Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Capitalism is a force for social progress. Discuss. (Use listed Essay

Capitalism is a force for social progress. Discuss. (Use listed sources only) - Essay Example Social progress refers to improvement of the societies’ economic, social, and political structures. This can happen because of human action through social activism or as a social enterprise or as a natural part of the sociocultural evolution. Improvement in the living standards, industrialization, technological advancements are among the components of social progress. Developed countries have become richer as the years go by. Unfortunately, the social progress, which has always been the objective of social thinkers since 19th and 20th century, has eluded. The social bargain that the employees and the members of their families enjoyed the prosperity through their commitment to economic growth at mid-century has not been maintained. In America, for instance, the top 5% gain over 21% of the household income, while the bottom 5 received below 4% between them. In Britain, the difference between the rich and the poor has been greater since 19th century. The middle class families with the dream of achieving a stable career option have been directly affected by job insecurity. Similarly, the price of failure has been on the rising trend. Since 1970, the high school graduands are the first to experience low standard of living that the welfare provision for the unemployed have been stripped away. If the prospects of property are not brought by economic gro wth, the material pathway to human happiness rings hollow in the uncertainty face. There is only a smaller proportion of the society that can insulate themselves from the risk that affects other members of the society. This is not similar to majority of individual that operate within the middle wage bracket. The group stands to earn more so that they can cushion themselves from the increasing trend of survival cost. According to Friedrich Hegel, the strengths that strengthen the great nations in

Monday, October 28, 2019

Pro-social effects of the media Essay Example for Free

Pro-social effects of the media Essay One explanation of the pro-social effects of the media on behaviour comes from Banduras Social Learning Theory. Banduras research suggests that children learn through observing a behaviour, then later imitating it if the expectation of reward is high. For example the child needs to pay attention to a role model for example seeing a super hero, then there needs to be retention of the information into the LTM, reproduction, so the child imitates the same type of behaviour such as helping others, and finally the child needs to be motivated to imitate the behaviour such as, being the same gender. The process of social learning works in the same way for learning pro-social acts as seen on television as it does for learning anti-social acts (vicarious reinforcement). Unlike the depiction of anti-social acts, however, the depiction of pro-social acts (such as generosity or helping) is likely to be in accord with established social norms (e.g., the need to be helpful and generous to others). Assuming that these social norms have been internalised by the viewer, the imitation of these acts, therefore, is likely to be associated with the expectation of social reinforcement, and so the child is motivated to repeat these actions in their own life. Furthermore, Bandura would also suggest that the pro-social effects of the media derives from reciprocal determinism whereby people who watch programmes about helping people will make friends with people who watch similar TV programmes. A second explanation of how the media influences pro-social behaviour comes from research into developmental trends. Pro social behaviours have been shown to be contingent on the development of pro social skills, such as perspective taking, empathy and a high level or moral reasoning which continue to develop through adolescence, which increase with age (Eisenberg, 1990). E.g., research has shown that young children are less able to recognise the emotional state of others and are less sure of how to help. It has also been found that children have difficulty recognising and understanding pro-social messages, and may be less affected by pro social messages if these portrayals are more complex than the simple modelling of specific behaviour (Mares, 1996). One strength of media influences on pro social behaviour comes from further empirical support from Woodward (1999). In their study they found that US programmes for pre-school children had high levels of pro-social content: 77% of programmes surveyed contained at least one pro social lesson. This suggests that there is wider academic credibility for the influence media has on pro-social behaviour. A further strength of LST comes from further empirical support provided by Mares and Woodward (2001). They found from their research that children are most affected when they are able to see exact steps for positive behaviour, such as when someone donates tokens. This could be because they can remember concrete acts better than abstract ones. This suggests that there is wider academic credibility for the idea of imitating pro-social behaviour. Furthermore, the explanations into the media effects on pro-social behaviour is that there are practical applications. For example, Johnston et al. Found that learning pro social behaviour was best when there were follow up discussions. For example, when Johnson showed students a TV programme in a classroom and accompanied by teacher-led discussions students were more willing to help. This suggests that using SLT of media can improve the quality of peoples lives who are anti-social. Finally, the research into media effects on pro-social behaviour is that it has high reliability. The reason for this is because the research is carried out in a laboratory study, where there is control over the IV and DV and most extraneous variables are reduced. This suggests that if the research was tested and re-tested then the same results would be achieved. However, one weakness of the SLT is that because the theory is based in research from the laboratory is it lacks ecological validity. Huston (1983) argues that some programmes foster only limited types of pro-social behaviour that do not really apply in real life. For the best effect stories need to depict ordinary everyday kindness and helping and, after the programme adults in the childrens life need to discuss the programme content with them and role model pro-social behaviour in the course of play. This suggests that the findings from this research could not be applied to real life situations. Another weakness of Johnstons research is that there is contradictory evidence provided by Rubenstein et al. (1982). They found that in a study of adolescents hospitalised for psychiatric problems, found that post-viewing discussion led to decreased altruism, possibly because the adolescents wanted to take up a view that was contrary to that held by adults. Moreover, the effects of media on pro-social behaviour is that it is reductionist. The reason for this is because other factors need to be involved, for example personality and temperament of the child and parents. This suggests that the research is oversimplistic when explaining helping behaviour. A final weakness is that the research is culturally specific. The reason for this because the majority of the research has been carried out in the USA and therefore the criteria of pro-social behaviour may be different to non-western societies. This suggests that the research cannot be generalised to the whole population.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Essay --

Dan Connelly Mr. Fisher English 10 March 8 2014 JSOC And Modern Special Forces Joint Special Operations Command is a group of elite forces who work alone and side by side with other branches of the military and other countries despite the fact they don't normally work with them. These men are responsible for tracking and killing Osama Bin Laden and other big name terrorist. JSOC consists of Delta force, DEVGRU, and other secretive civilian and military groups. J-Soc is an elite military unit that operates in the most intense battles the world can throw at them. They are the spartans of the modern world and they're known in the military as â€Å"the tip of the spear†. The Creation of J-SOC Joint Special Operations Command was created in 1980 as a member of US. SOCOM ( US. Special Operations Command). Their initial mission and role in SOCOM was to train and assess elite soldiers in Special Operations Programs in the US, to be able to work side by side seamlessly with the worlds other elite Special Operators and law enforcement. For examples, Navy SEALS and Israeli IDF Forces, Green Berets and British SAS, and even with civilian counterparts like the CIA and SEALS or FBI HRT teams and Air force Pararescue. JSOC also took on the role of training Special Mission Units in a numerous amount of schools and training courses.( Smith) The military had ussocom who had units like navy seals and army rangers but the military needed an elite group of people who could perform anything and everything the Pres/ secdef could throw at them. At first, their mission was to train socoms elite, but in 1981 the president decided that JSOCs role in the military needed to be changed. JSOC had done such a good job training socom that they ... ...isted of armed combat and horsemanship. These men fought both for Thebes, but also for his partner. These relationships helped them fight even the toughest competitors.(Crompton). Shaolin Monks were some of the fierce warriors to walk this earth. The Shaolin Monastery dates back nearly 1,500 years, and its tradition of martial arts can be traced back to defence against attacks in the year 610. These men were trained to never to use force when not needed because they wanted peace and were almost pacifist. The Shaolin Monks trained themselves over the centuries and battled everyone from thieves,emperors and Japanese pirates. They were always using their unique combat style Shaolin Kung Fu. This style was so unique many opposing forces did not know how to react to the attacks. This is what gave them the edge in battles against any of their enemies. ( Larmer).

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Differences between the ancient civilizations of Greece and Egypt Essay

The antiquated Egyptian and aged Greek human advancements are two of the eldest known developments in our history. Looking again at the past it is most likely Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece were truly incredible. They were building their civic establishment’s peace by peace trough centuries. Egypt is a nation in North Africa, on the Mediterranean Sea, and is around the  most senior developments on earth. It began around 3150 BC and proceeded till the close of the Pharaoh lead in 31 BC. The antiquated Greek development is accepted to have been in actuality from 1100 BC work something like 146 BC. However, there are many, many differences between the ancient civilizations of Greece and Egypt in term of education system, art and geographical regions. In the advanced world no aptitude is more exceedingly esteemed than education. The saying â€Å"instruction† is typically utilized as a part of the restricted feeling of educated training; and the rate of proficient subjec ts has turned into a measuring stick of the social advancement of creating nations (Saggs, 1989). According to History kids in Ancient Egypt stayed with their moms until the age of four (n.d.). Throughout these years, a solid admiration for their moms was imparted in the kids. At the age of four, instruction of the young men was assumed control by their fathers. Whereas Children in the vast majority of old Greece began their training at age seven (History, n.d.). In Sparta, young men were given military preparing from ages seven to twenty to equip them for administration in the armed force. Young ladies likewise were obliged to prepare physically. They accepted solid ladies handled solid children. The exchanges Ancient Egypt had levels of income and force connected with them. Children regularly followed in the same exchange that their father honed. Some kids at this point went to a general town school while others went to a school intended for a particular vocation, for example, a minister or a copyist (History, n.d.) . While In Athens, poor youngsters finished not head off to cl ass. They were required around their homes to help their family bring home the bacon (History, n.d.). White collar class young men may head off to class for just three to four years. In ancient Egypt schools were taught composing, perusing, math, and games and in addition ethics and estates. At the age of fourteen, children of agriculturists or specialists joined their fathers in their callings (History, n.d.). Those kids whose folks had higher status professions preceded their training at extraordinary schools generally joined to sanctuaries or legislative focuses. In aged Greece the subjects they took in were perusing, written work, essential math, music, and physical preparing (History, n.d.) . At the age of eighteen, most young men were  obliged to join the armed force for two years of preparing. In antiquated Egyptian larger amount of instruction included taking in what was called â€Å"Guideline of Wisdom.† The â€Å"Direction of Wisdom† included lessons on morals and ethics. This more elevated amount of instruction likewise concentrated on aptitudes required for higher status positions, for example, specialist or recorder (History, n.d.) . The instructive track that a scholar emulated was regularly dictated by the position that the father held in the public arena, yet, understudies who indicated capacity were ready to get preparing for higher status employments however in aged Greece, after military preparing , young men from affluent families considered under a pedant. Regarded as an â€Å"intelligence vender,† a critic charged a charge to show subjects, for example, open talking or talk (History, n.d. . In Athens and different vote based systems, open talking and influence were exceedingly prized abilities. Based on history ocrates, the acclaimed Greek savant, accepted it was dishonest to take cash for showing youngsters (n.d.). He accepted the hunt for learning was more critical than the specialty of talking. Aged Greece is found in the mainland of Europe. Greece is encompassed by slopes and mountains, and is close to the Mediterranean ocean (University Press Inc, 2003). The Empire was the core of European civilization. Whereas antiquated Egypt is placed in the Nile Valley, in the north east of Africa ( The British Museum, n.d). By 3000 BC, the consolidated kingdom of Egypt took the entire Nile Valley and by 1500 BC, Ancient Egypt involved the area in all bearings from the Syrian coast to the Red Sea down along the valley past Nubia ( The British Museum, n.d). According to University Press Inc Athens is the image of flexibility, craft, and majority rule government in the soul of the socialized world (2003). The capital of Greece took its name from the goddess Athena, the goddess of astuteness and learning. In Athens memory never blurs. Wherever you stand, wherever you turn, the city’s long and rich history will be alive before you. This is the place that wonder of building design, the Parthenon, was made (University Press Inc, 2003) . This is the place  symbolization got indistinguishable from life, and this is the place Pericles gave the funerary discourse, that landmark of the spoken word. In the focal point of town are two slopes, the Acropolis with the landmarks from the Age of Pericles, and Lycabettus with the beautiful sanctuary of Ai Giorgis. Whereas, in Egypt it was divided in two sorts of area, the ‘dark area’ and the ‘red land’. River Nile the ‘dark area’ was the ripe arrive on the banks of the Nile ( The British Museum, n.d). The aged Egyptians utilized this area for developing their products. This was the main arrive in antiquated Egypt that could be cultivated since a layer of rich, dark sediment was kept their consistently after the Nile flooded. The ‘red area’ was the infertile betray that secured Egypt on two sides ( The British Museum, n.d). These deserts differentiated old Egypt from neighbouring nations and attacking guards ( The British Museum, n.d) . They additionally gave the aged Egyptians a hotspot for valuable metals and semi-valuable stones. An ominous aspect that sets the most obvious parts of both these progresses apart upon a look lies in their respective specialties. In antiquated Egypt, works of art were upheld and honed. A significant part of the workmanship portrayed in antiquated Egypt has been discovered to be typical in nature and is commonly found on tombs and landmarks (History, n.d.). Works of Egyptian craftsmanship have utilized numerous far more diverse yet expressive colours to paint sketches. Old Egyptians created numerous fine arts where they portrayed nifty gritty in nature and is usually intended to give recognition to the individuals who have passed in their eternity. Paper made from papyrus played a considerable role in the artistic creations of Egyptians (History, n.d.). On the other hand, figurines were an unmistakable work of art in old Egypt with Egyptian makings huge models of divine beings, Pharaohs, rules and monarchs. A standout among all these figurines is the sphinx as it displays Egyptian culture only lesser than the pyramids. Hieroglyphics scripts of pictures are images is another fine art of the old Egyptians. Workmanship utilized in antiquated areck is likewise very note worthy as it clear the paths for other westernize artistic expression. The areas made a variety of symbolizations. Earthenware was used for multiple purposes ranging from running regular errains to trophies or awards. The antiquated Greeks also worked with metals for numerous bits of craftsmanship (History,  n.d.). The Greeks also made a variety of dirt and terracotta figures. Huge models of marble, stone and metals like bronze are recognizable feature of Greek craftsmanship made throughout their time. Coins were another outlined aspect of Greek craftsmanship (History, n.d.). This practice is still accompanied by practically all the nations on the planet. The Greeks also develop a specialty of board painting, where put into practicality on dividers and columns and regularly told epic stories of heroes and divine beings. Different types of compositions that were practice by old Greeks include painting vases and many more Thus, we find that ancient civilizations of Egypt and Greece had many differences. There are many differences between civilization of Egypt and Greece such as Egypt was built all the more in light of River society, Greece was on Sea society, Egyptian myths is all the more nearly identified with Christian mythology, While Egypt and Greece were both positively impacted by their divine beings responding as individuals may with insignificant jealousies and such, Greece’s divine beings were malignant to the point of torture and Egypt had a divine being for everything, Greece just had divine beings for the more basic components of life. The main differences are art, geographical, and the education of the two civilizations as discussed herein. References American tourism company.(n.d.)Ancient Egypt education and learning. The Life of Ancient Egyptians Education and Learning in Ancient Egypt.Retrieved from http://www.touregypt.net/historicalessays/lifeinegypt7.htm#ixzz2uyntwE4X History.(n.d.).History link 101.Education in Ancient Egypt.Retrieved fromhttp://historylink101.com/n/egypt_1/a-education.htm History.(n.d.).History link 101.Education in Ancient Greece. Retrieved fromhttp://historylink101.com/2/greece3/education.htm Joshua,J.(2013).Egyptian culture.Definitian.Retieved fromhttp://www.ancient.eu.com/Egyptian_Culture/ Miercoles.(2008).Compare and contrast essay.Ancient Egypt and ancient Greece.Retrievedfromhttp://xlxkasaxlx.blogspot.com/2008/04/compare-and-contrast-essay_16.html Saggs,H.,W.,F.(1989)Civilization before Greece and

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Religion And Confession Essay

a. Define your topic in a relatively brief paragraph. The topic I chose is Confession. Confession is a basic part of living a spiritual life. For some cultures and organized religion, confession is a physical act of going to the priest, telling the priest your sins and asking sincerest repentance. One cannot partake of the Feast of the Holy Eucharist without confession because confession clears one’s conscience, is the way of receiving the Lord’s forgiveness. â€Å"Confession is the popular name for the Christian Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation recognized by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. The rite consists in the acknowledgment of sins to a priest, who grants absolution in the name of God. Its biblical basis is found in the action of Jesus forgiving sins (Mark 2) and his commissioning of the Apostles to forgive sins (John 20:22-23).† (Favazza, 1982) b. How does the experience of guilt relate to or inform your topic? Guilt directly relates to confession. Confession is the act of asking forgiveness. Others are burdened with the issue of telling one’s sins to a priest who is only human at one end. But more than going through the complications of the process, one cannot go to confession willingly if one cannot first accept his guilt of sins that he committed. There is actually a part in the process of confession when one stipulates the sins that one is guilty of. Confession lets a person open himself to the Lord. â€Å"Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrow, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden Him; you cannot weary Him. He who numbers the hairs of your head is not indifferent to the want of His children.† (White, p. 101). When the act of letting go of all the fears, desires and wants of a person is also the act of unburdening one’s self to his sins. Only when a man is empty of sins can the love of God enter his heart. â€Å"The more holy a man is, the more humble, self-renouncing, selfabhorring, and the more sensitive to every sin he becomes, and the more closely he clings to Christ. The moral imperfections which cling to him he feels to be sins, which he laments and strives to overcome. Believers find that their life is a constant warfare, and they need to take the kingdom of heaven by storm, and watch while they pray.† (Easton, 2006) c. What is the relationship of your topic to the experience of justification by faith God`s forgiveness and reconciling acceptance? Confession is a process institutionalized by God to show how forgiveness works. Through confession, one can experience repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation with the faith once again and the joy of feeling accepted by God’s love once more. A sinner who repents and asks forgiveness of his sins that he is guilty of is ready to accept the penalties of his sins. The kind of penalty bestowed upon a remorseful soul shows the kind of justice that faith exemplifies. Nothing compares to the experience of confession when a man is transformed from evil to good, from sinner to follower. â€Å"Confession of sin is also emphasized in the NT (Matt. 3:6; Mark 1:5), and with it is connected the promise of forgiveness of sins (I John 1:9; cf. Matt. 6:12), a forgiveness which is based solely on the death of Christ (Eph. 1:7)† (Quanbeck, 1968.) The death of Christ was able to save human souls from damnation to salvation. His dying on the cross was proof of God’s love to save human souls from sins. Without the death of Jesus, forgiveness will not be made manifest. The path of confessions is part of the path towards salvation. Part of Jesus seven last words, â€Å"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,† exemplifies the absoluteness of forgiveness and the love of God to his people. d. In what way does your topic contribute to or inform growth in Christian character and service (commonly called sanctification and victory over sin)? Confession is a part of growing into a full Christian. Human beings will sin against the Lord as he walks the Path. Confession sharpens one’s Christian character because through confessions, a person learns what and how forgiveness is. When people go to confession, the advocacy itself informs other people about how Christians grow in the love of God. Through confession, people can allow themselves to be one with God again through the Holy Spirit. â€Å"Sanctification involves more than a mere moral reformation of character, brought about by the power of the truth: it is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing the whole nature more and more under the influences of the new gracious principles implanted in the soul in regeneration. In other words, sanctification is the carrying on to perfection the work begun in regeneration, and it extends to the whole man (Rom. 6:13; 2 Cor. 4:6; Col. 3:10; 1 John 4:7; 1 Cor. 6:19). It is the special office of the Holy Spirit in the plan of redemption to carry on this work (1 Cor. 6: 11; 2 Thess. 2:13). The Apostle’s Creed mentions the basic principle that sanctifies confession in, â€Å"I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.† The Church of God is developed by sinners who have gone back, believed in the â€Å"forgiveness of sins† that is why confessions are important in reminding people of the faith. And so even the most hideous crime and guilt, if confessed with sincerest repentance, has the hope to be forgiven. e. How can your topic help one to know and understand God personally? The ordinary man would not really know how sorry a sinner is. Sincerety can be seen in gestures but this is not enough when it’s a case when one asks forgiveness. People may have an idea how sincere the apology is but in the case of murder in the first degree, at the moment before serving death sentences, at that moment, confession is but a process between you and the Lord. The personal relationship of a person and God is a very special one. The act of confession is a venue where that personal relationship can start and can be kept. This keeping will have great effects towards advocating the sanctity of that kind of relations so that others may be able to have that special relations with God. â€Å"If Christians would associate together, speaking to each other of the love of God and of the precious truths of redemption, their own hearts would be refreshed and they would refresh one another.† (White. p 103) f. What are the social consequences of your topic? In other words, how does your topic affect or inform your relationship to other persons in your life? Confessions better a person. A person who understands and believes in the concept of confessions believes in concepts of forgiveness, repentance, salvation and above all, humility. Amidst the many challenges expected of modern man, the value of confessions will enable a person to keep his morals intact and act ethically in life. Much of evil ways happen because man has forgotten that his life, his body and the resources around him are not his own. They are essentially gifts from God. Abuse of these gifts happen because man thinks he is on top of the food chain, sole predator of all things on earth. When a person forgets that there is a higher being than him, he is corrupted. Confession will be an insitution that will remind that the sinful man is a given thing on earth but due to God’s almighty love, God forgives the sincerely repentful human being thereby giving him another chance to enter the kingdom of heaven. Bibliography Favazza, Joseph, The Order of Penitents (1988); Martos, Joseph, Doors to the Sacred (1982). Holy Bible. Crossway Books; Compact edition (April 2005) W.A. Quanbeck, IDB,I,667-68; R.H. Alexander, TWOT,I, 364-66; O. Michel, TDNT,V, 199-219; V.C. Grounds, ZPEB,I, 937-39. White, Ellen. Steps to Jesus. Adventist Book Center New Jersey; Booklet edition (January 1998)

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Inference Questions on SAT Reading 6 Strategies

Inference Questions on SAT Reading 6 Strategies SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Inference questions make up nearly 15% of all SAT Reading questions (based on analysis of four publicly available new SATs). Answering inference questions correctly requires the ability to take information given in the text and then draw logical, supported conclusions from it. What are the different kinds of inference questions asked on the SAT Reading Section, and how should you go about answering them? I've got the answers for you in this article. feature image credit: Fellow citizens of Massachusetts! by Boston Public Library, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. What Are Inference Questions? Inference questions ask about the meaning of a line, paragraph, or even an entire passage. The ideas being asked about are not directly stated in the text, which mean that inference questions often include the phrases â€Å"could be interpreted to mean† or â€Å"suggests that." Since there can only be one correct answer to any SAT question, however, the answers to these questions cannot be subjective or ambiguous. Via funnyworld.info. Inference questions often also require big picture skills, since you must be able to get meaning from entire passages to answer questions about paired passage relationships, or from entire paragraphs for other inference questions. In contrast to function questions, which ask "what does [this word, phrase, or line] DO," inference questions ask "what does [this word, phrase, or line] MEAN?" There are three main kinds of inference questions: deduction, speculation, and examination. Type 1: Deduction Inference questions that fall into this subcategory ask you to fill in missing information. The gist of most of the questions is "If something is said in the passage, what is the logical extension?" Deduction questions are very close to detail questions, except that you must make a logical deduction, rather than relying only on information in the passage. For example: According to the passage, Woolf chooses the setting of the bridge because it A) is conducive to a mood of fanciful reflection. B) provides a good view of the procession of the sons of educated men. C) is within sight of historic episodes to which she alludes. D) is symbolic of the legacy of past and present sons of educated men. The relevant lines: Close at hand is a bridge over the River Thames, an admirable vantage ground for us to make a survey. The river flows beneath; barges pass, laden with timber, bursting with corn; there on one side are the domes and spires of the city; on the other, Westminster and the Houses of Parliament. It is a place to stand on by the hour, dreaming. But not now. Now we are pressed for time. Now we are here to consider facts; now we must fix our eyes upon the procession - the procession of the sons of educated men. To get the correct answer, (B), you must deduce from the info given. My thoughts: Normally we'd be on the bridge to dream and have fanciful reflection, but that's not the case now. Instead, now we have to do something else while standing on the bridge. What is that something else? Fixing our eyes on the procession of the sons of educated men. There will be a more full walkthrough of an inference question later on in this article – the point of that was to show the eensy, teensy step you have to take beyond what is written to answer inference questions. It's not like high school English literature classes, where you’re encouraged to make any interpretation you can, as long as you can back it up with enough words/rambling. In fact, I know that some people just think of these kinds of inference questions as paraphrasing, becaus so little interpretation is involved. Some examples of how these questions have been asked on the SAT (with some modifications to keep them on the same theme): Based on the passage, the authors’ statement â€Å"If a pair consisted of two piccolos, for example, there would not be room for it† (lines 29-30) implies that a pair The narrator implies that Ms. Boulanger favors a form of education that emphasizes In Passage 1, Bach contends that breaking the laws of counterpoint has which consequence? La Orquestra Filharmà ³nica Nacional entonà ³ el Himno Nacional y la cancià ³n Patria Querida by Luigino Bracci, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. From my constant comments about musicians, you may be able to DEDUCE that I, too, am a musician. Type 2: Speculation These inference questions ask you to speculate about the meaning (or "suggested" meaning) of a statement, description, or something else in the passage. In some ways, these are similar to function questions, but the answers the SAT is looking for are very different. Take this question: In the passage, Akira addresses Chie with If this were a function question, the answer choices would be generic, like â€Å"a continuation of an extended comparison† or â€Å"an unexpected answer to a question.† Since this is an inference question, the answer choices are more specific, along the lines of â€Å"affection but not genuine love† or â€Å"amusement but not mocking disparagement.† Some examples of how this sort of inference question is asked: It can reasonably be inferred that â€Å"the strong-minded† (line 32) was a term generally intended to In line 42, the authors state that a certain hypothesis â€Å"can best be tested by a trial.† Based on the passage, which of the following is a hypothesis the authors suggest be tested in a trial? The phrase â€Å"liquid gold† (line 71) most directly suggests that What does the author suggest about the transgenic studies done in the 1980s and 1990s? Type 3: Examination Inference questions which fall into the examination subcategory question you about the internal life (thoughts, feelings, motivations) of the narrator, author, or someone mentioned in the passage. They can mostly be summed up as asking "What would [this person] think about [that thing]?" Examination questions are the most complicated type of inference questions, because they ask you to get into the head of the author/narrator/character/other person mentioned in the text. You will often see these sorts of questions on paired passages. Fortunately, it is pretty easy to identify examination inference questions, since they do tend to fall into "what does X think about Y" format. See below for some examples: The â€Å"social psychologists† mentioned in paragraph 2 (lines 17-34) would likely describe the â€Å"deadweight loss† phenomenon as The passage indicates that when the narrator began working for Edward Crimsworth, he viewed Crimsworth as a It can be inferred that the authors of Passage 1 believe that running a household and raising children It can most reasonably be inferred from Passage 2 that Paine views historical precedents as Beecher would most likely have reacted to lines 65-68 (â€Å"Now . . . woman†) of Passage 2 with Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! 6 Superior Strategies for Attacking Inference Questions So how do you attack inference questions? Is there any way other than just reading the entire passage? (Answer to the first question: hold on one moment. Answer to that second question: yes, for sure) I've compiled for you a bunch of different strategies for attacking inference questions. Some of these strategies work better if you read the passage a certain way (for instance, looking for context may not be as necessary for students who read the passage all the way through), but much of the advice is useful no matter what your method of reading the passage. Strategy 1: Understand What The Question Is Really Asking Understanding what an inference question is actually asking can be hard to wrap your head around, particularly when they ask about multiple passages. Questions are often wordy and seem to require a lot of information before you can even begin to answer them. For instance: The author of Passage 2 would most likely respond to the discussion of the future of space mining in lines 18-28, Passage 1, by claiming that such a future A) is inconsistent with the sustainable use of space resources.B) will be difficult to bring about in the absence of regulations.C) cannot be attained without technologies that do not yet exist.D) seems certain to affect Earth’s economy in a negative way. This question requires you to find information about the future of space mining in Passage 1 and then put yourself in the shoes of the author of Passage 2 and figure out what that author would think about the topic †¦ugh. Aches and pains by Quinn Dombrowski, used under CC BY-SA 2.0/Cropped from original. How do you answer this kind of question without causing your brain to hurt too much? You break it down, piece by piece, into a question that is answerable. For the example above, you have to start by figuring out what the future of spacing mining says in Passage 1. How? Look at the sentence(s) referenced in the question (sometimes the quoted word may actually refer to something in another sentence, but I’ll go into that later). In this case, the author of Passage 1 claims that not only will space miners might "[meet] earthly demands for precious metals...and the rare earth elements," "enrich themselves," but they will also "build an off-planet economy free of any bonds with Earth." Now all you have to do find specific places in Passage 2 where the author talks about the implications of space miners meeting demand for elements rare or valuable on earth (vaguely referenced in lines 48 and 51), getting rich themselves (specifically mentioned in lines 57-66), or creating an off-world economy (mentioned in lines 73-78). As you can see, figuring out what an inference question is asking can get you most of the way to figuring out what the answer is. Let's look at the example from above again, keeping the three topics discussed in lines 18-28 in mind. The author of Passage 2 would most likely respond to the discussion of the future of space mining in lines 18-28, Passage 1, by claiming that such a future A) is inconsistent with the sustainable use of space resources.B) will be difficult to bring about in the absence of regulations.C) cannot be attained without technologies that do not yet exist.D) seems certain to affect Earth’s economy in a negative way. To find the answer to this question, use the process of elimination on the answer choices. Do any of the parts of Passage 2 that address the claims in lines 18-28 of Passage 1 support the choices? Choices C) and D) can be eliminated immediately because Passage 2 does not make either of these claims at all, which leaves you with a choice between choices A) and B). While the authors of Passage 2 posit that "Others will suggest glutting ourselves on space’s riches is not an acceptable alternative to developing more sustainable ways of earthly life," they do not make any claims about the sustainable use of space resources, which means that choice A) is wrong. By contrast, after mentioning that "the relevant legal and regulatory framework" for space mining "is fragmentary, to put it mildly" in lines 73-78, the author of passage 2 concludes that â€Å"†¦miners have much to gain from a broad agreement on the for-profit exploitation of space. Without consensus, claims will be disputed, investments risky, and the gains made insecure.† This directly discusses regulation of space mining and how it would be difficult to move forward with space mining in the absence of regulation, making the correct answer to this question choice B). Strategy 2: Look For Context SAT Reading may lull you into a sense of false security, because line numbers are given in a question (so you clearly don't have to look elsewhere). WRONG! The lines present in the question (particularly when it is an inference question) are not necessarily the only lines you’ll need to answer the question - often, more context is needed. If you're having trouble with an inference question because the lines cited aren't enough, the best strategy is to look at the sentences before and after the phrase/sentence/lines you’re given in the question. Sometimes even that isn't enough, and you'll need to know the main point of the passage or the perspective of the author in order to properly answer an inference question. Don't panic if this is the case - if you're struggling to answer the question, mark it in your test booklet and come back to it after you’ve answered other relevant questions (like questions about the paragraph/section the lines in question are in, or even questions about the whole passage). Strategy 3: Answer In Your Own Words For me, this strategy is the key to answering inference questions correctly. If I don't come up with the answer in my own words before I look at the answer choices, I get tripped up by answer choices that include irrelevant information (because I search for ways to prove that they are true) - this is a waste of time and an easy way to get confused. Your answer for "Based on the passages, Lincoln would most likely describe the behavior that Thoreau recommends in lines 64-66 (â€Å"if it . . . law†) as" will probably not be as prettily worded as the actual answer choices, but because your answer should include only relevant and accurate information, matching it to the correct answer should be easier. The College Board knows that you've been trained (via high school English classes) to see as many different points of view as possible and is banking on you getting bogged down in wrong answers that are interpretations that â€Å"seem like they could be true.† Don't be fooled: there is only one right answer on the SAT, and if you start with the right answer in your own words, it’s a lot easier to choose the right answer in THEIR words. But how do you figure out what a phrase, line, or sentence means/suggests/indicates, or what its implications are? Strategy 4:Nail Down Other SAT Reading Skills The skills you need to answer inference questions build on other SAT Reading skills. Take this question: The author's attitude toward pharming is best described as one of A) apprehension. B) ambivalence. C) appreciation. D) astonishment In order to answer this question sucessfully, you need all of the following skills: Vocab in Context – you need to be able to sum up an attitude in a single word Little Picture – you need to figure out what pharming is and when it's discussed in the passage Big Picture – you need to be able to scan the passage to get a sense of the attitude of the author If all else fails, you can use author technique skills to figure out the general tone of the passage (is it positive or negative towards pharming? Which answers are positive and which are negative?) Pulling all of these skills together allows you to successfully answer an examination inference question that asks you "How does the author of the passage feel about pharming?" Nail by Craig Dugas, used under CC BY-SA 2.0. Nail down those SAT Reading skills better than some person nailed down that...nail. Strategy 5:Answer Questions In The Order That Works For You What order this is will depend on the way you read the passage. If you read the passage all the way through, then look at the questions, I'd recommend starting with big picture questions and then going to inference (and function) questions. That way, you can answer questions about larger amount of text while it's still fresh in your mind, and you might get some useful information that'll help you with inference questions. It's also possible that just answering questions in order of appearance might work best if you read quickly enough to get through the passage and have plenty of time to answer the questions, because you'll be less likely to accidentally skip a question or fill in the wrong answer bubble. If you start by reading through all the questions, then jumping back to the passage(s), start with little picture and vocab in context questions (which themselves can require some degree of inference, if you don't know the word being asked about and need to rely on context clues) to get more information about the author and topic being covered, then move on to inference questions. If it turns out you need big picture information to answer a particular inference question, mark it on your test booklet and come back to it later. If you skim the passage and then tackle questions, it's better to answer both big and little picture questions before you start in on the inference questions. Even if the phrases/sentences/lines mentioned in an inference question are in introduction or conclusion sentences (or paragraphs), chances are that more context will be needed than you picked up on your initial skim. Leave inference questions until after you've answered the questions that are easiest to answer after skimming a passage - big picture questions (because they ask about a large amount of text) and little picture questions (because you will have a good idea of where in the passage details might be located). Strategy 6:Eliminate Answers As you may or may not already know, the fundamental rule for SAT Reading is that you must eliminate 3 wrong answers. For inference questions, this can be difficult, because even if you answer the question in your own words correctly, the inference you make may not what they’re looking for. How do you figure out if an answer can be eliminated? After all, you have to go through the text and then match it with these weird answers that have all these different components. That last part, however, actually makes going throught the answer choices to inference questions easier, because if any part of the answer choice does not match with the passage, then you can eliminate that answer choice. Take this examination question, for instance: Based on the passages, both authors would agree with which of the following claims? A) Women have moral duties and responsibilities. B) Men often work selflessly for political change. C) The ethical obligations of women are often undervalued. D) Political activism is as important for women as it is for men. The correct answer must be completely correct. So even the author of Passage 2 would agree that political activism is just as important for women as it is for men, as per answer choice (D), if the author of Passage 1 would not also agree with it then you must eliminate it. For this question, the correct answer, (A), passes this test: the author of both passages would agree that women have moral duties and responsibilities. Inference Questions: A Walkthrough To finish up (and before you get to practice inference questions), I’ll do an in-depth walkthrough with you of a particularly nasty inference question. On the actual SAT, you won't need nearly as much explanation to justify the correct answer - I just wanted to make sure my reasoning was clear. Which reaction does Akira most fear from Chie? A) She will consider his proposal inappropriate. B) She will mistake his earnestness for immaturity. C) She will consider his unscheduled visit an imposition. D) She will underestimate the sincerity of his emotions. Because the question is asking what reaction Akira most fears from Chie, I’ll need to focus on the parts of the passage that are from Akira’s point of view or talk about what he is concerned about only. The question isn’t asking what any other character thinks Akira fears, just what Akira fears, so the evidence should come from him. Here’s the two sections of the passage that are from Akira's point of view or involve him expressing things he cares about: â€Å"Madame,† said Akira, â€Å"forgive my disruption, but I come with a matter of urgency.†His voice was soft, refined. He straightened and stole a deferential peek at her face.In the dim light his eyes shone with sincerity. Chie felt herself starting to like him.â€Å"Come inside, get out of this nasty night. Surely your business can wait for a moment or two.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I don’t want to trouble you. Normally I would approach you more properly but I’ve received word of a position. I’ve an opportunity to go to America, as dentist for Seattle’s Japanese community.†(Lines 31-42)Akira blushed.â€Å"Depending on your response, I may stay in Japan. I’ve come to ask for Naomi’s hand.†Suddenly Chie felt the dampness of the night.â€Å"Does Naomi know anything of your . . .ambitions?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"We have an understanding. Please don’t judge my candidacy by the unseemliness of this proposal. I ask directly because the use of a go-between takes much time. Either method comes down to the same thing: a matter of parental approval. If you give your consent, I become Naomi’s yoshi.* We’ll live in the House of Fuji. Without your consent, I must go to America, to secure a new home for my bride.†Eager to make his point, he’d been looking her full in the face. Abruptly, his voice turned gentle. â€Å"I see I’ve startled you. My humble apologies. I’ll take no more of your evening. My address is on my card. If you don’t wish to contact me, I’ll reapproach you in two weeks’ time. Until then, good night.†He bowed and left. Taking her ease, with effortless grace, like a cat making off with a fish.*a man who marries a woman of higher status and takes her family’s name(Lines 57-78) My thinking: At first glance, Akira appears to be afraid of a few things (in order of appearance in the passage): worried he’s interrupting (line 31, â€Å"forgive my disruption†) doesn’t want to trouble because of his improper method of approaching (lines 39-40, â€Å"I don't want to trouble you. Normally I would approach you more properly†) concerned he might be turned down because of the way he approached (lines 63-64, â€Å"Please don’t judge my candidacy by the unseemliness of this approval†) On the face of it, these are all possible answers (although the question asks what he most fears, so eventually I’ll have to narrow it down a little). But are there any answer choices that can be eliminated right away?A) She will consider his proposal inappropriate.That matches up with the third thing Akira is worried about, so we definitely can’t eliminate that.B) She will mistake his earnestness for immaturity.That doesn’t match with any of the three things Akira is worried about, so it seems unlikely. This is a sneaky answer choice, though, because in a section of the passage we learn that Chie does think he’s immature (â€Å"That’s how she viewed him, as a child†). But there’s no evidence that Akira is worried about this, so it can’t be the correct answer and thus can be eliminated.C) She will consider his unscheduled visit an imposition.This matches up with the second thing on the list above, so it shouldn’t be elimi nated yet.D) She will underestimate the sincerity of his emotions.That doesn’t match with any of the reasons Akira is worried. It does seem like a logical thing for Akira to worry about, but to make that inference is too big a leap, particularly when there are two other choices that are supported by the passage. Plus, the only thing the passage does state about Akira’s sincerity is â€Å"In the dim light his eyes shone with sincerity. Chie felt herself starting to like him.†, which if anything would imply that Chie knows Akira is sincere. Eliminate it!So now I’m down to two answer choices:A) She will consider his proposal inappropriate.andC) She will consider his unscheduled visit an imposition. Since the remaining answer choices are both things that Akira fears from Chie, the next step is to figure out which one Akira most fears. There can only be one right answer to an SAT question, so the correct answer has to be clearly more fear-inducing. One of the reasons this question is so tricky is that figuring out which scenario Akira fears the most requires other SAT Reading skills like finding the detail and understanding the big picture. Here's more of my thinking as I reasoned through the rest of this question: The whole reason Akira approaches Chie in the first place is about the proposal, and the first words out of his mouth have to do with it (â€Å"forgive my disruption, but I come with a matter of urgency†). This detail isn’t the only evidence that suggests Akira is more worried about his proposal than about his visit being an imposition, which would suggest answer choiceA). The bulk of the supporting evidence for the answer to this question, though, requires big picture skills. The main reason Akira visits the house is to tell Chie he wants to marry her daughter. While C) She will consider his unscheduled visit an imposition. is something that Akira fears, it is only a smaller subset of Akira’s fear about the inappropriate nature of his proposal. In fact, the only reason Akira worries about his visit being seen as an imposition is because he worries it might make Chie see his proposal as inappropriate. So in this case, the thing that Akira most fears (and the corr ect answer) is A) She will consider his proposal inappropriate. Can we go for a walk? by Kathleen Tyler Conklin, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. Your reward for completing that arduous question is this picture of an adorable dog. Enjoy! Inference Questions: Practice Time! I've included three medium-level official practice questions for you to...practice...with. Unfortunately, the most complicated inference questions required too much text to copy and paste, so you will just have to hunt those down on your own (perhaps via our complete list of official SAT practice tests?). This passage is adapted from MacDonald Harris, The Balloonist.  ©2011 by The Estate of Donald Heiney. During the summer of 1897, the narrator of this story, a fictional Swedish scientist, has set out for the North Pole in a hydrogen-powered balloon. 1. Over the course of the passage, the narrator’s attitude shifts from A) fear about the expedition to excitement about it. B) doubt about his abilities to confidence in them. C) uncertainty of his motives to recognition of them. D) disdain for the North Pole to appreciation of it. 2. Which choice best describes the narrator’s view of his expedition to the North Pole? A) Immoral but inevitable B) Absurd but necessary C) Socially beneficial but misunderstood D) Scientifically important but hazardous 3. The question the narrator asks in lines 30-31 (â€Å"Will it . . . railway†) most nearly implies that A) balloons will never replace other modes of transportation. B) the North Pole is farther away than the cities usually reached by train. C) people often travel from one city to another without considering the implications. D) reaching the North Pole has no foreseeable benefit to humanity. Answer key (scroll down when ready): 1. C 2. B 3. D In Conclusion Inference questions ask you to deduce, speculate, and examine based on evidence directly stated in the text. In order to successfully answer inference questions, you must make sure you understand the question Look for context to help if the lines/words mentioned in the question aren't enough Answer the question in your own words before looking at the SAT’s answer choices Nail down other SAT Reading skills to help you with inference questions Answer questions in an order that makes sense and is not confusing/disorienting Eliminate three wrong answers What’s Next? Did you find this SAT Reading skill-focused article useful? You're in luck - we have a whole series of SAT Reading skills articles! You can find them all collected here in our ultimate guide to SAT Reading, or you can jump to specific articles on main point, little picture, function, vocab in context, author technique, analogy, and paired passage questions Feeling overwhelmed and not sure what the best way to practice SAT Reading is? Find out how to read the passage and how to attack paired passages. Worried about running out of time on SAT Reading? You’re not alone. Read more about how to avoid getting caught in a Reading time crunch here. Do you find that breaking down questions by skill type and drilling them really works for you? Consider the PrepScholar platform to help you with your SAT test prep! Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Reading lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Monday, October 21, 2019

To What Extent did the Industrial Revolution change Britain essays

To What Extent did the Industrial Revolution change Britain essays I think the Industrial Revolution changed Britain forever. There were many changes during the Industrial Revolution but a few things didn ¡t change. Some of the thing that changed were: h Transport, from walking and horses to trains and boats h Power, from manpower to steam power. h Workplace, from working at home and on the land to working in factories h Were people lived, from rural areas to urban areas h Sales of goods, from selling to local people to selling around Britain and beyond h Industry, from agricultural to industrial Some of the tings that remained the same are: h Workers continued to be exploited h Work was physical, hard and tiring The changes in Britain following the Industrial Revolution made the rich ricer and the poor poorer due to the incredibly low wages and any profits went to the factory owners. The average person had a larger choice of goods, as there was a wider range of products produced and transportation was easier. People could now buy goods made of steel, iron, which lasted longer than wooden items. Coal enabled steam trains and barges. The most important to these changes were the ease at which goods could be transported, those goods could now be made by machines rather than by hand. Without transport goods could only be sold close to where they were made. Moving goods prior to the use of trains and barges could have taken weeks if not months, goods would be damaged and rotten by the time they reaches their destination. The population was growing so much that it could not be supported by the old agricultural way of life. Huge numbers of the population moved from villages to towns and cities looking for work Many things did not change during the Industrial Revol ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Put Adjectives in Their Place

Put Adjectives in Their Place Put Adjectives in Their Place Put Adjectives in Their Place By Mark Nichol Where does an adjective go? It can appear virtually anywhere in a sentence, but the particular placement depends on its particular function. The most common placement of an adjective a word (or a phrase, known as a phrasal adjective or an adjectival phrase) that modifies a noun is immediately before that noun: â€Å"I ordered a chocolate milk shake. It was my first one. It was the most delicious thing I’ve had in my life.† However, the word order is sometimes reversed: â€Å"I left none untasted.† This reversal is typical of more lyrical content (â€Å"She left things unsaid†) but is appropriate for more functional text as well. (Thanks to the French influence on English, some standing phrases include what are called postpositive adjectives. Examples of these expressions are â€Å"body politic† and â€Å"heir apparent.†) When the adjective describes a noun referred to as being a possession, it is inserted between the possessive noun and the noun identifying the possession: â€Å"He stole my friend’s strawberry milk shake! The culprit’s milk shake mustache gives him away.† An adjective, as part of the predicate (the part of a sentence describing an action) can be the last word or phrase in a sentence: â€Å"He was sneaky. However, his guilt is obvious.† It can also, as a participial adjective, begin a sentence: â€Å"Pink and frothy, it’s as obvious as (and just below) the nose on his face.† But writers must take care in matching the object of the sentence to the participial adjective: â€Å"Pink and frothy, I noticed it right away† is an example of this error, known as a dangling participle, so called because the participial adjective’s connection to the subject is tenuous. The subject of a sentence referring to the milk shake mustache should refer to that, not to the person noticing it: â€Å"Pink and frothy, the evidence was obvious right away.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Good At, Good In, and Good WithPeace of Mind and A Piece of One's MindWriting a Thank You Note

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Video analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Video analysis - Essay Example The speaker has a very interesting way of introducing her speech. She begins by providing a real statistics of the world’s population that live in the cities. This serves to draw the attention of the audience as many people are not aware of such statistics. She delivers key facts that serves to prepare the audience on the topic as well as making them aware that she is well versed with the topic she is about to speak on. Most of the global challenges that are facing the world such as global warming, gas emissions, excessive energy use, and poverty among others occurs in the cities and are thus city problems. Therefore the city dwellers are responsible for the changes needed to improve on such poor conditions. Three approaches that can be used to address such problems include engagement, inclusiveness and the ability to live happy and fulfilling lives. Engagement relates to participation in activities such as voting that has witnessed a downward trend in the major cities of the world. Inclusiveness is based on the level of inequality that exists within the cities. The ability to live happy lives has been compromised in the cities by the manner of habitation in the cities. People have become less interactive and not concerned about one another leading to lack of joy and happiness. Steps towards building cities that care about its inhabitants include active participation revolution and collective decis ion-making process on matters such as utilization of resources. Citizens need to come up with their own structures of participation without waiting upon the government to act. Individual initiatives can help transform lives of many people living within the cities of the world provided that we are willing to act. She has employed problem-solution pattern of organization in her speech. This approach is very effective in that it seek to persuade the audience which

Friday, October 18, 2019

The Future of Home Landscape Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Future of Home Landscape - Essay Example This discussion stresses that most contemporary land designers have adopted classy home outlooks with emphasis on the exterior outlook of the houses that are made to appear more unique, natural, and attractive. The incorporation of modern elements such as outdoor benches can be useful as meeting places during hot weather; additionally, swimming pools provide exquisite refreshment zones. Formal and ornamental splashes are used to decorate the house and serve human purposes where individuals experience the feeling of change while in the building. The Lurie Garden is an example of exquisite outdoor elements of home landscapes. Despite the modernization of home landscape, the infrastructure faces major challenges regarding the sustainability of their originality in case the indigenous designer is no longer present to oversee maintenance. Most of the previously exquisite features currently appear to be extinct due to negligence.As the paper discusses  in the U.S., landscape architecture is an inherently ephemeral art form that is adapted for the exhibition.   Home landscape designs in modern cities are utilizing the vast amount of waste to turn trash into treasures through recycling and reusing the wastes for exterior decorations.   The outdoor space is given more attention by designers. It is manicured into front lawns, stone paver pathway, and intricate garden designs.  Prospective landscaping architects are aiming to incorporate more beautiful gardens to remodel the exterior appearance of the houses and reduce wastage of space.

A visit to a theme park, such as Disneyland Essay

A visit to a theme park, such as Disneyland - Essay Example There is need to describe the park based on experience rather than speculation. This allows individuals to plan before physically visiting any park. Age at the Disney world is not a limitation. The theme setting within the park bases on Disney classing cartoons and story tales. The aim is to create an illusion that the actual events in the story tale are true. The Alice in wonderland ride is exceptional. The ride offers children with the opportunity to explore details within the park. The train passes through various stages that offer Alice in wonderland’s experience as written in the tales. The section is based satiated for younger children and the event organizers did a great job in making the ride slower. This offers entertainment and at the same time assures security for the children (Disney, 2015). The rest of the family has a place to enjoy as they may choose a merry go round ride o a rollercoaster ride that offers a different experience from those experiences at Alice in wonderland. Different spots are developed along the classic tales. The entry is designed in to create ancient of what would transpire inside the theme park. The combination of rides and the bouncing castles with music is a positive on the organizers front. The dress code by the assistants within the theme park reflects on the main purpose of the organizers. The focus would be on the public relation in that the assistants at the theme park develop an atmosphere that is based suited for visitors (Disney, 2015). The ticketing services are one of a kind as people may choose different modes of payment depending on their preferences. The theme park cannot be complete without a visit at the Cartoon adventure where your are treated to a Mickey mouse tales and a glance at how these theme parks integrates its cartoon characters to create an entertainment galore (DIS, 2014). In conclusion, a firm or any organization should create its plans in an effort to ensure satisfaction. Satisfaction

Thursday, October 17, 2019

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 48

English - Essay Example Then it gives a list of the site’s contents that also is the steps that you need to take to write a paper. These steps are decide on a topic, prepare an outline or diagram of your ideas, write your thesis statement, write the body with subheadings on how to do that, write the introduction, write the conclusion and add the finishing touches. This site is intended for ESL learners to help them improve their reading skills, but it can be used by native speakers who want help, too. The site offers several famous texts that you can read through to practice reading skills. What makes this better from just reading by yourself is that these are followed by vocabulary lists, vocabulary quizzes, comprehension quizzes and comments. It also makes graded papers available so that users can see where students have made their mistakes. This helps to make the uses of English understandable. This site is a grouping of lessons related to English grammar. There are six major sections. These are titled word and sentence level, paragraph level, essay and research paper level, ask grammar/search devices, peripherals and power points and grammarpoll/awards. Each section has a list of submenus that are appropriate to the main menu and are all designed to help users learn better

Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 9

Interview - Essay Example Jan Fitters is one of the managers of Philips Lighting. In this interview he has discussed his managerial styles, motivational ways, ethical problems etc. All of these things will be highlighted in this essay. The manager, Jan Fitter uses participative management style for managing his subordinates effectively. This is also known as democratic style which helps the manager in establishing consensuses and commitment among the employees. A large number of employees work under Jan Fitters. He is responsible for managing, encouraging and motivating the employees. For this reason the manager has created a good relationship with the employees for understanding them properly. He takes input from his subordinates for developing any business plans and decisions. He always encourages employees for participating in decision making processes. All of the subordinates of Jan Fitters work in teams. Therefore the participative management style used by this manager help the employees in doing their teamwork efficiently. This management style also increases employee involvement and participation in different functions and processes of the company. Jan Fitters improves the communication and co-ordination am ong the employees by using participative management style. These processes facilitate him in developing innovating and creative ideas which help the company in increasing its revenues and sales. While developing strategies the manager takes consent from the employees. By this way he makes the employees feel that they hold important positions in the company and the growth and development of the company cannot take place without their participation. The manager, Jan Fitters of Philips is very efficient in managing and using team projects. He first determines the objectives and the purposes of the team project for making the teamwork effective. He

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 48

English - Essay Example Then it gives a list of the site’s contents that also is the steps that you need to take to write a paper. These steps are decide on a topic, prepare an outline or diagram of your ideas, write your thesis statement, write the body with subheadings on how to do that, write the introduction, write the conclusion and add the finishing touches. This site is intended for ESL learners to help them improve their reading skills, but it can be used by native speakers who want help, too. The site offers several famous texts that you can read through to practice reading skills. What makes this better from just reading by yourself is that these are followed by vocabulary lists, vocabulary quizzes, comprehension quizzes and comments. It also makes graded papers available so that users can see where students have made their mistakes. This helps to make the uses of English understandable. This site is a grouping of lessons related to English grammar. There are six major sections. These are titled word and sentence level, paragraph level, essay and research paper level, ask grammar/search devices, peripherals and power points and grammarpoll/awards. Each section has a list of submenus that are appropriate to the main menu and are all designed to help users learn better

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Review and analysis of Educational Research Essay

Review and analysis of Educational Research - Essay Example The topic of the study revolves around the access factors faced by different employees concerning the learning in the workplace. From the two topics, it is evident that the two studies are somewhat related but completely different. First, the two studies deal with education for mature education, but Swain and Hammond (2011) focus on students in institutions of higher learning while Riddell, Ahlgren and Weedon (2009) focuses on individuals in the workplace. The other difference in the two articles is that Swain and Hammond (2011) try to focus on the individuals themselves and their motivations and benefits from the studies. Riddell, Ahlgren and Weedon (2009) focuses on the external factors that affect the individual, not what the individual feels. According to Brannen, the scope and scale of research refers to the exact areas covered by a researcher, the information presented in the study, and the factors that limit the research. This means that the scope and scale of research include s the lower and upper bounds of a study. In Swain and Hammond (2011), the researchers specifically deal with mature students in Higher education. The authors deal with these students with the aim of identifying their motivations and outcomes for studying part0-time. ... The study focuses on survey data to identify the extent and benefits of workplace learning in Scottish SMEs. The scope is further divided into information intensive organizations and traditional manufacturing and training organizations. Finally, this scope and scale is limited to workplace learning and the benefits derived by the employees for the companies being investigated. Contrary to the research by Swain and Hammond (2009), Riddell, Ahlgren and Weedon (2009) focus on the employer and not the individual. Research in social science is usually different according to the paradigms or extent of research conducted (Oakley, 2007). This means that different researchers aim to achieve different results by focusing on different research methods, mainly choosing from qualitative and quantitative research methods. The two methods mentioned usually differentiate the paradigm used in research, where the scientific theory or positivist theory is used for quantitative research while the constr uctivist paradigm focuses on qualitative research. Riddell, Ahlgren and Weedon’s (2009) background literature is read as statistical based, with emphasis on policies and the Scottish Government objectives of getting adults up to a level of education to create an equal Scottish society. The researchers’ literature reports the European study of lifelong learning as its driver, hence a study on government objectives. It does nevertheless highlight, â€Å"driving national economic growth, whilst at the same time increasing social mobility for socially disadvantaged workers through workplace learning programmes† (p.794) does not justify the government objective. This could indicate the perspective of the researcher could fall into

Monday, October 14, 2019

Debate between Locke and Bentham Essay Example for Free

Debate between Locke and Bentham Essay In a parallel universe, Adolf Hitler was in a court trial for the Nazi partys human experimentation, sterilization program and genocide during WWII. John Locke was the prosecuting lawyer and Hitler invited Jeremy Bentham to be his defending lawyer. Write a report of the trial recording the debate between Locke and Bentham and the courts final judgment. Name: Ma Wai Ching Student ID: 10555573 Lecturer: Danny Leung No. of words: 516 Adolf Hitler was in a court trial for the Nazi partys human experimentation, sterilization program and genocide during WWII. John Locke was the prosecuting lawyer who advocates liberalism while Jeremy. Bentham was the defending lawyer of Hitler who advocates utilitarianism. The Nazi’s party’s acts are said to be torturing and inhumane. This report records the debate between Locke and Bentham and the court’s final judgment. ? John Locke argued that all people have natural rights. So, it means that all people have the right to life, right to liberty and right to property. Besides, the government role is to protect our basic natural rights and maintain social justice. 1 In what Nazi’s Party did in their human experiment, sterilization program and genocide, they had violated the human rights which are inappropriate according to John Locke. In the first place, the human experiments violated a large number of prisoners’ right to life and right to liberty, who are mainly Jews. They were also taking away their dignity. Besides, the Nazi’s Party neglected the willingness of the experimenters who were never informed consent. 2The one who were forced to participate are resulted in permanently disability or even death. For the sterilization program, the Nazi Party applied the eugenic policy to sterilize the one who is considered to be defective person such as mentally-ill, deaf, blind, etc. They applied the policy to avoid the reproduction of one’s member. 3 Since eugenics and racial categorization were in the forefront, the Nazi Party also carried out genocide to deracinate the Jews. He did not only kill them but putting the Jews to die in agony. 4 Locke concluded that all doings which are done by the Nazi Party are said to be invading others’ right. Besides, the Nazi Party abused its power and hence violated the social contract and the social justice. To rebut, Jeremy Bentham argued that what Nazi Party did is just for the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. What the Nazi Party had done in human experiment, sterilization program and genocide are just helping the society to eliminate people who will not make any good contribution. Eliminating the one who is unproductive, it is also helping the government to use the resources wisely. The productive people can help the society in certain means like in economic aspect. When eliminating the unproductive one, it also means some burden of the society can be released. In fact, the human experiment enhances the discovery of new medical alternatives like transplant, vaccines injection, etc. which can also helped in the medical development.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

FTSEs Capital Structure and Profitability Relationship

FTSEs Capital Structure and Profitability Relationship The capital structure of a firm has long been a much debated issue for academic studies and in the corporate finance world. It is the way a firm finances its assets through some combination of equity, debt, or hybrid securities the composition or structure of its liabilities. In reality, capital structure may be highly complex and include various sources. The question whether capital structure affects to the profitability of the firm or it is affected by profitability is crucial one. Profitability and capital structure relationship is a two way relationship. On the one hand profitability of firm is an important determinant of the capital structure, the other hand changes in capital structure changes affect underlying profits and risk of the firm. Traditionally it was believed that the debt is useful up to certain limit and afterwards it proves costly. There is an optimum level of capital structure exist up to that level increasing debt will improve profitability, beyond that it will reduce profitability. In 1945, Chudson carried out an extensive study that implies the possibility of a relationship between the capital structures practised by a firm with its profitability. The question he endeavours to answer was that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“In what way does the structure of assets and liabilities of a firm reflect the kind of industry in it is engaged, its size and level of profitability?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? In 1958 Merton Miller and Franco Modigliani in their famous Miller-Modigliani (MM) propositions put forward the net operating income approach of and demonstrated that the capital structure is irrelevant in a perfect market. It states irrelevant of capital structure in a perfect market to its value, hence, how a firm is financed does not matter. The MM propositions forms the basis for modern thinking on capital structure, though it is generally viewed as a purely theoretical result since it is based on perfect market assumptions those are not prevailing in practice. The matter of capital structure has gained much interest and controversy, since the MM Propositions which assert that the value of a firm is independent of its capital structure. The hypothesis proposed by MM created tidal waves in the corporate finance academia. Different theory such as packing order theory and agency cost theory were proposed. Various aspects of capital structure have been put to test and researched by so many researchers. The question is if the capital structure is really irrelevant in a real market and whether a companys profitability and hence value is affected by the capital structure it employs? If not, why capital structure is relevant and which factors make the leverage matter? Apart from profitability, some other factors such as bankruptcy costs, agency costs, taxes, and information asymmetry are considered in determination of capital structure. This study aims and attempts to extend the knowledge of capital structure and profitability relationship in listed UK companies. This analysis can then be extended to look at whether there is in fact an optimal capital structure exist the one which maximizes profitability and hence the value of the firm. 1.1 Context and relevance of the Study The topic of capital structure has been widely explored, though the study is relevant in the different time period and different context to find out whether the evidence concerning the capital structure issue and its various aspects are relevant to a given set of companies in a given period. Given this significance, current study attempts to understand and research on capital structure and its effect on profitability, of large firms in UK in the present context for a period of five years (2005 -2010). Thus, this study attempts to contribute to the research on capital structure in the recent period for large publicly traded companies on FTSE 100. 1.2 Research Objectives The present study is aimed at achieving one main and two secondary objectives. The main objective is to scrutinise the relationship between the capital structure and profitability of the large publicly traded UK firms and to ascertain whether a firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s profitability is related with its capital structure or not based on the empirical evidence generated. Secondly, this study would attempt and investigate to determine if any optimal capital structure exist among the sample of FTSE 100 listed companies. Third objective is to find out any trend of capital structure being exhibited by the UK companies. 1.3 Research Questions and Hypothesis The above objectives are translated in two research question. The main research question is that whether a firms profitability is related with its capital structure or not based on the empirical evidence generated. Hypothesis The first questions can be presented as following hypothesis. The present study shall be undertaken to evaluate this hypothesis based on the tests of the null hypothesis. H1: The profitability of a company is significantly correlated to its capital structure. H0: The profitability of a company is not significantly correlated to its capital structure. The secondary objectives of this study are translated in the determinant question regarding the optimality and trend of capital structure. The second question, will be discussed descriptively is that, Is there an optimal capital structure exists among or any trend of capital structure being exhibited by FTSE 100 listed companies? 1.4 Scope and Limitations of the Study Scope This is an academic study that would shed some light on the matter of capital structure which has been discussed in various different perspectives since the MM propositions. The significance of this study is that it further enhances the research into capital structure of listed firms in UK. Profitability and Capital structure relationship is an ongoing issue and its relevance may change in different period because of the changes in macro and micro economic factors. For practitioners and corporate finance people such as finance executives, controllers and directors of listed firms, this study is relevant and of much interest to get insight of the capital structure and whether it has any effect on the profitability. Limitations The findings of this study will be limited from the following aspects: This study included only FTSE 100 listed firms on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Hence, its findings were not applicable for all the listed companies in UK. The sample of listed companies for this study included only firms with at least five years of financial data. Firms which are younger than five years or whose five year data could not be obtained will not be included in this study. The study excludes financial utility and other highly regulated industry to avoid any distortions in the result due to industry specific requirements. The cross sectional correlation and regression analysis will be performed using excel formula. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW The various capital structure theories are developed by corporate finance academia for analysing how a firm could combine the securities to maximise its value. The Modigliani and Miller (MM) proposition (1958) were introduced under the perfect capital market assumptions. It refers to an ideal market where there are no taxes at both corporate and personal level, no transaction costs, no agency costs as and managers are rational. It further assumes that investors and firms can borrow at the same rate without restrictions and all participants have access to all relevant information. Thus it provides conditions under which the capital structure of a firm is irrelevant to total firm value. Most of studies focus on the determination of capital structure i.e. to what extent each of the assumptions in the MM model contributes to the determination of the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s capital structure. Many theories such as the pecking order theory, the trade-off theory and the agency cost theory have been developed. Though much attention was not given to one major aspect of the capital structure, which is the impact of the value of the firm. The value comes from the future cash flow i.e. profit of the firm. Thus capital structure affects value of the firm through the profitability and hence there is a direct relationship between the capital structure and profitability of the firm. Capital Structure The term capital structure can be defined as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The mix of a firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s permanent long-term financing represented by debt, preferred stock, and common stock equity.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Van Horne Wachowicz, 2000, p.470) It can be defined as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The mix of long-term sources of funds used by the firm. This is also called the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“capitalizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The relative total (percentage) of each type of fund is emphasized.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Petty, Keown, Scott, and Martin, 2001, p.932) One of the exhaustive and inclusive description was given by Masulis (1988, pl): à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Capital structure encompasses a corporationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s publicly issued securities, private placements, bank debt, trade debt, leasing contracts, tax liabilities, pension liabilities, deferred compensation to management and employees, performance guarantees, product warranties, and other contingent liabilities. This list represents the major claims to a corporationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s assets. Increases or reductions in any of these claims represent a form of capital structure change.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? However in this study, for the sake of simplicity, the capital structure will be analysed in term of debt and equity in line with other prominent capital structure studies and theories restricted to the debt equity mix. Profitability The term profitability is a very common term in the business world. It refers to an all round measurement and indicator for a firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s success. Profitability can be defined as the ability of a firm to generate net income or profit on a consistent basis. It is often measured by price to earnings ratio. The accounting definition of profit can be given as the difference between the total revenue and the total costs incurred in bringing to market the product i.e. goods or service. Hence, profitability had come to mean different things for different people. It can be defined and measured in several ways depending on the purpose. It is a generic name for variables such as net income, return on total assets, earnings per share, etc. though the simplest and common meaning of profitability is the net income. 3.1 Early Study on Capital Structure by W A Chudson One of the earliest comprehensive researches into capital structure of business firms was done by Chudson Walter Alexander (1945) on a cross section of manufacturing, mining, trade, and construction companies in the US from the year 1931 to 1937. Although it has been more than two third of a century, that study is still relevant today as before due to the seven questions which he endeavoured to answer. Out of those questions the relevant to this study are as follows. In what way does the structure of assets and liabilities of a given concern reflect the kind of industry in which a concern is engaged, the concernà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s size and level of profitability? Are there any elements in the corporate balance sheet, either on the asset or the liability side, whose range of variation is so narrow that it is possible to speak of a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“normalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? pattern of financial structure? The questions posed by Chudson could be interpreted into the research questions pertinent to this study which are the relationship between profitability and capital structure, the existence of an optimal capital structure, and also the trend of capital structure being practised by a sample of firms. Chudsonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s research showed there were undisputable relationships between corporate financial structure and the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s profitability. As far as this study is concerned, Chudson had successfully proved the relationship between the profitability of a company with various capital structure variables including debt and equity capital. 3.2 M M Propositions In 1958 Merton Miller and Franco Modigliani in their famous Miller-Modigliani (MM) propositions put forward the net operating income approach of and demonstrated that the capital structure is irrelevant in a perfect market. Accordingly, the first Proposition holds that the value of a firm is independent of its capital structure. While the second proposition stats that when first proposition held, the cost of equity capital was a linear increasing function of the debt/equity ratio. As miller wrote subsequently these propositions implied that the weighted average of these costs of capital to a firm would remain the same no matter what combination of financing sources the firm actually chose. (Miller, 1988) In 1962, Barges tested and evaluated the MM propositions predominantly on the validity of the hypothesis that the cost of capital to the firms is unaffected by capital structure. According to Barges (p. 143): à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“With respect to the empirical methods employed by MM it was found that, under very frequently encountered conditions, their methods will result in tests which are biased in favour of their propositions and biased against the traditional views.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Barges had empirically proved the existence of some weaknesses in the research design and methodology of Modigliani and Millerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s study and concluded that (p. 147) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Thus, on the basis of the evidence presented herein, the hypothesis of independence between average costs and capital structure appears untenable.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Subsequently many studies were conducted with focus on the determination of capital structure and many theories were presented. 3.3 Profitability and Leverage theories Since MM propositions presented, many studies were conducted by releasing MM assumptions focusing on the extent to which each of the assumptions contributes to the determination of the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s capital structure. All these theories explains the relationship between leverage and the value of the firm and hence profitability of the firm. There are various theories in order to further explain this relationship. Nevertheless, these theories are actually based on asymmetric information (Myers, 1984), tax deductibility (Modigliani and Miller, 1963; Miller 1977), Bankruptcy costs (Stiglitz, 1972; Titman, 1984) and agency costs (Jensen and Meckling, 1976; Myers, 1977). Two main theories are the pecking order theory and the trade off theory. Pecking Order Theory The Pecking Order Theory is based on information asymmetry between management and investors. So, the stock price of a firm may not reflect correct value of the firm. Myers and Majluf (1984) and Myers (1984) suggest that management issue the security which is overvalued and therefore, undervalued firms tend to avoid issuing equity. They argue that in imperfect capital markets, leverage increases with the extent of information asymmetry. They provided theoretical support to Donaldsonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1961) findings that firms prefer to use internally generated funds as a financing source and resort to externals funds only if the need for funds was unavoidable. According to (Myers 1995), the dividend policy is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“stickyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and the firms prefer internal to external financing. Firms prefer using internal sources of financing first, then debt and finally external equity obtained by stock issues. Therefore, asymmetric information models seldom point towards a well-defined target debt ratio or optimal capital structure. All things being equal, the more profitable the firms are, the more internal financing they will have, and therefore we should expect a negative relationship between leverage and profitability. The various studies such as Ross (1977), and Myers and Majluf (1984), Harris and Raviv, 1991; Rajan and Zingales, 1995; Booth et al., 2001have supported this relationship that is one of the most systematic findings in the empirical literature. Agency Costs Theory The Agency Costs Theory (Organizational Theory of Capital Structure) emphasize that capital structure was influenced by conflicts between shareholders and managers, and between debt holders and equity holders. Major study into this area was done by Jensen and Meckling (1976) that showed managersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ natural tendency to extract too many perquisites and stresses on self-interested behaviour. Obviously, agency costs would increase as the managersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ personal ownership stake in the firm decreases. This supplied an argument for debt financing and against à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"publicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ equity which was contributed by non management investors who cannot monitor management effectively. Fama and Miller (1972), using agency cost theory, proved that leverage was positively associated with firm value. Firms with longer credit histories would have lower cost of debt. The Trade of theory The trade-off theory is based on the considerations of benefits and the costs of debt. This theory argues that firms optimise their capital structure by trading the tax deductibility of interests, bankruptcy costs, and agency costs. This theory is consistent with traditional approach of capital structure. This theory leads to an opposite conclusion. Accordingly if the firms are profitable, they should prefer debt to benefit from the tax shield. Further as the past profitability is a good proxy for future profitability, profitable firms can borrow more because the likelihood of paying back the loans is greater. However after a certain level of leverage, the profitability and the value of the firm will reduce due to interaction of bankruptcy costs and agency costs. 3.4 Various Studies on Capital Structure As the issue of capital structure gained prominence and interest, a number of studies had been done over the years to explore the relationship between capital structure and a firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s various characteristics e.g. growth opportunities, non-debt tax shields, firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s volatility, asset systematic risk, asset unique risk, internal funds availability, asset structure, profitability, industry classification, and firm size. This study is concerned particularly on the relationship between capital structure and profitability. Most of the studies had concluded that capital structure measured by debt/equity ratio had an inverse relationship with profitability measured by Return on Investment (ROI). Professor Myers of MIT had written in 1995 that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the strong negative correlation between profitability and financial leverageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? is one of the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"most striking facts about corporate financingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (p.303). It is worthy to mention here that the aforesaid studies were the most comprehensive ever carried out in the US. One significant research was conducted by Bradley, Jarrell and Rim (1984) using Ordinary Least Squares method to analyze the capital structure of 851 industrial firms over a period of 20 years (1962-81). They concluded that an optimal capital structure actually existed as proposed by finance theorists. Bradley, Jarrell and Kimà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s findings were supported by El-Khouri in 1989 who studied a sample of 1,040 Companies in US from 27 different industries covering a period of 19 years (1968-86). El-Khourià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s major findings were that there exists an optimal capital structure, and profitability was significantly but negatively related to capital structure. 3.5 Rajan and Zingalesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Study Rajan and Zingales (1995), in their study of determinant of capital structure find that profitability is negatively or inversely related to gearing consistent with Toy et al. (1974), Kester (1986) and Titman and Wessles (1988). Given, however, that the analysis is effectively performed as an estimation of a reduced form, such a result masks the underlying demand and supply interaction which is likely to be taking place. More profitable firm will obviously need less borrowings, although on the supply-side such profitable firms would have better access to debt, and hence the demand for debt may be negatively related to profits. Most of such studies were conducted in US using local companies and hence represents financing and profitability relationship in US economy and might not be applicable in other countries around the globe. Some of the studies conducted in UK as well though changing business and economic environment and time period may have their impact on such capital structure and profitability relationship. Further as discussed earlier much attention was not given to one major aspect of the capital structure, which is the impact on the profitability and hence the value of the firm. So understanding the effect of capital structure on the profitability and hence the value of the firm in the current economic and business environment is the main motivation for this study. CHAPTER 3 RESERCH FRAMEWORK I intend to use two major sets of variables (Ratios) i.e. Debt and Profitability to ascertain the relationship between the capital structure and profitability. The first set includes Gearing ratios Debt/Equity Ratio and Debt Ratio. The other set includes profitability ratios Return on Equity, and Return on Assets. The variables will be analyzed using the descriptive/time-series Correlation and regression technique. 2.1 Data Sample The data used for the empirical analysis will be derived from Hemscott database contains balance sheet, profit and loss and certain Key Ratio information for FTSE 100 companies in UK. For the purposes of this dissertation, I expect to utilise this data to obtain the required variables for all non-financial companies. 2.2 The Model and Research Methodology The following model outlines the framework for research. It consist two major components i.e. the profitability of a firm as the dependent variables and the capital structure of a firm as the independent variables. The arrow pointing to the right indicated the expected direction of causality. However profitability and capital structure relationship is a two way relationship. DEBT RATIO ROE DEBT/EQUITYRATIO ROA The model gave the foundation for analysis which was to explain the relationship among the two main groups of variables. In as much as possible, variables will be selected on the basis of the literature being reviewed. Thus, while this study is expected to give exciting results, there will be direct ties to earlier studies although may reflect the changing requirements of the time. One prominent issue here is the direction of the causality in the model. This research is based on the notion that the capital structure being practised by a firm would affect its profitability. This particular cause-and-effect relationship had been proved in various studies as found in the literature being reviewed. Though it should be kept in mind that there were a number of researchers who had argued that it was profitability which would influence the capital structure (Chudson 1945, Lamothe 1982, Bowen, Daley and Huber 1982). However, it is not within the scope of this study to determine the direction of causality in this particular relationship but rather to focus on the significance of such a relationship. 2.3 Variables In the first instance, great care was taken to define the dependent and independent variables to be used in the descriptive, co variance and regression analysis. As there are several alternative measures of profitability and gearing, only relevant measures are chosen for this cross-sectional analysis. Dependent Variable Profitability is dependent variable in this analysis and two measures of profitability employed in this analysis are Return on Equity (ROE) and Return on Assets (ROA). ROE is the return on equity and is measured as earnings before tax (EBT) divided by ownersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ capital or equity. ROE = EBT/EQUITY ROA is return on assets and is measured as earnings before interest and tax divided by total assets (Titman and Wessels, 1998; Fama and French, 2002 and Flannery and Rangan, 2006). The ratio of earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), to the book value of total assets (TA) ROA = EBITDA/TA Independent Variables Gearing Ratio represents capital structure. Therefore, in order to examine the sensitivity or otherwise of their cross-sectional results to the profitability following two ratios are used in this analysis and defined as: Debt to Total Assets: This is a simple ratio of total debt to total assets DEBT RATIO= TD/ TA Debt to Equity Capital: This is the ratio of total debt to capital, with the capital calculated as total debt plus equity, including preference shares. DEBT/EQUITY RATIO = TD / (TD + ECR + PS) PS the book value of preference shares. Research Plan and Implementation Schedule Research work starts from week beginning from October 4, 2010 and is expected to complete in 10 weeks time. The work is scheduled as follows. Research Plan Week Star Date : 04-10-2010 Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Background reading and literature review X X Research design and plan X Choice of methodology X Gathering data X X X Data analysis and refine X X X Writing up draft X X X Editing final document X X Produce final document X Document passed to supervisor to read X Resources I intend to use following resources Hemscott database for data collection. MS Excel for analysing data. University of Wales online library, internet, and some books on finance. FTSEs Capital Structure and Profitability Relationship FTSEs Capital Structure and Profitability Relationship The capital structure of a firm has long been a much debated issue for academic studies and in the corporate finance world. It is the way a firm finances its assets through some combination of equity, debt, or hybrid securities the composition or structure of its liabilities. In reality, capital structure may be highly complex and include various sources. The question whether capital structure affects to the profitability of the firm or it is affected by profitability is crucial one. Profitability and capital structure relationship is a two way relationship. On the one hand profitability of firm is an important determinant of the capital structure, the other hand changes in capital structure changes affect underlying profits and risk of the firm. Traditionally it was believed that the debt is useful up to certain limit and afterwards it proves costly. There is an optimum level of capital structure exist up to that level increasing debt will improve profitability, beyond that it will reduce profitability. In 1945, Chudson carried out an extensive study that implies the possibility of a relationship between the capital structures practised by a firm with its profitability. The question he endeavours to answer was that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“In what way does the structure of assets and liabilities of a firm reflect the kind of industry in it is engaged, its size and level of profitability?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? In 1958 Merton Miller and Franco Modigliani in their famous Miller-Modigliani (MM) propositions put forward the net operating income approach of and demonstrated that the capital structure is irrelevant in a perfect market. It states irrelevant of capital structure in a perfect market to its value, hence, how a firm is financed does not matter. The MM propositions forms the basis for modern thinking on capital structure, though it is generally viewed as a purely theoretical result since it is based on perfect market assumptions those are not prevailing in practice. The matter of capital structure has gained much interest and controversy, since the MM Propositions which assert that the value of a firm is independent of its capital structure. The hypothesis proposed by MM created tidal waves in the corporate finance academia. Different theory such as packing order theory and agency cost theory were proposed. Various aspects of capital structure have been put to test and researched by so many researchers. The question is if the capital structure is really irrelevant in a real market and whether a companys profitability and hence value is affected by the capital structure it employs? If not, why capital structure is relevant and which factors make the leverage matter? Apart from profitability, some other factors such as bankruptcy costs, agency costs, taxes, and information asymmetry are considered in determination of capital structure. This study aims and attempts to extend the knowledge of capital structure and profitability relationship in listed UK companies. This analysis can then be extended to look at whether there is in fact an optimal capital structure exist the one which maximizes profitability and hence the value of the firm. 1.1 Context and relevance of the Study The topic of capital structure has been widely explored, though the study is relevant in the different time period and different context to find out whether the evidence concerning the capital structure issue and its various aspects are relevant to a given set of companies in a given period. Given this significance, current study attempts to understand and research on capital structure and its effect on profitability, of large firms in UK in the present context for a period of five years (2005 -2010). Thus, this study attempts to contribute to the research on capital structure in the recent period for large publicly traded companies on FTSE 100. 1.2 Research Objectives The present study is aimed at achieving one main and two secondary objectives. The main objective is to scrutinise the relationship between the capital structure and profitability of the large publicly traded UK firms and to ascertain whether a firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s profitability is related with its capital structure or not based on the empirical evidence generated. Secondly, this study would attempt and investigate to determine if any optimal capital structure exist among the sample of FTSE 100 listed companies. Third objective is to find out any trend of capital structure being exhibited by the UK companies. 1.3 Research Questions and Hypothesis The above objectives are translated in two research question. The main research question is that whether a firms profitability is related with its capital structure or not based on the empirical evidence generated. Hypothesis The first questions can be presented as following hypothesis. The present study shall be undertaken to evaluate this hypothesis based on the tests of the null hypothesis. H1: The profitability of a company is significantly correlated to its capital structure. H0: The profitability of a company is not significantly correlated to its capital structure. The secondary objectives of this study are translated in the determinant question regarding the optimality and trend of capital structure. The second question, will be discussed descriptively is that, Is there an optimal capital structure exists among or any trend of capital structure being exhibited by FTSE 100 listed companies? 1.4 Scope and Limitations of the Study Scope This is an academic study that would shed some light on the matter of capital structure which has been discussed in various different perspectives since the MM propositions. The significance of this study is that it further enhances the research into capital structure of listed firms in UK. Profitability and Capital structure relationship is an ongoing issue and its relevance may change in different period because of the changes in macro and micro economic factors. For practitioners and corporate finance people such as finance executives, controllers and directors of listed firms, this study is relevant and of much interest to get insight of the capital structure and whether it has any effect on the profitability. Limitations The findings of this study will be limited from the following aspects: This study included only FTSE 100 listed firms on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Hence, its findings were not applicable for all the listed companies in UK. The sample of listed companies for this study included only firms with at least five years of financial data. Firms which are younger than five years or whose five year data could not be obtained will not be included in this study. The study excludes financial utility and other highly regulated industry to avoid any distortions in the result due to industry specific requirements. The cross sectional correlation and regression analysis will be performed using excel formula. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW The various capital structure theories are developed by corporate finance academia for analysing how a firm could combine the securities to maximise its value. The Modigliani and Miller (MM) proposition (1958) were introduced under the perfect capital market assumptions. It refers to an ideal market where there are no taxes at both corporate and personal level, no transaction costs, no agency costs as and managers are rational. It further assumes that investors and firms can borrow at the same rate without restrictions and all participants have access to all relevant information. Thus it provides conditions under which the capital structure of a firm is irrelevant to total firm value. Most of studies focus on the determination of capital structure i.e. to what extent each of the assumptions in the MM model contributes to the determination of the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s capital structure. Many theories such as the pecking order theory, the trade-off theory and the agency cost theory have been developed. Though much attention was not given to one major aspect of the capital structure, which is the impact of the value of the firm. The value comes from the future cash flow i.e. profit of the firm. Thus capital structure affects value of the firm through the profitability and hence there is a direct relationship between the capital structure and profitability of the firm. Capital Structure The term capital structure can be defined as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The mix of a firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s permanent long-term financing represented by debt, preferred stock, and common stock equity.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Van Horne Wachowicz, 2000, p.470) It can be defined as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The mix of long-term sources of funds used by the firm. This is also called the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“capitalizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The relative total (percentage) of each type of fund is emphasized.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Petty, Keown, Scott, and Martin, 2001, p.932) One of the exhaustive and inclusive description was given by Masulis (1988, pl): à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Capital structure encompasses a corporationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s publicly issued securities, private placements, bank debt, trade debt, leasing contracts, tax liabilities, pension liabilities, deferred compensation to management and employees, performance guarantees, product warranties, and other contingent liabilities. This list represents the major claims to a corporationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s assets. Increases or reductions in any of these claims represent a form of capital structure change.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? However in this study, for the sake of simplicity, the capital structure will be analysed in term of debt and equity in line with other prominent capital structure studies and theories restricted to the debt equity mix. Profitability The term profitability is a very common term in the business world. It refers to an all round measurement and indicator for a firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s success. Profitability can be defined as the ability of a firm to generate net income or profit on a consistent basis. It is often measured by price to earnings ratio. The accounting definition of profit can be given as the difference between the total revenue and the total costs incurred in bringing to market the product i.e. goods or service. Hence, profitability had come to mean different things for different people. It can be defined and measured in several ways depending on the purpose. It is a generic name for variables such as net income, return on total assets, earnings per share, etc. though the simplest and common meaning of profitability is the net income. 3.1 Early Study on Capital Structure by W A Chudson One of the earliest comprehensive researches into capital structure of business firms was done by Chudson Walter Alexander (1945) on a cross section of manufacturing, mining, trade, and construction companies in the US from the year 1931 to 1937. Although it has been more than two third of a century, that study is still relevant today as before due to the seven questions which he endeavoured to answer. Out of those questions the relevant to this study are as follows. In what way does the structure of assets and liabilities of a given concern reflect the kind of industry in which a concern is engaged, the concernà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s size and level of profitability? Are there any elements in the corporate balance sheet, either on the asset or the liability side, whose range of variation is so narrow that it is possible to speak of a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“normalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? pattern of financial structure? The questions posed by Chudson could be interpreted into the research questions pertinent to this study which are the relationship between profitability and capital structure, the existence of an optimal capital structure, and also the trend of capital structure being practised by a sample of firms. Chudsonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s research showed there were undisputable relationships between corporate financial structure and the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s profitability. As far as this study is concerned, Chudson had successfully proved the relationship between the profitability of a company with various capital structure variables including debt and equity capital. 3.2 M M Propositions In 1958 Merton Miller and Franco Modigliani in their famous Miller-Modigliani (MM) propositions put forward the net operating income approach of and demonstrated that the capital structure is irrelevant in a perfect market. Accordingly, the first Proposition holds that the value of a firm is independent of its capital structure. While the second proposition stats that when first proposition held, the cost of equity capital was a linear increasing function of the debt/equity ratio. As miller wrote subsequently these propositions implied that the weighted average of these costs of capital to a firm would remain the same no matter what combination of financing sources the firm actually chose. (Miller, 1988) In 1962, Barges tested and evaluated the MM propositions predominantly on the validity of the hypothesis that the cost of capital to the firms is unaffected by capital structure. According to Barges (p. 143): à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“With respect to the empirical methods employed by MM it was found that, under very frequently encountered conditions, their methods will result in tests which are biased in favour of their propositions and biased against the traditional views.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Barges had empirically proved the existence of some weaknesses in the research design and methodology of Modigliani and Millerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s study and concluded that (p. 147) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Thus, on the basis of the evidence presented herein, the hypothesis of independence between average costs and capital structure appears untenable.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Subsequently many studies were conducted with focus on the determination of capital structure and many theories were presented. 3.3 Profitability and Leverage theories Since MM propositions presented, many studies were conducted by releasing MM assumptions focusing on the extent to which each of the assumptions contributes to the determination of the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s capital structure. All these theories explains the relationship between leverage and the value of the firm and hence profitability of the firm. There are various theories in order to further explain this relationship. Nevertheless, these theories are actually based on asymmetric information (Myers, 1984), tax deductibility (Modigliani and Miller, 1963; Miller 1977), Bankruptcy costs (Stiglitz, 1972; Titman, 1984) and agency costs (Jensen and Meckling, 1976; Myers, 1977). Two main theories are the pecking order theory and the trade off theory. Pecking Order Theory The Pecking Order Theory is based on information asymmetry between management and investors. So, the stock price of a firm may not reflect correct value of the firm. Myers and Majluf (1984) and Myers (1984) suggest that management issue the security which is overvalued and therefore, undervalued firms tend to avoid issuing equity. They argue that in imperfect capital markets, leverage increases with the extent of information asymmetry. They provided theoretical support to Donaldsonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1961) findings that firms prefer to use internally generated funds as a financing source and resort to externals funds only if the need for funds was unavoidable. According to (Myers 1995), the dividend policy is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“stickyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and the firms prefer internal to external financing. Firms prefer using internal sources of financing first, then debt and finally external equity obtained by stock issues. Therefore, asymmetric information models seldom point towards a well-defined target debt ratio or optimal capital structure. All things being equal, the more profitable the firms are, the more internal financing they will have, and therefore we should expect a negative relationship between leverage and profitability. The various studies such as Ross (1977), and Myers and Majluf (1984), Harris and Raviv, 1991; Rajan and Zingales, 1995; Booth et al., 2001have supported this relationship that is one of the most systematic findings in the empirical literature. Agency Costs Theory The Agency Costs Theory (Organizational Theory of Capital Structure) emphasize that capital structure was influenced by conflicts between shareholders and managers, and between debt holders and equity holders. Major study into this area was done by Jensen and Meckling (1976) that showed managersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ natural tendency to extract too many perquisites and stresses on self-interested behaviour. Obviously, agency costs would increase as the managersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ personal ownership stake in the firm decreases. This supplied an argument for debt financing and against à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"publicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ equity which was contributed by non management investors who cannot monitor management effectively. Fama and Miller (1972), using agency cost theory, proved that leverage was positively associated with firm value. Firms with longer credit histories would have lower cost of debt. The Trade of theory The trade-off theory is based on the considerations of benefits and the costs of debt. This theory argues that firms optimise their capital structure by trading the tax deductibility of interests, bankruptcy costs, and agency costs. This theory is consistent with traditional approach of capital structure. This theory leads to an opposite conclusion. Accordingly if the firms are profitable, they should prefer debt to benefit from the tax shield. Further as the past profitability is a good proxy for future profitability, profitable firms can borrow more because the likelihood of paying back the loans is greater. However after a certain level of leverage, the profitability and the value of the firm will reduce due to interaction of bankruptcy costs and agency costs. 3.4 Various Studies on Capital Structure As the issue of capital structure gained prominence and interest, a number of studies had been done over the years to explore the relationship between capital structure and a firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s various characteristics e.g. growth opportunities, non-debt tax shields, firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s volatility, asset systematic risk, asset unique risk, internal funds availability, asset structure, profitability, industry classification, and firm size. This study is concerned particularly on the relationship between capital structure and profitability. Most of the studies had concluded that capital structure measured by debt/equity ratio had an inverse relationship with profitability measured by Return on Investment (ROI). Professor Myers of MIT had written in 1995 that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the strong negative correlation between profitability and financial leverageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? is one of the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"most striking facts about corporate financingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (p.303). It is worthy to mention here that the aforesaid studies were the most comprehensive ever carried out in the US. One significant research was conducted by Bradley, Jarrell and Rim (1984) using Ordinary Least Squares method to analyze the capital structure of 851 industrial firms over a period of 20 years (1962-81). They concluded that an optimal capital structure actually existed as proposed by finance theorists. Bradley, Jarrell and Kimà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s findings were supported by El-Khouri in 1989 who studied a sample of 1,040 Companies in US from 27 different industries covering a period of 19 years (1968-86). El-Khourià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s major findings were that there exists an optimal capital structure, and profitability was significantly but negatively related to capital structure. 3.5 Rajan and Zingalesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Study Rajan and Zingales (1995), in their study of determinant of capital structure find that profitability is negatively or inversely related to gearing consistent with Toy et al. (1974), Kester (1986) and Titman and Wessles (1988). Given, however, that the analysis is effectively performed as an estimation of a reduced form, such a result masks the underlying demand and supply interaction which is likely to be taking place. More profitable firm will obviously need less borrowings, although on the supply-side such profitable firms would have better access to debt, and hence the demand for debt may be negatively related to profits. Most of such studies were conducted in US using local companies and hence represents financing and profitability relationship in US economy and might not be applicable in other countries around the globe. Some of the studies conducted in UK as well though changing business and economic environment and time period may have their impact on such capital structure and profitability relationship. Further as discussed earlier much attention was not given to one major aspect of the capital structure, which is the impact on the profitability and hence the value of the firm. So understanding the effect of capital structure on the profitability and hence the value of the firm in the current economic and business environment is the main motivation for this study. CHAPTER 3 RESERCH FRAMEWORK I intend to use two major sets of variables (Ratios) i.e. Debt and Profitability to ascertain the relationship between the capital structure and profitability. The first set includes Gearing ratios Debt/Equity Ratio and Debt Ratio. The other set includes profitability ratios Return on Equity, and Return on Assets. The variables will be analyzed using the descriptive/time-series Correlation and regression technique. 2.1 Data Sample The data used for the empirical analysis will be derived from Hemscott database contains balance sheet, profit and loss and certain Key Ratio information for FTSE 100 companies in UK. For the purposes of this dissertation, I expect to utilise this data to obtain the required variables for all non-financial companies. 2.2 The Model and Research Methodology The following model outlines the framework for research. It consist two major components i.e. the profitability of a firm as the dependent variables and the capital structure of a firm as the independent variables. The arrow pointing to the right indicated the expected direction of causality. However profitability and capital structure relationship is a two way relationship. DEBT RATIO ROE DEBT/EQUITYRATIO ROA The model gave the foundation for analysis which was to explain the relationship among the two main groups of variables. In as much as possible, variables will be selected on the basis of the literature being reviewed. Thus, while this study is expected to give exciting results, there will be direct ties to earlier studies although may reflect the changing requirements of the time. One prominent issue here is the direction of the causality in the model. This research is based on the notion that the capital structure being practised by a firm would affect its profitability. This particular cause-and-effect relationship had been proved in various studies as found in the literature being reviewed. Though it should be kept in mind that there were a number of researchers who had argued that it was profitability which would influence the capital structure (Chudson 1945, Lamothe 1982, Bowen, Daley and Huber 1982). However, it is not within the scope of this study to determine the direction of causality in this particular relationship but rather to focus on the significance of such a relationship. 2.3 Variables In the first instance, great care was taken to define the dependent and independent variables to be used in the descriptive, co variance and regression analysis. As there are several alternative measures of profitability and gearing, only relevant measures are chosen for this cross-sectional analysis. Dependent Variable Profitability is dependent variable in this analysis and two measures of profitability employed in this analysis are Return on Equity (ROE) and Return on Assets (ROA). ROE is the return on equity and is measured as earnings before tax (EBT) divided by ownersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ capital or equity. ROE = EBT/EQUITY ROA is return on assets and is measured as earnings before interest and tax divided by total assets (Titman and Wessels, 1998; Fama and French, 2002 and Flannery and Rangan, 2006). The ratio of earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), to the book value of total assets (TA) ROA = EBITDA/TA Independent Variables Gearing Ratio represents capital structure. Therefore, in order to examine the sensitivity or otherwise of their cross-sectional results to the profitability following two ratios are used in this analysis and defined as: Debt to Total Assets: This is a simple ratio of total debt to total assets DEBT RATIO= TD/ TA Debt to Equity Capital: This is the ratio of total debt to capital, with the capital calculated as total debt plus equity, including preference shares. DEBT/EQUITY RATIO = TD / (TD + ECR + PS) PS the book value of preference shares. Research Plan and Implementation Schedule Research work starts from week beginning from October 4, 2010 and is expected to complete in 10 weeks time. The work is scheduled as follows. Research Plan Week Star Date : 04-10-2010 Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Background reading and literature review X X Research design and plan X Choice of methodology X Gathering data X X X Data analysis and refine X X X Writing up draft X X X Editing final document X X Produce final document X Document passed to supervisor to read X Resources I intend to use following resources Hemscott database for data collection. MS Excel for analysing data. University of Wales online library, internet, and some books on finance.