Sensorial

Maria Montessori described the sensorial materials as the â€Å"key to the universe† Discuss this statement and give examples to support your discussion. â€Å"The senses, being explorers of the world, open the way to knowledge. Our apparatus for educating the senses offers the child a key to guide his explorations of the world, they cast a light upon it which makes visible to him more things in greater detail than he could see in the dark, or uneducated state. â€Å"(1. Montessori Maria, the Absorbent page 190, chapter 17). Montessori believed that sensorial experiences began from birth to six. At this stage, children learn and develop by using their five senses which help in making mental order in their environment. These five senses are visual sense the child learns how to visually discriminate differences between similar objects and differing objects. Second is tactile sense, the child learns through his sense of touch. â€Å"Although the sense of touch is spread throughout the surface of the body, the Exercises given to the children are limited to the tips of the fingers, and particularly, to those of the right hand. (Montessori, Maria (1997) The Discovery of the Child) This allows the child to really focus on what he is feeling, through a concentration of a small part of his body. In the Stereognostic Sense Exercises, the child learns to feel objects and make recognitions based on what he feels. â€Å"When the hand and arm are moved about an object, an impression of movement is added to that touch. Such an impression is attributed to a special, sixth sense, which is called a muscular sense, and which permits many impressions to be stored in a â€Å"muscular memory†, which recalls movements that have been made. (Montessori, Maria (1997) the Discovery of the Child, Oxford, England: Clio Press) . In the Baric sense, the child learns to feel the difference of pressure or weight of different objects, this sense is heightened through the use of a blindfold or of closing your eyes . In the Thermic Sense, the child works to refine his sense of temperature. In the Olfactory and Gustatory Sense Exercises, the child is given a key to his smelling and tasting sense. Although not all smells or tastes are given to the child in these Exercises, the child does work to distinguish one smell from another or one taste from another. He can then take these senses, and apply them to other smells or tastes in his environment. In the Auditory Sense Exercises, the child discriminates between different sounds. In doing these different Exercises, the child will refine and make him more sensitive to the sounds in his environment; there are four kinds of sounds human, animal, natural and mechanical sounds. Dr. Montessori felt that this was the ideal period in the child’s life to introduce him the equipment that would sharpen his senses and facilitate his comprehension of the many impressions he receives through them. So that Sensorial lessons enable the child to learn him by using his hands and his mind. We find that Dr. Benjamin Franklin once said â€Å"tell me and I forget. Teach me and remember. Involve me and learn†. In order to serve this purpose; Dr. Maria Montessori introduced a subject called ‘Sensorial', it comes from the word sense or senses. As there are no new experiences for the child to take from the Sensorial work where the materials are specially designed to enable the child to use his senses to explore different attributes of the world†¦ he child is able to concentrate on the refinement of all his senses, from visual to stereognostic. Dr. Montessori based her method of teaching young children considering the fact that a child between two to six years passes through the ‘sensitive period' for the refinement of sense along with the others and they can be helped in the development of the senses while they are in this formative period. â€Å"It is necessary t o begin the education of the senses in the formative period, if we wish to perfect this sense development with the education which is to follow. The education of the senses should be begun methodically in infancy, and should continue during the entire period of instruction which is to prepare the individual for life in society. † (Montessori Maria, internet) Dr. Montessori describe Sensorial education as â€Å"the key to the universe† because it revealing to the children, a deeper knowledge about the outside world. All of the material is aesthetically pleasing. They attract the child’s attention to the objects and allow the child to manipulate the materials with easy way. The material must be complete. This allows the child who is working with the material to finish through the whole piece of work without having to stop and find a missing piece. All of the material is limited. The first use of the term limited refers to the fact that there is only one of each material in the environment. This calls for other students to build on their patience. The second use of the word limited is in reference to the idea that not all of one quality or piece of information is given to the child. This child is not given every color in the world, but only a select few. This gives the child the keys to the information so it peaks his curiosity and leads him to learn more out of his own interest. Most importantly, all of the material could be called â€Å"materialized abstractions†. This means that though Montessori’s Sensorial materials, abstract concepts are made into concrete materials. â€Å"The sensorial materials comprise a series of objects which are grouped together according to some physical quality which they have, such as colour, shape, size, sound, texture, weight, temperature, and so forth. Every single group of objects represents the same quality but in different degrees; there is consequently a regular gradual distinction between the various objects and, when this is possible, one that is mathematically fixed. Every series of objects is graded so that there is a maximum and a minimum, which determines its limits, or which, more properly, are fixed by the use which a child makes of them† (Montessori Maria, The Discovery of Childhood, Page. 100 chapter 6). Dr. Montessori believed in the same ideal and with her development of Sensorial teaching brought a new concept to teaching the world throughout her Sensorial materials. So that the sensorial materials in the Montessori classroom enable the child to become aware of details by revealing to him strongly contrasting sensations like black and white and progressing to various gradations of this sensation such as; the many different shades of red in the colour tablets as an example, facilitate his knowledge of colours and eventually his understanding of the abstraction of a certain colour and finally the abstraction of color itself. The sensorial equipment, worked on systematically, builds a rooted and comprehensive foundation for the child's intellectual future. This is why Montessori has appropriately named the sensorial materials as â€Å"the key to the universe†. We find that the sensorial materials related with the environment around the child, he try to discover on his own how to make things he see in the environment, he often want to make his own books and do so with tools of ruler and stapler, make his own constructive triangles, or geometric solids. He often explores different ways of making the same end product – e. g. making a cylinder with paper, and then trying with clay. The other areas of the curriculum for the children of this age are related with the ‘sensorial’ materials such as mathematics, language and culture. The sensorial materials respond to the way that the child learns at this age through the senses rather than the intellect. There are materials for the refinement of each sense, with each activity isolating one particular quality, for example; color, size, sound, taste or weight. We can take a pink tower as an example, it made up of ten pink cubes of varying sizes. In 3 year-old the child constructs a tower with the largest cube on the bottom and the smallest on top. This material isolates the concept of size. The cubes are all the same colour and texture; the only difference is their size. Other materials isolate different concepts: colour tablets for colour, geometry materials for form and so on. As the child's exploration continues, the materials interrelate and build upon each other. Later, in the primary years, new aspects of some materials unfold. When studying volume, for example, the child may return to the pink tower and discover that its cubes progress incrementally from one cubic centimeter to one cubic decimetre. At the pre-school age when the child is use the sensory information, these materials help the child to order and make sense of his world and heighten his perception and wonder of it. Through working with the different sensorial materials the child has refined his discrimination of size to the point where he wants to know how much one object is bigger than other one. The mathematic materials flow naturally from here. When a child reaches this point, he needs to introduce to concrete representations of mathematical concepts and given language to describe these, for example: large, long, thick, heavy. They are required to sort, pair, grade and sequence using all of their senses – visual, tactile, auditory, gustatory and olfactory. Through these activities they develop the ability to solve mathematical problems for example: decimal system, geometry and algebra –by compare, contrast, and make judgments. The same applies with language. The subtle preparation the child has been given in this environment such as songs, stories, poems, or the control over the movement of the hand through knobbed cylinders and geometric cabinet, they allow the child from 4 and 5 year olds to effortlessly start to write and read. Montessori education has been using a set of ‘sandpaper letters’ individual boards with the primary symbol for each of the 26 letters as the sounds in the English language. Three year-old children see and feel these symbols and make the corresponding sound, bsorbing the combination of sound and symbol through three different senses (auditory-visual and tactile sense. Finally, the cultural materials bring to the child his world and the animals, plants and people within it. Like everything offered to the child at this age, the materials are sensory-based and are introduced to the child in an orderly way; first the world, then the plants; the child is introduced to the botanical classification in plants and their parts through classified cards, and an experience of how leaves can be classified by their shape through the leaf cabinet. Through these, the child is given keys to enhance his exploration of the outdoor environment and garden, and ultimately the world. The child starts to notice shapes of leaves as he walks in the park, and this deepens his appreciation of his environment. The sensorial materials also are the extension for the world of animals, then mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish; in the same way as with the world of plants, the child is given presentations of animal classification through the classified cards. Through his exploration he finds the keys to understanding the characteristics of each family and this is applied to his locality. The sensorial materials extend to geography: The children discover how our world can be divided into land and water, and how these two can further be classified by their shape – land into islands, peninsulas, isthmuses and capes; water into lake, gulf, strait and bay. These offer a key to the young mind so attuned to order and pattern, and children start to appreciate even the lakes and islands they discover in their local parks. They also explore how our world is divided into continents, and how each continent is divided into countries, and towns and so on. In this way they get an appreciation of where their ‘place’ is in the world. The education of senses makes men observers. The child who has worked with the sensorial materials has not only acquired a greater skill in the use of senses but also guides his exploration of the outside world. The aim of sense training is not only that a child shall know the colours forms and textures but also that he refines his sense through an exercise of attention and through comparison. The Sensorial Materials have been given many names: materialized abstractions, key to universe, path to culture. The goal of sensorial is to aid a child refine his senses so they can learn more from his environment and grow spiritually and physically. This is done through manipulation with carefully designed materials and direct experience with the world around them. The Sensorial technique is a multi-faceted method of learning. Through the use of singular quality focus activities the child’s senses are awakened. The sensory revelation that is experienced by the child during this period leads to a greater intellectual capability. The sensorial practice sets the groundwork for further intellectual growth. The crucial roles the senses have in education are illustrated through the connection between the various sensorial experiences the child has and all of the activities in the Sensorial environment. Because of Montessori’s focus on sensorial exploration and the Sensitive Periods for crucial brain development, there may be no computers for children’s use in the Children’s House environment. However, through the Montessori materials the children are building strong foundations to be able to learn to use this technology when appropriate. They are learning how to think, solve problem and create. It is striking how several pioneers and highly successful individuals in this field have Montessori backgrounds (e. g. Sergey Brin and Larry Page, inventors of Google; Will Wright, inventor of The Sims). They even attribute their success in innovation to their childhood years in a Montessori classroom. BIBLOGRAPHY Montessori Maria: The secret of childhood. Montessori Maria: absorbent mind. Montessori Maria, quotes, Internet) Montessori Maria: discovery of the childhood

Contrast/Comparison Essay on Horror Movies

Lexus Marshall English 101/Sec 011 Comparison & Contrast Essay 10/16/12 Ms. Watkins In two horror films, â€Å"A Nightmare on Elm Street† and â€Å"Texas Chainsaw Massacre† the main killers have similarities and differences between each other. By their past, their killings, and weapons. In the horror film, â€Å"A Nightmare On Elm Street†, takes place in a town called Elm Street where teenagers are paying the price for actions their parents made, by burning a man to death, when they were young.His face is disfigured from being burned, he wears a red and black sweater, and has razor knives on his hand. His name was Freddy Kreuger, and he would kidnap young children and burn them in a furnace. Although the parents killed him when they found out what he did, his spirit didn't erase and he had the ability to enter the teenagers dreams where he can exact his revenge. He brings them to an old abandoned building in their dream and stabs them with a glove that has razor knives.Unless they escape, which eventually he catches them. Except for one of the teenagers named Nancy Thompson, who manages to escape him every time. In the other horror film, â€Å"Texas Chainsaw Massacre†, a serial killer named Thomas Hewitt, also known as Leatherface, murdered people who would pass by their small Texas town. Unlike the film â€Å"A Nightmare On Elm Street†, the town is stranded and not a lot of people live there.Thomas Hewitt, who was abandoned as a baby turns into a murderer. Unlike Freddy Krueger, Thomas first sometimes tortured his victims in horrific ways by skinning them alive. He makes a mask with the skin he took off to make a mask for his face, Because when he was born his face was disfigured. He takes the people that he finds brings them into his house and commits the killings in his basement with a chainsaw, which people soon thought he was in love with. There were no survivors.The similarities between both the murderers in the films ar e that they both are serial killers who lived a rough childhood. Both were bullied by other children growing up. And thought of killing at a very young age. They also both have disfigured faces, but from different reasons. In two horror films, â€Å"A Nightmare on Elm Street† and â€Å"Texas Chainsaw Massacre† the main killers have similarities and differences between each other. Although one is fictional and the other is based on true events, they both still have

In what ways does the presentation of Polonius contribute to the play Hamlet? Essay

‘Hamlet’ By William Shakespeare Question: In what ways does the presentation of Polonius contribute to the play Hamlet? Answer: Polonius, counsellor to the King, father of Ophelia and Laertes (and although there is no evidence, it is possible that he held a position at court under Hamlet’s father, the old King), seems to have a close and developed relationship with the Royal family and knows a lot about the family history and background in detail. With the audience knowing this, Shakespeare can use Polonius as a weapon against Claudius in order to protect himself or to blackmail the King. He is a man who is trusted by Claudius, the King of Denmark who tells Laertes, Polonius’ son, that his father is incalculably important to Denmark, † The head is not more native to the heart, The hand is more instrumental to the mouth, Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father. † (Act 1 Scene 2- Lines 47-49) Here, the audience would most probably be double-minded and slightly confused. This is because; this quote could have a double meaning. It could be that Claudius wants to get rid of Polonius but finds difflculty in doing so as he is a faithful servant towards himself, the King. Polonius could be an â€Å"instrumental† devise for Claudius for those critical times. We soon learn that Polonius is an over-protective father who only wants to protect his children from society and has a strong authority over his son and daughter. This is learnt when Claudius calls to Laertes: â€Å"Have you your father’s leave? What says Polonius? † (Act 1 Scene 2- Line 57) More evidence of Polonius’ fatherhood is reflected in Act 1 Scene 3, when Laertes is talking to Ophelia before he is about to leave for France. Polonius enters the scene giving lecture-like advice to Laertes about factors to engage in and factors not to engage in. † Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. † (Act 1 Scene 3-Line 61) He does not trust his son, which is why Polonius calls on Reynaldo â€Å"to make inquire of his behaviour. † Not only this, but he gives long-winded advise to Ophelia without considering her feelings by playing with his words, and accusing Ophelia of not being able to make her own sensible decisions. â€Å"You speak like a green girl† (Act 1 Scene 3-Line 101) Polonius’ playing with words does not stop here; he uses plays on words to make himself seem intelligent, while the king and queen are not impressed at all. When he realizes that his ‘artificial intelligence’ is not working, he comes up with his â€Å"lovesick† plan (to spy on Hamlet and use Ophelia). Polonius does not only ‘educate’ his children for their own benefits but also to his advantage. He uses them, Ophelia in particular, to promote his career leading to Claudius to be proud when it is revealed that Ophelia is carrying out her father’s dirty work for him without knowing, which reveals the degree of Polonius’ craftiness. Polonius’ job is his priority (this is reflected when he uses Ophelia to maintain his head high in front of the King) and it is shown in the play that he is capable of going to extreme measures just in order to satisfy all and to keep his head high. I think he wants all too much to impress the king and queen, which explain his silly â€Å"talking in circles. † For example, when he says, â€Å"Give first admittance to th’ambassadors; My news shall be the fruit to that great feast. † (Act 2 Scene 2-Lines 51-52) Shakespeare uses a character like Polonius in this play to complement the whole play. Polonius’ ironical jokes make the audience laugh and balances out the play against the tense and important scenes in the play, HAMLET † Do you see yonder cloud that’s almost in shape of a camel? † POLONIUS † By th’mass, and ’tis like a camel indeed. HAMLET † Methinks it is like a weasel. POLONIUS † It is backed like a weasel. HAMLET † Or like a whale? POLONIUS † Very like a whale. (Act 3 Scene 2-Lines 339-344) In act 3 scene 2, when Polonius is told to fetch Hamlet, Hamlet plays with his words towards Polonius and makes him say anything that he, Hamlet chooses. Polonius is made to say that he sees imaginary shapes, which Hamlet suggests, are in the clouds.

Pop culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Pop culture - Essay Example This information was important in support of the central claim because of the elements of popular culture provided, its role in the society and its definition. These were important in making the reader understand that popular culture does not destroy society values and morals. Cons: The article has no evidence of support from other sources of literature. It means that it is a one author’s idea. It could be a credible source of information, but any writing with no evidence of support from other sources reduces reliability. The author may be a prominent person as indicated in the site (A member of the American Culture Association and Popular Culture Association), but lack of citations in his work could be a sign of lack of research. It is not, however, inevitable that if his work is not cited, then he did not conduct any research. This is an article about social inclusion. It discusses social inclusion as an approach to human development and social well-being. Social inclusion in this article recognizes the importance of diversity and difference in understanding community and national level identity. Social inclusion in the article also calls for recognition of shared aspirations among people and commonality of lived experiences. It shows how social inclusion is more than bringing outsiders in and includes closing social, physical, and economic distances that separate people. It does not only remove barriers between them. There is also information about the five cornerstones of inclusion and how inclusion is built in a community. This paper was used because it has relevant information about social inclusion. In the essay, social inclusion is one of the outcomes of popular culture. Understanding social inclusion, how it is built, and its cornerstones were very important in understanding how popular culture leads to social inclusion. This information was very important in supporting the positive role of popular culture in the

How does the educator demonstrate an understanding of the focus Assignment

How does the educator demonstrate an understanding of the focus learners performance with respect to both learning targets as reflected in the lesson objectives - Assignment Example le for selecting such a resource was forms as the resource was able to exhibit a clear association between learning targets, performance and assessment of the learning instructions. Through the resource it was clear that learning targets played an essential role in assisting teachers to demonstrate a comprehension of the focus learner’s performance in relation to learning targets within the goals of the lesson (Moss & Brookhart 2012). Despite the contributions of the resource various improvements were considered essential. For instance the resource laid more emphasis on the learning targets as opposed to the focus learning performance which is an important aspect that can be engaged by educators in lesson planning and meeting the objectives of the lesson. From the resource utilized various lessons can be learnt by educators. These lessons are important as they will enhance their skills and make them better educators. An important lesson involves the connection between the learning targets and the lessons goals. Through this association the skills of the educators will be enhanced in terms of designing classroom evaluation within the context of lesson planning and understanding (Moss & Brookhart 2012). Moss, M.C. & Brookhart, S.M. (2012). Learning Targets. Helping Students Aim for Understanding in Today’s Lesson. Retrieved on 20 April, 2015 from,

US Government Development after Revolution Essay

US Government Development after Revolution - Essay Example After all, this was one of the reasons why Americans revolted against their English masters, to have their basic personal freedoms and political rights for them to enjoy. This is why these principles were enshrined in the U.S. Constitution but there were distinct periods in early American independence when the citizens alternated between liberalism and conservatism. Public attitudes regarding this matter were a reflection of the exigencies of the times back then and influenced by political thinkers. The colonial era (1607 to 1783) was a period when individuals had very few rights in relation to the larger community. The frontier mentality necessitated that individuals have to subsume their rights for the greater good because it was necessary for survival. Many colonial writers, political thinkers and philosophers extolled this virtue but things underwent a radical change after the American war for independence. The revolution was a success and American citizens now had to contend with what to do with their lives and their government. This paper is a short discussion on the developments of the American government after the Revolution. Discussion The United States of America gained complete independence from Great Britain via the Treaty of Paris signed on September 03, 1783 and ratified by the two countries on January 14, 1784. The agreement was notable for a few things, primary of which was it enlarged the boundaries of the new country and the American state legislatures were given the freedom to recognize the rights of real loyalists (former real British subjects) whose lands, estates and properties were confiscated during the course of war. Wording of instructions of the Congress of the Confederation (this was the name of the government back then) left it to the discretion of individual states on how to proceed on this point as it merely stated â€Å"earnestly recommend† without any sanctions for possible violations. As can be seen by subsequent events, some state legislatures reneged on this undertaking by failing to return confiscated properties, refused to pay old debts to former British creditors and confiscated anew some properties supposedly to pay off old debts owed to them by some loyalists. In other words, the prevailing situation after Independence was quite chaotic, as the central government was powerless to impose its will on the states. A good number of the states disobeyed lawful orders at their own will and sole convenience without much fear of penalties from the new federal government. The intervening period between the signing of the Treaty of Paris and the convening of the Continental Congress to finally draft and adopt the Constitution was a time of chaotic conditions in terms of relations between the newly-independent states and central government and a good number of the luminaries of the American Revolution saw the need for a strong or at least, a viable federal government to prevent the nation from breaking up and fragmenting. One of those who saw the dangers was Benjamin Franklin, who advocated for limits on rights of states and individuals to preserve the Union and its hard-won independence (Ward 96). He had the foresight to kno w that a weak central government

Roundtable discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Roundtable discussion - Essay Example The poem chosen is â€Å"The Unicorn† by Isaac Rosenberg. This poem is moving, describing the nature of insanity in combat. The man, a commander, is talking to a woman, Lilith. The poem describes how the commander is thinking about the women and children caught in the combat. He is delusional, imagining that a unicorn is taking them to the afterlife. The commander muses that the women dying are innocents. Rosenberg writes women are being killed â€Å"By men misused, flying from misuse (215). All the bombs, fear of death, and horrors make the man hallucinate about the Unicorn taking away the innocents and even him in the end. The date of â€Å"The Unicorn† is unknown, but written after World War I. During and right after World War I, people did not understand the effects of Shellshock. Bhattacharjee reports that â€Å"even at a distance, explosions might cause lasting damage to the brain† (206). This could have caused the commander’s delusions. Writing poetry was one way to express Shellshock to people who did not understand. Even famous American Generals, who were battle-hardened. George S. Patton called these men â€Å"cowards†, and even went so far as to slap one man, dragging him out of the medical tent (Axelrod and Clark, pg. 115). The commander of â€Å"The Unicorn† probably would have preferred to ride away on a unicorn in death, than being faced with court martial and ridicule. There was no one to turn to when suffering from Shellshock, except the delusions of angels and demons. Poetry was a way to express emotions about shellshock, no one else wanted to hear at the time. However, all of the poems are useful today. These poems can help people understand the men from World War I. They were not traitors, but heroes doing their best under the

Case response Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Response - Case Study Example Chen’s contract is also running and offers him autonomy over operations in China and while he is willing to corporate with Denver on the required changes, he demands that change in his responsibility will need to be defined and Mia Foster has to decide on an action (Bartlett 1- 13). Foster has many options to consider but she should redefine Chen’s roles through a new contract and through mutual agreement with Chen. This is because of such factors as Chen’s willingness to work with the company, Chen’s commitment to success of the company, implications of Chen’s contract, demonstrated ability of Chen to ensure success of the business in China, and management competency of Chen to sustain the current stage of the company’s growth in China. Chen states that he is willing to continue working with the company, even after expiry of his current contract and this means a dedicated employee who should be retained, especially for his recognized output and to reduce possible costs of recruiting and training a new personnel, which may be a recurrent activity should a suitable replacement be hard to find. The fact that Chen has successfully spearheaded Levendary cafà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s expansion initiative also shows his commitment to the company’s goals and makes him an ideal asset. Denver’s office may not be comfortable with his initiatives but he implements these for the best interest of the organization and victimizing him for this would be unfair. With the realized success in China, noting that the company is almost breaking even in the region, Chen is likely to promote sustainability of Levendary in the region or in any other region and he should therefore not be forced out of the company. Chen’s contract als o grants him autonomy and this means that restricting his authority is a breach of contract. This entitles him to resign and take legal actions against the company and while apparent implications could

Organisational Deveplopment and Human Resource Development Essay

Organisational Deveplopment and Human Resource Development - Essay Example r from outside the organization should be weighed before such a decision is made and if the organization is stable enough, then there is really no need for not picking a leader from within its ranks. In this paper, we shall analyze the advantages of getting the leader of an organization from outside the organization, and those of getting one from within the ranks of the organization. There are many reasons why the new leader of the organization can be brought from outside the organization. One of this is the fact that this will be a new face for the organization especially, during the time when the organization is going through some tough times (Bohn and Grafton, 2002). Not only will this newcomer inspire confidence among the employees of the organization probably more than the previous leadership, but this new leader will also bring about a sense of renewal within the organization. This sense of renewal will ensure that all those who work within the organization are inspired to work even harder so that its goals can be achieved. A leader from outside the organization will most likely bring new ideas with him and these ideas will be found to be useful within it. These new ideas might be used to compete better with other organizations with similar objectives and in fact, they may even make it do better than the others may. The experience, which this leader will bring with him from working in other organizations, will be invaluable especially when it comes to predicting how the competition is going to respond to a move from the organization (Avolio, Zhu, Koh and Bhatia, 2004). Not only will the organization be able to preempt any action from its competitors that may hurt it in the market, it will also be able to counter these actions with even better ones and this will ensure its continued dominance in the market. The external leader will have to work very hard to prove that he is the right person for the job and this will ensure that there is more productivity,

Crisis Awareness and Organizational Audit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Crisis Awareness and Organizational Audit - Essay Example The companies however must be aware of the underlying danger due to competition from other companies, especially the international ones. The companies reduced reputation may also mean loss of market and sales. The company must take caution on the arising effects of mortgage closers and move ahead to repair the damage by restoring trust among the clients. The companies need good and aggressive leadership to be able to forecast on what to do the arising crisis. Enough time and cash is also needed to be able to remunerate its workers well, plan and carry out research on available methods of dealing with every crisis. The companies also need creditors to be able to supply enough cash to sustain it during the crisis e.g. low sales. Legal and business advisers are also necessary to help the company come up with viable changes that are befitting and reverting the crisis. (See http://www.nationmultimedia.com/worldhotnews/read.phpnewsid=3008276

An overview of IEEE 802.11 (wireless network standard) Essay

An overview of IEEE 802.11 (wireless network standard) - Essay Example It is the most widely used wireless network standard. 802.11b standard was ratified by IEEE in 1999. The main features of this standard are as given below.These features are adequate for most data transfer applications and for accessing internet but might be inadequate for multimedia acce It might also face problems when users in large number access the network from a single access point. The frequency of operation, i.e., 2.4 GHz, coincides with the spectrum used by cordless phones, microwave ovens, etc. Therefore the interference problems are more likely to occur.802.11a suits to the conditions of multiple users accessing the network with high data rates. It is best suited for classrooms where students can access multimedia, digital video or database packages (BECTA, 2005).IEEE accepts the 802 standard logical link control (LLC) protocol. It also offers, for the purpose of wireless communication, physical layer (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) sub layers. There are two physical layers offered by 802.11 namely, direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) and frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS). According to the transmission methods and frequencies 802.11 is categorised into three main groups; 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g. The main features of these three categories have already been stated above. The main drawback of 802.11a is that it is not backward compatible with 802.11b as both of them use a different frequency spectrum. This results in lesser interest of users towards 802.11a. The advantage of 802.11a, however, is that it operates in 5 GHz spectrum which can be used unlicensed. The 2.4 GHz spectrum used by other two standards interferes with that of other devices such as cordless phones and microwave ovens. The 802.11 MAC supports two basic medium access protocols: contention-based distributed coordination function (DCF) and optional point coordination function (PCF). (Zhu, Hua, Li, Ming, Chlamtac, Imrich & Prabhakaran, B., 2004). PCF causes the wireles s channel to be divided into super frames. Super frames in turn provides two periods, a contention-free period (CFP) for PCF and a contention period (CP) for DCF. There is a device known as point co-ordinator which is usually an access point (AP). The point co-ordinator polls for grant of access to the wireless channel at the start of CFP. On obtaining the channel, it checks the stations regularly and sets priorities to these stations as per their importance, i.e., their

Years 1515-1525 Henry Viii Essay Example for Free

Years 1515-1525 Henry Viii Essay Do you agree with the view that in the years 1515-1525 Henry VIII wholly surrendered power in government to Cardinal Wolsey? To a certain extent within †¨Source 4 (by J.J. Scarisbrick 1968) supports the idea that possibly Henry VIII actually did surrender power over to Wolsey. The evidence within the source that suggests this possibly for being the truth is ‘a self-indulgent King had wholly surrendered the cares of the state into the Cardinals hands’. To further support this case, it is clear that Wolsey was extremely powerful, he had vast amounts of bishoprics (Archbishop of Canterbury, Tournai, Durham just to name a few) and was the head of things such as the Star Chamber where Wolsey got himself heavily involved with. This is shown when you compared the number of cases Wolsey took on (120) compared to that of Henry VII who dealt with only 12. Also Wolsey had control of all of the state finances and could make large changes to things such as the taxation system he was able to introduce a new form of tax known as the ‘Subsidy’ which was more popular since it meant the poor payed far less tax than previously than with the old 15’s and 10’s taxation method. This new taxation method allowed Wolsey to pay for king’s foreign affairs. As well as this ‘subsidy’, since Wolsey had such significant power he was able to also raise considerable amounts of capital through other means, such as through ‘benevolences’ and enforced loans from the nobility, which raised  £200,000 in 1522. This shows that Wolsey was especially powerful as ‘benevolences’ was money disguised as a gift and was only ever done by monarchs, possibly suggesting that Wolsey could be classed as an Alter Rex. Despite the positivity and great power J.J. Scarisbrick gives to Wolsey within the source we also learn that George Cavendish influences this source significantly even right from the beginning ‘Cavendishtells us’. Cavendish was Wolsey’s friend and servant, meaning he would be more than likely faithful to his master and try and write as positively about him as possible. This means that potentially the source might not be so reliable. However, Source 5 written in 1994 by John Lotherington, appears to disagree with that of the view of source 4. In parts it appears to actually agree with source 4, ‘Wolsey held a dominant position in government and controlled the distribution of patronage’ but then the source continues to say, ‘And of course the ultimate source of all power was the King’. This quote can be proven true with examples of Henry preventing Wolsey from doing something, such as in 1523 when Wolsey launched a sea attack upon the French without the kings permission, this led to Wolsey having to apologize for his actions. This shows that Henry still had control over Wolsey and that he couldn’t get away with something so easily. Also even though source 4 claims that Wolsey had very strong control, that even with this power he couldn’t prevent such things like The Amicable Grant of 1525 from being a disaster, and without aids from The Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk it could have been an even more disastrous, this proves Henry was more in control than Wolsey because the Dukes only subdued the rebellions on Henry’s behalf, not Wolsey’s. This is showing how Henry had not wholly surrendered his government power, and could still contest Wolsey’s decisions and problems. The source was also written in 1994, therefore the historians view is likely to be more factual rather than written in the period and being more biased, as can be the case, especially if that figure in question is still alive or has close descendants. Source 6 appears to agree with the opinions of Source 5 in that Henry VIII had not wholly surrendered power in government to Wolsey. Source 6 is a letter from Henry to Wolsey in 1520, it says, ‘I desire you to keep a watch on the Duke of Suffolk, the Duke of Buckingham, my lord of Northumberland, my lord Derby, my lord of Wiltshire and on any others of whom you are suspicious’ The source shows Henry giving orders to Wolsey, suggesting that Wolsey did not have all of the governmental power, I also know this from my own knowledge. For example Wolsey’s fall from grace on the 9th October 1529 (when he is charged with praemunire, which is exercising his legatine power to the detriment of the King) because he was unable to secure the divorce for Henry. The fact that the King was able to remove Wolsey’s power so quickly again illustrates how Henry had no wholly surrendered his government power to Wolsey, as his decisions overruled any of Wolsey’s. The source is also fairly reliable, as it was written by Henry himself and is clearly giving Wolsey orders, even before he has fallen from grace. In conclusion, I do not agree with the view that in the year’s 155-1525 Henry VIII wholly surrendered power in government to Cardinal Wolsey. This is because both sources 5 and 6 corroborate the idea that although Wolsey does have a large amount of government power, Henry still makes overruling decisions and exercises government power over Wolsey. This is also backed up with my own knowledge. Therefore, Henry did not wholly surrender his government power to Wolsey.

Ethics and professional behavior

Ethics and professional behavior Ethics and professional behavior are an important part of criminal justice administration. Ethics is referred to as what is right or wrong and your moral principles. Criminal justice administration are faced with ethical issues every day and must deal with this ethical issues in a professional manner. The administration in criminal justice especially the policing administration struggle with ethics and professional behavior in certain situations and may find it difficult to handle. The criminal justice administration has the obligation of making moral judgments of what is right or wrong and must be done professionally and with the use of critical thinking. This paper will analyze the relationship between ethics and professional behavior and the role critical thinking plays in the relationship of ethics and professional behavior. Because law enforcement plays a big role in ethics and professional behavior I will propose a training seminar for law enforcement. Not only are the consequences of unethical acts by criminal justice professionals quite serious, but there are also many possibilities for conflicts to arise in the area of criminal justice, which can lead to unethical decisions and behaviors (Ozyasar, n.d.). Criminal justice administration is the influence in society and ethics and professional behavior must be practiced at all times. When criminal justice administration is unethical and lacks professional behavior society loses faith in the criminal justice system. Good ethics bring on professional behavior. Ethics and professional behavior are related because they both need each other. Without ethics there would not be professional behavior and professional behavior would not exist without ethics. Law enforcement plays a big part in criminal justice administration. Police officers must have good ethics and use professional behavior at all times. Society looks at police officers as the ones who protect and serve. Ethics are importa nt in law enforcement and usually good ethics brings on professional behavior from law enforcement as well as other administrations in criminal justice. Unethical behavior by the criminal justice system harms society weakening our beliefs in them. Members of the criminal justice system make extremely critical decisions every day and their choices have a profound effect on our lives (Ozyasar, n.d.). Critical thinking plays an important role with regard to ethics and professional behavior. In order for the criminal justice administration to use good ethics and professional behavior they need to think critically. Law enforcement, courts, and corrections rely on critical thinking to make good decisions. Law enforcement must use critical thinking to determine if a law has been broken, how to respond, and when to make an arrest (Ozyasar, n.d.). When law enforcement thinks critically this will bring out good ethics and professional behavior. When law enforcement does not first think critic ally they respond to quickly without first thinking about ethics and acting in a professional manner and may arrest the wrong person and let the real criminal go. The courts also rely on critical thinking to oversee legal proceedings and determine a final decision on a case (Ozyasar, n.d.). Prosecution and defense attorneys as well rely on critical thinking in preparing and arguing for or against the accused party (ozyasar, n.d.). Without critical thinking the courts may have a difficult time determining if the accused in fact really committed the crime. The court system administration takes in a lot of information and must first think critically before making a decision. Critical thinking must come first in order for the court system to act ethically and in a professional manner. Corrections and parole officers rely on critical thinking to evaluate the progress of individuals, sponsor reductions in sentences and maintain order within prison facilities (Ozyasar, n.d.). Corrections a nd parole officers are faced with dangerous situations many times and need to think critically in order to deal with the situation ethically and professionally. Criminal justice administration individuals all have their own ethics and behavior. Although sometimes everyone has different ethics they must set aside their beliefs and make the right decision regardless of their feelings in the situation. Good ethical and professional behavior is important in criminal justice administration and in order for this to happen critical thinking is needed. Law enforcement is faced with ethical dilemmas every day and it is important that they handles these situations by first thinking critically so that they can do their job ethically and professionally. I feel that law enforcement needs ethical training because they deal with so many different situations and how they react to these situations need to be done ethically and with professional behavior. Ethics training for law enforcement helps them to readily recognize an ethical problem or dilemma, identify various options to address the particular issue involved, make a rational and ethically sound choice of which option to choose, take prompt action based upon that choice, and accept responsibility for the outcome (Gleason, 2006). The seminar would stress some particular areas of ethical conduct that I feel are important. The first area of ethical conduct would be law enforcement using their authority ethically and professionally. I choose this particular area because it is very common for police officers to take their authority to extreme. Certain situations can cause law enforcement to act without thinking and they throw their ethics and professional behavior to the side. Training law enforcement to control their authority will help them uphold a good reputation for themselves as well as the agency and give the community faith in the officer and to not be afraid of that officer or any officer in the agency. Another area of ethical behavior that would be stressed is law enforcement performing their duties without the influence of a person’s sex or color. Regardless of a criminal’s race or sex law enforcement should treat them as they would anyone else. In certain situations a police officer needs to put their opinion aside and treat the person ethically and in a professional manner. Training the officer in this area will help them treat everyone equally and the community will feel like they have an unbiased law enforcement agency. Another area of ethics would be law enforcement should treat their fellow employees and the community with respect. Law enforcement should act ethically towards everyone and uphold professional behavior at all times. Training officers to do this helps them to be a role model for their agency as well as the community. Another area of ethical behavior I feel that needs to be stressed in the seminar would be that under any circumstances should law en forcement except gifts or bribes from anyone in the community or in the agency. It would be unethical and unprofessional for any police officer. In the seminar I would also stressed the importance of honesty by law enforcement. Honesty would consist of withholding evidence would be immoral and unprofessional. Our communities need to feel that they can trust our law enforcement and feel safe. Law enforcement effectiveness depends upon community respect and confidence (FDLE, n.d.). Therefore law enforcement must be proficient in ethical conduct and be professional at all times. Police officers are held to a higher standard of behavior by society, because they are stewards of the public trust and are empowered to apply force and remove constitutional privileges when lawfully justified. They take an oath of office, are expected to comply with professional code of ethics, and are subject to various laws, rules, and regulations (Gleason, 2006). Therefore I feel that my proposal for ethics training for law enforcement is necessary because of the expectations and requirements that law enforcement has to uphold professional behavior a nd code of ethics. In order for our criminal justice administration to function properly a clear understanding of ethics and professional behavior is needed. Due to the power and prestige and because of the nature of problems they must deal with, the members of the criminal justice system often face serious conflicts and need a guiding light, which is precisely what a code of ethics provides (Ozyasar, n.d.). In order for the criminal justice administration to display good ethics and professional behavior they must first think critically. The decisions that the criminal justice administration make are critical and they must first have to think about their decision and act ethically and with professional behavior. Law enforcement is faced with many dilemmas that require them to make critical decisions and must make these decisions ethically. Law enforcement training in ethical conduct can help officers do their jobs professionally and show the community they are doing their jobs ethic ally and with professional behavior. Ethics, professional behavior, and critical thinking are the most important roles in our criminal justice administration. References Ozyasar, H. (n.d.). Why is ethics important in criminal justice. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_6386561_ethics-important-criminal-justice_.html Baer, A. (n.d.). How critical thinking relates to criminaljustice. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/facts_7370099_critical-thinking-relates-criminal-justice.html Gleason, T. (2006). Ethics training for police. Retrieved from http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_archarticle_id=1054issue_id=112006 Florida department of law enforcement. (n.d.). officer requirements. Retrieved from http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/CJST/Menu/Officer-Requirements-Main-Page/LE-Ethical-Standards-of-Conduct.aspx

The Modigliani And Miller Theory Finance Essay

The Modigliani And Miller Theory Finance Essay The Modigliani Miller Theorem is a linchpin of modern corporate finance. At its core, the theorem is an irrelevance proposition: The Modigliani Miller Theorem provides circumstances under which an enterprises financial decisions are independent on its value. Modigliani (1980, pxiii) explains the Theorem as follows: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ with well-functioning markets (and neutral taxes) and rational investors, who can undo the corporate financial structure by holding positive or negative amounts of debt, the market value of the firm debt plus equity depends only on the income stream generated by its assets. It follows, in particular, that the value of the firm should not be affected by the share of debt in its financial structure or by what will be done with the returns paid out as dividends or reinvested (profitably). There are four distinct results that are understood from the Modigliani Miller Theorem and they are as follow: The debt-equity ratio does not affect its market value under certain conditions. The second proposition inculcates that a firms debt-equity ratio is unaffected by its weighted average cost of capital that is the cost of equity capital is a linear function of leverage. Firms market value is sovereign of its dividend policy. Stock-holders are non-chalant about the firms financial policy. The modern theory of capital structure started with Modigliani Miller(1958) on the plight of capital structure irrelevance. The distinct results shown above were based on the following assumptions: Market prices cannot be influenced by scale of an individuals transactions that is all investors are price-takers. Firms and investors being market participants can lend or borrow at the same riskless rate. Income taxes are neither paid on the corporate level nor at a personal level. There are no transaction charges or allowances. Investors are all rational wealth-suitors. Enterprises are grouped into homogeneous risk classes such that all members of the group obtain the same return. Similar expectations about future company earnings are formulated by investors ( normal probability distribution). The assets of a company that can no longer carry out its business( insolvent) can be sold at full market values. Criticism of the Modigliani and Miller theory There is a common argument that Modigliani Miller provides a means of finding reasons why financing may matter but does not provide a reasonable description of how firms finance their operations. This is supported by a number of researchers such as Hamada (1969) and Stigiltz (1974). The theorem has given rise to a lot of questions. How do firms choose their capital structure? Do firms have target leverage? What are the determinants of firm capital structure decisions? Many researchers have tried to answer these questions in their studies but the results are still enigmatic. The most frequent hypotheses used to address capital structure are static trade-off, pecking order and market timing theory and many others. The criticism against this theorem can be grouped into two types: Papers that deal with the limitations of the arbitrage conditions. Arbitrage process is the operational justification for Modigliani and Miller hypothesis. Arbitraging can be defined as the process of buying a security in a market where the price is low and selling the security in another market where the price is higher. In so doing, an equilibrium is achieved and it implies that the security cannot be sold at different prices. According to the MM hypothesis, the total value of homogeneous firm that differ only in the debt-equity ratio will be similar due to the artibraging condition. The later is no longer smooth due to institutional restrictions and it is also affected by transaction cost due to the limitations of the MM hypothesis. The MM leverage irrelevance proposition bumped much controversy and criticism on the methodology section. Their proofs are based on a more appropriate and fundamental notion than a competitive equilibrium. This is where the arbitrage argument comes into play. When the arbitrage is absent, the economy becomes standard to price repetitive securities and Black Scholes (1973) depended on the MM- type arbitrage argument which was rather clumsy as it was engaged with the comparision of firms whose cash flows had similar risk characteristics. According to Stiglitz ( 1969)  [1]  , firms do not issue much debt as there is the consequence of bankruptcy. The focus switched from the idea of risk class to the importance of bankruptcy. Studies that analyse the effect of market imperfections on the firms choice of capital structure. Taxes, bankrypcy costs, transaction costs, adverse selection and agency conflicts are all part of the major explanation for the use of debt in corporate. Trade-off Theory The various costs and benefits of an alternative leverage plans are assessed by a decision maker who runs a firm. The trade-off theory is originated from a debate over the Modigliani and Miller theory. This is due to the addition of corporate taxes to the primitive irrelevance proposition. A debt benefit is seen to be created which serve as a shield before the takes. Bankruptcy is the offsetting cost of debt that is needed. The optimal debt-equity ratio mirrors a trade-off between the tax benefits of debt and deadweight costs of bankruptcy Myers (1984). A firm that anchors a target leverage ratio and gradually moves towards the target is a firm that follows the trade-off theory. The determination of the target is made by stabilizing the tax shields against the cost of bankruptcy Jensen and Meckling (1977); Harris and Raviv (1990); Taggart (1977). It also weighs up the advantages and disadvantages of using debt. As discussed earlier, there is a shield benefit that acts as a barrier to taxes DeAngelo and Masulis (1980). In addition, there is a reduction of the free cash flow problem Stulz (1990). However, the pitfalls of debt include the feasible cost of financial distress Kraus and Litzenberger (1973); Kim (1978) and the agency cost arising between the shareholders and the creditors. Frank and Goyal (2005  [2]  ) take the Myers earlier notion of trade-off to a new position namely the static trade-off theory determined within a single period and a target adjustment behavior. Agency Cost Theory Jensen and Meckling (1976) launched the agency cost of free cash flow theory. The theory is hinged on the conflict between managers, outside shareholders and bondholders. The conflicts can be either between the bondholders and shareholders which is a result of moral hazards or between managers and shareholders.. According to this theory, the managers do not always use the funds of the firm for the benefit of the company but rather for their own benefits. The managers exploit the powers they have and the abuse can be categorized in three different varieties. Foremost, managers possess ground on which they can enjoy the full value of anything they get from the firm such as private jets since they hold only a fraction of these allowances on the job consumption. Second, they might assay for the entire building as large firms have a tendency to give managers prestige, power and compensation for the work they do just to encourage them. Lastly, they have the power to tyrannise the firm acco rding to their own preferences and make themselves prerequisites by investing in projects which others cannot manage. This negates the wealth of the shareholders.. Harris and Raviv (1990); Bodie and Merton (2000) agency cost is seen to be more relevant to firms in mature industries. As these firms tend to generate cash which exceeds their investment needs. The availability of free cash in mature industries is higher and easily used for the management of the firms. Nyborg (2010). Therefore, it is true to say that agency cost is more relevant to larger firms. Market Timing Theory The market timing theory is based on the fact that enterprises prefer to issue stocks when the prices of the stocks are high and repurchase the stocks when the prices are falling. The assumption they make is that the market can be timed and managers really try to time market. The issue of debt and new equity can be made based on past price movements Marsh (1982). In a survey of British firms, CFOs harbor that they try to time the equity market. Those who considered the issue of shares reported that the amount by which the stocks are undervalued and overvalued is an important factor Graham and Harvey (2001). The shocks of equity price have an inexhaustible effect on the corporate capital structure. Following increments in stock prices, firms tend to issue equity and repurchase shares when the stock prices decline which is actually the opposite of what one might expect if corporate tended to equalize their structures towards a target Welch (2004). Fischer, Heinkel and Zechner, (1989) observed that with new debt and equity issues over time, firms tend to return to their preferred leverage range. More specifically, firms are forced to march out from the preferred level of debt to equity ratio by embrassing more debt as a source of financing to new projects or as a way to self- defend themselves against take-overs show a transcendence to paying down debt to rebound to a more acceptable mix of leverage. Muscarella and vetsuypens, 1990. The Pecking Order Theory Donaldson (1961) had been the first one to describe the prominent story based on a financing pecking order. He monitored: Management strongly favoured internal generation as a source of new funds even to the exclusion of external funds except for occasional unavoidable bulges in the need for funds.  [3]  According to the picture that Donaldson framed, companies quietly complied retained earnings, becoming less tilted when they are lucrative and gather debt, becoming more uplifted when they are unprofitable. If companies are otherwise heedless about their capital structures as suggested by Miller (1977) then they will not make future capital structure selections which compensate the effect of their earnings history. But the common pecking order theory branches out from Myers (1984). A firm pursues the pecking order if it prefers  [4]  internal financing and debt equity if the external financing is used. The pecking order theory is proposed by Myers and Maljuf (1984) and is an application of asymmetric information theory. Following this theory, the managers of a firm who are considered as insiders are likely to posses private information about the firms quality and investment projects. Ergo, the choice of a firms capital structure strikes the outsiders who are actually the investors the information to managers. Because outsiders have less information than the managers regarding the value of the firm, the issued equity will be underpriced by the market. Financing the project through a security will prevent such a situation to crop up that is the security will not be undervalued by the market. The securities used can be in the form of retained earnings as internal funds and risk-less debts. Hinged by the argument set by Myers and Maljuf (1984) , Myers (1984) suggested that the pecking order theory propose that firms finance their projects by firstly using internal funds in the form of retained earnings, secondly through the utility of debts ( risk-less debts are used first and when there is a shortage or there is no more of the risk-less debt, risky debts are used) and finally equity is issued. Pecking Oder Theory speculates that managers do not take into consideration an optimal capital structure when making financial decisions.  [5]  They unpretentiously choose what seem to be the low cost financing devices. Why do firms prefer debt to equity? In corporate finance, asymmetric information refers to the fact that firm insiders, routinely the managers have better information than market actors on the value of their firms asset and investment opportunities. The possibility that the market will wrongly price the firms claim is created by this asymmetry thus providing a positive role for financing decisions of companies. Let us think of a firm who wants to make new investments by making use of its growth possibilities. Given that this firm solicits to supply the resources, it needs to issue stocks. The stocks cannot be fully valued by the investors Myers (2001). Pecking order theory is born due to mispricing which comes to light as a consequence of not knowing the actual values of equity. The existence of asymmetric information lies in the middle of mispricing Halov N and Heider F (2005). As a result of the asymmetric information, the firms quality as good issue stock to find resources, the issued equity are undervalued by investors koupoulos (2006). Since a price cut is liked to be observed from the investors and to avoid this situation internal resources are preferred rather than issuing equity to finance investment without incurring any cost that arises from asymmetric information. Fama and French (2002) found that later supply resources used in investment financing are debts as they bear a low risk. Due to the problems that are initiated by asymmetric information, firms hash external resources use as a cheaper policy as compared to the issuance of equity. There are several reasons why firms consider external financing as a better option to finance investment. One of them is the position of organizational sales. Enterprises with sturdy sales line gives the supremacy to finance through debt for their needs by availing form market trust towards them. These firms, therefore, have no trouble in repaying their debts due to the stable sales and their earnings. They are also liable to having recourse to debt more easily. Additionally, size and structure of firms is another factor to be considered. Firms having more accessorized assets put borrowing first in line of their resources list since they will easily get debt. Tax advantage is as well a factor that can be added to the above list as it prioritize debt financing. A correction on the original model has been suggested by Modigliani and Miller (1963). In the new model, they clearly incorporate the corporate income tax, while the other assumptions were kept untouched. Assuming ceteris paribus, the value of the firm (VL) will be maximized as it is a function of the market value of debt. In theory when the levered firm reaches its maximum market value as it is financed entirely by debt. To finance their needs of financing, the firm should use as much debt as possible. To further relax the Modigliani-Millers assumption, Miller (1977) introduced personal taxes together with corporate taxes into the model assuming that all enterprises have similar tax r ates. According to him, the relatively higher personal income tax paid on bonds by firms should be grossed up by any differential that bondholders will pay on their interest income otherwise, bonds will have no value and no one would want to hold bonds. Therefore, in equilibrium the debt advantage is negligible. De Angelo and Masulis (1980) brought in the recognition of the existence of a non- identical marginal tax rates among different firms and the outcome of tax-shield items in the financial statement other than interest expenses. As far as capital structure is concerned, they brought in two implications. First, in equilibrium a firm who is considered as a borrower benefits from a positive gain from leverage if the tax rate is higher than the marginal firm because of a low pre-paid interest rate they pay. Moreover, items such as depreciation, oil depletion allowances and investment tax credits are defacto non cash charges. They predicted that there is a positive relationship bet ween the level of debt and the effective tax rate and a negative relationship to the amount of non debt tax shields available to them. The interest rate of debt users is deductible from tax base which in turn relinquishes the importance to debt instead of equity. Equity financing confers rise to transaction costs and to avoid this problem financing through debt is viewed as another reason Fama and French (2004). In addition to that, uncertainty of control that might be experienced in enterprises is seen as a plausible factor. The presence of new shareholders confirms the fact that they will prefer stock financing as a lack of resources and will eventually give rise to risk of management control in firm whilst in financing via debt, there is no such risk of control loss. Lamont (1997) evaluates that more than three-quarter of corporate investments in US are made through internal financing. Further, Fazzari, Hubbard and Perterse  [6]  n (1988) has shown the delicacy of investment to internal cash flow, accenting the cost advantage of internal resources and thus explaining the fact why firms have recourse to external funds. Leary and Roberts (2005) also found that firms will not have recourse to external capital markets if they have sufficient internal funds but they are more likely to make use of the external funds when they have big investment needs. Event studies also provide a significant amount of evidence indicating that information is conveyed. Repurchases made through debt had larger announcement returns than those financed with cash thus representing larger increases in financial leverages Masulis (1980) and Vermaelen (1981) ). Heinkel and Zechner (1990) analysed an expanded catalogue of risky securities that include preferred stocks. Assuming a given capital structure and asymmetric information about investment quality, they showed that in an amalgamated equilibrium, all stock firms tend to overinvest and accepted some negative NPV projects. The overinvestment can be eliminated by issuing an initial debt which resulted in an optimal leverage ratio. Besides, an underinvestment problem is created if managers make use of more debts considering the tax advantage of debt. Nevertheless, a kindred issue of preferred stocks will enable the firm to issue a higher level of debt desired without creating the problem of underinvestment. Therefore, managers develop an optimal capital structure with debt, preferred stocks and common r which is consistent with the pecking order theory. There are also researchers that went through adjustments of capital structure around long run optima.  [7]  Marsh (1982) was one of them as he predicted that firms that have a leverage ratio below the average for the last 10 years are more likely to issue debt. Jalilvand and Harris (1984) is consistent with the results of Marsh (1982) as he shows that 108 of US manufacturing firms tend to issue long term debt when the long term debts are below average. The Pecking order theory is tested on both large firms and small firms. Most of the studies have been carried out on large firms. Few studies focused on small and medium sized firms. Since SMEs confront more information asymmetry problem, it is said that the financing decisions of SMEs are better explained by the pecking order theory. Consequently recent studies have attempted to explain the financing decisions of small firms in the context of the pecking order theory. They also argue that there is a lot of differences between large and small firms. It is not only a matter of size, this is why accurate models are used to study the decisions of the latter. The problem of information asymmetry is more persistent within small firms than in large firms. This is due to the scarcity and informality of information that is available. The financing structure of small firms is explained by using a financial growth cycle by Berger and Udell (1998). (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) in which financial needs and option change as the business grows, gains further experience, and becomes less informationally opaque. For the first two years namely the initial stage or the infant stage, companies face more information asymmetries as their main source of funds are from friends and relatives, trade credit and investors. As the age and size of companies become large enough, credit from financial institutions become more available. This is a typical view of pecking order where the degree of information asymmetry decreases as the firms grow in size and experience. Small firms find external equity costly due to the fixed costs of initial public offerings. Chittenden et al (1996). A SME pecking order was described by Zoppa and Mc Mahon (2002).  [8]  As pecking order theory prescribes, the internal funding is the first choice. In second position, the company uses short -term debt which includes trade credit and personal loans. Long-term debts are then used which include loans from owners, family and relatives. The last alternative is equity. The study of Gebru (2009) is found to be consistent with other studies as pecking order theory holds to be true for SMEs. The sample used is from Tigray and it is seen that the educational level of owners decreases and there is less intrusion in the form of ownership. Ownership type, acquisition type and owners level of education are found to be the major determinants of MSE financing preferences. However, Murray and Goyal (2003) demonstrated that pecking order theory fails where actually it should be liable and this applies for small firms where the main problem is information asymmetry. Various studies have been carried out to test the validity of pecking order theory. Evidences have shown that many researchers are for the theory and the others are against and they are as follow: Shyam- Sunder and Myers (1999) proposed to investigate the pecking order theory in the US market. According to them, the pecking order was described as an excellent first order caption for financial behaviors of companies. The slope of a firms deficit is alleged to be equal to one and the coefficient of the intercept is zero if the pecking order holds. The regression is made to the change of debt in year t. Besides, results unveil that pecking order shows a greater confidence when tested with the target adjustment model. However Chirinko and Singha (2000) examined the interpretation of Shyam- Sunder and Myers (1999) regression test as it showed that the hypothesis test used by the later suffered from statistical power problems. These problems mustered the questions about the validity of inferences hinged on their new testing strategy. The former found out that the assumption of the slope of the deficit being one was not a necessary assumption for pecking order theory to be valid. The slope coefficient would equal to one if pecking order holds and will fall short to unity if the pecking order is not valid. Coupled with the above, the importance of information asymmetry as a determinant of capital structure as proposed by pecking order theory is tested by Bharath, Pasquariello and Wu (2009). It is seen that for the period, the test was carried out, information asymmetry did actually affect the capital structure decisions of US firms. They estimated that for every dollar of financing deficit to cover, firms in highest adverse selection decile issue more debt than those in the lowest decile. They also found out that its only when information asymmetry is to its minimum that firms will prefer to issue equity. These evidences explain the partial relevance of pecking order theory. Besides, Lemmon and Zender (2006) tested the modified version of pecking order theory. The debt capacity of a firm is taken into consideration. They wrangled that the financing choice of firms may depend on its debt capacity. This is because they believe that to fulfill financing needs, some firms may save on the debt capacity. Internal funds remain first on the financing list for all firms. Firms that are flexible to debt capacity will chiefly use debt to fill their financing deficit. Hinged on these findings, they came to the conclusion that the firms debt capacity is a good descriptor of financial behavior and goes along with the modified version of pecking order theory. Tong et al (2011) tested the static trade off theory against the pecking order theory for US firms. According to them, pecking order theory produces issuance of debt until the debt capacity is attained. Their evidence indicated that pecking order is a better headline for US firms issue decisions than the static trade off theory. The Australian case was evaluated by Suchard and Singh ( 2006). The Australian market can be distinguished from typical US and European markets as it has many distinct characteristics. They found out that listed debt market was limited. This is mostly where firms obtained bank debt, debts that are convertible but not callable and stand alone warrants which are used to raise capital. They examined the determinants of security choice for hybrid issuers based on these differences and claimed that the results supported the pecking order theory. Coupled with the above, the linkage between managerial optimisim and corporate financial decisions was verified by Lin et al (2008)  [9]  . The evaluation was carried out by testing the Heatons (2002) model. Apart from information asymmetry, managerial optimism also contributes in the pecking order theory. Lin et al (2008) wanted to know if the pecking order preference was better when the managers were more optimistic. Listed Taiwanese companies were used in their sample and a stronger relationship was found between the issuance of debt and the financial deficit which is consistent with the model used by Lin et al (2008). In contrast, Faulkender and Wang (2006) provide restrained evidence for the pecking order theory. According to them, approximately a value of $1.43 is placed on companies cash holdings by investors of equity firms. This is done as it prevents a company from paying costs when raising capital in the market. Since, external financing becomes more difficult and costly to obtain, the cash value is higher for firms facing hindrance on additional financing. However, the cash value decreases as cash holdings become larger, high leverage, better cash to capital markets and larger cash distributions through dividends rather than the repurchase of shares. Next, many individual financing decisions of firms were screened by Fama and French (2005).  [10]  They found that these decisions were in contradiction with the important prognosis of pecking order theory. To give an example of the contradictions, pecking order theory states that equity issues should be the last option to be used but yet, it is observed that most firms issue some sort of stocks annually. Leary and Robert (2010) contended that pecking order theory was no way able to meticulously classify more than half of the observed financing decisions of US firms. They also suggested that the little pecking order behavior that was seen was due to incentive conflicts rather than information asymmetry. Further, Gonenc (2008) studied to verify the extent to which pecking order theory was incorporated in corporations in the US, the UK, Germany and Japan. They speculated that investors from the UK and US had an asymmetric information problem which was caused by the large spread of equity being owned. He proponed that in these countries, two managers and insiders have more information than outsider investors. German and Japanese investors faced the same asymmetric information problem mainly due to the less information flows. But evidences have shown that US, UK and Germany firms were not very supportive when it came to the pecking order theory while Japan supported the pecking order theory during the 1980s and 1990s. The impact of industry membership on the capital structure dynamics were scrutinized by Tucker and Stoja (2011) over the period from 1968 to 2006. They recommended that pecking order theory could explain only a few aspects of UK corporations capital structure policies, but it does not give an adequate explanation of their behaviours in the real world. More explicitly, they perceived that in the short run, old economy firms followed the standard pecking order theory but the new economy corporations prefer equity to debt when external funds are required. The incremental financing decision for 150 Dutch firms was estimated for the period of 1984 to 1997 by Haan and Hinloopen (2003). A distinction is made between internal financing and three types of external funds: bank borrowing, debt issues and equity issues. They concluded that Dutch companies had ingrained financing preferences namely, internal financing was preferred in the first position, bank loans are used secondly, thirdly equity are issued and finally bonds are issued. In addition, an investigation was carried out by Delcore (2007)  [11]  as to whether capital structure determinants in emerging Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries followed the traditional capital structure theory. The explanation of capital structures in CEE cannot be made by the pecking order theory. They came to the conclusion that there are factors that influenced the leverage decisions for CEE countries and they were: the difference of banking systems, disparity in legal systems governing corporate operations, shareholders and bondholders rights protection and corporate governance.

No Child Left Behind is the Way to Get Ahead Essay -- Education Politi

No Child Left Behind is the Way to Get Ahead There are many students in America today that are struggling to make the grade. These students have not been given all opportunities and chances that they should have been given to be able to reach a higher level of education. Now children have a way to be able to get to the academic level that they rightfully deserve. President George W. Bush has created a plan for the future and a way to get all of our countries students to thrive in the education system and in life. With this initiative, America will be able to close the achievement gap between the Caucasian higher income students, and the lower income minority students. No Child Left Behind is the only way that lower income minority students will be able to succeed, and get the well deserved attention that they need in the form of assessment tests, and higher quality teachers. In 2001, President George W. Bush proposed a plan to close the gap between students in the United States education system. The act was then redefined and passed in 2002, and was fully put into effect. President Bush knew that the education system in this country was in trouble and faced the problems head on, addressing them and proposing solutions in this act. To make sure that students would raise the bar, a system of assessment tests were put into order, and will create a monitoring system with the students progress (Fact Sheet). Students will now have a record of test scores in mathematics and in reading. These scores will ensure that the students will make progress. The scores will also be accessible to parents so that they can check students progress (Fact Sheet). With these scores which the parents will be able to check, they can ... ...ference. The merit of teachers needs to increase, done. There is a need for more funds for educational programs, no problem. The knowledge of the minority students in the public school system needs to be elevated, it’s met. With this act all of the academic problems that American students face will be eliminated in the course of time. No child will have the fear that they will not meet the standards of our nation, or that they will fall behind any other student. America needs help, and America needs the No Child Left behind Act for the future of our country. Works Cited Delisio, Ellen R. â€Å"No Child Left Behind: What it Means to You.† Education World 2002. . â€Å"Fact Sheet: No Child Left Behind Act.† Whitehouse.gov January 2002. . â€Å"Reaching Out†¦ Raising Achievement.† Ed.gov 2004. .

Sports and Children Essay -- essays papers

Sports and Children We no longer live in a society where kids run around actively throughout the neighborhood. The sandlot baseball games, pick up games in the park, and innocence in the children are gone in sports. Today children are more interested in television, computers, and video games and parents are afraid of letting their children run around the streets because of kidnapping. Kids are simply no longer interested in physical activity. A poll of over a thousand parents and one with students was done and the results show they blame inactivity on lack of time and homework. Whatever the cause is, we can see results with studies throughout the last few years. * 22% of children are physically active everyday of the week. * 49% in grade 4-12 are moderately to vigorously active. * 34% attend Physical Education classes daily. * 23% don’t have these classes offered, because no all states have educational requirements for PE and some have budget cuts in the program. * 54% of children ages 6-11 are obese, with the obesity rates till on the rise (Hellmich 1997). There are a number of federal, state, and local school programs to help students reach fitness goals. The missing link in having physically fit children seems to be the parents. They are allowing children to remain sedentary with the television and computers. Not enough children have parents who monitor their child’s activity schedules, expose them to physical activity, and who serve as role models in being active themselves. Sports involvement and competition is very important in a child’s life, but sometimes can go too far. Physical activity offers both positive and negative aspects in a child’s life. Physical activity is an integral part of the learning process at all grade levels/ Unfit children develop low opinions of themselves, dislike activity, and develop antisocial attitudes. Children need the physical and mental benefits of sports. Kids involved in sports will physically feel better about their bodies by being fit, they are less likely to have the risk of obesity later in life, and more likely to learn new skills (Krucoff 1998). Mentally, sports stimulate the intellectual development, sharpen motor skills, provide emotional and social growth, help with depression, and increase self-confidence. A non-active child that becomes active in a sport program find increas... ...nal Catholic Reporter (on-line) p.21. http://web2.searchbank.com/infotra. Hellmich, N. (1997, July 1). Few kids get daily exercise. USA Today (on-line), p. D, 1:6. Http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?ts. Johnson, K. (1998, June 2). Very Young, and Very Competitive Beyond Play. Christian Science Monitor p.1. Krucoff, C. (1998, September 29). Encouraging kids to participate in sports. The Washington Post (on-line), p. Z20. Http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?ts. Picon, D. Making the best out of youth sports. (on-line), p. 1-5. Http://ridesafeinc.com/wings/stress5.htm. Spaid, E. (1997, June 3). Good sportsmanship declines on the sidelines amid rising tempers, leagues, and parks are insisting on parental cool. Christian Science Monitor (on-line), p. 1:3. Http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?ts stress, anxiety, and energy. Sports Psychology (on-line), p. 1-4. Http://stad.dsl.n1/coach/stresscn.html. Tye, L. (1997, September 30). Injured at an early age. Boston Globe (on-line), p. A, 1:1. Http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?TS. Editorial Parents, practice sportsmanship. (1998, May 11). The Atlanta Constitution (on-line), p. A; 08. Http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?TS.

Huck Finn: Appearance Versus Reality

Many people in this world will believe in the first impression they get. The appearance people see will usually satisfy them without further investigating into the reality of a situation. The difference between appearance and reality can be quite different. This also applies to literature. There are many instances where an author will describes a character as kind, but is actually deceptive and mean. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, there are characters and situations that show how appearances can differ from reality.The three main instances are the Grangerford and Shepherdson feud, through the Duke and the Dauphin, and Miss Watson. The difference between appearance and reality is easily seen through the Grangerford and Shepherdson feud. They are two families who appear to be very classy. Huck believes them to be noble families. Huck shows that he believes this when he says, â€Å"There was another clan of aristocracy around there – five or six families â€⠀œ mostly by the name of Shepherdson. They was as high-toned and well born and rich and grand as the tribe of Grangerfords† (142).The two families show that this is not how they really are when they shoot at each other and try to kill one another. Col. Grangerford is also a man who is not who he appears to be. He is the head of the Grangerford family and in Huck’s eyes, is the perfect man. Huck says, â€Å"COL. Grangerford was a gentleman, you see. He was a gentleman all over; and so was his family† (140). Huck sees a man who is kind and perfect. The reality is that Col. Grangerford allows for the continuing slaughter of two families over a feud they don’t even remember how it started. Col. Grangerford is actually the exact opposite of the person he appears to be.The Grangerford faTmily is overall not who they seem to be. They appear to be kind and thoughtful, yet they partake in the owning of slaves. Huck finds out that the Grangerford family owns many fa rms with over a hundred slaves. The Grangerford’s could not possibly be good people and treat hundreds of people with disdain. The Grangerford and Shepherdson families are perfect examples of people are not who are not who they appear to be. The Duke and the Dauphin are two men who fake their appearance for a living. As con-men, they rely on people to believe in their appearance.The episode of the Royal Nonesuch illustrates how the Duke and the Dauphin swindle people. They put up posters around the town stating that there would be a performance of the Royal Nonesuch for three nights. The tricksters’ plan was to charge the villagers to get in to the performance, and then the Dauphin would cut the performance extremely short. They achieved this and made a large sum of money. They also use their ability to fake their appearance to gain special treatment from people. This was seen when the Duke said, â€Å"I will reveal it to you, for I feel I may have confidence in you. By rights I am a duke† (163)!The Dauphin quickly followed the Duke’s lead and said, â€Å"You ain’t the only person that’s ben snaked down wrongfully out’n a high place/ Bilgewater (the duke), I am the late Dauphin† (164/165)! By claiming that they are people of high stature Huck and Jim believe that they should be treated like royalty. However, Huck was smart enough to be able to identify the men as fakes and see past their appearance. That prevented Huck from completely following the men as a servant. The Duke and the Dauphin also show that if we just accept people for whom they appear to be, we could get hurt. The episode with the inheritance claim is an example of this.The family believed the Duke and Dauphin to be the uncles of the Wilks nieces and therefore claim the six thousand dollars. People such as the Duke and the Dauphin use people’s compellation to believe in appearances to survive. Not everyone takes advantage of peopleà ¢â‚¬â„¢s awareness toward others; some, like Miss Watson, are actually better people than their appearance dictates. In the beginning of the book Huck talks about Miss Watson in a quick description. Huck said, â€Å"The Widow’s sister, Miss Watson, a tolerable slim old maid, with goggles on, had just come to live with her, and took a set at me now with a spelling-book.She worked me middling hard for about an hour, and then the widow made her ease up† (3). Miss Watson appears tough and severe to Huck, employing harsher methods than necessary at times. From Huck’s point of view she does appear like a mean old women, but she most likely had her reasons for using the methods she did. Huck was most likely not the best student and his behavior skills were sub-par. It is easy to see how Miss Watson became frustrated with Huck’s struggle to be civilized. The underlying concept behind her strictness is that she cares for Huck.There has to be a reason for her to us e up so much energy to try and teach a boy without any previous knowledge. Huck does not realize that Miss Watson actually cared for him until his conscience starts bothering him about Jim. His conscience was theoretically incorrect because he was upset that he had taken Jim from Miss Watson, but he understood why Miss Watson acted the way she did in the beginning of the novel. Huck realized this when he said, â€Å"Why, she tried to learn you your book, she tried to learn you your manners, she tried to be good to you every way she knowed how.That’s what she done† (118). Miss Watson is an example of someone who is better in reality than who she appeared to be. The appearance of something whether it is an object or a person, is not always what is true. The true reality behind something or someone may be completely different than what seemed. Some people take advantage of people who commit to a first impression. Others are actually better people than what their appearanc e dictates. Looking into this topic, I realized that applying the concept used in understanding literature can also be used in life.The skill of being able to understand who a character is and why they do the things they do instead of just accepting how they appear can translate into real situations. We can do this by looking at situations through another’s point of view; or commonly said, putting yourself into another’s shoes. Gaining a deeper understanding of someone’s actions and beliefs can help us rise above the level of just tolerance. When we gain this understanding, we reach a level of acceptance. You can always have facts bolstered by imagination, but you can never imagine facts.

In the Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway Essay

In the sunbathe alike Rises, by Ernest Hemingway, alcoholic beverageism is an important ascendant in the novel. Alcoholism is a outsized part of Ernest Hemingways novel The Sun Also Rises. Drinking is the greatest circumvent that the characters use and the author employs it very much in the novel. All throughout the novel, the characters are drinkable excessively. They use drinking to as well as help usher themselves. Because of Jakes fight wound made him physic entirelyy unable, he feels that he must prove himself to mint so he uses drinking to prove himself.Jake also uses wine to forget the things that he doesnt like about his friends such as the fight between rice paddy and Cohn, when Mike was mad that Cohn is always expression at Brett and holding in to her everywhere she goes. There was much wine and ignored tension, and a feeling of things coming that you could not prevent happening. Under the wine I lost the disgusted feeling and was happy. It seemed that they w ere all such nice people (Hemingway 150).In universe, all that drinking does is to give them aboutthing in common so that they can join to one another in some parts of their lives. They are always drinking together and talking about their intent difficulties. Often, drinking provides a way of escaping reality and allows them to avoid their problems by avoid thought about them. In conclusion, in Hemingways the Sun Also Rises, it is clear that alcohol dependency is a main theme.

Okonkw’s Insecurity

There are a broadcast of factors in a individuals life that contribute to their sentiment of risk. plastered events might cause that, mostly it tends to be childhood events. Men usually generate to cover their insecure sense of smellings by fashioning sure they appear strong and realitylike while deep down they could be very washy. A person feeling insecure is normal but insecurity taking over a person might result in his downfall. Thats what happened to Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart.Okonkwos fixation with what others think of him started from an early age, which would drive him to be insecure. Okonkwos father is the priming coat for Okonkwos insecurity. His dad being viewed as a nothing would make Okonkwo wants to be viewed as everything his father wasnt. Okonkwos first antecedency is to maintain his masculinity in comportment of bulk, which would lead him to success at first. But, afterward on he would be so panic-struck to look weak, that he breaks a lot of triba l rules just to nutriment his image intact.Okonkwo starts breaking the rules by lacing his youngest wife Ojiugo during the week of peace because she leftover the hut without cooking dinner. He afterward one does another fatal delusion that would start leading to his fall down, he kills the boy which called him father although the clans leader and the authorities told him not to. Okonkwo love Ikemfuna but he still killed him because he resembles whatever feelings with femininity and for him any target of femininity is being weak. Feeling weak wrong, Okonkwo would do actions to make people feel down.Insecure people insult others because they think that, by making someone else down it pass on make them feel better just about themselves. Thats exactly what Okonkwo does when he tells Sugo a man without titles- This meeting is for men, who implies that he is not a man, but actually a cleaning lady, who is a weak creature in Okonkwos view. The reason why Okonkwo specifically att acked Sugo by implying that he is a woman is because insecure people attack the things they are most afraid of.Another reason why he ever criticizes people is because, deep down, he feels inferior. This oddly shows when his wife, Ekwefi, says guns that never shot. He straight translates that as a critique of his masculinity. As a result, he starts beating her, view that this will prove his masculinity, while it entirely shows the opposite. It actually makes him seem weaker. Okonkwo hides all his emotions under(a) a mask because he associates any form of emotion, such as compassionateness and love, to being feminine.Okonkwo tries to hide his emotions from his daughter Ezinma. Although she is his dearie child, he refuses to show her any lovable of emotion, supposedly, to maintain his masculinity. Another example of how Okonkwo tries to hide how he feels is when he kills his son Ikemefuna. Upon cleaning him, Okonkwo feels too much pain inside of him that he thinks of himself as a woman. However, afraid of being viewed as weak, he keeps trying to hide his feelings. Instead, his body responds and starts to better without him noticing it.