A Case of Murder by Vernon Scannel is a poem which deals with a very Es

A Case of Murder by Vernon Scannel is a poem which deals with a very unusual topic; the murder of a cat by a nine year old boy. The poet brings the poem alive by using different writing techniques e.g. line lengths. â€Å"A Case of murder† by Vernon Scannel Critical response to literature by Gregor Baird â€Å"A Case of Murder† by â€Å"Vernon Scannel† is a poem which deals with a very unusual topic; the murder of a cat by a nine year old boy. The poet brings the poem alive by using different writing techniques e.g. line lengths, no rhyme or pattern this holds my attention more and stops the rhyme merge into one tone. He also uses writing techniques such as Repetition, Figurative language, structure & rhyme. In the poem the boy has been left with a cat in a basement flat and the cat is just sitting buzzing away. This really annoys the boy and the hatred that has gathered up in the boy. This results in the boy hitting the cat then prodding the cat then crushing the cat in between the door. In result to this the boy cries and decides to get a shovel from the cupboard under the stairs and he shovels the cat into the cupboard under the stairs. Although the cat is dead he thinks the cat is growing in the cupboard and the cupboard is going to split. The boy in the poem is very annoyed about the cat â€Å"He hated that cat; he watched it sit a buzzing machine of soft black stuff† because the cat gets all the attention and he is left out, therefore the boy is jealous of the cat. From the poem it tells us that the boy is insecure with his parents â€Å"He was only nine, not old enough to be left alone in a basement flat† because they left a nine-year-old alone with a cat in a basement flat with no one. This also tells us that h... ...re isn’t something the poet wants to commit to in this poem. It doesn’t have an order of regular size in each stanza a variety of length of lines. Unclear pattern allows us to see the change in the boy’s emotions. The theme of this poem is all to do with guilt, which has been mentioned in the essay. Hate is the main emotion between boy and cat, conscience a thing, which the boy does have, power that has been swapped from cat to boy and anger which has built up in the boy. In conclusion to this critical response to literature I have 1covered the techniques in the poem, the emotions, the situation between the boy and the cat and the very unusual topic. It has been described how the poet brings the unusual poem alive for us. We have discussed the character and how he changed during the main incident and in depth about the emotion and feeling of the boy.

Avons Marketing Strategy in International Markets Essay -- Internatio

Avon's Marketing Strategy in International Markets 1/ Which actors in Avon's microenvironment and forces in the macro environment have been important in shaping its marketing strategies? We can explain what is exactly microenvironment and macro environment. Micro-environment is the factors in a firm's immediate environment which affect its performance and decision-making; these elements include the firm's suppliers, competitors, marketing intermediaries, customers and publics. Macro-environment is the major uncontrollable, external forces (economic, demographic, technological, natural, social and cultural, legal and political) which influence a firm's decision making and have an impact upon its performance. Macroenvironment forces include the increasing mobility of the U.S. population (demographic change), which meant that both customers and salespeople were moving. This made it difficult for salespeople to establish loyal, stable customer bases. In order to define what influenced the Avon's marketing strategy: ACTORS in Avon's MICRO ENVIRONMENT FORCES in Avon's MACRO ENVIRONMENT ïÆ'Ëœ Sales force: homemakers who needed extra money but didn't want a full time job outside the home. ïÆ'Ëœ Recruiting salespeople was easy ïÆ'Ëœ An army of women selling products = Avon ladies ïÆ'Ëœ Direct Saling ïÆ'Ëœ Convenience for the customer ïÆ'Ëœ They develop clients lists of friend or neighbours ïÆ'Ëœ More women found that they needed to work outside the home ïÆ'Ëœ Salaries needed more than part-time Job ïÆ'Ëœ When Avon ladies rang the doorbell, often no one answered. ïÆ'Ëœ More competitor were competing for the pool of people interested in full or part time direct selling jobs. ïÆ'Ëœ Increasing mobility of the US population : both customers... ...ust its marketing strategies. Avon had successfully negotiated with the Chinese government to restart its business. Avon agreed to operate as a wholesaler, selling its products to retail stores and converting its 75 branch centers into retail outlets. The new arrangement meant that Avon's 50,000 sales representatives would lose their jobs. Avon should not view a whole country as a single market and always bear in mind that there is a strong purchasing power in the hands of many urban communities in these countries. This is particularly true for China where the stereotype of 1.3 billion, low-income people living in rural areas is simply not true. China has the largest urban population in the world with 400 million consumers living in a set of urban centers along the Chinese coast. There should be a concerted marketing effort to targets this huge untapped market.

Analysis of “Dulce et Decorum Est” Essay

The poem we have been analysing in class, Dulce et Decorum Est, was written by a man named Wilfred Owen. Wilfred Owen was a soldier in the first world war and was born on the 18th of March 1893, and died on the 4th of November 1918, a week before the end of the first world war. In this poem, Owen’s objective is to show the horror and reality of war, and to set this horror against the way in which war was often glorified. His objection, the glorification of war is reflected in the title, â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† This is translated as â€Å"It is sweet and glorious†. Wilfred Owen uses this as a form of irony, to draw in the reader’s attention. It was especially meant for another war poet, Jesse Pope. She wrote about all the good and positive reasons for war, and tried to encourage men to go and fight for their country. You can easily feel how Wilfred Owen felt about the first world war. His use of adjectives like â€Å"bitter†, â€Å"helpless† and â€Å"smothering dreams† and the use of imagery, give us a clear picture of what it was like. These words are used to convey the ugliness, fear, poignancy and the pain of the war. Wilfred Owen uses clear tones throughout the poem help us to understand how he felt, and why he felt this way. In most of the poem, the tone is quite angry, due to the choice of words and how they are used. Owen gives us graphic descriptions, speaking in a very direct and straight forward way. His use of the word â€Å"you† in the third stanza, emphasizes my point clearly. He uses this to draw us in, and to make us feel how he felt. Not only does he make us feel how he felt, but the poet makes us use our senses. He makes us hear this one man dying, struggling for life. He makes us taste the bitterness of war, and the reality of it. All of these techniques are used in the poem, because he wants us to be shocked at the reality that he is presenting. In his illustration of war, Owen describes an incident of exhausted soldiers trudging through the mud, clearly unhappy and very tired. They are all leaving the front line in order to rest for a while in a safer place. Before this can happen the group get attacked by a sea of gas. Owen explains how one soldier is late in putting on his mask. Wilfred Owen describes the symptoms shown by this man as the poison slowly kills him. He then tells us how this man â€Å"plunges† at him, â€Å"guttering, choking, drowning†. Owen is helpless; he can’t do anything to save this man’s life. This man is forever haunting his dreams. Wilfred Owen then says â€Å"My friend you would not tell with such high zest† So, directly speaking to us, and Jesse Pope, or anyone who thinks that war is sweet or glorious, that it’s actually a lie! The poet then repeats the title as â€Å"the old lie†: â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori†. The full translation of this is â€Å"It is sweet and glorious to die for one’s country†. In Stanza 1, I have already briefly talked about the contrast between the title of the poem and the actual poem itself. It’s ironic. When we think of the title we imagine men with high spirits, willing to fight for their country, not â€Å"old beggars under sacks†, smelly and dirty, with the weight of the war weighing them down. In an instant we start to realise that war isn’t sweet or glorious. The word â€Å"beggars† implies that maybe the soldiers were of low ranks. That they have all, no matter what rank, have been reduced to a basic human level, dependant on others for their survival. â€Å"Sacks† are like rags; this gives the impression that the soldiers haven’t even been given adequate warm clothing. All this imagery creates sympathy for the soldiers and uses an image that you will be able to relate to. The rhythm in the first stanza is slow, with lots of commas. Owen uses punctuation like this because he wants you to see war for what it is. The use of commas, slow what you are reading down, and making it longer, as if you are walking/trudging alongside these tired soldiers. As the stanza goes on Owen shortens the sentences, they are getting slower and slower, emphasizing the soldiers exhaustion. Also the words â€Å"trudge† and â€Å"sludge† give a heavy sound and feel to the poem, as if you can hear the soldier’s heavy footsteps. The last line of the first stanza, Wilfred Owen uses alliteration, â€Å"gas shells dropping softly behind†, the repeated â€Å"S† sound, the sibilant â€Å"S†, makes a soft and smooth sound, like a lullaby, slowly easing you to sleep. This hints at what the soldiers feel like, tired and exhausted. Owen uses this for a contrast in the next line. â€Å"Gas! Gas!† this is more powerful and contrasting technique used here to create an atmosphere of panic and horror. The use of exclamation marks here also portray a scene of panicking and rushing. Owen uses direct speech here to draw us in and to speak to us, which is different from the first stanza where Owen uses the past tense. The imagery here is really engaging; it gives us the sense of rushing â€Å"to fit the clumsy helmets†. The word â€Å"clumsy† is a use of personification. It’s as if the helmets were fighting against the soldiers. Personification is useful, because you can relate to a human experience/image. Floundering is a strong verb; It gives you a clear image of this man struggling for life. Wilfred Owen also uses an extended metaphor of the sea, giving you a clear and a visual image of this struggle. â€Å"As under a green sea, I saw him drowning†. An extended metaphor keeps the image going. â€Å"plunges†, â€Å"guttering, choking, drowning† are all related to the sea, so therefore an extended metaphor. Also the words â€Å"guttering, choking, drowning† are a form of onomatopoeia, Owen makes us use our senses, to hear this man’s suffering. As if we were there. The poet uses the adjective â€Å"green†, this colour is often associated with evil, this is used to make the readers think that everything that is going on is evil and wrong. â€Å"In all my dreams, before my helpless sight† this is a quite shocking sentence to use. Wilfred Owen has obviously been scared by this man’s death, not one but â€Å"all† of his dreams re haunted by this man dying in front of his sight. This creates a feeling of horror and sympathy for Wilfred Owen and all the men who suffered like this. It is obvious in the third stanza, that war disgusts Wilfred Owen. The adjectives he uses emphasize his opinion; adjectives like â€Å"vile†, â€Å"obscene† and â€Å"bitter†. These are all very harsh words to use, but all portray his opinion clearly. The imagery Owen also uses in this stanza gives the impression that war is disgusting. The simile â€Å"like a devil’s sick of sin† shows Owen’s absolute disgust, you can feel that as well. This simile implies that war is the work of the devil, and even he is sick of it! Another poetic technique used in this stanza is the alliteration of the letter â€Å"W†-â€Å"Watch the white eyes writhing in his face† You can’t exactly say it quickly so you have to say it slowly so you can think about it, and realise the horror and reality of what is happening. The tone throughout this stanza is angry and harsh; this reflects Wilfred Owen’s thoughts and feelings about war. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori† is a lie and Wilfred Owen is disgusted by it! A capital L is used to make the lie important, and a colon is used to introduced the unforgivable lie, it is also used to make us stop and think about it before we say it. Wilfred Owen uses a great depth of feeling in this poem, he uses emotive language and his personal impression and traumatic experience of war affects the convincing and clear message of the devastation of war! Comparison of two war poems (Dulce et decorum est and Suicide in the trenches) As a comparison to the poem by Wilfred Owen, we have been studying â€Å"Suicide in the trenches† by the war poet, Siegfried Sassoon. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† and â€Å"Suicide in the trenches’† themes are similar. They both are about the reality and harshness of war. Unlike â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†, from the title â€Å"Suicide in the Trenches† you can figure out that the title is about death, to be specific a suicide. The word Siegfried Sassoon uses in the title, suicide, could mean a few different things. Maybe it could mean that going to war is suicidal, or basically that someone commits suicide in the trenches. It’s different to â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† because it isn’t ironic and Sassoon actually tells you what happens, he puts you straight, whilst Owen leaves you thinking about the theme and message of the poem. The poem, like â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†, focuses on the death of one soldier in the First World War. Sassoon describes this young man’s life before the war, and how â€Å"simple† it was, and how satisfied he was with it. The poet then goes to talk about the war, and the horror of it. It’s as if Sassoon is making a list of all that is wrong and bad about the war, but mainly what is wrong with the trenches. In the second stanza he stresses the awful health conditions, loneliness, patriotism, and the lack of resources the soldiers faced in the trenches. Siegfried Sassoon’s use of the word â€Å"and† in the second stanza is as if he is building up to the point where this man can’t take any more of it, so he commits suicide. Sassoon then speaks directly to us, like Wilfred Owen in â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†, both poets are disgusted by this war, but mostly by the people who cheer and support the soldiers. In a way, they both makes us feel guilty about it. In the first stanza, Siegfried Sassoon uses the adjective â€Å"simple† to describe the soldier’s life before the war. He led a â€Å"simple† life, but was satisfied with it. The adjective â€Å"simple† could have also been used to indicate that this was a boy, â€Å"simple† and naà ¯ve. The poet also says â€Å"who grinned at life in empty joy†. This suggests that this â€Å"boy† didn’t have many aims in life, and didn’t let anything really bother him. This could also mean that he was from a working background, like a farm. The sentence â€Å"And whistled early with the lark† suggests that he had to get up early, like a farmer. Unlike â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†, the first stanza in â€Å"Suicide in the Trenches† is quite positive. Sassoon uses words like â€Å"joy†, â€Å"grinned†, and â€Å"slept soundly†. Sassoon also uses open vowels, â€Å"boy† and â€Å"joy†, which are light words to say. All these words accentuate his freedom and happiness. Siegfried Sassoon uses these particular words for a contrast in the next stanza, where all these negative and heavy words are used. The poet does this contrast to toy with our emotions. The poet also might have done this to emphasize the harshness and reality of war, and how different it is to this boy’s simple but satisfied life. In the second stanza, Sassoon uses the rhyming couplet â€Å"glum† and â€Å"rum†. These are quite heavy words, and not like the open vowels used in the first stanza. Siegfried Sassoon uses these to emphasize the soldiers, how â€Å"glum† and weary they were, and to highlight how tiring and difficult it was for them. The words â€Å"lack of rum† could mean two things; that literally there was no rum, or he was less energetic, because rum dulls the senses. Maybe without it he can’t cope. I have said before that Sassoon’s use of the word â€Å"and† and his lack of punctuation in the first two lines to drag the sentences on, and that makes it longer, and makes it sound longer too. In a way Sassoon is building up all the horrible things to the point where this young man can’t take any more of it. This creates sympathy for the soldiers who faced conditions like this. Siegfried Sassoon only uses two lines to portray the conditions of war, whilst Wilfred Owen uses many more lines and makes it longer and more detailed. In the third line of the second stanza, the sentence â€Å"He put a bullet through his brain.† Finishes with a full stop. The full stop used here highlights the fact that this man’s life has ended. His life, like the sentence, has come to a stop. Sassoon uses punctuation here, to stop and make you think about what has actually just happened. The next line â€Å"No one spoke of him again.† Is a change in the rhythm. Throughout the poem so far, there has been eight syllables in each line, but when we get to this sentence there is only seven syllables. Sassoon changes the rhythm here to stress the fact there isn’t any need to speak of this man again. Although, the change in rhythm could also mean that people are in a way ashamed to speak of this man again, because he committed suicide, everyone overlooks him as a coward. The poet uses a full stop here as well, to make the reader stop and acknowledge what has just happened. The third stanza is like the last stanza in â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†. The poets speak directly to us and tell us how they feel about the war, and how disgusted they are by it. The tones used by both the poets in the last stanza are a little sympathetic but really angry, this illustrates their actual feelings of war. The tone used is also sort of disgraced, as if Sassoon is ashamed of crowd of people cheering at these young lads. It makes us think about what we think of war, and makes us question ourselves on our opinions etc. When Sassoon uses the metaphor â€Å"hell† he is describing war as â€Å"hell†. This gives a clear and evident image to relate to. Wilfred Owen also uses the image of hell in â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† too. This image makes the reader understand that war is a hellish and horrible place. When Siegfried Sassoon says â€Å"youth and laughter† he is trying to get the image across that these are young â€Å"lads†. He uses words like â€Å"simple†, â€Å"lads†, â€Å"boy†, â€Å"youth and laughter† to underline that these were naà ¯ve insecure children. It is clear that Siegfried Sassoon disapproves of the fact that children of fighting in this hellish place. Wilfred Owen also does this in â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†. Wilfred Owen says â€Å"My friend you would not tell with such high zest to children ardent for some desperate glory, the old lie† Siegfried Sassoon uses the word â€Å"kindling†, to describe the â€Å"eye(s)† of the â€Å"smug-faced crowds†. Sassoon tries to show with a sarcastic tone that they think war is a glorious thing, that they feel proud of these children, and seem to understand and appreciate what they are doing. But in reality, they can never imagine what these children are going through, and in reality, they don’t care or feel appreciative of what the children did. Therefore, the word kindling reveals the hypocrisy behind people who support war. The structure of this poem is different to â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†. Sassoon uses rhyme and rhythm to make the poem sound light and bouncy. He not only does this to make it more memorable, but he does this to emphasize the contrast of what the â€Å"smug-faced crowd’s† impression and enthusiasm towards war, and what the reality and harshness of war actually is. Siegfried Sassoon also could of used the rhyme and rhythm like this, because it sort of like a children’s poem. He could have done this to accentuate the naive young man’s death. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† was dragged out more, and longer. The rhyme is different and wasn’t as noticeable as â€Å"Suicide in the Trenches†. Also in â€Å"suicide in the trenches†, Sassoon stresses all the good and jolly words in stanza one, to reflect the boy’s happy/joyful life. In stanza two though, Sassoon stresses all the bad and negative words to point out the awful conditions. This makes you, as a reader, feel the sympathy for the soldiers. After reading and analysing both the poems, I prefer â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†. I like this poem better, because the poet used very detailed imagery. Wilfred Owen describes the scene more, and describes the soldiers as well. I had more images to relate to, and that helped me to understand the poem’s message, and poet’s feeling and what he was trying to put across. I also like the idea that Wilfred Owen didn’t give much away to what the poem was about, and left you thinking and wondering after reading the title. Although the rhyming in â€Å"Suicide in the Trenches† is more memorable, I like the fact that in â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†, you don’t really recognize the rhyme at first. But I do like the poem â€Å"Suicide in the Trenches†, but I felt it more effective that Wilfred Owen uses his personal traumatic experience to explain what war is actually like. (Thankyou for reading my essay! I hope you enjoyed it and that it helped you!! 🙂

Common stock Essay

A1a. During the 12% bonds review the earnings per share common stock out totaled .103. The total was not enough to maximize the shareholders return. It was observed that the interest on the bonds would put them at $72,000. The interest on bonds was very high and could have contributed to the lower total figure. The common stock shares outstanding were at $975,000; which was a very low number. Compared to all the totals the 12% option had the lowest shares issued. During the 20% bonds review they totaled the earnings per common stock share at .197. This stock option was the second highest to the chosen 50% stock option. It looks like the 20% bond option was lower due to using $120,000 in bonds and $480,000 in common stock. The 40% bond option had earnings per common stock share of .181. The ending total wasn’t too bad but it wasn’t enough to maximize the shareholders return. The company acquiring $240,00 in bonds and $360,00 in common stock played a role why the figures went good enough to increase shareholders return. The 60% bond option had earnings per common stock share at .160. The $43,200 interest on bonds could have affected the earnings total. The income before tax and the tax income was a contributing factor to lower figures and results in the net income category. A2. Competition Bikes needs to analyze their capital budgeting. Businesses should acquire investments that are going to bring in more revenue but they have to make sure for the long term the investment is worth taking on. The cash inflows and outflows have to be looked at to determine what is best for the company. The company needs to see potential during the capital budget stage. In the story line management  decided that the most reliable data for a capital budgeting analysis is to estimate the number of product sales using the U.S. pricing and cost data. It is anticipated †¨that costs will be consistent in the new Canadian location. Net present value is capital budgeting used to examine the success with of a investment or project by using the present value of cash flowing in and the present value of the cash flowing out. It is used to determine profitability. It is a tool for management to see if the investment will bring value to their company. Projects and investments should only be taken on if the total number is positive or at 0. The company had a low net present value of -26,740 and the moderate net present value of 2,243. The sales forecasting indicates a range of outcomes as indicated by a low forecast and a moderate forecast of results. The recommendation would be for Competition Bikes to not take on the Canadian investment. Based of the low and moderate numbers if they are split in half they would still be in the negative. It is suggested if the net present value is not a positive number a company should not take on the investment or project. Internal rate of return is the rate of growth projected for t he investment or project. The story line advises Competition Bikes, Inc. requires a 10% return on capital (hurdle rate) to pursue a capital investment. The internal rate of return for the low demand was 8.7% and the moderate demand cash flow was 10.1%. The higher rate of IRR the more likely the company will generate a greater return. The recommendation for internal rate of return is for the company to take on the Canadian investment. A3. Working capital consists of current assets minus the current liabilities, it is the money left over to pay for the day-to day activities to run a company. It is an indicator of how many short assets they have to be able to pay off their short-term debt. If the working capital ratio is less than 1 the company has a negative working capital. A company should always want to be in above 1 for positive results. The current assets can be monitored daily or weekly to keep a close eye on the incoming cash flow to the account. Obtaining Working Capital Competition Bikes needs to obtain working capital quickly. The storyline suggests the cost to build the manufacturing facility is expected to be $400,000. (All figures are in US$) Working capital of $200,000 will also be necessary to support the operation. These two items have been considered as  the total investment in the capital structure analysis. They need to come up with $200,000 for the expansion operation. Competition Bikes can get a line of credit from a bank to obtain working capital quickly. They will need to negotiate the terms and amount of time they will be doing with the bank for the loan. Once they receive the payments in their accounts receivables they then need to turn around and the pay the loan down. They can consider getting a business cash advance to obtain working capital. Business advance loans have a quicker turn around time to receive the funds than a traditional bank loan. Most of the time the payment options are flexible depending on the companies specific needs. Competitions Bikes can go with a business advance loan normally receive a lower rate with fixed payments. Managing Working Capital They need to re-evaluate their account receivables procedures. They are taking almost 44 days to receive payment, they need to decrease their days to right around 30 for collecting payment. They may need to consider discounting to the customers that are paying the money on time. The company needs to consider charging penalty fees for accounts they are outstanding. Managing account payables is another way to manage working capital. They need to keep a good relationship with their suppliers. When picking suppliers payment and the terms of the contract need to be the number one priority. Paying the supplier on time and keeping an open line of communication is the key to managing the accounts payable. They also need to re-evaluate how inventory is handled to properly manage their working capital. The inventory and purchasing has to be reviewed to make sure they are bringing in the correct and defect free products and keeping track of them. They need to develop the first in first out method. They need to use the inventory longer that they had the longest. They need a security plan in place to make sure the inventory is accounted for and locked in a safe facility. Lease vs. Buy Competition Bikes has to make the decision whether they will lease a facility or whether they will buy in the Canadian expansion. For the leasing option the storyline advises 5 year lease financing has been offered at 6%. No down payment is required with this option but the $200,000 working capital must  still be internally funded. The leasing company would buy the building outright and then accept five $90,000 lease payments over 5 years. A $50,000 buyout option would be included so Competition Bikes, Inc. could choose to keep the location at the end of the five-year lease. To the lease the facility it will cost $283,752 after call calculations are done. They also have the option of buying an existing facility. The storyline advised Competition Bikes, Inc. found a suitable existing facility it could buy outright for $400,000 using one of the options from the capital structure analysis. The lenders require a $50,000 down payment. The working capital requirements and down payment must be internally funded. The purchasing option totaled the company out at $399,774. If the facility is purchased they had to factor in an $18,000 operational cost. In the story is stated the depreciation on the new asset will be based on a 10-year life. The building is expected †¨to have $200,000 value at the end of the ten years. The after cash flows of 80,439 at year 9, 81,743 at year 10, 83,125 at year 11, 84,590 at year 12, and 86,143 at year 13 all factored into the after cash flow. The tax rate of 35% goal is to preserve working capital. The leasing option is going to be less money and a better option for having a positive working capital. Merger vs. Acquisition A merger is when two companies mutually agree to become one company. They will them form one completely new company. If the merger they can offer a better robust product line. With the merger they also can bring in and appeal to a wider customer base than being just one company. The potential for increased revenue is an advantage to merging two companies. A merger can bring a better research and development element to the new company. The cons of a company merger can be increased prices. If there is less competition in the market and one company having monopoly power they can make consumers pay higher prices. A company merger can also lead to job losses for staff at both companies depending on the new business needs. The storyline suggests in a merged company the Canadian Bikes, Inc. shares will be exchanged for Competition Bikes, Inc. shares on a 3:1 basis. During the merger in year 8 for available common stock for Competition Bikes will have 31,286 while Canadian Bikes will have 24 ,200. After the merger Competition Bikes will 975,000 of the shares plus 1/3 of Canadian Bikes 200,000 shares outstanding. The earnings per share before the merger was .032 and after the merger the earnings would be .053; which is a .21 increase. The merger will increase shareholder value. An acquisition is when one company buys another company by taking over most or all of it. During an acquisition one company will consume total control over the other. The parent company will acquire or absorb a second company to further their businesses goal of market domination. An acquisition will give the parent company more market power and financial increase. During an acquisition they can also run into some challenges. A company can run into difficulties integrating two different companies and having them on the same page. Acquiring another can sometime be pricy. A lot of capital has to be raised before company negotiations can begin. The story advises Competition Bikes, Inc. has the option to acquire Canadian Bikes, Inc. at an offer price 30% above the Year 8 ending share price. If Canadian Bikes is acquired Competition bikes will have to pay $286,000 to acquire Canadian Bikes. The net present value of the acquisition would be -73,862, that number came from taking 212,138 of the present value and subtracting 286,000 of the offer price Competition Bikes would have to pay Canadian Bikes in the acquisition. Based off the statistical figures the final recommendation would be for Competition Bikes to merge with Canadian Bikes rather than acquiring them. The merger had a .021 increase in earnings per share while the acquisition would have Competition Bikes at a -73,862 in net present value. Net present value needs to be a positive number for a company to consider taking on a new investment.

Essay on Compulsory Primary Education Essay

In a country everybody should know how to read and write and how to count, so that everybody can help the society with a better capacity. Primary education is based mainly on reading, writing and arithmetic. This is the minimum education that one should get, specially in a poor country like India, where nothing more can be possibly done owing to paucity of funds. Advantages: The present age is the age of people. In most of the countries there are democratic form of Government. Democracy cannot be successful if the people are illiterate. Because illiterate persons cannot read the newspapers. They cannot read the political pamplets. So, they remain in dark about their country’s affairs. People should have a least the primary education for their easy conduct in the society and for the success of democracy. Why it should be made compulsory: The poor people do not send their children to school for want of money. Some children work elsewhere to supplement their family-income. The farmer’s children help their parents in the field. So, they cannot come to school if it is not made compulsory. but it must be free education and children should get their books and slates from the Government. Most of the parents being poor, their children should be provided with free fooding and free clothing. Conclusion: It is the duty of every Government to make the primary education free and compulsory. The Government of India should work out this scheme with all sincerity, so that all the children of the entire country will come within the scheme. People should co-operate with the Government in this campaign. Students can help their local people to work out the primary education programme. During their holidays and vacations they should open camp-schools in their own localities and teach the local children in suitable hours.

Child Marriage: A Silent Health and Human Rights Issue Essay

Abstract Marriages in which a child under the age of 18 years is involved occur worldwide, but are mainly seen in South Asia, Africa, and Latin America. A human rights violation, child marriage directly impacts girls’ education, health, psychologic well-being, and the health of their offspring. It increases the risk for depression, sexually transmitted infection, cervical cancer, malaria, obstetric fistulas, and maternal mortality. Their offspring are at an increased risk for premature birth and, subsequently, neonatal or infant death. The tradition, driven by poverty, is perpetuated to ensure girls’ financial futures and to reinforce social ties. One of the most effective methods of reducing child marriage and its health consequences is mandating that girls stay in school. Key words: Child marriage, Early marriage, Maternal mortality Child marriage, defined as marriage of a child under 18 years of age, is a silent and yet widespread practice. Today, over 60 million marriages include girls under the age of 18 years: approximately 31 million in South Asia, 14 million in sub-Saharan Africa, and 6.6 million in Latin America and the Caribbean (Figure 1). Each day, 25,000 girls are married and an anticipated 100 million girls will be married in 2012.1 Over 60% of girls are married under the age of 18 in some sub-Saharan countries and Bangladesh, and 40% to 60% of girls undergo child marriage in India (Figure 2). Figure 1 Number of women aged 20–24 who were married or in union before age 18, by region (2006). CEE/CIS, Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Reproduced with permission from United Nations Children’s Fund. Progress †¦ Figure 2 Percentage of women aged 20–24 who were married or in union before age 18 (1987–2006). Reproduced with permission from United Nations Children’s Fund. Progress for Children: A World Fit for Children Statistical Review. New York: †¦ Child marriage has been referred to as early marriage or child brides, but these terms are not optimal. Early marriage does not imply that children are involved, and the term is vague because an early marriage for one society may be considered late by another. The term child brides glorifies the tradition by portraying an image of joy and celebration. Most of these marriages are arranged by parents, and girls rarely meet their future husband before the wedding. The girls know that after the wedding they will move to their husband’s household, become the responsibility of their in-laws, and might not see their own family or friends for some time. Although child marriage includes boys, most children married under the age of 1 8 years are girls. In Mali, the ratio of married girls to boys is 72:1; in Kenya, it is 21:1; in Indonesia, it is 7.5:1; in Brazil, it is 6:1; and even in the United States, the ratio is 8:1.2–4 Go to: Human and Children’s Rights The United Nations and other international agencies have declared that child marriage violates human rights and children’s rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that individuals must enter marriage freely with full consent and must be at full age. In 1979, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women stated that child marriage is illegal. In 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child defined children as persons under the age of 18 years. Many countries passed laws changing the legal age of marriage to 18 years, but enforcement of these laws, and of laws requiring marriages to be registered, is weak.5 For example, although the legal age of marriage is 18 years, in Mali 65% of girls are married at a younger age; in Mozambique, it is 57%; and in India, it is 50% (Figure 3). In some parts of Ethiopia, although the legal age of marriage is 15 years, 50% of younger girls are married, and in Mali, 39% of younger girls are married. Furthermore, in some regions, an arranged marriage occurs at birth.6 Figure 3 (A) Percentage of girls (aged 15–19 years) who are currently married. (B) Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years married before age 18. Reproduced with permission from Mathur S, Greene M, Malhotra A. Too Young to Wed: The Lives, Rights, and Health †¦ Go to: Factors Driving Child Marriage Three main forces drive child marriages: poverty, the need to reinforce social ties, and the belief that it offers protection. Child marriage is predominantly seen in areas of poverty. Parents are faced with 2 economic incentives: to ensure their daughter’s financial security and to reduce the economic burden daughters place on the family. Child marriage is first and foremost a product of sheer economic need. Girls are costly to feed, clothe, and educate, and they eventually leave the household. Marriage brings a dowry to the bride’s family. The younger the girl, the higher the dowry, and the sooner the economic burden of raising the girl is lifted. By marrying their daughter to a â€Å"good† family, parents also establish social ties between tribes or clans and improve their social status. Parents also believe that marrying their daughters young protects them from rape, premarital sexual activity, unintended pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections, espe cially human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and AIDS.5 Go to: Health Consequences of Child Marriage Isolation and Depression Once married, girls are taken to their husband’s household, where they assume the role of wife, domestic worker, and, eventually, mother. These new homes can be in a different village or town. Because of the high dowry paid, husbands are usually much older than the girls (and thus have little in common with them) and their new brides are expected to reproduce. Polygamy may also be acceptable in some of these regions. As a result, the girls feel rejected, isolated, and depressed. Some girls realize that survival requires embracing their new environment and proving their fertility. They lose their childhood and miss the opportunity to play, develop friendships, and be educated. Risk of Sexually Transmitted Infection and Cervical Cancer Parents believe that marrying their daughters early protects them from HIV/AIDS. Research has shown the opposite: marriage by the age of 20 years is a risk factor for HIV infection in girls.7 In Kenya, married girls are 50% more likely than unmarried girls to become infected with HIV. In Zambia, the risk is even higher (59%). And in Uganda, the HIV prevalence rate of married girls and single girls between the ages of 15 and 19 years is 89% and 66%, respectively. Their husbands infected these girls. Because the girls try to prove their fertility, they had high-frequency, unprotected intercourse with their husbands. Their older husbands had prior sexual partners or were polygamous. In addition, the girls’ virginal status and physical immaturity increase the risk of HIV transmission secondary to hymenal, vaginal, or cervical lacerations.5 Other sexually transmitted infections, such as herpes simplex virus type 2, gonorrhea, and chlamydia, are also more frequently transmitted and enhance the girls’ vulnerability to HIV. Research demonstrates that child marriage also increases the risk of human papillomavirus transmission and cervical cancer.8 Risks During Pregnancy Pregnant girls in malaria regions were found to be at higher risk for infection. Of the 10.5 million girls and women who become infected with malaria, 50% die. Their highest risk is during their first pregnancy. Pregnancy not only increases the risk of acquiring malaria, but pregnant girls under the age of 19 have a significantly higher malaria density than pregnant women over the age of 19.9 They are also at significant risk of malaria-related complications such as severe anemia, pulmonary edema, and hypoglycemia. Rates of HIV and malaria coinfection are highest in Central African Republic, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, where more than 90% of the population is exposed to malaria and more than 10% are HIV positive. Having both diseases complicates the management and treatment of each. HIV-infected patients have a higher likelihood of getting a more severe form of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. They are less likely to respond as well to antimalaria medication. Malaria increases HIV viral load and increases the mother-to-child HIV transmission rate. Data demonstrate that the combination of these diseases proves deadly to the young pregnant mother.10 Risks During Labor and Delivery Deliveries from child marriages are â€Å"too soon, too close, too many, or too late.†11 Forty-five percent of girls in Mali, 42% in Uganda, and 25% in Ethiopia have given birth by the age of 18. In Western nations, the rates are 1% in Germany, 2% in France, and 10% in the United States (Figure 4). Girls between the ages of 10 and 14 years are 5 to 7 times more likely to die in childbirth; girls between the ages of 15 and 19 years are twice as likely.12 High death rates are secondary to eclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, sepsis, HIV infection, malaria, and obstructed labor. Girls aged 10 to 15 years have small pelvises and are not ready for childbearing. Their risk for obstetric fistula is 88%.13 Figure 4 Percentage of women, aged 20 to 24 years, married and giving birth by age 18. Reproduced with permission from Mathur S, Greene M, Malhotra A. Too Young to Wed: The Lives, Rights, and Health of Young Married Girls. Washington, DC: International Center †¦ Risks for Infants Mothers under the age of 18 have a 35% to 55% higher risk of delivering a preterm or low-birthweight infant than mothers older than 19 years. The infant mortality rate is 60% higher when the mother is under the age of 18 years. Data demonstrate that even after surviving the first year, children younger than 5 years had a 28% higher mortality rate in the young mothers cohort.14 This morbidity and mortality is due to the young mothers’ poor nutrition, physical and emotional immaturity, lack of access to social and reproductive services, and higher risk for infectious diseases. Go to: Discussion Disheartening as this information may be, there is encouraging news. Data show that in countries where poverty has decreased, such as Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, the incidence of child marriage has also declined. Media attention raises awareness of the issue and can prompt change. After a highly publicized story in 2008, in which a 10-year-old Yemeni girl fled her husband 2 months after being married and successfully obtained a divorce, Yemen increased the legal age for marriage from 15 to 18 years. More importantly, numerous children, inspired by this case, have sued for divorce.15 Research has long enforced the importance of education for girls and their families. Child marriage truncates girls’ childhood, stops their education, and impacts their health and the health of their infants. Governmental and nongovernmental policies aimed at educating the community, raising awareness, engaging local and religious leaders, involving parents, and empowering girls through education and employment can help stop child marriage. Programs that have shown success are those that give families financial incentives to keep their daughters in school, those that feed children during school hours so parents do not have to bear that responsibility, and those that promise employment once girls have completed their schooling.1 Education not only delays marriage, pregnancy, and childbearing, but school-based sex education can be effective in changing the awareness, attitudes, and practices leading to risky sexual behavior in marriage. Main Points †¢Over 60 million marriages include a girl under the age of 18 years. †¢The main forces that drive child marriage are poverty, the need to reinforce social ties, and the belief that marriage at an early age protects girls from rape, unintended pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infection. †¢Marriage before the age of 18 increases the rate of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in girls. †¢High death rates during pregnancy are secondary to eclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, sepsis, HIV infections, and obstructed labor. The infant mortality rate is 60% higher when the mother is under the age of 18 years. †¢Education not only delays marriage, pregnancy, and childbearing, but school-based sex education can be effective in changing the awareness, attitudes, and practices leading to risky sexual behavior in marriage. Go to: References 1. Mathur S, Greene M, Malhotra A. Too Young to Wed: The Lives, Rights and Health of Young Married Girls. Washington, DC: International Center for Research on Women; 2003. pp. 1–15. 2. United Nations, authors. World Marriage Patterns. New York: United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs; 2000. 3. Population Reference Bureau, authors. The World’s Youth 2006 Data Sheet. Washington, DC;: Population Reference Bureau; 2006. [Accessed February 25, 2009]. http://www.prb.org/pdf06/WorldsYouth2006DataSheet.pdf. 4. Alan Guttmacher Institute, authors. Into a New World: Young Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Lives. New York: Alan Guttmacher Institute; 1998. 5. Nour NM. Health consequences of child marriages in Africa. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006;12:1644–1649. [PMC free article] [PubMed] 6. Bruce J, Clark S. Including Married Adolescents in Adolescent Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS Policy. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2003. 7. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, authors. World AIDS Campaign 2004: Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS. Strategic Overview and Background Note. [Accessed February 25, 2009]. http://www.etharc.org/aidscampaign/publications/wac2004.pdf. 8. Zhang ZF, Parkin DM, Yu SZ, et al. Risk factors for cancer of the cervix in a rural Chinese population. Int J Cancer. 1989;43:762–767. [PubMed] 9. Dzeing-Ella A, Nze Obiang PC, Tchoua R, et al. Severe falciparum malaria in Gabonese children: clinical and laboratory features. Malar J. 2005;4:1. [PMC free article] [PubMed] 10. World Health Organization, authors. Malaria and HIV Interactions and Their Implications for Public Health Policy. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2004. [Accessed February 25, 2009]. http://www.who.int/malaria/mal aria_HIV/MalariaHIVinteractions_report.pdf. 11. Marriage and the family. [Accessed February 25, 2009]. Interactive Population Center Web site. http://www.unfpa.org/intercenter/cycle/marriage.htm. 12. United Nations, authors. We the Children: End-Decade Review of the Follow-Up to the World Summit for Children. Report of the Secretary-General (A/S-27/3) New York: United Nations; 2001. 13. United Nations Children’s Fund, authors. Fistula in Niamey, Niger. New York: United Nations Children’s Fund; 1998. 14. Adhikari RK. Early marriage and childbearing: risks and consequences. In: Bott S, Jejeebhoy S, Shah, Puri C, editors. Towards Adulthood: Exploring the Sexual and Reproductive Health of Adolescents in South Asia. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2003. pp. 62–66. 15. Walt V. A 10-year-old divorcà ©e takes Paris. Time. 2009. Feb 3 [Accessed February 25, 2009]. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1876652,00.html.

Risk Management and Banking Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Risk Management and Banking Crisis - Essay Example The Banks & Financial Institutions avail the benefits of higher interest rates by lending to Sub-Prime customers but expose the capital to higher risks. The Banks used a mechanism of distributing the risk of the lending to the investors outside the Banking system through a process called "Securitization" (A phenomenon that occurred in the booming Credit Derivative Market). This phenomenon occurred extensively in the US Sub-Prime Mortgage Market that helped the banks to increase the number of risky products but still reduce the liabilities on their balance sheets (apparently!!) because the money is flowing through so called "conduits" from investors to the borrowers. As per experts the primary drawbacks have been imperfections in the Credit Markets given poor valuation of assets acquired against the credit instruments thus resulting in uncertain asset valuation & high credit risk exposure. Even the rating agencies couldn't predict the Sub-Prime crisis through their valuations because the securitization process was too complex and the Bank's risk assessment was inadequate in screening the borrowers and informing the investors about the risks in the securitized products. The system became so huge that the root of the risks was completely covered by hyped data and analytics about the new credit instruments. [Schmitz, Michael. C and Forray, Susan J. pp28-30; Clerc, Laurent. 2008. pp1-4] In this paper, the process of Credit & Liquidity risk measurement by the Banks is presented with a discussion on how they have contributed to the overall Financial Crisis faced by the world. A brief on Credit and Liquidity Risk Management practiced by Banks Every bank has a native underwriting process to support the "Credit Approval System" for evaluation of credit risk resulting from a possible exposure when scrutinizing a loan application. As per Basel Capital Accord (Basel-II), the primary parameters that are assessed during scrutiny of a loan application are: Probability of Default (PD), Loss Given Default (LGD), Exposure at Default (EAD) and Maturity