Bridging Cultural Differences

WAYS ON HOW TO BRIDGE CULTURAL AND ETHNICAL DIFFERENCES. The world constitutes people with different cultural and ethnic background. Culture refers to the beliefs, ideas, artifacts that make up a shared way of life while ethnicity refers to a shared cultural heritage (Macionis, 2007 page 60). Now when people differ in cultural and ethnic background there tend to be a gap or conflict between them. For This reason, there must be some ways of bridging this gap.Thus the essay outlines these differences and the ways on how to bridge them. To begin with, cultural difference is the distinction existing between cultures and it is also called cultural conflict. On the other hand, ethnic difference refers to the difference in cultural heritage that is to say members of an ethnic category have common ancestors, language or religion that together confer a distinctive social identity (Macionis 2007 page 335). If people differ in some aspects of their culture are said to be in ethnic conflict.For instance, cultures and ethnic groups may differ in language, religion, marriage, food habits and dresing. To clarify on these differences, let us first look at language and symbols. Language refers to the method of human communication, either spoken or written consisting of the use of words in structured and conventional way (Google. Merriam Webster). It plays a great role in interaction between two persons, it helps to share thoughts, emotions and opinions, and it develops communities and knowledge.Basically, language and symbols intermarry in the way that a symbol is something representing an idea, a process and physical entities. As a result, people of the same language leave in harmony because they are able to communicate. For example, beating of a drum have different meanings according to the area it is done, for instance among the Chewa in the central region it means an invitation to bear in that area, while to other people of Nthalire in Chitipa it may mean something else. Th e second cultural and ethnic difference between cultures is religion.This refers to a belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power especially a person, God and gods. Beliefs differ according to cultures and ethnic background that is why there are a lot of religions in the world. Just to mention a few, people from the Middle East believed in Allah while a white man believed in God and in Jesus Christ. This is because the founders of their faith were different; Jesus was a Jew and Muhammad an Arabian. Muslims vehemently deny that Jesus is a son of God which is against Christians’ elief. In this situation people of these two religions will always be in conflict if no ways are put to bridge their faith. The other cultural and ethnical difference existing between cultures is marriage,which refers to a formal union of a man and a woman, typically rocognised by law, by which they become husband and wife(google, Merriam-webster). As a result of differing in ethnic backgrou nd and culture people in Malawi practices different kinds of marriages based on the region they belong.People of the north and southern end practices patrilinieal type of marriage while the remaining part practices matrilinieal type of marriage. Patrilinial is normal in the regions bieng practiced while to others is not normal just because it involves paying of a huge of money to the parents as apart of thankful talken in which to the other groups is like buying. Food habits also plays a role in differing cultures and ethnic groups, a good example can be on the main meals that people value.A malawian citizen may find it difficult to accommodate rice in his daily meals which he may call it junky. This is so because in Malawian culture we value thick poridge (Nsima). The other example can be of Indians, they value putting mutch papper in their food in which other people can not manage. The last difference is dressing, dressing may differ becuae of religion, cultural background and the environment in the individual resides.The putting on of trousers is deviance in other cultures which is also normal to other cultures. Muslim women are encouragide to be putting on long dresses even covering their faces. Following these differences further, we realy see a need of bridging these cultures and some of these ways may include; education,democratic decision making policies,religion,national festivals,village transfers. Firstly, cultural and ethnic differences can be bridged through awareness.This can be achieved through education, involving agents of change such as traditional readers. Agents of change who are regarded as key people ,should be trained on the other cultures and tought to relay the massage to their people. Secondly,syllubii covering information of all the cultures and ethnic groups should be impremented in the curricullum. This will enable students to know more of different cultures and as they grow will be able to interact with those with differing cultur es.In addition to that, the government must imprement democratic decision making policies. In support of this point,policy makers should institute the value of mixing people of different cultures in government institutions such as the army, police, universties, secondery schools and others. A good example of this policy can be under the late D. R Banda who introduced the Malawi institute of young pionneers, which was constituting young people from different angles of the country to be trained at a one centre.This in turn yielded intermarriage just because youth could leave together for a long and understand each other. Furthermore,religion can also help to bring together people of differing cultures in one. For example churches,mosiqus and other worship centres consist peole of different cultures and ethnic groups, to shed more lights on this point let us have an example of st michaels and all angels C. C. A. P. People from all the regions of the country sharing seats, pastor and wo rk together regardiless of their cultural gap.Not only does religion bring together different cultures only in this way, we can also look in the stuations of national crisis,national celebrations, people of different faith may come together to ask for Gods favor. A good example can be drawn from this year’s national independent day where by prayers were conducted on sixth july 2012 at comesa hall in Blantyre. Leaders from all denominations together with the leader of the country came together merged to pray for the national economic crisis. This leads us to conclussion tha we

4 Davids

Jennifer Keefe Professor Mark Moak Art History 1 December 2011 The Life and Times of the Four David Artists Through out the years there were many great artists who created many great works of art, but only four Italian artists really stick out for creating the same piece all with different points of views. These artists were Donatello, Verrocchio, Michelangelo, and Bernini, all of who created a David sculpture. Each one very unique and different. These four artists all stand out in there own individual ways. David who was supposed to be the second king of Israel, killed Goliath with just a sling and a single stone.The story of David and Goliath goes something like this, according to the bible in 1 Samuel 17. â€Å"The Philistine army gathered for war against the Israelites. The two armies faced each other on opposite sides of a valley. A Philistine giant named Goliath, would come out in armor and challenge the Israelites to war. The King of Israel who at that time was Saul, and his whole army were scared of Goliath. David who was the youngest son of Jesse, was sent to battle for one simple task, to bring his father back news of his brothers. While there, David heard Goliath shouting and saw the fear that had began to show in the men of Israel.David volunteered himself to fight Goliath, it took sometime for Saul to agree, but finally he gave in. Dressed in his simple tunic, carrying only his staff, slingshot and a pouch full of stones, David approached Goliath. The giant cursed at him, making horrible threats and insults. David said to Goliath, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied †¦ today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air †¦ and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel †¦ t is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands. ’ As Goliath moved in for the kill, David reached into his bag and took out a single stone and aimed for Goliath's head. Finding a hole in the armor, the stone sank into Goliath’s forehead and caused Goliath to fall face down on the ground. David then took Goliath's sword, killed him and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned around and ran. At this moment the Israelites began to pursue, chase and kill their enemy (1 Samuel 17). †As time went on four very different artists became inspired to create their own very different and very unique David’s. These four artists were Donatello, Verrocchio, Michelangelo and Bernini. First was Donatello. Donatello was an early Italian artist and sculptor from Florence. Donatello is well known for doing most of his work in bas-relief, which is a shallow relief, which is well incorporated in his 14th century works. Donatello created many major works such as the statue of St. Mark in 1411 through 1413. In 1417 Donatello completed St. George, which is shown in bas relief and shows one of the first xamples of central point perspective. Central point perspective is when all the perspective lines come from one point in the painting or drawing. One of the things that I read about that I found funny was that Donatello sculpted a tabernacle for his work but was sold in 1460 to hold Verrocchio’s Incredulity of St. Thomas. Between 1415 and 1426, Donatello created five more statues for Giotto’s campanile of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, which to some of us we like to call the Duomo. The five works that are in the campanile are the Beardless Prophet, the Bearded Prophet, which were both made in he year 1415, the Sacrifice of Isaac in 1421, Habbakuk in the years 1423 through 1425, and Jeremiah in the years 1423 through 1426. These sculptures follow classical models for viewers and show strong details. In 1425 Donatello c reated a piece titled Crucifix, which shows Christ in a moment of agony, with his eyes and mouth slightly opened. Between the years of 1425 through 1427, Donatello worked with another artist by the name of Michelozzo on the monument for the Antipope John XXII for the monument that would be in Florence. Donatello completed a marble panel monument for Cardinal Rainaldo Brancacci in a church inNaples, int the year 1427. Around the same time he did two statues called Faith and Hope for a baptistery in Siena. â€Å"Donatello created a perfect balance between Classicism and realism in my mind. This was created from an image of an Italian boy who looked like a Classical nude figure (Fichner-Rathus 331). † I didn’t know this, I just thought it was something that he created from his mind. Although Donatello was inspired by Classical figures, he chose a young boy whose arms appear weak because of the lack of muscles. After defeating Goliath, whose head lies at David's feet, he r ests his sword by his side, hich looks like it was almost to heavy for David to handle. â€Å"It seems almost impossible that a young boy like David could have succeeded in such a task. David himself look shocked even by his own deed as he glances down on the body of Goliath. Apparently, David's intellect, faith and courage made up for his lack of build (Fichner- Rathus 331-332). † Donatello’s David now sits in the Medici. Second was Verrocchio, who also designed a sculpture of David. Verrocchio in my opinion was one of the best known sculptors of his time in the fifteenth century. Verrocchio was born in Florence around the year 1435.Some people say that he studied under Donatello, but no one knows for sure, some people also say that he might have studied under a painter named Lippi. It is a mystery that has yet to be solved and may never be solved. Verrocchio’s main works are dated back to his late twenties. His studio or workshop was in Florence where he was a member of the Guild of St. Luke. Some more great artists passed through his studio such as Leonardo da Vinci and Lorenzo di Credi. Some of the works that were created by his students are often times hard to distinguish between his own works and theirs. Towards the end of his life he opened a ew workshop in Venice where he was working on a sculpture of Bartolomeo Colleoni. Eventually he left his workshop in the hands of one of his apprentices Lorenzo di Credi. Verrocchio died in Venice around the year 1488. Verrocchio’s figure of David is one the most famous works of his time and still is today. In Verrocchio’s David, I see a strong contrast between the way that Verrocchio treated the same subject that Donatello did. Verrocchio’s brave man â€Å"appears somewhat older and excludes pride and self- confidence rather than a dreamy gaze of disbelief (Fichner-Rathus 334). † I personally hought that Verrocchio’s David looked surprised but also quite prou d of himself. Verrocchio had little detail that showed in his David, where as Donatello did a very good job with his realism and making the torso of David seem different. Verrocchio’s sculpture also looks like a different technique was used. Donatello’s David has closed objects and Davids limbs are in created in what they call an S- curve stance, which helped with his human form. An S- curve is where the calf and the thigh are bent so that the leg creates the shape of an S, which is very different from Verrocchio's sculpture because his is more open.For example, the sword and elbow are sticking out, away from the center of the body. â€Å"Donatello's graceful pose had been replaced in the Verrocchio, by a jaunty contrapposto that enhances David's image of self-confidence (Fichner-Rathus 334). † The third artist that created a David sculpture was Michelangelo. Michelangelo was probably one of the greatest artists that ever lived during his time. Michelangelo was born during the biggest period of Western art also known as Renaissance Italy, which at that time was the most artistically developed country. Not only was Michelangelo a sculptor, but was also a fresco painter.Michelangelo created The Creation and The Last Judgement, both of which are in the Sistine Chapel. The start of Michelangelo’s career started in Florence, which at the time was under Lorenzo the Magnificent. Things were changing after the death of the anti-Renaissance Priest and the leader of Florence. Michelangelo was asked to complete an unfinished project that was already started 40 years earlier by an artist named Agostino di Duccio. This project was a huge statue of David, which symbolized the freedom of the Florentine republic. This statue of David was to be placed in the Piazza della Signoria which is front of thePalazzo Vecchio. This masterpiece was created out of a solid marble block. This was a huge advantage for Michelangelo because he was able to use this t o establish himself as a sculptor of incredible talent and strength for his imagination. Michelangelo had a very strong character from what I have read about him. He preferred to work by himself, rather then working with others, which is probably where he gets such a sense of independence and strong character. I’ve also read that Michelangelo would lose his temper and would end up in sticky situations because of it. Julius II who was the pope t the time, made Michelangelo bend over backwards at his feet to try and get him to get him to finally paint the wall and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. His reputation as a sculptor was established when he carved his David at the edge of twenty-seven from a single piece of what seemed like to everyone else as an unworkable piece of marble. Unlike the David's that were created by Donatello and Verrocchio, Michelangelo's David is not shown after defeating Goliath instead, David is portrayed as a â€Å"most beautiful animal preparing to ki ll-not by savagery and brute force, but by intellect and skill (Fichner-Rathus 345). Over his shoulder is David's sling, and the stone is sitting in the palm of his right hand. Michelangelo's David shows the young face of David who has just reached adulthood and shows great physical and intellectual attributes. Michelangelo's sculpture is close in form, like Donatello's David. â€Å"All the elements move firmly around a central axis (Fichner-Rathus 345). † Finally, there is Bernini. Bernini had many early works before he created his David sculpture in 1623. Bernini studied under Cardinal Scipione Borghese, who was a member of the reigning papal family at that time. Under Cardinal Scipione, Bernini arved his first group of life size sculptures. Bernini’s first life size sculpture was called Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius Fleeing Troy which was created in 1619. Bernini’s second sculpture was created in 1622 called Pluto and Proserpina. In 1624 Bernini created Apoll o and Daphne which was supposed to be viewed as a relief. â€Å"Apollo and Daphne standing near each other looking as though they could be in motion. Apollo’s left arm is resting on Daphne’s left hip. This statue is in the Galleria Borghese in Rome. ( Italian Master). † The Ecstasy of Theresa is another sculpture that was done between 1644 and 1647.This sculpture was made the church of the Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome. This sculpture was created for Saint Theresa because she would write religious narratives. In one of here narratives she talks about her relationship with god as a â€Å"burning arrow piercing through her heart (Meyer 10),† I thought a description of a relationship between a human and God would be a little more beautiful and not so morbid. The sculpture of Emperor Constantine, which was sculpted between 1654-1670 out of marble, is another one of Bernini’s works of art. It is located in the Vatican in Rome. The statue has drapes in it that are not marble but stucco.In 1623 Bernini created his David, which is very different from those of Donatello, Verrocchio and Michelangelo. Bernini had neither Donatello's triumphant boy or Michelangelo's posturing adolescent. Bernini’s hero is full-grown and fully engaged-both physically and psychologically. David’s aim shows his muscular body as it twists just a split second before slinging the stone that he has grasped in his left hand. David stands alone, but Goliath is simply just envisioned in the viewers mind as standing directly behind David. As a viewer looking at the sculpture of David, I am almost tempted to play the fight in my mind and pretend hat I am ducking in order to avoid being hit with a stone. â€Å"It is the anticipation of violent action that heightens this confrontation as David's latent power is momentarily arrested (Scribner 66). † Present in this sculpture are three of the five characteristics of Baroque art: motion which is a different way of looking at space and the concept of time. Donatello and Verrocchio depicted David at rest after he killed Goliath, Michelangelo, presented David before the battle, with the tension and emotion evident in every vein and muscle. Bernini does not depict David before or after the fight. Instead, he shows him in the rocess of the fight. This represents the element of time in his work. The views are forced to complete the action that David has begun for us. With David's positioning, a new concept of space comes into play. â€Å"No longer does the figure remain still in a Classical contrapposto stance, but rather extends into the surrounding space away from a vertical axis. This movement outward from a central core forces the viewer to take into account both the form and the space between and surrounding the forms-in order to appreciate the complete composition† (Fichner- Rathus 360). † In order to understand the sculpture fully, we must move around the wor k.As we move, the views of the work change drastically. As you can see, the works sculpted by Donatello, Verrocchio, Michelangelo and Bernini are drastically very different in there own ways. Donatello presented David as a young boy who seemed incapable and amazed at his feat. Verrocchio's David, although an adolescent, appears somewhat older and has more self-confidence than Donatello's David. Michelangelo's David has just reached manhood and is capable of great physical feats, like defeating Goliath. Finally, Bernini's David is a full grown man. He, like Michelangelo's David, also appears to be strong, brave and gifted enough to slaughterGoliath. These four artists were both amazing and spectacular. They each brought something different into the world and even still to this very day we are still in awe over what they created. Donatello, Verrocchio, Michelangelo, and Bernini, four great artists with four very different views on the world. Works Cited Fichner-Rathus, Lois. Understan ding Art. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc, 1995 Italian Master. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1940. Meyer, Alfred Gotthold. Donatello. Liepzig: Fischer & Wittig, 1904 Scribner, Charles. Gianlorenzo Bernini. New York: H. N. Abrams, Publishers, 1991.

Human Resource Management Overview Essay

Human Resource Management is a very important key to any business there are many areas that relies on the people that work in this field. Working in this field takes a lot of dedication and time not only as a person but as a team member as well. Let me go ahead and get started discussing the importance of Human Resource Management. First of all, what is Human Resource Management also known as HRM? Human Resource Management is a group of people within an organization that focuses on recruiting new employees, providing directions to the current employees, etc. Human Resource Management responsibility is to work with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training [(About. com) ]. Human Resource Management is also a strategic and comprehensive approach to managing people and the workplace culture and environment [(About. com) ]. Effective Human Resource Management enables employees to contribute effectively and productively to the overall company direction and the accomplishment of the organization’s goals and objectives [(About. om) ]. The goal of Human Resource Management is to maximize the productivity of an organization while treating employees with respect and keep them safe at the same time. What is the primary function of Human Resource Management? When it comes to a primary function to Human Resource Management; this is a difficult area because there is more than one function th at is important in this area. As I can recall there are four main functions that revolves around this job category. The first major function is what they call acquisition in which this consists of planning for employees which involves the following; needs of employees, skills needed, recruiting, and hiring (11Ju). The second major function is development which consists of basically training activities (11Ju). The third function involves compensation which includes paying the employees and giving them incentives (11Ju). The fourth function that I can think of is maintenance which involves employee benefits, insurance, and etc (11Ju). So with this being said I can not narrow it down to one primary function. The main role for Human Resource Management in an organization’s strategic plan is the following. Human Resource Management works directly with the employees and they are aware of the employees needs and aware of the surrounding that the employees are put into. So therefore their main role is to help the others decide if a certain change would benefit or hurt the employees’ production, etc. Having some members from Human Resource Management aware of the strategic plan is critical when an organization is making plans to change something because they are able to say what they need to in order to keep the employees safe in the environment while making changes as necessary. If the HRM is left out of this type of planning there could be problems in a lot of different areas, Human Resource Management is able to see if the actions will interfere with the employees progress. In conclusion to this paper, there have been several important areas covered concerning Human Resource Management throughout this paper. The first section consisted of material that described what human resource management is in detail. The next section that was covered is concerning what the primary function of Human Resource Management is. The last section that was covered is the role that human resource management plays in an organizations strategic plan.

Sun shines enterprise case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Sun shines enterprise - Case Study Example Sunshine faces numerous threats, strengths, opportunities and limitations the business venture is faced with. Sunshine enterprise operates a chain of restaurants in various locations. These restaurants are managed by Abby, who is the manager of the business. He is responsible for scrutinizing the quality of services offered by the workforce in the company. This has significantly enabled the company to expand continuously. This is because they have the ability to address the complaints and reactions of the customers, hence maintaining better and quality services. On the other hand, Sunshine enterprise is faced with numerous limitations. For example, the company is solely managed by one individual, who is the manager of the business venture. This is a limitation because it is extremely hard to manage the quality of services provided in six restaurants by oneself (Fine, 2009). Therefore, they should consider hiring several staff members to maintain the quality of services provided in the company. In addition, Sunshine has a vast opportunity in the business world. This is because they have the ability to expand the business. The current case study asserts that the company runs six restaurants in various locations. The company can use the profit generated from these six restaurants to expand the business by setting up more restaurants in other locations. The company can also consider rewarding their employees in order to maintain the quality of services provided (Fine, 2009). This can involve the provision of incentives in the form of rewards. The company also faces various threats in the business world. Sunshine Enterprise faces a considerable threat in delivering quality services based on the small number of employees in the company (Fine, 2009). The company should consider increasing the number of staff members to improve the quality of services provided in

Movie Reaction Paper on Hoop Dreams Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reaction Paper on Hoop Dreams - Movie Review Example There are many instances in the movie when the viewer feels that at least at this time Arthur or William should learn something and focus equally on their studies. For example, when Arthur’s father leaves the family and William’s brother loses his job, one feels that these events will bring Arthur and William to face the realities. However, it does not happen. The movie brings on screen the harsh reality that the dreams of ‘making it big’ keeps the players from facing the realities of their life and taking action to correct it. The other good thing about the movie is that in a subtle way, it has also exposed the faults in the social system. The movie ‘Hoop Dreams’ has brought forth the exploitative nature of the social and institutional practices related to the sport of basketball. The movie makes the viewer realize that social institutions like schools and colleges contribute in risking the future of the young basketball players by offering th em scholarships for their sports performance. In doing so, they do not offer any future security in case the players fail to make it to the national level. The movie makes one realize that the society and adults are as much responsible in destroying the lives of children as their own dreams are. There are many instances in the movie where the viewer gets to learn lessons which can be applied to his own life. For example, the movie makes one realize that if one has to improve his life and make it better, then one has to face the realities and think differently. Hence, the movie also works as a wake up call for the viewer. The movie is an excellent representation of human life and hence, the viewer has a lot to learn from it. Social Problems In the documentary movie ‘Hoop Dreams,’ one can see how the social problems experienced by Arthur Agee and William Gates affect their lives in a negative way. By looking at the circumstances and family background of Arthur Agee, one c an see that two of the major social problems that Arthur experiences in his life are the Black ethnic background and low socio-economic status (SES) of his family. Black Ethnic Background Arthur Agee belongs to a Black ethnic background. His ethnic background is a source of many other problems like social disadvantage, lack of proper education and low self-esteem. There are various social problems associated with people from Black ethnic background. For example, people from Black ethnic background usually live in neighborhood that is dangerous, unhealthy and vulnerable to development of anti-social behavior pattern. Arthur Agee’s ethnic background makes him experience the social disadvantages like living in unhealthy social surroundings and lacking a good upbringing. His ethnic background becomes a reason for him suffering from low self-esteem and no social exposure. Hence, even when he gets an opportunity like a school scholarship, he is unable to take full advantage of it a s he becomes scared and timid when exposed to new people and children from White ethnic background. When he gets an admission in good school, he is not able to connect with children from White ethnic background as he had never socialized with them. For example, when he is given an opportunity to play with freshman team of St. Joseph, he finds it difficult to follow their discipline and rules. Arthur is shown saying that he has never

Critical Appraisal of a Clinical Guideline Essay

Critical Appraisal of a Clinical Guideline - Essay Example It is against this backdrop that this essay is seeking to critically review and appraise the research undertaken by Chan, Lopel And Chung. Research Design The aim of the research was stated as â€Å"to investigate the perceptions of coronary heart disease among a sample of Hong Kong Chinese people.† Qualitative study was conducted using focus group interviews. To a very large extent, qualitative research has been endorsed as a very appropriate research methodology for social rather than scientific researches. Since this research was set out to find the perceptions of people about a health related issue, it could be concluded that this is a social research. To this effect, it is right the qualitative research was used. Ereaut (2011) notes that â€Å"Qualitative research seeks out the ‘why’, not the ‘how’ of its topic through the analysis of unstructured information – things like interview transcripts.† This also means that the choice of i nterview as a research design was appropriate since the research method was a qualitative research method. These two points not withstanding, in relating the research design, which was group interview to the aim of the research, it could be said that the researchers could have resorted to one-on-one interview instead of group interview. This is because the research aim focused on finding the perception of people on the coronary heart disease. In a situation like this where people’s perception are sort in a group interview, it is likely that the view, ideas and perceptions of some people would be influenced by others in the same interview group and would therefore undermine the core aim of the research, which is to find the individual perception of people. Sampling The researchers clearly stated the recruitment method or strategy used saying that â€Å"Convenience and snowball sampling methods were used† (Choi et al, 2010). They also explained how the participants were selected stating that â€Å"The LRP participants were recruited from the public domains; Participants in the MRF and MI groups were recruited from one cardiac rehabilitation and prevention centre in the community-based hospital† (Choi et al, 2010). Again, the researchers were clear on why the participants recruited were the most appropriate for the study. To this effect, they wrote that â€Å"The LRP participants had three or less CHD risk factors; The MRF participants had four or more CHD risk factors with or without a history of CHD, and the MI participants had a medical diagnosis of MI† (Choi et al, 2010). Relating the recruitment strategy to literature, Treweek et al (2010) explain that there should be sufficient participants for the research. In this direction, it can be said that the researchers were right in choosing to pick participants from as many as three different quarters. Again, Treweek et al (2010) posit that it is appropriate that â€Å"participants kn ow which treatment they are receiving in the trial, rather than having some of them receive a placebo or dummy intervention to mask this.† In this area also, it could be said that the researchers took the right step because it was clearly stated that â€Å"Each eligible participant recruited was given detailed explanation of the nature and purpose of the study. They were also informed that participation was on a voluntary basis and that they could withdraw from the study at any time.†

Respiratory therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Respiratory therapy - Essay Example He did not see a doctor although he was advised to. At the point when his fever reached 38.3 C (101F) and he was experiencing shortness of breath he drove himself to the hospital. O: Patient was well-nourished, and in respiratory distress n 2l/min oxygen by nasal cannula. His blood pressure was 165/90, heart rate of 120 bpm, respiratory rate of 33/min and oral temperature of 39.5 C (105F). "He demonstrated a frequent strong "hacky" and productive cough of white and yellow sputum. His skin appeared pale and damp." At the pronunciation of the 99 phrase the increased tactile and vocal fremitus were observed over the right lower lung along with bronchial sounds in the same region. His oxygen saturation was 87% and his arterial blood gases were as follows: "pH 7.56, PaCO2 24 mmHg, HCO3 -24 mmol/L, PAo2-56mmHg. His chest X-ray shows a right lobe infiltrated with pneumonia, air bronchograms, and alveolar consolidation. His white blood cell count was 21,000mm^3. S: The therapist performing the rounds, 6 hours later, noticed that the patient complained that his doctor is too "young" and that he feels worse when he came to the hospital, although at this time his vitals were better O: high blood pressure at 135/85, hr=90bpm, and resp, rate=19/min; oral temperature was 37.3C or 99F.; he also had strong nonproductive cough; chest ray indicated a partial resolution of the pneumonia, his bronchial breath sounds were audible and his SPO2 and ABGs values improved

Should abortion right be restricted Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Should abortion right be restricted - Essay Example Nobody can deny abortions in some cases while in other cases it is totally unnecessary to go for it. This topic involves concerns of biology, mortality and legal rights. Critiques of abortion argues that human life begins with conception and the abortion is nothing but a of killing a human being. So they consider abortion as an immoral and illegal issue. They keep a liberal attitude towards abortion in the case of rape, incest or when the mother’s health at risk. Proponents of abortion believe that a woman’s right to make decisions concerning her body and her future outweigh the rights of the fetus. One of the most controversial restrictions on abortion requires minors to notify or obtain the consent of at least one parent before having an abortion. All the living things in the world are one way or other give birth to their offspring. God has given the responsibility to all the living things, to live and sustain their species. So pregnancy is a natural process. A women’s life will be meaningful only when she conceives and give birth to a child. Her biological and psychological aspects demand the motherhood. It has been proved from some studies that breast feeding makes a mother happier and also that will reduce the risk of breast cancer. Religious organizations are the main critiques of abortion. As per their theory human being doesn’t have the right to kill the fetus. Children are the blessings given by the God. Conception is a blessing given by the God, we should not destroy it. God has definite plan towards all things and we should not question it. A person’s right to enjoy the facilities of the world should not be negated by deliberate human activities. We are living in this world since our mother did not go for the abortion and the same right should be given to the fetus. The ethical debate over abortion usually surrounds the issues of whether a fetus has rights, in particular a right to

Ergomatics Ltd- Product Launch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ergomatics Ltd- Product Launch - Essay Example Background Information of Ergonomics Ltd Ergonomics Ltd is a leading manufacturer of variable height furniture for the educational market. The company has strengths in the design, supply and installation of furniture for education institutions that adheres to strict government guidelines. The company has expertise in the quality and design product to meet specific need of its consumers. It supplies furniture to most of the good schools and educational institutes. The product it supplies is customized according to space need and design needs of consumers. It has been able to provide good quality products at reasonable cost. The deliveries of products are always on time. The customer focused approach; good product and service have created a brand name for Ergonomics Ltd in the market. It supplies the products directly or through the distribution network it has established in last 30 years. Its strong distribution network, good credit policies and distribution channel management have created a strong distribution network. It h as strong manufacturing base and supplier’s network that can provide them raw materials at the best prices. Being one of the leaders in the market the company has reached at the stage where it can get best prices of raw materials. It has employee focused approach. It provides best compensation, wages and working conditions to its employees. It is regarded as one of the best employers in the market. Ergonomics Ltd has a turnover of  £110,000,000 with operating profits of  £7,000,000. Company is planning to diversify in new business.

Divorced, Beheaded, Survived Essay Example for Free

Divorced, Beheaded, Survived Essay Death is a peculiar thing. Everyone reacts to it in different ways. And no one seems to fully understand what to do, what to say and how to react when death occurs in the family or in the family in one’s circle of friends. It seems that man can’t really understand why it happens. At least not when it is someone one cares about. But it happens, and there is nothing else to do about it, than survive and move on with one’s life. This is the subject treated in Robin Blacks shortstory â€Å"†¦ Divorced, Beheaded, Survived† (2010). The shortstory is the story of a woman who loses her big brother, Terry, to sickness at a very young age. It is also a story about how her brother and she used to play with the other children who lived close by, and how they stopped playing after Terry died. The main character also describes how she tries to protect her children from this awful phenomenon that death is, but how she is unable to do so as her son’s friend dies in the end. The main character who acts as a past tense narrator, does not tell much about herself. To be clear she does not describe many of the characters at all. The fact that there are very few adjectives and adverbs shows the reader that one must use ones imagination, the characters are not important for they could be anyone in such a neighborhood. The reader relates to the story in a different way than they normally would, because they have to use their own experiences to fill out the missing pieces of the personalities of the characters. The person the narrator tells about the most, is Terry or Terrance as he is actually called. The narrator describes how he plays Anne Boleyn with much character and liveliness. Page 2, line 6-9 â€Å"(†¦) was undoubtedly the most convincing. Once, he stole a dress from our mother’s closet – a red-and-white Diane von Furstenberg wraparound so he could use the beltlike part to hold the couch-pillow baby, the future Queen Elizabeth, in place. ‘Oh, Hal,’ he cooed. † He is a happy boy and has no worries, until he gets sick. This turns his life upside down and it changes him, which one could imagine is only natural for a child when it gets sick. Page 4, line 103-104 â€Å"He stopped being the boy who would throw himself into anything that seemed like fun. † The narrator loves seeing her brother play Anne Boleyn, she thinks he is very convincing in the role. Page 2, line 12 â€Å"It was worth giving up the role yourself just to watch Terry give it his all. † The fact that it is Terry that is often chosen to play Anne Boleyn, even though they all want to play her, could be a symbol of fate choosing him to get sick and die. It might as well have been one of the other kids, as well as it could have been one of the other kids who could have played the role. This is shown in the part of the story where Anne Boleyn dies, and Terry has to play the dying woman. Page 4, line 99-101 â€Å"And Terry would hold his face in both hands, his shoulders heaving in enormous, racking, make-believe sobs. But in real life, it was all silent hours. Vacant stares. † The game of playing Anne Boleyn could also be a symbol of the children losing something. Anne Boleyn loses her head and life, Terry loses his life and the narrator loses her brother, her friends and a part of her childhood. At this point it is only the first part of the rhyme that is used. Page 3, line 43 â€Å"Divorced, beheaded, died. † But as the children move on with their lives, learn to live with the loss of a friend and a brother, and some of them meet again even though they do not talk, the rest of the rhyme appears in their life. And this time it holds a whole new meaning. Page 6, line 174 â€Å"Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. † The structure of the text is a bit messy but it still manages to give the reader a good and continuous view of the narrator’s life. The fact that the first 1,5 pages focuses on her childhood with the games and her brother, gives the reader a strong sense that it is a chapter of her life that ended when her brother died. But as she continuously mentions her brother, one also understands that her brother is still with her, even though he belongs to an ended chapter. And as she moves on with her life, and survives, she keeps him with her in a more secure way and without getting scared of forgetting about him. Page 5, line 153-156 â€Å"the truth is sometimes even more than a day goes by before I remember to think of my brother (†¦) Maybe it’s a gift to be able to let go of remembering. Some times. Some things. † The narrator tells us about her family and how her son loses his friend in the end of the text, this is a way to tell the reader that it can happen to anyone, and that it is possible to move on. It is possible to survive the death of someone dear. But never to forget it, a person lost will always be remembered one way or another, intentionally or not.

IR spectroscopy of cigarette smoke

IR spectroscopy of cigarette smoke In this experiment the constituents of cigarette smoke in undisclosed brands A and B were analysed using Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The smoke from the cigarettes of both brands were tested comparing both the levels of carbon monoxide and methane between both brands and the difference in concentration of these constituents in both the filtered and unfiltered of each of the cigarette brands. The results of this study showed that brand B filtered smoke had less carbon monoxide than brand B unfiltered smoke as well Brand A cigarette smoke which seemed to have relatively the same amount of carbon monoxide in both unfiltered smoke as well as having considerably more carbon monoxide than brand B. Introduction Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy is a form of IR spectroscopy which is most commonly referred to as FTIR spectroscopy and is used in analysis of the molecular constituents in a sample that is being processed. Infra red radiation is passed through the sample which hits some of the molecular constituents in the sample which either absorbs the energy or is transmitted back while some radiation completely misses the molecules altogether. This then shows the presence of a substance with absorption peaks which are consistent with frequencies of vibrations between the bonds and the atoms that make up the substance as the data is collected and processed. The amount of the particular constituents can also be picked up using the size of each peak on the display. [4] Infrared Spectroscopy has been used extensively over the past few years as a means of getting accurate data of samples that are being analysed for their chemical constituents. This software has the ability to recognise every single chemical constituent in a sample that has passed through a spectrometer which is held together by chemical bond, however this means that this particular method also has its limitations as it cannot process monoatomic gases as the atoms in the gas do not form a chemical bonds with each other given that IR spectrometer measures the vibrational energies of the bond lengths it will not show up on the final spectra. IR spectroscopy has further limitations which involve the speed of the processing of the data where each was processed separately; Ft-IR spectroscopy was developed to address this problem by collecting all the frequencies simultaneously. This was achieved by adding a new device to the original IR spectrometer which is known as interferometer. This device is responsible for taking the signal picked by the IR radiation and converting it into a new signal which is now encoded. This process again is very quick as it is measured to an order of one second. [4] Unfortunately this signal cannot be interpreted until it is converted once more by the Inferogram, this is accomplished by a mathematical technique known as Fourier Transformation which is performed by the software which then displays the spectra. Experimental Before the experiment was carried out the FTIR machine was calibrated according to the measurement of the wavenumber to ensure the accuracy of each trial that was carried out. This was done by using trace expansions where the band centres were estimated to be within ~0.1 cm-1 which is about a tenth of the resolution. [2] Prior to the actual measurements were taken a background spectra was taken with a full cell of air as a control for the experiment. Once this had been done at least three times to ensure accurate data the vacuum line was connected to the cell by the quick fit adapter. The process was commenced by ensuring all five taps on the pump were closed and turned all the way round, clockwise. Then glass wool was packed into the pipette bulb with care using tweezers to make a cigarette holder. The cigarette was inserted into the holder and the pump was switched on. Both taps one and two were opened (see figure 1). The chosen cigarette for that particular trial was then lit, (for unfiltered cigarettes both Cigarettes brands A and B filters were cut off with a pair of scissors). Tap three was then slowly turned so that it was only slightly opened for just one second which allowed air to flow through the machine and therefore causing the cigarette to burn much more energetically. To ensure that as much sample that could be obtained from the smoke was made possible, a boiling tube was placed over the burning cigarette to collect the smoke that was given off from the burning cigarette butt which is then trapped in the gas cell ready for analysis. Taps 1 was then closed and tap 2 was opened to allow cigarette smoke to pass into the gas cell. Tap 2 was then closed followed straight after that by tap 1. The cigarette was then stubbed out the cell was detached from the vacuum line. Once the sample was analysed by the FT-IR Spectrometer the gas cell was evacuated by being placed in a dessicator. The gas line was also evacuated by turning off the tap for the pump and then venting the gas by turning taps 1 and 4. [2] This procedure was carried out four times to test both filtered and unfiltered brands A and B to obtain 1275 spectra for each trial. Filtered Cigarette smoke A in (cm-1): CO (1985, 2325), CH4 (1275, 1675), OH (3000, 3625), CH3CHO (2250, 2525) Benzene (625) [5][7] Unfiltered Cigarette smoke A in (cm-1): CO (2150, 2200), CH4 (1275, 1675), OH (3000, 3625), CH3CHO (2250, 2525) Benzene (625) [5][7] Filtered Cigarette smoke B in (cm-1): CO (2150, 2200), CH4 (1275, 1675), OH (3000, 3625), CH3CHO (2250, 2525) Benzene (625) Unfiltered Cigarette smoke B in (cm-1): CO (2150, 2200), CH4 (1275, 1675), OH (3000, 3625), CH3CHO (2250, 2525) Benzene (625) [5][7] Discussion and Conclusion It seems that the overall data that was produced shows that filtered cigarette B smoke was the most harmless cigarette smoke in comparison to its unfiltered counterpart and both the filtered and unfiltered brand A cigarette smoke as it had the lowest levels of carbon monoxide. Even though there were very small errors in the analysis of the data there are still limitations with FT-IR spectrometer such as the large stretches of water which strongly absorbs infra red radiation over other molecules and also the difficulty of pin pointing exactly what each of the chemicals were according to the complex stretches that were displayed on the spectra produced. However the overall advantages are the speed at which the trials are run as all the frequencies are measured simultaneously rather than separately. The FT-IR is also self calibrating therefore so not have to be constantly calibrated by the user ensuring controlled data. [4] The Spectrometer also does not require a vacuum as the IR radiations is not absorbed by either oxygen or nitrogen.This is why this particular form of analysis is used worldwide in analysis of subastances as IR radiation can be absorbed in all three phases (Solid, Liquid and Gaseous states) therefore making it an accurate and versatile method. Acknowledgements My heartfelt gratitude extends to Sam Finlayanson, Lewis Alan Edwards5 for allowing me to use their spectra as part of my results so that I am able to write a complete analysis on the experiment. I would also like to thank Mr Douglas Hamilton for his helpful advice and kind support while carrying out the analysis on pgopher and finally the staff of Bristol Chem labs. References Intra-puff CO and CO2 measurements of cigarettes with iron oxide cigarette paper using quantum cascade laser spectroscopy, Danielle R.Crawforda, Milton E. Parrisha, Diane L. Geea and Charles N. Harward DLM manual Diagram produced on paint by Miss Abira Sri Satkunasingham Thermo Nicolet pamphlet : Introduction to Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry Sam Finlayanson, Lewis Alan Edwards: spectra Abira Sri Satkunasingham: experiment calculations and results (spectra) NIST Web book ( for identifying the stretches) Formation and Analysis of Carbon Monoxide in Cigarette Mainstream and Sidestream Smoke Adams, J.D., Hoffman, D. Wynder, E. Determination of Particle-Size Distribution and Concentration of Cigarette Smoke by a Light-Scattering Method TAKASHI OKADA AND KAZUKO MATSUNUMA Central Research Institute, Japan Monopoly Corporation, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227, Japan Puff-by-puff and intrapuff analysis of cigarette smoke using infrared spectroscopy by Milton E. Parrish, Jim L. Lyons-Hart and Kenneth H. Shafer THE HITRAN MOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPIC DATABASE AND HAWKS (HITRAN ATMOSPHERIC WORKSTATION): 1996 EDITION Fundamentals of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy By Brian C. Smith

The Miller And Modigliani Capital Structure Irrelevance Theorem Finance Essay

The Miller And Modigliani Capital Structure Irrelevance Theorem Finance Essay Contrary to Modigliani and Miller (1958, MM hereafter), Capital Structure is not irrelevant when we consider a firm with a dividend payout policy. This article extends the MM capital structure theorem by relaxing the full payout assumption and introducing retention policy. The theoretical contribution shows that it is possible to verify the theorem when we suppose an investor who exchanges his initial holding for another portfolio composed of consumption and investment. The empirical analysis of this new approach is based on a data set of the USA Electric Utilities and Oil companies for the period 1990-1998. The results show that the relationships between leverage and firm value are significantly affected by the firms payout ratio. 1. Introduction Miller and Modiglianis (1958) irrelevance theorem is one of the important and puzzling issues in modern corporate finance theory [1], which has challenged the traditional view[2], that an optimum leverage exists. The main source of the puzzle stems from the fact that financial research dont seem to explain the firm financing behaviour as we attempt to reconcile the MM theory with the evidence(Myers 1984, Gordon1994, Rajan and Zingales1995). The MM theorem(proposition I) has shown that under a perfect market hypothesis the market value of any firm is independent of its capital structure (Stulz2006). This fundamental proposition explicitly indicates that the aptitude of investors to engage in personal or homemade leverage is sufficient to ensure that corporate leverage in itself cannot modify the total market value of the firm [3]. In other words, the theorem provides conditions under which arbitrage by individuals keeps the value of the firm depend only on cash flow generated by the i nvestment policy. Literature about the validity of the MM-proposition is discussed about whether investors can really accomplish the required conditions of the arbitrage method without changing the overall value of the company. In this context, many authors have shown the inadequacy of the theorem when variables that deal with the real world are introduced. Following the seminal paper of MM (1958), most theories have been put forward in corporate finance to reconcile the shortcomings of the irrelevance theorem with variables that explain the firms choice of capital structure. According to the previous debate, criticism against this theorem can be grouped in two types of arguments: on the one hand, there are papers which deal with the limitations of the arbitrage conditions; on the other hand, there are studies which analyze the effect of market imperfections on the firms choice of capital structure. Despite the importance of these interventions, we note that all of the limitations deal with the explicit assumptions used by MM, but none deals with the critiques of the MMs implicit assumptions. More recently, DeAngelo and DeAngelo (2006, DD hereafter) have challenged MMs irrelevance dividend policy. Dealing with this alternative of earnings as fully distributed, these authors have showed the irrelevance of the MM dividend irrelevance theo rem when MMs assumptions are relaxed to allow retention. As DeAngelo and DeAngelo(2006, page 294) wrote When MMs assumptions are modified to allow retention with the NPV of Investment policy fixed, a firm can reduce its value by paying out less than the full present value of FCF, and so Payout policy matters and Investment policy is not the sole determinant of value . According to DD(2006), the MMs irrelevance theorem forces firms to choose only among dividend policies that distribute the full present value of free cash flow(FCF) to shareholders. Distributions below the totality of earnings are ruled out by the implicit hypothesis. Dealing with this alternative of fully-distributed earnings, MM(1958) used the same hypothesis in the development of the irrelevance of capital structure.. As pointed by the authors à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.as will become clear later, as long as management is presumed to be acting in the best interests of the stockholders, retained earnings can be regarded as equivalent to a fully subscribed, pre-emptive issue of common stock. Hence, for present purposes, the division of the stream between cash dividends and retained earnings in any period is a mere detail. MM, 1958 p266. However, MM(1958) failed to recognize that proposition I implies that firms distribute all their cash flow to shareholders without paying any attention to their retention policy. This paper constitutes a new extended proof of the MM theorem by not considering the hypothesis of earnings as fully distributed. We will show that it is possible to verify the theorem when we suppose an investor who exchanges his initial holding fo r a mix of consumption and investment. The rest of the paper is organized as follows: in the next section, we demonstrate the irrelevance of the MMs capital structure irrelevance when earnings are not fully distributed. We propose the possibility of extending of the MM theorem. Furthermore, we show that the two firms are not forced to distribute their full earnings; and the irrelevance is hold in the presence of the mix of investment and consumption. Section III describes the data set, introduces the methodology, examines the hypothesis of the variables and investigates whether the empirical Modigliani-Miller capital structure irrelevance is influenced by dividend payout ratio. Section IV provides some concluding remarks. 2. How do we reconcile MMs capital structure irrelevant theorem with the firms payout choice? 2.1 The failure of the MM theorem when earnings are not fully distributed. As indicated by Rubinstein (2003), the law of the conservation of investment value of MM(1958) was anticipated by many studies (Fisher (1930), Williams[5] (1938), Durand (1952); Morton (1954) for examples) but none of these authors have used arbitrage mechanism to prove the invariance of the cost of capital under changes in leverage. The MMs theorem demonstrates that under certain hypothesis of market conditions, the value of the firm is independent of its debt-equity ratio and is given by capitalizing the expected return generated by its assets. This model can be expressed as: for any firm j in class k (1) Where V stands for the market value of the firm, S for the market value of its common shares, D for the market value of its debts, X for its expected earnings before interest on its assets, for the capitalization rate appropriate to its class. The analysis of the MMs arbitrage steps shows the implicit hypothesis of full payout ratio which plays a crucial role in the model. The MMs capital structure irrelevance theorem constrains firms to distribute all of their earnings. In particular, we note that the validity of the proof developed by MM is based on this implicit assumption. MM(1958) consider (see MM(1958) pages 269-270 ) the return of the investor Y as a fraction of the net income available (X-rD for levered firm and X for unlevered firm) for the stockholders. (2) Where: is the return of the investor before arbitrage process, L is levered firm and U is Unlevred firm and is fraction of the total outstanding shares owned by the investor. Obviously, MM(1958) confuse artificially return of the investor(dividend return) and net income which should be distributed between dividend and retention. MM(1958 page 266) assert that the division of the stream between cash dividends and retained earnings in any period is a mere detail. When we derive the MM capital structure theorem for firms that are not distributing all their earnings as dividends, it follows a non-adequacy of the arbitrage operations, a non-proof of the irrelevance model. Table I shows the two cases used by MM(1958) when we introduce a level of payout different from 100%. Therefore, when we use the same arbitrage as MM(1958), we must then admit that the two firms distribute all the available income to verify the leverage irrelevance proposition. As will be shown later, this assumption can modify the validity of the MM theorem. To justify this thesis, we suppose the same steps of the MM first proposition but with a slight difference: here we suppose that firms are not constrained to distribute all of their earnings. This means that we introduce in the arbitrage reasoning the payout ratio (PR) as a new variable. Table I below shows that MM theorem is not verified. The difference between returns (before and after arbitrage operations) is not the sa me as showed by MM (1958). Table I. The irrelevance of the MM capital structure irrelevance when payout ratio is different from 100% First possibility  : VL > VU Second possibility  : VU > VL First stage  : the initial return of the investor YL Second Stage: Arbitrage process Sold his initial worth of the firm L Borrows an additional amount dL with the same interest rate r Acquired new shares of the firm u sold his initial worth of the firm U Acquired new shares of the firm L Acquired new bonds b of the firm L Third stage: the return of the investor YU Final stage: Difference of earnings à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  Y= YU -YL Interpretations It is not possible to verify the MM results when we introduce the hypothesis of payout ratio different from 100%, the difference of returns will depend on the all components of the equation. When we pose PRL=PRU=1, it is easy to obtain the same difference of returns as MM(1958): or Notes: Using the MM formulation, we consider two firms L and U, for which the expected return is the same XL = XU = X. Company U is financed entirely by stock SU and company L by stock SL and debt D. The market value of each firm is then VU = SU and VL = SL + D, We denote PRL and PRU the payout ratios of the levered and unlevered firms (MM 1958 suppose PRL = PRU = 100% all expected return is distributed).sL =SL, sU =SU denote the value of shares owned respectively by an investor in the levered and unlevered firm with a fraction 2.2 The possibility of extension;The two firms are not obliged to distribute all their income: the mix of investment and consumption solution. The object of this section is to show that it is possible to demonstrate MMs proposition I without the hypothesis of earnings are fully distributed. In other words, we present an extension of the MM capital structure theorem for the case in which firms are allowed to have a payout policy. To prove this new proposition, we suppose the same hypothesis used by MM (1958), except that earnings are not fully distributed. Using the MM formulation, we consider two firms U, L for which the expected return is the same XL = XU = X. Company U is financed entirely by stock SU and company L by stock SL and debt D. The market value of each firm is then VU = SU and VL = SL + D. * Case 1: we suppose the value of the levered firm VL , to be greater than that of the Unlevered firm VU ( ). We denote respectively, PRL and PRU the payout ratios of the levered and unlevered firms (MM 1958 page 269) suppose PRL = PRU = 100% all expected return is distributed). First stage (initial return): consider an investor who owns sL dollars worth of the stock in the company L representing a fraction of the total outstanding shares SL, where sL= SL. His return YL can be written as: (3) The return from this portfolio, denoted by YL, will be a fraction of the income distributed for the stockholders of company L, which equals the multiplication of the payout ratio PRL by the difference between to total return X and the interest charge r DL. Where, r is the interest rate which the firm pays on its debt D. Second Stage (Arbitrage process): now suppose that an individual investor who adjusts his own personal leverage in order to increase his profits. He makes the following operations: (a ) Sold his worth sL of the company L and he divided it as follows: (i) he partially invested an amount IU = PRL.sL (which equals: IU=PRLSL) in acquiring shares (ii) he consumes the remainder CL= (1-PRL)SL. where sL= IU + CL . (b) Borrowed an additional amount . (c) Acquired an amount of the shares of the company U. He could so by using the amount IU from the sales of his initial holding and the amount d from borrowing. Third Stage (the new return): the income of the investor ((i) who holds sU dollars worth of the shares of the company U (ii) and who must pay interest of personal debt d would be: (4) Last Stage: Arbitrage profit: Comparing (4) with (3) we obtain: (5) Thus, under this approach we can distinguish two situations: First situation: If PRU= PRL = 1 then we find the same result as obtained by MM (1958 page 270). (6) Second situation: We can also verify the same result of MM(1958 page 270) without the hypothesis of PRU = PRL = 1, we can simply assume PRU = 1, while the payout ratio of the levered firm PRL is likely to vary between 0% and 100%, we get then: (7) From equation (7), we conclude that as long we must verify, so that it pays shareholders of corporation L to sell their investments, by this means decreasing SL and hence VL, and replace them with a mix of consumption and portfolio investment, which contains shares of the unlevered firm and personal debt, thereby growing SU and thus VU. This arbitrage process will be finished when equilibrium restores the stated equalities between the values of the two firms. * Case 2: we suppose the value of the unlevered firm VU , to be larger than that of the Levered one VL ( ). First stage: The return of the investor who holds sU dollars of shares of company U representing a fractionof the total outstanding stock SU . Where (8) The return from this portfolio denoted by YU will be a fraction of the income distributed to shareholders of the unlevered firm U. Second stage: suppose that the investor exchanges his initial holding in U by another portfolio in the levered firm L. The arbitrage process with consumption behaviour will take the following form: the investor sold his worth of company U: and divided it as follows: (i) He invested partially of the shares of the company L (ii) He invested also of bonds of the company L (iii) The remainder will be consumed. From IL and IB , we can write respectively: Third stage: The return of the investor (i) who holds IL dollars worth of the shares of the company L (ii) and who holds IB dollars worth of bonds of the company L. (9) Last stage: Arbitrage profit: comparing YL (from 9) with YU (from 8) we obtain: (10) In order to get a profitable arbitrage opportunity for the investor, we must consider a positive difference of returns. Analysing equation (10), we can easily formulate two possibility of payout ratio: In the first, if we suppose a full earning model for the two firms (PRL = PRU = 1), therefore we will obtain the same results as showed by MM(1958) (page 270). According to this situation, equation (10) can be written as: (11) In the second, the MMs results can also be obtained if we just assume a full earnings for levered firm PRL= 1 while the payout ratio of the unlevered firm PRU is likely to vary between 0% and 100% implying that the firm can use a payout policy, which is not restricted to full earnings. Such a representation is written as: (12) In this context, it is also important to show that as we must obtain , hence it pays the shareholders of company U to sell their holdings and substitute them with a mix of consumption and portfolio investment, which contains shares and bonds. If, all investors in firm U will accomplish the three stages below, decrease the value of the unlevered firm U and increase the price of the levered firm L. This switching process will be over when equilibrium restores the stated equalities between the values of the two firms. From these demonstrations (case 1 and case 2) we can conclude that we are not compelled to suppose that the two firms distribute all of their returns. In other words we can make arbitrage process merely by considering that the overpriced firm (levered firm L in the first case and unlevered firm U in the second case) has a payout ratio PR which is not restricted to be 100% of the earnings. The table below summarizes the theoretical findings. Table II: the MMs arbitrage and the payout hypothesis Conditions Conclusions MMs arbitrage conditions without dividend payout MMs(1958) irrelevance theorem MMs arbitrage conditions with a payout ratio Failure of the MMs proof MMs arbitrage conditions with a payout ratio and consumption hypothesis Proof of the MMs irrelevance theorem(Extension) 3. The Empirical Analysis The previous part of this paper provides a new extension of the relationship between firm value and capital structure when the firm has a payout policy. In this section, we attempt some possible empirical tests. The central issue is, whether or not the leverage ratio affects firm value when earnings are not fully distributed?. Modigliani and Miller (1958) have taken two samples of 43 electric utilities during 1947-1948 and 42 oil companies during 1953. The data are provided respectively by two studies conducted by Allen (1954) and Smith (1955); and they estimated the weighted average cost of capital (wacc) according to the financial leverage of the firm. The regression form of the model was: (13) Where wacc is the weight cost of capital approximated by X /V , here X is the expected return net of taxes, V is the market value of all securities and the financial leverage of the firm measured by the ratio D/V, where D is the market value of Bonds and preferred stock. The results of the tests (as shown MM(1958page 282) are favourable to Modigliani and Miller (1958)s hypothesis. The values of the correlations coefficients are small and not statistically significant. Weston (1963) criticizes Modigliani-Miller empirical result. In particular, he assumes that the lack of effect of capital structure on the overall value of the firm is due to deficiency of the approach to take account of other factors that may be influencing the firms cost of capital. Contrary to MM, the author shows in the empirical tests that leverage is correlated negatively with firm value in the presence of the hypothesis of earnings growth. 3.1 Data and Methodology In order to conduct an empirical analysis similar to MMs, we have collected data on the same sectors from the same country as done by Modigliani and Miller 1958. The data we use are annual standardized financial information of US firms observed in the period 1990-1998. Our sample is formed by two sub samples: from the Electric sector we use 256 companies, and from the oil sector we take 223 companies. These data were obtained from the Worldscope Database (SIC Code 13 and 49). Contrary to Weston(1963), we consider the hypothesis of risk-class can be verified in the oil industry and the electric sector (as supposed by MM 1958). According to MM(1958), a linear model was constructed to explain the relationship between leverage and the firm value. The variables used in our regressions are constructed (see table III) as the same way as presented by these authors. The corresponding models used by MM(1958) are: For Model 1 :see MM(1958) page284 (note 38), for model 2,see MM(1958) page282; For Model 3,see MM(1958) page284 (note 39); For. With regard to the basic capital structure irrelevance theorem to be estimated; we propose three regression models as follows: Model 1: (14) Model 2: (15) Model 3: (16) Where wacc is the weighted average cost of capital; Leverage 1: first measure of leverage; ML1: modified leverage 1; Value: the ratio of the firm value; , ER: earnings ratio; DR debt ratio. The purpose of model 1 is to test the effect of leverage (as measured by Debt ratio DR) on firm value, while the Model 2 and model 3 test the effect of leverage (measured by Leverage1) on the cost of capital (measured by WACC). The variable ML1(modified leverage 1) is included in model3 to test the U-shaped hypothesis that the coefficient e of this variable should be significant and positive to confirm the traditional view, and not significantly different from zero to confirm the irrelevance theorem.. Note also that according to our approach the correlation between these variables should be different from zero. To test the validity of the MMs proposition when earnings are not fully distributed, we alternatively estimate all the above regressions in the absence (model MM58 and the model MM58supp) and the presence of the payout ratio. We validate this last alternative in two steps: In the first step, we test the models for all firms (model MMExt). In the second step, we test the models for subsamples: First Quartile sample (Firms Payout ratio is less than 25%), Second Quartile sample (firms payout ratio is between 25% and 50%), Third Quartile sample (firms payout ratio is between 50% and 75%), and Fourth Quartile sample (firms payout ratio is more than 75%). The tableIII below reports the different measures of variables and their predicted effects. Table III. Measures of variables and predicted signs Variables Symbol Measure MM Hypothesis Our Hypothesis Dependants variables Weighted average cost of capital WACC X/V Firm value ratio Value V/A The explanatory variables First measure of leverage Leverage 1 D/V Zero effect Significant effect Modified Leverage 1 measure ML1 D.D/V.S Zero effect Significant effect Earnings ratio ER X/A Debt ratio DR D/A Zero effect Significant effect Payout ratio Payout Div/NI Not tested Significant effect Notes: the table reports the different measures of variables where V: firm value= market value of equity S +market value of debt D, X: Earnings before interest and Taxes (EBIT), A: is the value of the total assets, NI net income. ML1 modified leverage 1 measure = (D/V) ²/(1-D/V). We measure the value of the Debt D by the amount of total liabilities. 3.2 Descriptive statistics As indicated in Table IV, the descriptive statistics shows that the average value of cost of capital is 5.92% for electric utilities and 4.48% for oil companies[6]. On average, we have a leverage ratio of 51.79%(37.85%), this measure is 62% (50.2%) when we use total assets as deflator . The average firm has a value ratio of 1,38 for electric utilities which is much weaker than those of oil companies (1,99). For these firms, earnings ratio ranges from 0% to 2.7% for electric utilities (0% to 66% for oil companies). In terms of net income, the average value of payout is more important for electric utilities (45%) ranging from 0% to 99,9%, than those of oil companies (16%). These results show that the division of the stream between cash dividend and retained earnings in any period is not a mere detail as supposed by Modigliani and Miller (1958 page 266). None of firms in the two samples and during the whole period (1990-1998) has distributed the totality of its income. For the normal di stribution of the series around the mean (see table IV), all of the distributions of the variables are not symmetric since their skewness values are different from zero. This conclusion is also verified by the values of the Kurtosis which are quite different from 3. Table IV. Descriptive Statistics of Variables (256 Electric Utilities and 223 Oil Companies) Variables Sample Mean Minimum Maximum Std. Dev Skewness Kurtosis Obs WACC Elect 0.05924 0.00000 0.29090 0.03188 0.292328 6.376099 2304 Oil 0.04481 0.00000 0.69582 0.05448 4.75993 42.0526 2007 Leverage1 Elect 0.51796 0.01573 0.99416 0.17873 -0.46925 3.36365 2304 Oil 0.37857 0.0000 0.98237 0.21714 0.20952 2.36431 2007 Value Elect 1.38155 0.09087 9.77112 0.82268 5.51989 45.7871 2304 Oil 1.99172 0.14447 138.56 5.40308 18.7716 397.615 2006 ER Elect 0.07353 0.0000 0.027612 0.04158 0.77790 7.94274 2304 Oil 0.06418 0.0000 0.664303 0.06683 2.104262 11.546 2007 DR Elect 0.62322 0.02761 0.995066 0.14891 -0.9991 4.78983 2304 Oil 0.50220 0.0000 0.9978 0.22065 -0.2593 2.4847 2006 ML1 Elect 1.34913 0.000252 169.346 6.6480 17.3645 344.950 2304 Oil 0.61298 0.0000 23.2454 1.5346 8.6309 103.96 2006 Payout Elect 0.45169 0.00000 0.99980 0.35978 -0.15569 1.40417 2304 Oil 0.16381 0.0000 0.9991 0.27721 1.50967 3.90646 2006 3.3 The effect of Leverage on the firm value (model 1) The MM(1958)s theorem is confronted with our hypothesis in order to know the crucial effect of payout ratio on the sensitivity of firm value to leverage. If our prediction is true, we should find a significant coefficient of leverage ratio, otherwise the MMs view should be confirmed. As indicated in table V, estimates result shows that coefficients of earning ratio (ER) and debt ratio (DR) are significantly different from zero, which fails to support the MMs view. Since our results, as presented below, demonstrate that the coefficient of debt ratio is significantly negative and contrary to the traditional view. We prefer to give more explanations of this relationship based on the presence of the payout policy. The latter has a negative influence on the two samples (see Model MMExt , table V) which is in the opposite direction as obtained by the cost of capital regressions (see tableVI). There are two main explanations for this result: According to Brigham and Gordon(1968), the relationship between stock price and leverage depends on the association between R (return on assets and investment) and i ( the rate of interest which the firm pays on its debt), not on the level of Leverage L. This can be written as: (16) Where E is the book value of the common equity per share, k is the rate at which dividend is discounted. It is evident, when R is less than i, the leverage effect on stock price P will be negative. Furthermore, the negative influence of the dividend ratio on the firm value confirms the leverage impact when the return on investment is less than the cost of debt. This means that firms experiencing lower rate of investment tend to use funds from internal and external resources to display higher payout ratio. The leverage measure is not the same: in Wacc regression, this variable is measured by debt on firm value (D/V), while in firm value regression (Value), the debt ratio is measured by debt on total Assets (D/A). The fact that both variables are divided by different deflators may be affected by a random disturbances of the market value of the firm. This bias correlation is not observed in the firm value regression. According to Modigliani and Miller (1958), the constant term in the previous regression should give more information on the value of the unlevered firm. As shown in table IV below, the estimated coefficient of this variable is not only significantly different from zero, but is quite positive and greatly relative to the coefficient of the debt ratio. This conclusion is confirmed for the two samples with large values for the oil companies. Table IV. Directs Pooled Least-Squares Estimates of the effects of leverage on the firm value Coefficients of Regressions Sample Constant ER DR Payout AdR ² Obs MM 58 Elect 1.893a -0.158a -0.805a 0.025 2304 Oil 2.464a -6.730a -0.668 0.048 2007 MM Ext Elect 1.963a -0.131a -0.466a -0.625a 0.095 2304 Oil 2.465a -6.703a -0.642 -0.086 0.048 2007 First Quartile Elect 1.969a -0.133b -0.412c 0.005 801 Oil 2.342a -7.490a -0.286 0.052 1440 Second Quartile Elect 1.465a 2.650a -0.554a 0.187 216 Oil 1.659a -0.197 -0.501a 0.033 279 Third Quartile Elect 1.206a 1.823a -0.249a 0.096 738 Oil 1.224a 3.229a -0.055 0.113 207 Fourth Quartile Elect 1.080a 1.809a -0.105 0.102 549 Oil 7.197a 0.983 -9.064a 0.676 72 Notes: a, b and c indicate significance at the 1%, 5%, and 10% levels respectively. 3.4 The effect of leverage on the cost of capital (model 2 and Model 3) According to Modigliani and Millers proposition I: the average cost of capital Wacc (Xt/V) should tend to have the same value independently of the degree of leverage MM (1958, page281). In other words, the leverages coefficient parameter in the Wacc regression should be insignificant and statistically equal to zero. The results of the MM model tests are shown in table V (models: MM58 and MM58supp). According to this table, the MM hypothesis is only verified in the oil sample, while leverage in the electric utilities has a negative and significant effect (coefficient is equal -0, 1162) on the cost

Shakespeare In Love -Combination of Romantic Comedy and Shakespearean T

Shakespeare In Love -Combination of Romantic Comedy and Shakespearean Tragedy William Shakespeare once told us, "All the World’s a Stage" —and now his quote can be applied to his own life as it is portrayed in the recent film, Shakespeare In Love. This 1998 motion picture prospered with the creative scripting of Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman and direction of John Madden. The combined effort of these men, on top of many other elements, produced a film that can equally be enjoyed by the Shakespeare lover for its literary brilliance, or for the romantic viewer who wants to experience a passionate love story. This movie begins in the year 1593 when there are two playhouses in London (The Curtain Theatre and The Rose Theatre) that are competing with one another for playwrights and audiences. The Rose Theatre hires Shakespeare (played by Joseph Fiennes) to write the comedy, "Romeo and Ethel the Pirate’s Daughter", in a drastic attempt to bring in some cash. William agrees to write this piece, but also offers it to the Curtain Theatre, seeing where it will be of more profit. The only trouble is, he is currently suffering a severe case of writer’s block that can only be cured by finding himself a muse. The character of Viola (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) is first seen at The Curtain Theatre where she is captivated by the performance of Shakespeare’s "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," while the rest of the audience seems bored. She is currently being urged to marry Lord Wessex, but wants to marry for love. She wants to have real love, "love as there has never been in a play." She is inspired, however by the theatre and especially by the works of Shakespeare. Will anxiously looks for the woman who will become his muse, and immediatel... ... him to write the greatest love tragedy of all time, not the greatest love comedy (70)." Shakespeare in Love is an incredible literary work that holds both truths and fantasies about Shakespeare’s life, along with a beautiful romance story. It is what David Denby calls "an exciting literary-erotic entertainment (19)." Whether one is in the mood for a romantic comedy, a Shakespeare tragedy, or just an all around excellent film, Shakespeare in Love is a great choice. The stage has your life now Mr. Shakespeare. Works Cited Bloom, Harold. Interview. "Bloom the Bardolator." By Yahlin Chang. Newsweek.   Ã‚  Ã‚   February 1999: 64. Denby, David. "The Movies." The New Yorker. January 1999: 19. Grant, Emound, ed. The Motion Picture Guide. New York: News Am., 1999. Stoppard, Tom. Interview "The Scene Stealers." By Elizabeth Gleick London. Time. January 1999: 70-1.

Words Expose the Soul :: Writing Education Language Essays

Words Expose the Soul When I was a freshman at Bemidji State I lived in the dorms. My roommates name was Chad. He had a girlfriend who attend Moorhead State. Her name was Jodi. I didn't get a chance to meet Jodi until very late in the year, around February. But up until that time, I had gotten to know her very well. The thing was that since they lived so far apart they didn't call each other until late at night. Most of the time, when she called, Chad wasn't there. It was actually quite ironic, Jodi's roommate was a girl that I graduated with. This led to many conversations, many that over a half an hour. I had seen pictures of her so I knew what she looked like, but I was starting to get a picture of what she was like as a person. I did this through observation of her tone of voice in certain situation, word usage, and overall temperament. By temperament I mean was she happy, sad, or confused in general. All of this gave me a pretty good idea as to what kind of person she was. One day in February I had the opportunity to find out exactly what she like. She came to visit Chad, and stay the night. This gave us a chance to talk face to face. It was very funny, because she was exactly like I thought she would be. I couldn't believe that I had gotten all of this information about her just by listening to the way that she talked. Some might say that a situation like this and one in where you read something are totally different, but I believe that they are very similar. Reading a piece of writing by a person that you do not personally know is the same as having a conversation with a person over the telephone that you have never met before. In both cases you try to get to know the person better by the words that they use. The means of communication makes no difference. One of the main difference between the reading and listening, though, is that when you listen to a person you can detect inflections and tones that a person uses while talking. When you read you have to rely on the author to provide you with the voice of the characters or maybe even himself.

Reflection Paper About Love

I know I’m too young to fall in love. I’m too young to say I found the right one. But there is really a moment in our life where we can say that we already found the one we would like to spend our forever with. The only one we wanted to love until God takes our breath away. January 14, was the happiest day of my life. Happiest, because it is the day where I found my peace of mind, my happiness, my one and only and my other half. I know that it is really weird to say that I am so madly, truly, deeply and passionately inlove with her, but I can’t really deny it, because I know deep inside my heart, it is true.I really love her so much that I can’t find the right words to describe my love for her. Whenever I’m with her, it feels like I can do anything. And I’m so confident, because I know that person accepts me as I am. Not like the other people, who expects too much on me, and criticizes my wrong doings. She accepts my mistakes, and everything. She is my strength to go on and continue my everyday life with love in my heart. She serves as my inspiration to strive harder and study more than I usually do. She is my everything. I would do anything just to prove that I really love her.Words will never be enough to say how much she means to me. I never felt like this before. It’s like, I don’t need any other because I have her who completes me. I feel so contented and I’ll never search for anyone else. Even if I can find someone who is better, still I will choose her. Maybe my someone is not perfect, my someone have a bad side, but no one will be like her because that someone is the only one in my life and in my world. If only I can build a world where we can spend the rest of our lives together at this moment, I would. Because I never wanted to be without her.It is weird if I say that that someone is my life because I know, I had lived 14 years of my life without that someone. But as time passes by, she re ally became my world, my life and my everything. I can’t be myself without her and if she walks away in my life, I will be empty. She has been out of my life many times, but as they say if someone walks out of your life and returns, it is for yours to keep and take care. So that’s it. We will never be broken again, because this time I will take care of what we have so that until forever, we will still be together and I will grow old someday in her side.I can’t wait for the day where I will wake up and sleep beside her. Everything will be perfect as long as I’m with her. There are things I want to say to that someone and I want to write those things here in my last journal, because when I got into college, I know that I will miss doing this so I want to make this last Reflective Journal of mine to be so special like my someone who is so special to me. Dear You, If you’re reading this Rj of mine, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for those time s you made me happy everytime I’m sad.Thank you for being my strength every time I feel so weak. Thank you for fulfilling my life. Thank you for everything. THANK YOU, REALLY. Thank you for being mine. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to love you, I promise I wouldn’t waste this chance that you gave me. Thank you for trusting and loving me, in return, I will love you everyday, every hour, every minute and every second of my life. You are that someone who inspires me, who gives me reasons to hold on, to fight, to be happy, to strive harder, to be better of what I am now. I dream high because of you, because of us.I never wanted you to leave me. i really love you. I am so thankful that God has given you to me, for me to take care of. For me, to love†¦ I still remember the first time I heard your name, it’s so unique. From that day on, I said to myself that I will know you. And when I saw your face, it’s like I saw an angel come down from heaven. Your face has this beauty that captured my eyes. You had me the first time I glanced my eyes on you. Seeing you smile from apart makes me smile. You had my attention but I am afraid to go near you, because in that same time, somebody owned me.Somebody had my heart, but you have this appeal my eyes couldn’t resist, because everytime I see you, my eyes would just follow you and I’m glad that you didn’t notice it. I still remember the first time I told you I love you. You said you love me too. I am so happy, so happy that I couldn’t explain how overflowing my happiness is. You make me happy, in your simple ways. You make me happy by just being a part of me. Part of me, that I will always love. Part of me, that I will never forget. You are a part of me, that no matter what happens, will always be in my life.We were not perfect couples, but we’re happy. I have found a new reason to smile again. I found it in you. Everytime I think of describing how much I love you, my mind goes blank. I don’t know why, but I just love you. And when I think of reasons on why I love you? I go speechless. But one thing I know is for sure, I love you so much babe. I love you. I won’t give up on you. And i hope that we’ll be happy for the rest of our lives, with each other†¦ You mean everything to me babe! I love you. And I always will. * The one who will love you forever, Babe14

Does Culture Determine Your Theory of Mind Essay

What has distinguished Homo sapiens from non-human organisms is their ability to develop a theory of mind (Scholl & Leslie, 2001). Premack & Woodruff (1978) originally defined theory of mind as being the tendency to make attributions about behaviour based on acquired knowledge of mental states, such as belief, desire and intention. An equally important aspect of theory of mind concerned the individual’s ability to understand the subjectivity of mental states, comprehending that other individuals have desires and beliefs that differ significantly from one’s own, an understanding that is highly important to human functioning (Baren-Cohen, 1995). This essay questions the influence that culture has on the development of a theory of mind. What was of primary interest in this essay was to investigate the extent to which theory of mind was characterized by universal processes of development and whether underlying cultural factors were responsible for the timing and development of theory of mind. Certain marked cultural differences were suggested as influential variables which could determine the development of a theory of mind, these being parenting styles, number of siblings and executive function which were thought to play a pivotal role in the development of a cultural identity (Lillard, 1998). In the context of cross-cultural comparison, a critical assessment of the false-belief task was conducted. The validity and reliability of the false-belief task was analyzed in relation to the development of theory of mind, and alternative explanations and measurement tools were provided which would allow for a more sensitive and reliable cross-cultural comparison to be made. Described as onto-genetically universal, theory of mind is a construct of human psychology and biology that is universally applicable to every culture (Liu, Wellman, Tardif & Sabbagh, 2008) . A unanimous result from twenty five years of research has reported that a theory of mind is developed in early childhood and exhibited from the age of five or six years old as result of progressive stages of development (Lillard, 1998). Many researchers (e. g Liu et al. , 2008; Wellman, Cross & Watson, 2001) have observed parallel developmental trajectories between western and non-western cultures in relation to the age at which a child acquires a theory of mind. Callghan, Rochat, Lillard, Claux, Odden & Itakura (2005) observed the cross-cultural development of theory of mind in samples of 12-31 children and declared there to be a ‘critical period’ of development between the ages of three and five years old when children begun to conceptualize and understand the difference between belief and reality. From a remote bush community in western Africa, to a mountain village in Peru, researchers (e. g. Avis & Harris, 1991) have observed the universal development of a theory of mind. The communicative purposes of theory of mind are invaluable to the survival and higher functioning of human kind. Cross-culturally, theory of mind is relevant in order to teach, deceive, inform and share planned actions (Baren-Cohen,1999). However, although this cognitive development is fundamental and pivotal to human functioning, research in this field of investigation has challenged the universality and applicability of theory of mind postulating that cross-cultural variations were responsible for determining and influencing the timing and stages at which theory of mind developed. Many prominent research studies have been published in the literature, arguing for the influence of culture on the development of a theory of mind (Wellman et al. , 2001). Astington (2001) has argued that although cross-cultural variation does not reflect a child’s ability to acquire a theory of mind, there may perhaps be sociocultural variances in early childhood experience that could potentially influence how and when a child achieves theory of mind. Similarly, studies have observed a discrepancy in the timing of development across certain industrialized cultures, an example being Canada and the United Kingdom (Wellman et al. 2001), and Japan and North Korea (Oh & Lewis, 2008). A meta-analysis of cross-cultural performance on false-belief tasks was conducted by Liu et al. , (2008) which investigated whether culture contributed to the development of theory of mind. A meta-analysis was conducted on 200 conditions (16-24 children per condition) of children from mainland china and Hong-Kong in order to assess whether the difference in cultural beliefs and values between these two culturally diverse samples had a significant impact on the timing of development. Increasingly more westernized and individualistic, Hong-Kong was predicted to mirror the North American trajectory of development in that children would be more likely to perform above chance on the false-belief task. Liu et al. , (2008) observed that Chinese children were more likely to under-perform on false-belief tasks in relation to their Japanese counterparts and that this resulted in a difference of up to 2 years in timing of false-belief acquisition. However, like many comparison studies, the results of this study were potentially confounded due to relatively small sample size. A condition of 16-24 participants did not allow for methodological error or research bias. Contradictory evidence and potential methodological errors in relation to cross-cultural comparisons has resulted in a thorough examination of the measurement tools used to study theory of mind. A seemingly reliable and valid measurement tool, the false-belief task has to some extent dominated the theory of mind model over the course of twenty five years (Dennet, 1978 as cited by Wellman et al. 2001). Astington (2001) reported that there exists â€Å"a danger in letting a single task become a marker for complex development†, as reliance on a single measurement construct can record potentially confounding results, leading to improbable and invalid conclusions. The ‘chocolate and cupboard’ false-belief task was developed by Wimmer & Perner, (1983) in order to assess whether a child had the ability to understand that their mental representations of the world differed from reali ty. Many researchers have found methodological flaws in the false-belief task claiming that it is unnecessarily difficult (Sullivan & Winner, 1993). A cross-cultural study conducted by Wellman et al. , (2001) confirmed that many children failed the false-belief task due to confusion and lack of understanding. A secondary criticism of the false-belief task has been made in relation to the limitations it places on performance in that it does not take into account fundamental components of theory of mind (De Rosnay, Pons, Harris & Morrell, 2004). Therefore, in order for a valid cross-cultural comparison to be made it was necessary to examine other important mental states such as emotion, desire and intention (De Rosnay et al. , 2004). A five step Theory of Mind scale was developed by Wellman & Liu (2004) in order to conduct a cross-cultural comparison of theory of mind. Preschoolers in North America (Wellman & Liu, 2004) , Australia (Peterson & Wellman, 2009) and Germany (Kristen, Thoermar et al. 2006) were found to follow the same ordered sequencing of conceptual developments, these being diverse desires, diverse beliefs, knowledge access, false beliefs, hidden emotions (Shahaeian, Peterson, Slaughter & Wellman, 2011). Although an identical trajectory of development was reported in many western cultures, a study conducted by Wellman et al. , (2004) discovered an interesting cross-cultural difference in relation to Chinese preschoolers who, although following the same steps of development, completed them in a different order with knowledge access being learned before diverse beliefs. Although there does not appear to be a cross-cultural difference in the mastery of theory of mind, the emphasis placed on knowledge access in Chinese preschoolers over diverse beliefs in western preschoolers is consistent with the importance that collectivist societies associate with social harmony over self-expression and individual beliefs. Reliance on one particular measurement tool has resulted in many extravagant and inconclusive claims being made, one such example being that researchers have associated a below chance performance on a false-belief task with an underdeveloped theory of mind (Astington, 2001). However, many researchers have argued that a three year old’s failure on the false-belief task could be indicative of linguistic underdevelopment or confusion rather than an absence of theory of mind. Leslie (2000) conducted qualitative reviews of cross-cultural performance on false-belief tasks in order to assess whether certain aspects of the methodology were inconsistent across cross-cultural testing. Methodology was found to differ in relation to the type of question asked, nature of the protagonist and type of task. Similarly, there was an inconsistency in the phrasing of the questions across many of the studies, with certain children being asked a question in terms of belief (Where does John think his chocolate is? ) or in terms of speech (where does John say his chocolate is? ). Efforts to reduce methodological error and improve performance have been made by many researchers (e. g. Chandler, Fritz & Hala (1989) in order to demonstrate the plasticity and flexibility of theory of mind. Chandler et al. (1989) found that if the experimental design of the false-belief task was manipulated by implying deception and trickery, performance was more likely to increase. A cross cultural comparison reported similar results when young children actively participated in deception. However, although these results may have provisionally provided an explanation for improved performance, it must be noted that above chance performance on this task did not confirm a child’s ability to conceptualize but mere ly emphasized their ability to ‘play along’ . Due to flaws in methodology and reliance on the false-belief task, researchers have failed to provide consistent and valid results in relation to a cross-cultural comparison of theory of mind. In light of these contradictory results and inconclusive explanations, alternative variables have been analyzed in order to expand on the literature pertaining to cross-cultural differences in theory of mind. Vinden (2001) was of the opinion that the development of a theory of mind aptly reflected parental influence in relation to cultural and moral expectations. Children emulated and modified their behaviour according to their parents’ example, therefore for a child to be capable of predicting and understanding another individuals’ mental state positively reflected parent-child intervention in the early years of their childhood. A cross-cultural comparison of theory of mind assessed whether parental attitudes of Korean-American and Anglo-American mothers influenced how their children developed mental states such as desires, beliefs and intentions (Vinden, 2001). Two previous studies conducted by Kim, Kim & Rue (1997) and Farver, Kim & Lee (1995) reported certain cultural differences between Korean-American and Anglo-American individuals. Korean-Americans were reported as valuing interdependency, social harmony and self-control in favour of individual orientation, symbolic play and independence, traits which were synonymous with the individualistic Anglo-american society. Importantly Korean-American parents were seen as obeying an authoritarian structure of parenting in contrast with Anglo-American parents who favoured an authoritative model . In light of the results obtained by the Kim et al. , (1997) study, it was hypothesized by Vinden (2001) that children of authoritative mothers would be more likely to outperform children of authoritarian mothers on the theory of mind tasks. The results reported were surprising, in that five year old children of authoritarian Korean-American mothers outperformed their Anglo-American age mates on theory of mind tasks, however children of authoritarian Anglo-American mothers were found to under-perform on theory of mind tasks. What could be concluded from this study was that performance on theory of mind tasks could in fact be influenced by parenting styles, but what constituted acceptable parenting was subjective to cultural introspection. In other words, a similar endpoint of development was reached across cultures, due to parenting styles that obeyed a cultural value system (Vinden, 2001). Similarly, a cross-cultural comparison of theory of mind has been made in relation to the number of siblings a child may have. A study conducted by Ruffman, Perner, Naito, Parkin & Clements, (1998) reported a remarkable finding that suggested how a child’s theory of mind could be predicted based on the number of older siblings they possessed. According to Brown, Donelan-McCall & Dunn (1996), children with older siblings developed mental representations about the world around them through symbolic play. Many researchers have argued for the importance of symbolic play in establishing a theory of mind (Leslie, 1987) due to the fact that through discussion and pretend play younger children were exposed to false-belief situations enabling them to emulate the behaviour exhibited by older siblings. However, it is important to remain critical when discussing the importance of symbolic play due to the fact that although above-chance performance on theory of mind tasks may be recorded, the extent to which conceptualization and false-belief is properly understood demands further explanation. Reiterating what has been previously stated by Vinden (2001), it was important to acknowledge that, although the same end point of development was reached across cultures, the stages of development differed based on cultural intervention. In recent years, the skills associated with executive function have been proposed to contribute to the development of theory of mind (Moses, 2001). Many researchers interested in cross-cultural comparison have conducted studies in order to ascertain whether the development of executive skills is directly influenced by cultural beliefs and values. Interest in this area of research has come about due to the importance of understanding theory of mind in conjunction with the development of cognitive processes (Moses, 2001). Executive function is an umbrella term used to describe a plethora of cognitive processes such as inhibition, verbal reasoning, problem solving and working memory which contribute to the development of theory of mind. Executive function has been assessed across a diverse range of cultures in order to determine whether development of executive function skills differ across cultures, and whether this difference in development affects the acquisition of a theory of mind.