio. This is especially true if Starbucks shares were perceived as undervalued, as Starbucks can repurchase the shares and hold them in the exchequer for future reissuance at a higher price.Starbucks may be able to obtain more financing and loans with better earnings per share ratio as well. Dividends can be paid to shareholders to increase the value of their shares, and encourage other interested parties to purchase Starbucks shares. Paying dividends is a way to help impact positive future growth by making the purchase of Starbucks stock more profitable more wad will want to buy it providing more cash for Starbucks to utilize. In the 10-k, it is stated that Starbucks had 1. 7 billion in CFO for 2010 compared to 1. 4 billion in fiscal 2009, and capital expenditures were approximately 440 million in both fiscal years.This left roughly $460 million for stock repurchases and dividends. Starbucks had to repay short term borrowings in 2008 and 2009, but did not have to use cash for repayment in 2010. The cash that would have been used to retribution short term borrowings could instead be used to repurchase stock and pay dividends. Thus, the strategy changed because Starbucks was able to operate without short term borrowings in 2010, and was able to pass on the excess case to shareholders. Part VI Market Valuation a. What is Starbucks net book value as of the end of the most recent fiscal year?What was Starbucks market capitalization as of that date? Why is there a difference in these two amounts? What specific items do you think comprise the difference? Starbucks net book value as of the end of 2010 fiscal year was $3,611,500,000 while its market cap was $19,270,826,000. The reason that the two numbers are different is because the net book value is calculated by taking the total assets of Starbucks and subtracting its intangible assets and total liabilities, while the market cap is calculated by multiplying the outstanding shares into the stock price.Because each is calculated using 5 different numbers, there will almost always be a difference in the two numbers. b. Do you believe the difference between Starbucks net book value and market capitalization wi ll increase or decrease in the future? What specific factors or trends identified in Starbucks financial information (or identified elsewhere) support your view? We believe that the difference between Starbucks net book value and market capitalization will decrease in the future.One of the biggest reasons for this is the fact that Starbucks restructured its Supply Chain process to lower costs. As a result, net income grew by 142% in 2010. This was a huge turnaround by Starbucks in one year and it can be attributed to the fact that leadership identified and implemented this cost saving mechanism. Another trend that indicates that Starbucks is on its way back is the fact that they opened more stores than they closed in the last 2 years. This strategy is key to Starbucks succeeding. Third, Starbucks gross margin has remained constant in the last 5 years despite the down years.This shows that management knows how to cut down on costs when times are rough, or that despite financial downt urns, people are still willing to pay for expensive coffee. Conclusion Refer to your responses in Part 1 How do the results of your analysis in Parts II through VI support or contradict your original thoughts regarding Starbucks growth strategy and the success or failure of the three action areas (growth initiatives) you identified? Our given on their strategy to saturate the U. S. Market by building as any stores as assertable is supported by our discussion on sales growth, which shows that there is a direct correlation between sales revenue growth and net new stores opened. Likewise, in analyzing the CFO, we concluded that Starbucks has grown organically through their investment in PP&E, which corroborates our original thoughts. Although they probably realized they were overdoing it with having a Starbucks on every corner, their growth strategy of increasing store numbers has been a success for the company as sales have also increased.Going forward, the challenge will be to mai ntain high sales rates while being able to cover its large PP&E/overhead expenses. Although we didnt really analyze the impact of international expansion in our analysis above, according to the companys 10-K, operating income from international activities more than doubled from 2009 to 2010 however, this increase was mostly due to foreign currency translation among other things. Therefore, our original thoughts are not necessarily proven by the data that we analyzed. Finally, we stated that one of Starbucks growth strategies was to develop alternative revenue sources.As we looked deeper at the reasons for sales growth, we noticed that licensing and food service both were strong contributors to the increases in net revenues. Our discussion on sales growth indirectly supports this hypothesis, since the increase in net revenues was affected by an increase in average value per transaction (as stated in the 10-K). This means that customers are not just buying coffee at the checkout stand because Starbucks is being successful at exchange other complimentary goods along with their drinks. Therefore, this is definitely being a successful growth strategy for Starbucks.