Development strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Development strategy - Assignment Example These are what the typical demand of occupiers is currently. Occupiers also challenge developers to meet their power load reduction goals. Therefore occupiers demand that developers ensure that they meet modern mandates and energy conservation goals. They must therefore ensure transmission, generation, and distribution entities work together effectively. Occupiers also demand that available load demand side management assets are identified and unified and hosted DSM is provided for utilities throughout the distribution of infrastructure (Egan, 2002). Occupiers demand that energy requirements in buildings be reduced and sourced alternatively. They also need energy conservation solution with benefits such as: insight and visibility from generation to device unifying data throughout ecosystem of the energy; achieve compliance and reduction of load through the unified controls which execute and measure created diverse load control programs; cost savings through controlling peak charges; rapid adoption allowing utilities to participate in centralized programs; and future proofing with standard based system device agnostic supporting hardware legacy, data sources and applications. These demands must be met by developers. Analyses of how today’s energy requirements in buildings can be reduced and alternatively sourced. ... Another way to reduce energy demands and source energy alternatively is via the use of renewable energy generations to eliminate or reduce further their emissions of greenhouse gas in use. Evidence has it that buildings are responsible for around 45% of carbon dioxide emissions in the UK. Therefore good building designs can cut energy bills and carbon dioxide emissions by almost two third. Developers therefore need to incorporate renewable energy in order to give the buildings producing no net carbon dioxide in use. The Management of Energy and Water Efficiency in Federal Buildings has established a facility project management and benchmarking framework. This enables developers to identify all â€Å"covered facilities† constituting at least 75 percent of the energy of the building in use. The framework also demands that an energy manager be designated at every one building covered. Developers are encouraged to implement the identified water and energy efficiency measures. Deve lopers are mandated to ensure that their new buildings hit a long term zero net energy goal by 2025. New buildings also need to be located in places that regulate its illumination and temperatures, for example around hills, landscaping and trees in order to block wind and provide shade. In addition, buildings in cooler climates should be designed with south facing windows so as to increase the amount heat energy (sun) that enters the building. This minimizes the use of energy through maximization of passive solar heating (Egan, 2002). Reducing energy requirement is a demand that is typical with occupiers, who also need the energy to be sourced from alternative means. In order to reduce energy

Strategic Management Case Study: Honda

Strategic Management Case Study: Honda Ever since the days of Henry Ford, the global car manufacturing industry, one of the worlds biggest employers, has blazed the trail in both the product innovation, and perhaps most notably for the Japanese motor industry, the development of leading manufacturing methods. The industry is not unlike many others, with blistering competition on all fronts, which makes strategic planning utterly important for both the sort as well as long term survival of any industry player. The ratification of the Kyoto Protocol for instance, spurred car manufacturing companies into the adoption of strategies such as the closed-loop-strategies, in the not only the development of more efficient engines, but also the production, distribution, operation and ultimately recycling of decrepit cars etc. This report presents a review of a number of strategic alternatives by Honda and other automotive industries both in the West as well as Japan, in an attempt to establish the driving force behind Hondas success and growth. The first part of the report gives a description of Honda, followed by the reconciliation of several divergent strategies. Discussion of the differences, if any, between the western and Japanese styles of corporate leadership will unearth the myth behind Japans corporate culture before ultimately concluding with a discussion of the importance of both corporate governance as well as CSR. Contents (Jump to) HONDA, COMPANY PROFILE RECONCILIATION OF DICHOTOMIES PLANNING v. LEARNING POSITIONING VERSUS DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNAL RESOURCES CORE COMPETENCIES VERSUS CORE CAPABILITIES MANAGEMENT STYLES Lifelong Tenure CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CONCLUSIONS RECOMMENDATIONS HONDA, COMPANY PROFILE With over 182,000 employees, ÂÂ ¥ 10,011, 241 million in annual revenues in 2009 coupled with upwards of $ 1370.1 million$ and 1896.4 in operating profits for the FY 2008 and 2009 respectively, Japans Honda is easily the industrys biggest manufactures of motor cycles, besides being a among the leading automobile producers. Operating across the globe, Honda is involved in the development, manufacturing as well as marketing and distribution of motor cars, motor cycles and a range other power products (Honda Ltd, 2010). It was founded in 1946, by Soichiro Honda and subsequently incorporated two years later, followed by years of success and growth as a motor cycle maker. Away from its core business, the companys 105 affiliates and 396 subsidiaries across the world provide financial services to thousands of its clients. It operates a four tier business model which includes the financial services division, motorcycle, automobile as well as power products (Honda Ltd, 2010). Besides multi wagons, Honda also produces a range of passenger cars, SUVs, mini vans, passenger cars, mini vehicles as well as sports coupes among others. Hondas flagship car and motor cycle models include the Accord, Civic, Legend, Insight, Acura CSX and Acura RL, CR-V, Cross Road, ASIMO Robots as well as the scooters among many others. The company recorded sales of over 10,114,000 units mainly in Japan, North America and Europe, representing an 8.5% rise over the previous years figures. Its sales have been on the rise despite through the global economic down turn that hit its American competitors, and largely driven by Toyotas PR woes over alleged flaws in the breaking system in its flagship Prius model. This success is largely attributable to the company strategic preparedness. Case in point, in 2002, it launched a hybrid car model to tap into the ever growing environmentally conscious clientele, besides launching the Environmental Learning Center (based in Texas), while in 2004, the company entered into a strategic partnership with GE, that led into the development and production of a trail blazing light jet engine, suited for business jets. Sethi and Swanson (1984), commencing in the year 2000, the company has embarked on an ambitious program to set up production plants in the emerging car and motor cycle markets, notably China, Argentina, Russia and the motor bike hot spot, Vietnam. The company prides itself with the twin principles of respect individuals and the Three Joys Principle i.e. buying, selling as well creating. These values reflect the company does wish to build on each persons unique abilities and its endeavor to ensure that everyone who comes by purchasing the products or by other means should have a great/joyous experience. Honda ensures this by relentlessly, lead in the creation of value, innovation, new products at accessible prices. RECONCILIATION OF DICHOTOMIES Honda ltds strategic innovation is founded on a process of dichotomies reconciliation which include both learning and planning, positioning on the market vs. internal resources development and lastly, core competencies related to the product against the core capabilities related to the processes. These three dichotomies do representing divergent strategies etc that drive Honda as a company since its establishment and through years of exemplary growth and expansion. De Wit Meyer (2010), assert that a critical look at Hondas strategies points especially its successful entry and dominance of new markets raises questions as to whether, Hondas strategy and subsequent decision making is solidly based on a meticulous, analytical and rational planning or whether its strategies are a direct result of the some decisions/ strategies reached at by the company, which evolved or became modified due to the environmental influences of the industry in which the company operates. PLANNING v. LEARNING While designing its strategies, the company has consistently followed a rational approach based on a critical analysis of the market and the industry environment. This strategy hinges on and it suited for a seasoned industry player such as Honda, since it seeks to built on, and exploit the companys immense experience in the automotive industry (Johnson et al., 2005). As a strategy, this is an important bottom up strategy that uses the already gained knowledge to optimize the companys needs. Planning takes into consideration both the companys resources as well as the environmental factors, as such will most likely utilize the companys set objectives within the constraints. Hondas largely seen as having successfully employed the planning strategy while entering into new markets notably while launching into the US motor cycle industry. Its recent strategic alliances with GE as well as its design and launch of innovative new products and expansion of manufacturing plants, in the ultimate attainment of huge scale economies and extremely law costs represent examples of internal planning. Planning is largely apparent from an outsiders point of view. However, interviews with the companys top management reveal a far different picture that suggests at best a company that is far from an overly rational, academic planning seeking to impose its corporate values and policies on the market and the industry, but rather a company, with a management structure that is at all times willing to learn. It is evident and widely accepted by many observers that Hondas strategies have evolved, without a clear plan or analysis of the industry. Case in point, the huge success attained by the companys 50 cc Supercab surprised everyone including the companys management. Mintzberg et al. (1998) observe that though the companys strategy may have looked analytical and well thought out, the management did blunder severally up until the market gave them the correct formula. Rational planning on its own is hardly, suited to many organizations and is in fact removed from the day to day running of a business as compared to learning, which permits management to continually develop and adjust their policies and strategies as they are implemented, in the light of new experience (De Wit Meyer, 2010). Hondas development of hybrid vehicles and energy efficient models e.g. the Honda Civic Sedan, in the wake of Toyotas success in the same field represent examples of learning from the environment. Honda has as well launched joint ventures in RD with other companies. Using both strategies gives the company an advantage, not least because it only allows the formulation of strategies that best meet both the internal resources as well as the environmental factors prevailing in the industry. POSITIONING VERSUS DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNAL RESOURCES Hondas positioning helps its brand to be associated with a given market segment. It is an equally helpful guide to the companys other strategies, particularly the marketing strategy, not least because it does clarify the essence of the brand and the helps the consumers to better identify the goals that the product seeks to meet in a unique way. In positioning a product or brand, managers must make decisions, seeking to appeal a given segment of the population, while at once risking losing the other(s). Honda has placed its various products on the basis of benefit, target, distribution as well as prices. The company offers competitive prices owing to its scale and technology advantages, which in turn permits it to achieve better client franchises. This strategy does however; affect the prestige of the brand, besides reducing the profit margins. Target, distribution and benefit positioning, that has seen the introduction of green models to serve the needs of green conscious clients, co upled by Hondas expansion into India, China and Vietnam, which was entirely meant at catering for emerging middle class in those countries. As against, development of internal resources, Hondas product positioning allows it to use fewer resources but still reach the target markets. It however, has enormous resources in capital, management, cutting production technology as well as manpower, which have driven the companys expansion across the globe. More investment in RD is, and has been possible, leading to greater innovation. While other smaller industry players struggle with limited resources constraining their RD as well as expansion, bigger companies like Honda, Toyota and GM can attain a better edge in the industry. Hondas has been able to pursue both strategies owing to the availability of niche products that it has successfully positioned e.g. motor bikes in Vietnam (over 400,000 units in annual sales), coupled by its huge availability of resources which allows it rope for RD, diversification and expansion. This does not entirely hold though, Honda spends just a fifth of GM expenditure on RD and launches fewer mode ls than the latter, yet it products/models are more successful than GMs. CORE COMPETENCIES VERSUS CORE CAPABILITIES Competencies are as a result of coordination of multiple production skills as well as a complex coordination of numerous technologies. They give a company access to newer markets; provide high barriers for competitors to enter the market, besides contributing considerably to the benefits of the end product(s). Hondas core competencies as regards products are the driving force behind the development of the numerous, innovative end user products. Hamel Prahalad regard Hondas product competencies as a brilliant example of how a small company can break into, and establish itself in a mature, stable market. In 2010 alone, Honda has set up a solar H2 station (Los Angeles), introduced the versatile iGX and GX engine series for general purposes. The company has as well produced lithium-ion based batteries intended for the new range of hybrid motor vehicles, alongside an ELC to spear head its green agenda. Honda is famed for its ability to recycle technologies in all its range of products, affording it RD efficiency. There are elements of core capabilities associated with its processes, but perhaps far lacking behind Toyota and many other industry players. These include efficient distribution channels, cost effective production processes. It trains dealers, determines shop floor plans and has strict operating procedures among others. Core product competencies in the automobile industry are far superior to the process capabilities and Hondas success is an outstanding testimony to this fact. MANAGEMENT STYLES Japanese and Hondas management styles do differ from the American style in at least six distinct aspects. These include differences in the interdepartmental relationships, communication patterns, and supervisory styles, mechanisms for control as well as existence of, or lack of a paternalistic orientation. According to Hofstede (2004), these differences largely stem from the inherent cultural differences between the two countries, which in turn influence the respective corporate cultures. Lifelong Tenure Most of the companies in Japan do provide lifelong jobs to their employees, with greater emphasis being laid on not age, but also seniority. Promotions are thus much more difficult, just as there is greater job security for the workers. Many organizations effectively hire employees for the, and are interested in the long term objectives as against Americas corporate worlds obsession with short term goals. Case in point, Hondas top management i.e. Satoshi Aoki (Chairman), Takanobu Ito, Koichi Kondo and Atsuyoshi Hyogo joined the company in 1968, 1978, 2000 and 1972 respectively, during which time they have risen through the ranks to reach the top management. On the contrary, the western corporate world is characterized by short term contracts for both managers and workers, charged with meeting short term objectives. Teams v. Individuals In contrast with the Western model where managers are responsible for decision making and subsequently accountable for the decisions reached, the Japanese system recognizes the importance of individual expertise, but the performance of the entire team is more emphasized than an individuals. In the western corporate world (Germany and American), certain employees have the star statuses e.g. in Germany, the engineers play central roles to the success of motor companies. Some elements of convergence exist though. Long apprenticeships and cadres (seniorities in Japan) do exist both in Germany, France as well as the Netherlands. Employees attain positions, promotions etc. through years of internships, apprenticeships or memberships to given classes-attained through education and or experience. Decision Making While most western corporations are characterized by top down decision making, the Japanese style of management is largely characterized by collective decision making by individual teams. Hondas decision making is characterized by the Ringi system, where decisions are passed based on a consensus of all the employees in a department or even the entire organization. This management style is identical to that practiced in Holland, except that the latter is anchored on existing contracts or class differences of among the employees. Communication As against the largely bureaucratic communication, hierarchical channels characterizing western corporations, which is largely effective and efficient, the Japanese channels of communication compromise in large part of face-to-face communication. These comprise everything from provision of information regarding assignment of tasks, responsibilities, organizational goals and the development and rechanneling of feedbacks. Implicit Mechanism of Control Honda ltd is concerned with building of its relationships with it biggest assets, the employees. Inspired by its philosophy Respect for the Individual, the company always seeks to develop collaborative relationships with each and every employee, where all mechanisms of control and supervision are largely informal. Supervisors work alongside other employees, who are involved, the decision making, which in turn renders decision making, execution of decisions and reception of feedback a lot more expedient. On the contrary, Hondas competitors run on a rigid, formal control mechanism. This sets goals, measurable, complete with targets that must be met by departments, franchises and individual employees, while the Japanese system is anchored on the management philosophies that all employees as well as managers identify with. Departmental Relationships Pascale Athos (1981), states that attainment of the goals set for a department etc requires inputs not just from the concerned departments, but perhaps most importantly, close collaboration with other departments in the company or even other organizations. Formal (necessary) relationships largely accomplish these goals (characteristic of the western model), while the Japanese style has an extra dimension; voluntary collaboration which is far more productive and results in greater knowledge sharing. Paternalistic Orientation Honda and many other Japanese companies are concerned by the holistic needs of every employee, including the concern for the well being of their families (Culpan, 2009). This imposes a social support role on the managers, a feature which is largely absent in the western world, safe for a limited number of family organizations. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY With car markets in the developed world already saturated, most car companys are looking abroad in the emerging markets notably China, India and Brazil. A recent study by TNS shows that car buyers rate car makers more according to their CSR than those consumer in the first world, thus companies that perform better in this sphere stand a far greater chance of winning the hearts and minds of the new middle class is guaranteed success. In 2005, Honda was ranked the UKs best car company based on its social responsibility initiatives, by the foremost research company on automotives, TNS Automotive. It performs equally well in the US, Indonesia, Italy and Spain among other countries alongside BMW, Shell, Malaysias Petronas, Michelin and Germanys Porsche (Nissan Corp., 2010). Honda spent over 2.3% of its annual revenues in 2009, on its CSR commitments, with the environment taking the lions share of the budget. The company has undertaken numerous actions in an attempt to meet the challenges posed by global warming and climate change. With the reputation of the automobile industry and fossil fuels already damaged, due to its huge carbon footprints, and the growing fears among the public of air pollution, it is only reasonable that companies act in accordance to the wishes of the consumers. Honda has initiated the LCA system, which identifies and sets targets for the required actions. The company develops energy efficient models, adheres by the 3Rs (in design) and noise reduction etc. Hondas corporate governance is a typical Japanese style bottom down structure, characterized by collective decision making and a collective sense of belonging among to the company that in turn reflects on the companys performance (Honda Ltd, 2010). Any companys corporate governance does determine the direction that it assumes, which ultimately reflects on its financial performance. Nissans corporate philosophy, governance as well CSR activities are not different from Hondas. It seeks to bring enrichment of the peoples lives and the environment in which they operate. It has made CSR an important part of its corporate management policies. It has devised its green purchasing guidelines, coupled with Nissan-Renault Suppliers Guidelines, which ensure that the companys entire supply chain is green and serves the purposes of the policies set by its top management. Through its charitable arm, Chryslers management makes annual donations to needy communities, projects and causes (Chrysler, 2010). In 2009, the company advanced upwards of $100000 to Good Harvest geared at combating hunger. The companys CSR initiatives are not as extensive as both Nissan and Hondas partly because the company caters for the luxury market segments that are in the main concerned about the quality and luxury as against a companys CSR etc. CONCLUSIONS Honda is largely touted by observers and varied literatures in strategic management. Its strategies have largely been used either rightly or wrongly to back up a number of conceptual dichotomies, with contracting positions i.e. learning v. analytical planning, core capabilities v competencies etc. Most of these assumptions, and evidences have however, proven erroneous owing to empirical mistakes that result into the over emphasis of the companies strengths, while its mistakes go largely unnoticed. Further, strategies and explanations are expressed in form of reductionist, single-sided theories that largely fail to portray the actual strategic orientation of Honda. Hondas thrives on reconciling dichotomies. Thus many observers in the west have largely missed out in studying, learning from and understanding Honda. Rohlen (1974), it is evident that capabilities as well as competencies can possibly complement one another, forming into one theory. The latter does focus on the production expertise and technologies while the capabilities serving to improve the whole chain of value. Capabilities are far more visible and easily appreciated by the clients than are product competencies. Hondas ability to meet high targets and post tremendous growth rates is largely due to its tendency to set stretched targets, which brings into direct competition with the biggest players in the automotive industry. In order to compete, it uses its resource base to compete by either providing niche products or undercutting competitors on basis of cost advantages, attained through scale economies. This ability to leverage her resources offers the key to its success, as against the widely fabled Japanese management styles. This style is widely different from and more appealing that the western style corporate management is only suitable for the Japanese and Asian environments. There are aspects in both management styles that could beneficially be, and have largely been adopted by either side to the great advantage of the corporations, but not the complete management packages as they will be utter failures in the other ones environment (Schein, 1981). Finally, this report has demonstrated the importance of corporate governance, policy and CSR is important in the ever changing consumer tastes as well as preferences, and most importantly, increasing consumer awareness. RECOMMENDATIONS Increased spending and expansion of Hondas and other automotive companies in CSR, environmental protection and production of innovative environmentally friendly models should continue as the only way counter changing consumer needs as well as the changing times. The Western and Japanese styles of corporate management should be blended to suit both the practical and strategic objectives of each organization. Reconciliation of strategies is crucial for success and helps companies reap the benefits of divergent strategies, thus companies must seek common grounds between strategies rather than opting for only one.

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Vegetarianism and Cancer   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being a vegetarian is becoming more and more popular in today’s society with the need to be politically correct. As doctors look further in to this lifestyle they are finding more and more benefits to a person being a vegetarian. In an article entitled â€Å"Vegetarian Diets During Cancer Treatment† written by Donna Paglia, M.S., R.D. discuss the benefits to being a vegetarian as far as cancer goes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Within the article she discuss the research that shows that by having a vegetarian diet you can reduce your cancer rates. Researchers are currently looking at the multitude of antioxidants and phytochemicals in fruits, vegetables, and legumes, as a result of some promising studies showing these foods' anti-cancer properties. This research is leading us to believe that a vegetarian diet may be one of the best preventive measures against certain cancers. Though there has not been any consensus on the type diet that should be used vegetarian is seen to be one of the best ways to go.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She also discuss the different foods that should be eaten during the treatment for cancer. She shows several charts with different foods and the amounts that should be consumed. She suggest a diet that is high in protein as well as high in calories. This is to meet the body’s demands, as well as to maximize the value of a reduced volume of food. Small, frequent, high calorie snacks may be helpful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She also discuss the different type of vegetarianism such as veganism and how they can adjust there diets to obtain these benefits. She gives a several examples of the type of the food that can eat and the measurement. She clarifies the different types of vegetarianism and some of their benefits. This gives a well rounded point view.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She gives a lot of great information that would help people to make decision on whether or not to become a vegetarian during cancer treatment.

Development of Jim in Huckleberry Finn

This article demonstrates the different phases of Jim’s development to show how Twain used him as a tool to condemn mistreatment of black people. The author begins with the analysis of Jim as a simple gag routine which was a common role of African Americans during this time period. However, Twain slowly makes the audience realize that the Jim is a real person, beginning with a profound statement of self-awareness and destiny â€Å"Jim's reflection that ‘I's rich now, come to look at it. I owns mysef, en I's wuth eight hund'd dollars. I wisht I had de money, I `wouldn' want no mo'’ moves outside the world of low comedy, and Jim becomes something more than the ordinary stage Negro.† By this point in the book, the reader begins to realize, along with an unwilling Huck, that Jim is an intelligent and respectable man, equal with any white of the South. Jim’s continuing demonstration of intellectuality and compassion lead the reader to believe that he is the only true â€Å"adult† or â€Å"human† person in the novel while acting as a foil to the emotionally young and adamant Huck. Eventually, the reader is lead to sympathize and relate to Jim while he takes on the traditional role of a â€Å"white man† and Huck that of a â€Å"black man†, evidence of Twain’s slow transformation of Jim from the typical comic relief to the unusual source of reason and humanity. Citation: Hansen, Chadwick. â€Å"The Character of Jim and the Ending of `Huckleberry Finn'.† DISCovering Authors. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Discover Collection. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. This article talks about how Jim starts off as a stereotypical negro. Jim starts off very superstitious. Jim also believes that his hairball can tell the fortunes. In the beginning, Jim uses Tom’s trickery to his advantage. Instead of saying that somehow his hat ended up in a tree when he woke up, he told everyone that he was possessed by the devil and that witches had ridden him all over the south. Later in the story Jim does not act so foolishly. Jim develops into a sort of role model near the end of the story. Jim actually takes responsibility and cares for both Huck and Tom and protect them from harm. Jim could have easily have left both Tom and Huck and escaped to freedom near the end of the story yet he protected both of them and actually cared for them. Jim went to being naà ¯ve to becoming a responsible role model for Huck and Tom. Citation: James, Pearl. â€Å"Overview of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.† EXPLORING Novels. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Discover Collection. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. The article talks about how Jim is second only to Huck in this novel. However, when we meet Jim at the beginning of the book, Jim is portrayed as a dumb negro. When Jim is introduced in chapter 2, it is thought that Jim is just the widow’s slave and really has no more importance than that rather than the fact that Tom enjoys to mess with him. In the beginning of the book, Jim is a superstitious fool who believes that he has a hairball that can tell the future. However, Jim’s character develops greatly throughout the book and Jim becomes a major character in the story. The events in the story most likely would have never been able to take place if it hadn’t been for Jim. In the end, he came a long way from being the foolish negro working for the widow.

What Are the Psychological Explanations for Why People Commit Terrorist Acts and Up to What Extent Do They Explain These People’s Behaviour.

What are the psychological explanations for why people commit terrorist acts and up to what extent do they explain these people’s behaviour. Miller (2006) states that the word terrorism derives from the Latin word terrere which means to frighten. Merari and Friedman (see Victoroff 2005, p. 3) claim that terrorism existed even before recorded history. This is echoed by Miller’s (2006) claim that terrorism is as old as civilization and has existed since people discovered that they could influence the majority by targeting a few people. Schmid (see Victoroff 2005 p. ) has collected 109 definitions of terrorism and this suggests that it is a very broad topic and extremely hard to define. Two examples of relatively recent acts of terrorism are the Oklahoma City bombings in 1995 and the terrorist attacks upon the United States in 2001. This essay examines some of the psychological explanations as to why people commit such acts of terror and attempts to integrate some of these explanations in order to achieve a greater understanding. One possible explanation of why people commit terrorist acts can be seen in the pathological theory of terrorism. Bongar at el. (2007) claim that it is a common suggestion that terrorists must be insane or psychopathologcal; this is the basis of the psychopathological theory of terrorism. However Rasch (see Victoroff 2005 p. 12) looked at 11 terrorist suspects and also looked at a Federal Police study of 40 people wanted as terrorists and found nothing to suggest that any of them were mentally ill. Bongar et al (2007) observed that interviews with terrorists hardly ever find any disorder listed in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. This is supported by the work of the criminologist Franco Ferracuti (1982) who said that although terrorist groups are sometimes led by insane individuals, and a few terrorist acts maybe committed by insane individuals, ,most people who commit terrorist acts hardly ever meet psychiatric criteria for insanity. Victoroff (2005) makes the point that very little research supporting the psychopathological model uses comprehensive psychiatric examination. Whilst the psychopathological model may explain the behaviour of a few people who commit terrorist acts it does not explain the behaviour of most people who commit terrorist acts. Psychoanalysis is based on the idea that we are largely driven by unconscious motives and impulses (Victoroff 2005; Borum 2004). It has been used to try and explain the behaviour of people who commit terrorist acts and has many variants but two notions seem to underpin all of them; the first is that people who commit terrorist acts are motivated by a hostility towards their parents and that these motives are mainly unconscious, the second is that terrorism is the result of cruelty and maltreatment in childhood (Borum 2004). A theory which uses the psychoanalytical approach is the Narcissism theory. John Crayton and Richard Pearlstein (see Victoroff 2005, p. 23) have used Kohut’s self psychology to explain the process that drives young people to commit terrorist acts. Heniz Kohut’s (see Victoroff 2005, p. 23) concept of self psychology is a variation of Freud’s ego psychology. Kohut (see Victoroff 2005, p. 23) claims that infants have certain needs which need to be met in order for their caring responses to develop normally and that if they do not receive maternal empathy it damages their self image. Kohut (see Victoroff 2005, p. 23) called this damage narcissistic injury and said that it prevents the development of adult morality and identity. In his work Crayton (see Victoroff 2005. p. 23) suggests that political experience such as humiliation of subordination might rekindle narcissistic injury caused in childhood in adults. He suggested that this may result in an exalted sense of self or the rejection of one’s individual identity in order to unite with someone or something which represents omnipotence (see Victoroff 2005, p. 23; Borum 2004, p. 19). Crayton suggested (see Victoroff 2005, p. 23) that an exaltation of self is the origin for leaders of terrorist groups/activities and that the rejection of one’s individual identity is the origin of the followers of such leaders. Akhtar (see Borum 2004 p. 19) based his work on the Narcissism theory and claimed that people who commit terrorist acts are deeply traumatised as children, and often suffer abuse and humiliation. According to Akhtar (see Borum 2004, p. 19) this leaves them feeling an enormous amount of fear and vulnerability. Crayton (see Victoroff 2005 p. 3) claims that this fear and vulnerability become intolerable to the extent that it is expressed through narcissistic rage; narcissistic rage is actually rage against the damaged self but is projected onto other targets as if they were the reason for the intolerable feelings. The work of both Hubbard and el Surraj (see Victoroff 2005 p. 24) supports the narcissistic theory; they found that terrorists are usually not aggressive psychopaths but are often timid, emotionally damaged young people who might have suffered parental rejection and therefore not developed their own adult identities fully. They are often looking for meaning and relationships. The narcissism theory tries to explain why people commit terrorist acts in terms of an identity deficit/narcissistic injury which is expressed through narcissistic rage. Pearlstein (see Borum 2004 p. 19) identifies the narcissism theory as the most comprehensive theory of the individual logic of those who commit terrorist acts. However Victoroff (2005) claims that although the ideas within the narcissism theory are plausible there is very little scientific evidence supporting the theory. Bandura’s social learning theory suggests that violence occurs through observation and imitation of behaviour (see Victoroff 2005, p. 18). Whether or not aggressive behaviour is imitated depends on what consequences of the behaviour are observed when other people carry out the behaviour (see Borum 2004, p. 13). Learning through observation of other peoples’ actions and through the consequences of their actions is called vicarious learning (see Borum 2004, p. 13). Oots and Wiegele (1985) make the point that if aggression can be viewed as a learned behaviour, then terrorism, which is a type of aggressive behaviour, can also be viewed as a learned behaviour. Victoroff (2005) gives an example of how the social learning theory might explain the behaviour of people who commit terrorist acts; he says that adolescents who live in areas of political conflict may witness terrorist behaviours and seek to imitate them or that they may see the way that people in their culture react to such terrorist behaviours and learn through these. The latter is an example of vicarious learning; if certain behaviours get a positive reaction then people are more likely to imitate them. Crenshaw (see Victoroff 2005, p. 18) gives the example of the martyr posters which are displayed in the Shi’a regions of Lebanon and Palestinian refugee camps; this example illustrates how vicarious learning might explain the behaviour of people who commit terrorist acts. Positive reactions to terrorist behaviours from the people of a culture may influence others in that culture to commit terrorist acts. The social learning theory fails to explain why only a minority of people who witness terrorist behaviours and see these behaviours being glorified by their culture become people who commit terrorist acts (Victoroff, 2005). The behaviours of people who commit terrorist acts can be explained to a certain extent by the pathological model, the narcissism model and the social learning theory. The pathological model explains their behaviour in terms of psychopathology, the narcissism model explains their behaviour in terms of narcissistic injury and an exaltation of self or rejection of individual identity, the social learning theory explains their behaviour in terms of observation, imitation and vicarious learning. None of the models fully succeed in explaining why only a minority of people who suffer from psychopathology, narcissistic personality traits or live in areas of political conflict become people who commit terrorist acts. The pathological model, the narcissism model, and the social learning theory may provide a better explanation of why people commit terrorist acts if they are combined; For example if someone is pathologically insane, has had a distressful childhood and is also surrounded by political conflict, it seems more likely that they may commit terrorists acts. On the other hand if someone is pathologically insane, has had a relatively stable childhood, and isn’t surrounded by political conflict, it seems less likely that they may commit terrorist acts. The three explanations for the behaviour of people who commit terrorist acts, which are discussed in this essay are not the only psychological explanations available. There are also cognitive and biological explanations for such behaviour which if integrated with the three explanations discussed in this essay would provide an even greater understanding of why people commit terrorist acts. References Bongar, B. M. , et al. , 2007. Psychology of terrorism. USA: Oxford University Press. Borum, R. , 2004. Psychology of terrorism. Tampa: Univeristy of South Florida. Ferracuti, F. , 1982. Asociopsychiatric interpretation of terrorism. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 463, 29-40. Miller, L. , 2006. The Terrorist Mind: I. A Psychological and Political Analysis. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 50 (2), 121-138. Oots, K. L. , and Wiegele, T. C. , 1985. Terrorist and Victim: Psychiatric and Physiological Approaches. Terrorism: An International Journal, 8(1), 1-32. Victoroff, J. , 2005. The Mind of the Terrorsit: A Review and Critique of Psychological Approaches. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 49(1), 3-42.

Coprolites - Fossil Feces as a Scientific Study

Coprolites - Fossil Feces as a Scientific Study Coprolite (plural coprolites) is the technical term for preserved human (or animal) feces. Preserved fossil feces are a fascinating study in archaeology, in that they provide direct evidence of what an individual animal or human ate. An archaeologist can find dietary remains in storage pits, midden deposits, and within stone or ceramic vessels, but materials found within human fecal matter are clear and unrefutable evidence that a particular food was consumed. Key Takeaways: Coprolites Coprolites are fossilized or preserved human or animal feces, and the focus of scientific research since the 1950s.  Studied contents include plant and animal remains, intestinal parasites and mites, and DNA.  Depending on the context they are found in, coprolites provide information about the diet and health of an individual mammal or a community.  Two other classes of the scientific study of excrement are sewage or cesspit deposits, and intestinal or gut contents.   Coprolites are a ubiquitous feature of human life, but they preserve best in dry caves and rock shelters and are occasionally discovered in sand dunes, dry soils, and swamp margins. They contain evidence of diet and subsistence, but they also can contain information about disease and pathogens, gender, and ancient DNA, evidence in a manner that is not readily available elsewhere. Three Classes In the study of human excrement, there are generally three classes of preserved fecal remains that are found archaeologically: sewage, coprolites, and intestinal contents. Sewage or Cess, including privy pits or latrines, cesspits, sewers, and drains, contain largely mixed assemblages of human feces together with kitchen and other organic and inorganic wastes. When they are found well-preserved, particularly when water-logged, cess deposits provide valuable information on the community or household diet and living conditions.Coprolites are individual fossil or subfossil feces, preserved through charring, mineralization, or found as desiccated samples in caves and extremely arid places. Each sample provides evidence for foods eaten by an individual, and if found in a latrine area can also reveal community-wide diets.Intestinal or Gut Contents refers to preserved human remains found within the intestines of well-preserved human or animal bodies. These are of the most value of the three for a study of an individual, because they are essentially uncontaminated remains which hold information on at most one or two meals, in fact, the last meal that the indiv idual consumed. Gut contents are relatively rare discoveries, found only when whole humans are preserved, in the case of natural or (if not too extensive) cultural mummification, freezing or freeze-drying (for example, Otzi the Tyrolean Iceman), or waterlogging (such as European Iron Age bog bodies). Content A human or animal coprolite can contain a diverse range of biological and mineral materials. Plant remains found in fossil feces include partly digested seeds, fruits, and fruit parts, pollen, starch grains, phytoliths, diatoms, burned organics (charcoal), and small plant fragments. Animal parts include tissue, bones, and hair. Other types of objects found in fecal matter include intestinal parasites or their eggs, insects, or mites. Mites, in particular, identify how the individual stored food; the presence of grit could be evidence of food processing techniques; and burned food and charcoal is evidence of cooking techniques. Studies on Steroids Coprolite studies are sometimes referred to as microhistology, but they include a wide range of topics: paleo diet, paleo-pharmacology (the study of ancient medicines), paleoenvironment and seasonality; biochemistry, molecular analysis, palynology, paleobotany, paleozoology, and ancient DNA. Those studies require that the feces be rehydrated, using a liquid (typically a water solution of tri-sodium phosphate) to reconstitute the feces, unfortunately also including the odors. Then the reconstituted material is examined under detailed light and electron microscope analysis, as well as subjected to radiocarbon dating, DNA analysis, macro- and micro-fossil analyses and other studies of inorganic content. Coprolite studies have also included the investigations of chemical, immunological protein, steroids (which determine sex), and DNA studies, in addition to phytoliths, pollen, parasites, algae, and viruses. Classic Coprolite Studies Hinds Cave, a dry rock shelter in southwest Texas which had been used as a latrine for hunter-gatherers about six thousand years ago contained several deposits of feces, 100 samples of which were collected by archaeologist Glenna Williams-Dean in the late 1970s. The data Dean collected during her Ph.D. research have been studied and analyzed by generations of scholars since that time. Dean herself ran pioneer experimental archaeology studies using students to provide test fecal matter arising from documented dietary input, an unparalleled data set even today. Foodstuffs recognized in the Hinds Cave included agave, opuntia, and allium; seasonality studies indicated that the feces had been deposited between winter-early spring and summer. One of the earliest discovered pieces of credible evidence for pre-Clovis sites in North America was from coprolites discovered at Paisley 5 Mile Point Caves in Oregon state. The recovery of 14 coprolites was reported in 2008, the oldest individually radiocarbon dated to 12,300 RCYBP (14,000 calendar years ago). Unfortunately, all of them were contaminated by the excavators, but several included ancient DNA and other genetic markers for Paleoindian people. Most recently, biomarkers found in the earliest dated specimen suggest it was not human after all, although Sistiaga and colleagues had no explanation for the presence of Paleoindian mtDNA within it. Other credible pre-Clovis sites have been found since that time. History of the Study The most important proponent of research into coprolites was Eric O. Callen (1912–1970), a maverick Scottish botanist interested in plant pathologies. Callen, with a Ph.D. in botany from Edinburgh, worked as a plant pathologist at McGill University and in the early 1950s, one of his colleagues was Thomas Cameron (1894–1980), a member of the parasitology faculty. In 1951, archaeologist Junius Bird (1907–1982) visited McGill. A few years prior to his visit, Bird had discovered coprolites at the site of Huaca Prieta de Chicama in Peru and collected a few fecal samples from the intestines of a mummy found at the site. Bird gave the samples to Cameron and asked him to search for evidence of human parasites. Callen learned of the samples and asked for a few samples of his own to study, to look for traces of fungi that infect and destroy maize. In their article recounting Callans importance to the microhistology, American archaeologists Vaughn Bryant and Glenna Dean point out how remarkable it is that this very first study of ancient human coprolites was conducted by two scholars with no formal training in anthropology. Callans role in the pioneering study included the identification of a suitable rehydration process, still used today: a weak solution of trisodium phosphate used by zoologists in similar studies. His research was necessarily restricted to macroscopic studies of the remains, but the specimens did contain a wide variety of macrofossils that reflected the ancient diet. Callan, who died conducting research at Pikimachay, Peru in 1970, is credited with inventing techniques and promoting the study at a time when microhistology was disparaged as bizarre research. Selected Sources Bryant, Vaughn M., and Glenna W. Dean. Archaeological Coprolite Science: The Legacy of Eric O. Callen (1912–1970). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 237.1 (2006): 51–66. Print.Camacho, Morgana, et al. Recovering Parasites from Mummies and Coprolites: An Epidemiological Approach. Parasites Vectors 11.1 (2018): 248. Print.Chaves, Sà ©rgio Augusto de Miranda, and Karl J. Reinhard. Critical Analysis of Coprolite Evidence of Medicinal Plant Use, Piauà ­, Brazil. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 237.1 (2006): 110–18. Print.Dean, Glenna W. The Science of Coprolite Analysis: The View from Hinds Cave. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 237.1 (2006): 67–79. Print.Reinhard, Karl J., et al. Understanding the Pathoecological Relationship between Ancient Diet and Modern Diabetes through Coprolite Analysis: A Case Example from Antelope Cave, Mojave County, Arizona. Current Anthropology 53.4 (2012): 506–12. Print.W ood, Jamie R., and Janet M. Wilmshurst. A Protocol for Subsampling Late Quaternary Coprolites for Multi-Proxy Analysis. Quaternary Science Reviews 138 (2016): 1–5. Print.

Don`t Know How To Cite An Infographic Here We Go!

Don`t Know How To Cite An Infographic Here We Go! Proper Infographic Citing It is not a secret that visual information has a bigger influence on the audience and it is easier to remember. In addition, it makes the content of your text more colorful and vivid, and grabs attention even of the most demanding audience. That is why infographic occupies solid positions among various types of in-text materials. For the past years, illustrations with statistics and numbers have become an important part of texts. To grab the interest of the audience and to stimulate information mastering, writers and authors tend to transform words and numbers into colorful images. This approach was a real bomb in the world of content. It started occupying more and more web traffic, improving SEO and giving marketers a chance to deliver information in a more usable and comprehensive way. With time its popularity has decreased, and only a few years ago infographics became an important marketing instrument. Nowadays there are hundreds of various templates and designs, which can deliver quality and digestible content to different groups of users. As you see, an infographic is an essential part of any content, and it is necessary to understand what sort of information it is, how to create a quality infographic and how to cite it properly. To help you deal with such a complex task, we have gathered the most important information on a topic and spiced it up with the most powerful tips. Infographics: Definition and Importance Basically, an infographic is a combination of information and graphics. It was first mentioned in 2009 by McCandless, as he included data visualization to his book. However, in some cases, combining these two elements become a real headache. The first and the most important question you need to ask yourself is whether the data benefits from such visualization? Does infographic make your information easier to master? It shouldn’t be a pointless picture that is only occupying space. Moreover, Google is not able to analyze images and to use that text in promoting your works. To put it simply, infographic won’t contribute to the search ranking, although you may spend days on creating a stylish and useful image. If you still want to include infographic to your text in the form of a jpg file, you need to provide suitable information in the image. However, keep in mind that search engines will most likely not be able to read the data you include. Things to Know When Creating an Infographic Even if you are crazy with the idea of working on the infographic, you need to understand that the first thing to keep in mind is visibility on social media. To achieve it, you will need to know certain rules and instruments, which will allow your infographic to become a front content. With a proper approach, your infographic has great chances of gaining popularity, earning links, enhancing recognition and improving ranking in search engines. That is why before simply using a common template you need to explore the market, understand your audience and see what infographic tools exist. Get Familiar With the Audience Your infographic should render information that will interlink with the way your audience things. The best way to lead your text or product to success is to stir feelings of the audience. Such an approach is especially important if your niche is dry and filled with information. You need to explore what the audience thinks and feels, so that in future you will come up with something unique and engaging. To build a proper marketing image of yourself you need to know who the potential buyers are. For example, if your company creates software for security and encrypting, your buyers will probably be enterprises and brands that want to protect their data. That is why including information about safety, possible online crimes and the latest statistics will be a good idea. Tell the audience how your product, content or idea benefits them by combining both: statistics and information about your own company. Stick to an Engaging Topic Now, when you know who your audience is and what its main interests are, it is much easier to come up with an interesting topic. You can use Google Search or BuzzSumo to find topics that will make your infographics valuable. In addition, you can read articles on general topics and simply surf the internet, looking for non-standard ideas. Then you can gather them, creating your own templates for infographic. However, you should always choose an idea that is relevant to your issue and has enough space to include statistics or any other valuable information. Be Selective While you are still on a stage of building a concept, it is necessary to conduct thorough research on the topic before starting your work on an infographic. Make sure you use only authentic data that supports your idea. Such information must be relevant, modern and unique. Ideally, it shouldn’t be easily accessible. That is why you need to dig deeper, reading official reports, presentations, and multiple PDF files. Organize Your Data Readability is what predetermines the success of your infographic, so on the next stage, you need to organize and carefully filter all the information you have found. There is no need to include to your infographic all of the data you have found because it will make your images heavy and difficult to read. Remember that the majority of readers simply scroll the content without spending too much time on reading the whole template. Now, when you have chosen the things you want to add to your infographic, it is the right time to learn what the elements of a winning infographic are. Features of a Strong Infographic There are several features that may greatly influence the result: whether your infographic will reach its goals or not. Remember, an infographic is very time-consuming and requires lots of your efforts and energy. Below we have gathered the most important traits that a winning infographic should possess. Density of Data When you have filtered gathered information and kept only relevant data, it is the right time to think about how to present that data in an attractive way. Don’t forget to highlight the juiciest details, so that the readers will notice important elements at once. The density of data is crucial if you want your infographic to be successful. That is why choosing reliable, and up-to-date sources should take the first place when you work on your infographic. If your readers have doubts on the quality of provided information, you can always provide links and proofs from original sources. Keep It Simple Many people just want to stuff as much information as possible, thinking that it will make their infographic more attractive. However, if you simply add data to the image, it will become heavy to read, and you risk losing your audience. Your goal is to organize it and to make it appealing to the reader. Be Creative If you want to stand out from other content creators, it is important to generate something valuable and unique. If you are not sure whether you are skilled enough, you can hire a designer, who will help to work on the project. This will help to come up with a creative and personalized infographic, and you will additionally get a piece of advice on professional marketing. Only Relevant Information For most of the content creators, it is quite difficult to keep the balance of relevant and clear content. It is great that you have conducted profound research and collected a huge variety of information on the topic. However, you don’t need to include everything to your infographic. Unfortunately, this is one of the most common mistakes marketers make. While remaining precise, you need to include only the most important and relevant data. On the other hand, including little information won’t seem appealing. So you should find the right balance and stick to it! Do not Promote Yourself Many content creators make self-promotional graphics. However, it may have a negative impact on the audience and will lead your whole content to failure. Statistics show that such an approach is not effective at all and is not able to attract the attention of the audience. That is why it is much better to include information that talks about your company or website, and not about you as its creator. Always stick to the rule: your infographics must be focused on the industry, not on yourself. Market Your Brand Based on the previous point, you need to stick to the formal format of the infographic, including your company’s logo and name to the image. Do not include your personal details or name, because such information won’t have any value. If you are willing to sell your products or services, brand marketing is the key. You should also pay attention to the font, color scheme and style of the infographic to make it relevant to the brand and its format. Infographic Should Be Goal-Oriented This is probably the most important feature of your future infographic. Remember: not depending on the style or font, the content you provide must be goal-oriented. In addition, it should focus on one topic, not distracting attention on other issues. Moreover, your goal must be to explain what you offer in a clear and understandable manner. To achieve this, you should create an outline or a plan in order to organize the content properly. For example, you can focus on explaining how your brand is going to solve a certain problem. You can target the relevant audience by including data and statistics that show the importance of the discussed problem. In such a way your infographic will provide readers with a clear understanding of the goals you are planning to achieve and how you can be useful in solving a particular issue. Infographic Sourcing The sources you use for getting information are more than important. The more reliable they are, the more credible the infographics become. It helps to evaluate the quality of your content, so using non-reliable sources will make your infographics looks poor and uninteresting. Luckily, it is no longer difficult to find proper sources. Due to a variety of online sources, you can get access to official documents, websites of international organizations and even books of reputable scientists and researchers. In addition, there are hundreds of official research institutes, which regularly post information on their latest studies. You just need to know the right places to look for credible and trustworthy information for your infographic. A Right Source Always Tells a Story Infographic is a way to tell readers a certain story, so if this story is not present in the chosen sources, you won’t be able to create engaging infographics. Below the infographic, you can duplicate information in the form of a story so that it will explain the data you have included in the picture. Always Use Trustworthy Sources As you know, not all of the information online can be trusted. That is why you need to do your best to fill infographics only will reliable data. Always look for information on official websites - for example, various governmental agencies and bureaus. Even if you use a source from a regular website or forum, but it contains surveys and statistics from academic sources with proper citing, you can use it. If you don’t have time or energy to process only official data, here are a few questions that will help you to distinguish a reliable source: Does this website have any relation to a reliable organization? Who is the author of the article? Does the article contain up-to-date statistics? Does it include a bibliography? What’s the goal of the web site? Cite Your Sources Citing sources is not a common thing for infographics, so very often readers question themselves whether the information they see is reliable. If you want your infographic to be trustworthy, don’t be lazy and provide the audience with links to the websites you have taken information from. It is one of the simplest but yet effective ways to support the information you provide. Limited Number of Sources Used Even if you have used tens of various sources in the process of collecting data, it is better to stick to a few of them. This will help you to remain focused on more comprehensive and clear content. More than three sources may puzzle the reader, and they will find it difficult to track the reliability of the information. Conclusion It is obvious that infographic is a great way of grabbing and holding the attention of the reader. However, the provided information must be both interesting and stimulating. Hopefully, the tips above will help you to manage your infographic and to create powerful content.

How to Write a Perfect Sales Associate Resume (Examples Included)

How to Write a Perfect Sales Associate Resume (Examples Included) always. be. selling. that’s a common motto for anyone in a sales or retail position, but don’t forget a very important point of the job hunt: it applies to you as well. when you’re putting together your resume, never forget that if you want to prove how well you can sell, make sure you’re marketing yourself as well as you possibly can. let’s look at three different kinds of sales professionals: one newbie, one seeking seasonal retail employment, and an experienced sales associate looking to become a manager. first up: laura, who’s seeking her first job in retail sales.download this resume in ms wordlike many job hunters with more enthusiasm than experience (so far), laura wants a resume format that showcases what she already has. this means changing things up a little from the traditional experience + skills + education format, and putting her most relevant skills first.laura has some traditional work experience as a food server, but she want s to showcase her dog walking business, which has skills that could be very transferrable to a sales role. she starts by using the word â€Å"entrepreneur†/†entrepreneurial† up front, to emphasize her business skills. it’s important that she uses her bullet points to back that up, and she doess)How to Write a Perfect Occupational Therapist ResumeHow to Write a Perfect Physician Assistant Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Receptionist Resume (Examples Included)How to Create a Perfect Retail ResumeHow to Write a Perfect Sales Associate Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Social Worker Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Truck Driver Resume (With Examples)

A Profession Undergoing Rebirth -Transformations in the Quantity Essay

A Profession Undergoing Rebirth -Transformations in the Quantity Surveyor's Role - Essay Example The quantity surveying surfaced in England as early as the eighteenth century. Cartlidge (2002) describes in his book those beginning years, where the quantity surveyor acted for the master tradesmen, measuring the work after completion and usually submitting final accounts to the building owner.As a consequence of these activities, it more and more became the habit of building owners to have work performed under contract and to call for bids before any work was undertaken. A process, therefore, developed whereby specifications and drawings were given out to selected master builders, who would then present proposals for the total price rather than a group of prices from master tradesmen. Builders soon realized that it would be more economical for them as a group to employ one surveyor to measure quantities for all of them. They could thus split the cost of the surveyor, acquire a similar bill of quantities which made sure that they would all be tendering on the same basis. Later on, the building owner realized that it would be to his own advantage to hire and pay the fees of the quantity surveyor (Willis and Ashworth, 1994). The quantity surveyor thus transformed to a consultant. The traditional function of the quantity surveyor has been defined by Cartlidge (2002) as a measure and value arrangement. Still practiced by some, the old, conventional role prepares estimated ballpark figures of the initial costs of the building using a single price method of valuation. The design would only then be developed by the architect when the cost was suitable for the client. Afterward, bills of quantities for tendering purposes would be created, progress payments would be quantified, and a final account would be prepared on the basis of the tendered documentation. Although the process was essential and vital, it was obviously also mainly reactive. In the 1960s, cost planning services were included in the selection of tasks carried out by the quantity surveyor, in order to avoid tenders being received that were over the budget (Egan, 1998).

Indians and Indian Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Indians and Indian Policy - Essay Example Vince Deloria in his narrative highlights the issues of leadership and preservation of the Indian culture. Vince Deloria was a well known professor, leader and advocate for the Indian rights and cultural recognition. Deloria was a Standing Rock Sioux and he experienced firsthand the effect of government policies on the lives of native Indians. He wrote his narrative during his period as a professor and advocate of the native Indian rights. In the period between 1970 and 80, the Indian population experienced tremendous population growth that was not understood. Immediately after the Second World War, the Indian people were given opportunities to be economically empowered through the Indian Re-organization Act. However, this did not endear other races and people to identify with the Indian race since other people enjoyed better services and economic benefits. During this period Indians felt no sense of personal worth in propagating their culture or sense of identity (Calloway 567). Del oria however explains that this trend started to change in the 1980’s when people wanted to be recognized as Indians whether it was to gain educational or economical benefits. But this was the reason that endeared other races to becoming whites but it was the religious practice of the native Indians that made many white people to associate with the Indian culture. ... However, Deloria delivers the message that native Indians can only solve their problems through use of the culture since they understand their problems better than other people. Native Indians have suffered the problem of genuine leadership which contributed to Indian discrimination. As a result, it is a high time for Indians to recall their culture and chase away imposters who do not understand Indian culture or problems as advocated by Deloria (Calloway, p.571). On the other hand, Wilma Mankiller was the first woman Cherokee chief narrates her experiences as the chief of a native Indian tribe. In her story she highlights the challenges that the Cherokee people faced in living their lives normally in a country they were considered as minority ethnic group. Her early life prepared her for the role she was to engage in as a political leader among the Cherokee people. The lacklustre governmental policies gave her motivation to campaign and fight for the recognition of native Indian rig hts. Wilma wrote her stories so that she could share with future native Indians her story especially to the Indian women. Wilma wrote her narrative during a period when native Indians were enjoying recognition from other people especially the majority white population in the US (Calloway 573). It was during this period that Indian tribes were given the opportunity to choose their own leaders who could manage their own affairs. The change in government policy and the new policy changes that recognized Indians gave an opportunity for Indian tribes to govern their own affairs. Moreover, Indians were now educated and were better placed to manage their own affairs as elucidated by Wilma. The narrative told by Wilma is in fact true based on the real events that occurred

Oregon Death and Dignity Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Oregon Death and Dignity Act - Essay Example The debate centers on individual autonomy, whether or not patients who suffer from extreme pain and have a terminal or degenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s, AIDS and multiple sclerosis have the right to an assisted death of the type and time of their own choosing. â€Å"Active euthanasia occurs when the medical professionals, or another person, deliberately do something that causes the patient to die† (â€Å"Ethics†, 2006) A doctor’s involvement in the procedure could be to either prescribe a lethal dose of drugs with the express intent of ending a life or by intravenously inserting a needle into the terminal patient who then activates a switch that administers the fatal dose (Naji et al, 2005). Many terminally ill people choose to end their own life to evade the previously discussed detriments of a terminal illness. Suicide rates are by far the highest among the elderly population for this reason. â€Å"If these people are going to commit suicide, which is better, controlled, compassionate doctor-assisted suicide or clumsy attempts like taking sleeping pills, jumping off a building, or firing a bullet into ones head?† (Messerli, 2007). Only one state, Oregon, and three countries, Switzerland, Belgium and The Netherlands, allow assisted suicide. The law in Oregon was challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court early last year and was upheld by a vote of six to three. In 2001, President Bush attempted to derail the Oregon law permitting euthanasia stating that assisted suicide wasn’t a ‘legitimate medical purpose.’ The justices, however, were not convinced by Bush’s argument. â€Å"Justice Sandra Day O’Connor pointed out that doctors participate in the administration of lethal injections to death row inmates† (Roh, 2006). The Oregon laws are shaped after those in the Netherlands and are designed to ensure second opinions have been consulted and there is an imminent presumption of death

Diversity of the World for Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Diversity of the World for Children - Essay Example Gay marriage is often discussed by contemporaries. Whether homosexuality is a sexual or psychological deviance or is it a norm, should it be public or not and many other issues are high on the agenda nowadays. The children’s literature is another sphere, which is properly considered in the modern world as a really important phenomenon of the modern life. In the book â€Å"Daddy’s Roommate† by Willhoite (1990) these issues are correlated. Whether children literature should illustrate phenomenon of homosexuality or not is argued further on. Thesis: In spite of different stereotypes, gay relationships are present in the modern world and there is no need to avoid this demonstration of the world’s diversity. It is better to position gay relationships as another kind of love, which is the way to happiness, as the author of the book claims. Summary The book â€Å"Daddy’s Roommate† by Willhoite shows to the modern readers a challenging problem of living in family of two gays. Basically, homosexual parents do not differ from heterosexual parents. There is a strong emotional bound between two parents and a boy. They go shopping, gardening, making trips to the zoo. There are affectionate relationships between these two parents and boy is growing up surrounded with a great care and tolerance. There is a friendly atmosphere in their family. For this small boy being gay is just another kind of love. It is not a socially perverted representation of love it does not violate moral norms and it is not against social stereotypes. Analysis There are equal incongruities between gay couples and heterosexual couples: the author presents that there are even fights between two gay parents (Willhoite 1990, pp.8-12), but it is possible to underline that heterosexual couples are often quarrel and even fight. Moreover, the book does not promote gay love, it tells about gay love as about another kind of love. There is a story about two adult men, who are gay. They are not young and their relationship is stable. There is a tendency to establish short-term love relationship among heterosexual young people, as well as among homosexual young people. The point of the book is different. It informs about gay relationships, it neither criticizes nor promotes it. Gay relationship is shown as is. The book shows that in the course of time there is a natural necessity to appreciate the beloved person and there is a need to contribute much into the development of mutual happiness. Gay family is positioned as a final point of two lonely hearts’ wanderings. Both men are pacified and put their mutual efforts into social development, social activity etc. The ban In spite of criticism against the book, there are also proponents of the book and they argue against the book’s ban. On January 20, 1998, the Hays (K ansas) public library board showed antagonistic moods against the book’s ban. Their main claim coincided with the main claim of a small boy, the main character of the book. This book was another depiction of love and a homosexual life style did not differ much from life style of other couples. In accordance with the moods of the Library Director Melanie Miller: â€Å"I do not believe in restricting access to those child library patrons who would benefit from the book because there are parents who do not believe that their children should have access to the material† (Nava and Dawidoff 1995, p. 34). Another claim is made by the Brevard County (Florida) Library Board, which removed the book from the library shelves. The members of the Christian Coalition made an emphasis on the absence of necessity to leave the book in the library. As a result, de facto censorship was criticized by the readers. There is an evident struggle against the book and in 1999 the Nampa (Idaho) L ibrary Board decided to leave  Daddy’s Roommate  and  Heather Has Two Mommies  in the juvenile nonfiction section. The staff of the library claims that there is no book, which would be acclaimed by all parents to the

Introduction to Political Science Quiz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Introduction to Political Science Quiz - Essay Example This was manifest in Egypt during the week that preceded the resignation of the country’s president Hosni Mubarak, whereby the entire rate of the use of social networks in eliminating poor leadership reached fever pitch. The Cold War began shortly after the World War II 1945 to around 1965. The fatal attack on Russia by Germany, which swayed the Italians to support the Allies, coupled by American intervention improved the Allies’ military strength shortly before 1945. The Germans and Japanese were deterred from taking territorial treasures and natural resources in Europe and Asia. The death of Adolf Hitler in 1945 signaled truce in Europe. Germany was attacked by the American Russian troops from the west and East respectively, defeating the Germans. Then quiet hostility became apparent again, the only common source of awe being the likely use of nuclear weapons. This fermented anxiety and dislike for combat, thus prompting the coining of the expression Cold War to refer to the situation (Fukuyama 321-362). The United States stood for capitalism, while the arch-rival Soviet Union preferred Communism, however after the disintegration of the latter power, capitalism became the government system preferred by the global hegemonic US. This jostling for political influence saw division of the entire Europe and Asia, with regional states either welcoming or being coerced into accepting one side. The concept of global hegemony was based on several local and global issues such as military alliances, political half truths, jostling for armaments, intelligence and growth of technology, especially the kind that would give a country a destructive edge between the US and the Soviet Union (Weinert 5-25). 3. Professor Fukuyama strives to depict the origins of political development from Chinese, Indian and Muslim history as well as the rise of the Mongols and the Ottoman Empire. Differentiate

Size Exclusion Chromatography- Protein Separation Polyacrylamide Gel Lab Report

Size Exclusion Chromatography- Protein Separation Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis - Lab Report Example These standards were used to plot the calibration curve. The retention times, which is equivalent to elution volume (Ve) of each protein was plotted as a function of the log 10 of the molecular weight of the standards as shown in figure two. This calibration curve was used to estimate the relative molecular weights of the unknown samples. The Value for X and Y in this function is equivalent to elution volume (Ve) and Log10 of the molecular weight. Substituting Ve with the retention time value, the Log M and molecular weights of the unknown samples were determined as shown on table three below. Size exclusion chromatography is a HPLC technique that separates molecules based on their size or molecular weight (Bernd, 2). Using this technique the molecular weight of five unknown protein molecules was estimated as shown in table three. However, the validation assay of the technique did not give expected resolution, limits the validity of the results. Clear and distinct peaks on this graph depict a high resolution of the assay and thus credible results. A number of factors; such as column length, flow rate and technical errors may have influenced the poor resolution of the peaks in the UV protein absorption profile (Hong and Fountain, 5-6). Further optimization experiments may be necessary to overcome these errors and achieve a good

Introduction to Political Science Quiz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Introduction to Political Science Quiz - Essay Example This was manifest in Egypt during the week that preceded the resignation of the country’s president Hosni Mubarak, whereby the entire rate of the use of social networks in eliminating poor leadership reached fever pitch. The Cold War began shortly after the World War II 1945 to around 1965. The fatal attack on Russia by Germany, which swayed the Italians to support the Allies, coupled by American intervention improved the Allies’ military strength shortly before 1945. The Germans and Japanese were deterred from taking territorial treasures and natural resources in Europe and Asia. The death of Adolf Hitler in 1945 signaled truce in Europe. Germany was attacked by the American Russian troops from the west and East respectively, defeating the Germans. Then quiet hostility became apparent again, the only common source of awe being the likely use of nuclear weapons. This fermented anxiety and dislike for combat, thus prompting the coining of the expression Cold War to refer to the situation (Fukuyama 321-362). The United States stood for capitalism, while the arch-rival Soviet Union preferred Communism, however after the disintegration of the latter power, capitalism became the government system preferred by the global hegemonic US. This jostling for political influence saw division of the entire Europe and Asia, with regional states either welcoming or being coerced into accepting one side. The concept of global hegemony was based on several local and global issues such as military alliances, political half truths, jostling for armaments, intelligence and growth of technology, especially the kind that would give a country a destructive edge between the US and the Soviet Union (Weinert 5-25). 3. Professor Fukuyama strives to depict the origins of political development from Chinese, Indian and Muslim history as well as the rise of the Mongols and the Ottoman Empire. Differentiate

Computer Communications & Networks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Computer Communications & Networks - Essay Example However, in order to examine the processes, methods and techniques, we must first understand the TCP/IP protocol suite itself. Considering Internet Protocol (IP) first is vital because the rest of the TCP/IP suite is constructed on the IP. Likewise, it is also called as a mechanism that is incorporated for data packaging, transferring and routing via TCP/IP internetwork (Kozierok 2005). Moreover, IP is also involved in constructing and packing all data grams in a similar fashion while managing them between devices in an intelligent way. Before getting into more detail, the prime objective for having a network, internetwork and TCP/IP suits is to empower and enable networking application. For online accessibility, these applications are now operational via web browsers. For instance, anyone wants to upload pictures, multimedia contents to share with family, similarly, chatting with friends and colleagues from Internet Relay Chat (IRC) applications. In general, a common interface is no w reachable for making communication purposeful. Accordingly, student portals are now developed and considered as an efficient educational interactive interface for universities and colleges. Likewise, apart from some examples given previously, student portals are advanced application bundled with many features and applications supports education and learning activities. In the next section, we will explore networking concepts for a student portal named as ‘X-stream server’ accessed by a student from a remote location. The X-Stream Server The first section i.e. the internal semantics will focus on connectivity of a computer internally as critical components of the computer network must be examines by a holistic approach as every component contributes to the heterogeneous system (Olifer, 2005). If anyone wants to access the X-stream server from the home computer, it must be connected to the Internet. The simplest of troubleshooting steps incorporates the ‘ping†™ command. The syntax of the command will be ‘ping (space) (destination address)’, executes via command prompt. Likewise, ‘tracert’ command can also be used to give an illustration of delays from source to the router along with end to end connectivity to and from the destination (Ross 2009). However, many devices and protocols are integrated for maintaining and identifying the computer and sustaining connectivity. The first point of interest in addressing internal semantics is Ethernet. It is considered to be the most popular Local Area Network technology that is implemented globally (Ethernet. 2007). The Ethernet connects with a shared transmission medium called as twisted pair or a cable with a multi-port hub, switch or a bridge. Most commonly, an Ethernet switch or a DSL router + Switch is most common. A typical Ethernet frame comprises of six parameters i.e. Preamble, destination address, Source address, type, data and CRC (cyclic redundancy checking) . The preamble is responsible for synchronizing clock rates for the recipient and the sender. Address is usually six bytes in size and is responsible for identifying frames as per the sender and receiver address, it transmits the data in network layer protocol. However, if the match is not made, it discards the frame. Likewise, the type indicates the protocol type. Normally it

Hydrogenating ability of Wilkinsons catalyst

Hydrogenating ability of Wilkinsons catalyst Wilkinsons catalyst was prepared from rhodium (III) chloride and refluxed in ethanol with triphenylphosphine, with a measured yield of 72.7%. The efficacy and regioselectivity of Wilkinsons catalyst was then assessed by reaction with carvone in an atmosphere of hydrogen gas at 1 atm, and the product was analysed by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Introduction Tris-(Triphenylphophine)chloro rhodium(I) was discovered and first profiled by Wilkinson et al in 1965, and noted for its ability to selectively hydrogenate terminal alkenes to alkanes[1]. It was only with the further publishing in 1968 that Wilkinsons catalyst was thoroughly characterised.[2] It was the first homogenous catalyst with the ability to perform this function at a rate similar to that of heterogenous catalysts, without having to resort to high pressures or temperatures in the process. Wilkinsons catalyst is unusual in its ability to easily form a dihydride, despite it being a diphosphine, since these compounds are often either short-lived or difficult to detect.[3] In the above diagram, Wilkinsons catalyst (1) undergoes ligand substitution with a solvent molecule to create the active form of Wilkinsons catalyst (2)[4]. Hydrogen is then attached via oxidative addition (3)4, oxidising Rhodium from +1 to +3 oxidation state and resulting in a change of colour from red to yellow[5]. The prepared catalyst is then injected into the mixture, at which point it complexes with the rhodium centre via the pi bond (4)[6]. The solvent then leaves the complex (5). H migrates to the alkene first due to proximity, with H migrating second[7]. A solvent molecule takes the place of the leaving alkane, converting the catalyst back to its active form (7). The pi bond formed between the alkene and the Rhodium is characterised by back-donation from a d-orbital overlap with the ?* anti-bonding orbital. This back donation, coupled with donation from the ? bond on the alkene results in the ? bond being much weaker and more susceptible to being broken than uncoordinated ethene. 13C-NMR has shown that bonds formed between the a rhodium centre and other alkene complexes bond show significant s-character, typified by downfield shift, or in other words, lack of electron density surrounding them compared to typical alkene spectrum[9]. This lack of electron density makes the carbon atoms very attractive targets for the hydride ligands attached to the Rhodium to migrate to. It is this ability to remove electron density from the alkene ? orbital, while simultaneously back-donating density to the ?* that makes Wilkinsons catalyst so effective. Wilkinsons catalyst cannot hydrogenate areas of conjugation, so theoretically only bond (3) should be hydrogenated in the presence of hydrogen and Wilkinsons catalyst[10]. This experiment will assess the selectivity of the hydrogenating abilities of Wilkinsons catalyst, and its regioselectivity and chemoselectivity in regards to a molecule with several areas capable of hydrogenation. The products in this experiment will be analysed using 1H-NMR data. Experimental Preparation of catalyst Triphenylphosphine (0.52g, 1.98mmol) was dissolved in ethanol (20ml). RhCl3.3H2O (0.08g, 0.3mmol) was dissolved in ethanol (4ml). Both solutions were degassed with nitrogen. The rhodium solution was then added to the PPh3 solution and this was refluxed in a nitrogen atmosphere for 90 minutes. After cooling, the remaining solution and precipitate were removed and filtered via sinter funnel filtration. The yield for the Wilkinson catalyst was determined (0.180g, 0.218mmol, 72.7%). Hydrogenation of carvone Under a pressure of one atmosphere of hydrogen, a flask was injected with the previously prepared catalyst. Carvone (0.5g, 3.33mmol), in a solution of toluene (2ml) was then added to this flask. Consumption of hydrogen, measured using syringes, was recorded at 46cm3, (2.05mmol) representing a 61.6% yield of the hydrogenated carvone product. Results Colour changes Rhodium (III) chloride powder is a black powder. As reflux progressed and the Wilkinsons catalyst was produced, the solution went slowly from black to a brown-red suspension. This is illustrated in figure 4. Hudson et al have also reported an unknown brown precipitate, which appeared to exhibit similar catalytic properties[11]. Wilkinson et al also reported orange precipitate with identical chemical properties[12]. Yields and Errors A total of 0.180g of Wilkinsons catalyst was produced in the experiment, a 72.7% yield, which compares favourably with other studies indicating yields of between 60[13]-88[14]%. 46cm3 of hydrogen gas was absorbed in the process of the experiment, representing a total absorbance of 2.05mmol of hydrogen gas. In passing gas through the solution, it turned yellow, which is consistent with other experimental observations[15] [16]. Considerable agitation of the solution was required so as to allow adequate complexation of the hydrogen gas. Assuming the entirety of this gas hydrogenated the terminal olefin group in carvone; this represents a 61.6% yield of hydrogenation. However, it is entirely likely that a higher yield would have been obtained had the experiment continued for a longer period of time. The yield of hydrogen gas may also be misleading since it is difficult to completely hermetically seal all the apparatus, and it is also difficult to estimate the extent to which gas may have escaped from the reaction vessel. Products obtained from hydrogenation Carvone has several sites available for hydrogenation/reduction. However, RhCl(PPh3)3 will only selectively hydrogenate terminal alkenes, as described by Wilkinson et al. This hypothesis is supported by 1H-NMR data[17] of carvone and the product of hydrogenation. There is no change at peaks 6.69ppm, indicating that this protons environment was not affected by the hydrogenation. The slight downfield shift of the protons of signal between 2.2-2.7ppm to an area between 1.9-2.5ppm indicates that there is less electron density surrounding these protons. These signals were assigned to groups near to the hydrogenated bond, and so this is fairly conclusive evidence that the terminal bond was hydrogenated. The minor signal at 4.72 and 4.75ppm indicate a slight contamination of the sample with carvone. Conclusion The yield obtained by the method followed to synthesize Wilkinsons catalyst afforded values similar to that given in literature. The experiment clearly demonstrated by 1H-NMR data that Wilkinsons catalyst efficiently hydrogenates terminal alkene bonds selectively. A more quantitative study could be performed, wherein systems containing non-conjugated alkene systems were tested for hydrogenation. This would allow more stringent analysis and more precise definition of the hydrogenation abilities of Wilkinsons catalyst. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my demonstrators Mr Adam Bunt and Mr Li-Chen Han for their valuable advice and discussion during the experiment. References J.A.Osborn, G.Wilkinson, J.F.Young, Chem. Comm., 1965, 17 S. Montelatici, A. van der Ent, J. A. Osborn, G. Wilkinson, J. Chem. Soc A, 1968, 1054-1058 Illya D. Dridnev, T. Imamoto, Chem. Commun., 2009, 7447-7464 T. N. Sorrell, Organic Chemistry, University Science Books (2006), pp.503 S. Montelatici, A. van der Ent, J. A. Osborn, G. Wilkinson, J. Chem. Soc A, 1968, 1054-1058 P.S. Kalsi, Stereochemistry Conformation and Mechanism 6th Edition, New Age International (2005), pp.449 M. Carvalho, L. F. Wieserman, D. M. Hercules, App. Spec., Vol. 6, Iss. 3, pp. 290-296 P. Atkins, T. Overton, J Rourke, M. Weller, F. Armstrong, Shriver and Atkins Inorganic Chemistry 8th Edition, Oxford University Press, 2006, pp.536 W. von Phillipsborn, Pure Appl. Chem., Vol. 58, No. 4, pp. 513-528 J. A. Osborn, F. H. Jardine, J. F. Young, G. Wilkinson, J. Chem. Soc. A, 1966, 1711-1732 B. Hudson, P. C. Taylor, D. E. Webster, P. B. Wells, Discuss. Faraday Soc., 1968, 46, 37-47 S. Montelatici, A. van der Ent, J. A. Osborn, G. Wilkinson, J. Chem. Soc A, 1968, 1054-1058 B. Hudson, P. C. Taylor, D. E. Webster, P. B. Wells, Discuss. Faraday Soc., 1968, 46, 37-47 S. Montelatici, A. van der Ent, J. A. Osborn, G. Wilkinson, J. Chem. Soc A, 1968, 1054-1058 S. Montelatici, A. van der Ent, J. A. Osborn, G. Wilkinson, J. Chem. Soc A, 1968, 1054-1058 J. A. Osborn, F. H. Jardine, J. F. Young, G. Wilkinson, J. Chem. Soc. A, 1966, 1711-1732 1H-NMR spectrum data taken from http://dlm.chm.bris.ac.uk/dlm2009-10/file.php/28/resources/Wilkinson_NMR.pdf

Elephantiasis :: essays research papers fc

I did my report on filariasis, which is more commonly known as elephantiasis. Elephantiasis is the late phase of filariasis. Filariasis is a tropical mosquito born parasitic disease causing obstruction of the lymph vessels. In some people the presence of the worm causes a tissue reaction that causes the lymph flow to be blocked. This blockage produces lymphedema which is a swelling and can eventually lead to a tremendous enlargement of an extremity or organ. When elephantiasis follows repeated infection, parts of the body -- particularly the legs -- become grossly enlarged and the surrounding skin hardens and ulcerates. Certain types of elephantiasis can be treated surgically. Elephantiasis of the legs is usually treated with elastic bandages and frequent elevation of the legs. The leg and foot, may swell to elephantine size. There may be allergic reactions like itching and localized swelling. The body may also react by causing calcium tissue to be deposited around the worm, walling it off and eventually causing its death. In humans, the mature worm lives tightly coiled in the lymphatic vessels where they reproduce. The female holds the fertilized eggs in her body. Later the embryos, called microfilariae, are discharged alive. An interesting feature of these worms is the periodic swarming of the microfilariae in the bloodstream. In most species swarming takes place at night. The embryos can be taken up by an insect only when they are in a human's bloodstream. They develope into infective larvae in the insect, which is the intermediate host. These hosts are various genera of mosquitoes, notably A?des, Anopheles, and Culex. Within 10 to 11 days after ingestion by a human skin they migrate to the lymphayic vessels

Pragmatism in Navarre’s Heptameron :: Navarre Heptameron

Pragmatism in Navarre’s Heptameron In Navarre’s Heptameron, the tale of the princess who thwarts an attempted rape reveals the superiority of pragmatism over passion in a Europe transitioning from the medieval period to the Renaissance. Firstly, it is worth mentioning that the princess’ physical defeat of her lustful attacker would have violated traditional societal mores vis-à  -vis the male-female power dynamic. However, it is the princess’ social response that is most significant. While initially insistent on the would-be rapists ‘head’, she calms down after a discussion with her assistant. Her good judgment eventually prevails and the conclusion is favorable for her. The princess was a woman of moral uprightness; that is emphasized in the tale. Her rage emanated from her knowledge that a man, whom she, in an exercise of free will and of her honor, had rejected, would then try to take forcefully that which she had refused to give voluntarily. Clearly, the assailant (also her host) deserved to be punished. The medieval solution would be execution of the attacker; that was the surest way of preserving the family’s honor. However, in the process, the princess’ personal reputation could be destroyed. So, the princess pursues her own personal interest; she refuses to be a victim of â€Å"greater good† philosophy. Her innovative solution leads to the host being consumed with his own guilt. He can no longer bear to face the woman he loved so greatly. His bruises serve as a personal reminder of his sin. The princess, on the other hand, receives confirmation of her suspicions—which she would have been deprived of had she punished her host in a more traditional fashion—and her honor remains intact. Her scheme is also more torturesome for the host; he knows that she might know and her professional and noble behavior throughout attests to her goodness—a goodness he tried to violate.

Kaplan P4 Mock Exam

ACCA REVISION MOCK June 2010 Question paper Time allowed Reading and planning: Writing: 15 minutes 3 hours This paper is divided into two sections: Section A TWO compulsory questions Section B TWO questions ONLY to be attempted Formulae Sheet and Mathematical Tables are on pages 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 Do NOT open this paper until instructed by the supervisor This question paper must not be removed from the examination hall Kaplan Publishing/Kaplan Financial KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 1 of 14 Paper P4 Advanced Financial Management ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management  © Kaplan Financial Limited, 2010 All rights reserved.No part of this examination may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission from Kaplan Publishing. The text in this material and any others made available by any Kaplan Group company does not amount to advice on a particular matter and should not be taken as such. No reliance should be placed on the content as the basis for any investment or other decision or in connection with any advice given to third parties. Please consult your appropriate professional adviser as necessary.Kaplan Publishing Limited and all other Kaplan group companies expressly disclaim all liability to any person in respect of any losses or other claims, whether direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or otherwise arising in relation to the use of such materials. Page 2 of 14 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Revision Mock Questions FORMULAE SHEET Modigliani and Miller proposition 2 (with tax) ke = kie + (1 ? T)(kie ? kd) Vd Ve Two asset portfolio sp = 2 2 w a s a + w 2 s 2 + 2w a w b rab s a s b b b The capital asset pricing model E(ri) = Rf + ? i(E(rm) ? Rf) The asset beta formula ? ? ? Vd (1 ? T ) ? Ve ? a = ? ?e ? + ? ?d ? ? (Ve + Vd (1 ?T )) ? ? Ve + Vd (1 ? T )) ? The growth model Po = D o (1 + g ) (re ? g) Gordon’s growth approxi mation g = bre The weighted average cost of capital ? Ve ? ? Vd ? WACC = ? ?k e + ? ? k d (1 ? T ) ? Ve + Vd ? ? Ve + Vd ? The Fisher formula (1+i) = (1+r)(1+h) Purchasing power parity and interest rate parity s1 = S o x (1 + h c ) (1 + h b ) f0 = so x (1 + i c ) (1 + i b ) KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 3 of 14 ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management The Black-Scholes option pricing model c = PaN(d1) – PeN(d2)e? rt Where: The forex modified Black-Scholes option pricing model c = e? rt [F0N(d1) ? XN(d2)] Or d1 = In(Pa / Pe ) + (r + 0. 5s ) t s t p = e–rt [XN(? d2) ? F0N(? d1)] Where: d 2 = d1 ? s t d1 = and 1n (F0 / X) + s T / 2 s T 2 d 2 = d1 ? s T The put call parity relationship p = c ? Pa + Pee? rt Modified Internal Rate of Return ? PV ? n MIRR = ? R ? (1 + re) – 1 ? PV1 ? 1 Page 4 of 14 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Revision Mock Questions MATHEMATICAL TABLES Standard normal distribution table 0. 00 . 0000 . 0398 . 0793 . 1179 . 1554 . 1915 . 2257 . 2580 . 2881 . 3159 . 3413 . 3 643 . 3849 . 4032 . 4192 . 4332 . 4452 . 4554 . 4641 . 4713 . 4772 . 4821 . 4861 . 4893 . 4918 . 4938 . 4953 . 4965 . 4974 . 4981 . 4987 0. 01 . 0040 . 0438 . 0832 . 1217 . 1591 . 1950 . 2291 . 2611 . 910 . 3186 . 3438 . 3665 . 3869 . 4049 . 4207 . 4345 . 4463 . 4564 . 4649 . 4719 . 4778 . 4826 . 4865 . 4896 . 4920 . 4940 . 4955 . 4966 . 4975 . 4982 . 4987 0. 02 . 0080 . 0478 . 0871 . 1255 . 1628 . 1985 . 2324 . 2642 . 2939 . 3212 . 3461 . 3686 . 3888 . 4066 . 4222 . 4357 . 4474 . 4573 . 4656 . 4726 . 4783 . 4830 . 4868 . 4898 . 4922 . 4941 . 4956 . 4967 . 4976 . 4983 . 4987 0. 03 . 0120 . 0517 . 0910 .1293 . 1664 . 2019 . 2357 . 2673 . 2967 . 3238 . 3485 . 3708 . 3907 . 4082 . 4236 . 4370 . 4485 . 4582 . 4664 . 4732 . 4788 . 4834 . 4871 . 4901 . 4925 . 4943 . 4957 . 4968 . 4977 . 4983 . 4988 0. 04 . 0159 . 0557 . 0948 . 331 . 1700 . 2054 . 2389 . 2704 . 2995 . 3264 . 3508 . 3729 . 3925 . 4099 . 4251 . 4382 . 4495 . 4591 . 4671 . 4738 . 4793 . 4838 . 4875 . 4904 . 4927 . 4945 . 4959 . 4969 . 4977 . 4984 . 4988 0. 05 . 0199 . 0596 . 0987 . 1368 . 1736 . 2088 . 2422 . 2734 . 3023 . 3289 . 3531 . 3749 . 3944 . 4115 . 4265 . 4394 . 4505 . 4599 . 4678 . 4744 . 4798 . 4842 . 4878 . 4906 . 4929 . 4946 . 4960 . 4970 . 4978 . 4984 . 4989 0. 06 . 0239 . 0636 . 1026 . 1406 . 1772 . 2123 . 2454 . 2764 . 3051 . 3315 . 3554 . 3770 . 3962 . 4131 . 4279 . 4406 . 4515 . 4608 . 4686 . 4750 . 4803 . 4846 . 4881 . 4909 . 4931 . 4948 . 4961 . 4971 . 4979 . 4985 . 989 0. 07 . 0279 . 0675 . 1064 . 1443 . 1808 . 2157 . 2486 . 2794 . 3078 . 3340 . 3577 . 3790 . 3980 . 4147 . 4292 . 4418 . 4525 . 4616 . 4693 . 4756 . 4808 . 4850 . 4884 . 4911 . 4932 . 4949 . 4962 . 4972 . 4980 . 4985 . 4989 0. 08 . 0319 . 0714 . 1103 . 1480 . 1844 . 2190 . 2518 . 2823 . 3106 . 3365 . 3599 . 3810 . 3997 . 4162 . 4306 . 4430 . 4535 . 4625 . 4699 . 4762 . 4812 . 4854 . 4887 . 4913 . 4934 . 4951 . 4963 . 4973 . 4980 . 4986 . 4990 0. 09 . 0359 . 0753 . 1141 . 1517 . 1879 . 2224 . 2549 . 2852 . 3133 . 3389 . 3621 . 3830 . 4015 . 4177 . 4319 . 4441 . 4545 . 4633 . 4706 . 4767 . 4817 . 4857 . 4890 . 4916 . 4936 . 952 . 4964 . 4974 . 4981 . 4986 . 4990 0. 0 0. 1 0. 2 0. 3 0. 4 0. 5 0. 6 0. 7 0. 8 0. 9 1. 0 1. 1 1. 2 1. 3 1. 4 1. 5 1. 6 1. 7 1. 8 1. 9 2. 0 2. 1 2. 2 2. 3 2. 4 2. 5 2. 6 2. 7 2. 8 2. 9 3. 0 This table can be used to calculate N (d1), the cumulative normal distribution function needed for the Black-Scholes model of option pricing. If d1 > 0, add 0. 5 to the relevant number above. If d1 < 0, subtract the relevant number above from 0. 5. KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 5 of 14 ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management Present value table Present value of ? 1, i. e. (1 + r)-n where r = discount rate n = number of periods until paymentPeriods (n) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Periods (n) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1% 0. 990 0. 980 0. 971 0. 961 0. 951 0. 942 0. 933 0. 923 0. 914 0. 905 0. 896 0. 887 0. 879 0. 870 0. 861 2% 0. 980 0. 961 0. 942 0. 924 0. 906 0. 888 0. 871 0. 853 0. 837 0. 820 0. 804 0. 788 0. 773 0. 758 0. 743 3% 0. 971 0. 943 0. 915 0. 888 0. 863 0. 837 0. 813 0. 789 0. 766 0. 744 0. 722 0. 701 0. 681 0. 661 0. 642 4% 0. 962 0. 925 0. 889 0. 855 0. 822 0. 790 0. 760 0. 731 0. 703 0. 676 0. 650 0. 625 0. 601 0. 577 0. 555 5% 0. 952 0. 907 0. 864 0. 823 0. 784 0. 746 0. 711 0. 677 0. 645 0. 614 0. 585 0. 557 0. 530 0. 505 0. 481 6% 0. 43 0. 890 0. 840 0. 792 0. 747 0. 705 0. 665 0. 627 0. 592 0. 558 0. 527 0. 497 0. 469 0. 442 0. 417 7% 0. 935 0. 873 0. 816 0. 763 0. 713 0. 666 0. 623 0. 582 0. 544 0. 508 0. 475 0. 444 0. 415 0. 388 0. 362 8% 0. 926 0. 857 0. 794 0. 735 0. 681 0. 630 0. 583 0. 540 0. 500 0. 463 0. 429 0. 397 0. 368 0. 340 0. 315 9% 0. 917 0. 842 0. 772 0. 708 0. 650 0. 596 0. 547 0. 502 0. 460 0. 422 0. 388 0. 356 0. 326 0. 299 0. 275 10% 0. 909 0. 826 0. 751 0. 683 0. 621 0. 564 0. 513 0. 467 0. 424 0. 386 0. 350 0. 319 0. 290 0. 263 0. 239 11% 0. 901 0. 812 0. 731 0. 659 0. 593 0. 535 0. 482 0. 434 0. 391 0. 352 0. 317 0. 286 0. 258 0. 232 0. 209 2% 0. 893 0. 797 0. 712 0. 636 0. 567 0. 507 0. 452 0. 404 0. 361 0. 322 0. 287 0. 257 0. 229 0. 205 0. 183 13% 0. 885 0. 783 0. 693 0. 613 0. 543 0. 480 0. 425 0. 376 0. 333 0. 295 0. 261 0. 231 0. 204 0. 181 0. 160 14% 0. 877 0. 769 0. 675 0. 592 0. 519 0. 456 0. 400 0. 351 0. 308 0. 270 0. 237 0. 208 0. 182 0. 160 0. 140 15% 0. 870 0. 756 0. 658 0. 572 0. 497 0. 432 0. 376 0. 327 0. 284 0. 247 0. 215 0. 187 0. 163 0. 141 0. 123 16% 0. 862 0. 743 0. 641 0. 552 0. 476 0. 410 0. 354 0. 305 0. 263 0. 227 0. 195 0. 168 0. 145 0. 125 0. 108 17% 0. 855 0. 731 0. 624 0. 534 0. 456 0. 390 0. 333 0. 285 0. 243 0. 208 0. 178 0. 152 0. 130 0. 11 0. 095 18% 0. 847 0. 718 0. 609 0. 516 0. 437 0. 370 0. 314 0. 266 0. 225 0. 191 0. 162 0. 137 0. 116 0. 099 0. 084 19% 0. 840 0. 706 0. 593 0. 499 0. 419 0. 352 0. 296 0. 249 0. 206 0. 176 0. 148 0. 124 0. 104 0. 088 0. 074 20% 0. 833 0. 694 0. 579 0. 482 0. 402 0. 335 0. 279 0. 233 0. 194 0. 162 0. 135 0. 112 0. 933 0. 078 0. 065 Page 6 of 14 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Revision Mock Questions Annuity table 1- (1+ r) -n r Present value of an annuity of ? 1, i. e. where r = interest rate n = number of periods Periods (n) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1% 0. 990 1. 970 2. 941 3. 902 4. 853 5. 795 6. 728 7. 652 8. 566 9. 471 10. 37 11. 6 12. 13 13. 00 13. 87 2% 0. 980 1. 942 2. 884 3. 808 4. 713 5. 601 6. 472 7. 325 8. 162 8. 893 9. 787 10. 58 11. 35 12. 11 12. 85 3% 0. 971 1. 913 2. 829 3. 717 4. 580 5. 417 6. 230 7. 020 7. 786 8. 530 9. 253 9. 954 10. 63 11. 30 11. 94 4% 0. 962 1. 886 2. 775 3. 630 4. 452 5. 242 6. 002 6. 733 7. 435 8. 111 8. 760 9. 385 9. 986 10. 56 11. 12 5% 0. 952 1. 859 2. 723 3. 546 4. 329 5. 076 5. 786 6. 463 7. 108 7. 722 8. 306 8. 863 9. 394 9. 899 10. 38 6% 0. 943 1. 833 2. 673 3. 465 4. 212 4. 917 5. 582 6. 210 6. 802 7. 360 7. 887 8. 384 8. 853 9. 295 9. 712 7% 0. 935 1. 808 2. 624 3. 387 4. 100 4. 767 5. 389 5. 971 6. 515 7. 024 7. 499 7. 43 8. 358 8. 745 9. 108 8% 0. 926 . 178 3 2. 577 3. 312 3. 993 4. 623 5. 206 5. 747 6. 247 6. 710 7. 139 7. 536 7. 904 8. 244 8. 559 9% 0. 917 1. 759 2. 531 3. 240 3. 890 4. 486 5. 033 5. 535 5. 995 6. 418 6. 805 7. 161 7. 487 7. 786 8. 061 10% 0. 909 1. 736 2. 487 3. 170 3. 791 4. 355 4. 868 5. 335 5. 759 6. 145 6. 495 6. 814 7. 103 7. 367 7. 606 Periods (n) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 11% 0. 901 1. 713 2. 444 3. 102 3. 696 4. 231 4. 712 5. 146 5. 537 5. 889 6. 207 6. 492 6. 750 6. 982 7. 191 12% 0. 893 1. 690 2. 402 3. 037 3. 605 4. 111 4. 564 4. 968 5. 328 5. 650 5. 938 6. 194 6. 424 6. 628 6. 811 13% 0. 885 1. 668 2. 361 2. 74 3. 517 3. 998 4. 423 4. 799 5. 132 5. 426 5. 687 5. 918 6. 122 6. 302 6. 462 14% 0. 877 1. 647 2. 322 2. 914 3. 433 3. 889 4. 288 4. 639 4. 946 5. 216 5. 453 5. 660 5. 842 6. 002 6. 142 15% 0. 870 1. 626 2. 283 2. 855 3. 352 3. 784 4. 160 4. 487 4. 772 5. 019 5. 234 5. 421 5. 583 5. 724 5. 847 16% 0. 862 1. 605 2. 246 2. 798 3. 274 3. 685 4. 039 4. 344 4. 607 4. 833 5. 029 5. 197 5. 342 5. 468 5. 575 17% 0. 855 1. 585 2. 210 2. 743 3. 199 3. 589 3. 922 4. 207 4. 451 4. 659 4. 836 4. 988 5. 118 5. 229 5. 324 18% 0. 847 1. 566 2. 174 2. 690 3. 127 3. 496 3. 812 4. 078 4. 303 4. 494 4. 656 4. 793 4. 910 5. 008 5. 092 19% 0. 840 1. 47 2. 140 2. 639 3. 058 3. 410 3. 706 3. 954 4. 163 4. 339 4. 586 4. 611 4. 715 4. 802 4. 876 20% 0. 833 1. 528 2. 106 2. 589 2. 991 3. 326 3. 605 3. 837 4. 031 4. 192 4. 327 4. 439 4. 533 4. 611 4. 675 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 7 of 14 ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management SECTION A TWO COMPULSORY QUESTIONS QUESTION 1 (a) Hunt plc is a medium sized UK company that trades with companies in several European countries. Trade deals over the next three months are shown below. Assume that it is now 20 April. Two months’ time Receipts Payments ? â‚ ¬393,265 ? ? ? ? Three months’ time Receipts Payments â‚ ¬491,011 â‚ ¬60,505 â‚ ¬890,217 â‚ ¬1,997,651 Kr 8. m ? France Germany Denmark Foreign exchange rates Spot Two months f orward Three months forward Dkroner (Kr)/? 10. 68 – 10. 71 10. 74 – 10. 77 10. 78 – 10. 83 Euro (â‚ ¬)/? 1. 439 – 1. 465 1. 433 – 1. 459 1. 431 – 1. 456 Annual interest rates (valid for two months or three months) Borrowing (%) United Kingdom 7. 50 France 5. 75 Germany 5. 75 Denmark 8. 00 Investing (%) 5. 50 3. 50 3. 50 6. 00 Futures market rates Three month Euro contracts (125,000 Euro contract size). Contracts are for buying or selling Euros. Futures prices are in ? per Euro. Current 20 April June September December 0. 6964 0. 6983 0. 013 Page 8 of 14 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Revision Mock Questions Required: (i) Using the forward market, money market and currency futures market as appropriate, devise a foreign exchange hedging strategy that is expected to maximise the cash flows of Hunt plc at the end of the three month period. (Note: Denmark is not a member of the Euro block. ) Transaction costs and margin requirements may be ignored for thi s part of the question. The basis may be assumed to reduce to zero in a linear manner over the period to expiry of the futures contracts. Futures contracts may be assumed to mature at the month end. 15 marks) (ii) Successive daily prices on the futures market for a June contract which Hunt plc has sold are: Selling price Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 0. 6916 0. 6930 0. 6944 0. 6940 Initial margins are ? 1,000 per contract. Variation margin is 100% of the initial margin. Spot exchange rates may be assumed to not change significantly during these three days. For each of the three days, show the effect on your cash flow of the price changes of the contract. (4 marks) (b) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of forward contracts and currency futures for hedging against foreign exchange risk. 6 marks) (Total: 25 marks) KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 9 of 14 ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management QUESTION 2 Brookday plc is considering whether to establish a subsidiary in the USA. The subsidiary would cost a total of $20 million, including $4 million for working capital. A suitable existing factory and machinery have been located and production could commence quickly. A payment of $19 million would be required immediately, with the remainder required at the end of year 1. Production and sales are forecast at 50,000 units in the first year and 100,000 units per year thereafter.The unit sales price, unit variable cost and total fixed costs in year 1 are expected to be $100, $40 and $1 million respectively. After year 1 prices and costs are expected to rise at the same rate as the previous year’s level of inflation in the USA; this is forecast to be 5% per year for the next five years. In addition, a fixed royalty of ? 5 per unit will be payable to the parent company, payment to be made at the end of each year. Brookday has a four year planning horizon and estimates that the realisable value of the fixed assets in four years’ time will be $20 million.It is the company†™s policy to remit the maximum funds possible to the parent company at the end of each year. Assume that there are no legal complications to prevent this. Brookday currently exports to the USA yielding an after-tax net cash flow of ? 100,000. No production will be exported to the USA if the subsidiary is established. It is expected that new export markets of a similar worth in Southern Europe could replace exports to the USA. United Kingdom production is at full capacity and there are no plans for further expansion in capacity. Tax on the company’s profits is at a rate of 50% in both countries, payable one year in arrears.A double taxation treaty exists between the UK and USA and no double taxation is expected to arise. No withholding tax is levied on royalties payable from the USA to the UK. Tax allowable depreciation is at a rate of 25% on a straight line basis on all fixed assets. Brookday believes that the appropriate beta for this investment is 1. 2. The market rate of return is 12%, and the risk-free rate is 7%. The current spot exchange rate is US $1. 300/? 1, and the pound is expected to fall in value by approximately 5% per year relative to the US dollar.Required: (a) Evaluate the proposed investment from the viewpoint of Brookday plc. State clearly any assumptions that you make. (20 marks) (b) What further information and analysis might be useful in the evaluation of this project? (10 marks) Briefly discuss ethical issues that might need to be considered as part of a multinational company’s investment decision process (5 marks) (Total: 35 marks) (c) Page 10 of 14 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Revision Mock Questions SECTION B TWO QUESTIONS ONLY TO BE ATTEMPTED QUESTION 3 The following data relates to a large company operating in the electronics industry. 0X3 After tax earnings (? million) Dividend per share (pence) Number of ordinary shares (million) Average share price (pence) Net capital investment (? million) Annual increase in inflation (%) 1 30 9. 75 508 740 210 4 20X4 195 11. 0 600 875 270 4 20X5 255 12. 75 650 690 340 3 20X6 295 14. 0 695 20X7 472 15. 5 930 820 1,012 410 520 3 3 A major institutional shareholder has criticised the level of dividend payment of the company suggesting that it should be substantially increased. Required: (a) Briefly discuss the factors that are likely to influence the company's dividend policy. 6 marks) Discuss whether or not the institutional shareholder's criticism is likely to be valid. (6 marks) Hiome plc has experienced a period of above average growth for its industry, but is now growing at a normal rate of about 10% per annum. The company’s directors are reviewing the current dividend policy. One director has suggested that, as the company no longer needs as much internally generated funds to finance new investment, a higher proportion of earnings should be paid out as dividends in order to benefit the company’s shareholders.Another director has read that two eminent economists, Miller and Modigliani, have stated that the pattern of dividend payouts is irrelevant, and therefore shareholders will experience no gain from a higher level of dividends. Discuss whether or not an increase in dividends is likely to benefit the shareholders of Hiome plc. (8 marks) (Total: 20 marks) (b) (c) KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 11 of 14 ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management QUESTION 4 (a) One of the most important elements of any decision is the specification of goals or objectives which the decision maker seeks to achieve.The literature on capital budgeting, or investment appraisal, generally assumes the goal of a company is the maximisation of shareholder wealth. Required: Discuss the rationale for this assumption. Include in your discussion an explanation of alternative goals available to companies. (12 marks) (b) XYZ plc is a medium-sized company operating in the chemical industry. It is a profitable business, currently producing at below maximum capacity. It has on e large factory located on the outskirts of a small industrial town. It is the region’s main employer. The company is evaluating a project which has substantial environmental implications.Required: Discuss the inclusion of environmental costs and benefits into the investment appraisal process, and explain how this might be done. (8 marks) (Total: 20 marks) QUESTION 5 Island Energy Ltd is a small private company on the Island of Senyeh ? a small island whose company law and accountancy practices are based on those of the UK. The company is the monopoly provider of all domestic fuels (electricity, gas and heating oil). The company imports oils and gas and generates and distributes its own electricity. The company currently has 20 staff working on engineering and electrical work at varying level of skills and three clerk/typists.The company at present does not have any management staff: the previous Managing Director (an engineer) resigned at the end of 2006 and has not been rep laced; the Chairman (a retired engineer) has taken over the dayto-day management. The remaining board members are also all retired and comprise two lawyers, a teacher, a politician, an engineer and an operations director for a shipping company. Their role is simply to rubber-stamp the Chairman’s decisions – none of them takes an active role in the company and there have been board meetings where it has been difficult to obtain a quorum.Recently the island’s press has started to express concern about the way the company is being run – partly in reaction to public dismay at the resignation of the MD who was felt to be more approachable than the Chairman, and partly because the company is seen to be spending vast sums of money on capital equipment and worries have started to emerge about how this will impact on the price of fuel. Fuel prices on Senyeh are currently 20% above those on other islands in the region. Page 12 of 14 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Revision Mock QuestionsPengers, a member of the government of Senyeh has recently read an article about corporate failure and thinks that Island Energy Ltd may fit some of the criteria; Lakes, another government member, disagrees – arguing that the Chairman has been in place for several years ? and has asked you, a newly qualified ACCA accountant, to apply the model to show that there is no reason for concern. N. B. Accounting data for the company is presented in the Appendix to this question. You find that the model that Pengers read about was Altman’s Z score model applied to private manufacturing companies and that: Z score = 0. 17X1+ 0. 847X2 + 3. 107X3 + 0. 420X4 + 0. 998X5 where: X1 = working capital/total assets X2 = retained earnings/total assets X3 = earnings before interest and tax/total assets X4 = market value of equity/total liabilities X5 = sales/total assets Further research shows that companies with a score less than 1. 23 have a 95% chance of bankruptcy, those with a score greater than 2. 90 are unlikely to become bankrupt and those in between the two figures require additional scrutiny. (a) Calculate the Z score for Island Energy Ltd and comment upon your findings. 12 marks) (b) List any further concerns you may have about the company and any concerns you may have about the use of the model. (8 marks) (Total: 20 marks) Appendix: Island Energy Ltd Income Statement for the year ended 31 December 20X7 TURNOVER Less: Cost of sales GROSS PROFIT Less: Administrative costs OPERATING PROFIT/(LOSS) Bank charges and interest payable PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES BEFORE TAXATION Tax on profit on ordinary activities PROFIT/(LOSS) FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR NET DIVIDEND PAID (NON-EQUITY) TRANSFER TO/(FROM) RESERVES ? 2,374,087 ? 1,923,872 450,215 ? 381,592 68,623 ? 3,999 64,624 ? 8,753 55,871 ? ,120 54,751 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 13 of 14 ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management Island Energy Ltd Statement of Financial Position as at 31 December 20X7 ? NON CURREN T ASSETS Tangible assets CURRENT ASSETS Inventory Receivables Cash at bank and in hand ? 1,622,009 213,979 275,522 487,953 ––––––––– 977,454 ––––––––– TOTAL ASSETS 2,599,463 ––––––––– CAPITAL AND LIABILITIES CURRENT LIABILITIES – TRADE PAYABLES LONG-TERM LOAN CAPITAL AND RESERVES CALLED-UP SHARE CAPITAL RESERVES General reserve Profit and loss reserve 586,117 400,000 64,405 1,129,584 419,357 ––––––––– 1,548,941 ––––––––– TOTAL CAPITAL AND LIABILITIES 2,599,463 –––––––– Page 14 of 14 KAPLAN PUBLISHING ACCA Paper P4 Advanced Financial Management June 2010 Revision Mock – Answers To gain maximum benefit, do not refer to these answers until you have completed the revision mock questions and submitted them for marking. KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 1 of 17 ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management  © Kaplan Financial Limited, 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this examination may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission from Kaplan Publishing.The text in this material and any others made available by any Kaplan Group company does not amount to advice on a particular matter and should not be taken as such. No reliance should be placed on the content as the basis for any investment or other decision or in connection with any advice given to third parties. Please consult your appropriate professional adviser as necessary. Kaplan Publishing Limited and all other Kaplan group companies expressly disclaim all liability to any person in respect of any losses or other claims, whether direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or otherwise arising in relation to the use of such materials.Page 2 of 17 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Revision Mock Answers ANSWER 1 (a) (i) Any hedging should be based upon expected net receipts and payments. Net receipts/payments Receipts Two months Three months Three months Forward market hedge 393,265 1. 433 676,928 1. 431 Kr8. 6m 10. 83 Payments â‚ ¬393,265 â‚ ¬676,928 Kr 8. 6m Two months = (? 274,435) Three months = (? 473,045) Three months = ?794,090 Money market hedge (i) Now Payment Euro deposit rate (1. 005833) 2 months (â‚ ¬393,265) Buy Deposit â‚ ¬390,984 (â‚ ¬393,265) 0 Buy at spot (Immediate payment in ? s) 1. 439 (? 271,705) (1. 0125) UK borrowing rate (? 275,101) Forward market The forward market is cheaper.Payment (? 274,435) KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 3 of 17 ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management Now Payment Euro deposit rate (1. 00875) 3 months (â‚ ¬676,928) Buy Deposit â‚ ¬671 ,056 (â‚ ¬676,928) 0 Buy at spot (Immediate payment in ? s) 1. 439 (? 466,335) (1. 01875) UK borrowing rate (? 475,079) Forward market The forward market is cheaper. Now Receipt Danish borrowing rate (1. 02) Payment (? 473,045) 3 months Kr8,600,000 Sell Loan Kr8,431,373 (Kr8,600,000) 0 Sell at spot (Immediate receipt in ? s) 10. 71 ? 787,243 (1. 01375) UK deposit rate ? 798,068 Forward market The money market offers the better alternative in this case.Futures hedge – The currency of the contract is Euros Payment of â‚ ¬393,265 1 Set up the hedge: Payment in Euros Buying Euros Buy E contracts Receipt ? 794,090 Number of contracts: = â‚ ¬393,265 ? â‚ ¬125,000 = 3. 15 contracts say 3 contracts Buy 3 â‚ ¬ June future contracts at a current price of ? 0. 6964 Page 4 of 17 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Revision Mock Answers 2 The play off: Now 20 April Spot market ? /Euro (1/1. 439) Futures market ? /Euro ? 0. 6964 Basis 0. 0015 ? 0. 6980 (BAL) 0. 0002 10 days of 71 left BASIS N IL Conversion date 20 June Expiry date 30/6 ?0. 6949 Fwd rate 1/1. 433, i. e ? 0. 6978 3 Profit on the futures: Profit on futures: ? 0. 6980-0. 6964) ? (125,000 ? 3) = ? 600. In sterling, therefore no need to convert. 4 The cash flows: Actual payment: Profit on futures Net payment â‚ ¬393,265 ? 0. 6978 = (? 274,420) ? 600 –––––––– (? 273,820) –––––––– In this case, the futures alternative is cheaper than the forward market. Payment of â‚ ¬676,928 1 Set up the hedge: Payment in Euros Buying Euros Buy E contracts No of contracts = â‚ ¬676,928 ? â‚ ¬125,000 = 5. 42 contracts say 5 contracts Buy 5 E September future contracts at a current price of ? 0. 6983 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 5 of 17 ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management 2 The play off: Now 20 April Spot market ? /Euro (1/1. 39) Futures market ? /Euro ? 0. 6983 Basis 0. 0034 ? 0. 7003 (BAL) 0. 0015 BASIS NIL 72 days of 163 left Conversion date 20 July Expiry date 30/9 ?0. 6949 Fwd rate 1/1. 431 i. e. ?0. 6988 3 Profit on the futures: Profit on futures: ? (0. 7003-0. 6983) ? (125,000 x 5) = ? 1,250. In sterling, therefore no need to convert. 4 The cash flows: Actual payment: Profit on futures Net payment â‚ ¬676,928 ? 0. 6988 = (? 473,037) ? 1,250 –––––––– (? 471,787) –––––––– Again, the futures are cheaper than the forward market. In conclusion, the money market should be used for the Danish Kroner hedge and the futures market for the Euro hedges.Although in reality the outcome of futures hedges is not known with certainty, as the basis will probably not reduce to zero in a linear manner before the expiry dates, i. e. we do not know what the closing futures price will be. (ii) Day one – a movement from 0. 6916 to 0. 6930 would produce a loss of 125,000 (0. 0014) or ? 1 75. You would need to provide an extra ? 175 to maintain the margin at ? 1,000, otherwise the contract will be closed out by the Clearing House. Day two – the price change is the same and a further ? 175 would need to be provided to maintain the required margin. Day three – a profit is made of 125,000 (0. 944 – 0. 6940) or ? 50, which may be taken in cash. Page 6 of 17 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Revision Mock Answers (b) Forward contracts Advantages (i) Forward contracts on the Over The Counter (OTC) market are tailored to the needs of the parties concerned and are flexible in terms of size and maturity. (ii) No payments are required until the contracts are settled. (iii) Contracts are available in a very wide range of currencies. Disadvantages (i) Forward contracts have two prices, a buying and a selling price, which means that companies must bear the cost of the spread between these prices. ii) Prices can vary according to the size of deal and the customer. (iii) Long maturity contracts are rare (normally six months) and some currencies do not have a forward market. Currency futures Advantages (i) There is a single specified price which is transparent. (ii) As the market’s Clearing House is the formal counter party to every transaction. This effectively reduces counter party default risk for those dealing in futures. Disadvantages (i) Futures contracts are not very flexible. Contracts are only of a specified size and maturity and are only available for a very limited number of currencies. ii) The cost of operating the margin system. An initial margin (deposit) is required and further variation margins are necessary on a daily basis. KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 7 of 17 ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management ACCA marking scheme (a) (i) Use of net receipts and payments Forward market Money market Futures market Conclusions Maximum (ii) Understanding of variation margin Day 1 and 2 loss Day 3 gain Maximum Marks 1 2 4 6 2 ___ 15 ___ 1 2 1 ___ 4 ___ ( b) Advantages and disadvantages of forward contracts Advantages and disadvantages of futures 3-4 3-4 Max 6 Total ___ 25 ___ Page 8 of 17 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Revision Mock Answers ANSWER 2 a) Brookday’s stated policy is to remit the maximum funds possible to the parent company. The net present value of relevant cash flows to the parent company will be the appropriate decision criterion, and should lead to maximisation of parent shareholder wealth. The dollar profit and relevant cash flow from the subsidiary must be determined first. Projected earnings data of the US subsidiary Year 1 $000 5,000 2,000 1,000 309 4,000 7,309 (2,309) 0 (2,309 Year 2 $000 10,500 4,200 1,050 586 4,000 9,836 664 0 664 Year 3 $000 11,025 4,410 1,102 557 4,000 10,069 956 0 956 Year 4 $000 11,580 4,630 1,158 529 4,000 10,317 1,263 0 1,263 Year 5 $000Sales (Note 1) Variable costs Fixed costs Royalty (Note 2) Depreciation Taxable profit US tax payable (Note 3) Profit after tax (287) (287) Projected cash flo w data of the US subsidiary Year 0 $000 Profit after tax Depreciation Initial investment Additional capital Realisable value of fixed assets (Note 4) Tax on realisable value Working capital available Cash flows available to parent Exchange rate $/? (W2) Year 1 $000 (2,309) 4,000 (19,000) (1,000) Year 2 $000 664 4,000 Year 3 $000 956 4,000 Year 4 $000 1,263 4,000 Year 5 $000 (287) 20,000 (10,000) 4,000 –––––– ––––––– ––––––– ––––––– ––––––– ––––––– (19,000) 1. 300 691 1. 235 4,664 1. 173 4,956 29,263 (10,287) 1. 115 1. 059 1. 006 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 9 of 17 ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management Projected cash flow data for the parent company Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 ? 000 ? 000 ? 000 Available from US s ubsidiary (14,615) 559 3,976 Royalty payment 250 500 UK tax on royalty (Note 5) (125) Net cash flow Discount factors @ 13% (Note 6) Present values (14,615) 1 (14,615) 809 0. 885 716 4,351 0. 783 3,407 Year 3 ? 000 4,445 500 (250) 4,695 0. 693 3,254 Year 4 ? 000 27,633 500 (250) 27,883 0. 13 17,092 Year 5 ? 000 (10,226) (250) (10,476) 0. 543 (5,688) Net present value = ? 4,166,000 The positive NPV means that the project is acceptable. The loss of exports to the USA if the project is undertaken is not a relevant cash flow. Notes: 1 Sales price increases by 5% per year Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Price 100. 00 105. 00 110. 25 115. 80 Units (000) 50 100 100 100 Sales revenue (000) 5,000 10,500 11,025 11,580 Similar calculations are necessary for variable costs, and price adjustments for fixed costs. 2 The royalty is payable in ? s and will depend upon the $/? exchange rate.The ? is expected to fall in value by 5% per year relative to the $. Year 1 Expected exchange rate $/? Royalty (? 0 00) Royalty ($000) 3 4 1. 235 250 309 Year 2 1. 173 500 586 Year 3 1. 115 500 557 Year 4 1. 059 500 529 Year 5 1. 006 5 Losses are assumed to be carried forward and allowed against future profits for taxation purposes. Although the subsidiary will exist for more than four years, the company’s planning horizon is only four years. A value must be placed upon the subsidiary at this time. The only information available is an estimate of realisable value of fixed assets.Tax on this realisable value will be payable as the assets are fully depreciated. Potential working capital available must also be considered. There will be no double taxation on cash flows from the USA. However, the royalty has not been subject to US tax, and will be liable to UK taxation. Page 10 of 17 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Revision Mock Answers 6 Using the capital asset pricing model to determine the discount rate: R project = R project = = RF + (RM ? RF)? project 7% + (12% ? 7%) 1. 2 13% (b) Further information and analysis might include: (i) How accurate are the cash flow forecasts? How have they been established? ii) Why has a four-year planning horizon been chosen? The valuation of the fixed assets at year 4 is highly significant to the NPV solution. How has this valuation been established? Is this valuation based upon future earnings as a going concern? It would be more desirable to evaluate the project over the whole of its projected life. (iii) Risk is taken into account by using a CAPM derived discount rate. How has this rate been derived for a situation involving two countries? Does this fully reflect the risk of the project? Is the use of CAPM appropriate (as it is a single period model)?Other, theoretically weaker measures of risk might be useful as an aid to decision making, e. g. sensitivity analysis of the key variables or simulation. (iv) Cash flow is usually assumed to occur at the end of each year. Greater accuracy would result if consideration were given to when during the ye ar cash flow arises and these cash flows discounted at the appropriate rate. (v) Political and economic factors. How stable is the US government policy? Will a change in government lead to changes in taxation policy, exchange controls, restrictions on the remittance of funds, attitudes toward foreign investment? vi) Are there any intangible benefits of establishing a manufacturing plant in the USA, e. g. making the American public more aware of Brookday’s product? (vii) Real options analysis. The Black-Scholes option valuation model could be used to place a value on any real options. Thus enabling the calculation of a true NPV of project with options: True NPV = Short term NPV + NPV of all real options Multinational companies may engage in activities which, whilst not illegal, are questionable ethically, and may have detrimental long-term effects on the company’s reputation.Ethical considerations include: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) Would the investment cause pollutio n or other environmental damage in the country? Does the investment involve experiments on animals, genetic modifications etc? Should the investment be undertaken if the country has a poor record on human rights? If local officials ask for ‘inducements’ to facilitate the investment process, should these be paid? Would the investment in any way assist trading in drugs or arms? Are wages to be paid below subsistence level? Are working conditions of an acceptable standard? c) KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 11 of 17 ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management ACCA marking scheme (a) Exchange rates Sales Variable costs Fixed costs Royalty Depreciation US tax payable Tax on realisable value Working capital Discount rate Loss on exports – not relevant UK tax on royalties NPV and conclusion Reward technique even if calculation errors exist Maximum (b) (c) 1 – 2 marks for each good point 1 – 2 marks for each good point Total Marks 2 2 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 ___ 20 ___ 10 5 ___ 35 ___ Page 12 of 17 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Revision Mock Answers SECTION B ANSWER 3 a) There is considerable debate as to whether dividend policy can influence corporate value. Much of the debate concerns the question of whether it is the dividend that affects share value, or the information implied by the payment of the dividend. Dividends may provide, in the cheapest and most efficient manner, unambiguous signals about a company's future prospects and management performance. Managers have an incentive to send truthful signals via dividends, as any changes in dividends that are not likely to be accompanied by changes in cash flows will not fool a market that is at least semi-strong form efficient.Dividends therefore may be a valuable communication medium. There are a number of possible practical influences on dividend policy including: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Dividends are to be discouraged as they may lead to issue costs associated with raising additional external finance. Corporate growth. The faster a company is growing the lower the dividend payment is likely to be. Liquidity. Cash is needed to pay dividends. The level of corporate liquidity might influence dividend payouts. The volatility of corporate cash flows.Companies may be reluctant to increase dividends unless they believe that future cash flows will be large enough to sustain the increased dividend payment. Legal restrictions, for example, government constraints, limitations on payments from reserves, and covenants on debt that restrict dividends. The rate of inflation. Many shareholders like dividends to increase by at least as much as inflation. The desires and tax position of the shareholder clientele. However, most companies have a broad spread of shareholders with different needs and tax positions. (v) (vi) (vii) b) Statistical data: Earnings per share (pence) Retained earnings (? m) Payout ratio (%) Dividends (? m) Real growth in dividend per share (%) 20X3 25. 6 80 38. 1 49. 5 20X4 32. 5 129 33. 8 66. 0 8. 48 20X5 39. 2 172 32. 5 82. 9 12. 53 20X6 42. 4 198 33. 0 97. 3 6. 60 20X7 50. 8 328 30. 5 144. 1 7. 49 The company's dividend per share has increased, in real terms, by between 6. 6% and 12. 53% per year during the last five years. Although no comparative industry data is available, this appears to be a good performance. The payout ratio has reduced from 38% in 20X3 to 30. % in 20X7, which may be why the institutional shareholder has KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 13 of 17 ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management made the criticism. However, there is little point in the company paying out large dividends if it has positive NPV investments which can be financed partially by dividend retention. Although there is by no means a perfect correlation between NPV and earnings per share, the fact that earnings per share have consistently increased over the period suggests that the company's investments are financially viable.The company has consistently had high net capital expenditure relative to earnings, and in such circumstances it is not unusual for dividend payments to be relatively low. The company's share price has not increased by as much as earnings per share but, without information on stock market trends and the relative risk of the company, it is not clear whether or not the company's share price is under performing. Unless the institutional shareholder could invest any dividends received to earn a higher yield (adjusted for any differences in risk) there is little evidence to support the validity of the criticism. c) The argument by Miller and Modigliani (MM) that dividend policy is irrelevant to the value of company was formulated under very restrictive perfect market conditions. If such conditions existed then shareholders would not value an increase in dividend payments. However, there are several real world factors that are likely to influence the preference of shareholders towards dividends or retentions (and hence expected capital gains). These include: †¢ Taxation.In some countries dividends and capital gains are subject to different marginal rates of taxation usually with capital gains being subject to a lower level of taxation than dividends. Brokerage fees. MM ignore brokerage fees. However, if shareholders have a preference for some current income and are paid no or low dividends, their wealth will be reduced if they have to sell some of their shares and incur brokerage fees in order to create current income.If a company needs to finance more new investment it is usually cheaper to fund investment through retained earnings as most forms of external finance involve issue costs. Information asymmetry may exist between shareholders and directors. If the market is not strong form efficient, shareholders may have less complete knowledge of the likely future prospects of the company than directors, which may influence the shareholders’ desire for dividends or capital gains. †¢ †¢ †¢ The implicati ons of an increase in dividends need to be considered by the company.Dividends are often regarded as an unbiased signal of a company’s future prospects, an increase in dividends signalling higher expected earnings. The company should be careful to inform its shareholders of the reason for any increase in dividends. A further factor is the use that the company can make of funds. If the company has a number of possible positive NPV investments, then shareholders will normally favour undertaking these investments (at least on financial grounds), as they will lead to an increase in shareholder wealth.If, however, the company has relatively few projects and can only invest surplus cash at an expected zero NPV, the arguments for retentions is weakened. For strategic and operational reasons most companies keep some funds in the form of cash or near cash, for transactional and precautionary motives and to be in the position to take advantage of unexpected opportunities that may arise . The need for cash for such purposes may influence the level of dividend payout. Page 14 of 17 KAPLAN PUBLISHING Revision Mock Answers ACCA marking scheme a) (b) (c) One mark for each valid point Two marks for calculations. 4 marks for detailed analysis/explanation Two marks for each well-explained point Total Marks Max 6 Max 6 Max 8 ___ 20 ___ ANSWER 4 (a) It is generally assumed that the major objective of decision makers in a company is to maximise the net present value of future cash flows when discounted at a rate which reflects shareholders’ required rates of return. The rationale for this assumption is that of all the stakeholders in a company the demands of the equity investors are paramount.Equity investors are dominant because they own the assets of the company and employ directors and managers (the decision makers) to make the best use of those assets. Ultimately, if the directors do not produce an, at least, adequate return for shareholders they will be out of a job. It is accepted that often alternative goals govern decision making within a company. In some cultures and political environments, the assumed dominance of shareholder interests is questioned. Why shouldn’t the providers of labour, rather than capital, have their rewards maximised?It is important to remember that it is senior management that actually make the decisions within companies and they will be looking for personal reward. They are likely to be interested in the level of their own salaries and pensions and security. It is often claimed that management seek maximum revenue rather than maximum profit, or, knowing that they may only work for a company for a limited time period, are more interested in short-term performance rather than the long-term growth of shareholders’ wealth. Finally there are other stakeholders in the company to be considered.Most companies will try to ‘balance’ the maximising of shareholder wealth with the motivation of work ers and management, the delighting of customers and a good public image. In achieving this balance shareholder wealth will not always be the major objective. (b) In the modern world companies cannot ignore the environmental implications of their actions; to do so may destroy the company because of the effect on their reputation in the eyes of customers or suppliers, or the effect of the imposition of fines and penalties if they break legislation or regulations designed to protect the environment.Including environmental costs and benefits in investment appraisal will probably require the advice of an environmental specialist who can calculate for the company such items as: (i) (ii) the costs of machinery or changes to processes to avoid environmental damage the likely costs of penalties, fines or claims for compensation if environmental damage occurs KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 15 of 17 ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management (iii) (iv) he likely effect on future revenues from any adverse p ublicity that would be likely to arise from environmental damage the likely effect on future revenues from positive publicity from going beyond statutory requirements to protect the environment. Once costed, these costs and revenues could be included in the net present value calculations undertaken by XYZ plc in its investment appraisal of the chemical project. A more extreme approach would be to place a subjective valuation on the cost of reinstating the environment to its original condition and treating that as a nominal outflow.ACCA marking scheme (a) (b) One mark for each valid point throughout One mark for each valid point throughout Total Marks Max 12 Max 8 ___ 20 ___ ANSWER 5 (a) X1 = working capital/total assets X2 = retained earnings/total assets X3 = earnings before interest and tax/total assets X4 = book value of equity/total liabilities X5 = sales/total assets And the Z score = 0. 717X1+ 0. 847X2 + 3. 107X3 + 0. 420X4 + 0. 998X5 X1 = 391,337/2,599,463 X2 = 1,548,941/2,59 9,463 X3 = 68,623/2,599,463 X4 = 64,405/986,117 X5 = 2,374,087/2,599,463 = 0. 505 = 0. 5959 = 0. 0264 = 0. 0653 = 0. 9133 Z = 0. 11 + 0. 50 + 0. 08 + 0. 03 + 0. 91 = 1. 63 Whilst Island Energy Ltd is not in the immediate danger zone, its score is in the ‘grey area’ and further analysis is recommended. (b) Further concerns about the company: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Page 16 of 17 The Chairman is also acting as MD so there is no counter-balance to him and, as such, no ‘watchdog’ over his activities. The remainder of the Board does not participate in the running of the company. There appears to be a weak finance function.There is a lack of management depth – there being no middle management. KAPLAN PUBLISHING Revision Mock Answers Concerns about the model: †¢ General limitations about the Z score (and other prediction models). These accounting based models only focus on the financial aspects of a company’s performance. This is only a snapshot of the company – maybe the position is improving. Further analysis is required to fully determine what the situation is with Island Energy Ltd. This may only be a predicator for the short term; we do not know what the company’s future plans are.ACCA marking scheme (a) (b) Calculation of each x or z score = 2 marks , interpretation 2 marks 1 mark for each valid point Total Marks Max 12 Max 8 ___ 20 ___ †¢ †¢ †¢ MARKING SCHEME This marking scheme is given as a guide to markers in the context of the suggested answers. Scope is given to markers to award marks for alternative approaches to a question, including relevant comment, and where well reasoned conclusions are provided. This is particularly the case for essay based questions where there will often be more than one definitive solution. KAPLAN PUBLISHING Page 17 of 17