Symptoms And Treatment Of Pain - 1253 Words

Introduction Pain is one of the most common reasons a person will seek treatment from a physical therapist.1 Pain is an abstract concept in which the brain detects a stimuli, interprets the sensation, and responds to the stimuli by producing an unpleasant sensory response.1 Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), which is a common diagnosis seen in patients’ seeking acute or chronic pain relief, is an often debilitating condition that occurs either spontaneously or after limb injury (CRPS Type 1) or following a peripheral nerve lesion (CRPS Type 2).3,4 Several diagnostic terms have been used to classify this condition, including reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) and causalgia.4 However, the exact pathophysiologic mechanism of the condition is still unknown.5 It is believed that CRPS involves multiple pathways and includes both peripheral and central nervous system changes.3,5 Alterations in cutaneous innervations and peripheral and central sensitization, as well as changes i n the representation of the affected limb within the somatosensory cortex, are currently believed to be the primary culprits in the development of CRPS.5 Clinical features of CRPS include sensory disturbances, such as burning pain with allodynia and hyperalgesia, motor disturbances of decreased range, speed, coordination of movement, tremor, and muscle spasms; changes in vascular tone, temperature, and edema; and trophic changes to skin, hair, nails; and perceptual disturbances of self.2,4 Signs andShow MoreRelatedSymptoms And Treatment Of Pain Essay878 Words   |  4 PagesThis is a 71-year-old female with a 2/29/2000 date of injury, when she slipped and fell because of oil on the ground. Diagnoses: Pain in thoracic spine; low back pain; traumatic arthropathy, unspecified site; unspecified sprain of unspecified wrist 12/01/15 Progress report describes that the claimant has increased right shoulder pain. The pain was previously well controlled with medications. The patient stated that she may not be able to drive to her appointments much longer given she also getsRead MoreSymptoms And Treatment Of Pain1654 Words   |  7 Pages Pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and affective experience associated with tissue damage. Pain is a major symptom in many medical conditions and is one of the most sited reasons why people seek medical assistance (Peterson Bredow 2009). When pain is poorly managed, it can delay healing and recovery. Using the proper nursing assessment skill is very important to assess a patient’s pain level, and determine the best intervention to reduce or eliminate it. Middle range theory suchRead MoreSymptoms And Treatment Of Pain3368 Words   |  14 PagesTo really delve into the complexity of pain, an experience which is phenomenally unique to each individual , this essay will uncover the multifaceted definition of pain, how patients typically describe their pain, differences between fast and slow pain, different types of pain stimuli, the nerve pathways which carry signals to the brain, pain perception, central sensitisation, the clinical presentation of a person with a hypersensitivity disorder such as fibromyalgia, and finally how this case wouldRead MoreSymptoms And Treatment Of Pain1375 Words   |  6 PagesPain is a vastly under treated phenomenon, causing suffering and financial losses to individuals and the society. According to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), pain can be defined as not just an unpleasant sensation however, holistically speaking, a complex sensory modality that is essential in the fight for survival. (Patel, N.B. 2010) It is thought to be a defence mechanism designed by the body, for triggering behavioural reflexes that defend against further noxious stimuliRead MoreSymptoms And Treat ment Of Pain1501 Words   |  7 PagesPain is a complex subject that can be confusing for those who suffer with it and is often misunderstood by health care professionals, including physiotherapists. The International Association for the Study of Pain (1979, p.249) defines pain as ‘‘an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.’’ However, as Christelis (2011) states it is important to note that this definition requires the sufferer to report theirRead MoreSymptoms And Treatment Of Pain1338 Words   |  6 Pagespatient experiences the feeling of pain. Along with this come other emotions, such as frustration and stress. Pain is considered to be subjective so self report will vary among the individual. When patients are admitted to the hospital, evaluating for pain is one of the six vital signs that is assessed at least three times per shift. To deliver patient-centered care, nurses aim to treat the undesirable aspects of pain, regardless of the source. Not only does pain management provide a solution to feelingsRead MoreSymptoms And Treatment Of Pain1563 Words   |  7 Pagescontinued to get worse the pain became excruciating and intolerable. I went to the doctor and was instantly diagnosed with pink eye just as expected. The doctor then prescribed me eyedrops and told me to use hot and cold compresses to relieve the pain. I went home and dropped eyedrops into my eye and used the compresses as told by the doctor, but later took a turn for the worst. The pain grew immensely and I began to undergo photophobia which is the sensitivity to light. The pain was so intense I feltRead MoreSymptoms And Treatment Of The Knee Pain1428 Words   |  6 Pagesa half without any luck. Secondary complaint is high stress level, occasionally feel irritable, low libido, nocturnal emission, coldness and pain in the lower back, dry and itchy genitalia area, hemorrhoids, anxiety, poor memory, warming sensation at night, but when he is not at work feels cold, loose stools and knee pain. Patient says that the knee pain could be from playing soccer on weekends. Patient reports his semen quality is very watery and transparent. States he urinates frequently. Read MoreSymptoms And Treatment Of Chest Pain Essay1355 Words   |  6 Pages CHEST PAIN INTRODUCTION Chest pains have different etiologies; it can be of life - threatening origin such as cardiac disease to pulmonary origin or benign gastro intestinal and musculoskeletal, in some cases as a result of cocaine usage. Early diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening chest pain will reduce associated mortality (Meeisel Cottrell, 2015) This essay will discuss a case of Mr P, 63 year old with chest pain his general appearance, general history, his physical examination, threeRead MoreSymptoms And Treatment Of Chronic Pain1635 Words   |  7 PagesThere are two types of pain that can be distinguished by its durations, such as pain that is short lasting and it lasts from days to few weeks, which are known as acute pain (AP) and persisting pain that lasts over three months or more, which are known as chronic pain (CP) (Kramer-Kile, Osuji, Larsen, Lubken, 2014; Lewis et al., 2014). The CP concept was chosen because the number of people experiencing Chronic Pain (CP) is increasing causing a decrease in people’s quality of life (QOL) and co-mortalities

Research Proposal- Alcohol Abuse Leads to Domestic Violence

Determining whether Alcohol abuse leads to Domestic Violence Abstract This study seeks to analyze and examine the effects that alcohol abuse may have on domestic violence cases. The main goal of this study is to determine whether or not alcohol or alcohol abuse really has an affect on people and if it causes domestic violence or not. This study will be helpful in many ways and instances and it will help those who are still wondering whether or not these to completely different social problems have any relation. Introduction The area of study is domestic violence and the affect that alcohol abuse may have on the issue. Domestic violence happens in all cultures, people of all races, ethnicities and religions. It occurs and†¦show more content†¦This clearly indicates that domestic violence is most often a male issue. (Bolduc, 2006) Besides, there are statistics suggesting that the increasing numbers of domestic violence cases are being fueled by drug and alcohol use by the abusive partner. This is manifested by the Personal Safety Survey, 2006 of the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The survey shows that those who have experienced violence in the past 12 months, alcohol or other drugs were involved in, 75.3 percent of instances where a male was assaulted by another male, 49.8 percent of instances where a male was assaulted by a female, 50.6 percent of instances where a female was assaulted by another female and 48.5 percent of instances where a female was assaulted by a male. (As cited in Wikipedi a, 2006) Also, from this study, of all the instances of physical assault in the past 12 months, 25.1 percent of males and 16.4 percent of females were assaulted in licensed premises. This further suggests the negative association between alcohol and violence. Additionally, Bancroft (2006) has observed that a substance abuse often occurs in conjunction with domestic violence. (As cited in Wikipedia, 2006) Methodology This study will employ the descriptive research method which uses observation, interviews and surveys. In this method, it is possible that the study will be convenient and quick since it aims to know whether alcohol abuse really leads to domestic violence.Show MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Child Exposure On Domestic Violence Essay1255 Words   |  6 Pagesexposure to domestic violence is quite prevalent, a review of academic literature reveals few studies focused on the experiences of children who lived with violent parents. The search did not reveal any studies that focus on how children experienced an intervention by the child welfare community. More research is needed to provide a voice for those children and provide the lack of information that s needed. This research proposal entails the lives of children who have experienced domestic violenceRead MoreWhat Are the Perceptions of Domestic Violence Amongst Individuals Who Live in Western Sydney?6504 Words   |  27 PagesUNIVERSITY OF WESTERN SYDNEY RESEARCH REPORT: What are the perceptions of domestic violence amongst individuals who live in western Sydney? ------------------------------------------------- 101041 – Communication Research Spring 2012 Student Name: Ferah Arslan Student Number: 17530620 RESEARCH REPORT SUBJECT: WHAT ARE THE PERCEPTIONS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AMONGST INDIVIDUALS WHO LIVE IN WESTERN SYDNEY? ABSTRACT: What are the perceptions of domestic violence amongst individuals whoRead More Correlation Between Mental Illness and Violence and Crime Essay2291 Words   |  10 PagesLiterature Analysis and Research Proposal of the Correlation between Mental Illness and Violence and Crime Over the past few decades, many researches have strived to test and explain the correlation between violence and crime and mental illness. Moore and Hiday (2006) assert that up 22% of inmates has a mental illness, sometimes containing more mental illness patients than many psychiatric units. Due to these statistics it is evident how important it is to understand the causes of the correlationsRead MoreTeen Dating Violence2793 Words   |  12 PagesWhat is Teen Dating Violence? Teen Dating Violence (TDV) is described as the physical, emotional, or sexual abuse that occurs within a relationship while dating. TDV can occur in person, or electronically by a current or former partner (CDC, 2014). Many adolescents and adults are unaware of the prevalence of TDV but a recent national study revealed that nearly 10% of adolescents have reported being hit, slapped, or intentionally physically hurt by someone they had claimed to be dating (CDC, 2014)Read MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1054 Words   |  5 PagesHistorically, marijuana has been an illegal substance in Canada since 1923, mainly because of the perspective that the harmful consequences of its abuse and its addictive nature outweigh the significant benefits of making it a legal drug. Although laws have evolved as culture and society has evolved, Canada continues to struggle with the decriminalization of marijuana, despite its numerous benefits, it continues to form an archaic boundary line. This ess ay will discuss: 1) how laws regarding theRead MoreGun Control Is A Topic That Has Created Many Discussions949 Words   |  4 PagesAmerica has become in a little time in the country that leads the list of countries where more violent success occurred due to what is happening to our society. America s gun problem is completely unique. First place in gun violence worldwide. It occupies the sixth place in gun homicide. The US by far the highest number of privately-owned guns in the world despite being a minority. Guns grow in an incredible way that goes from domestic violence to the most serious tragedies in which weapons of fireRead MoreCommunity Health Perspective2802 Words   |  12 Pages Abstract The paper is intended to ascertain research statistics, facts, policies and analysis of topics that contributes to the health and wellbeing of a community. The effects of injury prevention and the control of infectious diseases are discussed. The rationale of controlling the cost of healthcare through behavioral and lifestyle changes is discussed. How does the exploitation of drugs, alcohol and tobacco influence the health of the community? In a community healthRead MoreWar on Drugs Research Essay2406 Words   |  10 PagesDrug use and abuse is an expensive problem in the United States, both financially and socially. The War on Drugs has been an ongoing effort to combat drug abuse, drug use and crime associated with the drug trade. Its a war without a clear enemy. Anything waged against a shapeless, intangible noun can never truly be won — President Clintons drug czar Gen. Barry McCaffrey said as much in 1996. (TIME 2009) Despite the trillions of dollars waged on the wa r on drugs and the countless arrest made relatedRead MoreWhat Are Antisocial Behavior? Essay1297 Words   |  6 PagesBehavior Antisocial behavior is emerged and shaped by social interactions with the community, family, and educational environment. The child s attitude and irritation, cognitive ability, the amount of participation with irregular peers, experiencing violence, and the shortage of cooperative problem-solving skills will also motivate antisocial behavior. Other behavioral and developmental problems such as hyperactivity, depression, learning disabilities, and impulsivity often appear with antisocial behaviorRead MoreThe Self Esteem Of Adolescent Females Through Delving Into And Reconnoitering Essay1587 Words   |  7 Pagesincreased rate in females in the midst of this period of transition (McNeely Blanchard, 2010). By definition we are designing a group proposal to develop and expand the self-esteem in adolescent females through delving into and reconnoitering the numerous facets of one’s identity and educating and incorporating new abilities in the course of development. This proposal will deliver contextual material of group counseling and self-esteem. A framework of the prospective group program and analysis of the

Positive Accounting Research Financial Statements

Question: Discuss about the Positive Accounting Researchfor Financial Statements. Answer: This paper reviews Watts and Zimmerman approach towards positive accounting research. Positive accounting theory is a wider concept of scientific theory which considers cause and effect relationships of humans. This research has shown challenges faced by the companies in their accounting practices and reporting of financial statements. This research has also discussed about various concepts and methods used by companies for effective accounting. The ontology and epistemology assumptions have been developed for the understanding of importance and deficiencies of positive accounting research. In addition to this, the summary of this article will provide an idea about the facts and arguments disclosed including overall conclusions. After this, questions on research have been prepared to identify major problems of the positive accounting theory and obstacles faced by the individuals in preparing financial statements in the organization. Moreover, behavior of humans and their cause and ef fect relationship with the accounting practice is also discussed here. In addition to this, this report also includes if and buts of all the possible situations which prevents the accounting theory less positive. Lastly, this report concludes with all the suggestions about human behavior towards accounting practice and how they could make them more effective and better as per auditors opinions (Brown, Preiato and Tarca, 2014). Summary of The Article This article provides research on positive approach towards accounting practice and the human behavior towards this approach. It also stated various factors which have significant impact on human behavior. It allows individuals to overcome with the problems that has come in its decision making and developed reciprocal attitude. For making better and effective approach towards accounting practice this article has used intellectual program. After evaluating cause and effect relations of human behavior it consist several arguments on positive accounting research (Waymire, 2014). Many researchers have also argued that positive accounting practice should also be based on personal opinion of humans. This article further stated about auditors judgments on accounting practice of companies and also further stated that when auditors are under pressure they have to work fast and so the chances of errors got doubled in their reporting. In addition to this, another theory discussed in positive ac counting research is free will of humans (Brown, et al. 2014) which means if humans are free to take their own decisions which remains restricted on their own views and would nullify other persons views within the research program. This theory also provides that there are no concepts relating to applicability of human behavior. The ontology and epistemology theories in positive accounting research provide misguidance to public relating to implications of human behavior. The major problem faced by researchers in positive accounting theory was the consideration of positive and quantitative researches to be same. However, auditors opinion on research theory was assessed by researchers to make their research better and effective. Further, for the evaluation of internal and external factors hypothesis testing was done in positive accounting practice (Ahmed, Neel and Wang, 2013). Further, it was observed that understanding of human behavior and their cause and effect relationship in the working environment in organization has a significant contribution by research accounting practice (Everett, Neu, Rahaman and maharaj, 2015). Research Questions What factors are required for the success of positive accounting research? What challenges faced by the researchers in positive accounting practice? How this research differs from rational program? What is meant by ontology and epistemology theories in positive accounting practice? Theoritical Frameworks This program studies about various frameworks for the positive accounting practice. This framework also describes about how the readers could increase the effectiveness of positive accounting research in organization (Engle and Hunton, 2015). There is an article which explains the how the accuracy of accounting can be achieved with the help of auditing by the auditors (Choi et.al, 2009). This framework proposes that there are many tests which could be applied on the auditing of accounts so that it provides the legal system. This also shows that accounting data carried many mistakes, errors which could provide misleading results for readers to take decisions (Fang, et al, 2014). Competency of executives and auditors audit fees are the major factors of positive research program. In addition to this, availability of accounting data will help the accountant in preparing financial statements and also support auditors to understand the auditing functioning so that they can provide their judgement on the accounting data. If the test of control is identified, then it would provide great help in conducting of audit to auditors in positive accounting research. Moreover, there is another concept in theoretical framework is qualitati ve positive research. In this theory, two main concepts were used to measure qualitative positive research that is (1). Collection of data from the public and (2). Measure variances through the regression analysis on the received data in accounting data (Dyckman and Zeff, 2014). Thus, this will help the accountants to prepare financial statements and also help auditors to provide judgements on the accounting data which were provided by the organization and can also detect the errors which were remain in the accounting data of the organization. Further if auditors do not adopt this realistic approach in their auditing methods then it will create the possibility of type 1 errors that is it will lead to mis- specifications in their auditing. According to Deegan (2017) it can be said that these theories will provide clear point of view on human behavior which is helpful in making decisions. In order to determine the human behavior factors in financial statements null hypothesis is imple mented in accounting research practice. As per Slater, et al. (2014), there are many international models which solve mistakes in positive accounting research. Significant of Positive Accounting Research Understanding of human behavior and its implications are the main significance of this positive accounting research. There are also many models which identifies cause and effect relations of human behavior in research program. Further, it was also observed that quantitative approach will help in gathering data from the accountant to measure behavior with financial statements. Thus this research helps in effective analysis of human behavior and their actions. In order to examine the errors and mistakes in accounting transactions, audit procedure is developed. This may not be beneficial to our knowledge of human behavior but provide conclusions to accountants in solving problem. Thus, it can be said that there are various systems which are helpful in assessing human behavior in this approach (Guan, 2014). Limitation of Positive Accounting Research This article has used primary and secondary data for the positive accounting research. It was further examined that auditors may not identify all the errors and mistakes in financial statements based on the available data (Smith, 2014). On the basis of available data there are chances of uncertainties in ontology and epistemology theories. Also based on certain assumptions which varied with time and factors, hypothetical test also provides uncertainty in available data. Parameters are also set based on accountants and auditors viewpoints on financial data (Bertomeu, Darrough and Xue, 2017). Conclusion Various facts and theories have been reported under this research about the effectiveness and limitation of positive accounting practice. In this, various data is required by the auditors for the measurement of accounting concepts of the organization. The main critique in this research was the usage of the qualitative approach towards the collection of hypothetical data of financial transactions. It is also examined that for the auditors judgements there is requirement of financial data of the organization. This would be helpful for the auditors to identify all the possible errors and mistakes in the accounting data recorded by the accountants. The main problem which was noticed that to establish cause and effect relations. Also there are several frameworks and models used in this article which has emphasized on the decision making power of the humans and also on the auditors opinion on the true and view of the financial statements of the organization. Now at the end, it can be summe d up with the argument that if an auditor worked as per the desired requirement then there would be least chances of frauds and errors in the financial statements of the organization. References Ahmed, A.S., Neel, M. and Wang, D., 2013. Does mandatory adoption of IFRS improve accounting quality? Preliminary evidence.Contemporary Accounting Research,30(4), pp.1344-1372. Bertomeu, J., Darrough, M. and Xue, W., 2017. Optimal conservatism with earnings manipulation.Contemporary Accounting Research,34(1), pp.252-284. Brown, P., Preiato, J. and Tarca, A., 2014. Measuring country differences in enforcement of accounting standards: An audit and enforcement proxy.Journal of Business Finance Accounting,41(1-2), pp.1-52. Deegan, C., 2017. Twenty five years of social and environmental accounting research within Critical Perspectives of Accounting: Hits, misses and ways forward.Critical Perspectives on Accounting,43, pp.65-87. Dyckman, T.R. and Zeff, S.A., 2014. Some methodological deficiencies in empirical research articles in accounting.Accounting Horizons,28(3), pp.695-712. Engle, T.J. and Hunton, J.E., 2015. Retraction: The Effects of Small Monetary Incentives on Response Quality and Rates in the Positive Confirmation of Account Receivable Balances.AUDITING: A Journal of Practice Theory,34(3), pp.201-201. Everett, J., Neu, D., Rahaman, A.S. and Maharaj, G., 2015. Praxis, Doxa and research methods: Reconsidering critical accounting.Critical Perspectives on Accounting,32, pp.37-44. Fang, J., Haw, I.M., Yu, V. and Zhang, X., 2014. Positive externality of analyst coverage upon audit services: Evidence from China.Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting Economics,21(2), pp.186-206. Guan, K., 2014. Corporate Growth, Audit Quality and Accounting Conservatism: Empirical Evidence from Public Companies in China.Journal of Accounting and Economics,5(005). Klemstine, C.F. and Maher, M.W., 2014.Management Accounting Research (RLE Accounting): A Review and Annotated Bibliography. Routledge. Li, X., 2015. Accounting conservatism and the cost of capital: An international analysis.Journal of Business Finance Accounting,42(5-6), pp.555-582. Slater, R.A., Koren, S., Ramot, Y., Buchs, A. and Rapoport, M.J., 2014. Interpreting the results of the Semmes?Weinstein monofilament test: accounting for false?positive answers in the international consensus on the diabetic foot protocol by a new model.Diabetes/metabolism research and reviews,30(1), pp.77-80. Smith, M., 2014.Research methods in accounting. Sage. Waymire, G.B., 2014. Neuroscience and ultimate causation in accounting research.The Accounting Review,89(6), pp.2011-2019.

Persuasive Piece A White Paper

Introduction A white paper is an authoritative report or a persuasive piece that is written by government by interest groups and government agencies to influence government policies and legislature. White papers are usually formulated to address specific issues or problems that exist in government policies or laws. White papers are formulated to educate the general public and interested groups on problems that exist within a government’s policies and how these papers can be used to help these people make important decisions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Persuasive Piece: A White Paper specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More White papers are usually used in policymaking, political decisions and in the corporate world where policy makers involve the use of academic institutions to write white papers that will address policy developments. The Commonwealth of Nations defines a white paper as an informal parliament ary paper that is used to address government policies and issues/problems that might arise due to the implementation of these policies. White papers are usually issued by the government and they lay out policies and action plans that will be used to address certain issues as well as propose suitable alternatives to the problem. They are developed to signify a clear intention on the part of the government entities and interest groups that want an amendment to government policies. Examples of white papers that have been written in the past include Winston Churchill’s White Paper of 1922 that was meant to plan a national home for Jews in Palestine, the 1969 white paper that was meant to abolish the Indian Act in Canada, and the White paper of 1966 that led to the development of emergency medical services by the United States National Research Council. The white paper that will be developed for this essay will address a national issue that threatens to affect the livelihoods of c itizens in America which is an increase in taxation. The government white paper will address the issue of increasing taxation what alternatives can be used to address the budget deficits being experienced by the American government (Congress, 2010). Definition of the Problem The recent global financial crisis as well as the war on Iraq had a negative impact on the economy of the US. The stock market faced a serious decline as mortgage lenders and banks faced foreclosure as a result of increased consumer and government spending.Advertising Looking for essay on law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This forced the US government to develop a plan that would be used to deal with the financial situation, a plan that involved increasing taxes to deal with job losses and job cuts as well as increase middle class tax relief to middle income earners. This tax increase proposed by the Obama administration would see taxes increasing by $9 70 billion on Americans who earned more than $200,000. People who earned less than $200,000 would face new tax cuts that would amount to $143.4 billion in one year. The tax propositions were also meant to eliminate any preferences for oil and gas companies as well as life insurance products (Graetz, 2007). Businesses under the new tax proposition would face a net taxation increase despite a gross tax reduction of $93.5 billion. The tax proposition however faced some criticism with the Senator for Iowa, Charles Grassley commenting that the tax cuts and tax relief proposed by the Obama administration would target people who did not have to pay any taxes at all, meaning that tax relief would be directed to limited groups of people in the American population. Senator Grassley noted that the tax increases would have a minimal or no effect at all on the tax relief that was proposed by the Obama administration. Many American citizens viewed the increase in taxes to be an unwarranted move b y the Obama government given that the country was still recovering from the 2009 financial crisis and many Americans were still jobless as a result of being laid off (Donmoyer, 2010). The tax proposal by the Obama government was therefore faced a lot of criticism from both government entities, American citizens and other interest groups in the United States. The administration proposed $3.8 million spending plan that would be used in implementing the tax proposals that would prevent US companies from shifting their off shore profits. Many US corporations such as Redmond, Microsoft, Caterpillar and General Electric Company viewed the tax changes to be an impediment to their ability to compete with foreign companies (Sloan, 2010).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Persuasive Piece: A White Paper specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Proposed Solutions to the Problem The United States Senate Finance Committee decided to a ct on the Obama administration’s tax proposal by pledging to act quickly on tax legislation that would stimulate hiring. The Senate Finance committee Chairman, Max Baucus, together with Charles Rangel who is a New York Democrat, pledged to act quickly on the tax legislation to ensure that there were tax reforms within the country. The new taxation laws would see American businesses in the global market being more competitive and viable for investments by other countries. The new tax laws would also see individuals earning more than $200,000 facing a tax increase of 39.6 % up from 36 %. The capital gains and dividend rates for people who earned more than $250,000 would face an increase of 20 %. The tax proposal in general would take from the rich and give to the poor within the American population (Donmoyer, 2010). Other alternatives to the increased tax proposal that were proposed by Republicans to boost the economy and stimulate job growth within the United States include th e alternative stimulus proposal. The cost of the Republicans alternative stimulus plan was estimated to cost $478 billion US dollars which was a considerable amount when compared to the Obama administration’s tax proposal that was going to cost $1 trillion dollars to implement. Under the alternative stimulus plan, the Republicans proposed that the income tax rates be reduced from 15% to 10 % and from 10% to 5 %. The plan also proposed for tax extensions for the middle-income families that had higher taxes. The alternative stimulus plan also proposed a tax deduction for small businesses of 20 percent that had an employee base of less than 500 workers as well as a tax deduction for employees who did not receive any tax preferred health care insurance (Pelofsky, 2009). Policy Proposal An alternative to the tax proposal that has been tabled by the Obama Administration is a minimal taxation policy that will allow for the taxation of the investment interest that is necessary in com puting regular tax. The investment interest is an interest expense that is incurred by individuals or companies who purchase or make investments. An example of an investment interest is a margin loan that exists in a brokerage account. The interest expense that exists in the investment interest is subject to tax deduction based on the extent to which a taxpayer has an investable income. The alternative minimum tax alternative to the tax proposal will see regular tax deductions being calculated differently (Armey, 2010).Advertising Looking for essay on law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The alternative to the proposed tax reforms ensures that taxation on American citizens, earnings is conducted in a fair and simplistic manner. The current tax codes and policies that exist on taxation in the US are complex and unfair in nature and they have generally failed to meet the priorities of the country. The alternative minimum tax alternative ensures that there will be a reduction in massive deficits that have arisen in the past thereby strengthening the middle class while at the same time ensuring that every American citizen at every income levels was able to survive on their earnings, The alternative will also ensure that the American Multinational corporations do not loose out their business to foreign international companies (Armey, 2010). Limitations and Support for the Tax Alternative Policy The alternative tax policy however faces some limitations in that it does not cater for shared prosperity and the rewarding of hard work. The taxable incomes under the alternative minimum tax policy do not cater for the taxation of all income levels but the taxation of specific income groups that earn more than $ 275,000 in one year. This policy will therefore benefit the middle and the lower income earners ignoring the taxation needs of the rich and well to do members of the society. The Center for American Progress addresses the political and economic reality of taxing every individual based on the income levels by proposing an alternative to the tax policy and proposal that would see American citizens being taxed based on a rate schedule (American Progress, 2005). The alternative taxation policy is however a more superior alternative to the Obama administration’s taxation proposal as it will involve a minimal budget to implement the reforms within the taxation system. The plan will ensure that American multinational businesses do not loose out their business to foreign-based companies from other countries by ensuring that their investment expenses have been deducted according to their earnings. The alternative policy ensures that multinational taxation changes will have a direct impact on job growth in the United States as well as economic growth. The institutions that can be used to support the alternative taxation proposal would include the US Senate, Multinational Corporations affected by the Obama administration’s tax proposal, the Public Revenue Authority and the Government accountability office in the United States (Wolverson, 2010). Conclusion This essay has dealt with the white paper issue of increased taxation on the American citizen’s income as well as a taxation of multinational corporations. The proposed tax proposal by the Obama administration presents many problems in that it does not improve job growth within the country and it does not address investment expenses that would be beneficial in improving the economy of the country. The alternative tax minimum proposal bridges the gap that exists betw een the proposed taxation policy and job growth within the United States as well as ensuring that US multinational companies do not lose their business to foreign owned companies. The alternative tax proposal will cost less to implement by the government and it will ensure that the economy of the US has been stimulated for positive growth. References American Progress (2005). A fair and simple tax system for our future.  Center for American Progress. Web. Armey, D. (2010,). Rangel’s alternative minimum tax proposal. America Unbound. Web. Congress (2010). Congressional record, volumes 109-122. New York: Government Printing Office Donmoyer, R. J. (2010). Obama budget seeks $1.9 trillion tax rise on richest. Bloomberg. Web. Graetz, M. (2007). Tax reform unraveling. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol.21, No.1, pp 69-90 Pelofsky, J. (2009). US house Republican alternative stimulus proposal. Reuters. Web. Sloan, S. (2010). House Democrats eye changes on tax deal. Congress orga nization. Web. Wolverson, R. (2010). US multinationals and tax reform. Council on Foreign Relations. Web. 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Neologisms Come and Go

Neologisms Come and Go Neologisms Come and Go Neologisms Come and Go By Mark Nichol New words are being developed all the time, and there’s nothing we can do to stop this continuous expansion of our vocabulary- other than stop speaking, writing, and thinking, that is. After all, every word was new once. However, the lexicographical graveyard is crowded both with words that never caught on and with others that were long ubiquitous but are now obsolete. And though many dictionary entries have existed for decades, and quite a few are centuries old, many neologisms do not survive. Dictionary.com recently announced that it is adding about 300 new words to its website and updating nearly 2,000 more definitions to reflect changes and additions to word meanings. Some of the new words have been coined in response to an evolving understanding of gender and sexuality. For example, hijra, borrowed from Hindustani, refers to transgender people. (Some Asian countries have begun to recognize as a third gender people who identify as a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth.) Misgender is a term pertaining to the misidentification of a person’s gender. Panromantic denotes someone whose sexual attraction is not limited by gender. Meanwhile, ze is the result of a persistent effort among gender activists to remedy the awkward absence of an official English pronoun that pertains to both- ahem, all- genders. (Here’s the already widely accepted solution to that problem.) No matter what your opinion about gender fluidity or gender identity, such words will continue to elbow their way into dictionaries; after all, they fill a need that some people believe exists. These specific terms might not survive, but because art imitates life, the art of verbal expression will always evolve to reflect changes to culture and society. Other words that pertain to gender or sexuality but have more jocular senses are more likely to be ephemeral. New Dictionary.com entries in these categories that no one should bet on include lumbersexual, a play on metrosexual- does anyone use that word anymore?- that refers to men who affect outdoorsy-looking attire in urban settings; manspread, referring to the habit among some males of claiming more than their fair share of seating space by parting their legs widely; and presstitute, a portmanteau word of sorts describing a journalist biased toward financial interests. Then there’s â€Å"mom jeans,† a phrase referring to an unfashionable item of clothing. One can influence the acceptance or rejection of terms on a small scale by refusing to use them or by avoiding publications or programs that do so, but development of new vocabulary terms is an organic process that, like life itself, is not easily suppressed. But as is the case with new types of life-forms, many new words will not prevail. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Dialogue Dos and Don'tsWhat to Do When Words Appear Twice in a RowPunctuation Is Powerful

Free Essays on Harper

In the 1850’s, the matter of slavery was beginning to separate the United States, forcing people to side with either the North, which was for the elimination of slavery, or with the South, which had far more need of slaves. In the North, abolitionist groups were becoming more and more adamant that the slaves be set free immediately without compensation to their owners, while the Southerners were growing increasingly resolute that no one would force them to release them before they were ready and willing to do so. Five years prior to the raid of Harper’s Ferry, the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act passed by Congress broadened the gap between the two opposing sides. In 1854, Kansas and Nebraska were still territories of the United States that had been obtained from France in the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. This statute declared that the settlers of these regions could determine for themselves whether or not to allow slavery. The passage of this piece of legislation ignored the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had allowed the practice of slavery in Missouri and any new territories south of the 36Â ° 30’ latitude line. Both Kansas and Nebraska were above that line, and clearly should have been automatically declared free regions. Opponents of slavery were furious at this blatant disregard of the Missouri Compromise, which had been such an important law because both the North and South feared that the other would become more powerful through the addition of new territories adhering to their especial stance on slavery. For the past thirty-four years, this act had prevented slavery from spreading into the North, and once the law had been passed over due to the efforts of Southern legislators, what was to stop it from taking over the nation? Enraged abolitionists made the decision to converge their efforts on Kansas in an attempt to save it from becoming part of the slave-state group. Their violent undertaking, and the fight of the Sout... Free Essays on Harper Free Essays on Harper In the 1850’s, the matter of slavery was beginning to separate the United States, forcing people to side with either the North, which was for the elimination of slavery, or with the South, which had far more need of slaves. In the North, abolitionist groups were becoming more and more adamant that the slaves be set free immediately without compensation to their owners, while the Southerners were growing increasingly resolute that no one would force them to release them before they were ready and willing to do so. Five years prior to the raid of Harper’s Ferry, the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act passed by Congress broadened the gap between the two opposing sides. In 1854, Kansas and Nebraska were still territories of the United States that had been obtained from France in the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. This statute declared that the settlers of these regions could determine for themselves whether or not to allow slavery. The passage of this piece of legislation ignored the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had allowed the practice of slavery in Missouri and any new territories south of the 36Â ° 30’ latitude line. Both Kansas and Nebraska were above that line, and clearly should have been automatically declared free regions. Opponents of slavery were furious at this blatant disregard of the Missouri Compromise, which had been such an important law because both the North and South feared that the other would become more powerful through the addition of new territories adhering to their especial stance on slavery. For the past thirty-four years, this act had prevented slavery from spreading into the North, and once the law had been passed over due to the efforts of Southern legislators, what was to stop it from taking over the nation? Enraged abolitionists made the decision to converge their efforts on Kansas in an attempt to save it from becoming part of the slave-state group. Their violent undertaking, and the fight of the Sout... Free Essays on Harper In the 1850’s, the matter of slavery was beginning to separate the United States, forcing people to side with either the North, which was for the elimination of slavery, or with the South, which had far more need of slaves. In the North, abolitionist groups were becoming more and more adamant that the slaves be set free immediately without compensation to their owners, while the Southerners were growing increasingly resolute that no one would force them to release them before they were ready and willing to do so. Five years prior to the raid of Harper’s Ferry, the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act passed by Congress broadened the gap between the two opposing sides. In 1854, Kansas and Nebraska were still territories of the United States that had been obtained from France in the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. This statute declared that the settlers of these regions could determine for themselves whether or not to allow slavery. The passage of this piece of legislation ignored the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had allowed the practice of slavery in Missouri and any new territories south of the 36Â ° 30’ latitude line. Both Kansas and Nebraska were above that line, and clearly should have been automatically declared free regions. Opponents of slavery were furious at this blatant disregard of the Missouri Compromise, which had been such an important law because both the North and South feared that the other would become more powerful through the addition of new territories adhering to their especial stance on slavery. For the past thirty-four years, this act had prevented slavery from spreading into the North, and once the law had been passed over due to the efforts of Southern legislators, what was to stop it from taking over the nation? Enraged abolitionists made the decision to converge their efforts on Kansas in an attempt to save it from becoming part of the slave-state group. Their violent undertaking, and the fight of the Sout...

Website Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Website Analysis - Essay Example I believe this was probably because blogging and social networking is a very common tool nowadays. The â€Å"Business Intelligence† section was useful for corporate visitors and had enough material to keep people interested in business intelligence tools busy. The IT Management section was probably the best as it kept me on the hook for the longest time period during my visit. The website’s look was professional and the color, images, texture, font sizes, and arrangement of different modules are best suited with the purpose for which this site was built. Furthermore, I felt that the website I feel that the website graphic developers did an excellent job and designed the website so that long and returning users would not get bored of a single style. With a white background, a lot of rotations are possible and the way the content was laid out was seemingly a temporary arrangement a combination that was simple yet powerful and that could be expected to attract and most importantly retain users on the website who would ultimately create earnings for baselinemag by clicking on the advertisements that were lined up in a strategic manner along the website.

How I Saved a Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How I Saved a Life - Essay Example The American countryside experience was quite interesting and calm. Unlike the city which was flocked with people, Colorado had sparse population. There were a lot of old houses that we encountered as we drove off the highway and into a paved spur and finally to a washboard that led us to Ed’s home. The fresh smell of countryside welcomed us home as cows mooed and horses neighed. Our vacation had just begun. Hardly had we finished taking tea that we were out as Ed was dying to show me around. Joining us was one of Ed’s friends who schooled in the countryside and had come to welcome Ed home. The young girl was lovely and we got along quite easily.As we were strolling round the fields, I could not help but appreciate the beautiful scenery of the old structures together with the green environment. While everything seemed fine, the unexpected happened. I had a quick yell which fast disappeared into the ground. On turning back, I could not see the young girl. By that time, E d was running towards the source of the scream. I quickly followed him and true to our fears, Ed’s friend was trapped in a pit. The pit was dark and had stems and roots of various plants running deep inside. We could only hear echoes of the girl’s cries from the top of the pit. Confused and scared, we stared at each other not knowing what to do with darkness quickly setting in.Ed was particularly scared because of what I came to realize later was fear of losing the friend having lost a cousin in the pit some years back through a similar experience

Logistics and Supply Chain Essay Example for Free

Logistics and Supply Chain Essay Supply Chain Management Review introduces a new series called â€Å"Back to Basics. † It’s a look into how excellence in the core logistics and supply chain activities leads to overall business success. The articles in this seven-part series are written by educators from the University of Tennessee. Pictured: Wendy L. Tate, Assistant Professor of Logistics, Department of Marketing and Logistics, University of Tennessee. By Wendy L. Tate, Assistant Professor of Logistics, Department of Marketing and Logistics, University of Tennessee October 21, 2010  Globalization, increased competition, fluctuating availability of raw materials and pricing conditions have increased the need for better management of the suppliers who provide goods and services to the organization. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the cost of purchased materials is approximately 54% of the value of shipments for manufacturers. Also, the cost of services that organizations purchase is continuing to increase as firms try to focus on what they do best. More emphasis is being placed on spend management and on those that are responsible for locating and managing the suppliers that provide the materials and services needed to meet customer expectations. Sourcing and procurement are generally responsible for this task. A focus on spend management is not new to the purchasing area. But the increasing magnitude of requested reductions is driving purchasing departments to think creatively about ways to more strategically manage the supply base and continue to drive unnecessary costs from everyday purchases. The task of sourcing and procurement professionals is to find an effective means to balance the demands of both internal and external customers with economic considerations while taking into account the potential for supply disruption and technological change. The challenge is to establish both the philosophy and practice of an integrated supply system as part of the firm’s strategic positioning. Strategic purchasing involves finding ways to use supplier capabilities to drive sales, leverage the purchasing spend to achieve and/or maintain competitive advantage, and use the supply market to strengthen the company’s strategic position. Historically, purchasing has been overlooked as a strategic contributor and instead viewed as more of a tactical function with a largely internal focus. The tendency of even the most seasoned buyers has been to react to problems rather than proactively incorporate the strategic focus needed to support the current operating environment. The primary focus of procurement is to support the firm’s operational requirements by ensuring uninterrupted flow of the appropriate quality materials, products, and services. However, purchasers must do so in the most efficient and effective manner, in light of limited resources. The key for sourcing managers is to minimize risk to the organization. To minimize vulnerabilities in supply and make the most of the organization’s buying power, purchasers should assess and segment purchased materials, services, and components in terms of importance to the organization and difficulty in accessing the materials. This segmentation process allows purchasers to take a more strategic perspective on the management of the supplies and the supply base while applying more appropriate cost management tools and negotiation strategies. Using the segmentation system developed by Kraljic (1983) as a foundation, four major categories emerge (see Figure 1). Noncritical (low importance, low supply risk), leverage (high importance, low supply risk), strategic (high importance, high supply risk), and bottleneck (low importance, high supply risk). Each of the categories requires a distinctive and strategic purchasing approach. Each of these classifications will be described in the paragraphs below. In the case of non-critical, or generic purchases, the focus is on finding the lowest possible purchase price from a field of many suppliers. For these types of items, there are low switching costs allowing for easy â€Å"supplier hopping†. Typical procurement approaches to these types of purchases include the use of purchasing cards (p-cards) and short-term contracts. Relationships with the suppliers of these types of products are often arms-length and transactional. Office supplies and paper purchases typically fall into this category. Buyers use competitive bidding, price indices, price lists and catalogs to facilitate the buying process. The suppliers of these types of materials and services understand that low price and ease of purchase are key to retaining buyers. Staples, for example, introduced the â€Å"Easy Button†. Buyers that are in the market for office supplies can download software directly to their computer, shop from on-line catalogs, and use their p-cards to streamline the purchases of these generic items. Many suppliers are capable of providing the products and services that fall into the leverage category; these are the more â€Å"commodity-type† items. These types of products and services have a great importance to the organization in terms of volume purchased, percentage of total purchase cost, or impact on product quality or business growth. The purchasing decision for these items is generally based on consolidation, leveraging volumes is key to success. Some approaches used to leverage volume include supply base reduction and reverse auctions. The idea is to combine the requirements of different operating units and capitalize on supplier fixed cost allocation and improved productivity. The following example makes the point. A technology company had multiple business units all with individuals responsible for the purchase of customer contact center services. Through informal discussions about the performance of the suppliers of these services, the heads of the business units discovered that some were using the same suppliers, but being charged different rates and there were multiple suppliers providing almost identical services across the organization. The purchasing area was called in to help better manage the purchase of these services. They followed a typical sourcing process (see Figure 2) and put these services out for bid to both existing and new suppliers. The final pool of suppliers included fewer suppliers, volumes were leveraged, the price that was being paid ultimately fell, and the relationship with the suppliers improved. The company instituted a single point of contact for the suppliers and an end-to-end procure to pay management process (Ellram and Tate, 2004). The strategic items have more complexity and risk involved in the purchase often because of limited availability or fewer suppliers with the technical capabilities to provide the goods or services. These are the items that are the most critical for the organization to obtain to ensure success and meet the demand for products. There is much more collaboration and integration between the buying and supplying firm with a focus on continuous improvement. Buying firms often enter into long term, cost-based contracts with the suppliers of these items and may in fact engage the suppliers early in the process of new product development. Buyers look to these suppliers for innovation and cost reduction ideas. Ford and Mobil for example entered into a broad based trategic alliance to speed the development and integration of break-through fuel and vehicle technologies (Dieselnet, 1998). The intent of these strategic alliances is to help strengthen collaboration, and develop a sustainable business model. Bottleneck items, or items that are more project oriented or unique, have a high level of supply market complexity. These types of purchases often consume a disproportionate amount of time, relative to the item’s value. The focus for purchasing is to simplify the procurement of these items, or if possible get it out of this quadrant and into the leverage or strategic quadrants. Companies buying products or services that fall in the category could participate in buying consortiums to better leverage the spend and minimize the associated risk. For example, a utility company was paying a significant amount of money to audit their suppliers. A number of their competitors were using the same suppliers and spending the same money for the audits. These companies agreed to hire a third party to perform the audits, thus consolidating the spend and simplifying the purchase. Another company was procuring project-based environmental services. Each project required the buyer to closely manage the supplier to ensure that each step in the process was completed in a timely and accurate fashion and that payments were made as promised. There were many of these projects occurring simultaneously with different suppliers. One supplier became an â€Å"expert† in this area allowing the buying firm to assign the supplier more projects, thus increasing the level of importance and moving it to the strategic category. Successful managers today require a broad view of the procurement and sourcing areas and the strategic role that this function can play in an integrated supply chain. Organizations need to take a long-term perspective, avoiding the low price sourcing temptation without considering the total cost and the total value provided by the function and its relationship to the supply base. Purchasing needs to strategically manage its supplies and its supply base. The first step in doing this is to understand what is being purchased, the importance of the purchase to the organization, and the complexity of the supply market. The goal is to ensure that the supplies that are purchased add value to the customer’s that ultimately buy our goods and services.

Against Abortion Essay -- Abortion Against Pro-Life Essays Argumentati

Against Abortion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Why is it that by 21 days into the fetal development the baby's heart begins to beat, but yet in most people's eyes the baby is still not 'technically' alive' That heart beat means nothing, it doesn't represent a human person whom God has created in his own image and has had a plan for that baby ever since the beginning of time. To most people that statement isn?t allowing women and their families freedom of choice. And yet that baby isn't given any say in its freedom to live. This paper will give many supporting statistics towards the right to life, I am pro-life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  *Forty-nine percent of pregnancies among American women are unintended, half of these are terminated by an abortion. Each year, two out of every one hundred women aged fifteen- forty-four have an abortion, forty-eight percent of them have had at least one previous abortion and sixty-one percent have had a previous birth. This means that these women understand the joy of a baby being born, and still choose to take away their privilege to live. They?ve carried this children before and know the happiness of seeing their own healthy child in their arms for the first time. Why then, when they know they are creating new life inside of them, choose to deprive their child the right to live and experience everything life has to offer. They willingly decide to kill that child, certainly for their own benefit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Each year, an estimated forty-six million abortions occur worldwide. Of these, twenty million procedures are obtained illegally.* Why are there stories on the news everyday of people being murdered and mistreated and the culprit being sent to jail of punished in some way for the crime they?ve committed. Yet I don?t think I?ve ever heard on the news of a women being sent to jail for the murder of her unborn baby. It?s still illegal, it?s the murder of a child, they are given no freedom, and the mother goes unpunished. *On average, women give at least three reasons for choosing abortion; 3/4 say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities; about 2/3 say they can?t afford a child; and 1/2 say they don?t want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner. A baby would interfere with their ?responsibilities?, one of the biggest responsibilities as a sexually active person is to use c... ...like to make a difference too, but the Supreme Court won?t allow him to. Partial-birth abortion is banned in certain states in the United States, its a horrible image to put in someone's head. However, some of the pictures I've seen really make people wonder how someone could destroy human life like that. Abortion all together should be banned, but some people are more pro-choice than pro-life. Senator John Kerry is pro-choice, if he is elected president there is virtually no hope in the end of abortion, and Roe v. Wade. President Bush is at least attempting to change the law, but is constantly being stuck down. John Kerry will do nothing in our country to stop the murder of unborn children. His concern is in Iraq, where a few people are dying each day, while every third baby conceived in America is killed by an abortion. Kerry wants to raise taxes for the wealthy, I wonder how they would feel about this tax raise knowing that some of it could be contributing to the murder of an unborn child. If Kerry wins the election basically all hope of ending abortion is crushed for another four years. Our worry won?t be on the Supreme Court, it will be on our pro-choice President.

Medical Unknown

** Introduction : A medical microbiology lab performs testing on human samples collected from different body sites. The tests are used to detect and identify any microorganisms capable of causing disease. Knowing of unknown microorganism is important on how this microorganism   works and how it is structured, means knowing how it can affect humans. The purpose of this study was to identify an unknown bacterium by applying all methods that were previously conducted and learned in the medical microbiology laboratory class. **Materials : 1) Blood agar plate . 2) Mannitol Salt agar (MSA) plate. ) DNase agar plate . 4) Novobiocin disc . 5) Inoculating loop. 6) flame ( Bunsen burner) . 7) 1N hydrochloric acid (HCl) . 8) Two slides . 9) Plasma tube. 10) 3% Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) . 11) One unknown plate . 12) Crystal violet. 13) Gram’s iodine . 14) Safranin. 15) Alcohol . ** Methods : An unknown labeled with number 8 was given out by the lab instructor. The goal at this point was to determine unknown gram positive vacteria. The procedures performed consisted of sterile technique in addition to being followed as stated in the referenced course laboratory manual by Matar (1) , unless otherwise noted.Not all of the tests were performed on every culture. However, there are as some of the tests were used only for gram (+) others were even more specific and used only for cocci bacteria . The first procedure have been done was to observe and record the morphology of the unknown sample. However, Gram stain should be done to be sure that unknown sample were gram positive and to identify cells morphology. After that biochemical tests were chosen for unknown identification . first of all was done the catalase test to differentiate between the two types of cocci bacteria ( Staphylococcus and Streptococcus ) .Since unknown 8 was determined to be Staphylococcus coagulase test in addition to the following tests were performed on this unknown : 1) Production of DNase on DNa se agar. 2) Blood agar with novobiocin (NB) test . 3) Mannitol fermentation on Mannitol Salt agar (MSA) . **Results : Colonies morphology on plate was given were as follows : circular, raised, smooth, opaque, white-yellow pigmens. After knowing that it was Gram positive cocci , a catalase test and coagulase test was done , in addition to different plates incubation ( Blood agar , DNase and MSA plates ) .The following table lists all of the tests were done : Test| Purpose| Reagents| Observations| Results| Gram stain| To determine The gram rxn ofBacterium. | Crystal violet,Iodine, Alcohol&Safranin. | Purple cocci| Gram positive Cocci . | Catalase test| To determine ifBact. Posses catalase enzyme. | 3% H2O2| Oxygen bubblesWere observed. | Positive catalaseTest. | Coagulase test| To detect thePresence of â€Å"Clumping factor†. | Plasma. | No clot was Formed. | Negative coagul-ase test . | DNase plate Test| To determine ifBact. producesDNase enzyme. | 1N HCl . Cloudy zone (notCle ar one ). | Negative . | Hemolysis test(blood agar). | To determine ifBacteria do Hemolysis. | None . | No visible Changes wereAround colonies. | Gamma hemolysis| Mannitol Fermentation. | To determineThe ability of Bacterium to ferment mannitol. | None . | Color changeFrom pink to Yellow . | Positive mannitolFermenter. | Novobiocin Test| To detect Sensitivity or Resistance of Bact to NB Antibiotic. | NB antibiotic . | No zone ofInhibition aroundDisc. | Resistant bact. | Flowchart Unknown 8 Gram stain Gram positive cocci Catalse test(positive)Positive Negative Staphylococcus aureus. Streptococcus pneumonia Staphylococcus epidermidis. Viridans Streptococci Staphylococcus saprophyticus S. pyogens S. agalactiae Coagulase and Dnase test (Negative) Enterococcus sp. Positive Negative Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococcus epidermidis. Staphylococcus saprophyticus Novobiocin test(Resistance)Sensitive Resistance Staphylococcus epidermidis. Staphylococcus saprophyticus MSA plate (Positive) Neg ative Positive Staphylococcus epidermidis. Staphylococcus saprophyticus Staphylococcus aureus. Blood agar plate(hemolytic test) (no hemolysis) Staphylococcus saprophyticus Unknown 8- S. saprophyticus **Discussion /Conclusion : It was concluded that Unknown 8 was S. saprophyticus . After applying Gram stain the gram positive bacteria was cocci in shape when viewed with a light microscope so a catalase test was performed.The bacteria was able to break down hydrogen peroxide upon its addition into water and gaseous oxygen which created bubbling and indicated a positive result. A sample was then inoculated on a mannitol salt agar plate. After incubation growth was present and the red media had turned yellow around the growth as a result of high levels of acid production. The data suggests that the gram positive bacteria was Staphylococci saprophyticus because it was gram positive, was catalase positive with the production of O, and was resistant to novobiocin disc.Staphylococcus saproph yticus is a strain of Staphylococcus bacteria. Approximately 25 percent of individuals carry this bacteria in the anal area, genitals, nose and mouth. People who walk barefoot are prone to acquire the bacteria from the floor. Staphylococcus may cause an infection when the bacteria enter a cut in any area of the body. These staph infections can range from boils to flesh-eating infections. The most common staph infection is Staphylococcus saprophyticus which commonly occurs in women.This staph is one of two bacteria which can invade the urinary tract. Approximately 20 percent of women who suffer from a urinary tract infection (UTI) will have another infection. **References : 1) Matar, Suzan. Medical microbiology Laboratory Manual. Jordan: University of Jordan publishing. 2) http://www. studymode. com/subjects/unknown-lab-report-on-gram-positive-bacteria-page1. html . 3) http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Gram-positive_bacteria . 4) http://www. ehow. com/about_5453276_staphylococcus-saprop hyticus-infection. html

“My Son the Marine” by Frank Schueffer Essay

The story â€Å"My Son the Marine† Is written by Frank Schueffer. The reason for this paper is to identify weather or no to author used logos ethos or pathos in the story. The story took place on a summer day. One day after high school a young boy decides he wanted to join the military. The young boy talks to almost all of the military recruiters except one. Later that afternoon there was a knock on his door from the one military branch he did not visit, The United States Marine Corp (USMC). The boy was taken by the appearance and demeanor of the two marines at his door. After his talk with the marines he decided that is he was to join the military he would definitely join the marine. The boy’s father could not understand his decision. he thought it was a waste of his son’s talent and could envision his soft son the one that like poetry would be tough enough to handle the mental, physical and emotional aspects of the journey to becoming a Marine . Later in the story the father starts to understand the question of why his son wants to join the USMC. The logos of this story is shown when the father changes his mind set from, my son couldn’t possibly be a Marine to thinking of his son as a Marine. â€Å"Did he have it in him to become a Marine? I knew that john’s idea of a good time was to curl up in front of the fireplace and rereading his favorite bits of The Hobbit.† To a parent worst fear is that there children will try something that is out of the area of knowledge and the child gets there hope up only to fall short of their goals. â€Å"When his son parade in†, a tall Marine† every parent dreams that there children will succeed. There are only a few examples of ethos; one was shown when the father was over thinking his son’s decision to join the military. â€Å"Why the hell was John going into the Marines†? The other example  of ethos, which is more profound, is the last par t of the story but certainly no least when the father hangs up the phone from talking to his son. â€Å"I stared at the television there were fire-fighters cops and military personnel struggling to find survivors and thousands dead. I felt deeply frustrated being able to do nothing. At least I knew that I could look the men and women in uniform in the eyes. My son, after all, was one of them†. The author did a great job of building repore and empathy for the father in the story. The author was able to use creative use of words to set the tone or mood of the father’s confusion about his sons need for to become the â€Å"few the proud a Marine†. The tone that was created was soft, protective, and thoughtful. And showed a change in tone and mode when the fathers son finally graduated and became a Marine The story, in conclusion, is a heartfelt story of a man and his son. It concerns the journey off what parents go through when saying goodbye to their children as they set off in unknown and unchartered territory. The pride the parents feel when their children suc ceed is exponential. The author wss able to capture the heart sting of the reader. Although the author used false logic to almost convince the father that his son was destined to fail. Works Cited Scueffer, Frank. My Son the Marine. Reading Literature and writing assignements 4th ed.

Antoine Laurent Lavoisier essays

Antoine Laurent Lavoisier essays Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier was born on Aug. 26, 1743. He grew up the oldest child in his family in Paris, France, and a product of the bourgeoisie lifestyle. His father was a well-off attorney who followed the family tradition of practicing law. Antoines mother died when he was just a boy, but his aunt came to help raise him and his younger siblings. Between 1754 and 1761, he was educated at the Collge Mazarin where he studied mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, and botany. From there, he was pushed into the field of law, and earned his degree. However, this career didnt interest him a great deal. He was more fascinated with sciences, especially, geology. Coming from his background, he had already gained entrance into the leading intellectual circles of the day and had been exposed to a great variety of scientific pursuits by the time he started his scientific career. A good friend of the family, Jean-Étienne Guettard, was a brilliant geologist and botanist, as well as bein g one of Lavoisiers main influences to join the study of science. Another great teacher of his was Guillaume Franà §ois Rouelle, his chemistry teacher. Both of these men were members of the Acadmie Royale des Sciences, or Royal Academy of Science. Lavoisiers first essay was about the mineral gypsum and the settling process of plaster of paris. This experiment showed off one on his strengths as a chemist, accurate measurement. Although a few scientists had earlier paid careful attention to measurement, it was Lavoisier who convinced the majority of chemists that accurate measurements are essential to experimental success and scientific progress. In 1768, Lavoisier was elected to the Royal Academy of Science. The same year, he entered the Ferme Gnrale, a private firm that collected certain taxes for the government. At the time, scientists were not very well paid, so in order to afford his expens...

Essay on Homelessness

Essay on Homelessness Essay on Homelessness Essay on HomelessnessBased on the readings and the video Homelessness is a Symptom, homelessness might be categorized as a social problem because it refers to the concerns that have negative impact on social development. As a rule, individuals become homeless for a number of reasons, including social and economic factors, such as unemployment and high costs of housing . According to recent research conducted by National Alliance to End Homelessness, the majority of homeless Americans have mental illnesses, severe physical disabilities or alcohol/drug addictions. Undoubtedly, these factors influence the development of American society to a great extent. Some of the policies suggested in this video involve government policies and funds. In my opinion, this is an appropriate use of public funds because homelessness stands for poor conditions of life, while public funds should be used for the good of the public. I completely agree with John Bosco Nkumunue (2014), who states that â€Å"t he appropriate use of public funds means money for giving opportunities to people in efficiency and quality† . I believe that the appropriate use of public funds is essential to address homelessness. The use of public funds fits inside of appropriate use because it contributes to the development of well-organized society. The policies described in this video may be controversial. My concerns about these policies are based on their nature because in some cases, this prevention is directed toward the improvement of politically damaging statistical data regarding homelessness rate. The web search on the policies intended to reduce or eliminate homelessness shows that there are many efforts aimed at finding solutions to this social problem. The example of a potentially effective response to the problem of homelessness is the policy developed and implemented by the Department of Veterans Affairs. This policy is targeted toward veterans who experience homelessness or are at risk of being homeless. The most important elements that make this solution effective include well-organized structure of policy implementation, the appropriate funding, public and government support.

Should Teenagers be subject to the Death Penalty Research Paper

Should Teenagers be subject to the Death Penalty - Research Paper Example Hence, the idea of death penalty as a deterrent to crime becomes quite controversial. Most of the countries have ceased applying death sentences to deter crime. Today, more than half of the nations across the world have stopped death penalty either by rule or through practice. They have reported that death sentence is not a solution to deter crime. The social and economic environment of the criminal directs crime. The first nations to have put an end to capital punishment were Venezuela, San Marino, and Costa Rica in the mid-nineteenth century. Other countries like Yugoslavia, Montenegro Serbia, Turkey and Chile have also abolished death penalties from 2000. Executions are prevalent in China, Saudi Arabia and the United States of America. (The European Union is united against Capital Punishment, 2007). The sentencing of youths who have been convicted of violent crimes to execution again depends on the extent of atrocity of the crime. The Juvenile Courts have long protected most of th e young offenders from the full-fledged application of criminal law and have also allowed them to enjoyment of their special rights and immunities. The special rights mainly include protection from publicity, imprisonment only to 21 years of age, no imprisonment with adults, and shelter from the consequences of adult punishment like the loss of civil entitlements, the exercise of adjudication against the juvenile convict in the following proceedings and debarment from public employment. The reason for drafting such rights and immunities is to provide the young convict with guidance and rehabilitation so as to ensure the child’s future as well as the protection of the society. Nevertheless, there are some youngsters who are extremely perilous and do not respond to efforts taken to reform them. The use of death penalty under such circumstances would actually depend on the nature of the crime and on the mental state of the offender. However, giving another scope to the youth to rectify and straighten oneself out is desirable (Laurence and Scott, 2003, pp. 1009-1018). Human rights groups have constantly argued against the death penalty inflicted upon a juvenile offender on the grounds of immaturity and vulnerability of impulse. This has especially taken a positive turn after the mentally retarded people were barred from such penalties (Bender, 2002, p. 20). Public consensus already has spoken against the death penalty for juvenile offenders. For instance, a Chicago survey of 2001 showed that while 62 percent favored death penalty for capital crimes, only 34 percent support the same for the teenagers under 18 years of age. The present research centers on the death penalty inflicted upon teenagers and attempts to argue against the moral and practical viability of such steps taken. B. Problem Statement and Purpose The execution or imposition of death penalty on offenders with mental retardation is against the prohibition of â€Å"cruel and unusual punishmentà ¢â‚¬  as enforced by the Constitution. The three states of US, Texas, Oklahoma and Virginia have carried out 82 percent of all the death penalties in the nation (American Bar Association, 2004, p. 2). Human rights groups and the director of Amnesty International argue that even the imposition of death penalty on teenage offenders was unconstitutional. Hence death penalty might lead to contradiction of human rights especially in case of children or teenagers despite the adults who might be responsible for the actions of the vulnerable,

Libel law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Libel law - Essay Example ommon libel prompting charges is accusing someone of being a communist, describing a lady as a call girl, calling an attorney a criminal, and condemning a minister for immoral conduct (Amponsah 78). Also, other cases arise due to accusing a father of infringing the confidence of his son, calling a political foe a liar or thief and calling a television character a â€Å"chicken butt" and "local loser". The defenses used in lawsuits are the truth, privilege and fair comment. If a journalist reports something, then it is thought to be true (Lawhorne 98). Also, journalists have the privilege of reporting accurate proceedings. Finally, journalists have the right to fair comment. Hence, what is published is perceived as the truth. The New York Time Co. vs. Sullivan recognized that, for a public official to succeed, a declaration must be printed (Mason 53). In addition, the person who published the statement was aware it would cause havoc, but he or she still disregarded the truth. Some of the court rulings that have had a significant impact on libel law are the case of John Zenger vs. William Cosby (1735), Dow Jones vs. MMAR Group Inc. and Alex Konanykhin vs. Izvestia, the Russian newspaper. All these cases went in favor of the plaintiffs. It also goes to conclude that if a plaintiff has grounds with regards to what was published he or she stands to win in a court of

Market Analysis & Industry Analysis Tablet Market Term Paper

Market Analysis & Industry Analysis Tablet Market - Term Paper Example The globally competitive nature of the modern business environment makes it very relevant for companies to put in a lot of efforts into their marketing. This is because through marketing, they are presented with opportunities that make it possible for them to identify the right people within the competitive market who can be strategically presented with what the company has (Kotler and Keller, 2009). Marketing also sets the pace for companies to develop the best forms of strategic options that help in making them competitive as against their core competitors with whom they are in the same market with (Adcock, Halborg and Ross, 2001). With this said, it will be appreciated that marketing is a very broad and relatively generalized concept for any company. It is for this reason that aspects of marketing must be clearly defined in order to make the most of the concept. In this paper, two very important areas of marketing are focused and these are market analysis and industry analysis. Ma rket and industry analysis can be said to be part of the overall research and development (R&D) component of marketing where companies get to study and understand their market and the industry within which they operate in a better way through critical evaluation of market and industry variables (Kotler and Keller, 2009). In this paper, some of the areas that are given include product category, market segmentation, competitors, and product positioning.

New Issues during the Civil Rights Movements Essay Example for Free

New Issues during the Civil Rights Movements Essay â€Å"What new issues emerged for the civil rights movement in the period 1965-1970? How did black leaders respond to those issues in different ways? † During the period 1965-1970, new issues had emerged for the civil rights movement, such as the question of whether Martin Luther King’s philosophy of non-violent tactics were too moderate and limited, poverty and voting rights. During 1965 to 1970, black leaders responded to these issues in a number of ways. Responses to these issues included the forming of Black Nationalist groups, voter registration campaigns and campaigns to get rid of poverty. An issue that emerged during 1965-1970 for the black civil rights movement was voting rights. Even though blacks had been given the right to vote since 1964, they often were frightened and intimidated by the whites if they went and voted. An example of this is with Fannie Ion Hamer. When Hamer came back from registering to vote, she was met by the owner of the plantation where she and her husband had worked for 17 years and was told that she would either leave or withdraw her name from the voters roll. She left and that night 16 shots were fired at the house she and her husband were staying in. Blacks were forced to do literacy tests, which most failed, before they could become registered voters; this was done to prevent the blacks from voting as they didn’t have very good literacy skills. By 1965 very few blacks were still not enrolled for example in Selma and Alabama, where only 350 blacks were registered to vote. The voting had become a new issue because many black civil rights leaders realized the significance of blacks voting to get their own people into positions of authority and create more progress for blacks in America. Another issue that emerged in the 1965-1970 for the black civil rights movement was the question whether Martin Luther King’s philosophy of non-violence stance was too moderate and limited. Martin Luther King’s tactics for making America desegregated was all non-violence, for example sit-ins, marches, signs or protests, boycotts, freedom rides and wait-ins. At first these tactics worked. The freedom rides achieved to desegregate bus terminals, issued by the Interstate Commerce Commission. The sit-ins worked because the protesters annoyed the whites, but not enough for them to take violent action from the police. Bills and laws were being passed. In the 1963 Birmingham campaign led by Martin Luther King the sit-ins, boycotts and mass marches managed to desegregate Birmingham. But by 1966 Black Power emerged and was an alternative philosophy to non-violent protest that civil rights’ activists could use. To some black leaders the methods Martin Luther King had always seemed too fair and his aim of winning concessions from the white majority appeared too inadequate. This was an issue to many blacks, because even though the non-violent methods worked most of the time, blacks were still getting beaten for it and or even killed. The Black Power became a very good alternative because it united black people to recognize their heritage, to build a sense of community. It was a call for black people to define their own goals, doing whatever is necessary to get what they need. The Black Power proved its point in the riots that emerged in Watts, Selma and Chicago, where blacks got what they wanted using means of violence. The riots showed that violence can be the answer too, the total opposite of Martin Luther King’s beliefs. Poverty was another issue the civil rights movement had to face in the period 1965-1970. Poverty of blacks occurred because of blacks being denied skilled jobs that paid well, this led the blacks to not having enough money for education, housing and food supplies, which led to theft among their own people. Blacks in ghettos believed there was no point in going to school if in the end they weren’t to get any good, well paid jobs. Blacks found that there was no use in working if their jobs paid a little more than the Social Security payments for the unemployed. These beliefs created a cycle of poverty and that in order to change and progress further than they already are they needed to break that poverty cycle. This proved to be a great challenge for conservative black groups and leaders but was one of the significant factors for the rise of nationalists groups. In response to the issue of voting rights, black leaders held many voter registration campaigns and demonstrations. An example was the Selma Campaign in 1965, which became a significant campaign. Marches from Selma to Montgomery, which had been banned by the Federal Court, was led by Martin Luther King. On one march the marchers were met by State Troops and so King led them in prayer and marched them back to Selma. This cost the support of many King’s younger supporters, but the Selma Campaign was still a success. This led to the introduction of the Voters’ Rights Bill, which ensured that obstruction to voting would be prevented and many more blacks were now enrolling. In response to the questioning of Martin Luther Kings non-violent methods, black leaders started to form nationalists groups which had more violent policies. For example, in 1966 the Black Panthers were formed. They called for the arming of blacks, to have all blacks released from prison and for blacks to receive compensation for centuries of exploitation by whites. This group also used a lot of violence, but younger blacks found this more appealing than Martin Luther King’s tactics, as they had more aggressive approaches and could relate to blacks who had grown up in the ghettos. Finally, in response to the issue of poverty, black leaders held campaigns for this problem too. During 1968, King organised the ‘Poor Peoples Campaign’. This was an attempt to bring together all of America’s poor – not just blacks – and was obviously not fought along racial lines. This would have been a great way to deal with the poverty of America because it would have brought together many different groups of people in order to achieve common goals. In conclusion during the civil rights movement in years 1965-1970, the new issues that emerged were voting rights, the question whether Martin Luther King’s tactics were too fair and limited and poverty. These issues were responded by the black leaders in different ways such as the forming of Black Nationalists groups, for example the Black Panthers, voter registration campaigns and campaigns to get rid of poverty.

Greece Essay -- Ancient Greece Essays

Greece Greece was founded in 3000 B.C. Greece is located in Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Turkey and Albania. Greece’s area can be compared to the size of the state of Alabama. Between 3500 and 3000 B.C., society was becoming more complex. Villages built during this time were becoming larger. However, the population increased at a slow rate. During the second millennium B.C. two Greek civilizations evolved - the Minoan in Crete and the Mycenaean on the mainland. Sometime around 1349 B.C., the Mycenaean peoples conquered the island of Crete, and the Minoan civilization basically stopped evolving. Archeologists and historians discovered that Minoans first wrote in the Greek language and the Mycenaean’s first spoke it. There was a time called the â€Å"Dark Age†. It was from approximately 1099 B.C. to 800 B.C. This is the time when things seemed to fall apart. An example is when a revolution occurs. In this case, peasants rebelled against the military rulers. It is believed that the Mycenaean’s were very strong in their armed forces, and that probably caused their own destruction. Things became unruly. People were just trying to survive. They lived in smaller communities and farmed for themselves. The population growth slowed down to probably its lowest levels. Sometime around 800’s B.C., things began to change again. Things were starting to get better. Renaissance is another word for re-birth. That is what was happening to this country. Between 750 and 500 B.C., the Greeks had founded colonies in many parts of the Mediterranean Basin and the Black Sea. The ports of Argos and Corinth, on the eastern side of the country, grew very fast and trade with the Near East began to grow. Metals were traded with the Near East and Italy. Because things were going good and the population rose, we all know, having more people means needing more food to eat and more land to expand on. This meant more explorers were needed to settle more areas and the expansion of Greece was underway. In the eighth century B.C., (799 to 700 B.C.), the concept of â€Å"polis† began to develop with the rich people to replace the poor people. The tyrants were often related to the rich people. The success of the tyrants created a new rule. That rule was that you don’t have to be born a prince or princess to rule a territory. After abo... ...thousands died because of no food. In all more than 500,000 people lost their lives. During the Civil War that followed, 80,000 more died. The national economy went down the drain. With a lot of help from the United States, things started to turn around for the better. During the 1960s the military took control of the government. The people began feeling like they were losing their freedom. Military leaders and politicians decided to â€Å"clean house†. They agreed that the way to do that was with a new constitution and a vote of the people to get rid of the monarchy. Instead a president was given considerable powers and they were not abused. In the 1970s through the 1980s democracy was finally in place. The European Union began its presence in the 1990s. Many of the European Union’s richer countries worried about Greece’s poorer status. But all of the many countries, including the United States, are richer because of their contact with Greece and its rich history. One of the most recent events was the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Over 11,000 athletes, from around the world, came together to compete in many different sporting events. It was a huge success and fun to watch on TV.

Explain different methods of feedback Essay

Learning is an active process. To learn, we need to plan what we’re going to do; attempt to do it and then receive feedback on our work. We then use this feedback to improve the work we have just done; or, more often in education, to ensure that the next work we do embraces what we have learned. Feedback also affects how we feel about our work, and inevitably also about ourselves; feedback thus also affects student motivation. Feedback can be delivered in a number of styles. Methods which can deliver a higher payoff for both trainers and students are: Self assessment, Students comparing work, Individual learning development plans, Peer-marking with feedback, Presentations by students, Verbal feedback to individuals, Feedback Sandwich and Verbal feedback to whole class. Carl Rogers places self assessment at the start and heart of the learning process. And the learning from experience cycle devised by Kolb places heavy emphasis on self assessment. It is most important that we reflect in a way that enables us to learn. This involves not blaming the students or our self for anything that went wrong but instead trying to identify why things worked or didn’t work. Try to learn the general principles of what works, and then you can use these principles to work out how to teach better in the future. It can be made by learners as well where they can make judgement about their own work. An easy method of feedback is just by allowing the learners to compare their work. This will allow them to correct their mistakes and improve their work. And Peer Assessment is where a pupil’s work is judged by fellow pupils. Individual learning plans form a ‘route map’ of how a learner will get from their starting point on a learning journey to the desired end point. They may be for one course and include the acquisition of qualifications and skills, or may link several courses that give progression to different  levels (from level 1 to 3, or from level 2 to Higher Education). They should be individual for each learner to reflect aspirations, aptitude and needs. Peer Assessment is where a pupil’s work is judged by fellow pupils. Self Assessment involves pupils making judgements about their own work. These strategies involve more than using marking keys, but give opportunities for exploration of the fundamentals of the assessment process, including various types of evaluation. One of the most popular methods is Sandwich Feedback. The sandwich feedback technique is a popular three-step procedure to help tutors who are ill at ease with providing corrective feedback. The sandwich feedback method consists of praise followed by corrective feedback followed by more praise. In other words, the sandwich feedback method involves discussing corrective feedback that is â€Å"sandwiched† between two layers of praise. The purported benefits of this technique are twofold: (1) it â€Å"softens† the impact of the criticism or corrective feedback on an employee/learner, and, (2) given that a manager/tutors is probably more comfortable with praising the employee/learner, the manager/tutor finds it easier to discuss problems with the learner/employee’s behavior if this discussion begins and ends with praising the employee/learner. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Dr R. Paton and Dr S. Fearnley, Asssesing Students’ work (Undated) http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsld/firstwords/fw21.html (Accessed on 1/12/2011) Geoff Petty , Self Assessment: Evaluating your teaching (2004), http://www.geoffpetty.com/selfassess.html (Accessed on 1/12/2011) EXCELLENCE GATEWAY, LEARNING AND SKILLS IMPROVEMENT SERVICE (LSIS) 2011 HTTP://WWW.EXCELLENCEGATEWAY.ORG.UK/PAGE.ASPX?O=108288(ACCESSED ON 1/12/2011) THE HIGHLAND COUNCIL,( 20/08/2010), HTTP://WWW.HIGHLANDSCHOOLS-VIRTUALIB.ORG.UK/LTT/FLEXIBLE/PEER.HTM(ACCESSED ON 1/12/2011) NAGESH BELLUDI, THE SANDWICH FEEDBACK TECHNIQUE (FEBRUARY 20, 2008) HTTP://WWW.RIGHTATTITUDES.COM/2008/02/20/SANDWICH-FEEDBACK-TECHNIQUE/(ACCESSED ON 1/12/2011)

Disney Corporate Strategy(a).Pdf Essay

Introduction The next big takeover fight – and it would be a beauty – may involve Walt Disney Productions. By the time you get this issue, Disney’s defense strategy may already be unfolding. But it will produce no quick victory for Disney even if a white knight comes along, and even if the principle attacker, Saul Steinberg, can be bought off. One by one, Hollywood’s great studios have been plucked by the smart out-of-town moneymen. Paramount by the late Charles Bluhdorn. Twentieth Century-Fox by Marvin Davis and Marc Rich. MGMUnited Artists by Kirk Kerkorian. Columbia by Coca-Cola. Now, it may be Disney’s turn. But Disney will not go quietly. – Forbes, June 4, 1984 Ron Miller, Disney Productions’ CEO reflected on the remarkable events of the past several months. Disney, the symbol of wholesome family entertainment, had become the target of a hostile takeover attempt by a well-known raider, Saul Steinberg. Steinberg now owned 12% of th e firm and was threatening to acquire more. While Miller had orchestrated several defensive maneuvers, Steinberg had now announced a public tender offer to purchase 49% of the equity at a price that was a 45% premium over where the stock had been prior to the raid. To fund this purchase, Steinberg was promising to sell the film library and certain real estate assets to outside investors. Steinberg also had a track record of accepting greenmail, having received $47 million just months prior from Quaker State Oil Company. Miller faced a clear dilemma as to how best to respond. Should he continue the defensive fight by paying greenmail or should he encourage the board to sell the company? History of Disney With a $500 loan, animator Walt Disney and his brother Roy founded Walt Disney Productions, an animation film studio, in 1923 in Anaheim California. One of Disney’s first popular cartoons was â€Å"Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.† Unfortunately, Disney lost the 1 Research Asso ciate Peter Eberle prepared this case under the supervision of Professor Todd R. Zenger of the Olin School of Business for exclusive use as an in-class discussion piece. The information in this case was obtained from published sources and in some instances raw data has been estimated. *This case is based upon â€Å"Walt Disney Productions: Greenmail† published by Harvard Business School Publishing, 1988. September 2002 Revised September 2009 contract dispute with his distributor because Disney did not own the copyright. After this incident, Disney was very astute about maintaining copyright control over his characters and content. Disney’s breakthrough came in 1928 with the animated short, â€Å"Steamboat Willie,† the first animated film featuring sound. It also introduced the first of many famous and timeless Disney cartoon characters, Mickey Mouse. Disney also was the first to use color animation with the cartoon â€Å"Flowers and Trees† in 1930. In another innovative and risky move, Disney created and released the first feature-length animated film, â€Å"Snow White,† in 1937. At the time, full-length animated films were not considered commercially viable. Nonetheless, â€Å"Snow White† was a critical and commercial success and was the first in a string of animated films over the next decades, including: â€Å"Pinocchio,† â€Å"Fantasia,† â€Å"Dumbo,† â€Å"Bam bi,† â€Å"Peter Pan,† â€Å"Cinderella,† and â€Å"Sleeping Beauty.† Disney’s films were initially successful due to the style and high quality of animation, attention to detail, timeless and family-oriented story lines, and timeless characters such as Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck. Disney not only used these characters throughout multiple films and cartoons, but also leveraged and increased their reach through merchandising, beginning in 1929 with a licensed Mickey Mouse pencil tablet. Placing these characters on T-shirts, watches, toys and other items increased both profits and recognition of the characters, and Disney, among consumers. Following his success in animated films, Disney moved into non-animated films in the 1944 with the establishment of the Educational and Industrial Film Division. The first major success of this division was â€Å"Seal Island,† a nature film that won an Oscar in 1949. Also in 1949, Disney formed a mus ic company to create, produce and maintain control over the music and songs featured in Disney productions but often performed by famous artists. Disney later moved into live-action features with â€Å"Treasure Island† in 1950. Disney continued to innovate in the live-action format by combining animation with live action in the film â€Å"Mary Poppins.† As Disney’s film library had grown, Disney brought distribution in-house with the formation of Buena Vista Distribution Co., in 1953. In films, Disney kept costs low by developing its own talent pool. For cartoon features, characters were infinitely reusable and never required a salary, while for live-action features, Disney shied away from using well-known and expensive talent. Audiences were drawn because of the reputation Disney had established for providing quality, reliable, and predictable family entertainment. In the early 1950s, Disney was quick to recognize the growing medium of television to provide new outlets for Disney characters with â€Å"The Wonderful World of Disney† first airing in 1953 and â€Å"The Mickey Mouse Club† in 1955. Disney’s television productions both the long-running shows and features were quite successful. During the same time, Walt Disney envisioned a theme park that would bring the characters and stories of Disney to life featuring entertainment for all ages. Again, his idea was considered too risky and he was unable to raise substantial outside funding for the project. He purchased 225 acres outside of Anaheim and opened Disneyland in 1955. Disney Strategy (A) 2 Olin Business School September 2002 Revised September 2009 Disneyland was hugely successful, grossing $10 million in 1956. Cross-promotion of the park was achieved through featuring it on the â€Å"Wonderful World of Disney.† The only drawback of Disneyland was that private hotel, restaurant and shop owners who built adjacent to the park profited hugely from park attendance, but Disney was unable to share in these revenues. Additionally, due to the small size of the park there was little room for further development both inside and outside of the park To address the drawbacks of Disneyland, Disney purchased 28,000 acres near Orlando Florida in 1964 and 1965. This would provide the site for Walt Disney World, which would include not only the theme park aspects of Disneyland, but also hotels and accommodations, shopping, camping, natural areas, and permanent residential and industrial areas. Also, with 28,000 acres (as opposed to Disneyland’s 225) there was ample room for future expansion. As with Disneyland, Walt Disney World was extremely well planned and laid out with no expense spared to achieve the quality and attention to detail for which Disney was known. Following the opening in 1972, the park was wildly popular and extremely profitable, attracting 11 million visitors and bringing in $139 million in revenues its first year. Walt Disney World would shortly become the number one travel destination in the world. Disney formed the Walt Disney Travel Company to work with travel agents, tour organizers and airlines in order to drive travel to the Walt Disney World area. Walt Disney World provided the stage for another of Disney’s visionary exploits, the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT), the concept for which Disney laid out prior to his death in 1966. EPCOT’s construction began in the 1970’s and it opened in 1982. Following Walt’s d eath, Roy O. Disney assumed leadership and focused on the theme parks: completing Walt Disney World and EPCOT. The successes of the theme parks led to a joint venture with the Oriental Land Company of Japan in 1976 to develop Tokyo Disneyland, which opened in 1983. This project required no capital investment from Disney, who received a percentage-based licensing fee, as well as provided consulting services during operations. The venture was completely owned by the Japanese partner, but was planned and operated by Disney. In 1983, the Disney Television group entered the cable TV distribution with the Disney Channel. Also in 1983, they launched Touchstone Films, an independent film label, to allow Disney to produce and market films with more mature content and reach a more adult audience where movie attendance was strong. It was hoped that an independent label would not tarnish the Disney image. The first release was â€Å"Splash,† in 1984, which was the highest grossing Disney film since 1964. Walt Disney Productions’ Businesses As Disney grew over time, new subsidiaries and divisions were created as Disney engaged in new activities. The corporate office grew to manage the various subsidiaries and divisions. By the late 70’s, Disney had four primary business lines: Entertainment & Recreation, Motion Pictures, Consumer products, and Real Estate. Disney Strategy (A) 3 Olin Business School September 2002 Revised September 2009 The Motion Pictures group oversaw animation and production of films, managed rerelease of existing film properties, television production, and the cable television channel. This division’s contribution to revenues and net income to the overall company had steadily decreased over time, falling off significantly by the mid-70’s (with the groups actually losing money in 1983). Production of animated films fell off with the slack being taken up by live action films including sequel series such as Herbie, â€Å"The Love Bug.† Walt had been averse to sequels and following popular sentiment. Live-action films released during the 70’s had been perennial money losers contributing heavily to the drag in divisional earnings. It was hoped that the newly established Touchstone Films studio would appeal to a wider range of audiences and increase both revenue and profitability. In 1983, Disney’s long standing presence on prime time television ended with the cancel lation of â€Å"The Wonderful World of Disney.† The group relied on re-release of the classic animated features to bolster revenue, often tying distribution of new films to the re-releases. This also had the effect of constantly introducing younger generations to the Disney classics. While the value of Disney’s film library was significant, the group found difficulty in determining the best vehicle to realize the maximum value. It was felt the television and home video releases would cannibalize or otherwise lessen the existing, profitable, theatre re-release channel. It was estimated the value of Disney’s film library was worth $275 million (Exhibit 6). While having a successful launch, the Disney cable pay-channel would take a number of years before becoming profitable. The Entertainment & Recreation division managed the theme parks, hotels, managing the licensing arrangement with Tokyo Disneyland, and management of the land surrounding Disney World. While the theme park and resort business was the most recent new business, or â€Å"diversification† move by Disney, it had grown to dominance in the corporation. In terms of revenue and net income, it accounted for close to 79% of total revenue and 90% of total corporate profits (Exhibit 1). While operating income jumped significantly in 1983, the prior years provided very modest growth. Moreover, attendance at Disneyland had been flat for five years. Consumer Products managed the merchandising of Disney characters and intellectual properties that included character merchandising (the lead revenue generator), publishing and books, music and records, and educational media. The division had been consistently profitable, but there was concern because of increased competition from newer cartoon characters with more television exposure. Operating income had been rather flat over the prior four years. Leadership at Walt Disney Productions From the founding of the company until his death, Walt Disney created or approved every major strategic move and development. He provided the vision and decisive leadership that made Walt Disney Productions successful. He realized his belief that one Disney Strategy (A) 4 Olin Business School September 2002 Revised September 2009 could create a timeless entertainment experience that would appeal to the entire family, children and adults a like. Additionally, he maintained complete control over the customer’s entertainment experience in order to ensure that the Disney philosophy and experience was complete. Walt Disney constantly innovated and took significant risks on new ideas and concepts, most of which met with significant success. His confidence and acumen in identifying and vigorously pursuing good ideas led to many firsts in entertainment. Walt Disney also placed great importance on passing the Disney culture and values on to all employees, including executives, with all new employees attending a training program where the company’s value and strategy were explained. Great value was placed on communicating openly, teamwork, creativity, and cooperation. Walt inspired a congenial, informal atmosphere throughout the organization. This culture was very deep among employees, many of whom spent their entire careers with Disney. Disney University was founded to be the keeper and purveyor of the Disney culture. Walt, who died on December 14, 1966, was succeeded by his brother, Roy O. Disney. Upon Roy’s death in 1971, Card Walker, who had been with the company since 1938, assumed the leadership position. Following the completion of EPCOT center, Card resigned and was succeeded by Ron Miller. Being Walt Disney’s son-in-law, it had been expected that Ron Miller would eventually be appointed to CEO. Prior to his appointment to CEO in 1983, he had led the Disney film studio since 1976. Ron Miller, a football star at USC, had met Walt’s daughter Diane while in college and married shortly thereafter. Following a brief stint in the Military he played for the Los Angeles Rams football team. Concerned over his being knocked unconscious in two games, Walt urged him to quit football and work for the company. In general, people were promoted from within the company ranks, usually based on seniority. Through 1984, Disney was managed by its founders, family and insiders who had grown up within the organization. Although possessing many years of experience within Disney, the post-Walt management lacked Walt’s vision and leadership. At the core of Disney were Walt’s ideas and grand accomplishments to which it seemed that no one but Walt could build upon. And, attempts to capture and pass down his leadership style were unsuccessful. Additionally, much of the focus following Walt’s death was on fulfilling his final wishes and serving as caretakers to the kingdom. Upon taking control, Ron Miller saw the need to create new legacies for Disney, particularly in the films gro up. Some positives resulted, including the creation of the Touchstone label and release of successful films like â€Å"Tron† and â€Å"Splash.† Nonetheless, these additive actions lacked the impact that many of Walt’s grand ideas had had on the company and the industry. Disney Strategy (A) 5 Olin Business School September 2002 Revised September 2009 In 1983, the Disney family collectively held around 13.7% of Disney with Roy E. Disney being the largest of the family shareholders with around 3% ownership and a seat on the Board of Directors. Managers and long-time employees held 2-7% of the company. With the super majority vote rule in place, requiring in excess of 80% shareholder approval to affect a management change, and unified Disney and management shareholder group, the current management felt that it could operate without concern of shareholder and market pressures. Financial Performance and Condition From the early 1960’s until a peak in 1973, Disney’s stock price had steadily outperformed the S&P 500. In the following years the stock price had declined somewhat and then stagnated through the late 70’s and early 80’s (Exhibit 4). While the share price had peaked at $84 per share in early 1983 after the initial success of EPCOT, it fell into the $40-range following news of losses in the film division. Additionally, EPS performance had declined significantly from a peak of $4.16 per share in 1980 to $2.70 per share in 1983, the lowest EPS in the past 6 years. Throughout its history, Disney had generally operated completely free of debt, only occasionally taking on debt for completion of large projects, such as with the final construction phases of EPCOT in 1981, 1982 and 1983 (Exhibit 1). Prior to 1981, Disney was relatively debt free since 1977. Even when Disney took on debt, leverage was low (with a coverage ratio of 11.6 in 1983). Due to the tremendous amount of free cash flow thrown off from the theme parks, Disney had been able to internally fund growt h without needing to access the capital markets regularly. The debt taken on to complete EPCOT, as prior experience dictated, would be paid down rather quickly once revenue from EPCOT was realized. However, there was growing dissatisfaction and impatience among the investing community in regards to management’s lack of urgency regarding Disney’s lackadaisical stock performance. Although near-term earnings forecasts predicted improvements, there were no signs of improvement in stock value. Analysts and the media had begun to increase pressure on management by publishing the break-up value of Disney’s business lines. These values ranged from $60 to as much as $110 per share, well above the current trading value (Exhibit 3). Moreover, the end of year 1983 book value per share (total assets/shares outstanding) was around $68 per share while the year-end stock price was $52-5/8. Hostile Takeover Attempts, Defense and Greenmail On March 9, 1984 the price of Walt Disne y Productions stock was $52-1/4 and had been stable over the past 6 months. On March 9, Roy E. Disney resigned from the Board of Directors after being re-elected to the Board in February. Shortly thereafter, trading volume of Disney stock increased several times over the average daily volume, pushing the price upward (Exhibit 5). By March 23, Disney stock closed at $66-7/8. In Disney Strategy (A) 6 Olin Business School September 2002 Revised September 2009 preparation of an apparent takeover attempt, Ron Miller and his management team increased Disney’s credit line from $400 million to $1.3 billion. At the end of March, Saul Steinberg’s Reliance Financial Services Corporation announced that it had purchased 6.3% of Disney’s stock and intended to buy more. By April 13, Steinberg had increased his share of Disney to 9.3%, costing around $176.9 million. Roy E. Disney had also increased his share of Disney to 4% from 2.7%. In late April, Steinberg declared his intent to increase his share to as much as 25% and executed a million share block purchase on May 1st for $65.50 per share. After assembling a takeover defense team, Disney announced a deal to acquire Arvida Corporation on May 17th. Arvida was a southeastern US real estate development company that was controlled by the Bass brothers of Texas who had purchased 70% of Arvida for $20 million five months prior. The Bass brothers would receive $200 million in Disney s tock. The deal was denounced separately by both Steinberg and Roy E. Disney as destroying shareholder value. Steinberg threatened to block the transaction by buying control of Disney and selling the assets. In spite of Roy E. Disney’s opposition and Steinberg’s threat, the acquisition was closed, issuing 3.3 million shares, or 8.8% of Disney, to the Bass Brothers. Steinberg’s 4.2 million shares now controlled only 10% of the company down from 12%. The move also diluted Roy E. Disney’s ownership stake. In a further move to dilute Steinberg’s ownership stake, Disney announced a deal on June 6th 1984 to acquire Gibson Greeting Cards for $310 million in stock from an LBO partnership. Gibson Greeting cards had licensed numerous popular cartoon characters (Bugs Bunny, Garfield the Cat, etc.) for its cards but did not have any licensing agreements for Disney characters. The acquisition of Gibson, which had been purchased from RCA in 1982 for $80 million ( most of which was debt), would add $41 million to Disney’s debt and dilute Disney’s equity by an additional $310 million in stock. Two days later in an attempt to block the deal, Saul Steinberg made a tender offer of $67.50 per share cash for 37.1% of Disney Stock with a promise to boost the offer to $72.50 in cash and securities for cancellation of the Gibson acquisition. By that time, Steinberg had spent $265.6 million for his 10% ownership stake in Disney. Steinberg obtained additional financing to support this tender offer by granting Kirk Kerkorian, the controlling shareholder in MGM/UA, an option to purchase all of Disney’s motion picture and cable TV assets and to the Fisher Brothers, the right to develop Disney land surrounding the theme parks for hotels. The Present Dilemma Nothing in Ron Miller’s experience had prepared him for these circumstances. He had assembled a defensive team to fight the hostile takeover, but perhaps allowing Disney’s breakup was a better option. Should he buy off Steinberg with greenmail? If so, at what price and how could this be justified to shareholders? Disney Strategy (A) 7 Olin Business School September 2002 Revised September 2009 Exhibit 1 WALT DISNEY COMPANY FINANCIAL INFORMATION source: Disney Annual Reports, Disney Corporate Fact Books, Mergent, Global Access Note: Some numbers are estimates and slight structural modifications have been made to produce â€Å"standardized† statements CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME (in millions of dollars) Year Ended September 30th Revenues Filmed Entertainment Theme Parks & Resorts Consumer Products Total Segment Revenue Costs & Expenses Filmed Entertainment Theme Parks & Resorts Total Segment Costs Operating Income Filmed Entertainment Theme Parks & Resorts Consumer Products Total Segment Operating Income Total Operating Income Corporate Activities General & Administrative Expenses Net Interest (Income) Expense Acquisition Related Costs Design Projects Abandoned Total Corporate Expenses (Income) 7.3 56.9 5.1 21.3 4.6 -2.3 4.3 -16.7 2.4 -8.2 35.6 14.1 30.9 -14.8 26.2 -33.1 21.3 -42.1 17.8 -28.4 -$33.4 197.0 56.9 220.4 $220.4 $19.6 132.6 47.8 200.0 $200.0 $34.6 129.4 50.6 214.7 $214.7 $48.7 127.5 55.0 231.3 $231.3 $4 0.2 120.6 44.8 205.7 $205.7 $198.9 834.0 1,086.7 $182.5 593.0 830.2 $162.2 562.4 790.0 $112.3 515.9 682.9 $111.8 387.8 535.4 $165.5 1,031.0 110.7 1,307.4 $202.1 725.6 102.5 1,030.3 $196.8 691.8 116.0 1,005.0 $161.0 643.4 109.7 914.5 $152.0 508.4 80.6 741.0 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 Income Before Income Taxes (EBIT) Unusual Charges Income Taxes Net Income Earnings (Loss) Per Share Avg. Number of Common Shares Outstanding 163.5 70.3 $93.2 $2.70 34.5 178.8 78.7 $100.1 $3.01 33.2 217.0 95.5 $121.5 $3.72 32.6 248.0 112.8 $135.2 $4.16 32.5 213.9 100.1 $113.8 $3.51 32.4 Disney Strategy (A) 8 Olin Business School September 2002 Revised September 2009 WALT DISNEY COMPANY FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET (in millions of dollars) September 30th Assets Cash & Cash Equivalents Investments Accounts Receivable Merchandise Inventories Inventories Income Taxes Refundable Film & Television Costs Prepaid Expenses Theme Parks, Resorts and Other Property, at cost Attractions, Buildings and Equipment Accumulated Depreciation 2,251.3 -504.4 1,746.9 Projects in Progress land 108.1 16.7 1,871.8 Other Assets Total Assets Liabilities & Stockholders’ Equity Accounts Payable Income Taxes Payable Borrowings Unearned Royalty & Other Advances Other Deferred Income Taxes Other Long Term Liabilities, Unearned Royalties & Advances Stockholders’ Equity Common Stock (1) Common Stock Internet Group Paid-in Capital Retained Earnings Less Treasury Stock & Compensation Fund Shares Total Stockholder’s Equity Total Liabilities & Stockholders’ Equity 1,401.0 $2,381.2 1,274.8 $2,102.8 1,167.1 $1,610.0 1,075.0 $1,347.4 961.0 $1,196.4 738.6 1,400.5 686.5 1,274.8 626 .2 1,167.1 537.1 1,074.4 425.2 961.1 661.9 588.3 540.9 537.7 535.9 321.8 110.0 181.0 94.7 89.0 61.9 96.8 98.0 $187.6 50.6 346.0 109.6 $210.8 26.6 315.0 $148.5 33.1 110.0 $109.0 36.2 30.4 $74.6 45.2 18.6 93.7 $2,381.2 1,916.6 -419.9 1,496.7 160.1 16.4 1,673.2 103.0 $2,102.8 968.2 -384.5 583.7 469.2 16.4 1,069.4 21.3 $1,610.0 935.2 -352.1 583.1 163.1 16.4 762.5 19.4 $1,347.4 882.1 -310.8 571.4 60.7 16.3 648.4 19.2 $1,196.4 $18.1 0.0 102.9 77.9 77.9 70.0 126.9 19.8 66.7 41.0 108.0 18.2 59.8 0.0 120.6 15.4 120.3 11.4 85.8 8.9 54.6 41.9 $13.7 0.0 79.0 $5.9 248.4 69.3 $9.7 318.5 50.7 $8.8 346.1 37.1 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 (1) For the years 1983 and prior; Disney Stock no par value, 75,000 shares Auth., 33,729 billion shares issued & 34,509 outstanding Disney Strategy (A) 9 Olin Business School September 2002 Revised September 2009 WALT DISNEY COMPANY FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (in millions of dollars) Year Ended September 30 Cash Provided by Operations Net Income Income from continuing operations before taxes and cumulative effect of accounting changes Income taxes (paid) refunded, net Charges to Income Not Requiring Cash Outlays Depreciation Amortization of Film & Television Costs Other Changes in Receivables Merchandise Inventories Prepaid Expenses and Other Assets Deferred Income Taxes Total Cash Provided by Operations Investing Activities Film & Television Costs Theme Parks, Resorts, and Other Property Other Total Cash Used by Investing Activities Financing Activities Borrowings Reduction of Borrowings Repurchases of Common Stock Dividends Other Total Cash (Used) Provided by Financing Cash Provided by Discontinued Operations Increase (Decrease) in Cash Cash Balance, Beginning of Year Cash Balance, End of Year 4.4 13.7 $18.1 -240.6 254.3 $13.6 -74.0 328.3 $254.3 -26.6 354.9 $328.3 80.6 274.3 $354.9 41.1 102.8 $151.7 39.7 48.2 $277.1 32.4 32.1 $142.4 23.3 11.6 $11.7 15.5 8.5 $10.0 137.5 -99.9 205.0 110.0 0.0 n/a 83.8 333.7 26.0 -$443.5 52.3 614.4 85.9 -$752.8 55.4 333.4 5.9 -$394.7 68.4 149.7 1.6 -$219.7 -$91.5 44.4 56.6 -25.9 -11.2 13.3 -2.6 $337.4 1.1 -6.9 15.2 4.6 $274.8 $210.8 $204.7 $182.8 -18.6 -5.1 24.1 -13.6 -12.8 23.8 90.2 65.6 15.5 41.9 64.9 9.9 38.9 52.2 9.4 43.1 33.9 6.5 40.4 5.3 2.4 $163.4 29.0 $178.8 -34.6 $216.9 -106.1 $247.9 -121.8 $ 113.8 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 Disney Strategy (A) 10 Olin Business School September 2002 Revised September 2009 WALT DISNEY COMPANY FINANCIAL INFORMATION KEY FINANCIAL RATIOS ROE (NI/total shareholder’s equity) (ROE was 22% in ’65, 16% in ’55, and 7% in ’45) ROA (NI/total assets) Operating Margin (operating rev. – sga/total rev) Debt to Equity (total debt/total shareholders equity) Total Debt to Assets (Current & L/T Borrowings/Total Assets) Divisional Operating Margins (div. op. inc./div. rev.) Filmed Entertainment Theme Parks & Resorts Consumer Products Divisional Contributions to Total Revenue (div. rev./total rev) Filmed Entertainment Theme Parks & Resorts Consumer Products 12.7% 78.9% 8.5% 19.6% 70.4% 9.9% 19.6% 68.8% 11.5% 17.6% 70.4% 12.0% 20.5% 68.6% 10.9% -20.2% 19.1% 51.4% 9.7% 18.3% 46.6% 17.6% 18.7% 43.6% 30.2% 19.8% 50.1% 26.4% 23.7% 55.6% 3.9% 14.1% 24.7% 14.5% 4.8% 16.4% 24.7% 15.0% 7.5% 18.8% 9.4% 6.8% 10.0% 23.0% 2.8% 2.3% 9.5% 25.4% 1.9% 1.6% 1983 6.7% 1982 7.9% 1981 10.4% 1980 12.6% 1979 11.8% 1975 10% 1970 10% Divisional Contribution to Operating Income (Div. Op. Inc./Total Segment Op. Inc.) Filmed Entertainment Theme Parks & Resorts Consumer Products -15.2% 89.4% 25.8% 9.8% 66.3% 23.9% 16.1% 60.3% 23.6% 21.1% 55.1% 23.8% 19.5% 58.6% 21.8% Disney Strategy (A) 11 Olin Business School September 2002 Revised September 2009 Exhibit 2 WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS, JUNE 1984 Other Financial Date (in thousands) Entertainment and Recreation Walt Disney World Admission and rides Merchandise sales Food sales Lodging Disneyland Admissions and rides Participant fees, Walt Disney Travel Co. Tokyo Disneyland royalties and other Total revenues Theme Park Attendance Walt Disney World Disneyland Total Motion Pictures Theatrical Domestic Foreign Television Worldwide Home-Video & NonTheatrical Worldwide Total revenues Consumer Products and Other 1983 $278,320 172,324 178,791 98,105 102,619 45,669 1982 $153,504 121,410 121,329 81,427 98,273 44,481 1981 $139,326 121,465 114,951 70,110 92,065 44,920 1980 $130,144 116,187 106,404 61,731 87,066 41,703 1979 $121,276 101,856 95,203 54,043 75,758 35,865 83,044 $1,031,202 22,712 9,980 32,692 28,502 $725,610 12,560 10,421 22,981 29,282 $691,811 13,221 11,343 24,564 28,005 $643,380 13,783 11,522 25,305 26,843 $571,079 13,792 10,760 24,552 $38,635 43,825 27,992 55,006 $165,458 $45,429 20,006 30,666 10,269 4,327 $55,408 64,525 44,420 37,749 $202,102 $35,912 20,821 26,884 15,468 3,453 $54,624 76,279 43,672 22,231 $196,806 $30,555 24,658 27,358 21,148 12,704 $63,350 78,314 19,736 10,565 $171,965 $29,631 22,284 23,432 21,908 1,905 $49,594 57,228 27,903 9,273 $144,058 $24,787 18,985 16,129 19,967 1,768 Character merchandising Publications Records and music publishing Educational media Other Disney Strategy (A) 12 Olin Business School September 2002 Revised September 2009 Exhibit 3 Comparable Valuations For Disney’s Businesses 1984 source: Analysts’ comments in June 4, 1984, Forbes Magazine article, â€Å"Who Will Win the Keys to Disney’s Magic Kingdom?† Shares Disney Outstanding = 34.5 million Disney annual royalty revenue from Tokyo Disney Land = $20 million Business Line Transaction/Source Taft Broadcasting Theme Parks purchase Date Valuation Multiple/Worth Comments Disney may deserve an additional premium due to the brand name Some still see this as one of the most unexploited assets in Disney Tremendous library and recent signs of turnaround may erase poor performance Theme Parks 1984 2 times Revenues Consumer Products Forbes/Analyst Comments 1984 3-3.5 times Rev. Film, Studio & Cable Forbes/Analyst Comments Hotels Land Forbes/Analyst Comments Forbes/Analyst Comments 1984 1984 1984 2-2.5 times Rev. $ 300 million $ 300 million Disney Strategy (A) 13 Olin Business School September 2002 Revised September 2009 Exhibit 4 Disney Share Price Performance Compared to the S&P 500 January 1970 – August 1984 Disney Strategy (A) 14 Olin Business School September 2002 Revised September 2009 Exhibit 5 Walt Disney Share Price and Trading Volume During the Hostile Takeover January 1984 – August 1984 Disney Strategy (A) 15 Olin Business School September 2002 Revised September 2009 Exhibit 5 Continued: Disney Strategy (A) 16 Olin Business School September 2002 Revised September 2009 Exhibit 6 WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS, JUNE 1984 Estimated Probable Minimum Library Values as of 1983 Value ($ millions) 500 275 950 Approximate No. of Titles 1,800 features 25 animated, 125 live action, 500 shorts 4,600 features (2,200 MGM), 1,310 shorts, 1,080 cartoons 700 features 1,400 features 3,000 features, 12,500 TV episodes 1,600 features Columbia Pictures Disney MGM/UA Entertainment Paramount Twentieth Century Fox Universal Warner Bros. Total 275 350 700 450 3,450 Disney Strategy (A) 17 Olin Business School