Annotated Bibliography On Understanding Genetics Essay

Annotated Bibliography Part ll References Adhikari, A. (2011). Understanding Genetics. Retrieved July 29, 2015, from http://genetics.thetech.org/ask/ask445 Arjun Adhikari is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Stanford University School of Medicine. This article is helpful at explaining the way DNA is inherited and how we can trace our genes back to our ancestors. Agammaglobulinemia. (2014). Retrieved July 31, 2015, from http://umm.edu/health/medical/ency/articles/agammaglobulinemia Dr. Stuart I. Henochowicz was the medical reviewer on this University of Maryland Medical Center web page. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology at Georgetown University Medical School in Washington, DC. This web page is helpful in identifying the cause of the Agammaglobulinemia disorder. Bittles, A. H., Black, M. L. (2010). Consanguinity, human evolution, and complex diseases. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(suppl 1), 1779–1786. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0906079106 Bittles is an Adjunct Professor and Research Leader at Murdoch University in Australia and is the author of the book â€Å"Consanguinity in Context†. M.L Black is employed at the Centre for Human Genetics at Edith Cowan University in Australia. This online journal provides statistics on marriage among couples whom share ancestors. Brice, P. (2010). PHG Foundation | Genetic effects of marriage between cousins exaggerated. Retrieved July 30, 2015,Show MoreRelatedGenetic Testing459 Words   |  2 PagesAnnotated Bibliography: Introduction The increased understanding of genetics, largely the result of the completion of the Human Genome Project, has helped change the face of modern medicine. Genetic testing of an individual can not only help identify current diseases and disorders, but also help suggest treatment modalities and identify potential future illnesses. For example, patients with a family history of breast cancer can be tested for the breast-cancer gene, and, if positive, decide whetherRead MoreInside The Mind Of A Serial Killer852 Words   |  4 Pagesintervention, prevention, inpatient, outpatient, and clinical administering of prescription drugs as well as court required evaluations. Mental health services are vital for understanding violent criminals and the treatment of all mental disorders. There are many Live-in Treatment Facilities to assist individuals in understanding their thoughts and to help them comprehend the results of their actions. These services are important for therapy, convalescence, a nd setback prevention for people of all colorRead MoreThe Human Genome Project Essay1006 Words   |  5 Pagesthe largest biological investigation ever undertaken†[1] which began in 1990 and spanned 13 years. 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Background information on Orcinus Orca †¢ Orcas are very societal and are amongst the quickest swimming sea creatures with speeds up to 28 mph. †¢ Orcas are recognized for their lengthy black andRead MoreMotherhood and Pregnancy1429 Words   |  6 Pagesthe chances of getting pregnant in a month decreases due to endometriosis, uterine fibroids and blocked fallopian tubes. In the book â€Å"Our Bodies Ourselves† it says that later pregnancy can give birth to undernourished baby. This can also lead to genetic abnormalities for the new born baby. Mostly the disease Down syndrome can be caused. Women over the age of 40 generally have diabetes and high blood pressure; higher risk of placental and bleeding. Older women are most likely to develop gestationalRead MorePsychology : Psychopathology And Abnormal Behavior1827 Words   |  8 Pageshand, it can be seen as the expected norm in different situations (Hansell Damour, 2008). Perspectives on Psychopathology and Abnormal Behavior Psychopathology is the scientific study of mental disorders. It also includes ways of understanding their biological, genetic, social and psychological causes that stretch throughout the stages of human development and the way they manifest and suppressed through application of appropriate treatments. Different perspectives of psychopathology reiterate theRead MoreEssay on Does Artificial Human Cloning Challenge Ethical Boundaries?2112 Words   |  9 Pagesunethical boundaries, is currently not safe enough for human reproduction. The causes, effects, and results of making a human copy should be considered to be immoral, if not illegal worldwide. Before the price is negotiated for this procedure, fully understanding the theory of the cloning background, its development through the years, and some of the risks are vital information that is needed prior to passing judgment or whether it should be considered unethical. 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The Secret of Ella and Micha Chapter 22 Free Essays

Micha She looks terrified as hell, her eyes round, and her body is trembling as she says, â€Å"I love you.† My smile breaks through. â€Å"I know you do. We will write a custom essay sample on The Secret of Ella and Micha Chapter 22 or any similar topic only for you Order Now I have ever since the day on the bridge.† She looks confused so I explain further. â€Å"When you tried to leave, I caught up with you and took you up to our spot by the lake to calm you down. When you did, you told me that you loved me.† Her lips part. â€Å"I did†¦ why didn’t you tell me?† â€Å"Because I wanted you to tell me again,† I say. â€Å"When you were a little less out of it. Took you long enough, by the way.† Her lips expand to a smile and I can’t help but kiss her. My body rolls onto her on its own accord, even though it hurts like hell to use my arm to keep my weight off her. She trails her fingers up my back as her legs fall to the side, giving me permission to press up closer to her. It’s what we’ve been doing every night for the last few days, almost reaching the end, but not quite. Suddenly, she jerks back and I blink my eyes open. â€Å"What’s wrong?† Biting on her lip, she sits up and I lean back, giving her room as she slips her shirt and bra off and throws them on the floor. Locks of her auburn hair fall across her chest. Grinning, I move my lips for hers again, but she shakes her head and stands up on the bed, slipping her shorts and panties off and discarding them on the floor. I’ve seen her naked a couple of times over the week – and once when we were sixteen and she left her curtain open – but each time gets my adrenaline pumping. She kneels down in front of me and kisses me passionately, her nipples brushing against my chest. Her body is shaking in a way that means she’s nervous. â€Å"Make love to me,† she whispers against my lips. I’ve been dreaming about those words leaving her lips since I was sixteen. â€Å"Are you sure?† She nods with a sparkle in her eyes. â€Å"Yeah, I’m sure.† I wait a few seconds longer to give her time to back out if she needs to. She remains silent and reaches for my shirt, helping me pull it over my head so I don’t have to lift up my arm. Her fingers run across my tattoo, lyrics I wrote about her, although I don’t think she knows it. Then her hands find the button on my jeans and she unfastens it. Deciding to help her out, I peel my jeans and boxers off. Grabbing a condom from my wallet, I lie her down and situate between her legs. â€Å"Are you sure you’re sure?† I check again. Her auburn hair is spread across the pillow and the light above our heads reflects in her green eyes as she nods. â€Å"Micha, I’m more certain about this than I am about anything else in my life.† Suddenly, I get a little nervous. This is the first time I’ve ever been with someone I’ve cared about and it’s going to be different. Mentally preparing myself, I slide into her slowly so I don’t hurt her. Her legs promptly constrict around my hips and she squeezes her eyes shut. I give her a minute, letting her breathe through the pain. When she opens her eyes again, I push into her further. Her head tips back as she forces air in through her nose. I start rocking in and out of her. The pained expression slowly turns to ecstasy and her eyes gloss over. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Ella At first it hurts – more than I anticipated. I’m wondering what the big deal about sex is, when he starts rocking in and out of me, pushing in further and filling me with him. The pain eases away and all that’s left is hunger. I secure my legs around his hips and open up to him as his lips cover mine. He kisses me fervently and I start coming undone, releasing all control of my body and mind. I let my head fall back as he sucks and nips on my neck and down to my breasts, before returning his lips to mine. Our skin covers in sweat as his movements become harder, thrusting deeper inside me. I scream out his name as a fire inflames within me and everything comes apart. Moments later, his movements become jerkier and then he stills. His head is tipped down and his warm breath caresses my neck. He places a kiss on my collar bone, then on my lips, finally looking at me and smoothing my hair back from my damp forehead. â€Å"I love you,† he whispers with a content expression. I smile at him as he carefully slips out of me. Then he holds me in his arms and we drift off to sleep, relaxed and satisfied. *** I wake up to Micha sitting on the bed in his boxers, playing his guitar, the tune â€Å"Behind Blue Eyes† by The Who. He’s got his head tipped down as his fingers pluck away. Sitting up, I rub the tiredness out of my eyes while holding the sheet up to cover my chest. â€Å"Why are you playing your sad song?† I ask. He keeps singing, shutting his eyes, really getting into it. â€Å"It’s not my sad song anymore.† His fingers keep playing. I tuck my legs under me and kneel up in front of him. â€Å"Since when?† â€Å"Since the night you opened up to me,† he says. â€Å"And it was playing over and over again. From now on, every time I hear this song, I’m going to think of you.† I shut my eyes and listen to him play a little longer, letting his beautiful voice flow over my skin. When he stops playing, I open them back up right as he yanks the sheet away from me. I scream and then laugh as he lays me back down and enfolds his body over mine. I kiss him passionately, giving extra attention to the ring in his lip. â€Å"I have to tell you something,† he says when I free his lip ring from my teeth. The sound in his voice makes me uneasy. â€Å"Okay†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He sighs and rakes his fingers through his hair. â€Å"I think I’m going to go on the road with Naomi and her band.† I sit up, shocked, and nearly bump foreheads with him. â€Å"Did she ask you to join?† â€Å"Yeah, a few weeks ago, but I told her I had to think about it.† He rolls to the side, bringing me with him and hitching my leg over his hip so I’m opened up and vulnerable to him. â€Å"I think this is something I have to do, otherwise I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.† My mind is racing, but I force my voice to sound even. â€Å"When are you leaving?† He traces my cheekbone with his finger. â€Å"In a couple of days.† Shutting my eyes, I talk myself through it. I know I have to let him go because regrets do nothing but eat away on the inside. It’s still hard, though. I force a small smile as I open my eyes. â€Å"Will you visit me in Vegas?† â€Å"Every single moment I get,† he says and seals his lips to mine. â€Å"I promise.† How to cite The Secret of Ella and Micha Chapter 22, Essay examples

Profitability analysis of mergers and acquisitions

Question: Discuss about the Profitability analysis of mergers and acquisitions. Answer: Company and Market Details Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad is a media and entertainment Company operates in the regions of Malaysia. More specifically, it can be said that Astro Malaysia Holdings is a Malaysian and ASEAN consumer and content company (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). In the recent years, the company has taken strong commitment towards becoming a technology-driven business organization in the TV, digital, e-commerce and radio space. The company was established in the year of 1996 and it is headquartered at Technology Park Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The main products of the company are pay television, broadcasting and publishing. Astro Malaysia Holdings has a customer base of 5.8 million that is considered as the 71% of the total household of Malaysia. The company offers vast range of media and entertainment spanning across different digital media, television, radio and home shopping to almost 21 million individuals (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). The major value propositions of Astro Malaysia Holdings includes the broadcast of 188 TV channels via DTH Satellite TV, OTT and IPTV platforms; among all these, 60 includes in the brand of Astro and 72 are HD. Apart from this, the company also offers various other services like HD, PVR, OD, IPTV and many others. In this context, it needs to be mentioned that the main aim of the company is to originate and create excellent content for consumption in the different regions of Malaysia. Astro Malaysia Holdings has won different awards for their different products and services. The company has won Gold Award in the category of media and entertainment of the Putra Brand Awards for the last six years. Apart from this, the company has also won Brand of the Year award and Brand Icon award in the year 2012 and 2013 respectively (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). The mass media and entertainment industry of Malaysia is considered as a major industry of the company as it contributes significantly towards the economic development of the country. The government of Malaysia and the ruling political party control the mass media and entertainment industry. Thus, all the mass media and entertainment companies of Malaysia need to acquire business license from the government of the company and the licenses are required to be renewed at regular period (factsanddetails.com 2018). In most of the cases, the mainstream mass media is pro-government. Most importantly, the media and entertainment industry of Malaysia is subject to various legal restrictions. In 1998, the implementation of Communications and Multimedia Act liberalized acceptable broadcast content. In this context, it needs to be mentioned that various acts like media and press acts, Internal Security Acts, Control and Import Acts and others provide the authority to the government of Malaysia t o put ban on imported and domestic materials in the country. Thus, from the above discussion, it can be seen that the Malaysian mass media industry is sensitive of various legal restrictions that hampers the business of the mass media companies in the country to some extent (pressreference.com 2018). Industry Dynamics and Drivers of Change Industry dynamics refer to the certain means and processes through which changes come in a particular industry over a period of time with the help of various processes and evolutions. It needs to be mentioned that the mass media and entertainment industry of Malaysia is going through some major changes due to the advancements of technology and various others reasons. Thus, it can be observed that there has been a transformation in the mass media and entertainment industry of Malaysia from old media to new media (Zavyalova et al. 2012). In the recent years, it can be observed that the new advanced technology based mass media and entertainment is challenging the old mass media and entertainment industry. After observing the mass media and entertainment industry of Malaysia, it can clearly be seen that there has been many changes in this industry and some major factors are responsible for this change. Thus, these factors are known as Drivers of Change. In the mass media and entertainmen t industry of Malaysia, the existence of some major drivers of change can be seen. It is required for the mass media and entertainment companies in Malaysia to consider these drivers of changes. They are discussed in the following discussion (Kotabe and Helsen 2014). There are four major drivers of change having effects on the business operations of Astro Malaysia Holdings; they are Consumer Behavior, Regulatory Changes, Technological Changes and the Effects of different Macroeconomic Conditions. The following discussing shows how these drivers of change affect the business operations of Astro Malaysia Holdings. Consumer Behavior: The behavior of consumers towards the products and services of the company is a major driver of change (Solomon, Russell-Bennett and Previte 2012). Consumer behavior include various aspects like the willingness to make payment for a product or service, their preferences related to various contents of media, level of interactivity with the company, privacy, genre and many others. It can be seen that all these aspects have large impact on the business model of Astro Malaysia Holding along with their media services, prices, profit margin and others. For example, the consumers of Malaysia have become fond of the e-media; and based on this particular preference of the consumers, Astro Malaysia Holdings has had to change their business model (Schtte and Ciarlante 2016). Regulatory Changes: As per the earlier discussion, the mass media and entertainment industry of Malaysia has to comply with various legislative regulations and all these aspects affect the business operations of Astro Malaysia Holdings (Keane and Donald 2014). This particular driver of change includes various aspects like privacy regulation, net neutrality, various antitrust enforcements, copyright enforcement, censorship, regulations related to advertisement, universal broadcasting regulations and many others. All these aspects have negative impact on the profitability of the company as the company needs to comply with all these legislative regulations. In addition, frequent changes can be seen in the legal regulations and it is difficult for Astro Malaysia Holdings to change the compliance with these regulations on time-to-time basis. Thus, it is considered as a major driver of change for Astro Malaysia Holdings (Pepinsky 2013). Technological Changes: Technological change is considered as one of the major drivers of change having impact on the business operations of Astro Malaysia Holdings. This driver of change includes some major aspects like ultra HD television, flexible screens, semantic analysis, advanced technology of power system, ultra broadband services and many others (Jomo 2013). For this reason, it is required for the company to update themselves with the latest technology in order to stay in the market. This process affects the profitability of Astro Malaysia Holdings as the company has to incur large amount of costs while implementing these advance technological aspects. At the same time, this also brings positive changes in the company as the company has become able to increase their revenue (Hashim 2015). Macroeconomics Conditions: This is also considered as a major driver of change. The major factors of this driver are recession, balance of trade, price of commodity, supply, demand and many others. These factors are considered as less predictable; but at the same time, they have drastic impact on the business organizations of the company (Nor, Ibrahim and Rashid 2013). Evaluation of Financial Performance Evaluation of financial performance of the business organizations indicates towards the overall financial condition of the businesses over the years. The evaluation of financial performance is a useful tool for the investors as they can make investment decisions by analyzing the trend of financial performance of the companies (Brigham and Houston 2012). There is not any exception of this fact in case of Astro Malaysia Holdings. The following discussion shows the evaluation of the financial performance of the company by analyzing the profitability, liquidity, efficiency, debt position of the company along with the analysis of investors return. Profitability Analysis Gross Profit Ratio Gross Profit ratio is regarded as a major tool for the profitability analysis of the companies as indicates the efficiency of the companies in the production and selling of the products. More specifically, this ratio shows how profitable the products or the services are (Dilshad 2013). From the above graph, it can be seen that Astro Malaysia Holdings has 38.33% and 38.34% as gross profit margin in the year 2017 and 2016 . It implies that for every RM of Astro Malaysia Holdings generates, the company earns 38.33% and 38.34% in profit before the payment of other business expenses (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). The above graph shows that there have been fluctuations in this gross profit margin over the five years as 2015 and 2014 witnessed decline in the gross profit. It needs to be mentioned that the main reason behind this fluctuation in gross profit margin is the decline in sales of Astro Malaysia Holdings. It is evident from the financial statements of the company that there has bee n decline in sales in 2015 and 2014 that affected the gross profit margin. Thus, for Astro Malaysia Holdings, some of the major ways to improve their gross profit margin are th increase in sales, increase in the price, less discounting and less competition in price. Net Profit Ratio Another major profitability measurement tool is the analysis of Net Profit ratio as it directly measures the percentage of sales is made up of net income. Most importantly, it also measures the efficiency of the companies in the management of expenses related to the net sales (Hilton and Platt 2013). The above graph shows that the net profit margin of Astro Malaysia Holdings in 2017 and 2017 is improved than 2015, 2014 and 2013. However, in 2017 and 2016, the company has only been able to convert 10.99% and 11.10% of sales in profit respectively that is not good for a large corporation (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). It needs to be mentioned that there is a positive connection between gross profit margin and the net profit margin as the decline in gross profit margin has lowered the net profit margin of the company. In addition, decrease in sales value along with selling price is also responsible for the decline in net profit ration for Astro Malaysia Holdings over the five years. Thu s, some of the major ways for the company to increase their net profit margin are the increase in sales and decrease in labor as well as operation costs. Liquidity Position Analysis Times Interest Earned Ratio The times interest earned ratio is also known as interest coverage ratio and it is used to measure the proportionate of income that can be use for the payment of interest expenses. More specifically, the analysis of this ratio indicates that how many times the company can pay the interest before income tax (Kirkham 2012.). From the above graph, it can be seen that there has been a continuous improvements in this particular ration for Astro Malaysia Holdings (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). In this context, it need to be mentioned that the higher time interest earned ratio is favorable for the liquidity position of the companies. It can be seen that Astro Malaysia Holdings has this ratio of over 4 and it indicates that the income of the company is 4 times higher than its interest expenses for that year. It needs to be mentioned that the company has been managing their debts in an effective way that leads to the improvement in this ratio. However, Astro Malaysia Holdings has still scope to improve this ratio further. Some of the major ways for improving this ratio are increase in the revenue, increase in the total profitability margin and others. Quick Ratio Business organizations regard Quick Ratio as a major tool to measure the liquidity of their business. More specifically, it helps in measuring the ability of the companies to pay their current liabilities in a quick manner. A quick ratio of 2 indicates that the company has twice many assets as their current liabilities (Holden, Jacobsen and Subrahmanyam, 2014). From the above graph, it can be observed that there is a decreasing trend in the quick ratio of Astro Malaysia Holdings from 2013 2017 and it shows the inefficient liquidity position of the company. In 2017 and 2016, the company has 0.74 and 0.91 quick ration and it indicates that the company has more current liabilities than their current assets and the company has to sell some of their fixed assets to pay all of their current liabilities (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). It need to be mentioned that the main reason behind this weak quick ratio is the lack of quick assets like cash and accounts receivable to the company. Thus, s ome of the major ways for Astro Malaysia Holdings to improve quick ratio are elimination of unproductive assets, decrease in the days of accounts receivable and timely review of the profitability along with overheads of the company. Efficiency Analysis Working Capital Ratio It is essential to analyze the financial efficacy of the business organizations and thus, working capital ratio is regarded as one of the major tools for measuring the financial efficiency. The analysis of the working capital ratio indicates the ability of the business organizations to pay off their current liabilities with their current assets (Higgins 2012). From the above graph, it can be observed that there has been declining trend in the working capital ratio for Astro Malaysia Holdings. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, this ratio was good as the amount of current assets was more than the amount of current liabilities. However, in 2016 and 2017, the ratio has become less than 1 that is 0.92 and 0.75 respectively (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). It implies that that now the company has more current liabilities than current assets and they need to sell some of their assets to pay off the current liabilities. It needs to be mentioned that increase in the debt position of the company is the ma in reason or the decrease in this ratio and there is a need for improvement in this ratio. Some of the major ways to bring improvement in this ratio are the sweep accounts for the transfer of funds, paying off the current liabilities and others. Inventory Turnover ratio Another major tool for measuring the efficiency of the companies is the analysis of inventory turnover ratio as it shows the companys ability to effectively manage the business inventory by comparing the cost of goods sold with the average inventory (Chortareas, Girardone and Ventouri 2013). From the above graph, it can be seen that there has been fluctuations in the inventory turnover ratio of Astro Malaysia Holdings. It can be seen that from 2015 to 2017, there has been decline in the inventory turnover ratio of the company. 169.1 as inventory turnover ratio in 2017 implies that Astro Malaysia Holdings has sold all of their inventory for 169 in the year. It is a good aspect for the company, but this ratio was better in 2016, 2015 and 2013 (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). The main reason attributed towards the low inventory turnover is the holding of inventory for too long period. Thus, it can be seen that there is a scope for improvement for Astro Malaysia Holdings. The major ways to improve the inventory turnover ratio adoption of automation system, reduction of costs, increase the demand for inventory, revise in the pricing strategy, elimination of the stagnant inventory, optimization of supply chain, effective financial forecasting, save in inventory time and others. Capital Structure Analysis Debt Ratio Capital structure refers to the distribution of debt and equity for making up the capital requirement of the companies. In case of capital structure, one major tool for the companies is the analysis of debt ratio as it measures the total percentage of debts/liabilities of total assets (Robb and Robinson 2014). From the above graph, it can be seen that there has not been much fluctuation in the debt ratio of Astro Malaysia Holdings. It can be observed that from 2013 to 2017, the debt ratio has been around 0.90 and it is a good sign for the capital structure for Astro Malaysia Holdings (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). It implies that Astro Malaysia Holdings has the ability to pay off all of their debts with their total assets. The main reason attributes towards the low debt ratio is the less dependency of the company on dents in the capital structure. Some of the major ways for Astro Malaysia Holdings to further improve their debt ratio are the issue of additional shares, adoption of the strategy of debt and equity, lease assets, increases in the total amount of sales and many others. Astro Malaysia Holdings will be able to improve their debt ratio with the adoption of these strategies. Debt to Equity Ratio Debt to equity ratio is considered as another major tool for analyzing the capital structure of the companies. This ration shows the percentage of the financing of the companies coming from creditors and investors. In this context, it needs to be mentioned that a higher debt to equity ratio indicates the presence of more credit financing than the investor financing (Jain, Singh and Yadav 2013). From the above graph, it can be observed that Astro Malaysia Holdings has higher debt to equity ratio and there have been fluctuations in this particular ratio. It can be seen that there is a decrease in this ratio in 2017 from 2016 (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). The main reason for the higher debt to equity ratio is the presence of creditors in the capital structure. It also implies that the investors are not interested in investing in this company as the company has not been performing well. The presence of high amount of debts increases the business risk of Astro Malaysia Holdings as the co mpany has to pay high amount of interest expenses on the debts. Some of the major remedial actions for Astro Malaysia Holdings are increase in profitable sales, review of inventory on timely basis, reduction in the dependency on debts, selling the assets and others. Investor Return Analysis Return on Equity (ROE) Return on equity ratio helps in the measurement of the ability of the business organizations in getting profit from the investment of the shareholders. More specifically, this ration shows how much profit each RM of common shareholders equity generates (Heikal, Khaddafi and Ummah 2014). From the above graph, it can be seen that Astro Malaysia Holdings has ROE less than 1 over the period of five years from 2013 to 2017. In 2017 and 2016, the ROE was 0.99 and 1.00 and it implies that there has not been either rise or decline in the return on the shareholders investment (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). However, the analysis of the trend of ROE over 5 years shows that the shareholders have failed to get return from their equity investment. This particular situation shows the inability of Astro Malaysia Holdings to provide return on the investment of the equity shareholders. Thus, it is required for the company to take remedial actions against this situation. Some of the suggested ways to i mprove ROE are exhaustion of business, growth in equity, ensure stability in the business, incorporating effective planning and others. Earnings per Share (EPS) Earning per share is considered as a major ratio to measure the amount of net income earned per share of stock outstanding. More specifically, it can be said that the EPS is the amount of money that the shareholders should receive in case the earned profit of the company is distributed among the outstanding shareholders. It needs to be mentioned that there is a positive connection between ROE and EPS (Driessen, Lin and Phalippou 2012). From the above graph, it can be observed that Astro Malaysia Holdings has very low EPS over the period of five years (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). From the observation of the EPS of Astro Malaysia Holdings over five years, it can be seen that the company has failed to provide the equity investors with any positive return in their equity investment. It needs to be mention that the main reason behind the low EPS is the reduction in the profitability of the company. In addition, negative price earnings ratio is another reason for low EPS for Astro Malays ia Holdings. Thus, it is required for the company to take remedial actions to revive this situation; they are ensure growth in revenue, expansion in the profit margin, financial engineering and others as all these aspects are essential for ensuring the growth in EPS. Analysis of Cash Flows In the accounting process of the companies, the statement of cash flow is considered as a major aspect as it shows how the changes in balance sheet and income statements affects the cash and cash equivalent of the business organizations. It can be seen that there are there are three parts in the cash flows; they are cash flow from operating activities, cash from investing activities and cash flow from financing activities. There is not any exception of this fact in case of the cash flows of Astro Malaysia Holdings. The following discussion shows the analysis of cash flow statements of Astro Malaysia Holdings from 2013 to 2017: Operating Activities: Cash flow from operating activities comprises of net income, noncash expenses and the changes in working capital. From the analysis of the cash flow of Astro Malaysia Holdings, it can be seen that the company has positive cash flow from operating in 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2013. However, the company ahs negative cash flow in 2014 (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). This is the positive sign as the company has been able to generate cash flow from their business operations. It also indicates that Astro Malaysia Holdings is growing in a perfect pace (Call, Chen and Tong 2013). Investing Activities: Cash flow from investing activities shows the total amount of sales and purchase of companys capital assets. From the analysis of the cash flow statements of Astro Malaysia Holdings over five years, it can be seen that the company has negative cash flow investing activities (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). In this aspect, it needs to be mentioned that negative cash flow from investing activities is a positive sign for the companies. In case of Astro Malaysia Holdings, it can be seen that the company has purchased more capital assets than selling them and it is a positive sign that the company is continuously expanding (Lewellen and Lewellen 2016). Financing Activities: Cash flow from financing activities reflects the sales and purchase of stocks and the proceeds from debt financing. From the analysis of the cash flow statements of Astro Malaysia Holdings, it can be observed that the company has negative cash flow from financing activities in 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 (corporate.astro.com.my 2018). It is a sign for the healthy business operations of Astro Malaysia Holdings as it implies that the company is reinvesting their cash inflow from operating activities for the payment of dividends and for the payment of outside financing (Gitman, Juchau and Flanagan 2015). From the above discussion, it can be seen that there are both positive and negative aspects in the cash flow statements of Astro Malaysia Holdings and it implies that there is still scope for improvements. The following discussion shows the remedial actions that Astro Malaysia Holdings should undertake for the improvements in cash flows: It is required for Astro Malaysia Holdings to forecast the cash position of the company on a regular basis in order to make sure that there is sufficient cash for various purposes of business. It is needed for the company to forecast the fact that whether there is any needs for external funding for the business operations. This particular aspect ensures the source and implementation of the required facilities for the business organization (Collins, Hribar, and Tian 2014). It is essential for Astro Malaysia Holdings to forecast the short-term cash flows in an effective manner. At the same time, the company should also require to ensure the effective forecasting of long-term future cash flows. The company is required to forecast the future cash flows at an appropriate level detail as the modeling of cash flow at a higher level of detail can produce poor results and can affect the decision-making process of the companies (Disatnik, Duchin and Schmidt 2013). The used assumptions for the planning of cash flows need to be constantly updated so that the actual trading concisions can be reflected. In addition, they are required to be easy to amend to produce different scenarios. The assumptions are required to be real for the monitoring of cash flow forecasting. In this process, it is required for the company to monitor the variance between the forecasted and actual cash flow (Oler and Picconi 2014). References Brigham, E.F. and Houston, J.F., 2012.Fundamentals of financial management. Cengage Learning. Call, A.C., Chen, S. and Tong, Y.H., 2013. Are analysts' cash flow forecasts nave extensions of their own earnings forecasts?.Contemporary Accounting Research,30(2), pp.438-465. Chortareas, G.E., Girardone, C. and Ventouri, A., 2013. Financial freedom and bank efficiency: Evidence from the European Union.Journal of Banking Finance,37(4), pp.1223-1231. Collins, D.W., Hribar, P. and Tian, X.S., 2014. Cash flow asymmetry: Causes and implications for conditional conservatism research.Journal of Accounting and Economics,58(2-3), pp.173-200. Corporate.astro.com.my. (2018).About Us | Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad. [online] Available at: https://corporate.astro.com.my/aboutus.aspx [Accessed 12 Feb. 2018]. Corporate.astro.com.my. (2018).Annual Report 2014. [online] Available at: https://corporate.astro.com.my/Portals/_default/skins/amh2015/downloads/investor/annual-reports/AMH-AR14-ENG.pdf [Accessed 12 Feb. 2018]. Corporate.astro.com.my. (2018).Annual Report 2016. [online] Available at: https://corporate.astro.com.my/Portals/_default/skins/amh2015/downloads/investor/annual-reports/AMH-AR16-ENG.pdf [Accessed 12 Feb. 2018]. Corporate.astro.com.my. (2018).Annual Report 2017. [online] Available at: https://corporate.astro.com.my/Portals/_default/skins/amh2015/downloads/investor/annual-reports/AMH-AR17-ENG.pdf [Accessed 12 Feb. 2018]. Dilshad, M.N., 2013. Profitability analysis of mergers and acquisitions: an event study approach.Business and economic research,3(1). Disatnik, D., Duchin, R. and Schmidt, B., 2013. Cash flow hedging and liquidity choices.Review of Finance,18(2), pp.715-748. Driessen, J., Lin, T.C. and Phalippou, L., 2012. A new method to estimate risk and return of nontraded assets from cash flows: the case of private equity funds.Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis,47(3), pp.511-535. Gitman, L.J., Juchau, R. and Flanagan, J., 2015.Principles of managerial finance. Pearson Higher Education AU. Hashim, J., 2015. Information communication technology (ICT) adoption among SME owners in Malaysia.International Journal of Business and Information,2(2). Hays, J. (2018).MEDIA AND TELEVISION IN MALAYSIA | Facts and Details. [online] Factsanddetails.com. Available at: https://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Malaysia/sub5_4f/entry-3664.html [Accessed 12 Feb. 2018]. Heikal, M., Khaddafi, M. and Ummah, A., 2014. Influence analysis of return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), net profit margin (NPM), debt to equity ratio (DER), and current ratio (CR), against corporate profit growth in automotive in Indonesia Stock Exchange.International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences,4(12), p.101. Higgins, R.C., 2012.Analysis for financial management. McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Hilton, R.W. and Platt, D.E., 2013.Managerial accounting: creating value in a dynamic business environment. McGraw-Hill Education. Holden, C.W., Jacobsen, S. and Subrahmanyam, A., 2014. The empirical analysis of liquidity.Foundations and Trends in Finance,8(4), pp.263-365. Jain, P.K., Singh, S. and Yadav, S.S., 2013. Capital Structure Decisions. InFinancial Management Practices(pp. 77-158). Springer, India. Jomo, K.S. ed., 2013.Industrializing Malaysia: policy, performance, prospects. Routledge. Keane, M. and Donald, S.H., 2014. Convergence, content industries and media governance.Media in China: Consumption, Content and Crisis (London and New York: Routledge, 2014), pp.200-211. Kirkham, R., 2012. Liquidity analysis using cash flow ratios and traditional ratios: The telecommunications sector in Australia.The Journal of New Business Ideas Trends,10(1), p.1. Kotabe, M. and Helsen, K., 2014.Global marketing management. Lewellen, J. and Lewellen, K., 2016. Investment and cash flow: New evidence.Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis,51(4), pp.1135-1164. Nor, F.M., Ibrahim, I. and Rashid, M., 2013. Exposure to investor sentiment in Malaysia: Services versus manufacturing stocks. Oler, D.K. and Picconi, M.P., 2014. Implications of insufficient and excess cash for future performance.Contemporary Accounting Research,31(1), pp.253-283. Pepinsky, T.B., 2013. The new media and Malaysian politics in historical perspective.Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs,35(1), pp.83-103. Pressreference.com. (2018).Malaysia Press, Media, TV, Radio, Newspapers - television, circulation, stations, papers, number, print, freedom. [online] Available at: https://www.pressreference.com/Ky-Ma/Malaysia.html [Accessed 12 Feb. 2018]. Robb, A.M. and Robinson, D.T., 2014. The capital structure decisions of new firms.The Review of Financial Studies,27(1), pp.153-179. Schtte, H. and Ciarlante, D., 2016.Consumer behaviour in Asia. Springer. Solomon, M., Russell-Bennett, R. and Previte, J., 2012.Consumer behaviour. Pearson Higher Education AU. Zavyalova, A., Pfarrer, M.D., Reger, R.K. and Shapiro, D.L., 2012. Managing the message: The effects of firm actions and industry spillovers on media coverage following wrongdoing.Academy of Management Journal,55(5), pp.1079-1101.

Lifestyle Comparison, City vs Country free essay sample

Data has been collected from several sources such as multiple real estate agencies, fuel stations, transport agencies, mapping sources, grocery markets as well as different social and recreational organizations and conventions, this information will aid me to form my personal opinion on which is the better option. The criteria on which of the options stands to be ‘better option’, will be on the basis of; which provides the best financial outcome. Notes: * This report is taking the assumption that certain material possessions have already been accounted for, EG: * Car, clothes, furniture etc. The car at our disposal for the calculations of travel expenses will be the Hyundai Santa Fe Part Four, Data Analysis: The salaries of dentists in Australia varies widely, as the lowest reported income per annum is an estimated $50,800 while the highest earning dentists are in much larger figures, with $190,000 as the maximum recorded payment. $50,800 + $190,000 = $240,800 $240,800 ? 2 = $120,400~ the average salary, calculated via the values given above. We will write a custom essay sample on Lifestyle Comparison, City vs Country or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This given pay scale can be divvied into three categories in order to better represent and calculate budgets and relevant taxes. To yield more reliable results, the following tax calculations will be made under the assumption that we are earning an average pay of $120,400 per annum. Tax Calculations| | Weekly| Monthly| Yearly| Gross| (Divide yearly pay by 52)$2315. 38| (Divide yearly pay by 12)$10,033. 33| $120,400| Tax | $624. 90| $2707. 91| $32,495| Super| $208. 38| $903| $10,836| Medicare| $34. 73| $150. 5| $1,806| Net Income| $1447. 1| $6,271. 9| $75,263| Tax: $120,400 $80,000 = $40,400~taxable dollars. $40,400 x $0. 37 = $14,948 $14,948 + $17,547 = $32,495~yearly income tax. $32,495 ? 12 $2707. 91~monthly income tax. $32,495 ? 52 = $624. 90~weekly income tax. Super: $120,400 – 9% = $120,400 x 0. 09 = $10,836~yearly super payment. $10,836 = $10,836 ? 12 = $903~monthly super payment. $10,836 = $10,836 ? 52 = $208. 38~weekly super payment. Medicare: $120,400 – 1. 5% = $120,400 x 0. 015 = $1,806~yearly Medicare levee $1,806 = $1,806 ? 12 = $150. 5~monthly Medicare levee $1,806 = $1,806 ? 52 = $ 34. 73~weekly Medicare levee Net Income: $120,400 – $32,495 – $10,836 $1,806 =$75,263~yearly net income $75,263 = $75,263 ? 12 = $6,271. 9~monthly net income $75,263 $75,263 ? 52 = $1,447. 30~weekly income Expenses: Living The following rental prices are taken from multiple real estate websites, with the cheapest price as the main deciding factor. House Rentals| House #| Brisbane Prices| Address| Charleville Prices| Address| 1| $395| 8/53 Edward Street, Brisbane| $230| 169 Edward St| 2| $390| 21/204 Alice St, Brisbane| $200| 164 Galatea St| 3| $430| 460 Ann St, Brisbane| $165| 1/75 Galatea St| 4| $450| 5/204 Alice St, Brisbane| $165| 1/16 Sturt St| 5| $450| 1904/485 Adelaide St, Brisbane| $160| 7/16 Sturt St| Averages:| $423| $184| Recreational A steady amount of $150 will be deducted weekly from our overall income in order to pay for recreational activities, drinks, dinner, take-away etc. Health Insurance Health insurance is a necessity for anyone trying to save money, as it is a safety net if something is to go wrong, and medical attention is needed. Without this safety net, simple injuries such as broken bones may cost in the thousands of dollars, while serious injuries and surgeries will cost exponential amounts. For the best value and lowest price, as suggested by a comparison on iSelect. com. u, the best plan at our disposal will cost $75. 24 monthly, and cover the essentials. $75. 24~monthly health insurance $75. 24 x 12 = $902. 88~yearly health insurance $75. 24 ? 4 = $18. 81~weekly health insurance Part Five, Data Analysisamp; Comparison: Gas amp; Electricity P. A. As evidence from Switchwise. com. au suggests, an apartment style home in Brisbane with 1 bedroom amp; 1 resident average, will result in a n estimated yearly payment of $1646. This price can be altered however via an Origin energy yearly contract, which will lower this expense to $1554 p. . in a Brisbane residential apartment complex. $1,554 ? 52 = $29. 88~weekly energy/gas expenses $1,554 ? 12 = $129. 5~monthly energy/gas expenses In terms of country living, the annual cost of electricity for a house will cost $1520 at the bare minimum. $1,520 ? 52 = $29. 23~weekly energy/gas expenses $1,520 ? 12 = $126. 66~monthly energy/gas expenses Fuel With the aim of keeping this report simplified, the only fuel being analysed and recorded will be diesel. The price for diesel in Charleville, on the date of 13/5/13, is $1. 43 /L. While according to racq. com. au, the average price for diesel in Brisbane, over the course of April, was $1. 48 /L. This difference, although minimal, scales over time and will cause either substantial savings or losses over the course of say, 10 years working the same job amp; same average fuel usages. Transport To calculate the average transport expenses, the car at our disposal will be a Hyundai Santa Fe. The Santa Fe runs on diesel, and has an overall consumption of 7. 3litres/100km. This data divides into 0. 73litres/10km, and 0. 65/5km, to achieve more manageable sample sizes in order to accurately calculate the average weekly usage in both country amp; city environments. *Note: Multiple instances of the home – work drives are extremely minimal, and will therefore not be considered under fuel consumption, and merely an expense of time. Transport CONT: Diesel Consumption: House #| Kilometres| House 1| 1. 12| House 2| 1. 6| House 3| 0. 06| House 4/5| 0. 32| *miles -gt; ki lometre conversion = y X 1. 6 = z 164 Galatea St -gt; work = 0. 7miles X 1. 6 = 1. 12km 169 Edward St -gt; work = 1. 00miles X 1. = 1. 6km 71 Galatea St -gt; work = 0. 06km 16/9 amp; 16/7 Sturt St -gt; work = 0. 32km *Note: to yield an accurate fuel expense, the average distance of the five houses for both city and country will be used, and then a price for a round trip, over five times a week, plus a 20% fuel allowance for other travelling needs. Country: 1. 12km + 1. 6km = 2. 72km 2. 72 / 2 = 1. 36km 1. 36~travel distance home to work 1. 36 x 2 = 2. 72km 2. 72km x 5 = 13. 6km ~home to work amp; back, five days 13. 6 x 0. 20 = 2. 72km~fuel allowance, for other travelling needs 2. 72 + 13. 6 16. 32km~weekly travel distance 16. 32% of 100km, therefore 16. 32% of ($1. 43 x 7. 3L=$10. 43 (price for 100km worth of fuel)) $10. 43 10. 43 x 0. 1632 = $1. 70~weekly fuel expense House #| Km to work| House 1| 5. 44km| House 2| 5. 12km| House 3| 6. 72km| House 4/5| 7. 04km| City: *miles -gt; kilometre conversion = y X 1. 6 = z 53 Edward St -gt; work = 3. 4miles X 1. 6 = 5. 44km 21/204 amp; 5/204 Alice St -gt; work = 3. 2miles X 1. 6 = 5. 12km 460 Ann St -gt; work = 4. 2miles X 1. 6 = 6. 72km 485 Adelaide St -gt; work = 4. 4miles X 1. 6 = 7. 04km 5. 44 + 5. 12 + 6. 2 + 7. 04 = 24. 32 24. 32 / 4 = 6. 08km~average distance to work 6. 08 x 2 = 12. 16 12. 16 x 5 = 60. 8~home to work distance, five times per week 60. 8 x 0. 2 = 12. 16km~weekly fuel allowance 60. 8 + 12. 16 = 72. 96km~weekly fuel consumption 72. 96km = 72. 96% of 100km 72. 96% of ($1. 43 x 7. 3L=$10. 43 (price for 100km worth of fuel)) $10. 43 10. 43 x 0. 7296 = $7. 60~weekly fuel expense Grocery Essentials *The following are the prices of food essentials at the lowest offered price in their respective stores and locations, without factoring in any limited special offers.

Political Science- Democratic Theory of Peace

Political Science- Democratic Theory of Peace PAGE The Theory of Democratic PeaceThe theory of democratic peace argues that nation-states governed by democratic regimes do not tend to have conflicts with other democratic countries. This theory suggests that democracies never or rarely go to war with each other. Political scientists debate this theory and express opposing viewpoints to the question: do democracies fight each other?Among the proponents of the theory, several explanations have been offered for it: First, democracies are said to view non-democracies as threatening making it more likely to go to war with them; unlike a fellow democratic nation where a conflict would be solved peacefully. War is often considered to be inconsistent with democratic values. Democracies do not fight one another because it is morally and ethically the wrong thing to do. Second, democratic leaders must answer to its voters. This policy gives leaders an incentive to seek peaceful resolutions. Third, democratic nation-states are often more we ll off or wealthier than non-democratic nations.Originally from en.wikipedia; description page is/...Wealthier nations tend to avoid war because there is more to lose. And fourth, democracies trade heavily with each other making the will to go to war less likely. There would be no real gain for either nation. Also, in their foreign relations, nations will try to follow the same norms of conflict that characterize their domestic political processes. They expect the other side to resolve disputes through compromise and nonviolence.Thomas Paine appears to be the first person to describe the theory of democratic peace in Common Sense, written in 1776. Paine re. According to Paine Kings would declare war to in an effort to command respect and republics would not. In 1795, Immanuel Kant suggested the theory of democratic peace in his essay, Perceptual Peace. Kant believed that republics lack aggressors and that governments...

90s vs. 2000s

Both decades are different in that the 1990’s had less technology, kids were well behaved and it was a more peaceful time; the 2000’s now have all kinds of technology, everyone has to have the newest phone or computer, a lot of kids are brats who want the newest video games and there’s a lot of security at places like airports because of so many terrorist attacks. The technology difference from both decades is huge, because all there was back then was vhs, cassette, and standard cable with 50 channels or so, a couple different types of cellular phones, dial up computers and so on. With technology today, everyone has a cell phone, most people have some type of computer or lap top, there are blu ray and DVD players, either cable or satellite television with high definition, smart phones with touch screens, high speed broadband, and cars that can tell someone when there veering onto a side lane. Next is a big difference which is how different children act whether it is to adults, each other, or in public. In the 1990’s most kids had parents who were physically able to play with them; kids were creative and found so many different games or activities to do’ they were respectful to whomever they came into contact with because they were raised well. Now when looking at most children they either are crying in public with their parents screaming at them, playing on their parents’ phone or tablet, prefer to stay in the house to play video games online, and most parents don’t play with their kids anymore because they are either too hung up on their laptop or too tired from being fat. Finally going back to the 90’s everyone felt safer or not worried about some kind of terrorist attack like people do now. Back then airports didn’t need so much security; people didn’t have to worry about a crazy person shoot up a movie theatre or mall. Now on weekends certain malls require teens under age 18 to be accompanied by an adult over the age of 21 because of gang violence over the years. These decades differences are very different, but are only a few contrasts between the two decades. The music and social era between these two decades is another difference. In the 90’s was an era that was mainly dominated by rock and booming hip hop music industry. This music was brought on to people with baggy or tight fitted clothing. People would walk around with their cassette players jamming out to their new favorite artist. Now in the 2000’s people mainly listen to their iPods or phones because it’s easiest to acquire music that way via wireless connection from the Internet. They also listen to rap or pop because everyone is about what’s mainstream and popular. People like to wear tighter and shorter fitting clothing now because that’s also what the popular fashion is. People in the 90’s communicated through telephone or just drove or walked to each other’s house to talk or do something. Now people rely on texting each other to find out where they are located and what they want to do rather than going to each other’s house, or calling because it’s not the same type of communication; a lot has changed. Technology and music has definitely made a huge impact on how people socialize and act. Overall I think the 90’s was a great era filled with a lot of memories and seeing a lot of changes happens. It was great being able to also grow up into the 2000’s because that was when technology really started to grow and so much was happening with the world. The advantages and disadvantages of growing up in each era are very different mainly because of all the changes, but a lot of them were good and some were bad. References The 1990’s. (2013). History of the 90’s. Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/1990s The 2000’s. (2012). Americas best history – U. S. Timeline 2000’s. Retrieved from http://americasbesthistory. com/abhtimeline2000. html

The 4 Classical Activities in Client Relationship Management Assignment

The 4 Classical Activities in Client Relationship Management - Assignment Example This paper illustrates that through market orientation, value creation, and use of innovative IT, a firm is able to increase the number of first-time customers. After the purchase of a given product, the business heads for the second goal, retaining the clients. Customer retention is an imperative part of running a business. If customers do not become loyal clients, it becomes difficult to have referrals to the business and even more difficult to make predictions on demand. In other words, a firm must adopt strategies that help retain the customers who already made a purchase. While most customers would come back to buy the same product if they trust the seller as the best dealer of a particular merchandise, customers may come back for other goods and services, which brings about the third classical activity of CRM, extension. In customer extension, customers must be return customers first. This way, they return to buy products they have purchased before from which the firm introduce s them to other products and services. Sometimes the products may not even relate to those they had purchased before. The goal of a firm is to retain them as loyal customers offering them as diverse products as possible. Customer selection, lastly, involves knowing who the target is, what value they bring to the firm’s objectives, their life cycle, and where to find the customers. Without this knowledge, a firm may not make proper decisions in marketing and so on.

Practical Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Practical - Assignment Example First, it is vital to note that these concerts bear naming scheme and their duration may only be within 2, 3, 4, or 5 hours. The concerts have to fall in three broad categories too. These categories are classical, rock, or pop and all of them have a minimum ticket cost varying from  £25 and  £450. These are scenarios recorded for purposes of having a consistency in data. The consistency that arose from the definitions laid bare by the anticipation of data to be collected here is what leads to the springing up of tables. Secondly, to keep the data collected in check, both in complexity and in quantity, the aspect of the concerts being scheduled and are in a repeated run makes it much easier in the database logic streamline. The events are in a variety of venues but the way that they are set up eases the schematics of the database due the recurring nature of the tables needed. The opportunities in reusing the tables and the design schemas made the work easier and the time saved was key in coming up with the best solution possible for the Concert Office database. In the analysis, stage we figured out that â€Å"REUNION† concert was one that could run in a multiple venues. This type of a scenario often anticipated a lot in the future hence the schema had to accommodate this scenario. After the design accommodating the scenario in the logic, then at least data has to be analysed to ensure maintenance in consistency. The runs that catered for here are what the team at The Concert Office term as events. The dates associated by each of the event and the venues around the UK have to be recorded. Recording is dependent on a proper datasheet and well-foreseen data collection. This scenario demands that customer’s book onto the events. The company will then need to capture the details of these customers. Still, on the requirements analysis stage, the anticipation was

Fast Food Nation Essay Example for Free

Fast Food Nation Essay The growth of the fast food industry over the past few decades into what it is today is an undeniable phenomenon that has occurred in an alarmingly rapid pace. The fact of the matter is it seems that a person has a very realistic chance of finding a McDonalds within a 4 mile radius of any household in the country, it is also arguable that this is already the case for the world as well, and if not now then very soon indeed. According to an article â€Å"Good Home CookingRight off the Assembly Line,† by James Bone on the Times Online Web site said, â€Å"only one-third of Americans cook meals from scratch†, meaning with fresh ingredients. Bone also reports that â€Å"Americans spend only thirty minutes cooking dinner, compared with 2-1/2 hours in the 1960s†. In his book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser says, â€Å"one-quarter of Americans eat in a fast-food restaurant each day† (3). Why are Americans eating so much fast food? The answer is simple: they are willing to trade quality for speed. While Americans may be attracted to food that is fast and easy, they are missing some important benefits of slowing down. In fact, Americans’ obsession with fast food is hurting not only their health but also the quality of their lives. The main reason that Americans are getting take-out food and cooking prepared meals is obvious: they don’t have enough time. Bone said â€Å"in more than two-thirds of households in America, two people are working†. People with demanding work schedules have little time for food shopping and cooking. Another reason that mealtime has become so short is that many younger adults grew up in what one might call a fast-food culture. In the past fifty years, inventions such as televisions, fax machines, and computers have increased the pace of life. At the same time, microwave ovens, drive-through restaurants, and TV dinners have changed the way Americans eat. Many people now prefer to eat quickly, even in their cars or in front of the television, instead of taking time to cook a meal and sit at the table. In this culture of instant gratification, people don’t think food is important enough to spend much time on. Even though Americans think that they are saving time and improving their lives by eating precooked and prepackaged food, their obsession with fast food is causing the quality of their lives to go down. Fast food doesnt contain the nutrients your body needs to stay healthy. They have lots of preservatives, fat, sugar, and salt to hide the fact that they are not fresh. As a result, people may feel chronically fatigued and lack the energy they need to complete daily tasks. If people do not eat fresh foods that provide necessary vitamins and minerals, they may become tired and sick, and they will miss out on opportunities to enjoy their lives. Another serious health concern is obesity. There is an obesity epidemic in America today, especially with young person, that is related to the way people are eating. According to Schlosser, â€Å"the rate of obesity among American children is twice as high as it was in the late 1970s† (240). Obesity can lead to many health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. In The Link Between Fast Food And The Obesity Epidemic. Dustin Frazier writes, â€Å"deaths due to poor diet and physical inactivity increased 33 percent over the past decade†. It cites a study concluding that, â€Å"poor diet and physical inactivity may soon overtake tobacco as the leading cause of death in this country†. Certainly, if fast food causes people to become obese, and then obesity causes them to get sick or die, fast food cannot be considered â€Å"improvement† in Americans’ lives. Even though Americans may think they are saving time and improving their lives by eating fast food, they will actually have healthier and more enjoyable lives if they change the way they cook and eat. Making dinner from scratch is much healthier than getting burgers and fries from a fast-food restaurant. And people get more than just a full stomachthey get more time with family and friends and a good feeling from creating something healthy. People should learn to choose fast food carefully and remember the pleasure of eating good food in good company. Work Cited Bone, James. â€Å"Good Home CookingRight off the Assembly Line. † TimesOnline 27 Mar. 2006. 9 Oct. 2006http://www. timesonline. co. uk/article/0,,11069-2105427,00. html. Frazier, Dustin A. The Link Between Fast Food And The Obesity Epidemic. Health Matrix: journal Of Law-Medicine 17. 2 (2007): 291-317. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Sept. 2012. Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. New York, NY: Perennial, 2002. Print.

Complexity and Ambiguity of Haircut :: Haircut

Complexity and Ambiguity of Haircut      Ã‚  Ã‚   Many critical commentators have pointed out that Ring Lardner's best work was done in the field of satiric comedy. Sometimes his work was more satirical than comic, and sometimes vice versa. His short story, "Haircut," is definitely an exponent of the former, because within the satire of Haircut are some undoubtedly repulsive and tragic elements. The story concerns the events in a small unnamed Michigan town as told by a barber while he is cutting a client's hair. He tells of the death of Jim Kendall, a practical joker whose comedy and other actions leave virtue much desired, and who is killed by a supposedly accidental shooting during a hunt. The only clear theme of the story involves the satirizing of smug small town values, portrayed through Whitey's narration. In this paper I will show how the character of the barber illustrates these deficient values, and how these set the stage for a traditional interpretation of "Haircut" -- one where Jim is deserving of his fate. Finally, I will contrast this interpretation with other critical interpretations, which argue that Lardner's purpose is not so clear, but obfuscated by ambiguity.    The Small Town Barber and Traditional Interpretation From the outset of the story we observe the uneducated and unintelligent qualities of the barber, whose name we learn is "Whitey." His muddled language, full of diction and syntax errors, immediately make the reader skeptical of his reliability. In the opening sentences, for example, Whitey says "You can see for yourself that this ain't no New York City and besides that, the most of the boys works all day and don't have no leisure to drop in here and get themselves all prettied up." The conversational language of the small town, filled with slang and bad pronunciation, riddles the entire narration. Whitey says, "I bet they was more laughin' done here than any town its size in America," and "he'd be settin' in this chair part of the time," and she'd divorced him only they wasn't no chance to get alimony and she didn't have no way to take care of herself and the kids."    This suspicion of Whitey's trustworthiness and character is further characterized by his interpretations of events.

Revenge in the Great Expectations Essay

Revenge is a primary theme in the novel Great Expectation by Charles Dickens. In this novel, many characters go out of their way to extract revenge, leading them to misfortunes such as death and imprisonment. Dickens makes it very clear that nothing positive can come from revenge through his characters and the results that come from their revenge. These acts range from petty resentment filled with passion, to long and drag out strife laced with malice, to lifelong vendettas driven by hatred. Revenge comes in many forms—and for Orlick, his was the sort of petty resentment filled with passion, rather than stone cold hatred. In the novel, Orlick acts as the main antagonist; he is described as tardy, as Pip explained: â€Å"he was†¦never in hurry, and always slouching.† (102), and hostile, by telling Pip that â€Å"the Devil lived in a black corner of the forge†¦and it was necessary to make a fire once in seven years with a live boy and I might consider myself fuel.† (102). Orlick was also abusive due to his outburst at Mrs Gargery when she pose her opinion on the fact that Joe was letting both Pip and Orlick have a half-holiday by saying â€Å"I’d hold you, if you was my wife. I’d hold you under the pump and choke it out of you.† Despite being mere words, from that moment on; Orlick held a grudge on both Pip and Mrs Gargery. Orlick resented Mrs Gargery for her attitude towards him. And he resented Pip for having everything Orlick wanted; at the forge, Pip was favoured and Orlick was â€Å"bullied and beat.† In Orlick’s eyes Pip â€Å"was always in Old Orlick’s way since ever you was a child.† (388) This tempts him into extracting revenge, by assaulting Mrs Gargery, he justifies his actions by telling Pip that â€Å"it was done through you,† (389) Orlick blames Pip for his misfortunes, and hates Pip to the extent that he attempted to murder him. Orlick says â€Å"I’m a going to have your life!† (388) this is an allegory—and has two meanings: one literal, and one figurative. Orlick literally wants to take Pip’s life, and kill him, depositing of his body so no one would ever know of his crime. However on the other hand, Orlick figuratively wants Pip’s life—his resentment of Pip comes from his jealousy. Orlick wishes to have Pip’s life, to be favoured, to be liked, to be a gentleman. But when his plans of killing Pip fails, and Orlick resorts  to breaking into Pumblechook’s house, and robs and beats him, h e is ultimately caught and imprisoned—this reveals the result of obtaining revenge, and how it will lead only to misfortunes. Nothing good can come from revenge as shown by Orlick’s eventual destination: prison. Like Orlick, Magwitch wishes to extract his revenge as well—which is a long dragged out strife between him and Compeyson. Magwitch loathes Compeyson for setting him up as a scrape goat in their trial. Because Compeyson looked like a gentleman he had a more lenient punishment than Magwitch—who faced most of the blame for both of their crimes. Due to this, Magwitch has sworn to â€Å"smash that face of his (Compeyson’s), and I swore Lord smash mine! To do it.† (322) Magwitch was willing to give up anything, and everything to get his revenge on Compeyson. He wanted Compeyson to face his wrath and feel his suffering; Magwitch was willing to give up his chance of freedom in doing so. He could’ve â€Å"got clear of these death-cold flats likewise—if I hadn’t made discovery that he was here.† (34) In the beginning of the novel, Pip meets the escaped convict—later introduced as Magwitch, who had filed down his leg iron to the point where he could’ve broken it off, and flee from the marshes—but when he had heard Compeyson had escaped as well, he gave up his freedom, to search for Compeyson. The guards, along with Pip and Joe later found Compeyson and Magwitch in a ditch—fighting each other. Magwitch gave up his chance to flee, and forsake his freedom in the name of revenge and was dragged back to the prison alongside Compeyson. Which begs the question, what is the result of chasing revenge? Magwitch was then sentenced to imprisonment for the rest of his life—where upon if he ever escaped again, he’d face the death sentence. Magwitch is sent off to New South Wales, where he worked several jobs—and made a handsome amount of money all of which he sent to Pip through Jaggers anonymously. It isn’t until later in the novel does Magwitch sneaks back to England as an escaped convict, under an alias and he reveals to Pip that he is Pip’s benefactor. Pip’s discovery makes him very discontent but later realizes the only way to get Magwitch out of his life is to help him escape England, on a boat. However again on his journey to fredoom Magwitch is faced with the same dilemma, when their steam boat is intercepted by another boat and Compeyson is on it. Magwitch is forced to choose between freedom and revenge; and he again chooses the latter, tackling Compeyson, they both sink into the water—only Magwitch comes up. As  expected, Magwitch is sentenced to death—immediately, only his sentence is delayed when he is stricken by illness. At this point, Magwitch’s death is ascertained, either he was going to die of illness or he was going to die at his sentence. This was the result of Magwitch’s actions; by choosing revenge over all else—not just once, but twice. These results help emphasis that revenge is nothing more than a gateway to misfortunes, and in Magwitch’s case that gate way is to death. Miss Havisham faces a lifelong vendetta driven by her hatred of all mankind. This vendetta of her, twists her personality in cruel, sadistic and vicious ways. Out of all the characters in this novel, Miss Havisham is less active in her campaign of revenge—but she holds the longest and most pure revenge. Miss Havisham achieves her revenge through her adoptive daughter Estella. Estella is never given the opportunity to forge her own ideas and personality—instead she is objectified into a young and beautiful tool, used exclusively for avenging Miss Havisham’s broken heart. There are many instances of Miss Havisham’s cruel and sardonic personality revealed through the words she says and her actions and responses to Pip. In the beginning of the novel, she has asked Estella to play with Pip, but she refuses to play with such a common boy—in return Miss Havisham says â€Å"Well, you can break his heart.† (54) She says it in a way that makes the human heart seem almost like a toy that can be easily broken and would be irrelevant if it did so. This demonstrates Miss Havisham’s view on men, and how th ey should have their hearts broken as she once did—and how she’s trained Estella to do. Miss Havisham gains much pleasure from the discomfort and humiliation of men, she has no problem hurting anyone in order to extract her revenge—not even Pip is spared, someone who had done nothing to often her, beside be born the wrong gender. Miss Havisham lets Pip believe that she was his benefactor and that Estella was his, but when this was proven untrue and Pip confronts her she says â€Å"Yes†¦I let you go on†¦ [but] who am I, for God’s saje, that I should be kind!† This shows Miss Havisham’s view on life; she wonders why it is that she should be kind, when the world hasn’t been kind to her. Why should she be nice, when the world hasn’t been nice to her. Why she should love, when the world hasn’t loved her. This idea of hers later becomes the very idea that eventually destroys her. Miss Havisham lives through Estella, she gains pleasure from seeing men swoon and pursuit Estella’s attention. She  enjoys decorating Estella in jewel—almost like she was a doll to be shown off, not at all like a daughter. However, her actions lead to many consequences—because of her lack of affection for Estella, Estella then grows up to be a â€Å"beautiful creature† rather than a human. Estella claims that she has no heart so she cannot show anyone love, not even Miss Havisham, who craved attention and love. This outrages Miss Havisham, how could her own daughter not love her? The answer was simple, â€Å"I am what you have made me. Take all the praise, take all the blame; take all the success, take all the failure, in short, take me.† (277) Estella reveals the nature of their relationship, for her entire life Miss Havisham has only learned to take, and never had she given, she lived a selfish life—and was intent on acquiring revenge. She took the happiness away from Pip, she took away Estella’s humanity and replaced it with a cold, hard, and beautiful exterior, and mostly she took away her own life. Miss Havisham froze in time, the moment she decided to avenge herself, and she gave away her life, her emotions and feelings all in the name of revenge. Like the clocks in her house, everything was frozen in Miss Havisham—because she wanted nothing more than to see other suffer as she did. Only in doing this, she forced herself to suffer even more. Miss Havisham eventually dies—alone, and unloved. This shows the result of pursuing revenge as obsessively as Miss Havisham did; in return all she had left was a ruined estate, a monster for a daughter, relatives who were after her wealth, and a life time of sorrow. Throughout this novel, Dicken’s idea and opinion revolving around revenge becomes quite clear. It is evident that nothing good can come of revenge; and misfortunes befall those who attempt to achieve it. Dickens makes an example out of his characters, to illustrate the aftereffect of being consumed by revenge—and acting upon its temptation. Nothing good can come from trying to avenge oneself, no matter how small or large the act is: the results will all be the same.

The Airline Industry Pre and Post 9/11

Analyze the attractiveness of the airline industry pre 9/1 1 . How attractive was the industry before 9/11? Was it profitable? Was there growth? Was there strong competition or not? If so, in what sectors? PESTEL Analysis of the Airline Industry Pre 9/1 1 Political Government support for national carriers Oohnson, Gerry. 2011, pg51) Security Controls Oohnson, Gerry. 2011, pg51) Investment support Restrictions on migration Oohnson, Gerry. 2011, pg51) Deregulations (try to cut down airfare prices) Economic National growth rates Oohnson, Gerry. 2011, pg51)Fuel prices Oohnson, Gerry. 2011, pg51) High costs associated with the Full Service Carrier business model of markets Increasing world trade and investment Social Rise in travel by elderly Student international study exchanges Changing life styles Increase in the number of educated people Globalization Technological Fuel-efficient engines and airframes Security check technologies Teleconferencing for business Consolidation Alternative fuels Environmental Air pollution controls Noise pollution controls Energy consumption controls Land for growing airports Legal Employee work hoursLiberalization Restrictions on mergers Preferential airport rights for some carriers Porter's five forces analysis for pre 9/1 1 Threat of Entry High regulations Capital intensive Requires high level of experience and knowledge It has a high barrier entry Monopoly in some cities' airports The Threat of Substitutes Busses, ships, rail industry In Europe, Russia rail is the preferred transportation mode In US rail and road are the mode of transportation for goods Prices are regularly low comparing to airfares in Europe for within Europe and Russia Ships are being used or transportation of goods in bulk to continents But for individual transportation for long distances mostly airlines are preferred. The Power of Buyers Almost 50% increase within a decade, due to increase in the number of retirees. Also rise in the world GDP. Increasing numbe r of airline companies gives more choice to select from to the buyers. Customer loyalty highly depended on airfares. Price sensitive. So bargaining power of the buyer is high. Technological innovations give advantages to business travelers (skype, conference calls†¦ etc) The Power of Suppliers Pilot's unions, â€Å"there is no good alternative to a well-trained pilot in the cockpit†.The supply is mainly being done by Boeing and Airbus, Aramco, Gazprom All of the suppliers have high power. (Fuel, maintenance, labor). Competitive Rivalry Low margin cost (1-2% net profit) Increase in the number of airlines High costs High exit barrier As per the case study â€Å"analysts were predicting that the US airline industry world lose some $. 5bn because of the slowing economy combined with a large decline in business travel. † So the decrease and losses were already happening, due to echnological, mismanagement and economic reasons. 9/1 1 may have given good reasons for mist akes. 2 Analyze the attractiveness post The decrease hit the bottom with the terrorist attacks. People preferred other ways to travel.PESTEL Analysis of the Airline Industry Post 9/1 1 Government support for national carriers (bailout money $4bn) Tax break for the next five years (national carriers) Security Controls increased (3 hours early check in) Lay offs Cost increase due to security increase Supplier's suppliers were affected Probable increase in the demand for metal detectors and security items Increase in he insurance cost Increase in the airfare but after 2007 airlines are raising against each other, prices are going down Fear against flights No trust to security Choice towards road, rail, or teleconferencing. Need for advanced security check, secure stronger technologies including navigational equipment. Teleconferencing for business Stronger rules over employees Tighter regulations Increase in the consumer rights and protection* 3. How might airlines better plan for disr uptive events such as 9/11?They could nave done scenario planning and train the employees according to the worst case scenario. Shell was the only company during the crisis which survived because they had the scenario before and when they started to feel the crisis they reacted before it reached at the door. Airline industry can do the same thing, and train their employees. Government can do trainings at the school or public places for worst case scenarios. Airplane suppliers can produce safer doors for the cockpit. And security companies should not Just hire normal people they should have people from the army or police departments at the airports who are well trained.http://dollarsandsense.org/archives/2002/0502ward.htmlhttp://www.citethisforme.com/topic-ideas/business-marketing/Qantas%20management-9357129

Points on Early Twentieth Century Warfare essays

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Proposal to build a nuclear power plant - Research Paper Example Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2014). Nuclear power confers several benefits over electricity that is generated from fossil fuels. In spite of these benefits, no new nuclear power plants have been built in the U.S. since 1996. This paper proposes the development of a nuclear power plant by the Eaton Corporation. While there are a number of environmental and safety concerns over nuclear power plants, their benefits far outweigh the costs. Nuclear power has several clear advantages over fossil fuel that currently accounts for the bulk of the nation’s energy. Nuclear energy produces an insignificant amount of carbon dioxide and no sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides (Comby, 2001). These gases are produced in large quantities when fossil fuels are burned to generate electricity or other forms of energy. Carbon dioxide plays a part in global warming while nitrogen oxides form acid rain that is responsible for corroding man-made structures such as buildings. Besides the gases, compared to fossil fuels, nuclear reactors produce very small quantities of waste. For instance, about a ton of coal is required to generate the same amount of energy as a gram of uranium. Correspondingly, nuclear waste is a millionth of the waste generated from fossil fuel. In addition, if the nuclear reactor is well-designed, the nuclear waste is confined throughout the power generation process. Nuclear power has been produced commercially for half a century now. It has proven to be safe (Comby, 2001). To date, there have occurred only three major nuclear plant accidents: Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, USA in 1979, Chernobyl in 1986 in present-day Ukraine and Fukushima Daiichi in Japan in 2011. Of the three, the TMI was the worst: the entire core of the reactor melted completely. Fortunately, almost all the radioactivity that was released was confined within the reinforced concrete structure that contained the reactor. The amount that escaped into the surrounding was

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History of the Library - Essay Example Though the papyrus scrolls and clay tablets of Alexandria have been replaced by optical disks and flash cards, the library has remained at the center of academic endeavors. The modern school library media center remains critical to our need to have a central repository for knowledge that is available to everyone. When John Harvard gave his collection of books to the fledgling university, it was called a school library. Over the coming centuries the library would experience an evolution of the ways that information is stored and retrieved. During the 1920s, the National Education Association (NEA) enacted school library standards which paved the way for the storage of non-print media and libraries became known as instructional media centers (Wiegand, 2007, p.58) Today artifacts, digital media, and printed material of all types are networked together with the aid of massive databases. Digital electronics has made the storage and retrieval process faster, more compact, and less costly than ever before. Today the school library is more aptly known as the school library media center. Much of the evolution and restructuring of the school library media center has come as a result made by the demands to store and retrieve information in an environment of rapid technological change. After World War II film strips began to be added as they came to be viewed as items worthy of legitimate academic study. The invention of microfiche (a system of greatly reducing photo copies of documents) in 1961 started a major revolution in the media centers' long-term storage strategy (Raider, 2006). The 1969 Standards for School Media Programs published by the NEA united librarians and audio-visual specialists under the terminology of "library media program and library media specialist" (School libraries, 2008). The 1969 standards made recommendations regarding the new media of "8mm films, 16mm films, tapes and discs, slides, graphic materials, globes, maps, microforms, and transparencies (Mariea, 1998, p.182). The standards additionally defined storage space and environmental requi rements. The age of the Internet has added additional information available as digital media sources are catalogued in massive databases. The ability to digitize magazines, newspapers, books, and journals has made the information available at any school library media center almost unlimited. This has required another tier of media management as databases are responsible for cataloguing and maintaining archival issues of periodicals. Companies such as EBSCO, Thomson-Gale, and JSTOR store past issues of periodicals that are available as a subscription service. These databases, that can be accessed via the Internet, have made almost all recent periodicals, and many books, available to library patrons in digital format. Today's post-modern school library media center is a virtual library that makes vast amounts of information available almost anywhere in the world. The ability to store information in a compressed form has been accomplished by using a wide variety of media formats. Information can be stored on paper, film, plastic, and solid state electronics. This has presented the challenge of creating an environment

The Impact Of Structural Adjustment Programmes In Africa Finance Essay

The Impact Of Structural Adjustment Programmes In Africa Finance Essay Illustrating your answer with specific examples, evaluate the impact of structural adjustment programmes on agriculture in southern Africa. Introduction The impact of Structural adjustment programs (SAPs) on the performance of Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) has been deeply investigated and, despite what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank claimed, adjustment policies have often had a negative impact on the poorest and most vulnerable sections of the regions population. In particular, The SAPs in Africa have certainly contributed to some changes in the agricultural sector: in a continent where more than 70 percent of the population is involved in agriculture, the last two decades have seen a relatively poor sectors performance, opposed to the post-independence condition of self-sufficiency of most of the regions countries (Mkandawire and Bourenane, 1987). This essay will look more deeply into some of the impacts of SAPs on agriculture, focusing on the experience of Zambia as an example of IMF adjustment programs which failed to fully address the nature of the countrys economic crisis, caused by both external causes and domestic policy shortcomings. After a brief introduction on the economic situation of the country and the factors that led to the adoption of SAPs, the essay will proceed by evaluating some of the main ways in which agriculture has been affected by structural adjustment programs, looking in particular at the consequences on production patterns as well as on the people involved in agriculture. The last section draws conclusions. I. During the last century, the role of agriculture in the Zambian economy and the policies associated to it have greatly varied. The country went from a flourishing self-sufficient agriculture of the pre-colonial period, to a neglected rural sector and a copper-dependent economy during the colonial period, to a return to agriculture as a way out of the economic crisis. During the colonial period (1890-1964), agricultural activity was divided among two classes of farmers: European settler farmers, supported by the state through advantageous policies, and African subsistence peasant farmers, used mainly as a labour reservoir, and to which access to good land was restricted (Mwanza, 1992). At this time, the role of agriculture was especially supportive to the provision of low priced food and cheap supplies of labour to the expanding industrial economy (ILO, 1987). Maize was the principal commodity constituting 90 percent of all marketed cereals, accompanied by secondary export commodities such as coffee, cotton, tobacco and groundnuts. At independence, the United National Independent Party (UNIP) attempted to diversify the economy by developing agriculture to secure food self-sufficiency and reduce the dependence on the copper industry. A single-channel marketing system, fixed agricultural producer prices, and subsidies in the maize area are examples of the policies put in place to offset the damage caused by an already declining mining industry (Mkandawire and Bourenane, 1987). However, such policy experiments did not reach their objectives, and Zambia went through economic deterioration in the 1970s due to both external shocks (oil crises and falling prices of copper), and inefficient domestic economic policies (e.g. a static and inflexible economic structure) (Seshamani, 1990). The government started to borrow in order to maintain the same levels of import, increasing the countrys indebtedness that reached unacceptable levels, for a total of almost $4.5 billion a t the end of 1982 (Jansen and Rukovo, 1992). With no significant recovery of the economy, the increasing budget deficit obliged the government to start getting conditional loans within the framework of the IMF/WB SAPs. II. A first series of SAPs was adopted in Zambia between 1983 and 1987, with the aim of restoring the countrys financial stability through trade liberalization, currency devaluation, and reduction of government spending, including the removal of food and input subsidies (Saasa, 1996). Preliminary liberalization took place in the years 1983-1985, when a foreign exchange auction system was introduced. The IMF/WB program collapsed in 1987, mainly due to the unsustainable depreciation of the domestic currency (the Kwacha) that fell from a pre-auction rate of K 2.20 per US$ to K 21 per US$ of the last auction (Wulf, 1988). After a brief attempt by the Kaunda government to put up its own New Economic Recovery Programme between 1987- 1989, Zambia went back to the IMF/WB SAP starting from 1989, and the reform periods went on with the following government. In agriculture, the SAP aimed at promoting agricultural exports, improving food production and limiting government intervention in the market (Simatele, 2006). Before the introduction of SAPs, the government put in place highly subsidized measures to assist agricultural production growth such as crop-marketing depots that reached the entire country, the introduction of fixed crop prices, and provision of tractor ploughing services, credit and fertilizer (Jansen and Rukovo, 1992). Such measures were replaced by agricultural adjustment policies that included the removal of subsidies, food prices decontrol, abolition of equity pricing, and liberalization of agricultural marketing (Mwanza, 1992). During the short period of the New Economic Recovery Programme, the Kaunda government failed to support agricultural development, and not surprisingly, given the fact that the same measures which undermined agricultural production and which led to foreign borrowings were re-adopted: revaluation of the kwacha, food subsidies, and price controls. But lets look at the consequences of reforms in more detail. The introduction of SAPs in Zambia affected agriculture in a number of ways. This essay will focus on the consequences on food production (in particular on changes in the cropping patterns), and on the people that practice agriculture, especially smallholders. The reforms had an impact on food production and cropping patterns due to two main factors: first, an increase in agricultural production costs, and second, a decrease in access to credit. Production costs rose in Zambia following a decrease in (i) the exchange rate, and (ii) agricultural subsidies. The countrys food production is dependent on the exchange rate especially in terms of input prices. The newly adopted foreign exchange auction system (1985) made it difficult for the government to plan a consistent pricing policy, and agriculture, as a priority sector for the economic restructuring, was uncompetitive in the foreign exchange auctions. As a consequence of the auctioning, the local currency (Kwacha) depreciated, increasing the prices of imported goods and inflation. Whereas a 50kg bag of fertilizer cost K26.75 during the 1984/5 season, it rose to K48 during the 1985/6 season (Sano, 1988). This had a strong impact on the very import sensitive Zambian farming. First, the production of the main crop, maize, is heavily dependent on imports of fertilizers and other items such as empty grain bags. Even though Zambia needs less fertilizer than other countries, as Mal awi, due to the abundance of good arable land, such input is by far the most important and most costly used, especially by small farmers. Second, petrol and trucks for the transport of agricultural produce must also be imported. These inputs are highly necessary in a country with a low level of population density and a skewed pattern of urbanization. As a consequence of exchange rate auctioning, production costs rose, and farm gate maize prices became less favourable, especially for small-scale maize producers in peripheral areas of the country (Jansen and Rukovo, 1992). With increasing input prices, the government, in order to maintain production, was obliged to augment producer prices correspondingly: maize reached K55 per bag in the1985/6 season (Sano, 1988). This, together with good weather conditions, contributed to the rise of agricultural output at a level of 9 percent of GDP in 1985 (Wulf, 1988). However, due to a higher rate of population growth, GDP was still declining. Th e rise of producer prices has been certainly beneficial, but the absence of infrastructural improvements and other consequences of liberalizations such as high inflation undermined output improvements. Before the reform period, the government both delivered inputs to, and collected outputs from farmers, even in the more remote areas. However, with the introduction of the SAPs in the 1980s, subsidies connected to agricultural production were severely reduced. Removal of food subsidies, previously put in place mainly to provide cheap food for urban residents, did not affect poor farmers (Sahn, 2004). However, the removal of other subsidies such as those on transport and on inputs did have an impact on agriculture, and especially on smallholders. The reduction of transport subsidies undermined farmers access to markets and increased the cost of production. Both small and large farmers were adversely affected by transport subsidy removals, but while large scale farmers suffered less from the price increase due to their closeness to markets and roads, the remoteness of many smallholders further increased their costs of production. Village processing was replaced by large-scale mills, ad ding extra transportation costs that, together with the absence of subsidies, made the food system highly inefficient, negatively affecting rural residents and their produce. Agricultural production was also affected. Being maize the major and most commercialized food crop in the country, its dependence on factors such as distance to markets and credit is higher than for other crops. As a study by the African Economic Research Consortium shows, maize has a negative response to distance from the market (Simatele, 2006). On the contrary, other crops such as cassava have mainly local basic markets, and their production is not as much affected by the removal of transport subsidies. The de-subsidization of agricultural inputs, as for example input credit or less costly fertilizer, also had an impact on agriculture. Their removal entailed a credit squeeze and caused an increase in production costs, negatively affecting especially small-scale food production. A second factor that had an impact on food production was the decline of access to credit. Before the introduction of SAPs, agricultural credit was provided by government-owned companies such as the Agricultural Finance company (AFC), and by commercial banks. Although commercial farmers have mainly financed their operations through private banks, smallholders have relied mostly on government loans, because of the low repayment rates connected to it. With the liberalization of the financial markets, credit and its pricing was no longer controlled, and farmers had to compete with other potential borrowers to get it. Credit provision was left mainly to the private sector, that failed in filling the gap. For smallholders it has been very difficult to obtain loans from financial institutions, both because of their exposition to high risks (i.e. physical conditions of the environment, health problems), and because of their isolation (poor transportation and communications). Because the pri vate sector often refused to serve the rural areas, the opportunity was left to local moneylenders, if present, to exploit their monopolistic positions and charge the small farmers high interest rates. In any case, interest rates escalated, causing a problem for loan repayment: from 43 percent in 1990, to 46 percent in 1991 (Geisler, 1992). In Solwezi District in the North Western Province, the progression of interest rates charged by Lima Bank during the 1993/94 cropping season reached 120% in September,1993 (Kajoba, et al,1995, p.9). Attempts to solve the problem of credit access, included those leaving smallholder credit provision to the private sector, most of the times resulted inefficient and failed. An example of such attempts is the launch of the Agricultural Credit Management Programme (ACMP) in 1994, which was meant to support the private sector in credit provision by giving fertilizers and seeds on credit through credit managers who would in turn provide these inputs to f armers through local credit coordinators (Pletcher, 2000). The ones that mostly benefited from this system have been the stockists and traders at the expense of smallholders. The problem of credit provision with liberalization continues to exist, and will probably persist as long as the private sector and the government do not reach an agreement on the development of efficient input supply networks. It is clear that SAPs in Zambia had a negative impact primarily on the smallholder subsector, that between 1980 and 1994 contributed about 40 percent of the agricultural output (Chiwele et al., 1998). The increase of production costs and the decrease in access to credit have introduced new difficulties for smallholders disposing of less means to overcome adverse conditions than commercial farmers. Moreover, while commercial farming systems are concentrated along the rail line, remote farmers, once relying on support of the state, have been cut off as the private sector was not able to fill the gap caused by liberalization. The new private sector-led marketing system initiated in 1992, in fact, has not so far been successful in carrying out its functions to the same extent as the cooperatives previously did. Most traders own very little transport and storage facilities and tend to depend on hired material. The bigger constraint, however, has been traders lack of access to capital. As a consequence of the marginalization of remote farmers, volatility and desperate selling right after the rains have increased, leading to a decrease of selling prices and a affecting of the market (Chiwele et al., 1998). Concerning cropping patterns, the adoption of SAPs and the cost increase have contributed to the rise in production of other crops as millet, sorghum, and cassava. In fact, even though today maize is still grown in large quantities in Zambia, from 1980 to 2005 Cassava production went from 360000 to 1056000 tons, while millet production from 20000 to 29583 tons (FAOSTAT, 2010). The area planted to maize declined 43 percent between 1989 and 1999. During the same period, the area planted to cotton increased by 65 percent, and the area for groundnuts grew by more than 100 percent (Mukherjee, 2002, p.27-28). Smallholders withdrawal from maize cultivation might be considered as a threat, in the sense that it would negatively affect the policy of self sufficiency in maize, leading to the need of importing the crop from the neighbouring countries (Sano, 1988). In mid-1987, only about 6.5 million bags of maize were expected from current harvest, necessitating large and costly imports of the s taple once again (Good, 1988, p.45). However, the introduction of maize as the main commercial crop was a post-independence policy that encouraged inefficiency and lack of differentiation by giving incentives to the farmers to move away from the production of other crops into maize. But the ecology of the country makes it more suited for certain crops than others, according to the area of cultivation. Maize is ecologically suited to less than half of the country, and requires new skills and large labour and capital inputs in comparison to other starch staples (Mkandawire and Bourenane, 1987, p. 292). The dominance on one crop partially explains why less than 20 percent of the countrys arable land was under cultivation (Saasa, 1996). In the period pre-SAPs, the government introduced rural development programs that promoted the cultivation of maize as a cash and food crop. Rising subsidies have coincided with the rapid advance of maize production, even in areas where it previously had a minor role (i.e. parts of the Northern Province). Such policy made small-scale farmers dependent on the government, on both subsidies provision (as those on fertilizers, transport, marketing and credit), and on a single cereal (Kajoba, 2009). Adjustment reforms have shifted the attention to competing grains and tubers i.e. millet, sorghum, and cassava for a number of reasons. First, these crops are generally cultivated with little or no chemical dressings, requiring much less inputs (Kydd, 1988). Second, they have mainly local basic markets, and their production is not so much dependent on transport services, and therefore subsidies. This also affects the issue of access to markets, which has been decreasing for smallholders with the liberalization reforms. Third, these crops are drought resistant and more traditional in some parts of the country than maize, and their production might contribute to an increased efficiency on the food system, as harvest fluctuations might be red uced and marketed food supply might be more regular. Also, alternative crops sometimes have non-monetary credit available, allowing easier forms of repayment by farmers. For these reasons, a gradual move away from maize might even be beneficial to agriculture to some extent, as it could contribute to an increased efficiency of the food system. Moreover, in the long term, an increase in the production of cheap un-subsidized food could provide a more sustainable solution. CONCLUSION This essay has looked at some of the main consequences on agriculture of policy reform measures undertaken through structural adjustment programmes in Zambia. Both production patterns and smallholder farmers were affected by the reforms. Production costs rose following a decrease in the exchange rate and in agricultural subsidies, and access to credit decreased following liberalization. These patterns negatively affected especially small-scale farmers, unable to cope with increasingly adverse production conditions, while left the bigger, commercial farmers closer to the market better off. Improvements in the small-scale sector have further been undermined by problems in the provision of agricultural support services by private actors. Alternative crops are increasingly grown as a consequence of rising production costs related to maize, and this pattern might provide a solution for a more sustainable and more efficient food system. Certainly, the countrys situation pre-SAPs and the in efficiency of its agricultural policies required some kind of reforms: a food system focused on maize, a structure of production and consumption along the line of rail and in the copperbelt, a transport system sustained by subsidies and an export agriculture affected by an overvaluation of the exchange rate (Sano, 1988). However, the enforcement of a standard package of policy measures has proven unsuccessful in addressing the nature of Zambias economic crisis. SAPs focused excessively on price policy reforms, that have been not able to induce agricultural growth alone. Price stabilisation programmes need to be carefully designed so as not to turn into a fiscal drain and an obstacle to production diversification. Reforms in agriculture are still taking place and policies are therefore still changing. Credit access, input markets design and the way through which institutions can enhance smallholder agriculture are areas that require a particular attention when formulating policies th at will enhance the countrys agricultural potential.