Thursday, October 31, 2019

Assess the moral arguments and political actions of those who opposed Essay

Assess the moral arguments and political actions of those who opposed to the spread of slavery in the context of the mexican war and the Kansas-Nebraska act - Essay Example The Kansas-Nebraska act also pushed the country into civil war and divided the nation into two factions. The act also gave rise to a new Republican Party arguing abolishment of slavery. The arguments of Republicans against slavery were based on morality. Republicans treated everyone equally and considered freedom the most basic right. Lincoln said in his famous Lincoln-Douglas Debate â€Å"I agree with Judge Douglas he is not my equal in many respects—certainly not in color, perhaps not in moral or intellectual endowment. But in the right to eat the bread, without the leave of anybody else, which his own hand earns, he is my equal and the equal of Judge Douglas, and the equal of every living man† (Lincoln). It is important to note that those who opposed slavery were not in favor of total social equality between people of all races. However they believed that blacks were also humans and they should be treated with respect. Lincoln was actually afraid that popular sentiment would be in favor of slavery and then it would be impossible to demolish the institution of slavery from America for ever. The moral arguments of Republicans were not ideal but still they provided room for some sort of acceptance of blacks. They were saying that blacks were not equal but this does not mean that their freedom should be taken away. Social equality was not argued but practicality and humanity was made basis for abolishment of slavery. The famous poet James Russell Lowell called those people slaves who did not dare to speak for the weak (344). He was a poet who was strongly against slavery and his poems reflected his passion towards abolishment of slavery. He considered slavery immoral and devoted his poetry against it. Wilmot Proviso can be seen as an attempt to curb the spread of slavery and mitigate differences between pro and anti slavery politicians. It was presented by a Democrat David Wilmot and the

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Ecology Essay Example for Free

Ecology Essay There has been a growing concern for the rise of environmental problems around the world. Ecology students from the University of Georgia came up with a list of the top ten environmental problems of the world. Based on this list, I came up with my top five environmental problems that people consider to be pressing problems in the environment. First in my list is human overpopulation. While it is part of human nature to procreate and multiply, the unchecked growth of the human population has led to the over consumption of goods and resources, thereby leading to poverty – a culprit as well of environmental problems. The over consumption of resources by human population can take its toll on the limited resources that the world can provide. Next in my list of the world’s top environmental problem is the pollution of our water quality and quantity. Sewage from cities, unregulated releases from industrial and agricultural sites, and dumping of wastes in the oceans collectively exacerbate the worldwide problem of water pollution (Gibbons). If left like these, we may have a serious water problem in the coming years. Following the problem of water pollution is the problem of air pollution. As more and more cities and countries are industrialized, the use of fossil fuels has also risen. Such has led to acid rain, dissolution of the ozone layer, smog, and the general elimination of clean air (Gibbons). The top 4 environmental problem is global climate change, which is admittedly interconnected with water and air pollution. Global warming has already received a lot of press mainly because such phenomenon has been going on for the past 4 billion years and it has steadily risen in the past decades. Water level has risen and as air pollution worsens, so does global warming. Lastly, the loss and degradation of habitats have been considered by ecologists as one of the most pressing environmental problems as human advancement and development as well as deforestation has led to the decline of the biodiversity. There are many species which are on the brink of extinction because their natural habitats are already destroyed or perished.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Heroic Archetypes in Film: Symbolism and Adaption

Heroic Archetypes in Film: Symbolism and Adaption Carl Jung (1939) described the personal unconscious as containing personal memories and ideas of the individual, and the collective unconscious the shared ideas, and memories humanity, these shared memories and ideas emerge as themes and characters, which Jung termed archetypes or Primordial Images. Joseph Campbell (1949) evolved these ideas creating the heros journey or monomyth. Campbells work in narratology and comparative mythology showed the use of archetypal patterns bring patterns we all unconsciously respond to in similar ways to a conscious level. The term archetype can be applied to images, themes, symbols, ideas and character types (Jung, 1969). This essay will focus on the symbolism and adaption of Heroic archetypes in film examining the themes of Jung and Campbell and there portal over time, focusing in on how specific genders are represented. The Architypes are present in our earliest images and motifs, however Greek and roman mythology focuses largely on the hero with characters like Hercules playing the main role in their stories. These myths provide a clear pairing of Jung and Campbells theories creating connections with the hero, their quest and the many archetypal characters they will interact with along their journey. These methodologies have repeatedly been adapted and are portrayed in the most successful film franchises of the last sixty years. It is through the exploration of these franchises that I will examine the portrayal of both male and female Hero Architypes. Jung (1969) believed archetypal themes impress, influence and fascinate our ego, invoking deep and intense emotional responses. If Jungs theories are correct the repeated portrayal of masculine dominance on screen has the potential to impact the most important and central architype of the psychic, the self, a representation of wholeness and totality, a unification of the conscious and unconscious mind (Jung, 1969). Jung (Stevens, 1990) emphasised the importance of not assuming the symbolic meaning of a male or female character he believed it is far more important to recognise the characteristics and context of these symbols, establishing if you are dealing with the Animus or Anima, abstract symbol sets that formulate the archetype of the Self. Neither male nor female they are a representation of the masculine and feminine aspects of the psychic Dr. Stacy Smith (2014) realised the study gender bias without borders this study looked at 120 films in the most influential films. The results of this study showed that 23.3 percent of lead or co lead roles in film are female. These figures were mirrored off screen showing that 20.5 percent of filmmakers were female. The results also showed when a film was created by a female, either in directing or writing there was an increase of lead females and the quality of their portrayal on screen. It is clear from these results that there is an issue of gender imbalance on screen. This imbalance could be explained by linking back to Jungs theory (1969), that architypes can influence our physic and comparing this to a statement by Campbell (2004) All of the great mythologies and much of the mythic story-telling of the world are from the male point of view. If all of our great mythologies are from the male point of view, it could be argued that this repeated influence has led to an over attachment to the use of masculine energy in the portrayal of power, Smith (2004) alludes to this stating This explanation reflects the old age, write what you know. To explore these theories, this essay will focus on two of the most successful films featuring female protagonists. The first Alien is written from the male perspective. The second Hunger games, is written from the female perspective. These films will be compared first to attempt to find a link between writer and character and second to explore the possible future portrayal of heroes. Alien Ridley Scotts Ripley is commonly used as a reference to a positive portrayal of a female hero, appearing on screen as the main protagonist of 1979 film Alien. Ripley however was originally created as male. In an interview with Empire magazine (2012) Ridley Scott explains the reasoning behind his female adaption stating She would be the last one you would think to survive, shes beautiful This statement gives credence to the idea of the feminine in Alien being used to display weakness. Alien is widely known as the movie in which all sexual analyses have some basis. In the Alien saga (2002) Dan OBannon explains that sexual imagery was wielded as a tool to unsettle the audience stating One thing that people are all disturbed about is sex. Everybodys always all in a known about sex. I said thats how Im going to attack the audience. Im going to attack them sexually Ellen Ripley, is played by Sigourney Weaver , she fights against two antagonists, the first an alien creature that interestingly dawns both male and female reproductive organs, while the second antagonist, Ash, an android possess no reproductive organs though he is portrayed as a male character. This mix of genders and sexual symbolism makes this film an interesting tool for the exploration of gender bias and architypes. The first introduction to the cast of this film is representative of the birthing of a child. The crew rest in hyperbolic chambers shaped like basinets. These chambers are placed in a circular pattern; at the core of this circle is a locking mechanism, controlled by mother, the ships navigator. As mother awakens the crew the room is flooded with light. This sequence of images could be interrupted as a representation of the Self-Architype and its symbolic circular image (Jung, 1978). The crew, placed in the circle could be seen as the rebirthing and unification of the psychic as it prepares to deal with the path ahead (Henderson 1963). We then see the crew in their ordinary world eating breakfast. The crew are given their call to adventure when mother informs has awoken them due a signal received from a derelict ship. Many of the crew Refuse the call believing this signal could be a warning. Mother acting as the supernatural aid knows the true reason for sending them on this quest Once the crew being to explore their environment as H.R Gigers sexual Imagery becomes clear. The crew approach the openings of the Alien ship, which Giger (2011) admittedly designed to resemble the vaginal entrance. They Cross the threshold and enter. The crew enter the control centre of the ship, in the centre of this chamber sits a large phallic protrusion; inside sits an alien pilot. The placement of this phallic symbol is particularly interesting as the first sexual representation of masculine energy (Fink, 2004) it is depicted in a place of power and control. The crew comes across a derelict chamber resembling the womb or Belly of the whale which holds a large cluster of eggs, one of the crew is attacked by a face hugger and rushed back to the ship. Ripley refuses to allow the face hugger, now attached to a crew member, onto the ship. Ash, Ripleys male counterpart dismisses her command and opens the ship doors. Ash determines that the Face Hugger is keeping Kane alive via the penetrative insertion of a proboscis to his throat; according to Bannon (2002) this was a deliberate representation of male oral rape . Im going to attack them sexually Im going to put in every image I can think of that I know will make the men in the audience cross their legs, Homosexual oral rape. Dan O Bannon This act is an intriguing aspect in regards to gender, on one side men are made as vulnerable a women, but on the opposing side this penetrative act gives dominant power to the masculine energy of the Alien (Dworkin , 1987 ) . Later the corpse of the face hugger is discovered, Ripley does not want the corpse examined but again Ash ignores her command. In this examination the Face huggers underbelly is shown, now in a submissive positon its proboscis is retracted exposing a representation of the female genitalia. The crew are united again for a meal and enter the Road of trials as a phallic shaped Chest Burster is birthed from a crewmate. Bannon (2002) stated that his use of birth in this scene was designed to create discomfort in male viewers, however his process of using a female act to add vulnerability to a male character could be perceived as weakening the feminine. Ripley Later learns the secret kept by Mother and Ash in her meeting with the goddess The Weyland Yutani Corporations true mission is to collect alien specimens acting as the Temptress they view the crew as expendable. Ripley Confronts Ash, in a classic Attornment of the Father scene. The confrontation becomes aggressive. Ash is exposed as an android becoming the Shape Shifter Architype; he overpowers Ripley, rolls up a stack of papers into a phallic shape and forces them down Ripleys Throat , this adds to strengthening of Masculine energy and weakling of the feminine. Ripley is saved by a male crew mate. She reconstructs Ash, entering the Apotheosis stage she gains information from him. Ripley realises their ship must be destroyed for the crew to escape with their lives the ultimate boon. The remaining crew are destroyed; Ripley the sole survivor enters the Magical Fight with the Alien as she tries to make her way to an escape pod before the ship self-destructs. Ripley reaches the escape pod, standing now as a powerful hero she begins to undress, she then bends over in a pose that resembles an animistic display of submission, this scene could be interpreted as a removal of Ripleys power (Fazio, 1986) Ripley realises the alien on-board the escape pod, earning the Freedom to live she rejects the alien into space. Re-entering hibernation, Ripley is shown in the fetal position; this could suggest her return to the womb to be rebirthed as a new character. (Jung, 1978) The Hunger Games The Hunger game is a Science fiction novel written by Suzanne Collins, this novel was adapted into a series of films under the same name. This story follows Katniss Everdeen as she embarks on Campbells Heros journey. We are first introduced to The Ordinary World , ruled by President Snow the archetypical Old King. This kings dominance is depicted in the cultural values of this society. Split in two classes the lower districts, shown to be inhabited by a struggling class of humble and moral people and the capital, Snows domain, lavished in decadence and modernity. Snow rules though intimidation and manipulation. The soulless nature of The Capital is highlighted by its unwavering support of The Hunger Games. These games are cruel and violent, created by Snow, they point to the absence of the Queen archetype. Snow rules alone, he is purely masculine, lacking in totality, with no feminine counterpart. This absence of feminine qualities leaves the people restricted as according to Jung (1995) permanent loss of the anima, means a diminution of vitality of flexibility and of human kindness. The capitol is surrounded by the Lower districts; these districts are forced to participate in The Hunger Games, sacrificing one male and female tribute. To survive these tributes must garner sponsorship, typically from the people of the capital. They must sell themselves by fulfilling the desires of their captors. Katniss Everdeen is the protagonist of this story; her very name draws associations to her character type. Cat an association of the feminine power (Fontana, 1993) sleek, and cunning and evergreen, symbolising natural life the nourishing soil of the soul (Sabini, 2002). Katniss is a young woman, innocent and open she exhibits feminine energy. In her first introduction she appears trusting and humble, unlike the surrounding raped and soulless society. The feminine side of Katniss could represent the potential birth of the new generation, placing her in the role of potential Queen. Katniss also exhibits masculine energy; she shows courage in The Hunger Games while exhibiting physical attributes strength and focuses to master her sill with a bow, a skill she learned to provide for and protect her family. This masculine energy also highlights her ability to fulfil the role of King. Katniss is reminiscent of Artemis, the Greek Goddess, skilled with a bow, strong, nurturing, protective and connected to nature (DEste, 2005). Our first introduction to Katniss shows her hunting a deer, a symbol commonly liked to the portrayal of Artemis. This mix of feminine and masculine energy leads to a potentially interesting dynamic. It could be said that Panem does not merely need a female leader, but a unified one, both male and female, mother and father. Katniss is born in the twelfth district, twelve in Gematria, is a representation of totality (Dennis, 2007), a symbol of synergy between the anima and animus (Jung, 1969). This coal miner district is also similar in design to Nazareth, the domain of Jesus. She understands through her experiences the darkness minorities face under the rule of Panem. Archetypically this could be linked to Judeo-Christian tradition and the tale of Job seeing the dark side of God. (Jung 1969) When in the capital Katniss is a link back to nature, the light in the dark, a place to be purified, embodying what Jung called the the two million-year-old man within. Katniss receives her Call to Adventure when her sister is chosen as tribute. She displays warmth and understanding, sacrificing herself to free her. This symbol of courage is the embodiment of what Jesus believed is needed in a world filled with difficulties; she is as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16) Katniss Crosses the threshold as she boards a train to take her to the capital. She is visibly disturbed by the opulence in front of her which starkly contrasts the modest home she is leaving behind. According to Campbell (1949) every hero needs allies; Katniss is no exception to his rule. Traditionally these allies are unexpected with a unique understanding of the world. It is in his fashion that Katniss meets her literal and archetypal Mentor the drunken Haymitch Abernathy. Katniss soon learns that the Haymitchs battle with alcoholism and disconnected nature is a direct result of his assimilation into the society of the capital, a soulful man in a soulless world , forced to train tributes who will be sent to their death . As Haymitch begins to train Katniss he begins to notice the unique nature of her personally, this is where he transforms into the archetypal mentor teaching Katniss the importance of presentation and catering to the whims of the sponsors. Early in the story we are shown that Katniss does not view her mother in the archetypical sense, it is only when she arrives at the capital that we are introduced to the true Mother Architype, the anima to Haymitchs animus and a symbol of societal oppression, the African American male, Cinna. Cinnas introduction marks the entry to Campbells Tests, Allies and Enemies stage of the Monomyth (1949). Cinna is a sensitive and nurturing character, wielding his knowledge in beauty, grace and sensuous flare he, along with Haymitch, trains Katniss, who now captivates the Capital. Cinnas techniques to transform Katniss are very similar to that of Cinderellas Fairy Godmother. He does not change Katniss; he instead reflects her inner self and beauty to the audience. Cinna supports and balances Katniss keeping her grounded and disconnected from the temptations and power of the capital. Cinna offers her a symbol of comfort, her Mocking Jay pin, as she enters The Inner Most Cave , the arena. When Katniss enters the games she acquires a young ally Rue The Innocent Child. Rues entry to the story marks the beginning of The Ordeal as she directs Katniss to the wasp nest she uses against her attackers. Rue is an African American girl, from the agricultural district; district eleven. Rue could be seen as a representation of slavery and racism in Panem. Despite the attempts of Katniss to protect the child, she soon becomes The Sacrifice, used to empathetically connect the twelve districts. After the death of her friend the game makers change the rules, stating that there may be two victors of the games, as long as they both come from the same district. Katniss seeks out Peeta her fellow tribute from district twelve and soon makes a new ally. Earlier in the story we were shown Katniss and Peeta training together, but she suspected, to save himself, he had turned against her. Peeta is redeemed when he suggests a group of competitors wait her out rather than climbing a tree to kill her. Peeta like Katniss is an interesting mix of feminine and masculine energy, he is strong but does not wish fight, instead he chooses for hide from his competitors. Peeta decorates cakes for a living, this shows his delicate side, but he is also stubborn, insisting the games will not change who he is. Peeta confesses his love for Katniss; he is injured and taking on the role of Damsel in Distress requires her aid. Katniss is now faced with a moral dilemma; the audience views the pair as the Shakespearian Star crossed lovers. Katniss deceives the audience and goes along with this charade to receive aid from the sponsors. Meanwhile her true love, Gale, who name suggests a well-developed anima, is waiting and watching these events unfold from district twelve. This is a difficult decision and turning point for Katniss; she manipulates the people to get what she needs, a very masculine move, more suited to President Snow. This arguably is a skill needed in a potential leader. Katniss retrieves medicine and Peeta is healed; now their only competitor left in the arena is Cato. It is in this final confrontation that we see Katniss Seizing the Sword as she knocks Cato into a pack of creatures and Receives her reward leaving Katniss and Peeta as the victors, at least for a short time. The game makers suddenly change the rules forcing Katniss into The Road Back. There can be only one victor of the hunger games. Peeta offers himself as a sacrifice but Katniss refuses. She shows her cunning side as she enters the resurrection stage of the Monomyth. Katniss decides they will both consume poison berries; this act would kill both competitors leaving the games with no victor. As Katniss predicts the rules are changed again, both competitors win the games. Peeta and Katniss will now live a life of luxury this could be seen as The Return with the Elixer, but the elixir in this story is far more important. Katniss has openly defied President Snow becoming an example to the lower districts. This act could lead to a rebellion. The true elixir of this journey is given to the lower classes at the moment of her victory, hope. Characters like Katniss Everdeen have the potential to change the assumed characteristics of the hero architypes, but this type of portrayal is still an uncommon occurrence, is that occurrence due to a misunderstanding of the hero architype or an overall issue of gender imbalance in media. This character could be marking Jungs paradigm shift and what he believed would be the necessary emergence of positive archetypal feminine energies (Rowland, 2009), a true female hero. Refrences Jung, Carl and Dell, S.M. (1939). The Integration of the Personality (English translation). New York: Farrar Rinehart. Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949), Collected Works of C.G. Jung. Routledge. Retrieved 2014-01-19. Jung quoted in Anthony Stevens On Jung (London 1990) p. 206 Gender Bias without Borders. shared by UNWomen on Sep 22, 2014 An investigation of female characters in popular films across 11 countries.Sep 22, 2014 Joseph Campbell, Pathways to Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation, Edited by David Kudler. Novato, California: New World Library, 2004, pp. 145, 159. The Alien saga 2002 special editon C. G. Jung ed., Man and his Symbols (London 1978) p. 120 The Wisdom of the Serpent, Book by Joseph L. Henderson and Maud Oakes ,Originally published: 1963 Lacan to the Letter,April 14, 2004 by Bruce Fink (Author) p 169 Intercourse is a 1987 book by Andrea Dworkin on the Automatic Activation of Attitudes (1986) Russell H.Fazio, David M. Sanbonmatsu, Martha C. Powell, and Frank R. Kardes C.G. Jungs Complex Dynamics and the Clnical Relationship: One Map for Mystery p 55 Brenda A. Donahue , Charles C Thomas Publisher, 2003 Psychology 287 pages The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious By Carl Gustav Jung Page 4 1995 P1 Meredith Sabini 2002 The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism: Second Edition Book by Geoffrey W. Dennis 2007 Journal of Analytical Psychology,2009, 54 ,697-715 Ghost and self: Jungs paradigm shiftand a response to Zinkin , Susan Rowland,London

Friday, October 25, 2019

Individualism in Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken, Zalman Kings In Go

Individualism in Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," Zalman King's "In God's Hands" and James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" Every society has certain values and generally accepted ways of living that are considered normal. These principles are what keep societies organized and orderly. Conforming to these principles, however, is not necessarily the road to happiness for every individual. The main character, Shane, in In God’s Hands, Sonny, in Sonny’s Blues, and the speaker in The Road Not Taken, all choose not to live by what is considered normal, or popular, and are able to find happiness by living as individuals. Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken is a poem about the choices every person must make in their life. The first line of this poem, â€Å"Two Roads diverged in a yellow wood†, though only seven words long, can be interpreted to mean several things. First, the color of the trees being yellow, meaning that it is fall, represents a time of change. Second, the â€Å"two roads diverged† signify a choice which must be made. In this first line Frost has metaphorically depicted a person who must make a decision that will greatly change his life. The second stanza describes the road that is chosen as grassy and wanting wear. The second to last line of the poem also says that the speaker took the â€Å"road less traveled by†. These two lines can be interpreted to mean that the choice that was made was not the popular choice. The speaker in the poem has made his decision based on individual preference, rather than what others would consider normal. The character of Sonny, in Sonny’s Blues, lives a life that would not be considered normal in any society. He is a heroin addict who has spent time in prison, and centers his life on pla... ...ing â€Å"get on the tour and make some money while you still can.† Shane is not driven by money and success, like his friends, and thrives only on his love of surfing. At the end of the story Mickey is killed trying to surf a wave that is to big to be surfed, and Keoni gives up on traveling and returns home to his parents. Shane, however, continues his travels, and in the end is able to find what he is looking for. He fins his ultimate wave, and surfs it with no one else around, proving to himself that he is the best surfer in the world. Though these three works differ in many ways, they all share a common theme about individuality. The idea that happiness can be found without conforming to popular opinions is expressed in each of these literary pieces. The speaker in The Road Not Taken, Sonny, and Shane all achieve personal success by living life in their own way.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Succubus Revealed Chapter 16

The next week was one of the longest in my life. Every moment that passed was a moment without Seth and another reminder that I'd lost my one great love. Even if I hadn't quit as Santa's helper, that job would've been done now anyway, so my days were made even longer by their emptiness. Hugh was over a lot that week, and sometimes he and Roman tried to cheer me up or at least distract me. Mostly, they were holed up together, working on my appeal to Hell. They occasionally consulted me on it, but Hugh had most of the info he needed and simply had to put it all together in the appropriate manner. The two of them discussed other things too, mostly having to do with Hell's legal system in general. I didn't entirely understand why, but Roman was very adamant about learning every detail of it. It was like he was trying to pass the bar exam or something. I tried to preoccupy myself with packing for Las Vegas. Even with my appeal, I couldn't count on anything changing with my current Hellish status. So, I had to go forward with life as though Vegas were definitely in my future. Packing was mindless enough, however, that it didn't distract me so much as just provide more time for me to ruminate and agonize over being apart from Seth. Packing also had its own pitfalls because I kept running into things that reminded me of him. The worst was when I unearthed a box of keepsakes collected from over the centuries. The most recent addition was a ring Seth had given me last Christmas, just before we broke up. It was a modern twist on a Byzantine wedding ring, decorated with dolphins and sapphires. Even when we'd gotten back together, I'd left it in the box. Little did he know that I also had – in the same box – my actual wedding ring from the fifth century. It was worn with age but hadn't entirely lost its gleam. Looking at them both gave me a weird moment of disorientation as I tried to grasp the idea that they'd technically been given to me by the same person. During that week, I also received a fair amount of e-mail from the Las Vegas crew. Phoebe, Bastien, Luis, and even Matthias had stayed in touch since my visit, and all seemed to have increased their excitement over my pending move. Messages I would have found so witty and touching a week ago now left a bad taste in my mouth, now that I knew the truth about the transfer. Luis was simply helping to orchestrate Hell's grand plan to keep me and Seth apart, and I didn't trust a single word he said. Still, he was a demon, and one could expect a certain amount of insincerity from him. Phoebe and especially Bastien hurt more because they were operating under the pretense of friendship. I didn't doubt Bastien was still my friend, but everything he sent me seemed forced, since it was coming from the orders of those above him. Matthias was kind of a mystery. I didn't know what role he played here, if he was just a convenient mortal they'd found to take me on or if he was in league with Hell. Many humans knowingly were, in the hopes of grandiose rewards someday. For all I knew, he could be an innocent in all this, just an ordinary guy who thought he'd lucked out in finding a dancer. Without being able to say for sure, I took no joy in his e-mails either. Notably missing from the Las Vegas gang's correspondence was Jamie. I'd received no friendly â€Å"Can't wait to see you!† messages at all from him, something I suspected was also a direct result of Hell's orders. They wouldn't want to risk the topic of Milton again. When I mentioned this to Roman and Hugh, they told me it would be surprising if Jamie was even still in Las Vegas. If Hell saw him as a liability that might inadvertently expose the double-contract snafu, Hugh felt the odds were good they'd simply removed him to prevent me from finding him. If so, I hoped it was simply a matter of a transfer and that the imp hadn't been punished for drunkenly revealing information he didn't realize was dangerous. On New Year's Eve, Hugh and Roman told me my petition was finished. They presented it to me, a staggeringly huge stack of paper filled with legalese, and showed me where to sign. There was an air of both gravity and pride around them, like they'd just created a painstakingly crafted work of art. Considering how rare this type of event was, perhaps that wasn't such a bad assessment. I gave the ream back to Hugh, once I'd signed it about fifteen times. â€Å"Now what?† I asked. â€Å"Now I take it to Mei and say you gave it to me to submit to Hell. I also claim ignorance about what this is in regard to, but the fact that it went through me tips her off that there's a witness to it all. Not that she'd probably ‘lose it' or anything, but . . . well, with demons, it's best to be cautious.† â€Å"Are they really going to believe you're a hapless messenger ?† I asked. Hugh crooked me a smile and gestured to the paperwork. â€Å"Well, they certainly aren't going to believe you did this on your own. But there's no real way to prove my involvement, and anyway, I haven't technically done anything wrong. I'm an imp. I conduct business for Hell. That's what this is.† Too many days of pent-up emotion took hold of me, and I flung my arms around Hugh. â€Å"Thank you,† I said. â€Å"Thank you so much.† It was all kind of awkward since he was trying to juggle the papers, but he still managed to pat me on the back. â€Å"It's nothing, sweetie,† he said, seeming a bit flustered. â€Å"I just hope it actually accomplishes something.† I stepped back and attempted to get myself under control. â€Å"How will we know if it does?† â€Å"When you're summoned to Hell,† he said. â€Å"Oh.† My heart lurched with fear. â€Å"I actually . . . actually have to go there?† Roman leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. â€Å"How else do you think this is going to get resolved?† â€Å"I'd kind of just hoped they'd send me a letter,† I said. â€Å"You know, like a college acceptance.† Hugh snorted. â€Å"Afraid not. If they respond to it, they'll summon you to Hell and hold a hearing to examine the contract, your complaints, and whatever evidence either side can muster.† I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to picture what that hearing would be like. â€Å"I've never been to Hell. Have either of you?† They shook their heads, which wasn't a surprise. Lesser immortals were recruited on Earth, where they then served. We had no reason to visit the realm of our employers, not even an imp like Hugh. Roman, as a nephilim, was on Heaven and Hell's hit list. Walking into Hell would be like showing up in a lion's den and presenting yourself on a platter. â€Å"I always kind of pictured Hell as a cross between waiting in line at the DMV and watching a marathon of Perfect Strangers,† remarked Hugh. Roman shot him a sharp look. â€Å"What's wrong with that show?† Overcome, I hugged Hugh again and then Roman. â€Å"Thanks, you guys. I mean it. I owe you . . . more than I can ever pay back.† â€Å"Just win,† said Roman fiercely. â€Å"That's all the payback I need.† Hugh put the papers into his briefcase and slipped on his coat. â€Å"I'm going to get these over to Mei now, then head off to a party and drink away the memories of wading through all that legalese.† â€Å"You're going to Peter's?† I asked. Unsurprisingly, our vampire friend was holding a shindig to ring in the New Year. â€Å"Nah,† said Hugh. â€Å"Not much chance of getting laid there. I'm going to a party one of my nurses is hosting.† We wished him a happy new year and bid him farewell. As soon as he was gone, Roman turned to me. â€Å"What about you?† he asked. â€Å"Are you going to Peter's?† I knew Peter was counting on it, but it was hard to make myself feel like celebrating. â€Å"No. I'm not in the mood. Besides, I'm not sure I want to risk running into Jerome since I'm sure Mei's going to tell him about the appeal. I'll just keep packing.† â€Å"Come on,† Roman said. â€Å"You can't just sit around tonight. It's a new year . . . new opportunities. Maybe even the chance to break free of Hell.† I nodded, though it was still hard for me to imagine what â€Å"breaking free† would even look like. It was something we kept talking about, but I really couldn't feel it yet. And even though I'd talked a good talk to Seth about how the integrity of the soul and eternity were so much more important than any earthly concerns, it all seemed lackluster without him in my life. â€Å"I know,† I told Roman. â€Å"But any celebrating I do is going to be forced. If I'm going to be unhappy, I'd rather do it in a place where I feel comfortable.† He glanced at the clock. â€Å"Let's at least go out to dinner. Dress up and get a good meal. Then we'll come back and watch all the New Year's shows.† I didn't have much of an appetite but suspected if I said no, Roman would consign himself to the same self-imprisonment as me. I didn't want his night ruined because of me, especially after everything he'd done this week. One problem presented itself. â€Å"It's almost five,† I said. â€Å"We'll never get in anywhere on such short notice. Unless we want to dress up for Taco Bell. Which I'm actually not averse to.† Roman was already reaching for his cell phone. â€Å"I know someone who's a chef at this Italian place in Green Lake. We'll get a table.† Sure enough. One mysterious phone call, and we were on our way an hour later. I hadn't been up for elaborate styling and simply shape-shifted myself into New Year's finery, with an off-the-shoulder satin dress and my hair cascading in perfect waves. Roman had warned me â€Å"no black,† so the dress was dark purple, which still seemed appropriate for my mood. I paired it with a glittering necklace of white gold and amethysts that had been my Secret Santa gift to myself. I had great taste. â€Å"Have you made any moves to put your condo on the market?† asked Roman as he drove us through the city. â€Å"Contacted a real estate agent?† I gazed out at the bright lights of the downtown skyline. This time of year, darkness came early. â€Å"No. I need to. Unless . . .† I glanced over at him. â€Å"Do you want to keep staying there? I'll keep it and rent if you want.† He shook his head, a wry smile playing over his lips. â€Å"No. It wouldn't be the same without you and those furballs. I'll get another place. Sell it or rent it to someone else.† â€Å"Easier to sell,† I mused. â€Å"Well, in theory. But I'm not concerned with profit, and it saves the hassle of screening and dealing with – † I stopped as a startling thought suddenly came to me. â€Å"Hey. Do we have time for a, oh, fifteen-minute stop? Will your friend get rid of our table?† â€Å"Not if I call. Where do you need to go?† â€Å"The U District. Seth's place. Don't worry,† I added, seeing his look of alarm. â€Å"I'm not going to do anything crazy or lovestruck. I'm not even going to see Seth. Please? Just a quick stop?† Roman concurred, though his expression said this was against his better judgment. I almost told him his fears were unfounded because I was only going to actually stop if Margaret was home and Seth wasn't. The odds against that possibility seemed slim, particularly with the way my luck tended to run. The universe apparently owed me a favor because when we reached Seth's condo, I saw her car there but not his. A light inside gave me hope that they hadn't just all carpooled off together. â€Å"Do you need me to come in?† asked Roman, as he pulled into my parking spot. â€Å"No, but thanks. I'll be right back.† I left the car and walked up to the door, hoping some wacky happenstance wouldn't actually put me face to face with Seth. Not that I wouldn't have loved to see him. God, I missed him so, so much. But I knew no good could come of an encounter between us. I rang the bell and waited anxiously. A few moments later, Margaret answered. â€Å"Georgina,† she said, clearly surprised. â€Å"What are you doing here?† She took in my appearance. â€Å"Are you supposed to meet Seth?† â€Å"No . . . can I come in for a minute? I'll be fast, I promise.† She had on a coat, making me think she'd been about to leave. Either that or she was trying to save Seth money on his heating bills. She gestured me inside and shut the door. â€Å"I was about to go to Terry's. Seth's already there.† I didn't bother asking where Ian was. He probably celebrated New Year's on January third or something, just to be contrary. â€Å"You haven't been around in a while.† I wondered what Seth had told his family about us, if he'd even told them anything at all. Maybe he was just going to say nothing until one of them noticed my absence. â€Å"Ah, well,† I said. â€Å"Seth and I are having a disagreement.† She clucked her tongue disapprovingly. â€Å"You two need to sit down and fix it then.† How I wished it was that easy. I forced a neutral smile. â€Å"We'll see,† I said. â€Å"But the thing is . . . I may be moving. No, I am moving. I have a new job . . . and I was wondering if you'd like to stay in my condo when I leave. I remember you saying you didn't want to impose on Seth's space but that you wished you could stick around more to help. Well, now you can. You can have your own place. Mine.† â€Å"I can't afford to keep my place in Chicago and pay rent somewhere here, though,† she said sadly. â€Å"That's been the problem.† â€Å"You don't have to pay rent,† I said. â€Å"You can stay there for free.† She eyed me curiously. â€Å"How will you afford your mortgage?† Yes, how indeed would a poor retail-bound girl like me be able to swing that? â€Å"The condo's paid off,† I explained. Let her think it was passed down through the family or something. â€Å"And my new job pays well. Look, I really don't mind you staying. It'd be worth it to me to know that the girls have you close by to help. I mean, they're going to need a strong woman around, right?† Margaret took a few moments to answer. â€Å"Right. I just thought you'd be that woman.† â€Å"Fate has other plans,† I said. Wasn't that the damned truth. â€Å"Is that why you and Seth aren't getting along? Because you're moving? I'm surprised he doesn't just go with you. . . .† â€Å"No, no, it's not that at all,† I assured her. â€Å"It's . . . complicated. If it was as simple as moving, he would when he was able to . . . you know, when Andrea's better.† I hesitated, afraid of the answer to the next question, but it was one I had to know. With no contact from Seth, the status of the Mortensens had been a mystery. â€Å"How is Andrea? Is she still doing well?† â€Å"Yes, she's doing great. We won't know the details for sure until she sees the doctor in a couple weeks, but on the outside, things look wonderful. We're all praying.† I found myself smiling, unable to help my joy and relief. Andrea had looked good at Christmas, but I'd worried ever since then that whatever demon had made her sick before would return one of these days. Again, a doctor would have the ultimate answer, but I took Margaret's own observation as a good sign. â€Å"Thank you,† I said. â€Å"You have no idea how much that makes my night. I've needed some good news.† â€Å"Well, thank you for the housing offer. Can I let you know my answer later?† â€Å"Of course,† I said. I wished her a happy new year and told her good night. Then, I hurried off before I cracked and asked her to deliver some sentimental message to Seth. I liked Roman's company, but I still couldn't shake the wrongness of being out with him instead of Seth tonight. After last year's miserable New Year's Eve, I'd hoped this one would be better. â€Å"That was nice of you,† Roman said, when I explained what I discussed with Margaret. â€Å"It's an easy thing for me to do that can help a lot of people,† I said. â€Å"No reason not to.† He shook his head, incredulous. â€Å"You shouldn't even need a technicality to escape Hell's reach. They should fire you out of principle.† The restaurant was tiny but elegant – and packed. I seriously doubted any connections Roman had would get us in, but through some magic, the hostess beckoned us through the crowd and led us back to a cozy candlelit corner. In it was a table covered with an old-fashioned lace cloth, as well as crystal and china place settings – for three. I looked at her in surprise. â€Å"But there's only – â€Å" â€Å"Hey, hope I'm not late.† Carter suddenly emerged from the crowd, wearing his usual grunge wear. The hostess didn't even blink an eye. Seeing us about to sit down, he smiled. â€Å"I guess not.† â€Å"What are you doing here?† I asked. I looked to Roman, who appeared just as perplexed as I was. â€Å"I didn't tell him any details. He called while you were inside Seth's to see if we were going to Peter's, and I told him we were going to dinner instead. That's it.† Carter waved it off. â€Å"That's as good as a homing beacon. I love this place. You're getting wine, right?† It wasn't that I was unhappy to see Carter. It was just that when Carter appeared, there was usually a reason. â€Å"So you heard?† I said, once we'd placed our orders and dispensed with small talk. Carter swirled the wine in his glass. We'd ordered a nice vintage that would probably be wasted on him at the rate he drank. â€Å"That you're skipping Peter's party? Yeah, I did. Man, he's going to be pissed.† I rolled my eyes. â€Å"That's not what I mean. Are you here about the appeal we filed?† â€Å"I'm here to have dinner with friends,† said Carter demurely. â€Å"But now that you mention it . . .† â€Å"Word gets around fast, huh?† I asked. It had been a couple hours since we'd seen Hugh, more than enough time for him to deliver the paperwork to Mei and enough for her to have told Jerome. â€Å"Oh, I found out from him,† said Carter, nodding toward Roman. â€Å"He asked when he called me earlier,† explained Roman. â€Å"He knew we'd been working on it.† â€Å"How?† I asked, startled. â€Å"Hugh and I have had to consult him on a couple of things this week,† said Roman. â€Å"Nothing that breaks any rules, of course.† Carter gave him a mock toast to that. â€Å"But enough to clarify a couple points about Hell's fucked-up legal system.† I wondered what they had needed to consult Carter on but doubted they'd tell me. I was also kind of amazed that I'd been so out of it this week that I hadn't even known my legal team had been in touch with the angel. No, on second thought, I wasn't that surprised. My misery had been pretty all-consuming. â€Å"So what do you think our odds are?† I asked. Carter shook his head. â€Å"I can't answer that.† â€Å"Because it breaks a rule?† â€Å"Because it's too tempting for me to answer with a joke about a snowball's chance in Hell.† I sighed. â€Å"That's not very comforting.† â€Å"You're awfully grim about this,† said Carter. â€Å"I figured there'd be a little more excitement from someone trying to win back their soul.† â€Å"It doesn't mean much without Seth,† I said. â€Å"Oh, for God's sake,† said Roman. He reached for the wine bottle. â€Å"You're on the verge of getting your soul and your life back . . . and he's still what determines your happiness ? You don't need a relationship to be happy, Georgina.† â€Å"No,† I agreed. â€Å"But Seth's not just any relationship. He's tied to my soul. He found me in the world of dreams. We've come together, life after life. I'm not just some girl who needs a guy around. Seth and I are connected. We both have done terrible things to each other . . . but also made great sacrifices for each other. It just seems like only half a victory to get my soul back but not be with the person who's affected it so much.† Roman surprised me by acknowledging the point. â€Å"Okay. I can see where you're coming from there.† â€Å"And,† added Carter gently, â€Å"you need to replay your own words there. You and Seth have come back together, life after life. What makes you think you won't again?† â€Å"Well, his recent actions for one,† I remarked bitterly. â€Å"That and . . . I don't know. Just the look in his eyes.† â€Å"Seth had a lot thrown at him all at once. Whose idea was the hypnosis anyway?† â€Å"Mine,† said Roman. â€Å"And get that accusing tone out of your voice. It was the fastest and easiest way we had to get the information we needed.† â€Å"Perhaps,† said Carter. â€Å"But there's a reason reborn mortals forget their past lives. It's a lot to process, and that kind of regression brings on too much, too fast.† â€Å"Hugh kind of said something like that too,† I said. Carter nodded, gray eyes kind. â€Å"Don't give up on Seth yet. I think he might surprise you once he's settled down. He loved you enough to always come back to you. He loved you enough to remember you, even when Hell tried to erase you from his mind. That's powerful stuff, Daughter of Lilith.† It was, and I suddenly questioned how fairly I'd been approaching this situation. My old fears had held me back from truly fighting for Seth. I also hadn't really tried to imagine what it must be like for him to have ten people in one mind. â€Å"It could take a while,† I said, unable to meet Carter's eyes. â€Å"For him to come around, I mean. And it could take a while for Hell to respond to my appeal too, right?† Both men nodded. â€Å"What do I do then? What do I do with all that time?† â€Å"You live,† said Carter. â€Å"You go on with the life you have, with the opportunities you have. You want your soul. You want Seth. If it's within your power to achieve those things, do it. If it's not, accept it and figure out what else you want.† I muddled over his words. â€Å"Part of my immediate life is dictated for me. I have to go to Las Vegas.† â€Å"What do you want to do there?† prompted Carter. â€Å"Be happy . . . if it's possible.† I knew I was being melodramatic but couldn't help it. â€Å"If I have to be there, I'd like some sort of chance at a happy life that I created. Not a fake one Hell fashioned for me.† I thought about it some more. â€Å"I'd like to find out if Bastien is my friend first and Hell's servant second.† â€Å"There you go,† said Carter. â€Å"Start there. Focus on what you can control.† â€Å"I'd like to help Seth's family too,† I added, kind of on a roll now. â€Å"I'm already trying to do something for his mom, but before I leave them, I want to do whatever I can. Even if Hell leaves Andrea alone, we don't know how things will turn out. Even if Seth decides he never wants to see me again, I still care about them. And there are still things they need.† â€Å"Indeed. That pony collection isn't nearly complete,† Carter mused. When I dared a look back at him, I saw that the angel was smiling at me. â€Å"You see? You aren't lost. No matter what happens to you, you have a plan. There's still hope.† â€Å"You told me that once . . . that no matter what happens, there's always hope. Do you really still believe that?† I asked. Carter topped off all of our wineglasses. â€Å"I'm an angel, Georgina. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't.† â€Å"And even though you're counseling contingency plans, you still think I can pull it all off, don't you?† I pushed. â€Å"What do you know that I don't?† â€Å"At this point?† he admitted. â€Å"Nothing more than you do. The only difference is that I think I have more faith in you than you do.† â€Å"You're an angel,† I pointed out, throwing his words back at him. â€Å"Don't you have to have faith in everyone?† â€Å"You'd be surprised.† He chuckled. â€Å"I have faith in some more than others. And you? I've always been one of your biggest fans. If you believe nothing else, believe that.† â€Å"Here, here,† said Roman, raising his glass. â€Å"To faith and a new year.† I clinked glasses with them and caught Carter's eye. He winked. Was it enough? His faith? I'd noted before that having him pull for the Mortensens was a powerful thing. Having an angel say he believed in you was equally monumental. But I wasn't fighting an ordinary adversary. I was fighting Hell, the only force that could stand against Heaven. I've always been one of your biggest fans. I would find out soon if it was enough. For now, I drank up and tried to have hope.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Dreams in The Great Gatbsy Essays

Dreams in The Great Gatbsy Essays Dreams in The Great Gatbsy Essay Dreams in The Great Gatbsy Essay Jay Gatsby’s life is revolved around a series of lies and dreams; he believes so strongly in these lies and dreams that he eventually believes them to be true. Gatsby is one of the most hopeful characters in literary history; he has an incredible ability to convince others, and himself, that what he says is always true. Despite Gatsby’s money and tremendous backstory, he has one dream that is the centerpiece for every single action he does after the war, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby and Daisy had a romantic history from before the war, and while Gatsby was away, Daisy married and had a child with Tom Buchanan. Despite this, Gatsby still truly believed that he could win Daisy back and have everything go back to the way it was when they were teenagers, which sparks the famous quote, â€Å"can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can!† (110). Gatsby has an elaborate plan to win Daisy back: he will become very rich (assumably through illegal means), and he will move into a mansion just across the bay from her where he will throw elaborate and wonderful parties in hopes that Daisy will stop by. Gatsby’s dream is that Daisy will see what Gatsby has done, and that now he is wealthy enough for her, and she will run away with him. Gatsby’s dream takes a slightly different course than her wandering into his house randomly; Gatsby’s new neighbor, Nick Carraway, is cousins with Daisy, prompting Gatsby to ask Nick to arrange a get together at Nick’s house. After rekindling, Gatsby and Daisy begin a romantic affair, and it seems that Gatsby’s long anticipated dream was about to come true. There is a brief moment in the climax of the story where if Gatsby would have taken his chips and walked away from the table, he would have achieved his dream of winning Daisy back, but Gatsby keeps playing, and ends up losing everything. Daisy had confessed that she no longer loved Tom, and that she was in love with Jay, but when Gatsby insists that Da

Monday, October 21, 2019

Wbbm-Fm B96 Station Overview Essays

Wbbm-Fm B96 Station Overview Essays Wbbm-Fm B96 Station Overview Paper Wbbm-Fm B96 Station Overview Paper 96. 3FM WBBM-FM (B96) Background and History Officially dubbed ‘B96’ toward the end of 1982, WBBM-FM (owned and operated by CBS Radio) is currently one of the longest running Top 40/CHR stations in the United States. Originally beginning as nothing more than the FM simulcast of WBBM-AM, the station played a very conservative mix of music appealing to a semi broad demographic. As time went on, WBBM (both AM and FM) began playing towards a younger audience until 1969 when WBBM-FM broke away from the WBBM-AM simulcast and adopted a progressive rock format, which later transitioned to more of Adult Top 40. When Dick Bartley became WBBM-FM’s program director in the late 70’s, the station transitioned from Adult Top 40 to Rhythmic Top 40. When radio consultant Mike Joseph (recognized as the creator of the ‘Hot Hitz’ format) began to oversee WBBM-FM’s operation, the station was renamed and ‘96 Now’ became Chicago’s first ‘Hot Hitz’ station playing nothing but top of the chart pop hits. After Josephs departure from ‘96 Now’ (only about a year after arriving), the station adopted the trademark B96 name. Although B96 has seen slight format alterations since then, the station has yet to completely change format, still embracing its original Hot Hitz/Rhythmic Top 40 format history. To this day B96 remains Chicago’s number one CHR station playing to the female Hispanic (primary) and Caucasian (secondary) 18-34 demographic. Managed by Peter Bowen, the CBS owned station broadcasts to the Chicagoland area with a transmitter of over 4200 watts. Erik Bradley is the current music director, deciding which Rhythmic Top 40 songs will be added to the rotation of the station and Todd Cavanah is the sitting programming director. The voices of B96 are made up of 9 On-Air Personalities (J-Nice, Julian, Showbiz Shelly, Dougie Stylz, J Roman, Rebecca Ortiz, Nikki, Jason Cage and Jerzy) all of which are produced by Mark Baggio and Gabe Ramierz. Jay McNeil, Julian Nieh and Sydney ‘showbiz’ Shelly make up the stations flagship morning show which replaced long running on-air team ‘Eddie and Jobo’ in 2009. Although beginning with a rough start (mainly due to opposition of the cancellation of Eddie and Jobo) B96’s ‘Jay and Julian’ have steadily been climbing towards the top ranks of FM’s morning radio. WBBM-FM’s studios and offices are located in the Prudential Building (180 N Stetson, Suite 963) in Chicago, IL. The signal is sent from this location to the main transmitter location in Elk Grove Village where it is then broadcast to the surrounding areas on a larger scale (4,200 Watts). With most of it’s promotions being related to concert tickets and giveaways within the Top 40 demographic, B96 also produces two collaboration concerts a year (The B96 SumerBash and The B96 JingleBash) both of which feature between 7 and 10 musical acts of national notoriety. The website (www. b96. om) which is used to deliver much of the stations entertainment news and promotions, is a cookie cutter CBS Radio webpage clearly geared for the tech-savvy generation (ages 12+) by incorporating many social networking aspects to the site. The station’s current slogan is â€Å"Chicago’s Number One Hit Music Station†. B96’s main office line is 312. 861. 9600 and the request line 312-591-9696. WBBM-FM uses it’s PPM data and surveys which show that the station is ranked number seven in the Chicago market (for adults aged 25-54) to successfully market the station the highest demographic listener. In July of 2011, B96 obtained a AQH of 143 with a cume of 328,500 persons for their morning show (Mon-Fri 6am-10am). B96 markets itself mainly through the use of live remotes and by sponsoring local high school/college events (sports games, dances and more). They also broadcast live regularly from Six Flags, Great America throughout the summer. They do budget a small amount for billboard ads but they have decreased the amount of advertisement in the recent years. B96 has not advertised by newspaper or television in over 10 years.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Aims and Objectives of Apple and Mk Museum Essay Example

Aims and Objectives of Apple and Mk Museum Essay Example Aims and Objectives of Apple and Mk Museum Paper Aims and Objectives of Apple and Mk Museum Paper The two businesses I have chosen are Apple and Mk Museum because I have visited and done in-depth analysis of both businesses by you online sources which are located in my bibliography. As per doing my in-depth analysis I have come to knowledge about both businesses aims and objectives. My reasons for researching the businesses were that I wanted to know how the both became a business and how did they reach this level of popularity and success. My plan was basically carried out by mainly doing allot of research and looking for appropriate sources to help me gather information. But I mainly focused on finding out allot of information about the business and I found out that Apple was founded by a man called Steve wozniak and Steve Jobs. Apple was established on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne to sell the Apple I personal computer kit. The Apple I went on sale in July 1976 and was market-priced at $666. 66 ($2,723 in 2012 dollars, adjusted for inflation. I have also found out that Apple operates in the secondary and tertiary sector and that it has been achieving its aims and objectives by revolutionising the phone market and providing the customers with new ways to connect with each other that no other business was doing by making new phones the company success went up by a lot as the new invention like the I phone 5 which with each sale has profited Apple with ? 400 which with all other products sales is made Apples sales worth more than all of Microsoft and12 Times the global market rate. Also by doing my research I have come to know about the business Mk Museum which is a charitable trust with the director of the museum Bill Griffiths and the rest volunteers in the business Bill Griffiths is the only one who gets paid and the money that pays him comes from the museum cafeteria and gift shop by getting therefore the is achieving its aims and objectives but also its purpose of the business is to provide new and effective ways of telling people about history which they are doing at the same time they operate in the tertiary sector . By comparing the aims and objectives I have come to know that there are a few similarities between them but they’re are not alike in business as they both have different way of connecting people as the museum connects people with the history and apple with phone market both good ways but it’s the aims and objectives of both businesses which are different because on one hand Apple want be the best renowned phone and tablets company but faces obstacles which are other phone and tablet companies and on the other hand Mk museum wants to attract new possibilities and customers to the business which are both achievable but the main similarities is that they both have other business rivals. The way the both were investigated is kind of similar as for Mk museum the information was right on the website and for Apple some was on the Apple website and some was located on different websites which are located in my bibliography. The competitors of the business Apple are other phone companies like Samsung for example who always try to compete with Apples new products but so far have failed as to the result of Apple unleashing there new product the I phone 5 which has mesmerised the nation as the Apples Iphone sales have gone up by 142% and still rising with new customers buying everyday and by doing this Apple has still managed to retain its old customer by giving the gift vouchers in the post and selling them good deals. This is helpful as the customers are getting something in return from the company as well as the purchased product this gets the customer to come again. Apples inventions make Apple millions every year and there profit margin keeps rising with every invention and the new Iphone 5 is very successful and has become a iconic phone name and legacy. Apple products are developed to include improved applications and systems, are set at different prices depending on how much capability the customer desires, and are sold in places where other Apple products are sold. In order to promote the device, the company featured its debut at tech events and is highly advertised on the web and on television. On the other hand Mk Museums competitors are other museums located nearby or in the area itself that meaning that Mk Museum has to find new ways to attract customers and at the same time retain its customers as this is more difficult because the business rivals are located in the nearby or same area which means attracting customers is more harder as they have to engage in regular and different activities to attract the public which they are doing on a basic level. The aims and objectives are being met take Apple and its aims and objectives to† maximize profit† and â€Å"to be the dominant high-tech brand in the whole world† these are being met by retaining customers and developing new products staying unbeatable in the phone market and giving customer what they want and also showing customers that there are more incredible ways to connect to each other and also to connect to the world at the same time this being achieved as they keep modifying and releasing new products on regular time format this is attracting public attention which makes them want to see the product and engage them in what new software and apps and the capability of the phone itself is and not just adults the young generation are very enthusiastic about the new products and then make the parents buy them and show them how good they are. This is all done by selling new products at the price which suits Apple products are sold piece by piece this make the cu stomer buy accessories and other phone components this make Apple allot of money as this is partly the course of their success.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Rioting in American Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rioting in American Society - Essay Example Hysteria on this level was a mass-ecstasy of panic, through which later psychologists interpreted that individuals shed their exhibitions and released repressed thought energy through violent activity in a type of trance – many mob participants were allegedly â€Å"seized† by some force they identify as coming from outside of themselves and overtaking them, causing the person to commit acts of violence or lust that would not ordinarily be even within the threshold of their annual conscious awareness. This is similar in experience and description as possessions reported by ethnographers and anthropologists with ritualistic religions. The psychology of crowds and mass persuasion has steadily advanced since the time of Mackay, yet there are still no explanations for these aspects of human experience from psychology that really explain with any certainty what is occurring in the dynamics of the group mind, or if a group mind even exists. If it does exist, the concept should shatter our commonly held assumptions about individuality and the autonomy of being. Yet if it is not something we can consciously experience, or that happens on cue, it cannot be replicated or tested. Even wildfires, tornados, and hurricanes have a set of evolving principals describing their behavior that are accepted as scientifically valid. Crowd dynamics, as a science, and group psychology can combine to collect evidence on riot situations when they occur in modern times and research historical records of riots to see if they can find patterns and rules of behavior in chaos. Thus a question arises as to whether or not a riot can be organized, for if it is organized in advance it would simply be an attack on a location and not an eruption of primal chaos and the group mind. We need then to discover if there is a valid method of judging the difference between these two situations. From this we can posit the first distinguishing characteristic of

Friday, October 18, 2019

Nuclear Proliferation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nuclear Proliferation - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the Kellogg- Briand Pact of 1928 was a treaty signed to bring to end wars between countries in Europe. The International safeguards system has attempted to contain the spread of nuclear weaponry. Later in 1968, a treaty on Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was signed to see to it that there were no cases of nuclear technology spreading especially to new states. This treaty is by far the only confirmation that nations using nuclear weapons were to see to it that disarmament was achieved. It was also to ensure that the spread of nuclear technology to careless and malicious people was curbed. Vertical and horizontal proliferation have been issues of concern. Over 190 parties are in consent with this treaty probably because of the fear that these nuclear weapons may end up in the hands of terrorists or failed states. The bombing of Hiroshima and then Nagasaki city three days later were considered the two single terror acts ever. The U.S.A planned to attack Japan so as to subdue it. Before America attacked Japan and other states, it sent leaflets around warning them of the impending attacks. The leaflets further said that the U.S.A was aware of these cities harboring warehouses and factories with nuclear weapons. The leaflets also said that there was need to end the war and that the only way this was going to be achieved is by sabotaging all the weapons of mass destruction. America administered this warning with the aim of making the civilians flee the mentioned cities before the attacks. This sanction that was placed on Japan was not out of spite for the Japanese people but the weapons that were made in that country. This event in history is important as it looks into the ways that different states used so as to curb the problem of weapons of mass destruction falling into the wrong hands. In this case, America was aware that the weapons under the custody of Japan were going to fuel the World War II further. The Japanese government sur rendered on 10th August 1945.

Schloarship essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Married to a United States Marine Corp Disabled Veteran - Essay Example One of the main challenges faced by the families of these soldiers is relocation. Soldiers, depending on their job within the military, receive orders to move to different bases all over the country and occasionally to other countries. These orders can be given sporadically, either within a day’s, week’s, or year’s notice. When these families are moved to new and different places it puts a strain on everyone connected to the family, not just the immediate family themselves. Being moved to a new home isolates the family, for the time being, from everything they know. The family has no friends or other relatives in their new home, no one outside of their home to share a relationship with. A soldier’s wife or husband has no friends to talk with or to confide in or seek help. The children of these soldiers have to deal with attending a new and potentially frightening school and making new friends while worrying about replacing the ones they had to leave behind . Truly relocating is a scary and challenging time for these military families. One of the biggest and most difficult and stressful times for these families is the deployment process of their loved one. During deployment itself, the soldier becomes physically and geographically separated from his or her family. Regardless of whether or not the family has to relocate, the absence of the family member can be stressful. The soldier’s spouse is now acting as a single parent. He or she may have sole responsibility for maintaining the household and raising the children and accomplishing the day to day duties. The family’s financial situation may also require the spouse to take on another job or else change to a new one. If the deployed parent was a single parent, to begin with, these problems are intensified. The children may feel isolated if they are unable to communicate with their deployed parent, their only parent. They will worry about their parent’s safety. Beca use of the changed family structure, they may be experiencing inconsistent parenting, or changes in the family schedule, responsibilities and rules.

Reading Journal 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reading Journal 2 - Coursework Example Also, Jean Le Rond Dalembert, who together with Denis Diderot developed the encyclopaedia that was a compilation of works on trade and mechanical arts (75). Another author who contributed significantly is Mary Wollstonecraft, who advocated the womens positions (85), and Adam Smiths wealth of nations (87) among other works provided to the education. Europe started interacting with the rest of the worlds as early as in the seventeenth century especially with the discovery and settlement in the New World. They had knowledge in ship and gun making which gave them a higher advantage (394). France development was based on mercantilism that required the government to maximize on trade by monopolizing trade with its colonies (395). Europe benefited from slavery and its colonies (399). In the mid eighteenth century, it faced international rivalry; the European nations involved in wars that further split to the colonies (404). Europe suffered seven years of war (1756-1763) that ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The treaty left Britain in an economic crisis, and their efforts to get funding from America were frustrated by the American Revolution, which ultimately resulted to declaration of American Independence. This period was characterised by a desire for change. Leaders in the enlightenment believed that a man could comprehend the process of nature and manipulate them to their advantage. The ideas of Isaac Newton and John Locke were the forerunners of this knowledge (416). There was development of the print culture, the volume of printed material increased including books, journals and newspapers among others (417). The scholars who were mainly university professors helped expand the print culture (419). They were critical about most religious institutions arguing it hindered pursuit of rational life (420). Publication of the encyclopaedia also contributed to the understanding (423). They also applied their

Thursday, October 17, 2019

The Mind-Body Connection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Mind-Body Connection - Assignment Example It should be understood that our physical health is strongly connected to our psychological health. This is because it is the nervous system and brain which is the principal co – coordinator in the physical functioning of our body. All the bodily organs function with the aid of brain and nervous system. Moreover our mind’s balance is what makes us an healthy person. The negative emotions like anger, aggression and fear can destroy mental and physical health. In case of stressors, the most effective tool to control it is physical activity. Everybody come across stress in their daily life and physical activity releases hormones to stabilize the stress factor in people. While exercising the body produces endorphins which act as a natural painkiller and also energize a person. The exercise impacts the brain and decreases the fatigue and increase the concentration and alertness of a person. Exercise increases the blood flow to the brain and this refresh the brain and nervous system which give rise to healthy mental

Snake Venom Protein Paralyzes Cancer Cells Research Paper

Snake Venom Protein Paralyzes Cancer Cells - Research Paper Example Present ways of treatment are awfully expensive and have a lot of side effects to patients; mentally, economically as well as physically (Finn, 2001). A number of the elements of snake venom lead to cancerous cell growth retardation. Snake venom, on the other hand, might be a fundamental nominee for the cure in the future for a lot of diseases and body disorders because of its remedial potency and activity together with its availability. Observing and studying with the revolutionary prospectus in pharmaceutical perspectives, snake venom could pay the way for the fresh age of medicines, as well as the research for treatment of cancer among other illnesses (Alama et al., 2011). Snake venoms are often studied by scientists and researchers for its therapeutically/remedial application (Finn, 2001). Numerous outstanding publications distinguished the use of venoms for the healing of a range of therapeutic conditions as inflammation and cancer (Finn, 2001). This article will review recent l iterature regarding a therapeutic potential of snake venom in an endeavor to develop a scientific basis for use of snake venom for treatment of cancer. Venoms of snakes are multifaceted mixtures; largely it has proteins that have enzymatic actions. Peptides and proteins formulate 90 to 95% of the dry weight of venom. Besides that, venoms have inorganic cations such as calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium as well as small amounts of nickel, zinc, cobalt, iron and manganese (Alama et al., 2011). Zinc is vital for anticholinesterase action; calcium is needed for activation of enzymes such as phospholipase.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Reading Journal 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reading Journal 2 - Coursework Example Also, Jean Le Rond Dalembert, who together with Denis Diderot developed the encyclopaedia that was a compilation of works on trade and mechanical arts (75). Another author who contributed significantly is Mary Wollstonecraft, who advocated the womens positions (85), and Adam Smiths wealth of nations (87) among other works provided to the education. Europe started interacting with the rest of the worlds as early as in the seventeenth century especially with the discovery and settlement in the New World. They had knowledge in ship and gun making which gave them a higher advantage (394). France development was based on mercantilism that required the government to maximize on trade by monopolizing trade with its colonies (395). Europe benefited from slavery and its colonies (399). In the mid eighteenth century, it faced international rivalry; the European nations involved in wars that further split to the colonies (404). Europe suffered seven years of war (1756-1763) that ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The treaty left Britain in an economic crisis, and their efforts to get funding from America were frustrated by the American Revolution, which ultimately resulted to declaration of American Independence. This period was characterised by a desire for change. Leaders in the enlightenment believed that a man could comprehend the process of nature and manipulate them to their advantage. The ideas of Isaac Newton and John Locke were the forerunners of this knowledge (416). There was development of the print culture, the volume of printed material increased including books, journals and newspapers among others (417). The scholars who were mainly university professors helped expand the print culture (419). They were critical about most religious institutions arguing it hindered pursuit of rational life (420). Publication of the encyclopaedia also contributed to the understanding (423). They also applied their

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Snake Venom Protein Paralyzes Cancer Cells Research Paper

Snake Venom Protein Paralyzes Cancer Cells - Research Paper Example Present ways of treatment are awfully expensive and have a lot of side effects to patients; mentally, economically as well as physically (Finn, 2001). A number of the elements of snake venom lead to cancerous cell growth retardation. Snake venom, on the other hand, might be a fundamental nominee for the cure in the future for a lot of diseases and body disorders because of its remedial potency and activity together with its availability. Observing and studying with the revolutionary prospectus in pharmaceutical perspectives, snake venom could pay the way for the fresh age of medicines, as well as the research for treatment of cancer among other illnesses (Alama et al., 2011). Snake venoms are often studied by scientists and researchers for its therapeutically/remedial application (Finn, 2001). Numerous outstanding publications distinguished the use of venoms for the healing of a range of therapeutic conditions as inflammation and cancer (Finn, 2001). This article will review recent l iterature regarding a therapeutic potential of snake venom in an endeavor to develop a scientific basis for use of snake venom for treatment of cancer. Venoms of snakes are multifaceted mixtures; largely it has proteins that have enzymatic actions. Peptides and proteins formulate 90 to 95% of the dry weight of venom. Besides that, venoms have inorganic cations such as calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium as well as small amounts of nickel, zinc, cobalt, iron and manganese (Alama et al., 2011). Zinc is vital for anticholinesterase action; calcium is needed for activation of enzymes such as phospholipase.

Law of Carriage by Rail Essay Example for Free

Law of Carriage by Rail Essay 1) a) Explain how the making of the contract between the consignor and the railway station can exist? The contract between the consignor and the railway company will existing when the railway company has accepted the goods for carriage from the consignor and together with the consignment note make by consignor. The acceptance will be established with the consignment note and will be stamp of the forwarding station. The consignment note is made by the consignor with three copy, each copy for each carriage freight, and the content of the consignment note are correspond with all the terms and condition that was agreed by the Rules. When the consignment note had been made by the consignor and was being stamped by the forwarding station, the consignment note will be an evidence of the making contract between the consignor and the railway station or forwarding station, the content that stated in the consignment shall be correspond or exactly same with the consignor with railway station previously agreed. The responsible of the consignor is extraordinary of the consignment note, which may in accordance with the agreement between consignor and the railway company. In the consignment note was related to the goods such as quantity of the goods or to the amount of packages shall only be evidence against the railway when it had been verified by the railway to regulate that is not any deviation with the particular of the consignment note and has be certified in the consignment note. If that was any necessary these particulars may be verified by other means or it was obvious that there is no actual insufficiency corresponding to the discrepancy between the quantity or amount of packages and the particulars in the consignment note, the latter shall not be evidence alongside the railway. This shall apply in particular when the carriage is handed over to the consignee with the original stamps complete. After the railway company has verified the goods, and they shall to certify a receipt that include the date of acceptance of the carriage and stamped on the consignment note before it was duplicated to the consignor. The railway shall declare acceptance of the goods and the date of acceptance for carriage by assigning the date stamp to or else making the entry on the duplicate of the consignment note before compensating the duplicate to the consignor. The duplicate will not have influence as the consignment note complementary the goods, nor as a bill of lading. Grand Trunk Railway Co. of Canada v. McMillan [1889] In this case is the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada as defendant and Robert McMillan as plaintiff. The fact in the case is the railway company have the contract with Robert McMillan, which is a contact for carriage of the goods and it was go beyond of the station of line. The railway company undertakes to carry goods to a point beyond the station of its own line its contract is for carriage of the goods over the whole transit. However the other companies which over of the line they must pass are merely agents of the contracting company for such carriage, and it was in no private of contract with the transporter. In addition, such a contract being one which a railway company may refuse to enter into the contact, it is because of according to section 104 of the Railway Act it does not prevent from restrict the liability for negligence as carriers or else in respect to the goods to be carried after they had gone from its own line. Moreover, inside the contract have a condition from the Grand Trunk Railway Company (defendants), it was stated, they carry the goods form Toronto to Portage la Prairie, Man., it was a place that beyond the station of their line, and the company shall not be responsible for any loss, damage or delay and detention that may happen to goods sent by them. If that has be happen (loss, damage or delay and detention) after said the goods had arrived at the stations or places on their line nearest to the points or places which they were committed to or beyond their held limits. Furthermore for the condition of the contract is provided that no claim for loss, damage, delay or detention of goods should be allowed unless notice in writing with particulars and it was given to the station agent at or nearby to the place of delivery within thirty-six hours after delivery of the goods in order to the claim that was made. The held in this case is because of the condition are not relieve with the company from the liability for the loss and damage that happened during the goods in transit, even if the loss, damage, delay or detention had happened beyond the limits of the company in that own line. As well as the loss having occurred after the transit was over, and the goods delivered at Portage la Prairie, and the liability of the company as carriers having ceased, this condition reduced the contract to one of mere bailment as soon as the goods were delivered, and also exempted the company from liability as warehousemen, and the goods were from that time in keeping of the company on whose line Portage la Prairie was place and it was as an bailees for the goods. That a plea setting up non-compliance with this condition having been demurred to, and the plaintiff not having appealed against a judgment over-ruling the demurrer, the question as to the sufficiency in law of the defense was res judicata. Likewise for the part of the consignment having been lost such notice should have been given in respect to the same within thirty-six hours after the delivery of the goods which arrived in safety. Finally it was be an action against the Grand Trunk Railway Co. and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company jointly for damages caused by injury to the plaintiff’s goods that carry on the Grand Trunk for carriage of goods from Toronto to Manitoba. The goods were only carried by the Grand Trunk over a portion of the route and by the Canadian Pacific from Winnipeg to the place of consignment, and they were in the actual ownership of the latter company when injured. And because of the damage to the goods was not disputed, but the defendants claimed that they were carried under a special contract, by the terms of which they were relieved from liability. b) Briefly explain the party that have the liability to be liable under the carriage by rail? The rail carrier has the liability to be liable for the loss, damage or any delay of the goods that who was under CMR. According to Article 55 is provided that the railways may bring an action to forwarding railway. That is for claim against the railways company due to arising of loss, damage or delay of the goods, and is an action that for reclamation of totality of funded under the contact of carriage of goods might be taken against the railways which have composed that totality or against to railways on behalf it was collected. Based on Article of 54, that is the action against the railways might be brought by the consignor. If any happen action arising from the contact of carriage of goods, the action might brought by consignor until the consignee was take a proprietorship of the consignment note, accepted the goods from the consignor, or declared he has the right to deliver the goods. Or the action against the railways also can brought by the consignee, when the consignee are take a possession of the consignment note, accepted the goods, declared his right or he had been provided that he has the right of action that shall be quenched from the time when a person was entitled by the consignee. However, if they might brought an action against the railways, consignor shall to produce the duplicate of the consignment note, because that will be an evidence that he produce an authorisation from the consignee or deliver resistant that the consignee has refused to accept the consignment note, or the consignee shall to produce the consignment note if it has been furnished terminated to him. In addition, that Article of 36 that is the extent of the liability. The railways has a number of exclusion from the liability. In fact the railways shall to be liable for the loss, damage or delay of the goods, and occasioning from the total or some of the partial of loss, damage or delay from the consignor or between the time that had acceptance for carried out the goods loading and the time delivery and inherent vice of the goods such as defective packaging, decay of the goods or wastage. The railway company shall be relieved of such liability when the loss, damage or delays or the goods that had carried, due by the cause of fault on part of the person entitled, or by the person that entitled other than as result of a fault on the part of the railway which the railway could not avoided and which is unable to prevent the consequence. For instance, under the agreement between the consignor and the railway in the consignment note, the goods should be under the condition that applicable that had been stated in consignment note, any absence or lack of the filler of the good which by their nature shall be liable to loss or damage when the goods was not packed or not be properly packed, or defective loading that had been carried by the consignor, any irregular, incorrect or any incomplete description of the article not been acceptable for carriage or acceptable matter to conditions or failure on part of the consignor to observe the prescribed protections in respect of article acceptable matter to conditions, or the carriage of the live animal and what stated in the consignment note must be accompanied by any attendant, if the loss, damage or delay of the goods had been resulted in the risk of the attendant was intended to obviate, all the circumstance, the railway shall be relieved of the liability when it was cause in resulted in loss, damage or delay of the goods. For example in the case of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. v. Canadian National Railway Co., Rainbow Industrial Caterers Ltd. v. Canadian National Railway Co., [1991], see as well the case of Grand Trunk Railway Co. of Canada v. McMillan [1889]. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. v. Canadian National Railway Co. In this case the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd is the plaintiff and Canadian National Railway Company is the defendant in the cases. The fact in the case was as an import of a train derailment cargo owned by the plaintiff was severely damaged. The cargo was being accepted under a â€Å"Master Transportation Agreement† between the plaintiff and Fujitrans as a freight forwarder. The goods made in Japan and were carried by sea to Vancouver where it was discharged for further carriage to Ontario by rail. Furthermore, the defendant rail carrier assumed, pursuant to Section 137(1) of the Canada Transportation Act, S.C. 1996 and an agreement between Casco, another freight forwarder, that it was entitled to limit its liability to $50,000. However the rail carrier was entitled to limit his liability. The held in the case is which is the right of the defendant as a rail carrier to limit its liability depends on it establishing the existence of a â€Å"confidential contract† under ss. 126 and 137 of the Canada Transportation Act that is a â€Å"written agreement signed by the shipper† and that contains a limitation of liability. The â€Å"shipper† within the meaning of the Canada Transportation Act in the circumstances of this case was Casco not the plaintiff. In addition, the requirement of a â€Å"signed† copy of the agreement does not necessarily require that an actual contracted copy be produced. In this case, the existence of signed consignment of the agreement was sufficient. The plaintiff impliedly or expressly agreed to and authorized the subcontracting by Fujitrans to Casco and by Casco to the rail carrier. Moreover, the plaintiff had express awareness of the terms of the agreement between Casco and the rail carrier. Accordingly, the plaintiff is guaranteed by the limitation even without any private of contract between it and the rail carrier. Rainbow Industrial Caterers Ltd. v. Canadian National Railway Co., [1991] In this case the Rainbow Industrial Caterers Ltd as an appellant however Canadian National Railway Company as a defendant in the cases. The fact in the cases is actually they have two different industrial caterers, both of them is from Albert and in BC, and they was joined and administer as one entity that called as â€Å"Rainbow†. Canadian National Railway Company decided to call for tender for the catering of the meals and service for all the work of crews on a nation-wide basis for the good weather work period in 1985. It had estimated that 1,092,500 meals that will be required. Canadian National Railway Company was notified to Rainbow that the meals are total expected to be 85% of the values listed in the tender document, after the Rainbow was made the bids at $4.94 per meal. It was caused the Rainbow was to increase its bid to $5.02 per meals. As a result that the Rainbow was accumulate that it was losses month by month, because of the number that the meals required was very less than the number given as by the Canadian National Railway Company, and it was caused the Rainbow lost about $1,000,000 on the contact and sued to Canadian National Railway Company. Rainbow was brought an action in tort on the basis of negligent misstatement and misrepresentation in the contact. It is mean that was a breach of the contact and negligent misstatement. The held in the cases is the appellant is looking for the damages in an action for the negligent of misrepresentation is entitled to be put in the position, which if the misrepresentation had not been made. Thus, in tort of action the object is to put the appellant in the position that would have been in if the tort had not been committed. The position would have been is a matter that the appellant must to establish on a balance of the probabilities. However the Canadian National Railway Company was argue that the much of the losses was not caused by the negligent misrepresentation and would have been suffered even had the estimated was accurate. Canadian National Railway Company position is that the losses caused by the conduct that cannot be recoverable in the misrepresentation claim. But, the Canadian National Railway Company is bore the burden of proving the Rainbow would have a bid even if the estimate had been accurate. That was not being proved and it is taken as a fact that the Rainbow would not have to contract had the estimate been accurate. The conduct would not have occurred if there had been no contracted and these losses are causally and directly connected to the contract and the contact is causally connected to the negligent misrepresentation. Finally, this damage was foreseeable and there are not remote. The court was not satisfied that the Rainbow would have entered into the contract in the absence of the misrepresentation, so the damages claimed by the Rainbow were predictable. Furthermore the appellant may compete that all its losses on the contract were caused by the negligent misrepresentation but if it is shown that the loss was caused by factors other than the misrepresentation, and then the chain of causation is broken down. Generally, the plaintiff establishes a prima facie case by proving losses resulting from the contract. But the defendant may demonstrate that the chain of causation was broken by. For instance that the appellant was acts in own, the acts of third parties, or other factors disparate to the circuitous misrepresentation. Tort responsibility is based on mistake, and losses not caused by the defendants fault cannot be charged to it. It is for the appellant in constricting to make appropriate allowance for contingency such as conditions. The plaintiff may also have claim against third parties who cause it loss. To strengthen, the plaintiffs losses may have been caused by the respondent in negligent misrepresentation, or other wrongful acts or omissions of the respondent, whether in negligence or breach of contract and the plaintiffs acts or errors, the acts of third parties, factors unrelated to the faulted either the plaintiffs or the defendant. Trial judge wrongly held that all the appellant contract losses must be certified to and made no findings with respect to the other potential, in spite of the fact that the defendant Canadian National Railway Company led verification on them. These findings must be made if fairness is to be done.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Study on the Prediction of Corporate Bankruptcy

Study on the Prediction of Corporate Bankruptcy CHAPTER 1: A number of researches have been carried on the prediction of bankruptcy; formal studies linked with failure of business were conducted in 1930s. A study conducted by Simth and Winakor (1935) said that ratios of the failing firms were significantly changed from the continuing firms. In addition to that another study was related to the financial ratio of large size corporation that suffered in meeting fixed liability (Hickman 1958). Recent studies took potential ratios given in annual financial statements like profitability, solvency, and liquidity ratios considered as the most predictive indicator and these ratios were matched with failed and well worth firms for analysis. A group of financial and economic ratios were examined in the prediction of bankruptcy through multiple discriminant statistical technique, highest contributor ratios were profitability, operational profit/ total assets and very low contributor ratio was working capital/Assets (Altman, 1968). According to Pastena and Ruland (1968), the bankruptcy was defined in the literature review in various ways. Among those one was in a condition of negative worth where the market value of assets was less than the total value of liabilities. And the other was that the firm was not in a condition to pay back its liabilities as it became due. This term could also be used in a legal condition under which the firms continued to operate under court protection. 1.2 Problem Statement In the corporate finance, the prediction of corporate bankruptcy was considered to be one of the most important issues. The main objective behind the study of the prediction of corporate bankruptcy was that this was the most important issue for the present firms to either file for the bankruptcy or not. The rationale of the study was to examine whether the financial ratios given in detail by Altman (1968) presented the detail regarding the factors of the firm which were helpful in the prediction of corporate bankruptcy in Pakistan. The capacity of study was to investigate the distinctive financial ratios which impacted the firms decisions to file for the bankruptcy or not and on the basis of firms financial ratios, the research study found the different significant ratios which were useful in determining the prediction of any of the organization. 1.3 Hypotheses The main problem of the different firms was to identify those financial factors or the most important ratios which could lead to the filing of bankruptcy or those factors which were useful in determining the prediction of the corporate firms. A central query in front of firms which wanted to file for bankruptcy was why the firms filed for bankruptcy or what financial factors helped out in taking decision to file for bankruptcy. Various financial factors or ratios impacted the decision regarding the filing for bankruptcy. These financial characteristics or the most important ratios were current ratio, debt ratio, net profit margin, assets to long term debt ratio, and growth rate. Many authors as Altman (1968) discussed these characteristics in research. The hypothesized relationship of these listed financial factors with bankruptcy was provided below: H1: There is a difference between the Current ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. H2: There is a difference between the Debt ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. H3: There is a difference between the Net Profit Margin ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. H4: There is a difference between the Assets to long term debt ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. H5: There is a difference between the Growth rate of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. 1.4 Outline of the Study The research structured as follows. Chapter one based on the introduction of the thesis, which consists of the some introduction of the prediction of bankruptcy by different authors, the statement of problem, scope and objectives, hypothesis etc. Chapter two consists of literature review given by different authors, theories on prediction of bankruptcy and financial factors affecting the choice of decision to file for bankruptcy or not. Chapter three described methodology which is composed of justification of the selection of the variables utilized in analysis sample, the data, technique and hypothesis, also estimate model utilized in analysis. In chapter four, analyses of the results were there which were taken after the data processing. Chapter five contained the final results, conclusions and recommendations. References are included in chapter number six. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW A number of researches have been carried on the prediction of bankruptcy; formal studies linked with failure of business were conducted in 1930s. A study conducted by Simth and winakor (1935) said that ratios of the failing firms were significantly change from the continuing firms. In addition to that an other study was related to the financial ratio of large size corporation that suffered in meeting fixed liability (Hickman 1958). Recent studies took potential ratios given in annual financial statements like profitability, solvency, and liquidity ratios considered as the most predictive indicator and these ratios were matched with failed and well worth firms for analysis. A group of financial and economic ratios were examined in the prediction of bankruptcy through multiple discriminant statistical technique, highest contributor ratios were profitability, operational profit/ total assets and very low contributor ratio was working capital/Assets (Altman, 1968). A study conducted by Sandin and Porporato (2007) on corporate bankruptcy prediction model applied to emerging economies. The aim of this study was to find the predictability of bankruptcy by using the financial ratios given in the financial statements and these financial statements were taken from the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange. To test the hypothesis twenty two bankrupt and non bankrupt companies were examined by using the multiple discriminant analysis technique, resulted that financial ratios were very useful in predicting the bankruptcy. Actually this study was about the prediction model and classification of the distressed and failed companies in the Argentina. William Beaver (1996) conducted a study that Financial Ratios As Predictor of Failure, wherein ratios were tested for a specific purpose. The purpose was to forecast the failure. Since ratios were mostly examined for the prediction of failure. The aim of the study was to analyze the status quo that was depended on the financial statements made under the reporting standard and this study was conducted as a bench mark for further studies in bankruptcy area. Sample of data was selected on the basis of industry, firm size and period, Walworth companies should have taken from the same industry where from failed companies taken along with same firm size based on firm value and equal time duration then reliable result can be obtained said by Beaver (1996). This study pointed out and directed to the asset size and relationship among ratios, assets size and failure, study implicated that larger firms were more solvent than smaller firms, even if ratios were same. To examine the hypothesis, a paired analysis was used. According to Pastena and Ruland (1968), the bankruptcy was defined in the literature review in various ways. Among those one was in a condition of negative worth where the market value of assets was less than the total value of liabilities. And the other was that the firm was not in a condition to pay back its liabilities as it became due. This term could also be used in a legal condition under which the firms continued to operate under court protection. Merger and Bankruptcy Based on the literature review in the different research studies, it was found that the shareholders of the distressed firms were getting more benefit from mergers than from the bankruptcy. Thus, the investors kept the positive number of the firms stocks up as a consequence of the merger. Contrastingly, the stakeholders received nothing in case of the bankruptcy. Shrieves and Stevens (1979) managed to explain all of the possible reasons for preferring merger over bankruptcy and those principles included: (1) to avoid the bankruptcy legal and administrative costs, (2) possible loss of tax carry forwards of the loss firm incurred on liquidation, (3) the value of the going-concern in the merger was more than liquidation value if the firm bankruptcy progressed towards the liquidation, and (4) the bankruptcy created the bad effects on the revenues including sales and income due to the customer fears of inability contracts, give replacement parts, etc. Bulow and Shoven (1978) noticed based on the research that the investors have always been avoiding the bankruptcy and this tendency always benefitted the creditors as a whole and that theoretically, the bankruptcy occurred because of the disagreement between the concerned parties. This was treated in a literature that the merger was the best possible alternate of the bankruptcy with the assumption in the mind that it was more easy for the distressed firms to find a merger partner at some price as long as the net asset value was positive and this was also under the assumption of a well-functioning market for information. When the situation was aggravated toward a condition of less or negative net asset value, the possibility of merger was reduced. Hong (1983) made an empirical as well as theoretical model which distinguished among three different categories of financially upset firms and it was organized in three ways such as: firms which filed bankruptcy but reorganized successfully, firms which filed for bankruptcy but were liquidated ultimately, and also the firms which continued operations with out even filing for bankruptcy. Author further made a hypothesis that the intangible assets, the value of the firm as in a going concern and the value of the same firm in liquidation was different, were the main describing factor which affected the eventual outcome. The firms which had greater intangible assets were possibly having a sustainable economic growth and that growth allowed a firm to survive rather than be liquidated. LoPucki (1983) made an explanatory study of about 41 firms which filed the bankruptcy court of the Western District of Missouri. In this study, the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“successesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? were defined as the firms which have verified its various reorganization strategies that kept it on to survive for about three years after the date of petitioning the bankruptcy. Failures according to the author were those firms which had stopped operating functions before February 1983. LoPucki (1983) further could not try to make a method with discriminatory power, but in fact simply scrutinized the associations between the results of reorganization process and numerous individual variables. These individual variables included size, age, and type of the businesses, the survival of creditors opposition to the reorganization strategy, and physical geographic location. The relationships which were found during the research were: significantly higher success rate was associated with the manufacturing fi rms; more successful firms were only the larger firms; success was not significantly associated with the age of the firms; the target opposition of the creditors was mainly at the more successful firms; and lastly, the physical geographical location was not a significant describing variable. In short, only a finite amount of research was conducted on the topic of differentiating between failures and successes in bankruptcy, and outcomes have been open to doubts or inconclusive. The one published study conducted by the LoPucki (1983), scrutinized the first order correlations and could not struggle to build the model of classification. The other published research study conducted by Hong (1983), scrutinized the comparative importance of numerous individual variables and had not analyzed the classification authentication of the multivariate model. As it was already discussed in detail, this present study scrutinized the classification authentication of the multivariate model by using data from both analysis sample and a holdout sample 113 firms. Bordman, Bartley, and Ratliff (1981) noticed that firms went bankrupt only when its capital resources were not enough to pay back the obligations of the business. Thus it became the more important challenge for the new comers in the industry to maintain and establish such valuable resources and capabilities which could ultimately leaded to the production of positive cash flows before starting asset resources were exhausted (Levinthal, 1991). According to DAveni (1989), and Hambrick and DAveni (1988), both researches have noticed that most of the attention has been paid to the early failures and dramatic research has also been conducted in the literature. A macro view of the bankruptcy was given as a known strategy and an empirical examination of factors associated to successful reorganization (Moultan, and Thomas, 1993) and however, the structures of corporate governance were not incorporated in the analysis. An extensive data was available relating the intensity to which the officers and directors of the firm which was bankrupt were more possibly resigning or were being replaced (DAveni, 1990; Fizel Louie, 1990; Gilson, 1989). Several researchers used the multiple discriminant analysis MDA technique to develop a linear model to predict those firms which failed could be differentiated from the non-failed firms in UK (Taffler, 1977). This model resulted in an overall classification authentication for the year before the failure as comparative to three or two prior years of failure. The major contribution made by Taffler was the establishment of a Z-score model which was used for the prediction of company failures in the UK and furthermore, the author claimed of 100 percent predictive authentication in the model. In addition, in the consequent studies, Taffler (1982, 1983) discussed the pairing technique which was used in the prediction of corporate failure studies proved no more successful technique than any selection by the other tool or technique. Multiple Discriminant Analysis MDA models were dependable to certain intensity in the prediction of corporate failure. CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS 3.1 Method of Data Collection Data was selected from Karachi Stock Exchange KSE 100 Index as given by State Bank of Pakistan in publication Balance Sheet Analysis of Joint Stock Companies Listed on the KSE (2004-2009). The period of study covers six years, 2004-09. The opted sample size of 44 firms was taken from KSE 100 Index and all of the firms listed on KSE 100 Index were selected for the samples which were going to bankruptcy in the past and some were also the present functioning firms which were currently working; so, only 44 firms included in the sample period of 2004-09. The objective behind the inclusion of these selected firms in the sample was that the inclusion of bankrupt and non-bankrupt firms in the analysis made it easier to distinguish the critical financial ratios of these both firms in order to predict for corporate bankruptcy. The data availability was the major issue faced in this research study. The secondary data sources were adopted for the collection of the data during this research study. Both of the empirical and theoretical aspects regarding the prediction of corporate bankruptcy were analyzed in this research study. For the purpose of the collection of the secondary data, external data sources were used, such as the data was collected from State Bank of Pakistan, general business publications, newspapers and journal articles, annual reports, internet and books. The data required for this study was completely dependent on the published data sources, such as the published sources listed above. 3.2 Sample Size A sample of 44 firms from KSE 100 Index was selected and in addition, out of these firms 22 firms were bankrupt and the remaining 22 were not bankrupt which was taken as the holdout sample for the prediction of the corporate bankruptcy. Only firms were used in the samples which were either became bankrupt due to the impact of the some of the financial factors or the ratios or the firms which were in operations during the research study was conducted and these firms were listed on the KSE 100 Index form 2004-2009. The impact of the different financial factors or ratios, which were listed in the previous chapters, on the prediction of corporate bankruptcy was analyzed on all of the firms selected as the sample. 3.3 Research Model Developed There are various financial factors or the ratios of the firms which affected the prediction of the corporate bankruptcy of the firms. This research study analyzed the impact of different factors or ratios already listed in the previous chapters on the prediction of corporate bankruptcy. The model developed was a binary logistic model and its specifications are provided below: Liquidity = a0 + a1Firm Size + a2DEBT + a3LTD + a4LSALES + a5OI/S + a6OI/TA+ a7IGP/TA+ a8Market to Book Ratio + ц where: Liquidity = the sum of cash and marketable securities divided by total assets Firm Size = natural log of the book value of total assets DEBT = the ratio of shorter period plus longer period debt to total assets LTD = the ratio of longer period debt to total assets LSALES = natural log of the annual sales OI/S = the ratio of operating income to sales OI/TA = the ratio of operating income to total sales IGP/TA = the inventory plus gross fixed assets to total assets ratio à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ = the error term 3.4 Statistical Technique Binary Logistic Regression Analysis technique was used for this research study to examine the impact of the distinctive financial characteristics or the financial ratios of the firms on the prediction of corporate bankruptcy of the selected firms; Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the examination of the secondary data. Binary Logistic Regression Analysis technique was used for the purpose of prediction of of corporate bankruptcy or the prediction of the firms decisions to file for bankruptcy. The selected technique was used to study the impact of the different independent variables (financial factors as listed in the previous chapters) on the dependent variable i.e., prediction of corporate bankruptcy. The binary logistic regression analysis was selected for this study. It showed the intensity of the impact on the prediction of corporate bankruptcy during year 2004-2009 on the basis of several independent variables. CHAPTER 4: RESULTS The sample of 44 firms from the Karachi Stock Exchange KSE 100 Index was taken; Binary Logistic Regression Analysis technique was used for this research study. Research examined the distinctive financial characteristics or financial ratios of firms which filed for the bankruptcy. The selected technique was used to study the impact of the different independent variables (financial factors as listed in the previous chapters) on the dependent variable i.e., the prediction of corporate bankruptcy. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the analysis and examination of data. 4.1 Findings and Interpretation of the results Initially, the binary logistic regression technique was applied on the data collected using SPSS. Now, it was a nice time to proceed with the analysis of the results because the data was collected and ready to be examined. The interpretation and analysis is presented in the next sections of this research study. Case Processing Summary Unweighted Casesa N Percent Selected Cases Included in Analysis 192 91.4 Missing Cases 18 8.6 Total 210 100.0 Unselected Cases 0 .0 Total 210 100.0 This table explains the total population in the data file that is the 210 observations or the cases for the analysis of the bankruptcy prediction. This table further elaborates that the there were also some of the cases missing in the data because of the issue of data availability and some of the cases were the figures of zero. Dependent Variable Encoding Original Value Internal Value Bankrupt 0 Non-Bankrupt 1 The above table shows that there are only two variables in the dependent variable of bankruptcy that are the being bankrupt or non-bankrupt. Model Summary Step -2 Log likelihood Cox Snell R Square Nagelkerke R Square 1 234.707a .144 .192 This table elaborates the predictability of the complete model of the logistic regression which meant that to what extent the model predict the variation in the predicted group of bankruptcy. According to Cox Snell, the total predictors jointly explained variation in the groups of bankruptcy was 14.4%. While according to Nagelkirki, the all independent variable explained the group prediction of about 19.2%. Hosmer and Lemeshow Test Step Chi-square df Sig. 1 32.715 8 .000 This table checks the overall model fit which means that the model is at its best in predicting the group variation from non-bankrupt to bankrupt. The hypothesis of the above table is that the test model is fit. The hypothesis is rejected because the sig value is less than .05 which concluded that the test model was not fit in this case of predicting the group variation. Classification Tablea Observed Predicted Banckruptcy Percentage Correct Bankrupt Non-Bankrupt Step 1 Banckruptcy Bankrupt 76 29 72.4 Non-Bankrupt 43 44 50.6 Overall Percentage 62.5 The classification table is the most important table in case of the logistic regression because this table explained the correct identification of the cases correctly identified. The percentage of correctly identified cases is 62.5% which is also commonly known as the hit ratio which means that to what extent the numbers of cases were correctly identified. Variables in the Equation B S.E. Wald df Sig. Exp(B) 95% C.I.for EXP(B) Lower Upper Step 1a DA -1.219 .510 5.725 1 .017 .295 .109 .802 AtoLTD -.002 .001 1.583 1 .208 .998 .996 1.001 CR .938 .348 7.242 1 .007 2.554 1.290 5.056 NPM .037 .073 .262 1 .609 1.038 .899 1.198 SG .161 .232 .482 1 .488 1.175 .745 1.852 Constant .066 .579 .013 1 .910 1.068 This is the final most important table in the logistic regression because this is the only table which shows the role of different predictors in significantly explaining the role in the prediction of group variations. Those important significant variables were only two that were DA, and CR because the sig value of only these variables were less than .05. 4.2 Hypotheses Assessment Summary The hypothesis of the study was distinctive financial ratios have significant impact on the non firms decision to file for bankruptcy. These financial characteristics were current ratio (CR), debt ratio (DA), net profit margin (NPM), assets to long term debt ratio, and growth rate. In this study each of the financial characteristics or financial ratios of firms was tested and concluded the results. TABLE 4.4 : Hypotheses Assessment Summary S.NO. Hypotheses ÃŽÂ ²       SIG. RESULT H1 There is a difference between the Current ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. 0.938 0.007 Accepted H2 There is a difference between the Debt Ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. -1.219 0.017 Accepted H3 There is a difference between the Net Profit Margin Ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. 0.037 0.609 Rejected H4 There is a difference between the Assets to long term debt ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. -0.002 0.208 Rejected H5 There is a difference between the Growth rate of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. 0.161 0.488 Rejected CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH 5.1 Conclusion It was concluded based on the results of this research study that current ratio and debt ratio were only the independent variables which were showing significance in Pakistani market and these variables were highly significant in playing the vital role explaining the variation in the dependent variable of the prediction of corporate bankruptcy and the remaining independent variables could not explain the variation in the prediction of corporate bankruptcy. These results were not matching with the study conducted by Altman (1968). These results were varying because in various countries, there was difference in environments and circumstances and firms usually made decision accordingly. 5.2 Discussions Current ratio played a significant role in defining the variation in the prediction of corporate bankruptcy and this was also the case with the research study conducted by Altman (1968) because in his study the firm size was also playing a significant role. The variation in the prediction of corporate bankruptcy was not explained by the net profit margin ratio while it was significant in the study done by Altman (1968). The assets to long term debt ratio, and growth rate were not significantly explaining the variation in the prediction of corporate bankruptcy and study analyzed by Altman (1968), concluded the different results with some addition. 5.3 Implications and Recommendations This research was limited to the various firms listed on Karachi Stock Exchange of Pakistan only. The data taken from 44 firms which were took through various sectors of the KSE 100 Index for the year 2004-09 which were previously bankrupt and which were currently operating. It suggested that such type of study should be carried out in other countries of Asia as well, as to have comprehensive idea about the choices of the firms decision to file for bankruptcy. Moreover, it also suggested that other factors except ones examined in this study should be researched as to have perfect idea about the selection of the prediction of corporate bankruptcy. Besides that, this study can also be replicated in other developing countries. 5.4 Future Research This study helped various investors, management and other research conductors in analyzing and observing the behavior of firms regarding their decisions to file for the bankruptcy. Research students who want to work further on the prediction of bankruptcy can be benefited by this research study. Further more, the firms will become advantageous from this study because the study clarifies the distinctive financial characteristics or the financial ratios of different firms which significantly explain the variations in the prediction of corporate bankruptcy. Study on the Prediction of Corporate Bankruptcy Study on the Prediction of Corporate Bankruptcy CHAPTER 1: A number of researches have been carried on the prediction of bankruptcy; formal studies linked with failure of business were conducted in 1930s. A study conducted by Simth and Winakor (1935) said that ratios of the failing firms were significantly changed from the continuing firms. In addition to that another study was related to the financial ratio of large size corporation that suffered in meeting fixed liability (Hickman 1958). Recent studies took potential ratios given in annual financial statements like profitability, solvency, and liquidity ratios considered as the most predictive indicator and these ratios were matched with failed and well worth firms for analysis. A group of financial and economic ratios were examined in the prediction of bankruptcy through multiple discriminant statistical technique, highest contributor ratios were profitability, operational profit/ total assets and very low contributor ratio was working capital/Assets (Altman, 1968). According to Pastena and Ruland (1968), the bankruptcy was defined in the literature review in various ways. Among those one was in a condition of negative worth where the market value of assets was less than the total value of liabilities. And the other was that the firm was not in a condition to pay back its liabilities as it became due. This term could also be used in a legal condition under which the firms continued to operate under court protection. 1.2 Problem Statement In the corporate finance, the prediction of corporate bankruptcy was considered to be one of the most important issues. The main objective behind the study of the prediction of corporate bankruptcy was that this was the most important issue for the present firms to either file for the bankruptcy or not. The rationale of the study was to examine whether the financial ratios given in detail by Altman (1968) presented the detail regarding the factors of the firm which were helpful in the prediction of corporate bankruptcy in Pakistan. The capacity of study was to investigate the distinctive financial ratios which impacted the firms decisions to file for the bankruptcy or not and on the basis of firms financial ratios, the research study found the different significant ratios which were useful in determining the prediction of any of the organization. 1.3 Hypotheses The main problem of the different firms was to identify those financial factors or the most important ratios which could lead to the filing of bankruptcy or those factors which were useful in determining the prediction of the corporate firms. A central query in front of firms which wanted to file for bankruptcy was why the firms filed for bankruptcy or what financial factors helped out in taking decision to file for bankruptcy. Various financial factors or ratios impacted the decision regarding the filing for bankruptcy. These financial characteristics or the most important ratios were current ratio, debt ratio, net profit margin, assets to long term debt ratio, and growth rate. Many authors as Altman (1968) discussed these characteristics in research. The hypothesized relationship of these listed financial factors with bankruptcy was provided below: H1: There is a difference between the Current ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. H2: There is a difference between the Debt ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. H3: There is a difference between the Net Profit Margin ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. H4: There is a difference between the Assets to long term debt ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. H5: There is a difference between the Growth rate of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. 1.4 Outline of the Study The research structured as follows. Chapter one based on the introduction of the thesis, which consists of the some introduction of the prediction of bankruptcy by different authors, the statement of problem, scope and objectives, hypothesis etc. Chapter two consists of literature review given by different authors, theories on prediction of bankruptcy and financial factors affecting the choice of decision to file for bankruptcy or not. Chapter three described methodology which is composed of justification of the selection of the variables utilized in analysis sample, the data, technique and hypothesis, also estimate model utilized in analysis. In chapter four, analyses of the results were there which were taken after the data processing. Chapter five contained the final results, conclusions and recommendations. References are included in chapter number six. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW A number of researches have been carried on the prediction of bankruptcy; formal studies linked with failure of business were conducted in 1930s. A study conducted by Simth and winakor (1935) said that ratios of the failing firms were significantly change from the continuing firms. In addition to that an other study was related to the financial ratio of large size corporation that suffered in meeting fixed liability (Hickman 1958). Recent studies took potential ratios given in annual financial statements like profitability, solvency, and liquidity ratios considered as the most predictive indicator and these ratios were matched with failed and well worth firms for analysis. A group of financial and economic ratios were examined in the prediction of bankruptcy through multiple discriminant statistical technique, highest contributor ratios were profitability, operational profit/ total assets and very low contributor ratio was working capital/Assets (Altman, 1968). A study conducted by Sandin and Porporato (2007) on corporate bankruptcy prediction model applied to emerging economies. The aim of this study was to find the predictability of bankruptcy by using the financial ratios given in the financial statements and these financial statements were taken from the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange. To test the hypothesis twenty two bankrupt and non bankrupt companies were examined by using the multiple discriminant analysis technique, resulted that financial ratios were very useful in predicting the bankruptcy. Actually this study was about the prediction model and classification of the distressed and failed companies in the Argentina. William Beaver (1996) conducted a study that Financial Ratios As Predictor of Failure, wherein ratios were tested for a specific purpose. The purpose was to forecast the failure. Since ratios were mostly examined for the prediction of failure. The aim of the study was to analyze the status quo that was depended on the financial statements made under the reporting standard and this study was conducted as a bench mark for further studies in bankruptcy area. Sample of data was selected on the basis of industry, firm size and period, Walworth companies should have taken from the same industry where from failed companies taken along with same firm size based on firm value and equal time duration then reliable result can be obtained said by Beaver (1996). This study pointed out and directed to the asset size and relationship among ratios, assets size and failure, study implicated that larger firms were more solvent than smaller firms, even if ratios were same. To examine the hypothesis, a paired analysis was used. According to Pastena and Ruland (1968), the bankruptcy was defined in the literature review in various ways. Among those one was in a condition of negative worth where the market value of assets was less than the total value of liabilities. And the other was that the firm was not in a condition to pay back its liabilities as it became due. This term could also be used in a legal condition under which the firms continued to operate under court protection. Merger and Bankruptcy Based on the literature review in the different research studies, it was found that the shareholders of the distressed firms were getting more benefit from mergers than from the bankruptcy. Thus, the investors kept the positive number of the firms stocks up as a consequence of the merger. Contrastingly, the stakeholders received nothing in case of the bankruptcy. Shrieves and Stevens (1979) managed to explain all of the possible reasons for preferring merger over bankruptcy and those principles included: (1) to avoid the bankruptcy legal and administrative costs, (2) possible loss of tax carry forwards of the loss firm incurred on liquidation, (3) the value of the going-concern in the merger was more than liquidation value if the firm bankruptcy progressed towards the liquidation, and (4) the bankruptcy created the bad effects on the revenues including sales and income due to the customer fears of inability contracts, give replacement parts, etc. Bulow and Shoven (1978) noticed based on the research that the investors have always been avoiding the bankruptcy and this tendency always benefitted the creditors as a whole and that theoretically, the bankruptcy occurred because of the disagreement between the concerned parties. This was treated in a literature that the merger was the best possible alternate of the bankruptcy with the assumption in the mind that it was more easy for the distressed firms to find a merger partner at some price as long as the net asset value was positive and this was also under the assumption of a well-functioning market for information. When the situation was aggravated toward a condition of less or negative net asset value, the possibility of merger was reduced. Hong (1983) made an empirical as well as theoretical model which distinguished among three different categories of financially upset firms and it was organized in three ways such as: firms which filed bankruptcy but reorganized successfully, firms which filed for bankruptcy but were liquidated ultimately, and also the firms which continued operations with out even filing for bankruptcy. Author further made a hypothesis that the intangible assets, the value of the firm as in a going concern and the value of the same firm in liquidation was different, were the main describing factor which affected the eventual outcome. The firms which had greater intangible assets were possibly having a sustainable economic growth and that growth allowed a firm to survive rather than be liquidated. LoPucki (1983) made an explanatory study of about 41 firms which filed the bankruptcy court of the Western District of Missouri. In this study, the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“successesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? were defined as the firms which have verified its various reorganization strategies that kept it on to survive for about three years after the date of petitioning the bankruptcy. Failures according to the author were those firms which had stopped operating functions before February 1983. LoPucki (1983) further could not try to make a method with discriminatory power, but in fact simply scrutinized the associations between the results of reorganization process and numerous individual variables. These individual variables included size, age, and type of the businesses, the survival of creditors opposition to the reorganization strategy, and physical geographic location. The relationships which were found during the research were: significantly higher success rate was associated with the manufacturing fi rms; more successful firms were only the larger firms; success was not significantly associated with the age of the firms; the target opposition of the creditors was mainly at the more successful firms; and lastly, the physical geographical location was not a significant describing variable. In short, only a finite amount of research was conducted on the topic of differentiating between failures and successes in bankruptcy, and outcomes have been open to doubts or inconclusive. The one published study conducted by the LoPucki (1983), scrutinized the first order correlations and could not struggle to build the model of classification. The other published research study conducted by Hong (1983), scrutinized the comparative importance of numerous individual variables and had not analyzed the classification authentication of the multivariate model. As it was already discussed in detail, this present study scrutinized the classification authentication of the multivariate model by using data from both analysis sample and a holdout sample 113 firms. Bordman, Bartley, and Ratliff (1981) noticed that firms went bankrupt only when its capital resources were not enough to pay back the obligations of the business. Thus it became the more important challenge for the new comers in the industry to maintain and establish such valuable resources and capabilities which could ultimately leaded to the production of positive cash flows before starting asset resources were exhausted (Levinthal, 1991). According to DAveni (1989), and Hambrick and DAveni (1988), both researches have noticed that most of the attention has been paid to the early failures and dramatic research has also been conducted in the literature. A macro view of the bankruptcy was given as a known strategy and an empirical examination of factors associated to successful reorganization (Moultan, and Thomas, 1993) and however, the structures of corporate governance were not incorporated in the analysis. An extensive data was available relating the intensity to which the officers and directors of the firm which was bankrupt were more possibly resigning or were being replaced (DAveni, 1990; Fizel Louie, 1990; Gilson, 1989). Several researchers used the multiple discriminant analysis MDA technique to develop a linear model to predict those firms which failed could be differentiated from the non-failed firms in UK (Taffler, 1977). This model resulted in an overall classification authentication for the year before the failure as comparative to three or two prior years of failure. The major contribution made by Taffler was the establishment of a Z-score model which was used for the prediction of company failures in the UK and furthermore, the author claimed of 100 percent predictive authentication in the model. In addition, in the consequent studies, Taffler (1982, 1983) discussed the pairing technique which was used in the prediction of corporate failure studies proved no more successful technique than any selection by the other tool or technique. Multiple Discriminant Analysis MDA models were dependable to certain intensity in the prediction of corporate failure. CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS 3.1 Method of Data Collection Data was selected from Karachi Stock Exchange KSE 100 Index as given by State Bank of Pakistan in publication Balance Sheet Analysis of Joint Stock Companies Listed on the KSE (2004-2009). The period of study covers six years, 2004-09. The opted sample size of 44 firms was taken from KSE 100 Index and all of the firms listed on KSE 100 Index were selected for the samples which were going to bankruptcy in the past and some were also the present functioning firms which were currently working; so, only 44 firms included in the sample period of 2004-09. The objective behind the inclusion of these selected firms in the sample was that the inclusion of bankrupt and non-bankrupt firms in the analysis made it easier to distinguish the critical financial ratios of these both firms in order to predict for corporate bankruptcy. The data availability was the major issue faced in this research study. The secondary data sources were adopted for the collection of the data during this research study. Both of the empirical and theoretical aspects regarding the prediction of corporate bankruptcy were analyzed in this research study. For the purpose of the collection of the secondary data, external data sources were used, such as the data was collected from State Bank of Pakistan, general business publications, newspapers and journal articles, annual reports, internet and books. The data required for this study was completely dependent on the published data sources, such as the published sources listed above. 3.2 Sample Size A sample of 44 firms from KSE 100 Index was selected and in addition, out of these firms 22 firms were bankrupt and the remaining 22 were not bankrupt which was taken as the holdout sample for the prediction of the corporate bankruptcy. Only firms were used in the samples which were either became bankrupt due to the impact of the some of the financial factors or the ratios or the firms which were in operations during the research study was conducted and these firms were listed on the KSE 100 Index form 2004-2009. The impact of the different financial factors or ratios, which were listed in the previous chapters, on the prediction of corporate bankruptcy was analyzed on all of the firms selected as the sample. 3.3 Research Model Developed There are various financial factors or the ratios of the firms which affected the prediction of the corporate bankruptcy of the firms. This research study analyzed the impact of different factors or ratios already listed in the previous chapters on the prediction of corporate bankruptcy. The model developed was a binary logistic model and its specifications are provided below: Liquidity = a0 + a1Firm Size + a2DEBT + a3LTD + a4LSALES + a5OI/S + a6OI/TA+ a7IGP/TA+ a8Market to Book Ratio + ц where: Liquidity = the sum of cash and marketable securities divided by total assets Firm Size = natural log of the book value of total assets DEBT = the ratio of shorter period plus longer period debt to total assets LTD = the ratio of longer period debt to total assets LSALES = natural log of the annual sales OI/S = the ratio of operating income to sales OI/TA = the ratio of operating income to total sales IGP/TA = the inventory plus gross fixed assets to total assets ratio à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ = the error term 3.4 Statistical Technique Binary Logistic Regression Analysis technique was used for this research study to examine the impact of the distinctive financial characteristics or the financial ratios of the firms on the prediction of corporate bankruptcy of the selected firms; Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the examination of the secondary data. Binary Logistic Regression Analysis technique was used for the purpose of prediction of of corporate bankruptcy or the prediction of the firms decisions to file for bankruptcy. The selected technique was used to study the impact of the different independent variables (financial factors as listed in the previous chapters) on the dependent variable i.e., prediction of corporate bankruptcy. The binary logistic regression analysis was selected for this study. It showed the intensity of the impact on the prediction of corporate bankruptcy during year 2004-2009 on the basis of several independent variables. CHAPTER 4: RESULTS The sample of 44 firms from the Karachi Stock Exchange KSE 100 Index was taken; Binary Logistic Regression Analysis technique was used for this research study. Research examined the distinctive financial characteristics or financial ratios of firms which filed for the bankruptcy. The selected technique was used to study the impact of the different independent variables (financial factors as listed in the previous chapters) on the dependent variable i.e., the prediction of corporate bankruptcy. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the analysis and examination of data. 4.1 Findings and Interpretation of the results Initially, the binary logistic regression technique was applied on the data collected using SPSS. Now, it was a nice time to proceed with the analysis of the results because the data was collected and ready to be examined. The interpretation and analysis is presented in the next sections of this research study. Case Processing Summary Unweighted Casesa N Percent Selected Cases Included in Analysis 192 91.4 Missing Cases 18 8.6 Total 210 100.0 Unselected Cases 0 .0 Total 210 100.0 This table explains the total population in the data file that is the 210 observations or the cases for the analysis of the bankruptcy prediction. This table further elaborates that the there were also some of the cases missing in the data because of the issue of data availability and some of the cases were the figures of zero. Dependent Variable Encoding Original Value Internal Value Bankrupt 0 Non-Bankrupt 1 The above table shows that there are only two variables in the dependent variable of bankruptcy that are the being bankrupt or non-bankrupt. Model Summary Step -2 Log likelihood Cox Snell R Square Nagelkerke R Square 1 234.707a .144 .192 This table elaborates the predictability of the complete model of the logistic regression which meant that to what extent the model predict the variation in the predicted group of bankruptcy. According to Cox Snell, the total predictors jointly explained variation in the groups of bankruptcy was 14.4%. While according to Nagelkirki, the all independent variable explained the group prediction of about 19.2%. Hosmer and Lemeshow Test Step Chi-square df Sig. 1 32.715 8 .000 This table checks the overall model fit which means that the model is at its best in predicting the group variation from non-bankrupt to bankrupt. The hypothesis of the above table is that the test model is fit. The hypothesis is rejected because the sig value is less than .05 which concluded that the test model was not fit in this case of predicting the group variation. Classification Tablea Observed Predicted Banckruptcy Percentage Correct Bankrupt Non-Bankrupt Step 1 Banckruptcy Bankrupt 76 29 72.4 Non-Bankrupt 43 44 50.6 Overall Percentage 62.5 The classification table is the most important table in case of the logistic regression because this table explained the correct identification of the cases correctly identified. The percentage of correctly identified cases is 62.5% which is also commonly known as the hit ratio which means that to what extent the numbers of cases were correctly identified. Variables in the Equation B S.E. Wald df Sig. Exp(B) 95% C.I.for EXP(B) Lower Upper Step 1a DA -1.219 .510 5.725 1 .017 .295 .109 .802 AtoLTD -.002 .001 1.583 1 .208 .998 .996 1.001 CR .938 .348 7.242 1 .007 2.554 1.290 5.056 NPM .037 .073 .262 1 .609 1.038 .899 1.198 SG .161 .232 .482 1 .488 1.175 .745 1.852 Constant .066 .579 .013 1 .910 1.068 This is the final most important table in the logistic regression because this is the only table which shows the role of different predictors in significantly explaining the role in the prediction of group variations. Those important significant variables were only two that were DA, and CR because the sig value of only these variables were less than .05. 4.2 Hypotheses Assessment Summary The hypothesis of the study was distinctive financial ratios have significant impact on the non firms decision to file for bankruptcy. These financial characteristics were current ratio (CR), debt ratio (DA), net profit margin (NPM), assets to long term debt ratio, and growth rate. In this study each of the financial characteristics or financial ratios of firms was tested and concluded the results. TABLE 4.4 : Hypotheses Assessment Summary S.NO. Hypotheses ÃŽÂ ²       SIG. RESULT H1 There is a difference between the Current ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. 0.938 0.007 Accepted H2 There is a difference between the Debt Ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. -1.219 0.017 Accepted H3 There is a difference between the Net Profit Margin Ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. 0.037 0.609 Rejected H4 There is a difference between the Assets to long term debt ratio of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. -0.002 0.208 Rejected H5 There is a difference between the Growth rate of bankrupted companies and non bankrupted companies. 0.161 0.488 Rejected CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH 5.1 Conclusion It was concluded based on the results of this research study that current ratio and debt ratio were only the independent variables which were showing significance in Pakistani market and these variables were highly significant in playing the vital role explaining the variation in the dependent variable of the prediction of corporate bankruptcy and the remaining independent variables could not explain the variation in the prediction of corporate bankruptcy. These results were not matching with the study conducted by Altman (1968). These results were varying because in various countries, there was difference in environments and circumstances and firms usually made decision accordingly. 5.2 Discussions Current ratio played a significant role in defining the variation in the prediction of corporate bankruptcy and this was also the case with the research study conducted by Altman (1968) because in his study the firm size was also playing a significant role. The variation in the prediction of corporate bankruptcy was not explained by the net profit margin ratio while it was significant in the study done by Altman (1968). The assets to long term debt ratio, and growth rate were not significantly explaining the variation in the prediction of corporate bankruptcy and study analyzed by Altman (1968), concluded the different results with some addition. 5.3 Implications and Recommendations This research was limited to the various firms listed on Karachi Stock Exchange of Pakistan only. The data taken from 44 firms which were took through various sectors of the KSE 100 Index for the year 2004-09 which were previously bankrupt and which were currently operating. It suggested that such type of study should be carried out in other countries of Asia as well, as to have comprehensive idea about the choices of the firms decision to file for bankruptcy. Moreover, it also suggested that other factors except ones examined in this study should be researched as to have perfect idea about the selection of the prediction of corporate bankruptcy. Besides that, this study can also be replicated in other developing countries. 5.4 Future Research This study helped various investors, management and other research conductors in analyzing and observing the behavior of firms regarding their decisions to file for the bankruptcy. Research students who want to work further on the prediction of bankruptcy can be benefited by this research study. Further more, the firms will become advantageous from this study because the study clarifies the distinctive financial characteristics or the financial ratios of different firms which significantly explain the variations in the prediction of corporate bankruptcy.