Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Short answer questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Short answer questions - Assignment Example As more red blood cells pass through the tissue, warmth (calor) sets in. Increase in vascular permeability results in fluid to shifting into the connective tissue that causes edema. Vasodilation and thickening of blood encourages leucocytes to stick to blood vessels. Margi nation occurs and leucocytes crawl between the endothelial cells and enter the inflamed tissues. Phagocytosis occurs, microbes are engulfed and destroyed by white blood cells and lastly tissue repair begins (Lydyard & Whelan, 2011).An example when a malaria protozoan enters the body through mosquito bite, the body’s immune becomes active, there is increase in white blood cell circulation. An individual presents with pain and fever. Edema might set in later phase. Inflammation can be classified according to exudate, period, site, and etiology. Based on exudate, inflammations result in fluid accumulation in the tissues. These inflammations can be suppurative inflammation where pus forms resulting into a skin abscess, serous where thin watery exudate forms. An example is blister. In etiology, inflammation can be either aseptic or septic. Aseptic are chemical substance radiations while septic are living organisms that result into inflammation. Based on location, inflammation occurs in different regions of the body depending on the causative agent, for example, tuberculosis causes inflammation of the lungs. Duration depends on the type of hypersensitivity (Lydyard & Whelan, 2011). Type I like insect bites take shorter period to manifest than Type IV where graft transplanting takes 3 days to manifest. The immune system provides three lines of defenses. The first line of defense is made up of nonspecific barriers. This includes chemical and physical barriers that prevent foreign agents from penetrating the outer layer of the body. These barriers are the skin, the mucous membrane, hair, tears, sweat saliva, gastric secretions, and cerumen. The second line of defense consists of leucocytes.

Monday, October 28, 2019

International Business Mnc Essay Example for Free

International Business Mnc Essay Introduction Multi National Corporation engages in domestic and foreign product development. Sometimes the host country has a product (labor, ingredient, part, etc) that is rare or less costly than producing it in the home country; therefore establishing a Multinational Corporation is a win-win for the host country as far as supply, demand, labor and cost. Many corporations currently engage in Multinational Enterprise and are successful in their efforts. Having businesses that are active in MNC truly creates a global business community where mutual interests and product development are core to the needs of the customer, business and boost foreign economies with jobs, businesses and exporting goods. Country Economic system Political environment Legal environment Technological China Mixed economy Socialism Complex regulations Japan Mixed economy Capitalism Complexity France Mixed economy Capitalist/Socialist Complexity Ethical system Social responsibility indicators Cultural dimension Confucianism Laws regulations Collectivism Laws regulations Collectivism Laws regulations Collectivism Product, Business Plan and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Acai berry is native to Central and South America and the plant is a great anti-oxidant that can be used for several purposes. My company, Natural Beauty, has partnered with Acai palm tree companies in Belize to provide the product and have manufacturing warehouses located in Belize. This foreign direct investment offers a win-win situation for all of the companies involved. We have chosen the downstream vertical FDI as a means to partner with Acai palm tree farms and companies in Belize. The home country is the U. S. and although the product is not sold in Belize however it is distributed in other countries such as the United States, Brazil, France, England, China, Japan, and Qatar. There are multiple advantages of an FDI as show in the ownership, location, and internalization (OLI) framework (Peng, 2011). Understanding the framework I understand that ownership allows for possession and leveraging of resources, value and other added components to allow a competitive market. The Location component ensures that we are close to our main ingredient with the product, that we are able to have labor, ingredients and manufacturing at the lowest cost available while providing a boost to the host countries local economy and creating global competition. We are in several countries which provide internalization and we have intellectual property rights over all of our products, processes and business plan. We protect our businesses by knowing our dissemination risks and safeguarding against them as much as possible. Since we know our dissemination risks we are able to safeguard against direct competitors that may branch out from local distributors. We also are aware of market imperfections and do our best through our international legal team to stay abreast of international trade, business and government regulations. We also have safeguards against agglomeration due to the international craze over the Acai berry, plant and trees. We do this through our contract clauses which state other companies cannot be located within a certain distance, city, or space as ours in host countries. Natural Beauty, Inc. understands the intricacies of business and politics, especially within an international structure. We are in no way operating as a monopoly or radical imperialist (Peng, 2011) business. We believe in free market and working with our host country partners to ensure that each of them are maximizing their capacity and invested in the good and services provided by our joint venture. It is important that the FDIs benefits outweigh the costs and it is truly a win-win for all parties involved. Cost and Benefits of FDI As we can only imagine, there are benefits and costs to both the host and the home countries involved in Multinational Corporation. The benefits for Belize are the capital inflow, technology, management and job creation. The other countries of distribution have the same benefits that boost local knowledge, economy and globalization. The costs for the host countries are loss of sovereignty, capital outflow, and competition. The largest benefit is creation of jobs and expanded knowledge. The largest cost is loss of sovereignty. The benefits for the host countries must outweigh the costs and only the local governments and direct companies involved can project overtime which is more beneficial for them. The benefits for the Natural Beauty in the U.S. are earnings, exports, and learning from abroad whereas the costs are capital outflow and job loss. The latter can be quite devastating if the proper precautions and business plans are not in place in addition to being aware of local/international politics. However job loss here means possible savings in salary/wages in other host countries where the earning are not as high which saves the company money. The largest benefits are earnings and learning from abroad. The largest cost is job loss and the political climate around American companies that take their businesses abroad (remember NAFTA). Another threat is that local business can learn your process and then become your largest competitor and they have the â€Å"home field† advantage. This is known as the contagion effect (Peng, 2011). We recognize that FDIs can be complex and must be mutually beneficial for all parties involved and therefore we make a conscientious effort to recognize the need for location advantages, licensing and outsourcing knowledge/expertise and understanding of constraints (political and business in order to be successful). Future of MNC The future of Multinational Enterprise is contingent upon true understanding of global communities and global business. Understanding that free market, consciousness and international trade laws will dictate most of the business efforts and establishments. Many companies are already engaging in MNC successfully (BMW, Coca Cola, etc) and those interested in exploring this option should create several case studies looking at the successful and not so successful efforts in this realm to learn from them. I think that host MNC countries participating in FDI should be careful not to lose their power and prestige in the name of partnering for monetary gain. It is easy for smaller less powerful countries to get lost in the MNC FDI advantage for the sake of job creation and boosting local economy; however not at the cost of their culture, citizens and green space (for those working with rainforest communities or those with precious agriculture). The future of MNC can be bright when all partie s involved are up front and conscious about maintaining and win-win business. References Peng, M., (2011). Global. 1st Edition; Mason, OH, Cengage Learning www.alibaba.com//CN/technological-environment.html Luthans, F., Doh, J. P. (2012). International management: Culture, strategy, and behavior (8th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Volcanic Activity at Yellowstone :: essays research papers

Yellowstone is a national park covering 3,468 square miles in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana and it is elevated 8,000 feet from the ground on a plateau. But is there still present volcanic hazard in Yellowstone? The park is covered with over 10,000 geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and travertine terraces, perhaps caused by a ?hot spot? that it overlies. A violent history suggests equally as devastating future volcanic activity, underground forces are causing the landscape to change and geysers to become more active. The real question is, if a super volcanic explosion took place, would human life exist as we know it ever again? The history of volcanic activity at Yellowstone starts with its first eruption at Huckleberry Ridge 2.1 million years ago, the leftovers reached as far as Iowa and central Texas. Then 800,000 years later, another eruption took place in Mesa Falls creating Henry Fork Caldera near Park, Montana. The last eruption took place 630,000 years ago, called the Lava Creek eruption, spewing 240 cubic miles of debris, and spreading as far as Louisiana and California. Hidden underneath the park, powerful volcanic, magnetic, and hydrothermal forces are reforming the land. Several earthquakes, uplifting, and subsidence of the landscape proves that these powers exist. Recent studies have caused scientists to think that Yellowstone could be growing larger as flowing molten rock builds up below the ground. In a period of 10 years, the volcano has risen 5 inches, not a significantly detectable difference, but it may have split the ground in the Norris Geyser Bassin that could reawaken some of the geysers, like the Steamboat. In spite of this newly found information, scientists do not speculate the volcano erupting any time soon, but with time, it will end with a super natural disaster, destroying everything in its path When Yellowstone does erupt, the United states could be covered in 3 feet of ash from the eruption. First, the pyroclastic flow would swallow most of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. Then, like Yellowstone eruptions have done before, the world would fall into a freezing, winter lasting around 10 years. Mass famine would take place all around the world as the eruption would have devastated the agriculture, effecting the food.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Need For Federal Government Involvement In Education Reform :: essays research papers

The Need for Federal Government Involvement in Education Reform by____________ Political Science 2301 Federal and State Government OVERVIEW For centuries, generations of families have congregated in the same community or in the same general region of the country. Children grew up expecting to earn a living much like their fathers and mothers or other adults in their community. Any advanced skills they required beyond the three R's (Readin', Ritin' and Rithmatik) were determined by the local community and incorporated into the curriculum of the local schools. These advanced skills were taught to the up- and-coming generation so they could become a vital part of their community. The last several decades has greatly expanded the bounds of the "community" to almost anywhere in the country or anywhere in the world for that matter. Advances in transportation and communication has made the world a much smaller place then the world we knew as children. The skills our children need to realize parents' perpetual dream of "their children having a better life" are no longer limited to those seen in the local area. It is becoming more and more apparent that the education system of yesterday cannot adequately prepare students for life and work in the 21st Century. These concerns have prompted people across the country to take a hard look at our education system and to organize their efforts to chance the education system as we know it. WHAT'S HAPPENING OUT THERE? There are two major movements in recent years whose focus is to enhance the education of future generations. The "Standards" movement focuses on educational content and raising the standards of traditional teaching and measurement means and methods. The "Outcome Based Education" (OBE) movement is exploring new ways of designing education and changing the way we measure the effectiveness of education by focusing on results or outcomes. STANDARDS MOVEMENT In September 1989, President Bush and the nation's governors called an Education Summit in Charlottesville, Virginia. At this summit, President Bush and the nation s governors, including then-governor Bill Clinton, agreed on six broad goals for education to be reached by the year 2000. Two of those goals (3 and 4) related specifically to academic achievement: * Goal 3: By the year 2000, American students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having demonstrated competency in challenging subject matter including English, mathematics, science, history, and geography; and every school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our modern economy. * Goal 4: By the year 2000, U.S. students will be first in the world in science

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Single Mothers

Just Mom and the Kids More than one fourth of all children in the United States live with only one parent (Healthy Children). Single mothers and their children face a variety of financial and emotional complications on a day-to-day basis. Though single motherhood can be just as satisfying as sharing these experiences with a partner, there are unique difficulties to its situation. Single Motherhood is when a mother is raising a child without the support of spouse. Around half of today's mothers will spend some time as a sole custodial parent (Legal Momentum).Statistics say around forty-five percent of single mothers have never been married (Legal Momentum). That meaner fifty-five percent of single motherhood is due to divorce, abandonment, or death of a husband. The reasons why American women are increasingly becoming single mothers are teen pregnancy, father disappearances, adoption and the biggest of all, divorce (Webster University). Of three people interviewed two single motherhoo d were due to divorced and one was by choice of never being married. Single motherhood is less ideal and leads to extreme amounts of stress.Epidemiological rivers show that single mothers have low levels of self-satisfaction and high levels of anxiety and depression compared to other mothers (Social Science Computing Cooperative). Not being able to provide for your child, going through a divorce or death of a husband and dealing with the behavior of the kids are causes of a single mother's stress. When explaining how she copes with her situation Veronica Williams says, â€Å"It was rough, really rough, trying to manage all they have going on and fitting it in day to day. It was stressful at times, but I took it one day at time did what I could o† (Williams).The depression and stress also can come from all the household tasks, everyday Jobs, and errands the mothers have to take care of on a day-to-day basis. Their responsibilities are overwhelming for one person. Single mother s have a great amount of weight on their shoulders with finances, house keeping, and parenting with no help from a spouse. Veronica Williams, a single mother of two young children, explains the biggest financial burden in her family is childcare. â€Å"Finding child care for my children is a financial burden it can be so expensive, but it's something I need to o in order to work.I have to get money to raise them† (Williams). Having a spouse there to help maintain finances for the family would take a load of weight off of the single mother. A mother has to perform responsibilities that would traditionally be a father's Job, for example; taking out the trash, caring for the law, home repairs and vehicle maintenance. They often look to their children for help around the house. When asked about how her children helped around the house Veronica said, â€Å"They're much younger so they can't do much, but keep their toys picked up.House keeping ill be a little easier when they can help though†(Williams). Looking to the children for assistance around the house is not an option for single mothers when the children are so young. As the children get a little older they become more helpful and responsible. Christine Wilson, is a teacher and single mother of a fifteen year old daughter, when asked about managing housekeeping she explains, â€Å"My daughter is able to complete household chores like washing the dishes, dusting the furniture, well when money is involved† (Wilson).Since the 20th Century children with single others were sent out to work earlier than those who had both parent's in their lives (Gordon, Pitied but Not Entitled: Single Mothers and the History of Welfare, 1890-1935). As the child gets older the single mothers have a little more help around the house, but whom do they have to turn to for help with parenting? Parenting is extremely difficult without a spouse to turn to for advice, assistance, and comfort.Children of single mothers have a significant amount of responsibilities to take care of, because their mothers especially need help when she is raising the child (Kids Health). The extra responsibilities can bring a lot of stress to the child in that situation. These stressful situations can lead children to sleeping disorders, self- esteem issues, and drug and alcohol abuse. Its only normal for children of single mothers to think about what it would be like if their parent's were still together.Single parent children are more likely to have emotional or behavioral problems. Children of single mothers also are more likely to have low self esteem, use drugs or commit suicide (Wisconsin Fathers). Single motherhood often leads to excessive tress and responsibilities for the children in the family. When asked about how she coped with her parent's divorce eighteen-year-old student, Miracle Hawkins said â€Å"l was young so I didn't really understand it, but now it doesn't really bother me. It's probably better that they aren't together anyway.It's actually a life lesson for me. My mother shows me how to be a strong, independent woman and I feel like if they were together I wouldn't have realized some of the things I know now. It helped me to mature much quicker than friends who aren't living with single mothers†(Hawkins) Having only one parent in a child's life forces them to grow up much faster than a child whose parent's are still together. Through observations, interviews, and research it is concluded that single motherhood is a difficult task not only for the mother, but for their children as well.The financial and emotional problems and responsibilities it comes with are overwhelming for a mother with children. Single motherhood is not an ideal lifestyle, however it is manageable for hard working and dedicated mothers and their kids. While at the Thurman Brisbane Center I observed some of these hard working and dedicated mothers and their children. The Thurman Brisbane Homeless Center provides a variety of programs and services to assist individuals and families who are homeless.Since 2000, Thurman Brisbane Center has provided residential services to more than 15,000 individual men, women and children (Thurman Brisbane Center). When volunteering at the Thurman Brisbane Homeless Shelter I organized arts and crafts, instructed, talked, and played games with the children living in the shelter. I realized the children learned differently depending on their family situation. I deiced that certain children were more independent, than others. The weekend of Valentine's Day the project of the day was to make Valentine's Day cards for their family.There were two little girls, Gabby and Raven, they both were five years old, but had very different personalities. I then wondered if that had anything to do with the parenting of the children. Gabby was very quite and shy and didn't ask for any help when we were creating our Valentine's Day cards. She colored a picture of her mother, her brother and herself. Gabby spelled everything without any help from me. Ere family. She asked for help drawing hearts on her card and she asked me to help her with spelling when she was writing in her card.After talking and observing the girls a little more, I learned Gabby mother was a single mother living at the shelter with only Gabby and her older son. I then learned that Raven's father, mother, and older sister were also living at the shelter with her. These two girls helped me to understand that family situations can make huge impact on personality of a child. Working at the Thurman Brisbane Homeless Center has helped me improved my rebel communication skills, develop more patience, and it taught me valuable Job skills.Before I started working at the homeless shelter, I considered myself a shy person when communicating with people I didn't know. After volunteering for approximately five months, I became more comfortable and confident with myself and with com municating with others. When you learn and practice patience you don't get as irritated, stressed or overwhelmed. Working with young kids requires tons of patience, mainly because you have to explain and re-explain, especially when they re young, Just so they can understand. After working with the kids on a few Sundays I have developed that patience I needed.I learned how to talk in a tone that they would listen to and understand and how to take deep breaths to try to relax when I found myself getting impatient. Working at the shelter taught me valuable Job skills such as, commitment, organization, and active listening. I committed myself to working at the shelter for two hours every other Sunday. Although, there were times when I would have preferred to go to the mall or go to the movies, I knew I had mad a commitment to myself and the staff at the shelter to be there. I was determined to finish the Job I started.Another Job skill I improved on at the Thurman Brisbane Center was or ganization and creativity; I had to come up with ideas for arts and crafts to do with the children at the shelter. Each day we brought entertaining activities for them to do and often awarded them with candy, popcorn, and other prizes for the good awesome art projects they created. The activities and projects were based on the upcoming holidays or the current season. In October, for Halloween time the kids and I made fake ghost and decorated bags for them to put their trick-or-treating candy.During Thanksgiving holiday we made colorful turkeys out of brown paper bags and construction paper. In January our projects consisted of designing snowmen, snowflakes and mittens all out of construction paper. As mentioned before during the month of February we made Valentine's Day cards for families and friends. Before going to the Thurman Brisbane shelter I had to assure I was prepared and organized to make sure the day went smooth. Based on my lesson I had to make sure I had all he art suppl ies and prizes I would need for the day.I had to focus on what they kids liked, didn't like, and their personalities so I could try to relate to them better and develop relationships with them. I now realize that active listening skills are critical when working with anybody. Working at the Thurman Brisbane Center was very beneficial not only did it help with my research project, but it also helped me to develop mentally. Seeing the grins on the kids faces when we came with activities and candy for them made volunteering worthwhile. I was glad to have made a difference in the lives of the children.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Arguments against NAFTA

Arguments against NAFTA Free Online Research Papers Implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) began on January 1, 1994. This agreement was made to remove most barriers to trade and investment among the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Under the NAFTA, all non-tariff barriers to agricultural trade between the United States and Mexico were eliminated. In addition, many tariffs were eliminated immediately, with others being phased out over periods of 5 to 15 years. This allowed for an orderly adjustment to free trade with Mexico, with full implementation beginning January 1, 2008. The agricultural provisions of the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement, which had been in effect since 1989, were incorporated into the NAFTA. Under these provisions, all tariffs affecting agricultural trade between the United States and Canada, with a few exceptions, were removed by January 1, 1998. Mexico and Canada reached a separate NAFTA agreement for agricultural products. This agreement did away with most tariffs either immediately or over 5, 10, or 15 years. Tariffs between the two countries affecting trade in dairy, poultry, eggs, and sugar were maintained. Economically, the result was supposed to be a large boon to the GNP of all concerned countries, a higher standard of living for each nation’s workers, and improved unemployment rates. Although these are the most obvious of the reasons for the unilateral agreement, there is one more very important goal that is less obvious. Mexico, an undeveloped country, has considerably less commerce and business potential than either the United States or Canada, two of the strongest economic powers in the world. NAFTA was also created to make the financial future of its citizens brighter, thus stemming the tide of immigrants, both legal and illegal, across our borders. Although there have been positive effects on each country’s economic picture, much of what has happened would have happened anyway, even without NAFTA. The Congressional Budget Office of the United States estimates that the increased trade resulting from NAFTA has probably increased U.S. gross domestic product, but by a very small amountprobably a few billion dollars or less, or a few hundredths of a percent. NAFTA has had a comparatively small, but growing, positive effect on U.S. exports to Mexico (ranging from 2.2 percent in 1994 to 11.3 percent in 2001) and a similar effect on U.S. imports from Mexico (ranging from 1.9 percent in 1994 to 7.7 percent in 2001). The effects of NAFTA on the U.S. balance of trade in goods with Mexico have been positive in most years, and very small in all years, since the agreement began. The CBO reports further that in 1994, the first year of the agreement, the total effect on the U.S. economy by way of the NAFTA was less than half a billion dollars, or 0.005% of the GNP. By 2001, that effect had increased to only 3.6 billion, or 0.041% of the GNP. In addition, the growth in U.S. trade in services with both Canada and Mexico has been even less impressive, amounting to about two-thirds the percentage increase between the U.S. and the rest of the world. Nor has the agreement had much effect on our country’s unemployment woes. In 1993, the year before the signing, the national unemployment rate was 6.9%. There has been a gradual decline over the years to 4.6% in 2006, but much of that can be attributed to a strong economy and other factors, and not much credit can be given to the NAFTA. Some of the lack of improvement in our unemployment picture can actually be directly attributed to the agreement which was supposed to improve that area. Many â€Å"maquiladoras† plants have sprung up on the Mexican border along the United States. These facilities import raw materials from U.S. manufacturers, cheap Mexican labor is used to assemble the final product, and then the units are shipped back over the border back to our country. This not only skews the optimistic import/export numbers upon which the NAFTA boasts much of its success, but it takes manufacturing jobs away from U.S. workers. For Mexico, the situation has been even worse. The country went through a recession in 1994, with a Gross Domestic Product that declined by 6.94 percent, and inflation reached 51.97 percent . In addition, the country’s unemployment rate from 1994 to 2006 has hovered from 3.0 to 3.7%, so no appreciable gain in that regard has been realized. In the 1980s, Mexican real wages fell 66%. In the 1980s, the average Mexican workers wage was one-third that in the U.S. In the 2000s, the ratio is one-eighth, and immigrants continue to flow across our borders at a rate of 400,000 per year. In summary, the NAFTA has changed little regarding the progression of import/export balance, the economic picture of any of the participating countries, or the unemployment rate for the United States. The flow of illegal immigrants that is a direct result of bleak economic outlooks in Mexico has not slowed appreciably. Big business should be left to large corporations who understand the balance of supply and demand, and can anticipate the cause and effect of major economic strategies. Government should only step in to handle the finer points of negotiation, and then only with the assistance of the corporations whose task it will be to make it all work. Research Papers on Arguments against NAFTAThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationDefinition of Export QuotasPETSTEL analysis of IndiaQuebec and CanadaNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceTwilight of the UAWAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Analysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married Males

Monday, October 21, 2019

How Sunscreen Works and What SPF Means

How Sunscreen Works and What SPF Means Sunscreen combines organic  and inorganic chemicals to filter the light from the sun so that less of it reaches the deeper layers of your skin. Like a screen door, some light penetrates, but not as much as if the door wasnt present. Sunblock, on the other hand, reflects or scatters the light away so that it doesnt reach the skin at all. The reflective particles in sunblocks usually consist of zinc oxide or titanium oxide. In the past, you could tell who was using a sunblock just by looking, because the sunblock whited out the skin. Not all modern sunblocks are visible because the oxide particles are smaller, though you can still find the traditional white zinc oxide. Sunscreens usually include sunblocks as part of their active ingredients. What Sunscreens Screen The portion of the sunlight that is filtered or blocked is ultraviolet radiation. There are three regions of ultraviolet light. UV-A penetrates deeply into the skin and can lead to cancer and premature skin aging.UV-B is involved in tanning and burning of your skin.UV-C is completely absorbed by the earths atmosphere. The organic molecules in sunscreen absorb the ultraviolet radiation and release it as heat. PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid) absorbs UVBCinnamates absorb UVBBenzophenones absorb UVAAnthranilates absorb UVA and UVBEcamsules absorb UVA What SPF Means SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. Its a number that you can use to help determine how long you can stay in the sun before getting a sunburn. Since sunburns are caused by UV-B radiation, SPF does not indicate protection from UV-A, which can cause cancer and premature aging of the skin. Your skin has a natural SPF, partially determined by how much melanin  you have, or how darkly pigmented your skin is. The SPF is a multiplication factor. If you can stay out in the sun 15 minutes before burning, using a sunscreen with an SPF of 10 would allow you to resist the burn for 10 times longer or 150 minutes. Although the SPF only applies to UV-B, the labels of most products indicate if they offer broad-spectrum protection, which is some indication of whether or not they work against UV-A radiation. The particles in sunblock reflect both UV-A and UV-B.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

The Introduction of Intellectu essays

The Introduction of Intellectu essays The Introduction of Intellectual property Before we begin to discuss the issues of intellectual property, it is necessary for us to have the clear understanding of it. Intellectual property, often known as IP, allows people to own their creativity and innovation in the same way that they can own physical property. The owner of IP can control and be rewarded for its use, and this encourages further innovation and creativity to the benefit of us all. In some cases IP gives rise to protection for ideas but in other areas there will have to be more elaboration of an idea before protection can arise. It will often not be possible to protect IP and gain IP rights (or IPRs) unless they have been applied for and granted, but some IP protection such as copyright arises automatically, without any registration, as soon as there is a record in some form of what has been created. à  Patents for inventions - new and improved products and processes that are capable of industrial application. à  Trade marks for brand identity - of goods and services allowing distinctions to be made between different traders. à  Designs for product appearance - of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colors, shape, texture or materials of the product itself or its ornamentation. à  Copyright for material - literary and artistic material, music, films, sound recordings and broadcasts, including software and multimedia .(pg 1, Ref: Intellectual Property : What is intellectual property or IP? 2002) However, IP is much broader than this extending to trade secrets, plant varieties, geographical indications, performers rights and so on. Often, more than one type of IP may apply to the same creation. The Impact of Internet on Intellectual Property Rights As nowadays, the digital age and the global economy are now closely linked. Since the 1990s, information tech...

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Social Discount Rates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Social Discount Rates - Essay Example The discount rate which is used in financial calculations is usually chosen to be equal to the cost of capital. Some adjustment may be made to the discount rate to take account of risks associated with uncertain cashflows, with other developments. Evaluating an investment project can require the use of approaches designed to integrate the consideration of the flexibility and uncertainties associated with the investment opportunity under study (Robert Wilson, 1982). Regardless of the approach adopted, a project evaluation, based on deterministic hypotheses, is nonetheless inevitable at some given moment. The problem that arises is the choice of the 'conventional' method which helps to determine the project value with due integration of the financing related aspects. As Brealey and Myers (Robert Wilson, 1982) show it, various methods can be used, including standard WACC, Arditti-Levy, equity residual and adjusted present value. Historically, with certain assumptions, the consistency of these methods has been demonstrated by comparing them in pairs by Robert Wilson, 1982. However, this consistency could also suggest the existence of a single approach underlying these different methods, and from which they could all derive. The NPV is greatly affected by the discount rate, so selecting the proper rate - sometimes called the hurdle rate - is critical to making the right decision. The hurdle rate is the minimum acceptable return on an investment. It should reflect the riskiness of the investment, typically measured by the volatility of cash flows, and must take into account the financing mix (Ross,1976). Managers may use models such as the CAPM or the APT to estimate a discount rate appropriate for each particular project, and use the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) to reflect the financing mix selected. A common practice in choosing a discount rate for a project is to apply a WACC that applies to the entire firm. Some believe that a higher discount rate is more appropriate when a project's risk is different from the risk of the firm as a whole(Ross,1976). In capital budgeting the correct risk adjusted discount rate for future cash flows is independent of whether the flow is a cost or a revenue. Contrary to a widely disseminated view in some popular textbooks and elsewhere, costs are not especially safe (nor risky), and accordingly costs should not be discounted at especially low risk adjusted discount rates (Robert, 1998). Three Methods for Determining Discount Rates 1. The historical approach: One approach to find discount rates is to assume that the average rate which has been observed in the past will continue into the future. Typically, those who use this approach rely on the real interest rates which have been reported over a decade. What analysis of these rates indicates is that real rates were fairly stable over the period 1950-1970, at approximately 3 percent. During the oil crisis, of the early 1970s, real interest rat

Friday, October 18, 2019

Research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Research paper - Essay Example The benefits of online shopping are numerous one of them being one can shop from home and does not need to go to the mall as one will shop online and the product is delivered at the doorstep. Online shopping saves time and resources as one will be able to shop at the comfort of their homes and one can shop whenever they want hence making it convenient (Rajaraman, 2000). Online shopping will provide variety for the buyer to choose from various shops as there are many providers and this gives the buyer the opportunity to compare products and choose the one that best meets their requirements. Online shopping also has hazards or drawbacks that makes people skeptic about using it. There exists a time lag from payment of the products required and delivery, unlike buying from a store where one exchanges money with the product. Online shopping also does not allow the customer the chance to test the product before using it and if it is defective when delivered it may inconvenience the buyer (Rajaraman, 2000). There are high shipping costs for [products and this makes products sell at a higher price than the usual when using online shopping. Online shopping is also faced by security issues as payment methods over the internet through credit cards may not be secure and it may lead to insecure transactions. However with proper implementation of security measures, online shopping provides an easy and convenient means of trading that saves the customer time and offers a wide variety of products to choose from. I chose online shopping—benefits and hazards as it has become a topic of discussion today because globalization has prompted the need for businesses to initiate electronic commerce in order to be competitive in the market. This topic will help me learn how the advantages and drawbacks of electronic commerce hence it could help me when I start my own business. Searching on the internet was easier than on the online library as I only needed to type in

Patholophysiology & Management of critical conditions Essay

Patholophysiology & Management of critical conditions - Essay Example pes of stroke that human beings can be affected by; Ischemic stroke is a kind of brain attack that arises when a vessel which transports blood to human brain is blocked by the blood clotting process (Richard, et al, 2009). In this case, the clot creates a barricade, blocking the routine flow of blood. This occurs in two main ways; first there can be a blood clot happening in a brain artery which happens to be very narrow, this process is referred to as â€Å"Thrombotic stroke.† Secondly, there may be a case where a clot breaks off from a completely different location. Alternatively, the blood clot can be transported to the blood vessels in the brain from a different part of the body, in both cases; the clot is a barrier blood flow in the brain. In the condition, the kind of stroke suffered from is referred to as â€Å"embolism† or â€Å"embolic stroke† Another kind of stroke happens when a weak blood vessel happens to burst up in the brain. This makes the blood to start leaking into the brain against the normal way that the brain is intended to function (Kenning, et al, 2012). In both cases, death is always knocking for the victim in case urgent effective medical care is not administered. When a person is affected by stroke, the kind of symptoms that are exhibited depends on the part of the brain that has been affected. It is possible for someone to experience the symptoms without being able to know that its stroke. People should be aware that symptoms of stroke develop unexpectedly and without due warning. For the first few days the symptoms occur on and off, making it hard for one to explain the prevailing body condition. When stroke first occurs, its symptoms are said to be very severe, however, this effects gets worse as time continues. If bleeding happens in the brain, the victim experiences headaches which start as mild but soon become severe. These headaches are prevalent when the victim is lying flat; the severity of the headaches wakes up the victim from

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Marxist view on globalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marxist view on globalisation - Essay Example People and states get more and more freedom in choosing their behaviour and the way of life in general, however everyone should understand that such freedom involves certain responsibilities. According to a typical definition, globalization is "the intensification of economic, political, social and cultural relations across borders" (Holm and Sorensen, 1995). Speaking about the bases of this phenomenon it is possible to note that some features of modern globalization have a long history. Roots of this process are in the epoch when colonial empires have laid the foundation of the first basis of the international economic relations in this millennium. However the modern international economic relations underlying globalization essentially differ from those that have been generated from the beginning of an epoch of Great geographical discoveries and foundation of colonial empires. Globalisation is an all-round rapprochement and integration of all countries of the world in technological, informational, cultural, economic and political spheres. Though, the term 'globalization' is rather new and "begs for clearer conceptualization and more precise empirical application" (Krieger, 1999: xii), the given phenomenon has its own history. Tendencies to integration and rapprochement between the states existed always, but most considerably these tendencies were presented in two historical periods: first, in the middle of the nineteenth century before the World War I, and secondly in the 1990s years of the twentieth century. Technological basis of the first wave of globalization were phone and telegraph in the sphere of communications, railway construction in the sphere of transport, assembly line production in industry. Technological shifts have caused economical ones expressed first of all in the strengthening of economic interdependence and formation of the uniform world economy. About constantly amplifying internationalization (globalization) of economic development testifies also the fact that the world trade grew more quickly than world production, so the role of the international economic relations constantly increased. Since 1970s of the nineteenth century alongside with export of goods grows export of the capital. Economic globalization in the second half the nineteenth - the beginning of the twentieth century has also pushed integration processes in other spheres. During this period appeared the first international inter-governmental (The Universal Postal Union, International Telecommunication Union) and non-governmental (the Red Cross) organizations. People have started to conduct international sports competitions that have led to revival of the Olympic movement and creation of the international sports federations. But most of all globalization manifested itself in the political sphere. Alongside world economics it is now possible to speak about world politics. So let us oppose the Marxist view of globalisation to that of liberalism, using their assessment of the North-South divide in the contemporary global world. The North-South divide is just one of the "global economic challenges we have to confront in the twenty-first century. Economic scarcity' in the form of shrinking global markets and increasing production costs is intensifying economic rivalries. Technology races and various forms of commercial warfare have replaced the arms race of the Cold War days. According to Japanese politician Isihara Shintaro (Japan

Leadership and Talent Management as a strategy to motivated workforce Literature review

Leadership and Talent Management as a strategy to motivated workforce - Literature review Example In the conclusion we have stated the importance of leadership and talent management in motivation of employees at workplace. They both are required in today’s’ working environment for better outcome. The word â€Å"Motivation† has come from a Latin word â€Å"Mover† which means â€Å"to move†. It is the key factor which stimulate the internal as well as the external factors of the employees of any organization. This particular factor helps to inspire the employee towards their work. By this particular factor an employee finds the inspiration to come to the work place (Oettingen and Gollwitzer, 1996, pp.). The motivational factor can be both emotional as well as materialistic. This motivational factor is totally dependent upon the employer. How the employer wants to satisfy their employees, what are the benefits they want to give to them etc. Now making the employee satisfied is very important as they are the key tools with the help of which an organization achieves their desired goals and earned profit. That is the reason why the employees of any organization are termed as Human Resource. So it is very important to keep the employees happy and satisfied with the work environment. This is so because if they will be in a good and happy state the outcome what the company will get from them will be the optimum one and this will make it easier for the company to achieve their desired target and the company will progress in a healthy manner. A feeling must be there by the side of the employer that they do care for their employee and in any tough situation they are always beside their worke r (Weiner and Graham, 1990, pp. 63-64). Different steps and initiative taken for the motivational factor in an organization will help to develop a positive attitude in the mind of the employee. The initiative regarding this factor will create a thought in the mind of the employee that the employers are concern about them and want to develop their

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Marxist view on globalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marxist view on globalisation - Essay Example People and states get more and more freedom in choosing their behaviour and the way of life in general, however everyone should understand that such freedom involves certain responsibilities. According to a typical definition, globalization is "the intensification of economic, political, social and cultural relations across borders" (Holm and Sorensen, 1995). Speaking about the bases of this phenomenon it is possible to note that some features of modern globalization have a long history. Roots of this process are in the epoch when colonial empires have laid the foundation of the first basis of the international economic relations in this millennium. However the modern international economic relations underlying globalization essentially differ from those that have been generated from the beginning of an epoch of Great geographical discoveries and foundation of colonial empires. Globalisation is an all-round rapprochement and integration of all countries of the world in technological, informational, cultural, economic and political spheres. Though, the term 'globalization' is rather new and "begs for clearer conceptualization and more precise empirical application" (Krieger, 1999: xii), the given phenomenon has its own history. Tendencies to integration and rapprochement between the states existed always, but most considerably these tendencies were presented in two historical periods: first, in the middle of the nineteenth century before the World War I, and secondly in the 1990s years of the twentieth century. Technological basis of the first wave of globalization were phone and telegraph in the sphere of communications, railway construction in the sphere of transport, assembly line production in industry. Technological shifts have caused economical ones expressed first of all in the strengthening of economic interdependence and formation of the uniform world economy. About constantly amplifying internationalization (globalization) of economic development testifies also the fact that the world trade grew more quickly than world production, so the role of the international economic relations constantly increased. Since 1970s of the nineteenth century alongside with export of goods grows export of the capital. Economic globalization in the second half the nineteenth - the beginning of the twentieth century has also pushed integration processes in other spheres. During this period appeared the first international inter-governmental (The Universal Postal Union, International Telecommunication Union) and non-governmental (the Red Cross) organizations. People have started to conduct international sports competitions that have led to revival of the Olympic movement and creation of the international sports federations. But most of all globalization manifested itself in the political sphere. Alongside world economics it is now possible to speak about world politics. So let us oppose the Marxist view of globalisation to that of liberalism, using their assessment of the North-South divide in the contemporary global world. The North-South divide is just one of the "global economic challenges we have to confront in the twenty-first century. Economic scarcity' in the form of shrinking global markets and increasing production costs is intensifying economic rivalries. Technology races and various forms of commercial warfare have replaced the arms race of the Cold War days. According to Japanese politician Isihara Shintaro (Japan

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Presentation, overview, timeline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Presentation, overview, timeline - Essay Example Ptolemy, who headed a considerable number of Alexander’s former troops, proposed they divide the empire among the generals, which was convenient for his ambition. When Alexander died after being ill in Babylon in the year 323 BC, his general (Ptolemy) led a fraction of Alexander’s army back to Egypt where Ptolemy pronounced himself pharaoh. Ptolemy successfully fought off his competing generals’ armies; hence, establishing the Ptolemaic dynasty that persisted for 300 years in Egypt: Ptolemy I to XV (305 – 30 BC). Cleopatra VII (51-30 BC) inherited Egypt from her father; Ptolemy XII (80-51BC) married her older brother Ptolemy XII, who later drowned in battle against Julius Caesar. Cleopatra then married her younger brother Ptolemy XIV; however, she bore a son with Caesar who became Ptolemy XV for the period (44 – 30 BC). After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Ptolemy I nominally acted as a satrap for some time under the successors of Alexander; howe ver, the successors were not strong enough and the empire began to break up (Aufderheide 247). For Ptolemy dynasty to survive heirs had to be produced; hence, Ptolemy I married four wives with the last wife producing his heir Ptolemy II (Rolle 33; Collins 68). Fourteen kings of the dynasty were referred to as Ptolemy and numbered from I – XV, with the remarkable aspect of the monarch being the prominence of women, who rose to power when their brothers or sons were very young (Bugh 41). Ptolemy XII was king of Egypt from 80 to 51 BC officially known as Neos Dionysos although popularly known as Auletes. Auletes was the illegitimate son of Ptolemy IX Lathyrus, who died without designated heir; hence, with the help of political parties, the young Ptolemy became heir to the throne taking the name Ptolemy XII. The accession took place without the blessing of powerful a powerful Roman diplomat, which engendered the thoughts of possible Roman seizure of the country; however, the thre at was partially resolved in 59 BC. Through the help of Julius Caesar Ptolemy gained full status of recognised head of Egypt through the Roman senate in 59 at a price of 6,000 talents of gold, and pay the bribe he had to enforce ruthless taxation program to the easily enflamed subjects; besides, his children included Cleopatra, Absinoe, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV (Bunson 351). Ptolemy XIII, the son of Ptolemy XII, brother of Cleopatra tried and failed to win the throne of his nation from his sister and Julius Caesar; nevertheless, they both ruled together. Their rule was tough since both of them were surrounded by a group of ambitious counsellors, which resulted in tense political struggle in the palace. The young king departed from the palace to join his army and although he showed real military talent, he was no match for Caesar who faced him in battle resulting in the defeat of Ptolemy XIII. After the demise of Ptolemy XIII, Julius Caesar placed Ptolemy XIV (the younger brother to Cleopatra) in the throne together with Cleopatra. Officially Ptolemy XIV was to be her sister’s consort, but because he was about 10 to 12 years old at the time, Cleopatra was the true power within the land and presumably killed her brother after Caesar was assassinated (Bunson 351). When Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, Cleopatra supported Mark Antony against Octavian who became Caesar Augustus and when Octavian declared war on the duo, Cleopatra raised and commanded army that

Pioneer Electronics Essay Example for Free

Pioneer Electronics Essay In 1975 Pioneer maintained relationships with approximately 3,500 franchise retail outlets, the retail outlets benefited from a 5% Pioneer investment in local advertising, and attractive gross margins and credit terms. However, that same year, Pioneer and three competitors were forced to sign consent decrees with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission promising not to engage in alleged anti-fair competition practices – namely requiring distributors to use suggested list prices and punishing those distributors who didn’t comply either through delayed shipments or revoked franchises. A market price war followed the signing of the consent decrees, lowering franchise’s profits while increasing revenue for Pioneer. Pioneer followed with a new marketing strategy aimed at pushing its new lower-priced hi-fi components over compacts or consoles, this further boosted Pioneer’s profit, continuing to erode the franchise distributors’ profit margins. The final outcome was a select few distributors’ shifting from supporting Pioneer component sales to pushing competitors’ products in order to make a larger profit. Central Problem Pioneer Electronics must determine how to move forward from franchise distributors’ complaints that they cannot make an adequate profit selling Pioneer components over the lesser quality, more affordable competitors’ components. The result is â€Å"dissident behavior† by the distributors– including disparaging comments about the Pioneer brand to potential consumers, poor product placement in franchise stores and â€Å"bait and switch† sales tactics. These actions reflect a possible erosion of franchise distributor support, which might force Pioneer to alter its business model. Relevant Facts With the repeal of the fair-trade laws, the market changed drastically for Pioneer, sales and market share increased significantly during this period, prices and margins dropped. As the target market for their products expanded, Pioneer changed their marketing strategy to focus on selling mid-priced hi-fi products. Pioneer’s sales continued to climb, but this strategy squeezed the dealers’ margins even more and made it difficult for them to make a profit selling Pioneer products. Pioneer decision to reposition itself from a premium-priced brand into a â€Å"mid-priced, mainstream† brand affected the profit margins of its distributors negatively. At the same time, the company’s profit margin increased dramatically. Based on 1976 data from Exhibit 13, an average retailer profit margin was about 3.4%. Pioneer had a comparable profit margin of 3.9% in 1975, based on Exhibit 14 data. This margin increased by almost 3 times in 1976 to 9.4%. This clearly shows how Pioneer benefited from its market repositioning strategy while its distributors profits declined. Although surveys showed customers were very satisfied with Pioneer products, the sales force was unhappy and felt the lower margins were unacceptable. This drove a few dealers to speak disparagingly about Pioneer products and use bait and switch tactics to create profits for themselves. Mitchell knew the dealers’ support was critical to the current distribution chain, but he couldn’t go back to the old incentives. To continue to be profitable and adapt to the new electronics market, Pioneer reconsider its current distribution network. Alternative Courses of Action †¢Alternative #1 Shift distribution to department stores: Shift retail distribution from specialty stores to department stores and catalog showrooms. 75% of U.S. Pioneer’s sales were from hi-fi specialty stores, 5% by department stores, and 7% by catalog showrooms. Advantages: Extensive credit facilities, strong consumer â€Å"pull† advertising, and lower prices. Industry sources predicts a substantial increase in the market shares of department stores and catalog showrooms. Disadvantages: Department stores and catalog showrooms do not offer the extensive customer services provided by specialty stores, including professional sales assistance, demonstration, extended store warranty, on-the-premises repair, home delivery and installation, and loaner component programs. †¢Alternative #2 Multiple Branding U.S. Pioneer would offer several product lines of varying quality and price points under separate brand names. Different product lines would be carried by different types of retail outlets. The department-store line would be of lower quality and price than the signature line. Advantages: Multiple branding had been used successfully in other industries. It would enable U.S. Pioneer to adapt most effectively to future changes in retail distribution. Pioneer already sells compacts and car stereos to discount stores under the Centrex brand name. Disadvantages: This strategy could tarnish Pioneer’s reputation for selling only top-of-the-line products. Pioneer may have trouble keeping their distribution channels distinct, and therefore be incurring too much cost on the low end products or being destroying the brand value of the high end products. †¢Alternative #3 Company-owned Stores Another alternative is to operate its own retail stores. Some retailers in the low-fi market had been selling their own house brands for some time. House brands are starting to make in-roads in the hi-fi market and the specialty stores are carrying house brands in increasing numbers. Advantages: One way to protect Pioneer from the risk of large specialty store chains promoting house brands which would impact its sales. Disadvantages: A large initial fixed investment for starting up is required. The risk of expanding into a non-familiar territory which Pioneer does not have good expertise in. †¢Alternative #4 Dealer Communication improvement Dealer support is crucial for Pioneer growth. From Table A â€Å"Factors Influencing Purchase of Hi-fi Products† in the case, it clearly shows that dealer recommendations, advertising and store displays accounts for 42% of the factors influencing consumers decisions. The company needs to hire more salespeople to increase the frequency of dealer visits, provide higher cash rebates or other incentive programs and organizing yearly dealers’ conferences at different resorts. Pioneer needs to stop forcing its dealers to prominently display low-end components and push lower-priced components. Selling lower priced components affects the retailer’s profit margin. This results in placing higher sales emphasis on house brands or competitor products. Advantages: Retailer’s salespeople are the company’s point of contact with its customers. Happy and content dealers will push Pioneer product which will increase company’s sales. Disadvantage: The brand is what sells the product. The company should not waste funds on dealer rebates and conferences. This will result in a rebate war between different manufacturers. Plan of Action: Pioneer should pursue a multiple label branding strategy to capture sales in both the high end and lost cost market segments, which will increase total revenue and profits. The company is already implementing this through its Centrex brand name in Japan. This strategy will enable Pioneer, through the Centrex brand, to target the growing department stores market with its lower price product segment. The signature Pioneer brand can still be marketed through Hi-Fi specialty stores. Under this arrangement Pioneer will need to develop a customized sales and marketing plan for each brand and have separate sales and distribution channels. Pioneer will continue to contribute a percentage of sales to local marketing campaigns to assist local specialty retailers in maintaining local recognition within the community. The Centrex brand will be distributed through the larger department stores and because of the national recognition of these stores there would not be a need to contribute a percentage of sales to assist in local marketing. These funds should be used for other promotional items in the large department stores, such as contests for the largest sales in a month or quarter or number of a specific product sold. The company should also simultaneously invest in improving its working relationship with their dealers. The first thing that Pioneer will need to do is to cease printing ads in newspapers and/or journals to communicate to dealers about unapproved behavior. These types of conversations should be conducted behind closed doors, as neither side wins when they communicate in a public forum. Pioneer will need to begin to request their feedback and input on new market trends, consumer needs and product improvement suggestions and adjust the Pioneer products accordingly. Pioneer should implement the sales program from Exhibit 12 and shift some of the funds from the marketing campaigns to have local contests to spur sales among local sales force.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Interlock Parity Information Technology Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Interlock Parity Information Technology Essay Detecting and correcting errors is the major problem for handling on chip errors. For this purpose error detection and correction techniques are used which are suitable for NoC. Error control codes are used to detect single or multi bit errors. Errors correcting schemes put an overhead of extra hardware on the system. Most of the coding techniques are used to correct single bit error. Due to the increase in size and complexity of very large scale integrated (VLSI) chips the problem of multi bit errors have been increased, so to over come the problem of multi bit errors, researchers have explored various multi bit error detection and correction techniques. Multi bit errors can completely corrupt the packets which need to be discarded and retransmitted. As on chip errors are more dangerous than off chip networks more over on chip resources like storage and processing are limited, therefore techniques that take care such limitations are more appropriate for NoC. Here we are going to introduce a new error detection technique. This technique has the limitation of only detection of errors. We compare this technique with few other error detection and correction techniques and deduce the results about our purposed error detection techniques. We purpose the name of new error detection technique as Interlock Parity. In the next section the complete introduction and proposed format of the Interlock Parity is given. Next we look some advantages and disadvantages of Interlock Parity technique. 5.2 Interlock Parity This is a new purposed technique to detect the bit errors on the network on chip communication. This technique is designed to work with 32 bits of data word. After 8 bits of data next bit is fixed for parity bit. Similarly after that 8 bits the next bit is again fix for parity bit and in this way 32 bits of data include 4 parity bits. We name these parity bits as P1, P2, P3 and P4. The option for choice of even parity or odd parity is open i.e any method is used to fix the parity bit, but all 4 parity bits must follow the same parity scheme either even or odd parity checking. Similarly we name the first 8 data bits as d1, second data bits as d2, third data bits as d3 and last portion of data bits as d4. So after the induction of parity bits our date packet size will increase from 32 bits to 36 bits. Keep in mind there are few additional bits are reserved for the purpose of control information discuss in detail later in this chapter. Following figure 5.1 shows the packet layout of the Interlock Parity scheme. Header d1, Data bits (8 bits) P1 d2, Data bits (8 bits) P2 d3, Data bits (8 bits) P3 d4, Data bits (8 bits) P4 Figure 5.1 Interlock Parity packet format If number of 1s in d1 is even then P1 = 0 other wise 1. Next if number of 1s in d2 is even then the value of P2 is set to zero and bit value of P3 and P4 will be set according to the number of 1s in d3 and d4. More generally we can write as even then Pi = 0. where 1 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ i à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 4 If No. of 1s in di = odd then Pi = 1. where 1 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ i à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 4 Data block is transferred form source to the destination according to the control information header. At the destination first of all value of Pt is checked and if the Pt value is correct then the packet is accepted for further processing, in case of detection of some error in Pt bit value, process of evaluation of Pi values started. Each Pi value is checked according to the data present in di block. If there found any mismatch among di and corresponding Pi then di is discarded and retransmission request of that particular di is generated to resend the data. This reduces the probability of frequent bit flips in the data blocks. 5.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Interlock Parity 5.3.1 Advantages of Interlock Parity Scheme Easy to calculate parities due to limited computation resources in NoC. In case of bit flip error detection only a limited portion of data needed to be retransmitted with in the packet. Easy to locate erroneous portion of data. Due to the probability of occurrence of multiple bit flip errors this technique of Interlock Parity restricts the multiple error occurrences in a byte size data. 5.3.2 Disadvantages of Interlock Parity Scheme Have to calculate 4 parity bits. Limited to detect errors if only single bit or odd number of bits flipped. Unable to detect errors if even number of bit flips occurred. This technique is not suitable for multiple errors. Errors correction is not possible at the receiver side. 5.4 Packet Format In this section we describe and closely look the format of the Interlock Parity scheme. Packet is divided into two portions. First portion is known as header and contains all the necessary information which uses to transfer packet from sender to the receiver. The second portion of the packet is known as data portion. In this section of the packet data is divided into 4 different parts along with the parity of each part. 5.4.1 Header Portion Header portion contains the following information. Source Address Destination Address Packet Number Data Portion Number Control Information Source Address field contains the information about the source and 5 bits are reserved for the source address. Destination address is the address of the destination and 5 bit are reserved for the destination address. Packet number denotes the number of the packet which is 10 bit long address. Data portion number denotes one of the four data portions in the date portion part. It can assume at the maximum 2 bits as we have maximum 4 data portions in our packet. 6 bits are reserved for control information can be used for future purpose or depend upon the routing algorithm requirements. Following figure depicts the structure of the header portion of the Interlock Parity packet format. Header Source Address Destination Address Packet Number Data Portion Number Control Information 5 bits 5 bits 10 bits 2 bits 6 bits Figure 5.2 Interlock Parity packet header format 5.4.2 Data Portion Data portion of the Interlock Parity packet format is divided into 4 parts. Each part is 9 bits long divided into 8 bits for the data and 1 bit for the parity bit corresponding to the data bits associated with the parity. In this way total size of the data portion along with parities is 36 bits. Following figure shows the structure of the data portion of the Interlock Parity packet format Data Portion d1 P1 d2 P2 d3 P3 d4 P4 8 bits 1 bit 8 bits 1 bit 8 bits 1 bit 8 bits 1 bit Figure 5.3 Interlock Parity packet data portion format. 5.5 Communication Strategy As during the communication of data packets, errors may corrupt the data so there is a need for reliable communication. Fundamentally few capabilities are required to handle the bit errors. Few of these fundamental capabilities to handle presence of bit errors are as mention below Error detection: A mechanism is needed to allow the receiver side to detect the occurrence of bit errors. There should be a mechanism which allows the receiver to detect and possibly correct bit errors. Receiver Feedback: since sender and receiver are typically executing at different nodes. The only way for the sender to know whether packet is delivered correctly to the receiver is by providing explicit feedback to the sender. For this purpose positive or negative acknowledgements are used by the receiver to sender. Retransmission: a packet received in error at the receiver will be retransmitted by the sender. Data packet is generated at the sender and sends to the receiver. At the receiver side checking of errors will take place, if packet received without any errors then it is accepted for further processing other wise packet is discarded. In case of any erroneous bits ARQ strategy will be used to correct the errors. As from the previous section our data portion of packet is divided into 4 data parts so only portion with errors in that data bits is requested to transmit again. We only use not acknowledgement (NAK) packet to communicate to sender for the retransmission of the particular erroneous portion of the data. Following figure shows the structure of the NAK packet format NAK Packet Source Address Packet Number Data Portion Number 5 bits 10 bits 2 bits Figure 5.4 NAK packet format. During the communication it does not allow reassembly or fragmentation at intermediate nodes. These operations can be performed at source and destination. As fragmentation and reassembly is a time consuming process, by removing this functionality from the intermediate nodes and placing it in the source and destination will definitely speeds up the communication. We implement interlock parity for end to end communication. Complete discussion and all the experimental results are presented in the next chapter. Chapter 6 Implementation and Experimental Results As discussed in previous chapters that network on chip provides a practicable way out to counter the incompetence of buses in the present very large scale integrated on chip interconnects. As we know in packet based communication a flipping error of bit(s) can corrupt the data packet which raise a question mark on the correctness and trustworthy of data transfer from source to destination. In the presence of stated problems it is essential to provide some vigorous protective solutions against such problems. As a solution to the above problems, network on chips have been proposed by different researchers to get rid of the ineffectiveness of on chip buses in scaling chips. Later it was discovered that network on chip also faces the same problems of transient faults as faced by VLSI chips. So chips designed with error detection and correction codes require high energy and area overheads as discussed in [65]. On network on chip we have limited resources of computation and storage; it is significant to present solutions which are low cost in term of memory and energy without compromising on reliability and performance. Here we are going to introduce a new error detection technique. This technique has the limitation of only detection of errors, while error correction takes place by retransmission of corrupt data packet. We compare our new purposed technique with few other error detection and correction techniques and deduce the results about our purposed error detection techniques. We purpose the name of new error detection technique as Interlock Parity. Complete introduction of Partial Party technique is given in chapter 5. In the next section the complete introduction about network on chip communication model, interest to use C/C++ and setup about implementation of Interlock Parity is given. We work on the different error detection methods given below, Simple Parity Cyclic Redundancy Check Checksum Mathod Repeated Bit Method along with our newly developed concept Interlock Parity method. We implement and present the implementation and comparative analysis results of Interlock Parity with above mentioned techniques. Major concern of this research is to make a comparative analysis between mentioned techniques in the following areas Encoding Techniques impact over the network throughput. Encoding Techniques impact for power consumption. Delay time comparison for packet delivery from sender to receiver i.e. latency comparison. Instead of using simulator we design our own network simulator designed in C/C++ program for the implementation purpose and get results for analysis. The purpose of personally designed simulator is to gain in depth working knowledge of different encoding techniques. 6.1 NoC Communication Model We use network on chip as 2 dimensional mesh topology with packet level communication. We use a data bus of size 128 bits which is wide enough to simultaneously transfer all bits of data present in the packet in any direction. As we discussed in chapter 5 packet consists of a header and data portion. The header contains identification information about source and destination, packet unique identifier, data portion identifier which varies from 1 to 4. Data portion of the data contains actual data along individual parity bits. Along with data packets we also use NAK packet. Sender will inform only in case of packet received with bit errors. NAK packet is also use to intimate the sender in case of packet loss. For the reasons of simplicity and well suitability for mesh based network on chips we adopt different routing strategies for the result analysis. NAK packet is assumed to have higher priority than data packet. Figure 6.1 2D Mesh [6] Data packet is generated at the sender and sends to the receiver. At the receiver side checking of errors will take place, if packet received without any errors then it is accepted for further processing other wise packet is discarded. We only use not acknowledgement (NAK) packet to communicate to sender for the retransmission of the particular erroneous packet/portion of the data. During the communication it does not allow reassembly or fragmentation at intermediate nodes. These operations can be performed at source and destination. As fragmentation and reassembly is a time consuming process, by removing this functionality from the intermediate nodes and placing it in the source and destination will definitely speeds up the communication. 6.2 Let Us C/C++ Instead of using simulator we design our own network simulator designed in C/C++ program for the implementation purpose and get results for analysis. The purpose of personally designed simulator is to gain in depth working knowledge of different encoding techniques. 6.2.1 Using C/C++ The C/C++ language is based on sequential programming, also suitable for the programming and modeling of concurrent activities. As we know most digital systems and hardware models require a notion of delays, clocks or time, such features are also present in C/C++ as a software programming language. So complex and detailed systems can be easily and comfortably designed in C/C++ language. Finally the data types present in C/C++ are helpful for implementation. To address all these problems new dedicated data types and communication mechanisms are available with C/C++. Basic language elements such as modules, processes, event, channels, and event driven simulator kernel are also present in C/C++. 6.2.2 Advantages of using C/C++ As C/C++ is firm programming language accepted all over the world, C/C++ holds all the features of a complete programming language which makes easier to write complex programs with minimum efforts. C/C++ supports all the data types supported by any language. C/C++ provides the facility of user friendly, which saves lot of money and precious time. C/C++ adds the idea of timing signals which is important to simulate synchronous hardware designs. This facility gives C/C++ an edge over other programming languages. C/C++ supports the design at higher abstraction level; this enables large systems to be modeled easily without worrying the implementation of it. C/C++ also support concurrency and can be used to simulate the concurrent behavior of the digital system. 6.3 Experimental Setup Instead of using simulator we implement Interlock Parity technique along with four other encoding techniques. For the implementation of Interlock Parity scheme, we use 2D mesh network topology. We use (4 X 4) mesh network at the initial stage of the experiment. To transfer all bits of the data simultaneously, we use 128 bits wide data bus in each direction. Figure 6.2 2D (4 x 4) Mesh [6] As we discuss the packet format in the previous chapter in detail. Our packet consists of 2 parts. One is header part and the other is data part also known as payload part. The header portion contains useful information like packet ID, source address, destination address, routing information, total nodes in the network and some control information etc. the payload or data portion holds the original data. Further in our implementation of Interlock Parity scheme, we categorize packets into two classes. Data packets Control packets As data packets hold useful data, while control packets contains information about the reliable delivery of the data packet send from some source to the destination. For the simplicity we only use negative acknowledgment (NAK) control packet. How this mechanisms work is illustrated below If data packet received with out any error at the destination, then accepted and no acknowledgement is send back to the sender. If data packet received with any error at the destination, then packet is discarded and NAK is send to the sender requesting the source node to send the packet again. This research also take care the lost packet impact on encoding technique. 6.3.1 Lost packet If some packet is lost on the way from source to destination, say packet n is lost, NAK is send to sender informing about not receiving the packet n. this packet is resend to destination after receiving NAK about packet n. 6.3.2 Lost NAK packet If some NAK packet lost, then after some time interval same NAK is send again until desired packet received. Following algorithm illustrate the communication between sender and receiver Packet Generate Send to Destination Error Yes NAK Accepted Queued No Figure 6.3 Flow diagram For better result purpose we implement our encoding techniques on the following routing strategies. X-Y routing Path Exploring(P.E) routing Gossip routing 6.4 Experimental Results 6.4.1 Clock Cycles Analysis On over own designed network simulator we first simulate a single packet and compute the computer clock cycles for the following phases of the packet. For the construction of header portion of the packet For the construction of the data portion of the packet Clock cycles required to put encoding check at the packet Clock cycles required to check data integrity at receiver side Clock cycles required for retransmission of packet for unreliable delivered packet In case of packet loss , clock cycles required to enforce the mechanisms to find out lost packet To achieve the above mention objective we send a packet on our designed network simulator. Our network simulator is equipped with reliable, unreliable and packet loss mechanisms. We randomly choose a sender and sender send a packet for randomly chosen destination node. Initially we ignore time for the network traversal and up till now our objective of this module is to gather the clock cycles for the formulation of packet, clock cycles required for enforcing encoding technique , rechecking the integrity of data and clock cycles required to handle the packet loss scenario. To get more accurate result we perform this simulation module for 10 times and average results are presented in the following table 6.1 Sr.No Algorithms Header Portion Data Portion Encoding Technique Reliable Delivery Unreliable Delivery Packet Loss 1 Simple Parity Checking 2 4 1 3 7 6 2 Cyclic Redundancy Check 4 8 10 10 20 13 3 Repeated Bit Method 2 12 2 4 10 8 4 Checksum Method 2 10 5 7 16 10 5 Interlock Parity Checking 3 6 4 6 14 9 Table 6.1 Clock cycle breakdown Clock CyclesFigure 6.4 Clock cycles breakdown The above analysis shows the comparison of clock cycles consumed by different encoding technique for different phases of packet construction and for checking and enforcing the encoding techniques. It is very clear from the above analysis that Cyclic Redundancy Check encoding technique takes longer time to impose the header and data portion part. Similarly CRC technique also takes longer clock cycles for the enforcement of encoding technique mechanisms. Similarly it is clear from the above analysis that checksum method encoding technique takes longer time to impose the header and data portion part. Similarly checksum technique also takes longer clock cycles for the enforcement of encoding technique mechanisms. Our new purposed Interlock parity check technique consume relatively less clock cycles for header and data portion. Thats means packet construction is relatively fast in out new purposed technique. In case of reliable delivery Interlock parity scheme again consume less clock cycles and has an advantage over the CRC and checksum method. While in unreliable delivery checking case Interlock parity scheme again consume less clock cycles and has an advantage over the CRC and checksum method. Lastly in packet loss handling scenario Interlock parity scheme consume 14 clock cycles which is less than from the clock cycles consumed by checksum method and CRC. The other two techniques simple parity and repeated bit method are consuming less clock cycles, but remember these clock cycles are required for the construction and enforcement of encoding techniques only. Network traversal i s not included up till this point of research. Next we present the percentage utilization of clock cycles for the sender node and for receiver node. Following table shows the result comparison for sender and receiver. Receiver Sender Sr.No Algorithms Header Portion Data Portion Encoding Technique Reliable Delivery Unreliable Delivery Packet Loss 1 Simple Parity Checking 28.57 57.14 14.29 18.75 43.75 37.50 2 Cyclic Redundancy Check 18.18 36.36 45.45 23.26 46.51 30.23 3 Repeated Bit Method 12.50 75.00 12.50 18.18 45.45 36.36 4 Checksum Method 11.76 58.82 29.41 21.21 48.48 30.30 5 Interlock Parity Checking 23.08 46.15 30.77 20.69 48.28 31.03 Table 6.2 Clock cycles breakdown for the sender and receiver side. Table 6.2 shows the clock cycles breakdown for the sender and receiver side. These results are also shown graphically in Figure 6.5. This graphical analysis consists of three compariosions Header portion comparision Data portion comparision Implementation of encoding technique During the construction of header portion our proposed technique required little larger time as compared to the other techniques. Reason is that header of our proposed technique require little extra bits to take care about different data segment with in a packet as disscussed in previous chapter. But uptill this point we can tolerate this large time for the construction of header as variance of timings for all techniques range between 10 to 30 clock cycles. As header portion contains small portion of packet so we can accept this drawback of interlock parity scheme. When we look at the data portion timing overhead comparisions, it is very clear that our proposed technique required less amout of time for the construction of data portion in the packet. As data portion consists of more bits of data then it is an advantage of our proposed tehnique for utilizing less clock cycles for the construction of data portion. Finally for the implementation and enforcement of encoding technique our proposed interlock parity checking technique requires comparatively balanced clock cycles. For this comparision we can say that our technique utilize less clcok cycles at the sender side for the administrative steps. Clock Cycles (%)Figure 6.5 Clock cycles breakdown for sender side Similarly at the receiver side we check three different scenarios. Clock cycles required to check whether packet received in reliable delivery Clock cycles required to check the unreliable delivery of the packet Clock cycles required to invoke the verification module about the loss of a packet. These statistics are depicting in the Figure 6.6 below. In this comparison it is clear that all encoding techniques required almost same amount of clock cycles for the implementation of above mention sceneries. Our proposed technique has an advantage of other compared techniques in the case of packet loss. In case of packet loss interlock parity scheme required comparatively less clock cycles to invoke the packet loss module. In case of unreliable packet delivery all mentioned techniques required same number of clock cycles. There is little variation among the encoding techniques which is neglectable. Clock Cycles (%) Figure 6.6 Clock cycles breakdown for receiver side Sr.No Algorithms Reliable Delivery Unreliable Delivery Packet Loss 1 Simple Parity Checking 0.2747 0.3846 0.3571 2 Cyclic Redundancy Check 0.8791 1.1538 0.9615 3 Repeated Bit Method 0.5495 0.7143 0.6593 4 Checksum Method 0.6593 0.9066 0.7418 5 Interlock Parity Checking 0.5220 0.7418 0.6044 Table 6.3 Encoding mechanism checking time measured in seconds Next we present the time required for different encoding techniques at sender side. As we see from the output results given in Figure.6.7 in case of reliable delivery our proposed interlock parity checking technique needs less time as compared to other encoding techniques. In case of unreliable delivery all the encoding techniques require large amount of time as compared to reliable delivery case. In this comparison interlock parity scheme has advantage over CRC and Checksum method. While repeated bit takes approximately same time as taken by interlock parity scheme. Simple parity checking technique is the only technique consume less time as compared to others. Reason is being its simple nature. In packet loss case our proposed technique less time as compared to the other techniques. So after this comparison we can say that interlock parity checking consumed less amount of time. Time Figure 6.7 Encoding Mechanism checking time measured in seconds If we look this comparison in different way, then the following Figure 6.8 gives the comparison of different encoding techniques in the context of reliable delivery, unreliable delivery and packet loss scenario. Simple parity checking encoding technique takes less amount of time as compared to other encoding techniques. In the contrast interlock parity checking technique consume less amount of time as compared to CRC, repeated bit method and checksum method. TimeFigure 6.8 Encoding Mechanism checking Time measured in seconds 6.4.2 Encoding Techniques and Routing Strategies Analysis In the all above discussion we are not considering network delays and routing strategies. To check the performance of encoding techniques we implement these techniques on different network strategies. These routing strategies include Encoding technique with XY routing strategy Encoding technique with PE strategy Encoding technique with gossip routing strategy For better results we further adopt two methods for the enforcement of encoding techniques. One is end to end (E2E) and second is node to node (N2N). In E2E strategy packet is checked only at the destination node, no checking is made at the intermediate nodes. This technique has an advantage of less traffic congestion. While in node to node strategy incoming packet is checked at each and every intermediate node. Packet is discarded as found in error. Forwarding node is intimated and retransmission takes place. This technique faces the problem of network resources and network congestion. We make different comparisons for above mentioned strategies for both E2E and N2N cases. 6.4.2.1 Encoding Techniques and XY (E2E) Routing Strategy Following table 6.4 shows the results of encoding techniques with E2E XY routing strategy. Table 6.4 gives the clock cycles required for different encoding techniques for different cases e.g. reliable delivery, unreliable delivery and packet loss. Sr.No Algorithms Simple Parity Checking Cyclic Redundancy Check Repeated Bit Method Checksum Method Interlock Parity Checking 1 Reliable Delivery 18 40 26 32 27 2 Unreliable Delivery 28 56 40 47 41 3 Packet Loss 27 49 38 41 36 Table 6.4 Encoding technique with XY (E2E) Strategy Figure 6.9(a) present these results graphically. Our proposed technique consumes less clock cycles as compared to other encoding techniques. Simple parity check is the only technique which has advantage over our proposed technique. But interlock parity check technique has advantage over all other techniques other than simple parity check techniques. Clock Cycles Figure 6.9(a) Encoding technique with XY(E2E) Strategy Figure 6.9(b) present these results graphically in other context. In case of reliable delivery our proposed technique consumes less clock cycles as compared to checksum method and CRC. While for repeated bit method case, the comparison is almost same. Simple parity check method has little advantage over interlock as well as other encoding techniques. When we come towards the analysis of unreliable delivery case, this segment takes more time as compared to the reliable delivery scenario. Our proposed technique also consume less clock cycles as compared to other encoding techniques other than simple parity check method. Packet loss case takes more time than reliable delivery but consumes less clock cycle

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Analysis of New Social Movement Theory Essay -- Sociology Social Mov

Analysis of New Social Movement Theory Works Cited Not Included In Johnston, Laraà ±a, and Gusfield’s discussion of New Social Movement (NSM) theory, they identify the concept as a â€Å"double-edged sword,† in that is has both related itself to the changing shape of society but also overemphasized the newness of its model, almost divorcing itself from previous social movement theories instead of acknowledging and assessing the similarities between them and integrating what is useful from theories of the past. As its basic framework asserts that social movements now are not as linked to class as they were in the time of the emergence of Marxism and at the height of industrialist society (as Resource Mobilization Theory might stress), new social movement theory succeeds in fitting itself to post-modern and post-industrialist social structure while it fails to explain the situations and changes that it describes. It makes the important point that a new and different society incites new and different movements. However, the language o f the theory has a â€Å"tendency to ‘ontologize,’† as it tries to claim â€Å"more explanatory power than it empirically warranted,† which occasionally makes it an obstacle rather than a tool to analyze the modern face of social movements (Buechler & Cylke 276). Johnston, Laraà ±a, and Gusfield proceed to break down social movements and attribute to them eight characteristics which help clarify what defines a â€Å"new social movement.† The first of these characteristics is the frequently discussed observation that social movements are no longer homogenous in the category of social class, which Johnston, et al. describe as an NSM not bearing a â€Å"clear relation to the structural roles of its participants† (Buechler &... ...on in the Leninist model,† according to Johnston, Laraà ±a, and Gusfield (Buechler & Cylke 278). Overall, New Social Movements are defined by their particular reflections of individualist, post-industrialism, though the basic premises for the formation of movements remain. Individuals have grievances which affect their choices of action and organization. Though collective action is acted out in different ways and reflects a less unified identity formation process, NSM’s bring to bear their effects on society by the sum of the actions of its members, whether those actions are personal or collective, and whether or not ideology is broadly shared. In this way, it may be detrimental to call New Social Movements â€Å"new.† Their context has changed, and so they have changed. The evolution of social movements reflects both their current environment and their roots.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Emotional Triggers :: essays research papers

When director of photography Conrad Hall, ASC and director Sam Mendes teamed to make American Beauty, few could have predicted that their dark vision of suburban malaise would be such a smash success. The film won five Academy Awards, including those for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography (Hall’s second Oscar, following his triumph for the 1969 Western classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). Hall’s work also earned him his third ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography (see AC June ‘00). Road to Perdition, Hall and Mendes’ second collaboration, took the duo into decidedly different territory. Based on a graphic novel authored by Max Allan Collins, the film is a tale about the Irish Mafia set in 1930s Chicago. At its heart is the relationship between fathers and sons; after his professional life tragically impacts his domestic life, hit man Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) sets out on a wintry journey of self-discovery with his son, Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin). Along the way, Sullivan must come to terms with his adoptive father, Irish crime lord John Rooney (Paul Newman). â€Å"Road to Perdition is a period movie in which there are no double-breasted, pin-striped suits and no spats,† Mendes says. â€Å"I was trying to get away from all the clichà ©s of the gangster genre.† Hall’s overarching strategy for the film dovetailed with the director’s goal by favoring naturalistic realism over a more stylized approach to the material. â€Å"The thing that makes this picture work so well is a kind of honesty,† Hall says. â€Å"It’s a sort of honest reality that doesn’t try to be theatrical in any way. There is no blue moonlight, no green vistas, none of that kind of stuff. The film has very carefully crafted compositions, it’s meticulously cut, and it’s paced very gently and slowly — all of which is good for the story.† Of his photography, Hall notes that â€Å"I’m not trying to characterize the people in the film; the actors do that. I’m trying to frame them in an appropriate emotional context for the scenes. How are their characters behaving in those scenes? Are they behaving like human beings? My goal is to make a given scene emotionally accessible for the audience. I just try to make it real. Whatever the story is trying to say to the audience dictates to me the mood I should use to reach that audience. In this case, the film is about a father who’s trying to raise his son so that the boy won’t grow up to be like him.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Nike Financial Analysis Essay

Nike  is a company that has thoroughly embedded itself into the psyche of people around the world. It’s a company that started with humble origins from selling footwear in the basement to becoming the behemoth in the athletic industry. Bill Bowerman, University of Oregon track ; field coach, and Phil Knight, middle-distance runner under Bowerman co-founded Nike. Nike was first established as Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964 as a partnership and the name Nike was officially adopted on May 30, 1978. The infamous Nike Logo – Swoosh, was created for a fee of $35 by Carolyn Davidson, a graphics design student. In 1980, Nike becomes a publicly traded company with the completion of its Initial Public Offering of 2,377,000 shares of Class B Common Stock on New York Stock Exchange with the stock symbol NKE. Today, Nike employs over 27,000 people across the globe, and has net revenue in excess of $13 billion. The purpose of this paper is to provide investors with comprehensive information on Nike, its financial health and activities, its strength and weaknesses, and whether Nike creates value to its shareholders. This paper will analyze Nike’s capital structure, scope of international operations, recent stock performance, and dividend policy. We will examine how Nike’s international operations are conducted, its criticisms and strengths. Nike’s debt ratios, dividend payout ratios, dividend yield, and interest coverage ratios over the previous 5 years will be discussed and compared with industry benchmarks. Its bond ratings and the relation between the operating characteristics and its leverage will also be analyzed. Managers for Nike are creating value for shareholders by expanding Nike operations in foreign markets as much as possible. Nike’s sales and earnings outpaced Wall Street estimates FY 06. Nike’s sales reached $15 billion and its earnings per share were up 18%. Over the past 5 years, Nike’s earnings per share on compounded rate were up 20%, gross margins averaged 42% and in the past year, Nike delivered 44% margins in a period of rising costs. The current managers are maximizing shareholder’s wealth but in the footwear industry, Nike’s performance still falls. The footwear industry averaged about 14. 25%, while Nike’s growth in stock was 10. 48%. If the increase in value of shares is a benchmark of performance for managers, Nike’s performance is unimpressive. Nike has a Price to Book (MRQ) ratio of 3. 97, while the industry Nike competes in has a ratio of 3. 96. S;P 500 has a Price to Book (MRQ) ratio of 3. 90. Nike has a Price to Tangible Book (MRQ) ratio of 4. 26, while the industry has a ratio of 4. 44, and the S;P 500 has a ratio of 7. 22. The Nike brand itself is the biggest strength of Nike. Its other strengths include international operations where it is expanding aggressively, innovation of new products and ability to connect with its consumers. People’s perception of Nike as an exploiter of workers in developing nations, might cause considerable damage to its brand, and the poor performance of its stock relative to its industry is also one of its weaknesses. Nike’s managers must maximize shareholders wealth, which is not at its optimum level. As a world-renowned multi-national corporation, Nike has a presence in almost every nation. Nike itself started by importing athletic shoes from a Japanese company called Onitsuka Tiger Company. Nike earns more revenues from its international operations than its domestic market. Nike earned about $6. 5 billion FY 2005 from its international operations, compared to $5. 1 billion from its domestic market. International operations appear to be a key driver of Nike’s growth. Nike’s international operations are divided into 3 different regions. The EMEA region oversees operations in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. The Asia Pacific Region oversees operations in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. The Americas region oversees operations in South America, and North America (excluding United States). Europe, Middle East, ; Africa (EMEA) is headquartered in Hilversum, Netherlands. In terms of revenue, the EMEA is Nike’s second largest region. EMEA region contributed about $4. 3 billion in revenues for Nike. Of these, footwear revenues contributed $2. 5 billion, apparel revenues contributed $1. 5 billion and equipment revenues contributed $284.million. FY’05, 31% of Nike brand revenue was generated by sales in the EMEA region. This region is also the third largest in terms of manufacturing. EMEA region employs about 6,000 Nike employees, and has about 104 contract factories. These factories in addition, employ 29,242 workers. The Asia Pacific region is Nike’s third largest in terms of rev enue, and the largest in terms of manufacturing. Nike has 13 branch offices and subsidiaries in the Asia Pacific region. China has become both a source country and a vital market for Nike. Asia Pacific region has 3,282 Nike employees approximately. The region also has 252 contract factories located in North Asia, and 238 contract factories located in South Asia. Combined, these factories employ 550,821 workers. Nike’s revenues for year 2004 from its Asian operations were about $1. 6 billion. Of these revenues, approximately $855 million were from footwear sales, $612 million from apparel sales and $146 million from equipment sales. The Americas region is the smallest in terms of revenue 2nd largest in regards to manufacturing. The first Nike shoe ever contracted out was done in Mexico in 1971. For year 2003, the region provided Nike with revenues of $624 million. Of these revenues $412 million were from footwear sales, $166 million from apparel sales and $47 million from equipment sales. This region has approximately 1076 Nike employees and additional 44,568 workers working in 137 total contract factories. Nike has branch offices and subsidiaries in five countries. Some of the challenges that Nike has faced and still faces are in regards to its manufacturing facilities and violation of labor laws. Nike has been accused on numerous occasions of employing children in its factories or exploiting workers in developing countries. In response to these allegations, Nike implemented strict standards for manufacturing facilities, including minimum age, air quality, mandatory education programs, expansion of micro-loan programs, factory monitoring, and enhanced transparency of Nike’s corporate responsibility practices. In order to better its image, Nike even ceased orders from Pakistan in November 20, 2006 as the soccer-ball manufacturer there failed to correct labor-compliance violations. Examination of Nike’s debt ratios reveals that the company has less debt in proportion to its assets. In 2002, Nike had a debt ratio of . 404 with total assets being worth about $6. 44 billion, and total debt of $2. 60 billion. In 2003, Nike’s debt ratio increased to . 415, its total assets increased by $378. 1 million, and its total debt increased by $226. 4 million. Debt ratio fell to . 394 in 2004, and fell further in 2005 to . 358. In the year 2006, Nike’s debt ratio increased to . 363, and had total assets of $9. 87 billion and total debt of $3. 58 billion. Examination of Nike’s interest coverage ratio reveals that the firm can sufficiently pay outstanding debt. If one were to take only Nike’s interest coverage ratios into account, it can be said that Nike generates sufficient revenue to satisfy interest expenses. In the year 2002, Nike had an interest coverage ratio of 22. 43. This further increased to 29. 04 the following year with EBIT amounting $1. 25 billion and interest expense amounting to $42. 9 million. In the year 2004, interest coverage ratio increased phenomenally to 59, with EBIT being $1. 48 billion and interest expense being $25 million. Finally for the year 2005, the interest coverage ratio was 388. 485 with EBIT being $1. 86 billion and interest expense being $4.million. Nike has a 5-year average leverage ratio of 1. 5, the industry leverage ratio is about 1. 5, and S;P 500 Index has a leverage of 4. 9. The firm’s leverage shows that Nike is using long-term debt, and it is measurable and appropriate. The operating characteristics include volume of sales in tune of $13,739. 7 million FY 2005, $12,739. 7 million sales in 2004, $10,697. 0 million sales in 2003, 9893. 0 million sales in 2002, and 9488. 8 million sales in 2001. These financial conditions indicate that Nike, Inc. percentages are not high and provide protection for the stockholders. Nike’s bond ratings by Moody for Senior Unsecured loan has a rating of A2, an Aa3 rating for Credit Default Swap, Aaa for Equity-Implied, and an A2 rating for Bond-implied. Nike pays dividends to its shareholders every quarter. In the past 5 years, Nike’s dividends ranged from $. 12 a share in March of 2002 to $. 37 a share in December of 2006. Nike’s dividend rate is much higher than both the industry average, and the S;P 500 Index. For the last 12 months, the dividend rate paid by Nike was 1. 48; while the industry average was . 32, and the S;P index dividend rate was . 74. Nike’s annual dividend yield is about 1. 0%, while the payout ratio is 24%. K-Swiss, one of Nike’s competitors has an annual dividend rate of . 20, annual dividend yield of . 60% and a payout ratio of 9%. Skechers USA, another competitor, paid no dividends. The dividend yield of S;P 500 was 2. 06%, while the dividend yield in the footwear industry was 1. 44%. The payout ratio f or the footwear industry was 20. 37%, and the S;P payout ratio was 28. 23%. Although, S;P 500 performed better than Nike in regards to dividend yield and payout ratio, one has to take into account that in footwear industry, Nike’s dividend yield and payout ratio were considerably higher than its competitors. In regards to its dividend policy, Nike is very attractive, and is very much â€Å"ahead of the pack†. Nike also has a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) and allows its shareholders to participate in it through its Nike Direct-SERVICE Program. Through this program, shareholders can convert their cash dividends into shares at a significant discount to the current share price. Nike has a market value of $24. 41 billion. Approximately 1. 33 million shares are traded daily on average. Over the course of 5 years, Nike’s stock price went from $56. 92 as of Jan 2, 2002 to $97. 45 as of Dec 11, 2006 – an increase of 71. 5%. The graph below illustrates Nike’s 5 Year trend. In the recent year, the firm’s shares were traded as high as $99. 30, and as low as $75. 52. The firm started with a stock price of $85. 95 in the beginning of the year and as of December 12, 2006 closed at $96. 57 – a . 90% decrease from the previous day. The stock performance trend reveals that Nike experiences a greater loss during the months of August and September, and greater gains in October thru December, which is the holiday season. The graph below shows Nike’s stock performance trend in the recent year. The chart below shows growth in Footwear Industry in comparison to S&P 500 index. In conclusion, Nike’s future growth would primarily derive from its foreign operations. As the footwear industry in the domestic market has slowed, Nike has to expand aggressively in foreign markets. Nike pays more dividends in comparison to its competitors; the firm should reinvest that money in aggressive expansion in foreign markets rather than giving back the shareholders the profit. Nike’s returns are also significantly less than the S&P 500 index and within its own industry.