Importance of Dignity in a Lesson Before Dying

Grant and Jefferson are on a journey. Though they have vastly different educational backgrounds, their commonality of being black men who have lost hope brings them together in the search for the meaning of their lives. In the 1940†³s small Cajun town of Bayonne, Louisiana, blacks may have legally been emancipated, but they were still enslaved by the antebellum myth of the place of black people in society. Customs established during the years of slavery negated the laws meant to give black people equal rights and the chains of tradition prevailed leaving both Grant and Jefferson trapped in mental slavery in their communities. The struggles of Grant and Jefferson share a common theme, man†s search for meaning. Grant has the advantage of a college education, and while that may have provided some enlightenment, he remains in the same crossroads as Jefferson. Grant sees that regardless of what he does, the black students he teaches continue in the same jobs, the same poverty and same slave-like positions as their ancestors. Grant has no hope of making a difference and sees his life as meaningless. Though Jefferson†s conflict is more primal, it is the same as Grant†s struggle. Jefferson is searching for the most basic identity, whether he is man or animal. It is this conflict of meaning and identity that bring Grant and Jefferson together. In this book, Ernest J. Gaines presents three views to determine manhood: law, education and religion. Jefferson has been convicted of a crime, and though he did not commit it, he is sentenced to death as a â€Å"hog† a word that denies any sense of worth or fragment of dignity he may have possessed in a world ruled by oppressive white bigots. Jefferson is at an even greater loss as he has no education and after the conviction he doubts that God can even exist in a world that would send an innocent man to his death. It is clear that Jefferson does not believe he has any value. † ‘I†m an old hog. Just an old hog they fattening up to kill for Christmas† † (83). Though Grant may have had some advantages compared with Jefferson, his position in life was not significantly better than Jefferson†s. Grant knows that if he had been the black man sitting in the courtroom, he too would have been convicted. In his powerful opening to the novel, Grant says, â€Å"I was not there yet I was there. No, I did not go to the trial, I did not hear the verdict, because I knew all the time what it would be† (1). Even his college education has not elevated his position in the eyes of the white society. When he was talking with white people, he was expected to act stupid and hide his education and assume the subservient role of a black. As in Grant†s visit to Mr. Guidry the first time. † ‘She doesn†t, huh?† Sam Guidry asked me. He emphasized doesn†t. I was supposed to have said don†t. I was being too smart† (48). Of law, education and religion, one had to empower Jefferson and Grant. The law was clearly outside their realm of influence. However, education opened the door for Jefferson and Grant to share dialogue and to explore who they were and how they could be empowered. It was religion, their search for a greater meaning and a higher power, which allowed them to begin to think not of what white men thought of them, but rather what God and what they thought of themselves. With this new way of thinking, they forged a bond and both began to understand the simple heroic act of resistance in defying the expectation of white society that they were members of a lesser race † ‘Do you know what a myth is, Jefferson?† I asked him. ‘A myth is an old lie that people believe in. White people believe that they are better than anyone else on earth-and that†s a myth. The last thing they ever want is to see a black man stand, and think and show that common humanity that is in us all. It would destroy their myth† † (192). Grant encouraged Jefferson to live beyond the stereotype white society had imposed on him. In doing that Grant began to see himself differently. He began to believe if this uneducated black man could become a hero to the black community then certainly he could return to Bayonne and help children believe in themselves. He gradually began to think that he also could escape the myth and help his students escape it with him. He could use Jefferson as a hero to encourage them. † I need you, I told him. I need you much more than you could ever need me. I need to know what to do with my life. I want to run away, but go where and do what? I†m no hero: I can just give something small, that†s all I have to offer. It is the only way we can chip away at the myth. You-you can be bigger than anyone you have ever met † (193). This new way of thinking which discounted the centuries old myth enabled Jefferson to believe that he was not a hog, that he indeed was a man, a man who would walk with dignity to his execution. Though this may seem as a minor triumph to many, to Jefferson it meant that the angry and demeaning words of the judge had no meaning. His ability to die with dignity not only gave him peace, but it made white men pause and show respect for the man labeled the hog. At the end the white, deputy, Paul says, † â€Å"I don†t know what you†re going to say when you go back in there. But tell them he was the bravest man in that room today. I†m a witness, Grant Wiggins. Tell them so.† ‘Maybe one day you will come back and tell them so.† ‘It would be an honor† † (256). This white man wanted to make the statement so it would be powerful and would be believed by the black children sitting inside the small schoolhouse. That a white man would say it would make it true in the eyes of the children. However difficult facing death may have been, it was also empowering to Jefferson. Jefferson believed that if he could walk with dignity to his death, he would not only make his grandmother proud, but that he would also be as a strong man by the black members of his community. His last quote before dying was † ‘ â€Å"Tell Nannan I walked.† ‘And straight he walked† † (254). The last words in Jefferson†s diary share his message of courage and dignity. â€Å"good by mr wigin tell them im strong tell them im a man† (234). Jefferson died with dignity and Grant returned to Bayonne believing he could make a difference. It is not clear that religion, a belief in God, made the difference for either of them. It is clear that as they struggled with the issue of a higher power, they did discover that the meaning of their lives was not attached to the white man†s beliefs and myths, but rather came from inside themselves. To the end, they both struggled with whether or not there was a God. As they end their journey together, Jefferson is at peace and becomes a hero in his community. Though Grant cannot be a hero, he does find his place and returns to the schoolhouse with new hope and a vision for making a difference, if not for himself, for his students. He doubts himself at times, but he gains determination for his students. â€Å"Yet they must believe. They must believe, if only to free the mind, if not the body. Only when the mind is free has the body a chance to be free. Yes, they must believe. They must believe. Because I know what it means to be a slave. I am a slave† (Gaines 251)

Disney Corporate Strategy(a).Pdf Essay

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

Your Students’ English Language Skills

Your Students' English Language Skills BY gallantly How can improve English As the president of the English Language Society of the school, you wish to improve the students' standard of English. You want to give a talk to the students on how they can improve their English at one of the weekly school assemblies. Good morning to the principal, teachers and fellow students. As the president of the English Language Society of the school, indeed I felt honor to give a talk entitled â€Å"How to improve the students standard of English†. English is an international language.Many up-to-date information on internet are written in English. In order to grab the first hand information, we have no choice but to improve our English standard. There are many ways ones can improve your English if you have the will to do so. The most practical and cheap ways is to read more English story books, magazines and newspapers. You can read at any hour and anywhere. You can read at the bus-stop while waiting for a bus. All you need to do is always put an English material in your pocket or bag. There are some who felt that they need proper guidance to improve their grammar,English structures and even pronunciation. They choose to go for English tuition class. Well, its not a bad idea after all! You can get one to one attention from a tuition teacher, all you need to do is register yourself and pay up every month at any tuition center nearby. Always listening to English program on television and radio is both entertaining and learning. Beside getting your knowledge widen through National Geographic Channel and also get your pronunciation improve. What an excellence idea of killing two birds with one stone! Remember a proverb, â€Å"Practice made ones perfect†.Reading and listening a lot is not enough to improve your English. Put your English into practice will bring you surprising reward. Practical thing like speaking English with family members, classmates, teachers help a lot. Taking part in English Debate, Elocution contest, Drama Competition and poem recitation will bring marvelous improvement. Apart from oral aspect, ones can improve your written skill through Essay writing competition and even corresponding with pen-pals in English. To conclude, there are thousand and one ways to improve your English, so, lets get started. Thank you for listening.

Strategic Leadership on Alliance or Vertical Integration Case Study on Essay

Strategic Leadership on Alliance or Vertical Integration Case Study on Cisco Systems - Essay Example It also wanted to use the expertise of employees of acquired companies. Cisco's employee friendly policies was instrumental to its success. This acquisition policy has played a key role in the swift development of hardware components used in the Internet field. As all the acquired companies had their own infrastructure and clientele base, it helped Cisco in development and expansion. Although it maintained its leadership role in the market, yet this did not deter it from entering into partnerships with other manufacturing and software designing companies. Morgridge's philosophy proved very successful. The strategy of integration with competitors and other associated companies have made Cisco a world leader in the field of Internet and IT. 2. Hi Writer, I think this framework will help you better. Forget about the write up. Please help to identify all the factors and analyze why it is important from the perspective of customer, employer and writer. I am very sorry, but when reading your paragraph, I am not clear even after reading a few times how to pluck the factors into the following table. This is exactly what the question is asking for. Thanks. 3) Many factors favor the purchase of INS. INS is a leading network consulting company with about 2000 employees. Most of them are senior professionals in their field of expertise. It is a rapidly growing company with very good market share.

Literature review of Chinese culture Research Paper - 1

Literature review of Chinese culture - Research Paper Example However, with the coming of the white missionaries, the idea of professional nursing came to bear and nursing as a career emerged and flourished by combining both western and eastern techniques. Nursing Education in China was based on the medical model and majority of the nurse trainees attended around two to four years of formal training, however, elements of Chinese culture significantly influenced the practice. In a study carried out in Hong Kong to determine the extent to which nurses used Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 80% of them admitted to having used at some point while over 90 said they had confidence in it. The endorsement of nurses proves beyond doubt that TCM is still relevant and practical; in fact, in some instances it can prove to be more effective and progressive than conventional modern practices (Charlie et al., 2008). Among the most popular were, massage therapy, herbal medicine bone setting and aromatherapy, majority of registered nurses recommended the use of acupuncture or acupressure for patients who suffered from musculoskeletal disorders. According to Chinese beliefs, illness is caused by disharmony and imbalance within the patient and between them and the environment, thus the restoration of balance is a major concern of Chinese medical and nursing practice. This is different from many of the western practices, where nursing as concerned with curing the apparent symptoms as opposed to the inner and outer factors that are indirectly contributive. Over the years, their medical practices have evolved and they are practiced alongside modern medicine, such include acupuncture, auriculotherapy, herbal medicine, cupping, guasha, moxibusti and other therapies intended to help the body relax and reconnect with nature and the natural environment (Lih-Mih, 2008). Majority of the principles in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Psychology human development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Psychology human development - Essay Example It would elaborate over the human development theories applied to the individual with respect to her interactions and behaviors observed. Location The subject is observed in a playground of a club that the family visits often. The playground has swings and other recreational equipment such as see-saw, slide, monkey bars and overhead ladder for children. The children found in the playground are usually between the ages of 3 to 11 years old. The subject visits the playground with her mother who usually sits on the benches with mothers of other children. Subject The subject of this naturalistic observation is a girl between the age of four and six years old. She is the eldest child with a younger brother who is between three to five years in age. During the observation, the subject showed a variation in behavior and opened up gradually. The observation was for about half an hour during which the mother was present at the location and was looking over the subject. However, she was in clo se proximity throughout the observation. Interactions observed The observation initiated when the subject was brought to the playground early evening accompanied by her mother. For some time, she stayed alongside her mother and observed the children who were playing on the swings and other activities. Finding comfort with her mother in a place where everyone else was unknown to her displayed her reliability over her mother. According to the development theory of Erik Erickson, this shows that the subject has overcome the stage of Trust Vs Mistrust. The subject was not reluctant to go play in the ground, but since she did not know any of the children she stayed with her mother and observed. As the subject began to interact with the children, she started the conversation about the game that they were playing. She had been observing them and went to the group where she thought she would best fit. This decision was made by her own judgment and could prove that she was demonstrating Eric kson's development theory stage of Initiative vs. Guilt. As the girls she approached were swinging, she found a common interest. She said to them that she could do it to and said "you know I can swing faster than that." The conversation did not involve asking names or any other information but they quickly started sharing their routines and talked about other games that they loved playing. The subject told them about the games that she played with her little brother and her cousins. Behaviors observed At first the child showed a shy behavior when she did not go to play with the children right away. Gradually, she moved on to the children who seemed the most similar to her. She chose to play with girls who were around her age instead of going towards boys. As the subject moved on to play with the girls, the theory of Vygotsky's about principles of guided participation and zone of proximal development could be applied as her mom encouraged her to go play on the swings. Eventually, as the child interacted with the other children she opened up and became energetic and active. She showed a competitive behavior as she said that she could also play the game that they were playing. In just a few moments she had started running around, playing on different recreational equipment with her new friends. It was noticed that within the span of ten minutes of interaction, the child had developed close bonds with her new friends and when her mother called her for supper, she did not want to leave her friends.

Working with and Leading People Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Working with and Leading People - Assignment Example The responsibility of the managing director is to identify the leaders and motivate them to lead the groups to achieve the overall objectives of the organization. Recruitment and selection is the process of hiring the right person for a job opportunity. The employees are at the core of the success of any organization. Thus, recruiting the individual with an appropriate set of skills is extremely important for fulfilling the overall objective of the organization. Recruitment is considered to be a positive aspect, while selection is regarded to be a negative aspect as it involves the rejection of applications and selects only the best individual suitable for the job opportunity (Randhawa, 2007). Recruitment is the process of attracting individuals for a job opening on a timely basis in large numbers and with the appropriate qualifications (Gusdorf, 2008).Both internal and external factors influence the recruitment process of an organization. The internal factors includes the expansion plan and size of the organization, the cost involved in the recruitment process, salary package, work culture, geographical expansion of the organization etc. Socio- economic factors, supply and demand conditions in the skilled labour market, political and legal considerations are some of the external factors influencing the recruitment process (Randhawa, 2007). Human resource planning is the identification of the present and future human resource need of an organization. Job analysis is the process of determining the tasks need to performed, how they are carried on and what are the qualities required to perform the job successfully (Prien et.al, 2009). After human resource planning and job analysis, the managing director must decide the number and type of recruits required and selects a particular recruitment method. Advertising in newspapers, magazine, career websites trade journals etc. is an effective method of recruitment. The health care company can also establish

Was the Iraq war legal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Was the Iraq war legal - Essay Example The reason is that the US adopts a realist policy as the basis of carrying out its foreign policy. Successive American governments have followed offensive realist approaches and refused to agree or endorse any treaties, whose objectives do not correspond to United States interests. In a bid to strengthen its power, United States has repeatedly called for greater global acceptance of democratic ideologies, as well as an increased role of global institutions. Ironically, the United States has ignored global institutions like United Nations (Jakobsen and Jakobsen 2009). Another underlying reason behind Iraq incursion is the US energy policy, despite perpetrators stressing that Iraq war was solely for self defense against weapons of mass destruction, and for humanitarian intercession, as well. US policy on energy is based on a strong fervor that the nations’ needs may only be met through economic and military superiority. A principal upshot of this policy is that corporations that have associations with the oil sector are not to be defied in any manner. America tolerates sufficient refinery capacity and seeks alternative sources of energy elsewhere. Accordingly, once publicized policies to develop artificial fuels to recover oil from shale have resulted into a scam on the country’s taxpayers. Additionally, United States vehicle makers whose profits depend on guzzlers have the lowest convoy average mpg in many years. As global demand for oil increases, American leaders have come to increasingly depend on their military strength when required to take control of oil producing nations such as Iraq, which are less accustomed to America’s fuel precedence. Hence, United States decided to meet its energy needs by continuing a geopolitical realm... Another underlying reason behind Iraq incursion is the US energy policy, despite perpetrators stressing that Iraq war was solely for self-defense against weapons of mass destruction, and for humanitarian intercession, as well. US policy on energy is based on a strong fervor that the nations’ needs may only be met through economic and military superiority. A principal upshot of this policy is that corporations that have associations with the oil sector are not to be defined in any manner. America tolerates sufficient refinery capacity and seeks alternative sources of energy elsewhere. Accordingly, once publicized policies to develop artificial fuels to recover oil from shale have resulted into a scam on the country’s taxpayers. Additionally, United States vehicle makers whose profits depend on guzzlers have the lowest convoy average mpg in many years. As global demand for oil increases, American leaders have come to increasingly depend on their military strength when req uired to take control of oil-producing nations such as Iraq, which are less accustomed to America’s fuel precedence. Hence, United States decided to meet its energy needs by continuing a geopolitical realm using force on Iraq (Hinnebusch 2007). Some manifestations to this assertion were the posting of more than one hundred thousand troops and additional fourteen thousand oil infrastructure security guards in Iraq in 2005. America also puts some warships to defend oil tankers in and around the Persian Gulf.

Psychological Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Psychological Case Study - Essay Example Background of The Case Jen was referred for psychological counseling by her teachers. Jen was a disciplined student and was very good at her studies. She never missed her school and was always prompt in doing her home work. Her performance at school was progressing day by day. She was quiet and docile by nature. However, at the same time, the social aspect of her personality was not flowering. Her parents had realized that her quiet nature and her habit of being alone had increased in past few months. With every passing day, Jen was becoming more and more private. Her friend circle was becoming smaller and she refused to mix with people. Her relationship with her siblings was also getting affected. She avoided playing with her siblings giving a reason of home work and studies. When the family had guests or relatives coming, Jen used to get worried. She avoided coming in front of people and gave one word answers when she was asked something. This behavior became consistent and Jen sta rted getting into a cocoon. Initially, her parents did not pay much attention as her performance in studies and at school was consistently good. However, they found that her social interactions and her interaction with the family members were decreasing day by day. Jen’s mother was worried as the number of phone calls from her friends started decreasing and her behavior with her siblings had changed a lot. Jen’s mother decided to take help of her teachers before Jen’s social behavior worsened. Hence, she contacted Jen’s teachers to discuss the changes in Jen’s behavior and personality. Jen’s teachers told Jen’s mother that even they had recognized a change in her behavior pattern. Even though Jen was consistent in her studies, her social behavior was changing dramatically. They told her mother that she has stopped participating in games and extra curricular activities. Her interactions with teachers and students in the class had also decreased to a great extend. She had become shy and aloof. The teachers also said that Jen used to ask lots of questions regarding her studies in the class. However, lately she had stopped even that. After talking to her mother, Jen’s teacher realized that Jen’s behavior was becoming threat to her progress and growth. Hence, after consulting her mother, Jen’s teacher referred her to the school counselor. Deeper study of Jen’s behavior and personality pattern revealed that Jen’s problem was related to her social life. Her fears related to social interaction were turning her into an introvert person. Diagnosis Assessment Interview is one of the most effective and result oriented tool for diagnosis and assessment of mental disorder. Interview not only allows a proper flow of information regarding the client but also gives an opportunity to the counselor to gain client’s confidence and trust. Hence, in Jen’s case, the ‘Anxiety Disor der Interview Schedule for Children’ (ADIS-C) was utilized to understand the nature of the disorder (Kearney, 2005, p. 72). The questions were structured around Jen’s social behavior, her thoughts regarding her social relationships and interactions, her emotional and physical response to social presence and overall behavior pattern when she is in presence of other people. (Kearney, 2005, p.73). Another reason why ADIS-C was used for assessment was that it also included a version for parent interview (Kearney, 2005, p.

Gillette - Developing and Introducing New Products Case Study

Gillette - Developing and Introducing New Products - Case Study Example With regard to developing and introducing new products, Gillette learned from the Wilkinson Sword and Bic experiences to keep ahead of the market by being proactive and searching for opportunities and demands that would satisfy the changing needs of the consumers. Gillette was slow in introducing coated stainless steel blades, despite knowing the technology, because by producing them, much of their manufacturing equipment would be obsolete. Further, they were hoping that the surge in consumer purchase for coated stainless steel blades would only be temporary and the market niche would be small. Therefore, firms making long-term investments in manufacturing and supply chain resources could face imminent threats of obsolescence due to technological breakthroughs and changing consumer demands and preferences.It is not enough for Gillette to simply design a razor that gives the â€Å"best shave possible† because new products emerge in the market due to technological developments a nd consumers have diverse needs that have to be addressed. There would always be threats of new entrants or product substitutes that could give the same advantage and added features. Therefore, manufacturing helps maintain Gillette’s market share by ensuring that ample research has been instituted that would make it difficult for competitors to copy the product and thereby give them the competitive advantage. By involving operations and supply chain personnel early in the development stage, various inputs and innovative ideas are taken into consideration in the design and planned development of new products. This would ensure that all necessary elements in product development have been considered and integrated with the process, prior to launching.

LEADERSHIP CRITIQUE PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

LEADERSHIP CRITIQUE PAPER - Essay Example However, some critics feel that he too, like all other good leaders, suffered from some subtle weaknesses in his style of leadership. He is often charged with the accusation of being too much authoritative while making decisions, sometimes to the extent of imposing his autonomy on his fellow officials. We may take for instance his stop-and-frisk policy which unreasonably targets the Muslim and the black communities. But despite all these criticisms, the public believes that he possessed a kind of innovation and ingenuity never seen before in the NYPD. He resorted to the use of latest technology to strengthen the department’s hold on the crime rates. In 2012, he joined hands with Microsoft to launch a law enforcement technology for the real-time analysis of public safety data to predict latent threats and criminal activities. In 2013, he implemented the use of license plate readers in the traffic lanes which were linked to the domain awareness system to monitor the exit and ent ry points to the city. Some of the articles by his contemporary authors provide a deeper insight into Kelly’s leadership style and his effectiveness as a leader of the NYPD. An article that talks about the recent changes that have seeped into the law enforcement system of the US is â€Å"Policing by Numbers: Big Data and the Fourth Amendment† by Elizabeth E. Joh. The article, as the title suggests, focuses mainly on the use of data and figures in policing against domestic terrorism. For instance, police in Chicago employ a risk analysis of the criminals to ascertain their chances of getting involved in future crimes. In North Carolina, the police have prepared a map of high-risk regions that are more prone to be attacked by criminals. Similarly, in New York, the NYPD has tied up with Microsoft to launch a â€Å"Domain Awareness System that collects and links information from sources like CCTVs, license plate readers, radiation sensors, and

Wine and Probable Cost Driver Essay Example for Free

Wine and Probable Cost Driver Essay Peter Catalanos Verde Vineyards in Oakville, California produces three varieties of wine: Merlot, Viognier, and Pinot Noir. His winemaster, Kyle Ward, has identified the following activities as cost pools for accumulating overhead and assigning it to products. For each of Verdes fifteen activity cost pools, identify a probable cost driver that might be used to assign overhead costs to its three wine varieties. 1. | Culling and replanting. Dead or overcrowded vines are culled, and new vines are planted or relocated. (Separate vineyards by variety. ) | Labor hour| 2. | Tying. The posts and wires are reset, and vines are tied to the wires for the dormant season. | Labor hour| 3. | Trimming. At the end of the harvest the vines are cut and trimmed back in preparation for the next season. | Labor hour| 4. | Spraying. The vines are sprayed with chemicals for protection against insects and fungi. | Gallons of chemical| 5. | Harvesting. The grapes are hand-picked, placed in carts, and transported to the crushers. | Number of cartfuls or labor hours| 6. | Stemming and crushing. Cartfuls of bunches of grapes of each variety are separately loaded into machines which remove stems and gently crush the grapes. Number of cartfuls| 7. | Pressing and filtering. The crushed grapes are transferred to presses which mechanically remove the juices and filter out bulk and impurities. | Gallons of juice| 8. | Fermentation. The grape juice, by variety, is fermented in either stainless-steel tanks or oak barrels. | Gallons of juice| 9. | Aging. The wines are aged in either stainless-steel tanks or oak barrels for one to three years depending on variety. | Gallons of wine or months of aging| 10. | Bottling and corking. Bottles are machine-filled and corked. | Number of bottles| 11. | Labeling and boxing. Each bottle is labeled, as is each nine-bottle case, with the name of the vintner, vintage, and variety. | #. Of bottles| 12. | Storing. Packaged and boxed bottles are stored awaiting shipment. | # of boxes| 13. | Shipping. The wine is shipped to distributors and private retailers. | # of shipments| 14. | Heating and air-conditioning of plant and offices. | Number of gallons processed| 15. | Maintenance of buildings and equipment. Printing, repairs, replacements, and general maintenance are performed in the off-season. | # of gallons processed.

The Fundamental Role Of Concrete In Roman Architecture History Essay

The Fundamental Role Of Concrete In Roman Architecture History Essay The development of concrete in Roman style architecture was of great use in producing many world famous, monumental buildings that are representative of the Roman era. Not only did concrete provide a unique scheme in the production of Roman architecture, it was also a convenient and functional tool when other raw materials were unattainable. In this essay, I will discuss the development of concrete, concretes properties, surfacing techniques, concretes ease of use and labour requirements, and the construction of the famous Pantheon as a prominent example of the immense benefits of concrete to the Romans. Concrete was not invented by the Romans, but simply an adaptation of different mortar usages in earlier construction. MacDonald describes a mortar as, materials of mixed composition in a semi-fluid state at the time of construction. Because Romans didnt possess marble quarries like the Greeks, mortar became the practical alternative. Volcanic rock was the most common building material located in the Italian region, and was therefore, the most basic tool to create mortar, which would develop into useful concrete. As early as the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C., the observation of limestone walls with rock debris between each stone was made in Pompey. From this point onward, Roman concrete and mortar use became more and more prominent and by the late 3rd century B.C., Romans had improved the recipe of mortar to include lime and clay. When combined with different types of filling elements, also known as aggregates, as well as different types of facings, Roman mortars were able to create stro ng and dense walls. By the 1st century, the use of concrete is said to have been perfected by the Romans. In order for concrete to become a useful building technology, the properties of concrete must be carefully examined. The Romans used concrete for a wide variety of purposes. Concrete has been used in Roman buildings as strong base foundations, as well as in the highest vaults. In order to give structure and substance to mortar, aggregates, or stones of different sizes mixed into the mortar, were used. Not only did aggregates give mortar structure and substance by increasing the mortars mass, but they also helped to strengthen the building material. Aggregates were an essential part of concrete construction because they work together with mortar to defy crushing that can be caused by immense weights. This is clearly important when concrete was used as a foundation. Different types of stone were used to produce aggregates dependent upon the use of the concrete. For strong solid base foundations, heavier rock materials were used. In these types of foundation, aggregate was often times two thirds of the volume of the entire fabric. For lighter concrete forms, including high vaulting, lighter rock materials (such as pumice) were used. Debris from destroyed structures was also a common form of aggregate, including buildings and sculptures. Concrete is an indefinite, nearly fluid substance from the time that it is mixed to the time that it is set. Composed of lime, clay and aggregate, dry concrete is mixed with water, and this compound (opus caementicum) will harden into a solid mass. With this property in mind, Roman concrete construction was relatively simple. Generally wooden frames were set to pour the concrete mixture into and allow it to harden. Therefore, to produce this type of Roman architecture, both a mortar substance and a frame were necessary. Until Augustan times, the concrete used by Romans was a simple lime mortar. When limestone is burned, quicklime is produced. This quicklime is then slaked to produce calcium hydroxide, which is then mixed with sand. Once evaporated, calcium carbonate crystals are formed. These crystals are the fundamental bonding element of this basic concrete. Mixing more sand with the crystals increases the mortars strength because the crystals bind to coarse surfaces. A great benefit of concrete use was fireproofing buildings. By the late 2nd century B.C., a new kind of mortar came into existence that not only aided in fire proofing the structural design, but also in waterproofing it. Romans came across a type of volcanic ash near the city of Pozzuoli, Italy, which they used to create fine cement that reacts in a different manner than the simple lime mortar. This type of mortar is called pozzolana, and is also known as hydraulic cement. Pozzolana is composed of silicates and aluminates. When combined with lime, pozzolana forms a hydrated silicate of calcium. Comparatively, this combination of chemicals does not need to lose water through an evaporative process; it actually retains water into its structure. In doing so, pozzolana mortars can set in damp areas. This new found type of concrete was of great importance in waterproofing buildings. It helped to prevent decay and corrosion to buildings, allowing them to survive longer. Pozzolana is one of the most standard features of concrete in central Italy. To further aid the waterproofing of concrete, different types of stone facings were developed. Facings were originally used to protect the surfaces of concrete. Typically, facings of stone and other material were set into wet concrete to create a strong casing when the concrete dried. Facings are of valuable importance in dating buildings, and there are several different types that evolved over the centuries. During the late 2nd Century B.C., Opus Incertum, or concrete faced with small irregular shaped stones, was commonly seen. Concrete faced with small four sided stones in a definite pattern, called Opus Reticulatum, is dated shortly after 100 B.C. Opus Testaceum, concrete faced with brick, was found throughout the early empire until the 4th century B.C. Opus Mixtum is concrete facing characterized by a combination of brick and stone in a decorative pattern, and dated from the same period as the former. Principally, concrete facings were both practical and decorative, used for prot ection as well as ornamentation. For the Romans, using concrete in constructing buildings was just as convenient as it was practical. In terms of labour, the majority of workers necessary to complete any type of Roman structure did not need to be skilled or educated. Generally, the only highly skilled workers that were involved in the projects included the architect, the master masons and master carpenters. The tasks of mixing, carrying, hauling and pouring concrete were performed by rather unskilled labourers. This same demographic also fit into the category of creating forms into which the concrete would be poured. The timetables of such workers were scheduled around the drying of the concrete. It was certainly possible for Roman architecture to be built of stone, but this type of work would require labourers to dress the stones to exact dimensions, a more challenging task than that of concrete use. Because of this fact, the ease of using concrete made it a more prevalent type of building technology. Designed by Roman Emperor Hadrian, The Pantheon is a prime example of concrete use by the early Romans. Hadrian was known for advancement in the vaulted style, and The Pantheon exemplifies this style with its impressive concrete work. Work on The Pantheon began sometime between July of 118 A.D. and July of 119 A.D., and was completed between the years of 125 and 128 A.D. During the period of construction, concrete was used vastly. The Pantheon is built on a foundation of concrete, nearly 90 percent of the intermediate block and rotunda is made of concrete, and roughly 5,000 metric tons of concrete make up The Pantheons dome. As in many concrete buildings, The Pantheons construction was completed in levels, where different strengths of aggregate were used in each plane. The Pantheon is said to have five different layers of concrete with five separate types of aggregate. Naturally, the lowest level contains the densest and most cohesive aggregate. As the levels of concrete ascend, a lighter form of aggregate is used than the previous layer. The dome of The Pantheon is made of the lightest aggregate in the entire structure, pumice. The Pantheons major features were methodically configured. Carpenters were required to construct castings used to pour concrete for foundations. The rotunda walls were created by pouring a dense concrete and aggregate mixture into short, wide trenches. Once dried, more concrete was set atop the original trench in layers, until the dome terrace was reached. At this point, the dome had to be poured. The dome is one of the greatest features of The Pantheon. Again, the concrete that was used to create the dome was poured on to a wooden form built in a half sphere shape. The dome form was held in place with wooden struts and timber to allow a light aggregate concrete mixture to dry atop it. Castings of coffers, or sunken panels, were attached to the wooden form to create the domes intricate detail. As the dome was being poured, circular brick dams in the form of step-ring buttraces formed the domes exterior. Step upon step, concrete was poured until it reached the more nearly horizontal region of the dome, where tacky concrete was used. At the top most point, vertically set horizontal tiles finished the dome. As one of the greatest achievements of concrete work, The Pantheon represents the fundamental function of concrete in Roman Architecture. It is obvious that concrete played an essential role in the construction of Roman buildings. The development and adaptation of concrete in the Roman world was the most practical means of construction. Not only was concrete an available source of building material, constructing with concrete was also an uncomplicated and efficient technique. Fire and water proofing of Roman buildings were just a few of the practical functions that concrete provided. Concretes properties allowed for Roman architecture to survive throughout the centuries; because such a useful material was discovered and widely utilized, we are still able to view and study some of the worlds most brilliant structures.

Patients With and Without Varicocele: Biochemical Markers

Patients With and Without Varicocele: Biochemical Markers Differences in Biochemical Markers and Body Mass Index Between Patients With and Without Varicocele Background: Varicocele is characterized by abnormal tortuosity and dilatation of the veins of the pampiniform plexus within the spermatic cord and is one of the causes of male infertility. This study aimed to evaluate the differences in bio- chemical markers and body mass index (BMI) between patients with and without varicocele. Methods: Between January 2004 and June 2009, 102 patients with varicocele (Group A) were evaluated. Ninety-five age-matched male patients who did not have varicocele were selected as controls (Group B). Varicocele was diagnosed by physical examination and confirmed by Doppler ultrasonography. The range of ages was between 18 and 50 years old. BMI, testosterone, serum alkaline phosphatase, calcium, lactic dehydrogenase, inorganic phosphate, ÃŽ ³-glutamine transpeptidase, uric acid, albumin, iron, cholesterol, triglyceride, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotrans- ferase levels were measured for all the subjects. Results: The mean age was 35.4 years in group A and 36.5 years in group B. Of the 102 patients in group A, 20 were grade 1 varicocele, 55 were grade 2 and 27 were grade 3. The BMI (mean  ± SD) of patients with varicocele (22.8  ± 3.2) was significantly lower than that of patients without varicocele (24.9  ± 4.1). Patients with varicocele had significantly lower serum levels of cholesterol than patients without varicocele (176.5  ± 31.1 vs. 187.7  ± 42.1 mg/dL). There were no significant differences for the other biochemical markers between the groups. Patients with grade 3 varicocele had a lower BMI than patients with grades 1 and 2 varicocele, but this was not significant. No significant differences were found for the other biochemical markers among the patients with grade 1, 2 or 3 varicocele. Conclusion: Patients with varicocele had significantly lower serum levels of cholesterol than those without varicocele. In addition, the prevalence of varicocele was higher in patients with a lower BMI. Our findings suggest that patients with a greater BMI may have advantages in relieving the nutcracker phenomenon, which causes significant varicoceles. [J Chin Med Assoc 2010;73(4):194–198] Key Words: biochemical markers, body mass index, testosterone, varicocele Introduction Varicocele is characterized by abnormal tortuosity and dilatation of the veins of the pampiniform plexus within the spermatic cord and is one of the causes of male infertility. The prevalence of varicocele is approxi- mately 15–20% in the general population and 30–40% in infertile men.1 Furthermore, approximately 69–81% of men with secondary infertility have varicocele.2,3 Levinger et al proposed that varicocele prevalence is increased over time and the risk of incidence is approx- imately 10% for each decade of life.4 The definite eti- ology of varicocele is still unknown. Kumanov et al suggested that weight and body mass index (BMI) have a protective role, and height, penile length and penile circumference were negative factors in the *Correspondence to: Dr William J. Huang, Division of Urology, Depar tment of Surger y, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, 201, Section 2, Shih-Pai Road, Taipei 112, Taiwan, R.O.C. E-mail: [emailprotected] à ¢-  Received: October 16, 2009 à ¢-  Accepted: Januar y 21, 2010 194 J Chin Med Assoc †¢ April 2010 †¢ Vol 73 †¢ No 4  © 2010 Elsevier Taiwan LLC and the Chinese Medical Association. All rights reserved. development of varicocele in 6,200 boys aged 0–19 years.5 Delaney et al demonstrated that patients with varicocele are significantly taller and heavier than age- matched controls.6 Nielsen et al reported that varico- celes are less likely to be diagnosed among obese men.7 The role of testosterone in the pathophysiology of varicocele is not established and testosterone might induce relaxation of the human internal spermatic vein.8 Sheriff showed that there was increased choles- terol and glyceride in the testes of patients with bilateral varicocele compared with those in controls.9 Odabas et al suggested that the levels of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) were higher in the spermatic vein than those in the peripheral vein.10 Other than findings on age, BMI and testosterone levels, there is limited information about the correla- tion between biochemical markers and varicocele. Therefore, we conducted this prospective study to evaluate differences between patients with and with- out varicocele with regard to BMI, testosterone levels and serum biochemical markers including hemoglo- bin, alkaline phosphatase (Alk-p), calcium, LDH, inor- ganic phosphate, ÃŽ ³-glutamine transpeptidase, uric acid, albumin, iron, cholesterol (Cho), triglyceride (TG), alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotrans- ferase levels. We also wished to determine possible risk factors in the pathogenesis of varicocele. Methods Patients From January 2004 to June 2009, 102 patients with varicocele (Group A) were included for evaluation for this study. Ninety-five male patients who did not have varicocele were selected as controls (Group B). All of the 197 patients were normal, healthy young to middle-aged males. They were from the outpatient Department of Urology or had received a regular physi- cal check-up at the hospital. Varicocele was diagnosed by physical examination and confirmed by Doppler ultra- sonography. Varicocele grades were defined as: grade 1, palpable only with the Valsalva maneuver; grade 2, palpable without the Valsalva maneuver; and grade 3, visible from a distance.11 Patients with subclinical vari- cocele were excluded from the study. The range of ages was between 18 and 50 years old. BMI, and testos- terone, Alk-p, calcium, LDH, inorganic phosphate, glu- tamine transpeptidase, uric acid, albumin, iron, Cho, TG, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotrans- ferase and hemoglobin levels were mea sured in all of the patients (normal ranges: BMI testosterone, 241–827 ng/dL; Alk-p, 100–280 U/L; calcium, 8.1–10.7 mg/dL; LDH, 95–213 U/L; inor- ganic phosphate, 2.1–4.7 mg/dL; glutamine transpepti- dase, 8–60 U/L; uric acid, 2.5–7.2 mg/dL; albumin, 3.7– 5.3 g/dL; iron, 35–200 ÃŽ ¼g/dL; Cho, 125–240 mg/dL; TG, 20–200 mg/dL; alanine aminotransferase, 0–40 U/L; aspartate aminotransferase, 5–45 U/L; hemo- globin, 12–16 g/dL). Patients with poor control of diabetes mellitus, hypertension or other systemic dis- ease or BMI 40 were excluded from the study. Patients were examined in a warm room while standing up and the scrotum was inspected and pal- pated. All the patients received Doppler ultrasonogra- phy of the scrotum. All the patients signed informed consent, and the study was approved by the Institu- tional Review Board of Taipei City Hospital. Statistical analysis The Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used for statistical analysis, with p Results The mean age was 35.4 years in group A and 36.5 years old in group B. Data for age, BMI, testosterone levels and biochemical markers for patients in both groups, and different grades of varicocele are shown in Tables 1 and 2. There were no significant differences in age between the patients of groups A and B and among the patients with different grades of varicocele (grades 1, 2 and 3). Of the 102 patients in group A, 19.6% were grade 1, 53.9% were grade 2 and 26.5% were grade 3. The BMI of patients with varicocele was significantly lower (p = 0.03) than that in patients without varicocele (Table 1). Patients with varicocele had lower serum levels of Cho, TG and testosterone and higher serum levels of LDH and Alk-p than patients without varicocele, but only Cho was significantly dif- ferent (p = 0.03, Table 1). There were no significant differences in the other biochemical markers between the patients of groups A and B (Table 1). Patients with grade 3 varicocele had a lower BMI than patients with grades 1 and 2 varicocele, but this was not significantly different (Table 2). Patients with grade 3 varicocele had lower serum levels of Cho and testosterone and higher serum levels of LDH and Alk-p than patients with low grade varicocele (grades 1 and 2), but this was not significant. There were no signifi- cant differences in any of the other biochemical markers among the patients with grades 1, 2, and 3 varicocele (Table 2). Table 1. Age, serum biochemical markers, testosterone and BMI in groups A and B* A (n = 102) B (n = 95) p†  *Data presented as mean  ± standard deviation; † statistical analysis by Mann-Whitney U test. A = group A, with varicocele; B = group B, without varicocele; Alk-p = alkaline phosphatase; LDH = lactic dehydrogenase; IP = inorganic phosphate; g-GT = g-glutamine transpeptidase; ALT = alanine aminotransferase; AST = aspartate aminotransferase; BMI = body mass index. Table 2. Age, serum biochemical markers, testosterone and BMI according to different grades of varicocele* Grade 1 (n = 20) Grade 2 (n = 55) Grade 3 (n = 27) p†  *Data presented as mean  ± standard deviation; † statistical analysis by Kruskal-Wallis test. Alk-p = alkaline phosphatase; LDH = lactic dehydrogenase; IP = inorganic phosphate; g-GT = g-glutamine transpeptidase; ALT = alanine aminotransferase; AST = aspartate aminotransferase; BMI = body mass index. Discussion Tsao et al showed that the prevalence and severity of varicoceles is inversely correlated with obesity, which indicates that obesity may result in a decreased nut- cracker effect.12 Handel et al reported that the preva- lence of varicocele decreases with increasing BMI, and the reason for this is that increased adipose tissue decreases compression of the left renal vein and pre- vents detection due to adipose tissue in the spermatic cord.13 In the present study, patients with varicocele had a lower BMI than normal age-matched controls, but patients with grade 3 varicocele did not have a sig- nificantly lower BMI than patients with lower-grade varicocele. The different etiology between our study and that of Tsao et al may be because patients in the previous study were young males serving in the army, which was different from our patients, but the etiol- ogy needs further evaluation. We found that obese or overweight (BMI ≠¥ 25) patients might have higher serum levels of Cho and TG than normal subjects (BMI Kumanov et al demonstrated that gynecomastia is negatively correlated with BMI.15 Low serum follicle- stimulating hormone and high testosterone are good prognostic factors for varicocelectomy.16 Ishikawa and Fujisawa showed that the vasodilatory effect of testosterone is decreased in high grade varicocele and they suggested that serum free testosterone will be in- creased after varicocele repair.17 Ghosh and York have reported that testosterone levels are lower and Alk-p levels are higher in the testis of varicocele-created rats.18 In our study, patients with varicocele had lower serum levels of testosterone and higher serum levels of Alk-p than patients without varicocele. In addition, patients with grade 3 varicocele had lower serum levels of testosterone and higher serum levels of Alk-p than patients with low grade varicocele. Both parameters did not reach statistical significance, and the reason might be due to a large standard deviation for testo- sterone and Alk-p levels. Therefore, the role of testo- sterone and Alk-p in patients with varicocele needs further evaluation; however, we did not measure folli- cle-stimulating hormone in this study. Our previous study showed that more free radicals might be gener- ated in varicocele veins than in the corresponding peripheral veins in patients with varicocele, because 8-hydroxy-2 -deoxyguanosine levels of leukocyte DNA in spermatic veins are higher than in the correspond- ing peripheral veins in these patients.19 Yesilli et al showed that LDH and malondialdehyde levels are greater in the sperm of infertile men with varicocele, but the levels of LDH and malondialdehyde does not decrease after varicocelectomy.20 In the present study, serum levels of LDH were higher in patients with varic- ocele than in patients without varicocele. Further- more, higher serum levels of LDH were found in patients with high-grade varicocele than in patients with lower-grade varicocele. Neither of these findings was statistically significant. Therefore, the effect of LDH in patients with varicocele needs further evaluation. Our findings suggest that an increase in body fat might be associated with relieving the nutcracker phe- nomenon of the superior mesenteric artery to the left renal vein. However, this study had some limitations. First, we did not compare the change in severity of varicocele in the same individual as BMI changed over time. Second, we did not use other imaging studies, such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, to demonstrate the relationship between vis- ceral fat and the region of the superior mesenteric artery, left renal vein and aorta. Third, the case numbers were small from an epidemiological view, because all of the subjects needed to have data for biochemical mark- ers, which restricted the patient numbers. Therefore, we need to include more cases in future studies. In conclusion, patients with varicocele might have significantly lower serum levels of cholesterol than patients without varicocele. In addition, our findings support the hypothesis that patients with a greater BMI may have advantages in relieving the nutcracker phe- nomenon causing significant varicoceles, but further studies are required to clarify this issue. References 1. Jarrow JP. Effects of varicocele on male infertility. Hum Reprod Update 2001;7:59–64. 2. Witt MA, Lipshultz LI. Varicocele: a progressive or static lesion? Urology 1993;42:541–3. 3. Gorelick JI, Goldstein M. Loss of fertility in men with varicocele. Fertil Steril 1993;59:613–6. 4. Levinger U, Gornish M, Gat Y, Bachar GN. Is varicocele preva- lence increasing with age? Andrologia 2007;39:77–80. 5. Kumanov P, Robeva RN, Tomova A. Adolescent varicocele: who is at risk? Pediatrics 2008;121:53–7. 6. Delaney DP, Carr MC, Kolon TF, Snyder HM, Zderic SA. The physical characteristics of young males with varicocele. BJU Int 2004;94:624–6. 7. Nielsen ME, Zderic S, Freedland SJ, Jarrow JP. Insight on patho- genesis of varicocele: relationship of varicocele and body mass index. Urology 2006;68:392–6. 8. Irkilata HC, Yildiz O, Yildirim I, Seyrek M, Basal S, Dayanc M, Ulku C. The vasodilator effect of testosterone on the human internal spermatic vein and its relation to varicocele grade. J Urol 2008;180:772–6. 9. Sheriff DS. The lipid composition of human testis in patients with bilateral varicocele as cause of infertility. Andrologia 1982;14: 150–3. 10. Odabas O, Yilmaz Y, Atilla MK, Tarakcioglu M, Aydin S. Can LDH activity in spermatic vein indicate testicular damage? A preliminary report. Int Urol Nephrol 1998;30:599–601. 11. Dubin L, Amelar RD. Varicocelectomy: 986 cases in a twelve- year study. Urology 1977;10:446–9. 12. Tsao CW, Hsu CY, Chou YC, Wu ST, Sun GH, Yu DS, Fan PL, et al. The relationship between varicoceles and obesity in a young adult population. Int J Androl 2009;32:385–90. 13. Handel LN, Shetty R, Sigman M. The relationship between varicoceles and obesity. J Urol 2006;176:2138–40. 14. Sultan Sheriff D. Further studies on testicular lipids and glyco- gen in human patients with unilateral varicocele. Andrologia 1984;16:442–5. 15. Kumanov P, Deepinder F, Robeva R, Tomova A, Li J, Agarwal A. Relationship of adolescent gynecomastia with varicocele and somatometric parameters: a cross-sectional study in 6200 healthy boys. J Adolesc Health 2007;41:126–31. 16. Kondo Y, Ishikawa T, Yamaguchi K, Fujisawa M. Predictors of improved seminal characteristics by varicocele repair. Andrologia 2009;41:20–3. 17. Ishikawa T, Fujisawa M. Varicocele ligation on free testosterone levels in infertile men with varicocele. Arch Androl 2004;50:443–8. 18. Ghosh PK, York JP. Changes in testicular testosterone and acid and alkaline phosphatase activity in testis and accessory sex organs after induction of varicocele in Noble rats. J Surg Res 1994;56:271–6. 19. Chen SS, Huang WJ, Chang LS, Wei YH. 8-Hydroxy-2 deoxyguanosine in leukocyte DNA of spermatic vein as a bio- marker of oxidative stress in patients with varicocele. J Urol 2004;172:1418–21. 20. Yesilli C, Mungan G, Seckiner I, Akduman B, Acikgoz S, Altan K, Mungan A. Effect of varicocelectomy on sperm creatine kinase, HspA2 chaperone protein, LDH, LDH-X, and lipid peroxidation product levels in infertile men with varicocele. Urology 2005;66:610–5.

1929 Stock Market Crash :: essays research papers

The 1929 Stock Market Crash   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In early 1928 the Dow Jones Average went from a low of 191 early in the year, to a high of 300 in December of 1928 and peaked at 381 in September of 1929. (1929†¦) It was anticipated that the increases in earnings and dividends would continue. (1929†¦) The price to earnings ratings rose from 10 to 12 to 20 and higher for the market’s favorite stocks. (1929†¦) Observers believed that stock market prices in the first 6 months of 1929 were high, while others saw them to be cheap. (1929†¦) On October 3rd, the Dow Jones Average began to drop, declining through the week of October 14th. (1929†¦)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the night of Monday, October 21st, 1929, margin calls were heavy and Dutch and German calls came in from overseas to sell overnight for the Tuesday morning opening. (1929†¦) On Tuesday morning, out-of-town banks and corporations sent in $150 million of call loans, and Wall Street was in a panic before the New York Stock Exchange opened. (1929†¦)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On Thursday, October 24th, 1929, people began to sell their stocks as fast as they could. Sell orders flooded the market exchanges. (1929†¦) This day became known as Black Thursday. (Black Thursday†¦) On a normal day, only 750-800 members of the New York Stock Exchange started the exchange. (1929†¦) There were 1100 members on the floor for the morning opening. (1929†¦) Furthermore, the exchange directed all employees to be on the floor since there were numerous margin calls and sell orders placed overnight. Extra telephone staff was also arranged at the member’s boxes around the floor. (1929†¦) The Dow Jones Average closed at 299 that day. (1929†¦)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On Tuesday, October 29th, 1929, the crash began. (1929†¦) Within the first few hours, the price fell so far as to wipe out all gains that had been made the entire previous year. (1929†¦) This day the Dow Jones Average would close at 230. (1929†¦) Between October 29th, and November 13 over 30 billion dollars disappeared from the American economy. (1929†¦) It took nearly 25 years for many of the stocks to recover. (1929†¦)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By mid November, the value of the New York Stock Exchange listings had dropped over 40%, a loss of $26 billion. (1929-1931) At one point in the crash tickers were 68 minutes behind. (1929-1931) An average of about $50,000,000 a minute was wiped out on the exchange. (1929-1931) A few investors that lost all of their money jumped to their deaths from office buildings.

Identity :: Technology, Online Identity

Stealing the identity of another is not an honest act. However, the Internet allows many opportunities for exploration of identity and has displayed personal social exploration to fulfill their curiosity. According to Lemke (1998), young people develop a sense of full presence online, living in them semiotically as they make cultural and personal sense of their participation. The shaping of an identity plays a vital role in the online world especially in having sustained online presence within any particular online-group. Turkle (1995) believes identity tinkering online opens the potential for young people to take risks and to explore all aspects of one's identity. The anonymity that the medium provides have a powerful, disinhibiting impact on behavior and it allows young people an unique opportunity for self-expression. Turkle (1995) argues that the participation in online identity play is similar to participation in pyschodrama. This ties in with the idea of the game as a means though which experience is formulated (Erikson, 1968). According to Turkle, the identity game helps to bring about psychological maturity. It is achieved by being able to develop different facets of the identity and experiencing variable progress between different identities. According to Steven G. (1998) , young people can and do take on second identities to protect their offline from their online identity. Steven (1998) believes young people allow themselves to behave in ways different from offline life, to express formerly unexplored aspects of their personalities, much as they do when wearing masks at a masquerade ball. Amber Case (2010) mentioned on TED, Washington DC, (Fig 4A & Fig 4B) the need for maintenance of second self in simultaneous time. Amber (2010) believes good technology does not inhibit one's lifestyle, but enhances it. Being responsible with technology use will be vital to maintaining oneself and making sure that the future generations aware of monitoring themselves. Turkle (1995) argues that without coherence, the identity spins off in all directions and that multiplicity can exist only between personalities that can communicate among themselves. Steven G. (1998) states the fragmentation of the individual obstructs the development of the resilent online identity. Ultimately, one can create multiple versions of oneself; different versions of identity can be altered to particular audience. Nonetheless, for most young people these fragmentary social faces are merged into an emotional sense of a single identity. One is able to express more online than one says offline. Thus, hostile exchanges can be found erupting online, then one can abandon that difficult position by abandoning the identity through which it was projected.

Norma Fox Mazer :: Biography Biographies Essays

Norma Fox Mazer      Ã‚  Ã‚   There are, and have been, many great authors. One of my favorite authors is Norma Fox Mazer. I have had a few teachers recommend this author to me, so I decided to read her books. They are entertaining. I like Norma's books because she writes about things that happen in people's lives, such as divorce and boy/girl problems. Her books are exciting, and make you want to keep reading. I have read a couple of books by Norma, including Good Night, Maman. It is historical fiction, and about a Jewish girl who is taken from her mother, and travels to Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York. It is an excellent book because it is fun to read about Oswego's past. Another book I am reading is A, My Name is Ami, which is enjoyable so far. Norma is a great author, and writes about realistic, but exciting subjects.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Norma Fox Mazer is an interesting person. She was born on May 15, 1931 in New York City. Her family was Jewish, but as an adult she does not follow the Jewish religion. Norma grew up in Glen Falls, New York, and lived at the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. Norma had a good childhood; she went to school, loved to read, and played the violin, then the bass fiddle, and finally the clarinet. She also had a very vivid imagination.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Norma's family life was supportive. She had a mother, Jean (Garlen) Fox, a father, Michael Fox, and three sisters. Norma was the middle child. Norma's dad was a route deliverer, delivering milk, bread, and other household items. Her mom was a saleslady. Farther up the family tree were Norma's grandparents. They were Jewish immigrants from Poland, and owned a bakery. Norma remembers doing many things with her family, such as going to the candy store, the family listening to their mother tell stories, the rhubarb that the family grew outside, and the cold winters with King of the Hill and skating. Norma's family lived in many different apartments, but all the moving did not ruin her education.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Norma Fox, which was her maiden name, had a good education. As a child, she went to elementary school.

Myself, my setting and my learning Essay

The aim of this reflective account is to discuss my developing practice and how as a childminder I ensure my setting meets the requirements of the curriculum which I follow. This is based on the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS, DfES, 2007), whilst still keeping true to my own beliefs in the best environment for learning to meet the needs of all the children whom attend my setting. My setting has eleven children enrolled, from one to ten years; all children are able bodied, although some have specific behavioural needs. I belong to a local quality assurance and childminding network. As an early years provider I have a responsibility to implement the four themes of the EYFS; A unique child, Positive Relationships, Enabling Environments and Learning and Development including the sixteen commitments. I believe the EYFS has brought positive changes to settings, as it ensures that no-matter what type of setting, there is now a set of standards which all must meet. This can only be seen to offer peace of mind to parents and as a benefit to children’s well-being. 1 The course has taught me the background of the EYFS, as a key part in The Ten Year Childcare Strategy, (DfES, 2004c) and the Childcare Act 2006 (DfES, 2006), ensuring the Every Child Matters agenda is implemented. The five major themes combined with the five outcomes of the Children’s Act 2004, highlights the important role required of the Early Years Services and multi-agency working. As a result of the recent changes of the Childcare Act 2006, one of the biggest impacts I have noticed is the training available. The aim of The Children’s Plan (DCSF, 2007); ‘To make England the best place in the world for children and young people to grow up in’, has many measures in place to support this and one of the changes needed is for professional development to be coherent in the children’s workforce . (KU3) As Sylva et al points out, â€Å"Quality of provision is dependent on the quality of the staff who work in the settings† (Melhuish et al, 1999; Sylva et al., 2003). 2 Because of the funding available not only have I been able  to access this course, I have also recently completed courses on ‘Observing children in the home setting’ and ‘Senior Safeguarding Children’. I ensure parents are updated of any new training to demonstrate my professional attitude to my setting. (CS1, CS2 & CS3, KU3) I also show a professional attitude to my role by using parent evaluation forms and having a suggestions box (for children and parents). Due to some of the children coming from broken families I send the diaries via e-mail or paper copy, it is also one of the EYFS principles ‘Positive Relationships’.3 (KS4) Parents receive a parent information booklet, which includes policies and procedures to comply with the EYFS statutory requirements and to highlight my roles and responsibilities, such as; safeguarding children, positive behaviour management, medicines and first-aid, equal opportunities, health and safety, fire procedure, accident and emergency plan and my complaints procedure. A significant change from the EYFS has been the need for planning to focus on each child’s individual learning, development and care needs and to ensure that the children and their families are fully included in all aspects of care. The importance of observations and planning to meet individual needs was stated in an article a in the Child Care magazine (November 2007), â€Å"It is important you know what level the child is at, what their next steps are, what their interests are and how you can enhance those interests†. This was before the introduction of the EYFS, in September 2008 and it demonstrates that is was good practice to use observations before it became a requirement in order to give each child a valuable learning experience. By being a reflective practitioner and using observations to construct my planning, I understand when I need to adapt activities within my setting to meet the needs of all children. I regularly observe and plan the curriculum around individual needs and it also my responsibility to facilitate learning and ensure correct resources and materials available to ensure inclusion for all; this could be something as simple as ensuring I have left handed scissors available, to ensuring younger children are able to participate in forest excursions by having them in back carriers and having spare waterproof clothing. (CS1, CS2 & CS3) 4 Compared to many other early years’ settings, I have a strong emphasis on  being outdoors and I work from a large log cabin amongst trees in my garden. This encourages the children to explore their natural environment and often leads to unintended curriculum such as; finding lots of snails on a rainy day and then making ‘home’s for them amongst the trees. In Norway, almost 10% of kindergartens are based outdoors www.teachers.tv/video/35165 and I share their attitude to children and the outdoor environment with the saying â€Å"There is no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing†. We often go on forest excursions, build out door dens using natural resources and the children have the freedom to explore. I believe my role in this helps the children develop a positive and confident ‘can do’ attitude no matter what the elements. (CS1 & CS3) 5 It wasn’t until I completed the activity in ST3 ‘Reflecting on Approaches to Curricular’ that I noticed that I use some similar practices to the Steiner approach such as; we sing songs to inform everyone it is tidy up time, and song time is a very active affair. I encourage the children to explore their natural environment and we celebrate the changes in season first hand. I believe this approach enhances the EYFS guidance as it is a play led approach, the main difference with the EYFS is what it expects children to achieve academically before they are five years than the Steiner approach expect of children of seven years. Which is also when countries, such as Sweden believe is the best age for children to begin formal education www.teachers.tv/video/12090 (CS1, CS2 & CS3). 6 Although I do feel that the children who attend my setting benefit greatly from my outdoor curriculum compared to the rather small outdoor area at the ‘Lark’s Children’s Centre’ (DVD 1), the Centre has a well equipped indoor space, where there is a professional attitude by the multi-agency professionals. It was encouraging to see the way they shared information, to ensure the best outcome for the parents and the children. In comparison I work alone although I do participate in network meetings. I share information regularly with nursery staff and teachers and use observations to support parents in discussing concerns with other professionals. It was obvious from the different projects that the Children’s Centre has good funding; in comparison I work privately and my setting relies on my income  to supply equipment and resources (CS1 & CS3). However both settings have a positive ethos in working with parents and children. 7 Meanwhile similar targets to Sure Start have been set within other countries in the United Kingdom such as the Early Years Strategy in Northern Ireland (DENI, 2007), The Early Years Framework (Scottish Government, 2009a) and the Flying Start programme and the Framework for Children’s Learning in Wales (Welsh Assembly Government, 2008), all of which have the aim of improving the life chances of the very young members of our society, by ensuring they have access to good quality child care and education.