I need for you to find a common theme among these three proposals Research Paper - 1

I need for you to find a common theme among these three proposals - Research Paper Example On one hand, we have the Middle East. The Arab-Israeli conflict spans about one century of open hostilities and political tensions between the Palestinians and the Israelis- this being in spite of the fact that Israel was formally established only in 1948. On the other, there is the war in Afghanistan, which was launched by the US and the UK against the Taliban regime of Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 terror attacks. The Korean Peninsula is also a troubled zone, with the seemingly never-ending rivalries between North Korea and South Korea. In South Asia, India and Pakistan are always in a state of political tension over the disputed land of Kashmir; China’s relations with India are not too friendly either. Maintaining global peace in Third World countries has largely become the responsibility of the developed nations, which are, as Klare says, â€Å"deeply involved in the process of militarization† of these countries. There needs to be a strategy that the developed countries can follow to ensure that peace and security is maintained both within and without their less developed counterparts. Klare says that these strategy should follow the hierarchy of priorities that he proposes: Both Israel and North Korea have amassed huge arsenals of nuclear weapons. As for chemical weapons and ballistic missiles, the Taliban in Afghanistan have a huge stock of rockets, missiles and similar weapons. An international black market in conventional weapons exists and there is a large and regular flow of illicit arms into Afghanistan. All these have worrisome implications and can only be effectively controlled by the superpowers. Klare gives an example of how superpowers may help to downsize the arms trade problem. â€Å"A similar approach to downsizing the arms trade problem would be to convene ‘quadrilateral’ talks involving two regional rivals and their respective superpower patrons. Assuming that Moscow and Washington

Evaluating the Research Process Essay Example for Free

Evaluating the Research Process Essay * The most important steps in a research project or study is accomplishing a literature review. A literature review is the process of gathering information from other sources and documenting it. This is not a report or a statement verbatim according to Creative Research Systems (2010). A literature review is a significant and a detailed evaluation of earlier research. It is a summation and abstract of a particular aspect of research, allowing the individuals evaluating the paper to understand why one is tracking a particular research study. It is not an assortment of quotes and rephrase from additional sources. A good literature review should have selected evaluations of the quality of the study, and conclusions of the research study. While reviewing Commendador, 2010, Parental influences on adolescent decision- making and contraceptive use. Published in the Pediatric Nursing May-June 2010, The study hypothesis stated in the article according to Commendador, 2010 â€Å"the United States and the health care industry are researching various ways to lower the adolescent pregnancy rate, thus identifying paternal communication, specifically maternal communication with their adolescent is showing to be a major factor of adolescent delay in sexual intercourse, and a major factor of contraceptive decision making. However, the study also revealed the effects of paternal communication was not readily available, therefore the research statistics are not equalized, and supporting the determination of furthering the research of this subject. * Ethical considerations for data collection * Ethical issues are present in any kind of research. Research procedures may produce some * apprehension between the purpose of research to make generalized statements for the benefit * of others, and the rights of the research subjects in preserving privacy. Ethics, in research * relates to doing what is morally correct and evading any harm. The damage or harm can be * alleviated or decreased through the use of appropriate ethical principles. Thus, the * security of human subject matter or contributors in any research study is essential. Qualitative * research studies center the research on investigating, probing, and describing individuals and * their ordinary surroundings. Fixed in the qualitative research studies are the perception of * associations between researchers and the research participants. The study subject’s * anticipation to partake in a research study solely rests upon a research subjects compliance to * share his or her encounters. Nurse researchers are obligated to sustain equilibrium research * ethics in addition to the security of the research subjects. Qualitative research is * attentive of the events of individuals in relation to the subject which is studied. Still nurse * researchers may discover that their position as researchers may perhaps be in conflict. * Qualitative studies are normally performed in surroundings relating to the involvement of * ndividuals in their daily setting. As a result, any research that consist of individuals commands * an understanding of the ethical concerns that may be resulting from the exchange of * communications. Ethics in research includes the relevance of the research purpose, and the * procedural strategy, in addition to the manner in which information is reported. * The nurse researcher conducting the study relies mainly on previous research studies conducted by several other research entities, which demonstrates ethical collection and reporting. The research study’s primary focus is on adolescent sexual behavior. This subject dealing with under-age children has to be handled with the utmost of confidentiality. The researcher as well as the data reported does not identify the individual minor participant, nor are family member participants indentified in any way. The integrity of the participants and the research study, in the observers opinion was without biasness and completely anonymous. * * What data tells us in terms of statistical analysis Largely, the definitive objective of every research study is to find the relationship between the unpredictable, according to Statsoft Electronic Statistics Textbook (2012). The viewpoint of research states† that there is no other way of representing meaning except in terms of relations between some quantities or qualities† both ways involve a relationship between changeable matter. The statistics gathered and reported in this study in the reviewers opinion, is statistically significant. Statistic significance is defined in research as probable, probably true not due to chance according to Creative Research Systems (2010). However, the statistics reported are focused on the maternal communication with adolescents and does not represent the paternal communication with the adolescent due to the lack of research subject interviews with the fathers. In addition, the interviews conducted did not include those adolescents that had sexual contact and were actively pregnant. The researcher, to better understand the decisions regarding sexual contact and the lack of using birth control methods, should have interviewed this group of adolescents as this group could have communicated more information based on the decisions that were made which resulted in a pregnancy. Also interviewing the parents of this group of adolescents could have also given more insight on the maternal communication. Conclusion Although the statistics possibly could have been more precise and reported in more detail had the research subject sample size been larger, if the fathers had been surveyed, and if the group of adolescents that were presently pregnant had been surveyed. Even though the statistics were not balanced, the conclusion matched the results of the research study. The research question asked in this study, does the parental communication with the adolescent influence the contraceptive decisions that are made by the adolescent? The research study states that the maternal communication with the adolescent daughter increases positive decision making on behalf of the adolescent regarding contraceptive decisions. The positive effects that maternal interaction is influencing is associated with lowering the teenage pregnancy rate and has increased the use of contraceptives. The conclusion drawn answers the research question posed in this study. The conclusion states the results of this text review indicate an connection between parent communication and parenting style, and adolescent sexual interest and making birth control decision. The parental exchange of ideas with the adolescent is as significant now as it was 25 years ago. Maternal communication and contact has an abundance of potential as an intercession to enhance optimistic adolescent decision making and regarding contraception and premature sexual contact. Maternal interaction is possibly influential in lowering adolescent pregnancy and is successful in promoting sexually active teenage girls to make use of birth control methods. The conclusions are appropriate according to the information collected. Again, one must consider the differences in the outcome of this study had the omitted groups been surveyed . According to the conclusion of this study â€Å"More research is needed in the area of parenting style, maternal influence, and adolescent contraceptive behavior. The potential relevance for practice is that mother-daughter dyads should be included in any health promotion around female adolescent sexuality, (Commendador, 2010), the author of this paper decided the study is somewhat effective. The statistics supported the objectives that were measured, however there were other aspects that the researcher should have surveyed which would have made this study much more relevant. The purpose of research is to either generate or test a hypothesis. Research is the device used to investigate to discover if a hypothesis is acceptable or not. It is the process by that data is collected to create an assumption or to test an assumption. Therefore, based on what research is defined as, the researcher attained and supported the purpose of the research study. While the researcher’s theory was supported with the information compiled from the study, the data also supported the necessity and importance of continuing further research regarding adolescent sexual behavior and contraceptive decision making. The nurse researcher also recommends various options to address this very serious issue that plagues the United States. Suggested discussions of sexuality and the process of making choices regarding contraceptive methods would be beneficial if included in the educational curriculum of the school system, as well as be an aspect of the pediatric providers educational routine in pediatric health centers providing care to older children. Discussions among nurse practitioners, mothers, and daughters might promote conversation about sexuality, such as teen maturity, the changing body, the processes of decision making regarding sexual activity, and contraception. The researcher thoroughly covered the research topic in an effective manner, and through the analysis of the data collected made relevant recommendations, showing research evoking action plans.

Transaction Cost Economics and Organized Labor Essays -- Economics Mar

Cooperation and exchange among individuals often organize in firms rather than adhering to market institutions. This anomaly of market systems can be explained through what Oliver Williamson calls â€Å"Transaction Cost Economics.† Transaction costs are defined as the â€Å"costs of running the economic system† (Williamson 18). Similar to friction in a physical system, transaction costs may be small compared to other costs such encountered by market players, but basing entire models on a ‘frictionless’ system is unrealistic. It is these transaction costs explain the development of firms and hierarchies rather than contracting by market forces. There are three limitations to a market system: bounded rationality, opportunism and asset specificity. Bounded rationality describes the limitations of knowledge by market players. Whereas they will act rationally in a market situation, they are not always presented with all the information required to make a rational decision. Opportunism arises when certain market players are unwilling to accept the status quo and believe they have the ability to improve their position. Finally, asset specificity refers to certain players having technical and contractual inseparabilites. An example of asset specificity is an accounting firm with a long term contract with a given company. After the long term contract expires, the accounting firm would be first in line to renew their contract with the given company. There may be other accounting firms in the market that could also offer similar accounting services, but the company will likely keep its original accounting firm. Switching wo uld incur transaction costs such as transferring of files over to the new accounting firm, legal fees associate... ... asset specificity can no longer be ignored as in classic market models. A highly trained employee is a very specific asset since a firm would incur great costs in training a novice employee and bringing the novice’s productivity up to that of a highly trained employee. Thus, a firm could not easily replace the highly trained employee as the case would be in a market situation. Thus non market contracts are forged to keep the specific asset that is high human capital. Williamson and Coase use transaction cost economics to explain why labor is often organized in firms rather than relying on market institutions. The increasing effect of asset specificity on the labor market is a key validation for their analysis. Firms are more efficient than market institutions in that they save on transaction costs associated with writing, signing and enforcing contracts.

Resistance and the Shifting Power in Participatory Spaces

Research Methods Data aggregation was undertaken between June and July 2014. The survey relied on open-ended interviews with 12 Nguti community members who were actively involved in the protest mobilisation and action and legion unplanned and unstructured conversations Nguti villagers. We aimed to capture the procedures taking to forest struggle among the private sector ( Wijma ) , the military, and local administrative governments and Nguti villagers. The interviews conducted included both young persons ( eight males and two females ) and seniors ( two males and females ) of Nguti – two types of histrions that would go of import in the flowering of the events related to the Agreement in Nguti. Our efforts at gender balance in the interview procedure were overcome by the limited handiness of respondents given the sensitive nature of the capable affair. Merely respondents who could be that we could keep their namelessness agreed to take. The interviews focused on events environing struggle rela ted to the Agreement. We were besides concerned to derive penetrations into village’s economic activities and support schemes. Of peculiar involvement was to seek and understand what benefits if any, the villagers had received, which could be connected straight or indirectly to Wijma’s operations. For case, since Wijma had agreed to provide the small town with waste wood from its processing activities, as portion of the Agreement we sought to understand the grade of small town dependance on this wood and how failure to provide could interrupt their support schemes. Despite our relentless enterprises, both Wijma and local administrative histrions would non hold to be interviewed. Although their absence might impact a more rounded history of the fortunes taking to forest resource struggle, our chief aim in this paper was to depict the struggle procedure as it unfolded, including the function of the chief histrions with a peculiar focal point on the protest schemes adopte d by some of the Nguti villagers. That notwithstanding, we relied on publications from an environmental audit, including Wijma’s ain publications to derive an apprehension of the company’s place on environmental and societal duty. Through examination of the 1994 Cameroon Forest Law, we gained a deeper apprehension of State-community-private sector partnership agreements and the duties and privileges of each party as prescribed in the ordinance. Penetrations into the struggle procedure were besides gained from correspondence [ Fred Saun1 ] between Wijma and Nguti Youths every bit good as between the Youths and local administrative histrions. Discussions Resistance and the Switching Power in Participatory Spaces Gaventa ‘s ( 2006 ) typology of participatory infinites captures the switching power dealingss at drama in Nguti where it was of import to understand how and why displacements in power occurred and the conditions that gave rise to the different types of participatory infinite where this power was enacted. Additionally, what were the agencies in which Nguti villagers sought to fight for increased answerability and transparence and finally claim the power and legitimacy to give consequence to the Agreement? In short, Gaventa ‘s ( 2006 ) typology puts accent on understanding how displacements in power through participatory procedures among histrions can be understood and applied dynamically. Initially, Nguti villagers had small chance to efficaciously take part in determinations that affected them related to the wood processing undertaking, so in Gaventa ‘s words it was a, ‘closed infinite ‘ even though the Agreement in rule sought to present small town ben efit. Decisions were made by others beyond the small town with small or no engagement or even audience with villagers. Subsequently, after the decease of the original benevolent agent, self-appointed ‘shadow histrions ‘ opportunistically stepped in with clear rent-seeking purposes. There was infinite for this within the new institutionalised wood administration constructions in Cameroon. Because the Agreement was informal and negotiated behind closed doors, there was no mechanism for the villagers to name WIJMA or the other histrions involved to account to present on committednesss contained in this. This state of affairs is non alone to Cameroon. Elsewhere reexamining instances from India, the US, Russia and the Philippines, Robbins ( 2000: 424 ) argues that such ‘extralegal’ exchanges that allow unbridled entree to natural resources are more of a regulation than an exclusion, and represent an institutionalised system of nature/society interactions. To chan ge by reversal the state of affairs, NGUYOCUDA and finally the small town Elders and others mobilized and staged a inactive public protest by ordaining a traditional injunction to convey those who brokered the Agreement to account and in making so efficaciously ‘claimed infinite ‘ to prosecute their involvements through their actions. There were sedate hazards involved for the villagers in taking this public look of dissent, as evidenced by the initial military response to the small town mobilisation ( and other similar incidents in Cameroon ( see Amin 2012 for elaborate military response to youth mobilisation and protest, particularly the ill-famed February 2008 events ) . But by taking this public action, which was linked to legitimate traditional establishments, new boundaries were created which allowed villagers ‘ voices to number ( Scott 1990 ) . This ‘claimed infinite ‘ later gave manner to ‘invited infinite ‘ as Wijma realized, given the break caused by the small town injunction and the inability of the State to manage this type of rebelliousness, that they now must carry through their duties to the villagers and include them in decision-making if they are to go on to their lumber procedure operations unhindered. This alteration suggests that villager engagement had become meaningful or influential in that it led to positive alteration. Of class this ‘resolution ‘ to the administration job of the lumber processing undertaking faced by Nguti villagers is comparatively minor in footings of opening up the many closed infinites of natural resource administration that citizens are consistently excluded from in Cameroon – a point which is discussed farther below. While this public look of rebelliousness appears to hold been effectual in the Nguti instance, the ‘special conditions’ which need to be before a traditional injunction can be invoked are likely to restrict an upscaling of simi lar public protests. [ 1 ] Lack of Accountability in the Forest Law and on the Land When Cameroon’s 1994 Forest Law was created it was recognized at the clip as a landmark statute law in Sub-Saharan Africa due to its elaborate amplification of stairss to purely safeguard and esteem the societal, environmental and economic ends of the country’s forestry ( Cerutti et al. 2008 ; Assembe-Mvondo 2013 ) . One major job with the Forest Law, nevertheless, is that it was guided more by market aims intended to hike the macroeconomic potencies of the forest sector, with small attending to chiseled mechanisms that would steer and modulate the execution of private-public-community partnerships on the land. Another major job with the Forest Code arises from the deficiency of mechanisms to safeguard the involvements of communities hosting logging activities and to protect them in struggle state of affairss against the more powerful profit-driven companies. The World Bank-instituted SAP resulted in the chase by the authorities of Cameroon of high foreign grosss by pro moting increased forest development to counterbalance for diminishing universe market values for its other major exports like oil, java and chocolate ( Thomaset Al.1996 ) . The deficiency of pertinent sustainability foresight in the jurisprudence and the inability and/or involuntariness of the Government to implement its ain Torahs have led to small or no answerability in the sector on the land, with major effects for hapless rural communities. Consequences from the Nguti site show that communities populating next to commercial logging activities are frequently politically and economically weak and vulnerable to the corrupt societal and environmental patterns of powerful logging companies and rent searchers. This job is non alone to Nguti community entirely. Schwartz et Al. ( 2012 ) and Thomas et Al ( 1996 ) suggest that large-scale investings in natural resources in Cameroon by and large fail to esteem community rights in footings of audience, compensation, contractual footings and environmental protection. Furthermore, the involuntariness demonstrated by Nguti local administrative governments to step in in possible struggle state of affairss and keep logging companies to account in their legal power is farther testimony of the exposure of rural communities and the pronounced absence of answerability precautions in the private-public-community partnership agreement. Thomas et Al. ( 1996 ) besides describe similar tensenesss between logging companies and communities elsewhere in Cameroon as a consequence of the unfulfilling by these companies of their ( informal ) understandings with the villagers. In add-on, the repeated refusal by Wijma to hold to the villagers’ petition for a duologue – which is much contrary to their stated struggle bar and direction aims – and the prompt military response by local administrative governments to interrupt echt small town mobilisation for a common cause, constitute clear illustrations of deficiency of an swerability on the portion of both Wijma and local administrative governments to rural communities. The deployment of the armed forces against the peaceable small town presentation clearly resonates with the US September 11 image painted by Greenhouse ( 2005 ) in her statement that the hegemonic moves of the executive and other subdivisions of authorities in struggle state of affairss consists in repackaging subalterns in a manner that contributes to the undertakings of regulation and political capital by scapegoating them through such hegemonic mechanisms as Draconian anti-crime Torahs, which in Cameroon take the signifier of anti-protest military action. The military intercession in Nguti is besides an indicant that local authorities offices are less accountable to their citizens but more to pervert and uncompromising concern directors in order to safeguard a continued flow of gross from the private sector into authorities caissons. This state of affairs is non surprising, as it r eflects the econocentric aims that underpin and guide the 1994 Forest Law and its application as a major constituent of the World Bank-led Structural Adjustment Program of the state. The corrupt patterns of Wijma functionaries, local authorities histrions and the self-appointed agents suggest that de jure Torahs and de facto regulations barely of all time exist in sole isolation. Making a similar statement Robbins ( 2000: 427 ) Drew from institutional theory to situate that officially ( de jure ) constituted regulations frequently merge with informal ( de facto ) norms to make existent ‘operational’ regulations in resource scenes. Robbins theorizes as follows: ‘the de facto regulations that govern corrupt exchanges are forged out of the natural stuffs and societal resources supplied by de jure regulations, adapted and curved around the contours of local power’ ( pp 427 ) . Using this to the Nguti instance, we observe that the prevalence of local norms in Ng uti such as the corrupt patterns of Wijma and authorities histrions, and peculiarly the rent-seeking actions of the shadow histrions suggests less the forsaking of national ordinance in favour of de facto local systems, and more the adjustment of these local norms into loopholes that exist in the formal system. As the system of backing is profoundly rooted in local systems of power in Cameroon, instances of shadow histrions presuming the function of agents is non uncommon. Sometimes disputing this well-entrenched localised norm can turn out really hard, as evidenced by the initial refusal by Wijma – with the support of local administrative histrions – to give in to the invocations of NGUYOCUDA associating to the remotion the function of those shadow histrions in farther Wijma-NGUYOCUDA dialogues. Lack of Public Information on Land Tenure The happening of land differences in Cameroon are really high. A major ground for this relates to a general deficiency of public information on the being and localisation of land licenses and how to travel about land enrollment procedure, with serious deductions for the poorest in communities. All land that does non fall into the classs of Public Property of the State, Private Property of the State or is non capable to a private land rubric, is classified as National Land under the 1974 Ordinance set uping regulations regulating land term of office in Cameroon ( Schwartz et al. 201 ) . This means in simple footings that parts of community land that are non capable to private land rubrics are by inference National Land, even if they are occupied and/or used by locals. As a affair of general rule, the granting of land grants follows a procedure whereby a committee made of local bureaus and community representatives identify lands for the intent of avoiding overlapping rights ( Schwartz et al. 2012 ) . This is barely the instance in Nguti. The community as a whole is considered to hold usufruct rights to unoccupied community land. The community may make up one's mind to offer this land to specific persons as compensation for services rendered as is the instance with the land on which WIJMA operates. The bone of contention here lies in the fact that the land had been offered by the community to the influential Nzo Ekanghaki in gratitude for his development enterprises in the small town. Whether Ekanghaki should be able transportation such rights to a 3rd party like Wijma is what did non sit good with some sources. They felt that even though the land was granted to Ekanghaki, it was still community land in footings of customary rights while it was non being straight used or occupied by Ekanghaki, and as such WIMJA is accountable to the community ( as the customary rights holder ) . Others refrained from such ownership polemics and instead argued that WIJMA is morall y apt to the small town because of its claims as maintainers of corporate societal duty criterions or merely because of the duties agreed to. Many people do non register their land with the Ministry of Land Tenure’s cadastre. This state of affairs generates the conditions for land differences. The sources we spoke to were non certain whether the land on which Wijma operates had been punctually registered as private belongings. The feeling was that even if the land had been registered as such, it was community land and as such should non be registered without due presentment of, and permission by, the appropriate Nguti governments. A necessary measure to avoid struggles like this would be, foremost, to make public consciousness of the necessity of duly registering private land and obtaining land rubric for it. Second, by doing the procedure of granting of land grants by the small town transparent and consistent with both customary and land Torahs – as these two beginnin gs of land allotment can overlap and bring forth confusion and defeat, or even worse, diminish people’s rights. Decision Events in Nguti have revealed important land term of office overlaps between customary land rights and land Torahs, as a consequence of deficiency of sufficient public consciousness about the pertinence of both types of Torahs. This led to contradictory claims over rights and duties. Events in the instance survey have besides shed visible radiation on built-in defects in Cameroon’s wood policy reform to redistribute rights and benefits to communities through deliberative procedures in pattern. We showed how power operates in closed administration infinites to work against just, democratic and effectual policymaking. We besides revealed how disfranchised communities can efficaciously open up these closed infinites and obtain effectual engagement in procedures denied them. Penetrations from the instance suggest that answerability mechanisms both within the 1994 Forest Law and existent execution procedures have non been tailored to efficaciously reflect the present neoliberal sig nifier of resource administration. This World Bank-institutionalized signifier of administration of natural resources brought with it other major histrions in forest direction, such as powerful private logging companies. The forest company involved in this instance survey failed to listen to community concerns about the agreements that had been brokered to let them to run in Nguti. Not merely did local authorities fail to keep WIJMA to account, it injudiciously sided with the company and authorized a military intercession to quash peaceable community mobilisation against WIJMA. The purpose of those Nguti villagers mobilized was non merely to do their voices heard and thereby do the lumber processing company accountable to them. Their attempts were besides aimed at taking the function of the rent-seeking shadow histrions from the administration agreements. These shadow histrions who, encouraged by weak administration constructions and uneffective answerability mechanisms in the wood sector, had seized negociating power from the community and acted without legitimacy as small town agents. We besides emphasized that the corrupt patterns at Nguti do non connote the absence of ordinance, but instead the presence of an option, nonlegal norm that transforms the weak enforcement of ordinances into corrupt signifiers found in profoundly frozen local systems of power. Nguti is portion of a state where the authorities does non merely promote increased forest development in order to roll up foreign gross, but it is besides dying to command protests and agitations that might impede its making this end. In add-on to extinguishing these timeserving histrions, the registration by NGUYOCUDA of other institutional groupings into their protest constituted a major manner to place themselves as a major force to think with in Nguti. The pick of a traditional injunction as the chief class of action when every other scheme was turn outing unfruitful or unsafe enabled them to efficaci ously ‘claim space’ in what was ab initio a ‘closed space’ . Recognizing that their concern operations were efficaciously halted by the power of the traditional injunction entirely, WIJMA instead reluctantly settled for inclusion of the villagers in determinations impacting them and promised to go on to make so in the hereafter. At this point, the officially ‘closed space’ for participatory decision-making on affairs impacting Nguti community had been wholly transformed into an ‘invited space’ , where they had chance to claim rights antecedently denied them.

Can Religion Be Studied Academically Essay

The academic study of religion isn’t a means of just learning scriptures or passages from a sacred text like the Bible. It is a more complex process and can be considered multidisciplinary – it can include art, literature, linguistics, history, philosophy, psychology, sociology and much more. Religion can’t be studied without knowing what we are trying to study, and while some would argue it just doesn’t exist, the similarity among the diverse religious belief systems around the world are strong enough to justify a comprehensive field study encompassing the factors listed above, some of which fall into Livingstone’s ‘seven ways of studying religion’. However, to effectively study religion in an academic way, it is important to include critical analysis, which means it is important not to be biased towards your own beliefs. By doing this you can become more culturally aware of other faiths and beliefs, and thus obtain a greater understanding of religions. Literary criticism plays an important role in the academic study of religion. Religion in the theological way is all about the teachings of a particular sacred text. The Bible for Christianity, the Quran for Islam and Sutras for Buddhism, for example, all contain the teachings and laws of the respective religions, which is essentially how people can understand religion in the first place. Livingstone, in his theories on religion, says questions are the key to studying and understanding the meaning of sacred texts. Is it reliable; who was the author; when was it written and where; how has the work been received, interpreted and passed on? These are the questions that need to be answered before a true understanding of religion can be obtained, and who better to answer them than a literary critic, according to Livingstone. The relationship between religion and language also relates to this idea of literary criticism. Language in religion doesn’t often function like it does in everyday life – it is not found at the surface level of words or signs, according to Livingstone. Understanding language and how it is used in religion provides insight, but it also stretches to include the nature and function of language itself. Because of religion’s role in human cultures, it is impossible to comprehend the flow of history without some basic grounding in a variety of religious beliefs. Livingstone says it would appear obvious that the historical study of religion has to do with establishing what role religious experience and ideas play in the lives of individuals and communities. You only have to look at the Bible and see the Old Testament is dated in years ‘before Christ’. Livingstone gives an example of the Protestant Reformation. The causes of the Protestant Reformation have been a topic of contention among historians, and the debate illustrates both the importance of history in gaining a fuller understanding of that event in western history, and the difficulties in proposing a single casual explanation in history. But the notion of history and religion can be put a little more simply – religious traditions provide structure to the world and provides people with a sense of where they fit in, which in turn affects choices today, for example decisions about politics. The philosophical scrutiny of religion is one of the oldest and most instructive ways of examining religious experience and belief, according to Livingstone. In this century philosophy’s relation to religion is to analyse the uses of religious language and to test its logical status and meaning. It asks whether a religious expression is simply performing an action or evoking the emotions. Livingstone says philosophers believe much of the problems with religion stem from these confusing uses of language. Over the centuries and spanning different continents, the notion of philosophy has remained significant in several religious traditions, which emphasises the importance of it in an educational way – In India, philosophy has remained associated with historical developments in Hinduism and the same goes for Buddhism in Asia. The way in which religion interacts within a social dimension is also a significant element to studying religion. Sociologist, Max Weber, demonstrated that certain forms of social life and behaviour could deeply reflect the religious belief and practice of society. For example: Weber analysed how the new Protestant ethic, which came with the Reformation of the 16th century, proved to be decisive in shaping the spirit of modern capitalist society. All religions have a concept of what it means to be a member of a religious society, how it should function, how it should be organised, and how the society relates to the outside world. Therefore it is important to have an understanding of the sociology behind religion, especially in the instance that culture and religion become hard to distinguish between. It is understood that religions offer critiques of contemporary society based on concepts of an ideal society and must understand the connection between sacred and secular power and the political and religious institutions representing each. This is where a study of sociology and anthropology become important for religion. The relationship between religious and violent conflict is well known. It can be argued that religions are inclined to be absolutist, meaning they don’t allow for the validity of other religions. This discourages the discussions and negotiations and compromises needed to resolve differences of opinion peacefully, which can then have an effect on society itself. Without compromises, it can sometimes erupt into violence – so in terms of the importance of studying religion, it is ideal to know the interconnection between sociology and religion to understand why and how conflicts, for example, can sometimes occur. And then there’s the psychology behind the importance of studying religion. One of the early workers in this particular field was William James. He explored the psychological dimensions of phenomena as conversion, mysticism and saintliness. Livingstone says the connection between psychology and religion is perhaps the most closely associated with great figures in psychoanalysis. He also uses an example of Gordon Allport’s work, who studied the relationship between religion and prejudice. He says studies such as Allport’s show the value of psychological studies in revealing the potential effect of forms of religion on social relations and behaviours. Allport particularly discovered that there were different correlations between prejudice and types of being religious, what he referred to as extrinsic and intrinsic religions. This particular study into psychology and religion is significant because it can warn us against making too-simple correlation between prejudice and religion, according to Livingstone. In addition to Livingstone’s ideas behind studying religion, there are other factors that intertwine, like art, for example. No one can view art without noticing the influence of religion. Every religion provides ideas, tales, cultural symbols, and concepts vital to creating art. It can be argued that without the cultural resources available today that have been created by religions, some art would be impossible to create or even understand. It isn’t particularly essential for making art, but religion’s role culturally makes the connection stronger. In conclusion, it is difficult to seriously or substantively critique religion if it’s not understood. It is for this reason that an understanding language critique, sociology, history, psychology and philosophy, for example, is so important. Livingstone says the academic study of religion can help people to see religion as a whole. These scholarly views and disciplines can help people to see aspects of their own religions that they may be blind to, which in turn can help prosper more appreciation for various religious traditions.

The eNotes Blog 3 Important Ways to Brighten the Future of Reading in theU.S.

3  Important  Ways to Brighten the Future of Reading in theU.S. Reading a great book for pleasure can be a magical experience for kids. It takes them to new places, lets them relive history, and teaches them about worlds they would never encounter in real life. Unfortunately, a study on the state of reading in the United States has recently revealed some disheartening statistics: did you know 66 percent of 8th graders tested below proficient in reading, according to The Nation’s Report Card? The problem: reading is one of the most important skills for a child to have- it will follow them through the rest of their schooling and career, in every way. Luckily, as an educator, you have the power to change these statistics, teaching your students a love of reading that will carry through their entire lives. 83% of kids say they love when parents read a loud to them. In our online world, books are collecting a thick layer of dust, including those in your students’ houses. Start a reading incentive program for students and their parents- the student that reads the most at home each month gets to choose a free book of their choice. Reading together as a family not only helps students build their own love of reading while developing important reading skills, but it also helps to establish a bond between parent and child. The average child spends 7 hours a day in front of a screen. EdTech is the new normal for teachers- and for a good reason. Technology helps you engage students and reach those who are struggling. However, reducing the amount of screen time in the classroom, even once a week, will motivate students to sit down with a book. Not to mention, limiting screen time can have a variety of other non-reading benefits- children who spend more time in front of a screen have more behavioral problems, sleep disorders, and higher rates of obesity. Encourage students to use technology to find the books they want to read- looking up titles on the library’s website- and then sit down in the classroom library to read it. Encourage parents to limit screen time by swapping a TV night for a family book night, where the TV stays off and everyone grabs their favorite book to settle in for a night of reading great stories. You could do this independently or read aloud together as a family. 52% of students love class reading time; only 17% of teachers do this. The best part about this statistic is that kids want to read more in the classroom, independently and as a group. Despite the focus on testing and teaching to the test, there are many ways to build more reading time into the school day. For example: Encourage more students to read aloud  during lessons. Give students 30-minutes of silent reading time once a week. Build reading into other lessons- reading non-fiction books is a great way to explore history, science and geography topics. Assign a weekly current event, requiring each student to read one non-fiction article at least once a week. If you or your school can’t afford more reading materials for the classroom, buy discounted books and magazines when there are small budget openings- the more there is to read, the more likely students are to do it. Reading is one of the most important skills a student can have, and you are in a powerful position to make a change for the better. Consider how you can make a difference in your classroom and motivate parents to do the same at home. This is a guest post from contributing writer, Jessica Thiefels.  Jessica Thiefels is the editor of Whooo’s Reading and an education blogger, who’s been featured in publications such as EdTech Digest and Daily Genius. Her favorite books growing up were My Side of the Mountain and The Giver, and she hopes to inspire a similar love of reading in students and educators.

What led to the eventual woes experienced by Hong Essays

What led to the eventual woes experienced by Hong Essays What led to the eventual woes experienced by Hong Kong Disneyland in its first year of operation? How should Hong Kong Disneyland rectify its market situation? Cultural Adaptation: The Chinese people were unfamiliar with the products of Disneyland, so they did not easily connect with the characters in the park; The Chinese enjoy focusing on what they can buy, eat, bring home, taking pictures and bringing them back home rather than the experience of being in the place itself. Chinese Tourist Behavior: they will choose the cheaper one, which is Ocean Park since they think going to Hong Kong means a shopping experience; Also, Chinese tourists put a premium on education, where Ocean Park provides the educational slant. Relationship with Travel Agents: Hong Kong Disneyland failed and did not heed too much attention to building a relationship with the travel agents while Chinese tourists depend a lot on travel agents. To determining differences in Chinese culture and adopting it; more understanding for Chinese tourist behavior; handling the pressures of local demand in terms of the need of Chinese shoppers and tourists; and try to pay more attention to building a relationship with the travel agents are the way that Hong Kong Disneyland should rectify.

Abortion in the Premodern World

Abortion in the Premodern World While modern technology is quite new in historical terms, the practice of abortion and menstrual regulation is ancient. Traditional methods have been handed down for hundreds of generations and herbal and other methods have roots in the distant past. It should be noted that many ancient and medieval methods and preparations are extremely risky and many are not at all effective, so experimentation is quite unwise. We know abortion was practiced in biblical times from the passage in Numbers where alleged infidelity is tested by giving an abortifacient potion to an accused pregnant woman. The bitter water used to bring on the curse may have been quinine or several of other herbal and natural concoctions that are considered emmenagogues, or drugs that bring on menstruation. Such herbs and other concoctions are in reality often implantation inhibitors or abortifacients. According to the biblical tale, if the woman had not been unfaithful, the drug would not work and the pregnancy was assumed to be the husband’s child. If she miscarried, she was considered guilty of adultery and no questionable parentage ensued. Abortion was recorded in 1550 B.C.E. in Egypt, recorded in what is called the Ebers Papyrus and in ancient China about 500 B.C.E. as well. In China, folklore dates the use of mercury to induce abortions to about 5,000 years ago. Of course, mercury is extremely toxic. Hippocrates also offered abortion to his patients despite being opposed to pessaries and potions which he considered too dangerous. He is recorded as having instructed a prostitute to induce abortion by jumping up and down. This is certainly safer than some other methods, but rather ineffective. It is also believed that he used dilation and curettage to induce abortions as well. Abortion opponents often use the Hippocratic Oath of physicians as an argument against abortion per se, but the opposition had only to do with patient safety. Herbal methods were likely more common and many of the traditional herbs and mixtures are in use even today. Pennyroyal dates at least to the 1200s when manuscripts show herbalists preparing it, but the oil is extremely dangerous and modern herbalists avoid it. Deaths from its use were recorded in the US in the 1990s. A medieval herbal reference called De Viribus Herbarum referred to herbs to induce abortions even earlier in the 11th century. Pennyroyal was among the herbs mentioned but so were catnip, rue. Sage, savory, cypress, and hellebore. Some of the drugs are listed as emmenagogues rather than explicitly as abortifacients, but since the most common cause of a late menstrual period is pregnancy, there is little doubt why they were prescribed and used. Hildegard of Bingen mentions the use of tansy to bring on menstruation. Some herbs have been mentioned for centuries. One is a plant called the worm fern whose root is used to cause an abortion. It is telling that it was also known as prostitute’s root historically. Also used in the same area of Europe were thyme, parsley, lavender, and savin juniper. Even concoctions of camel saliva and deer hair were used. The right of women to seek abortions was not restricted in many places until fairly recently, with most restrictions being related to the time of quickening or fetal movement. Even Plato proclaimed the right of women to seek early terminations of pregnancies in Theaetetus, but specifically he spoke of the right of midwives to offer the procedure. In early times, most pregnancies were not managed by doctors so it was logical that abortion be provided by midwives and herbalists. Other measures to induce abortions have included iron sulfates and chlorides, hyssop, dittany, opium, madder in beer, watercress seeds and even crushed ants. Probably the herbs most commonly mentioned were tansy and pennyroyal. We know that tansy was used from at least the Middle Ages. One of the most brutal methods was practiced in the Orient in ancient times by violently kneading or beating the abdomen to cause abortion, a procedure with great peril to the woman who used it. Even in the 20th century, women were still trying Hippocrates’ jumping up and down method, likely with as little success as their ancient sisters. Wise women have found and used herbs and other preparations to manage their fertility for generations. Some concoctions were contraceptive in nature and others were abortifacients or designated emmenagogues. The latter are now believed to have worked to prevent implantation, a sort of ancient morning after pill. What we know for sure is that in the past as well as now women have found ways to manage unwanted pregnancies. It should be noted that many ancient and medieval methods and preparations are extremely risky and many are not at all effective, so experimentation is quite unwise. There are modern practitioners who do know the folk remedies that are both effective and safe and should be relied upon before even considering such methods. Modern women also have more familiar medical procedures to choose instead of ancient remedies. Sources Konstaninos Kapparis, Assistant Professor of Classics, University of Florida. Abortion in the Ancient World (Duckworth Classical Essays). Duckworth Publishers (May 2003).John M. Riddle (Chair of the History Department and Alumni Distinguished Professor, North Carolina State University. Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance. Harvard University Press (April 1994).

CIS206 Review Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CIS206 Review Assignment - Essay Example 2. What are two ways you can execute a shell script when you do not have execute permission for the file containing the script? Can you execute a shell script if you do not have read permission for the file containing the script? There is need to pass the name of the file that has the script as an argument to that shell. For instance, bash scriptfile in which case, the scriptfile is the name of that file contain the script. When working with bash the following commands are applicable. First, there is scriptfile. Then there is source scriptfile. You cannot execute a shell script in case you do not have permission for reading the file that contains the script. The cause of this is the need to read the commands that are in the file by the shell. The resultant working directory will be biblios i.e. /home/zach/grants/biblios. When the command pwd is, it shows the path to the current working directory (Soyinka, 2012). c will only locate the directory in use when it uses CDPATH to search the directories indicated. The latter happens only when you do not specify the current directory in the CDPATH, but the CDPATH

Understanding Concepts of Strategy in Business and War Essay

Understanding Concepts of Strategy in Business and War - Essay Example In war, the strategy calls for a careful study of the weakest areas within the enemy camp, and in business one of the first steps in the struggle to succeed is to target the weak spots in the structure of a rival company. It is equally important to establish a final goal. Is winning enough? The strategy is not successful if a country or a company cannot maintain its position, especially in a global society. There must be a plan for follow-up when the initial goal is met. One example of the failure to establish a final goal is the â€Å"war† in the Middle East. The concept in both war and business is to be a winner and not a loser, but U.S. presence in Iraq shows no signs of reaching its unrealistic goal. Setting a target and meeting goals could be regarded as two of the external environmental factors necessary for success in both war and business. However, in addition to understanding the opposition, it is important in both areas to train a contingent of individuals, whether troops or employees, to learn the rules and work together to resolve any weaknesses within the organization or blog. Thornton (2006) notes that by establishing organized troops and having a vision of what he wished to achieve, Alexander the Great from the small country of Mesopotamia was able to defeat armies ten times his size due to his strong leadership skills. These are the skills needed by CEOs in successful companies and can be considered another of the inner environmental factors needed in both war and business planning.

Ethical Decision Making Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ethical Decision Making - Case Study Example Obtaining the sample documents for purposes of checking for quality control may be justified as a means of enhancing performance, but it must be done transparently with full awareness of those affected by the exercise. Poor quality found in this case could not be used for disciplinary purposes because the manner in which it was obtained failed to guarantee the protection of the employees. It is only legally acquired information can be used to initiate disciplinary action (Kaupins & Park 82). Since the information is acquired outside working hours and without the consent of the people rightfully given access ownership of the hard drives, it is may not be considered legal. However, it could and should be used for training purposes to avoid the repetition of poor quality work. Applying PAPA to this situation, the violation of privacy is seen to be evident because the manager did not use his position to ensure there are safeguards in place to protect the employees and the information on their computer accounts. According to the provisions of PAPA, the employees have a right to be protected from information gathering and intrusion by others (Pearlson and Sanders 18). Further, they were not given the opportunity to exercise choice and select the level to which their information could be accessed. If the low quality work was attributed to data accuracy, it is the manager’s responsibility to establish controls that ensure accuracy. If that had been done earlier, the low quality work could not have gone on for months as the case study shows. That means the manager failed to ensure it was kept up-to-date. The information on the employees’ hard drives is the property of the clients and the organization. Therefore, the manager must also follow the pr ocedures in place because as much as he is in charge of office automation, he does not own or have exclusive

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 238

Assignment Example Eating healthy and taking regular exercises is basic in this aspect (Melkus, 2006). However, these alone can never help in the regulation of diabetes and therefore, requires the use of medications in addition to the healthy eating and regular exercise. For Dr. Pepper’s case, the most effective drug will be tradjenta. Tradjenta works by preventing the degradation of the incretin hormones glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (Drum and Zierenberg, 2006), which are core in managing diabetes. The drug is taken orally and works in increasing concentrations of active incretin and hence plays a substantive role in the reduction of glucagon in secretion. Some effects of tradjenta include instances of adverse reactions, which include nasopharyngitis especially for a patient such as Dr. Pepper who has renal impairment (Burant, 2008). This indeed calls for the use of an alternative treatment options. For effective treatment of diabetes by the use of tradjenta, is mostly exercising and good diet as indicated above. However, there are certain drugs that can be used mainly as inhibitors. These include meglitinides and

Burberry's Success Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Burberry's Success - Essay Example owth of the company is dependent on the factors of leveraging the franchise, intensifying development of non – apparel items, retailed growth, development of the markets and pursuit of operational excellence. The brand value has been stimulated through these particular aspects, which has led from a profit margin of $2783 million in 2006 to $3732 million in 2010. It is noted that the success is developed partly because of the expanded brand reach that has taken place with the marketing. This has been established because of the ability to use online elements for advertising and promotion as well as different demands and expectations that are related to the environment. This particular approach is one that has provided more options for retail operations within the company (Nomura, 2012). Not only is there an expansion in the marketing and development into other markets. The strategy of Burberry has looked at the competition with culture and innovation in terms of long term growth and meeting needs at a global level. The approach is one which is based on creating a social enterprise. The marketing used is one which has developed the brand name as a part of fashion trends that are also socially acceptable. This is inclusive of offering a variety of trends and social styles, including luxury brand items as well as more casual approaches that can be segmented into different target markets. To do this, there is a combination of online and offline tactics used to meet consumer expectations as well as the ability to evaluate the returns and evaluation with each of the products. Using this to leverage the culture and innovation is able to provide the company with more success and potential for growth, specifically because of the willingness to work with the apparel and the non... This paper stresses that the approach which Burberry is using is defined specifically with market segments that are used. The ability to have a specific market segment is first identified with the products that are available. The products are based on luxury items, changing luxury names and new brand items that can be identified. The innovation sed with the products can be used to open new lines to provide different alternatives for the company. The author of the essay declares that the marketing segmentation is one which can be further divided by the responses from the culture, specifically with the movement into globalization. The combined marketing approach with online and offline efforts can help to develop the identity of different marketing segments and cultural applications while creating and defining various alternatives to those that are interested in the different products. This report makes a conclusion that the initiatives that are created are developed specifically with the need to have a sense of accountability toward the changes. There needs to be a balance between the innovation of the products with the current brand reputation. Currently, Burberry is based on growth and development with innovation into an international market. This is being done without considering the risks and problems which may arise as well as the problems that are linked to working within this specific market.

Question 3&4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Question 3 - Assignment Example The Fourth Amendment does not apply in wiretapping there was no seizure and search. The evidence was obtained solely by hearing. Nobody entered the house of the defendant by force. Taft asserts that the words contained in the Fourth Amendment cannot be expanded to include a phone and the wires that leave the defender’s home to different parts of the world. Justice Stewart reasons that private conversations can be made in public. An individual pays for phone services with the expectation that his conversation will not be public. He expects privacy. The intrusion of this privacy via wiretapping is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. Stewart states that listening to phone conversations is equivalent to a search, which has been mentioned in the Fourth Amendment. The Weeks vs. U.S. case presented the courts with the real definition of privacy intrusion. The trial did not accept the violation of the rights of the defendants found in the Fourth Amendment. The ruling of the case stated that the trial court erred by allowing the evidence collected by forceful entry, search and seizure as part of the evidence. The defendant’s home is a personal space that should not be intruded by any government agency. The Weeks vs. U.S. case helped in defining the implication of the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment did not affect the evidence that was forcefully seized during the arrest of the defendant. In respect to the court’s conclusion, the Fourth Amendment does not expand to the acts of individuals acting without the push of the federal government. The law is present to control the power of the federal government. The question central to this course is how law written in the 18th century should be interpreted by courts to deal with the technology of the 21st century. Contrast the minority (dissenting) opinions of Brandeis in Olmstead vs. U.S. and Black in Katz vs. U.S. The interpretation of the law is not constant. The law evolves as time and people change.

Burberry's Success Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Burberry's Success - Essay Example owth of the company is dependent on the factors of leveraging the franchise, intensifying development of non – apparel items, retailed growth, development of the markets and pursuit of operational excellence. The brand value has been stimulated through these particular aspects, which has led from a profit margin of $2783 million in 2006 to $3732 million in 2010. It is noted that the success is developed partly because of the expanded brand reach that has taken place with the marketing. This has been established because of the ability to use online elements for advertising and promotion as well as different demands and expectations that are related to the environment. This particular approach is one that has provided more options for retail operations within the company (Nomura, 2012). Not only is there an expansion in the marketing and development into other markets. The strategy of Burberry has looked at the competition with culture and innovation in terms of long term growth and meeting needs at a global level. The approach is one which is based on creating a social enterprise. The marketing used is one which has developed the brand name as a part of fashion trends that are also socially acceptable. This is inclusive of offering a variety of trends and social styles, including luxury brand items as well as more casual approaches that can be segmented into different target markets. To do this, there is a combination of online and offline tactics used to meet consumer expectations as well as the ability to evaluate the returns and evaluation with each of the products. Using this to leverage the culture and innovation is able to provide the company with more success and potential for growth, specifically because of the willingness to work with the apparel and the non... This paper stresses that the approach which Burberry is using is defined specifically with market segments that are used. The ability to have a specific market segment is first identified with the products that are available. The products are based on luxury items, changing luxury names and new brand items that can be identified. The innovation sed with the products can be used to open new lines to provide different alternatives for the company. The author of the essay declares that the marketing segmentation is one which can be further divided by the responses from the culture, specifically with the movement into globalization. The combined marketing approach with online and offline efforts can help to develop the identity of different marketing segments and cultural applications while creating and defining various alternatives to those that are interested in the different products. This report makes a conclusion that the initiatives that are created are developed specifically with the need to have a sense of accountability toward the changes. There needs to be a balance between the innovation of the products with the current brand reputation. Currently, Burberry is based on growth and development with innovation into an international market. This is being done without considering the risks and problems which may arise as well as the problems that are linked to working within this specific market.

A Secret Gift Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Secret Gift - Essay Example Interested people were required to write and submit reports telling the benefactor about their economic problems. According to Gup, the primary aim of the gift was to reduce the pain and suffering of poor Cantonians who were bracing themselves for the harshest festive season which most of them had never experienced (34). Eventually, 150 families benefitted from $5 each instead of the earlier planned $10 for 75 families due to the overwhelming response from the needy audience. According to Chambers, Gup was touched by the narrations of suffering amid undying hope of the Cantonians as captured in the letters, which he came across in suitcase that belonged to his grandfather almost eight decades earlier (85). At first, the investigative journalist was keen on uncovering the experiences behind the letters; this led him to scan through the documents and piece up the information by interviewing the authors’ descendants across the country. From the interviews involving hundreds of respondents, Gup has reestablished the role played by Mr B. Virdot’s when the country was reeling in economic meltdown. A substantial number of people could not afford to put bread on the table, while others had run out of coal and clothing among other vital necessities. Gup’s investigations show that his grandfather’s role had substantial impacts on the beneficiaries’ lives when life was practically unbearable. Taylor argues that as a journalist, Gup releases an expose of the sorrows and happiness of the tens of families who were strange to Sam Stone, but whose fortunes were basically the result of Mr Stone’s very complicated life of secrecy, philanthropy and equity (18). Gup reveals deeply hidden facts about Stone’s life; from his humble, abusive childhood experiences to his rather criminal life of evading capture by American authorities for lacking the required immigration documents. Mr Stone’s life in the alien country may have played an

Othello and Guess Whos Coming to Dinner Comparative Essay Example for Free

Othello and Guess Whos Coming to Dinner Comparative Essay The transformation between Othello, a 16th century Shakespearean tragedy and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, a 1960’s Romantic Comedy, can be compared by addressing themes that are present in each text. The theme of race can be used to compare the different attitudes of each context, surrounding the significant black characters of Othello in Othello and John in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and there interaction with white females that belong to an upper middle class. The theme of interracial marriages can be used to compare the different values and attitudes of each context, towards a black white marriage. This applies to both Othello Desdemona and John Joanna. By exploring the different contexts, ideas and techniques incorporated into each text, we can apprehend the different messages that each composer has attempted to convey to their audience. Othello – Power of Love Othello is a Shakespearean tragedy, set in Elizabethan Times that present the relationship between, Othello, a ‘moor’ who’s an official in the Venetian army and Desdemona, the daughter of a noble Venetian Senator, Brabantio, and how despite their different experiences in love, a strong relationship can occur, without any initial external input. Desdemona’s assertive behaviour towards romantically pursing Othello, demonstrates her confidence and power, which she maintains throughout the play. Most significantly, the fact that Othello did not ask for Brabantio’s permission to marry Desdemona, demonstrates how Othello did not consider the traditional values of Elizabeth society. However as they play develops, Iago’s manipulation of Othello’s insecurities, leads to the relationship between Othello and Desdemona falling apart. This reflects Elizabethan society and its values towards love and marriage. In Elizabethan times, a marriage between a man and a woman was considered extremely important. Women were generally considered to be in the possession of their father, this was because men were considered powerful and important people. It was in the father’s power to determine whom their daughter married, provided that his family were respectable and had money. A marriage between a ‘moor’ and a white would not have been socially acceptable in Elizabethan times, seeing that the Moorish skin colour portrayed a sense of filth and evil. Whites being superior and educated, while others were considered inferior. This theme can be explored through the objectification of Desdemona in scene 1 Act 3 Lines 182-187 â€Å"How to respect you. You are lord of all my duty: I am hitherto your daughter. But here’s my husband: And so much duty as many mother showed To you, preferring you before her father, so much I challenge that I may profess Due to the moor, my lord.† We see that Desdemona, is detaching herself from her father, just as her mother did to her father. This demonstrates her power and her ability to make decisions despite her father’s approval.

The Introduction Of Mamee Double Decker

The Introduction Of Mamee Double Decker Mamee-Double Decker (M) Berhad is a unique brand of good taste and fine quality. The company is recently listed in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchang (KLSE). The company manufactures many products which are Mamee Monster, Mamee Instant and Sllrrrp Noodles, Mister Potato Chips, Mister Potato Crisps and so on. All this products are already household names. The most famous product of the company is Mamee Monster. Mamee Monster is something like noodles with a pack of seasoning powder. This product consists of two flavours which are chicken and barbeque. Besides these two flavours, there is another new flavor like satay flavor. Between these three flavours, barbeque is the tastiest and many kids like it including us. Mamee Monster consists of jumbo pack; the jumbo packs are a new product and it is include two flavours like barbeque and the new one- curry flavour. These two flavours can stimulate our taste buds. Besides this honored, the company also promote a new product which is Mister Potato Rice Crisps. This new product can competes with others brand as well like Jacker and Pringles. Why do I say so? It is because this Mister Potato Rice Crisps is low fat and healthier compared with others potato chips. Jacker is good taste but salty and same goes to Pringles. This new product consists of four flavours such as, original, flame grilled bbq, hot and spicy as well as sour cream and onion. For people who likes chili can try hot and spicy flavor. For those who do not like heavy flavour can try original flavour. In an addition, Mamee-Double Decker (M) Berhad also has a product which is instant noodles-Mamee Sllrrrp. For this instant noodles have a variety of flavours such as ayam kampung, asam laksa, kari berapi and kari extra pedas. Any of the flavours will make people sllrrrp, sllrrp, sllrrrp when eating. Overall, Mamee-Double Decker (M) Berhad is a good quality brand and no doubt it can win the heart of the public range from kids and adults to old folks. This company is a very successful company and earns much profit from previous until now. Mamee Lekor After a thorough consideration, we as Mamee-Double Decker (M) Berhads corporate finance advisors had decided to increase their shareholders wealth by introducing a new product keropok lekor. What is keropok lekor? This is it. The easiest way to describe Keropok Lekor is to call it as fish sausage. Its main ingredients are fish (Ikan Parang/Kembong/Selayang), sago flour, salt and water. We named our new product (keropok lekor) as Mamee Lekor. It can be served in crispy type or soft chewy type according to preferences.D:New folderMmuGamma 1st SemBBF 2124 FM 2keropok_lekor.jpgD:New folderMmuGamma 1st SemBBF 2124 FM 211.jpg Keropok lekor is originated from Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia and it is a popular and most visible fried snack in Terengganu. Lots of local there know how to make this keropok lekor. Therefore, there are many stalls in Malaysia that sells keropok lekor. However, there is none in hypermarket, cinemas and petrol station. This keropok lekor become very popular that we can find it in other states of Malaysia such as Johor and Melaka. Perhaps, we could not find this type of snacks in country other than Malaysia because keropok lekor is a local Malay delicacy and specialty of Malaysia. Mamee-Double Decker (M) Berhad introduces Mamee Lekor in two forms. First, the mini ball sized fried keropok lekor which packaging in a small plastic bag like Mamee Monster. Another one is raw keropok lekor. D:New folderMmuGamma 1st SemBBF 2124 FM 2keropak_lekor.jpg The fried keropok lekor in mini packing contains 10 mini balls of keropok lekor which sells RM1.50 per pack. The above picture is for illustration purpose only. To be more attrative, we will shape it into mini balls to attract customers. We also produce raw keropok lekor in 700g per pack which sells at RM10. This fried mini keropok lekor will expire in 4 to 5 days after production. How we are going to handle this situation? We will follow the Gardenias distribution strategy. We will send our workers to send new keropok lekor and collect back the expired one. Our workers are going to the retail store and supermarkets to send and collect Mamee Lekor 2 times per week. This is to ensure that our products are fresh before reaches to our customers and consumers. Also, we produce raw keropok lekor to fulfill some households demands. They can cut it into the thickness they prefer and fry or steam it. The main difference between the raw and ready fried mini packed keropok lekor is that the raw keropok lekor can keep for longer period. On the other hand, the ready fried mini packed keropok lekor can only last within 5 days. Some household may buy the raw keropok lekor and kept in their freezer and fried it whenever they want to eat. Since raw keropok lekor can be kept in a long period which is around one year, we plan to export it to other countries. We plan to export 700g of raw keropok lekor per pack to other countries selling at RM12 each. The selling price is slightly higher than in Malaysia because it already included the cost that related to export activities. We decided to export to Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. We export more to Australia because it is the largest and fastest growing export market compared to other countries. It ha s highest export rate of snack and confectionary from Mamee-Double Decker. We also export to Singapore and Hong Kong because we want to introduce Mamee Lekor to Western and Asian countries as well. Why we produce keropok lekor? This is because it is a local traditional delicacy which not available in other countries. It is a specialty to foreigners because their countries do not have this food. So, we can monopolize Mamee Lekor in other countries. Besides, according to research, Mamee Double-Decker (M) Berhad s snacks and confectionery occupied the highest demand compared to other catrgories. So we produce Mamee Lekor which is a kind of snacks to boost the demand. We will start our project by reaching out the children because no children dislike snacks and they like to try on new things. So, we decided to distribute Mamee Lekor to school canteens. It is packed in a mini package same as Mamee Monster. It is cute and can attract children to try it. It is also convenient to consume. Moreover, in order to expand new market, we will distribute our Mamee Lekor to all cinemas such as Golden Screen Cinemas and MBO Cinemas. Most of the people will carry a packet of snacks or a big box of popcorn into the theatre. As our Mamee Lekor is also a kind of snacks, we believe that the demand will be higher in cinemas. Also, Mamee Lekor can be a substitute good for those who do not like popcorn or other snacks for health conscious. As Our Mamee Lekor is made from fish and fried with unsaturated oil, it is high protein, monosodium glutamate (MSG)-free and less oily. Why we want to promote healthy lifestyle? It is to follow Mamee-Double Decker (M) Berhads step. The company wants to produce products that are MSG-free, artificial colouring-free and oil-free. We produce keropok lekor in a healthy way to help consumers to consume without worries while maintaining a balance and healthy lifestyle. Initial Investment When we wanted to produce the Keropok Lekor, we used 3 types of machine like cartridge system, frying machine and packaging machine. The machines and the usages are shown below: Cartridge system is used to blend the filled up fish with some ingredients. This machine is the key in making Keropok Lekor and was the first step to produce the better product. The retail price of this type of machine is RM 15,000 each. It is a franchised system, so the price is fixed. We prepare keropok lekor from fish meat grounded with sago and salt; these are then rolled and made into the shape of long tubes similar to sausages by this machine.C:UsersPublicPicturesSample Picturesmoto_0117.jpg The frying machine is used to fry Keropok Lekor after it was shaped into mini size by our labours. This machine has many functions such as continuous fines removal for increased oil life and automatic oil level control. It is easy to clean. Its superior oil temperature control helps to maintain fryer quality stability. The cost of purchasing the machine is RM 6,000 each.http://img.diytrade.com/cdimg/432764/3809036/0/1181816403/Gas_Frying_Machine.jpghttp://i03.i.aliimg.com/photo/104903103/Horizontal_Packaging_Machine_v0.jpg As shown the horizontal packaging machine. After the Keropok Lekor had been steam and fried, the packaging and leballing process happen. It is to keep keropok lekor last longer and maintain the taste. This machine costs RM 13,000 each. How many factories we have? We are going share some spaces in the existing Mamee-Double Decker factories rather than building extra factories. We choose to share capacity with factories in Selangor, Perak, Johor and Sarawak. This is the strategic location as we can cater the demands of North, East, West, and South of Malaysia. There are 2 cartridge system, 2 frying machines and 1 packaging machine in each factory. We use 2 catridge machine because one machine is not big enough to blend big amount of filled fish and other ingredient. When we use two of them together, the maintenance cost will become lower when some of the parts broken. Timing on processing will also reduce 20% compare to big cartridge machine. Other than that, we use 2 frying machines because we need to save cost especially in introducing the new product. The bigger and more technologically advance machine will cost higher. So we use 2 cartridge system and frying machine instead of the sophisticated one. The machines we use are expected to be able to serve large amount of production. Lastly, for an newly introduced project, we expect that 1 packaging machine is enough to cater our production. It produces around 70 to 100 packs of keropok lekor per hour. With one packaging machine only, we can save our budget and consume less space. We are going to promote our new product by advertising on The Star  [1]  newspaper. Why we choose to advertise on The Star rather than other newspapers? According to Audit Bureau of Circulations from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009, The Star newspaper is the most famous newspaper in Malaysia in term of readership. It has between 290,000 to 300,000 readers. Moreover, The Star newspaper is an English-language newspaper which is readable for all races, for instance Malays, Chinese, Indian and others, in Malaysia. Additionally, we need to buy new vans to implement our distribution network strategy. Each second hand van would cost us RM 80,000 each. We plan to buy 2 vans for each factory. We will hire driver to run our distribution network to distribute and collect back our keropok lekor. Year 1 In first year, we expect to sell 1,200 packs of Mini ball keropok lekor and raw keropok lekor each day. That means each factory has to produce 300 packs of Mini keropok lekor and raw keropok lekor respectively. Total quantity produce of mini and raw keropok lekor = 300 packs per day x 4 factories x 30 days per month x 12 months per year = 432,000 packs repectively. Sales Mini keropok lekor Raw keropok lekor Cash inflow in year 1 Unit selling price RM 1.50 RM 10.00 Quantity produce 432,000 432,000 Sales volume RM 648,000 RM 4,320,000 RM 4,968,000 The main ingredients of keropok lekor are ikan parang/kembong/selayang, sago flour, salt and water. The ingredient costs of mini and raw keropok lekor are RM 0.80 and RM 5.00 each while the packaging costs are RM 0.20 and RM 0.10 respectively. Packaging cost of mini keropok lekor is higher than raw keropok lekor because the packaging design will be more colourful and attractive. Also, we need labours to help us shape mini keropok lekor and fry it. Each labour cost is RM 800 per month. Each driver will have to travel 2 times per week to distribute and collect mini keropok lekor. Each trip will cost RM 150 including petrol cost. So, each driver costs us RM 150 x 2 times per week x 4 times per month x 12 months x 4 factories = RM 57,600. Costs Mini keropok lekor Raw keropok lekor Ingredient + packaging (RM0.80+RM0.20) x 432,000= RM 432,000 (RM5+RM0.10) x 432,000 = RM 2,203,200 Labor 6 labours X RM 800 X 12 months x 4 factories = RM 230,400 Driver 2 drivers x RM 57,600 = RM 115,200 Cash outflow (RM 432,000 + RM 2,203,200 + RM 230,400 + RM 115,200=RM 2,980,800 Net operating cash flow in year 1 = RM 4,968,000 RM 2,980,800 = RM 1,987,200 Year 2 Year 2, we estimate that our production will increase 5% as demand increases. Since first years production is 864,000 units (432,000 units for mini and raw keropok lekor respectively), year 2 our productions will be 907,200 units (864,000 + 5%). That means production for each type is 453,600 units. Besides, as Mamee Double-Decker (M) Berhad generated about 30% of its sales from the export markets which cover more than 80 countries across all continents, we plan to expand market and export raw keropok lekor to other countries. Each pack of raw keropok lekor, we will charge RM 12 which slightly higher than RM 10 to cover any expenses incur in export activities. In this year, we will export 100,000 units to Australia, 60,000 units to Hong Kong and 36,000 units to Singapore. In other words, we will export 25000, 15000 and 9000 units to these 3 countries in every 3 months. Why do we export more products to Australia? As Australia is the largest and fastest growing export market which contributed 18% of the total export sales in financial year 2009, we decided to export more products to the country. Other than Western country, we also export to Asian country such as Hong Kong. It not only helps to expand our market, but also introduce keropok lekor such a traditional cuisine to both Western and Asian countries. Besides, Singapore is our neighbour country and knows our cultures more as well as it contributed 9% of total export, so we choose to export to Singapore rather than other countries. Sales Mini keropok lekor Raw keropok lekor Export raw keropok lekor Cash inflow in year 2 Unit selling price RM 1.50 RM 10.00 RM 12.00 Quantity produce 453,600 453,600 196,000 Sales volume RM 680,400 RM 4,536,000 RM 2,352,000 RM 7,568,400 Due to increase in production, we have to add in additional 2 labours, 1 driver, 1 cartridge system, 1 packaging machine and 1 frying machine in each factory. Costs Mini keropok lekor Raw keropok lekor Export (raw keropok lekor Ingredient + packaging (RM0.80+RM0.20) x 453,600 = RM 453,600 (RM5+RM0.10) x 453,600 = RM 2,313,360 (RM7+RM0.10)x 196,000 = RM 1,391,600 Labor 8 labours X RM 800 X 12 months x 4 factories = RM 307,200 Driver 3 drivers x RM 57,600 = RM 172,800 Cartridge system RM 15,000 x 1 unit x 4 factories = RM 60,000 Packing machine RM 13,000 x 1 unit x 4 factories = RM 52,000 Frying machine RM 6,000 x 1 unit x 4 factories = RM 24,000 Cash outflow RM 453,600+ RM 2,313,360+ RM 1,391,600+ RM 307,200+ RM 172,800+ RM 60,000+ RM 52,000+ RM 24,000 =RM 4,774,560 Net operating cash flow in year 2 = RM 7,568,400 RM 4,774,560 = RM 2,793,840 Year 3 We estimate that our sales in this year keep increasing and probably reach maturity. Our expected production excluding export will increases from 907,200 to 950,400 units which increases around 5 % of year 2s production. In other words, production for mini and raw keropok lekor is 475,200 units respectively. Additionally, we expect export rate of keropok lekor will increase 4 %, which is from 196,000 to 204,000 units. In this year, we have to add in more technologically advance machine to cater the increase in production. We will purchase more innovative cartridge system, packing machine and frying machine to improve productivity. We also hire 2 more labours and 1 more driver to help us run our business smoother. The additional driver can help us widen our distribution network to other places. We expect that the cost of labour will become slightly higher which is from RM 800 to RM900. It is to increase their motivation to work and maybe due to inflation. Sales Mini keropok lekor Raw keropok lekor Export raw keropok lekor Cash inflow in year 3 Unit selling price RM 1.50 RM 10.00 RM 12.00 Quantity produce 475,200 475,200 204,000 Sales volume RM 712,800 RM 4,752,000 RM 2,448,000 RM 7,912,800 Costs Mini keropok lekor Raw keropok lekor Export (raw keropok lekor Ingredient + packaging (RM0.80+RM0.20) x 475,200 = RM 475,200 (RM5+RM0.10) x 475,200 = RM 2,423,520 (RM7+RM0.10)x 204,000 = RM 1,448,400 Labor 10 labours X RM 900 X 12 months x 4 factories = RM 432,000 Driver 4 drivers x RM 57,600 = RM 230,400 Cartridge system RM 20,000 x 1 unit x 4 factories = RM 80,000 Packing machine RM 20,000 x 1 unit x 4 factories = RM 80,000 Frying machine RM 10,000 x 1 unit x 4 factories = RM 40,000 Cash outflow RM 475,200+ RM 2,423,520+ RM 1,448,400+ RM 432,000+ RM 230,400+ RM 80,000+ RM 80,000+ RM 40,000 =RM 5,209,520 Net operating cash flow in year 3 = RM 7,912,800 RM 5,209,520 = RM 2,703,280 This year, although expected sales increases, net operating cash flow decreases. This is because we plan to do expansion by adding more technologically advance machines. This is logic as whenever a firm manages to cover up their initial investment, what they might do is to do expansion. Year 4 Out of expectation, probably the demand for our keropok lekor might go down. Perhaps there is new competitors exist in market. Who knows they envy of our high sales volume and might want to compete with us? With our 3 years brand recognition, perhaps our sales would not drop too badly. So, our expected production will be 920,000 units which are 3% less than previous year. Production of mini and raw keropok lekor will be 460,000 units respectively. As production decreases, we do not have to hire much driver for distribution network. We will cut down 1 driver to cut expense of RM 57,600. However, we will remain our existing labours. As we believe that, whenever there is an obstacle, we will find out a way to curb it and boost future sales as well as production. Thus, we do not want to loss any well- trained and loyal labour. Still, in order to handle any possible changes in future, we have a pessimistic view that the cost of ingredient will increase. We predict that the unit cost of mi ni keropok lekor will increase from RM0.80 to RM0.90 while raw keropok lekor will increase from RM5 to RM 5.50. On the other hand, our export rate will keep on increasing. We expect our production will be 210,000 units which is 3% higher than in year 3. Why do we forecast that the export rate will increase? Why not decrease? Because, even if foreign competitor wants to compete with us, they might need some times to figure out how to produce such a Malay local cuisine which is available in Malaysia only. This is our local special food, so of course there is some recipe that other countries do not know. Also, since there is a decrease in Malaysias sales and an increase of export rate, we do not have to add in any new machine. Sales Mini keropok lekor Raw keropok lekor Export raw keropok lekor Cash inflow in year 4 Unit selling price RM 1.50 RM 10.00 RM 12.00 Quantity produce 460,000 460,000 210,000 Sales volume RM 690,000 RM 4,600,000 RM 2,520,000 RM 7,810,000 Costs Mini keropok lekor Raw keropok lekor Export (raw keropok lekor Ingredient + packaging (RM0.90+RM0.20) x 460,000 = RM 506,000 (RM5.50+RM0.10) x 460,000 = RM 2,576,000 (RM7.50+RM0.10)x 210,000 = RM 1,596,000 Labor 10 labours X RM 900 X 12 months x 4 factories = RM 432,000 Driver 3 drivers x RM 57,600 = RM 172,800 Cash outflow RM 506,000 + RM 2,576,000 + RM 1,596,000 + RM 432,000 + RM 172,800 = RM 5,282,800 Net operating cash flow in year 4 = RM 7,810,000 RM 5,282,800 = RM 2,527,200 Year 5 Assume that there is a drop in sales, of course we will take some actions to increase the sales back. In this year, we plan to open kiosk in hypermarket. Together there will be one kiosk in Melaka, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor Bahru respectively. Rental of each kiosk is expected to be RM 800. We will hire 2 workers to help us operate the kiosk. Since we sell freshly cooked keropok lekor on the spot, we will need to purchase one frying machine for each kiosk. We also need some budgets for setup cost. With the above strategy, we believe that we able to boost our sales for at least 2%. Our expected production will be 940,000 units which is 470,000 units for each type of keropok lekor. Furthermore, we predict that our export rate of keropok lekor will grow at a decreasing rate which is 1% only. Our expected export rate will be 212,000 units. We are going to hire 2 more labours to help us to run our business to avoid supply shortage and to employ any future strategy. We need 1 more driver to widen our distribution network, and send raw keropok lekor to our kiosk to ensure there is no shortage problem. No additional machine is required as we already added in technologically advance machines in previous year which able to cater higher production. Sales Mini keropok lekor Raw keropok lekor Export raw keropok lekor Cash inflow in year 5 Unit selling price RM 1.50 RM 10.00 RM 12.00 Quantity produce 470,000 470,000 212,000 Sales volume RM 705,000 RM 4,700,000 RM 2,544,000 RM 7,949,000 Costs Mini keropok lekor Raw keropok lekor Export (raw keropok lekor Ingredient + packaging (RM0.90+RM0.20) x 470,000 = RM 517,000 (RM5.50+RM0.10) x 470,000 = RM 2,632,000 (RM7.50+RM0.10)x 212,000 = RM 1,611,200 Labor 12 labours X RM 900 X 12 months x 4 factories = RM 518,400 Driver 4 drivers x RM 57,600 = RM 230,400 4 Kiosk Expenses Calculations Total Rental RM 800 x 4 kiosks x 12months RM 38,400 Workers RM 800 x 2workers x 4 kiosks x 12 months RM 76,800 Frying machine RM 3000 x 4 kiosks RM 12,000 Setup RM 1,500 x 4 kioks RM 6,000 Total expenses for kiosks RM 133,200 Cash outflow in year 5 RM 517,000 + RM 2,632,000 + RM 1,611,200 + RM 518,400 + RM 230,400 + RM 133,200 = RM 5,642,200 Net Operating cash flow in year 5 = RM 7,949,000 RM 5,642,200 = RM 2,306,800 Although expected sales increases, net operating cash flow slightly decreases, it is due to the investment in kiosks. Yet, we believe that next years sales and net operating cash flow will increase simultaneously. RM 1,987,200 RM 2,793,840 RM 2,703,280 RM 2,527,200 RM 2,306,800 o 1 2 3 4 5 year RM 1,140,000 The time line above depicts the conventional cash flow of our project. There is only one cash outflow for initial investment in year 0. From year 2 to 5, there is positive net operating cash flow. The net cash flow rises from year 1 to 2 because we export raw keropok lekor to other countries and increase revenues. In year 3, the sales keep on increasing but net cash flows drop as we do expansion by purchasing additional machines for technology advancement. During year 4, we predict that there will be new competitors exist to compete with us. Our sales drop slightly but net cash flow increases, because we try to cut cost and do not need to add in new capital. The next year, we employ a new strategy which is to open kiosk in hypermarket to sell freshly fried keropok lekor. We predict that our sales will increase slightly. But why net cash flow descend? Because we need some costs on operating the kioks. In short, our net cash flow thoroughout the year is up and down, but we manage to ke ep it at positive level. From other point of view, there will be up and down, because when any unfavourable things incur, we try to solve it and up the net cash flow again. Cost of Capital The cost of capital acts as a link between Mamee Double-Decker (M) Berhad s long term investment decisions (keropok lekor project) and the wealth of their owners as determined by investors in the marketplace. It is the magic number that is used to decide whether a proposed investment will increase or decrease the firms stock price. The cost of capital is the rate of return that Mamee Double-Decker (M) Berhad must earn on the keropok lekor project in which it invests to maintain the market value of its stock. In this project, we will use Mamee Double-Decker (M) Berhads retained earnings to cover our new project. Cost of retained earnings is a cost of internally generated funds. It is an imputed or opportunity cost or the dividends given up by the common stockholders. It is the rate that investors can earn elsewhere on investments of comparable risk. Why we choose to use cost of retained earnings rather than issuing new shares or bonds? The main reason is that we notice Mamee Double-Decker (M) Berhad is proposing share buy-back. According to research, they plan to buy back the shares by using their retained earnings. So, why do we still want to use its retained earnings to support our new project? This is because we cannot issue additional shares or bonds to raise capital. Mamee Double-Decker (M) Berhad proposed share buy-back is to reduce number of shares outstanding and increase their share price. So, we do not want to do the opposite way. Moreover, Mamee Double-Decker (M) Berhad is very strong. It holds RM 43,457,000 cash, deposit and bank balances without borrowing any long term debt. It finances itself with cash only. That is why we do not want to raise capital by issuing bond which is a type of long term debt. Although tax is deductible when we issue bonds/debts/loans, we do not want to break the rules and rise their financ ial risk. They do not finance themselves with any debt, perhaps they want to reduce their risk for no need to pay out coupon payment and principal to their debtors. Besides, we choose to raise capital by using retained earnings because our initial investment only takes 9% of their overall retaining earnings. Their retained earnings in financial year 2009 are RM 83,977,000 while our initial investment is RM 1,140,000. Our payback period shows that we could cover it up within 1 year. Yet, without being over optimistic, there is always something unfavourable happen, so we predict that we could cover up the initial investment within 2 years. Cost of retained earnings= D1 / P0 + g The dividend per share from year 2000 to 2009 is shown below: Year Dividend per share Year Dividend per share 2000 5.5 cents 2005 14 cents 2001 5.5 cents 2006 20 cents 2002 5.5 cents 2007 25 cents 2003 6.0 cents 2008 5 cents 2004 10 cents 2009 7 cents Input Function -5.5 PV 7.0 FV 9 N Growth of dividends = 2.71% (by using financial calculator) According to Bloomberg Businessweek  [2]  , expected dividend in 2010 is RM 0.10 while share price of Mamee Double-Decker (M) Berhad is RM 3.70. Cost of retained earnings = (RM 0.10 / RM 3.70) + 2.71% = 5.41 % In short, our cost of raising capital by using Mamee Double-Decker (M) Berhads retained earnings is 5.41%. The cost of capital will be applied when calculating NPV of the company. Payback Period Payback period can be defined as the amount of time required for a firm to recover its initial investment in a project, as calculated from cash flow. Payback period which also calculated as: Payback period = RM 1,140,000 / RM 1,987,000 = 0.57 years Basically, payback period is used by small firms to evaluate most projects or small projects in larger firms. The computation is simple and easy to apply. By measuring how quickly the firms get to recover from its initial investment, payback period gives implicit consideration to the timing of cash flows. Many firms use payback period as a decision criterion to other decision as it can be viewed as a measure of risk exposure. The longer the firm must wait to recover its invested fund, the greater the possibility of a calamity. So, the shorter the payback period, the lower the firms exposure to such risk. Payback period cannot be specified in light of wealth maximization goal because it is not based on discounting cash flows to determine whether they add to the firms value. Payback period is viewed as an unsophisticated capital budgeting technique because it does not explicitly consider the time value of money. The calculation above shows that payback period for our new project is one year. Why is it so short? It is because our cash inflow in year 1 which is RM 1,987,200 is higher than the initial investment which is RM1,140,000. So, we get to cover back our initial investment and have an extra of RM 847,200 of revenue in year one. We should be glad that we able to pay back the initial investment within one year but please do not forget that it does ignore the time value of money. In finance, we always mention time value of money. But, do we really know what does it mean? Well,