Sunday, May 24, 2020

new zealand politics 1984-1993 Essay - 2518 Words

On July 6 1984, the fourth Labour government were elected into parliament after defeating the National party in a snap election. 1984 can be regarded as a major turning point in New Zealand political history in the sense that significant political changes affected the whole of the New Zealand society, economy and political structure. New Zealand government’s experimented with radical Neoliberal policy programmes to achieve economic and social progress during this period. The essay shall discuss the central features of the process of policy change over the period of 1984 to 1993 in New Zealand. These reforms were among the most sweeping in scope and scale within any industrialised democracy. There are a significant number of historical†¦show more content†¦Thus, the author suggests that â€Å"the representation of interests is shaped by collective actors and institutions that bear the shape of their own history† (Immergut 1998: 17). It is important to analyse the role of institutional arrangements in the development of national economies in New Zealand and Australia, and assesses their reaction to the pressures brought by the processes of social and economic reforms. It presents the main theoretical traditions in comparative political study, thus, one can apply these theoretical perspectives to the study of Australasian economies. In the early 1980s, both countries elected labour governments after long periods of conservative rule (Castles, 1996:96). In response to international economic demands, these governments introduced market-orientated reforms. Four major institutional characteristics of these two democracies shall be scrutinised further, including the various structures of the political system, the welfare state and the relationship between organised interests and the state (Castles, 1996:97). This essay is particularly concerned with the extent, direction and causes of changes in these four institutiona l arrangements in the period 1984-1993, in a comparative study of New Zealand and Australia. North identifies that institutional change took place in many cases, but it has been path-dependent and incremental (1990: 89). The level to which institutions played a fundamentalShow MoreRelatedWomen in the Mixed Economy of Welfare Essay1335 Words   |  6 PagesThe mixed economy of welfare has heavily impacted the life of women in Aotearoa New Zealand from the 1800s to the 21st century. The role of women has radically changed as New Zealand has gone through political and cultural reform. The state, the voluntary sector and the marketplace has had to accommodate for new needs of women and has given, in some cases, a better chance for equality between men and women. 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Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Comparing The Crucible with The Titanic and The Woman in...

Comparing The Crucible with The Titanic and The Woman in Black The Crucible is a historical drama set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The play was presented in a minimalist style. The characters were all puritan which meant they were very simply dressed with dull colours. Living in a small village they would all be interested in each others business. The characters would all be desperate to keep their names ‘white’, some of the characters for example Ann Putnam would have also benefited from the blackening of her neighbors names. This was because if someone was condemned a witch then their land would be sold cheap. Most of the themes centre on religion. ‘The Titanic’ was a non-naturalistic, documentary drama. It was set in a†¦show more content†¦All the characters attention was on him when he spoke. The speeches would be delivered calmly and loudly. This also would show the contrast when Proctor would be yelling passionately. This scene is similar to ‘The Titanic’ in respects to the difference in status that is shown when the steward is spoken to without politeness by the first class ladies. ‘The Titanic’ was non-naturalistic and many of the actors had multi roles and would change character on stage whereas in The Crucible the actors kept their characters and they were meant to be believable to the audience. However both plays had elements of melodrama. ‘The Titanic’ used it to add humor and to highlight the stereo types of the different class and over exaggerate them to make the differences more obvious. The Crucible used melodrama at the end to show the audience the passion of John Proctor and how tragic the whole play is. Where melodrama had been used it is meant to be taken seriously and if all the actors keep in character then it is believable to the audience. ‘The Woman in Black’ is a supernatural thriller set in 1940’s in London. Flash backs are used to tell the story same as in ‘The Titanic’. It is similar to The Crucible because they both contain supernatural forces. The Crucible and ‘The Titanic’ were both based on true events whereas ‘The Woman in Black’ is a fictional story. The Crucible had many of the characters scared and hysterical but no

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Voltaire and Rabelais Free Essays

string(60) " and thus evil then it is good by nature because it exists\." Voltaire and Rabelais satirize war and religion in their works. Voltaire goes after religious hypocrisy in chapter three of Candide. An orator asks Candide whether or not he supports â€Å"the good cause†. We will write a custom essay sample on Voltaire and Rabelais or any similar topic only for you Order Now Candide, being a man of reason, responds by saying â€Å"there is no effect without a cause†. The orator, feeling challenged by Candide’s reaction challenges him right back by asking Candide if he believes the Pope to be the Anti-Christ. Candide doesn’t know and changes the subject bringing up the fact that he’s hungry. The orator declares that Candide does not deserve to at because of his lack of affirmation toward believing in the Anti-Christ. The orator’s wife suddenly enters the scene and sees Candide as one who does not believe that the Pope was Anti-Christ. She proceeds to pour trash on his head. This is an example of Voltaire Jabbing at Protestants and Catholics of the world. He is explaining his views, through the use of satire, on religion. War is an evil that is satirized in Candide. Voltaire as a foundation for his war satire uses the Bulgarians. Voltaire explains on page 13 how the Bulgarians seized Candide and then gave him the option to be â€Å"thrashed thirty-six times by the whole egiment, or receive twelve lead bullets at once in his brain. † Candide decides to run the gauntlet but comes up about 34 short. He pleads that the Judges would Just smash his head instead. Voltaire shows more war satire on page 14 in Candide when the Bulgarians’ burn down the Abarian village â€Å"in accordance with the rules of international law†. Voltaire satirizes war in another sense. He goes on in chapter three by writing about the atrocities that the Bulgarian soldiers would indulge in. Not only did they kill people but they also raped, disemboweled, and dismembered innocent women and children. As a matter of fact, Candide’s was trained as a soldier by being abused and pummeled. Voltaire uses this to show his hatred toward the cruel and vulgar acts of war and which such belligerent groups like the Bulgarian soldiers demonstrated. Voltaire believed these acts of injustice to be morally wrong. Voltaire in this section of Candide is now showing his true thoughts towards Leibniz’s theory of optimism. Leibniz believes that if this is â€Å"the best of all possible worlds† then innocent women and children would not be slaughtered and dehumanized and there would be no bloodthirsty Bulgarians. Rabelais rejects all types of war. On page 299 Grandgousier explains his thoughts to Picrochole about going to war: â€Å"†¦ l shall nevertheless go to war before trying all the arts and ways of peace. Of that I am resolved†. This shows Rabelais’ opposition to war. Rabelais also mentions Pangrue’s absurd Justification of the killing of 660 knights on pages 124-125 of Gargantua and Pantagruel. Pangurge says to them: â€Å"Gentlemen, I believe you have brought some harm on yourselves. We are sorry, but it was none of our doing: it was because of the lubricity of the sea-water – sea-water is always a lubricant and we entrust ourselves to your good pleasure. † This example of satire lso shows Rabelais’ opposition to war. In canto XVII in lines 92 and 93 ot Dante’s Purgatorio Dante’s guide Virgil explains to Dante the two types of love (natural and mind directed) and the differences between them. He goes on to explain to Dante that some people choose to love the wrong thing or sin by loving something too much or something not enough. Virgil’s main point of his speech is that love is the inspiration to people’s action. Love is the only thing that motivates people. Love and Justice are basically one in the same. According to Dante, God created the Justice system (the system we see throughout Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven) based out of love. And because love inspires Justice, love and goodness are practically synonymous. It is safe now to connect this Justice to the gift God gives to man. In Paradiso Dante explains on page 43 in canto V on lines 20-30 â€Å"God’s greatest gift†. Lines 20-22 specifically give the reader Dante’s interpretation of God’s grace: â€Å"God’s greatest gift, the gift in which mankind is most like Him, the gift by Him most prized, is the freedom He bestowed upon the will. † Goodness comes from free will according to Dante. On line 27 Dante goes on to remind readers that â€Å"God ives his consent when [one] consents. † It is in this sense that we must realize that evil exists in this world even though God is good. Voltaire, a very skeptical man, believed that people did not get what they deserved. He makes it clear through his satire that he was against Leibniz’s idea of life being the best of both worlds. Voltaire says that evil is random. It comes at random moments Just as the 1746 and 1755 earthquakes in Lima, Peru and Lisbon, Portugal did. There was an imbalance of Justice at this time because Jews were assumed to be the cause for this natural disaster and then publically killed for their wrongdoings. People believed that the disaster happened because God was angry. However Voltaire’s point is proven when the second earthquake strikes. He is proving that things Just have the ability to sporadically happen. Three deists influenced Voltaire John Locke, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant. Their theories encouraged Voltaire to understand that there is no balance of Justice. To explain his point Voltaire creates the character: Dr. Pangloss – a wholehearted believer of Leibniz’s philosophy. Voltaire discreetly states Leibniz’s idea early on Candide by stating on page 16, â€Å"Dr. Pangloss was right in telling me that all is for the best in this world†¦ . To contrast Pangloss, Voltaire creates Martin, a more practical thinker to point out the flaws of Leibniz’s philosophy. St. Augustine understands that solved his problem of evil by believing that there was a lack of goodness in something. He explains that if something is corruptible and thus evil then it is good by nature because it exists. You read "Voltaire and Rabelais" in category "Papers" If something can be tarnished by means of evil or by vices it’s because there is goodness that can be taken away from it. Basically saying that everything is good because it is corruptible St. Augustine explains himself on the bottom of page 127 of his Confessions: â€Å"And I made an effort o understand what I had heard, that free will is the cause of our doing evil†¦ 3) Quote A is taken from Act l, Scene Ill, lines 201-207 of Shakespeare’s King Hamlet IV. In this section we see another classic ABA rhyme scheme. Hotspur, a very valiant soldier, is worried about his honor. He is demonstrating his concern for his honor by ranting on about his excitement to take down King Henry. Hotspur’s in itiative is so strong that he claims, on line 202, that it would not be difficult for him get honor from â€Å"the pale-taced moon†. This is Shakespeare’s way ot saying that Hotspur could get light from the sun, or â€Å"the pale-faced moon†. Shakespeare continues in this passage with a clothing metaphor in lines 206-209. Hotspur is saying that his honor would show the same way clothes show on people. These lines show that he’s not only ready for battle but also that he has a very tangible idea of honor. Honor, according to Falstaff is useless because it means nothing if you’re dead. Fallstaffs view of honor clearly undercuts Hotspur’s. Falstaff sees honor in a different sense. He sees it as something that is useless. This is an important quote that relates to the larger work because it shows an aspect that is seen throughout the story: honor. Honor, as we earn throughout King Henry ‘V, is perceived in a different sense in the end of the book. It goes from a goal to be achieved with direction to something that is more personable and to be reached to a more personal idea to treasure. Quote B is from Chapter 20 of Candide. On page 68 Martin is explaining how corrupt the world can be. Candide does not believe Martin when he says that he is indeed a Manichaean. This quote puts into perspective Voltaire’s idea of the world and how he believed it to be a cruel place. This quote relates to the larger work because it reinforces what Voltaire is attempting to get across to the reader. The corrupt families who seek to destroy others and acquire power through it are examples of an evil that comes from his belief that bad things can still happen even in a world where there is goodness. Quote C is from Dante’s Paradiso on page 134, Canto XIII, line 130-135. In this passage we see Dante using his standard ABA rhyme scheme. St. Thomas of Aquinas is giving Dante advice. He is warning is warning Dante not to Judge too soon because things could change and go the opposite way. He explains this through two metaphors. He explains how a bush has the capability to lose all of its leaves but hen eventually blossom to a beautiful rose when the springtime comes around. By these two examples St. Thomas means that a change can pop up out of nowhere. He explains his point in another fashion on this in the third stanza of this passage in lines 133-135. These lines explain that St. Thomas has seen a strong ship sail and eventually sink Just as it was about to set anchor at its port. Quote D is a portion of Rabelais’ Gargantul and Pantagruel on page 229 of chapter six. Gargantua crying is being described here. It is explained that if he were to start crying out of annoyance then he would drink all of his tears and use them to bring im back to his original condition. Quote E is a passage from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In this quote Ophelia is commenting on how she misses when Hamlet’s mind was noble. She’s beginning to realize now that Hamlet is going mad. She claims that he wouldVe been considered noble and possibly a King if he had not gone so mad when she says: â€Å"Th’ expectancy and rose of the fair state† on line 166. She goes on to note that he used to be idolized by all. She explains this by saying on line 167 that he was â€Å"The glass of fashion and the mold of form†. â€Å"The glass of fashion† is Shakespeare using a metaphor for saying that he was respected by all. When she says, â€Å"the observers quite, quite down! † she is commenting that the observers of Hamlet no longer think of him the same way they used to. This passage is basically Ophelia realizing that Hamlet is changing and she cannot believe it. This quote relates to the larger work, Hamlet because it sums up basically the thoughts ot the rest ot the kingdom. Ophelia speaks tor everyone else when she says notes that Hamlet’s behavior has drastically changed. As the story goes on it changes even more and more as we learn how complex of a character Hamlet is. Quote F is taken from page 43 of Beowulf, specifically lines 2529-2531. This assage follows the speech that Beowulf gives his warriors. Beowulf, who is getting old and worn down, explains to his men the importance of this battle. He salutes his men then explains that he will not give up no matter what. The brave warrior that this passage describes is indeed Beowulf. The poet is emphasizing the fact that he is indeed the bravest of all warriors the Danes have ever seen. The poet hopes to get the reader to comprehend the amount of courage he has for standing up to the dragon to defend his honor and his community. This quote relates to the larger work because it clearly shows the Beowulf’s heroic qualities. It also relates to the larger work because it shows a Germanic value. Beowulf is showing that he’s not afraid of death. Quote G is a passage from Part IV, lines 2025-2030 of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The narrator is explaining the gear that Gawain is putting on as he gets ready for his rendezvous with the Green Knight. The poet is using alliteration to give better detail of the attire Gawain is donning. The letter R is used significantly on line 2025, the letter C on line 2026, the letter S on line 2027, the letter W on line 2029, and both letters L and G are used simultaneously in line 2030. The poet aims to grasp the eaders attention at the beauty of his battle outfit. However the last line of this passage is most important: Yet he left not his love-gift, the ladys girdle. The hosts’s wife promises to Gawain that this magic girdle save from one from death. This quote relates to the larger work because this girdle ends up being a major symbol of the book. The girdle is a way to show that Gawain is weak for using it as a way of cheating to survive against the Green Knight. Quote H is from Act Ill Scene II of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In this scene Hamlet makes it clear to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he is not tricked by their phony riendship. In Hamlet’s speech from lines 393-402 Shakespeare uses a play on words with a musical metaphor. Pluck, an action used to play a string instrument, is said on line 395. Hamlet is accusing his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of playing him. The same way a musician would pluck (play) a string instrument. Another music reference Shakespeare makes is found on lines 396-397. The lines read: â€Å"†¦ you would sound me from my lowest note my compass†¦ † A note is basically a note or pitch that is made from an instrument. Here Hamlet is saying that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern bring him up and down yet he is not fazed by it. How to cite Voltaire and Rabelais, Papers

Monday, May 4, 2020

Assessing Models Using Revealed Preference -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Assessing Models Using Revealed Preference? Answer: Introduction Prime Media is a media corporation that owns regional television network covering region southern and northern New South Wales, Victoria, Australia capital territory, Western Australia and Gold area of Southeastern Queensland. Company was established in year 1986 after which television license was acquired in Western Australia. It is one of the leading television networks in the broadcast market that has evolved by making considerable investments in local news programming (Primemedia.com.au 2018). It also helps in assisting and supporting community endeavors by providing valuable airtime sponsorship. Revenues are sourced by Prime limited from television advertising airtime and they have the most influential advertising opportunity in regional Australia. Free to air commercial television license is owned by Prime limited in regional Western Australia and Mildura where nine entertainment programming is broadcasted. Some other services are iShopTv and data casting television service tha t are owned by Prime Media limited (Primemedia.com.au 2018). Ownership and governance structure of company: The group has reported the name of substantial shareholders according to section 671B of the Corporation Act, 2001. Largest registered shareholder holding 21.22% of ordinary shares is HSBC Custody Nominees Australia Limited and all the substantial shareholders have more than 5% of shareholdings. Substantial shareholders having shareholding higher than 5% of shareholding includes Perpetual limited having 14.14% shareholdings, Network investment holdings having shareholding of 11.38%, Ash blue Holding Pty limited having 11.38% of shareholdings, North Aston Pty limited having 11.38% of shareholdings and IOOF holdings limited having 8.216% of shareholdings (Primemedia.com.au 2018). The governance of prime media incorporates members of board of directors that consists of majority of independent directors and non-executive directors. Non-executive directors of Prime Media group are Ian R. Neal, Peter J.Macourt and Cass OConnor and Alexander A. Hamill is non-executive director who retired on 30th September 2016. John K Hartigan is the non-executive chairman and Ian C. Audsley is the chief executive officer of Prime Media group limited. Some of the directors have relevant interest in the ordinary shares of company and they include Ian C. Audsley holding 621756 ordinary shares, Ian R. Neal holding 40000 shares and Cass OConnor holding 75000 shares (Primemedia.com.au 2018). From the analysis of annual report of prime Media, it has been ascertained that surname of any substantial shareholders is not same as that of board members, Chairman and CEO of organization and this depicts that there is no presence of owner in governance of firms. Furthermore, no shareholders ha ving more than 5% of share capital are involved in governance of firm. Calculation of performance ratios: $0.000 $0.000 $0.000 $0.000 Trend Particulars` 2014 2015 2016 2017 2014 2015 2016 2017 Net Profit after Tax (NPAT) A 31188 35621 -93578 36244 -100.0% -114.2% 300.0% -116.2% Total Assets (TA) B 317673 304484 172032 155532 100.0% 95.8% 54.2% 49.0% Ordinary Equity (OE) C 162240 173876 62231 67206 100.0% 107.2% 38.4% 41.4% Total Liabilities D 155433 130608 109801 88326 100.0% 84.0% 70.6% 56.8% Return on Assets (ROA) E= A/B 9.82% 11.70% -54.40% 23.30% -100.0% -119.16% 554.06% -237.36% Return on Equity (ROE) F=A/C 19.22% 20.49% -150.37% 53.93% -100.0% -106.57% 782.24% -280.54% Debt Ratio G=D/B 0.489 0.429 0.638 0.568 100.0% 87.67% 130.45% 116.07% $0.000 $0.000 $0.000 $0.000 Trend Particulars` 2014 2015 2016 2017 2014 2015 2016 2017 EBIT A 46586 50772 -81305 51688 -100.00% -108.99% 174.53% -110.95% Total Assets B 317673 304484 172032 155532 100.00% 95.85% 54.15% 48.96% Net Profit after Tax C 31188 35621 -93578 36244 -100.00% -114.21% 300.04% -116.21% Owner's Equity D 162240 173876 62231 67206 100.00% 107.17% 38.36% 41.42% Return on Equity E=(A/B)x(C/A)x (B/D) 19.22% 20.49% -150.37200% 53.929709% -100.00% -106.57% 782.24% -280.54% Variable TA/OE indicates total assets divided by ordinary equity and the relationship between return on assets and return on equity is considerably impacted by this particular variable. An increase in amount of total assets will cause ROA on to decrease if the profit is remaining constant. However, an increase in profits will cause ROA to increase if the magnitude of increase in profits is more than increase in total assets amount. Return on equity on other hand, will increase when there is increase in amount of profits reported along with increase in total equity (Brotherson et al. 2015). However, magnitude of increase in profits should be more than that of total equity reported. From the computation of ROA and ROE, it can be inferred from the figures that ROE is more than ROA throughout the year of analysis. ROE is significantly higher than ROA for two consecutive years that is 2014 and 2015 because the amount of ordinary assets increased and total assets amount decreased (Gotze et al. 2015). For financial year 2016, value of ordinary equity has reduced drastically compared to total assets that had led to lower value of ROE as against ROA. Value of ROE in the current financial year is more than that of ROA. Graph with the description of results: The above graph depicts the monthly share price of Prime media group limited for the period of two years that is 2015 to 2017. It can be inferred from the graph that the share price is not highly volatile. However, they are more or less fluctuating than the value of ordinaries index. In the initial year of analysis that during 2016, share price line was closely correlated with that of ordinaries index line. In the beginning of year 2017, share price of prime media went above the ordinaries index line and it declined below the ordinaries index during the seventh month of year 2017. Therefore, it can be said that prime media share price was not volatile during the analysis period. Significant factors influencing the share price of Prime Media group limited: The rise in share price above the ordinaries index in the beginning of year 2017 was due to releasing of media report of prime being the leading regional television network having audience share of 30.6% across the areas of operation. This media release was responsible for increase in share price and going on its peak for over two month and thereafter declining and crossing below the ordinaries index line in the beginning of second half year of 2017. Share price started rising in the end of year when it aired number one program and making it most watched hitting at night across its region of broadcasting (Zopounidis et al. 2015). Local communities were impacted by exposing shocking reality of death and life on regional roads and this news had peaked audience viewers and shares of commercial audience. Introduction of important reform bill enhanced the commercial viability of media business that lead to diversity of voices and increased community opinions (Elmassri et al. 2016). Rise i n share price during year 2016 was attributable to recording of peak audience resulting from most watched television. In nutshell, many factors are responsible for influencing the share price of prime media group limited is related to its several broadcasting services. Continued growth in advertising revenue and audience is also responsible for influencing the share price of company. Calculation of Beta values and expected rate of returns: Calculated value of beta of prime media group limited is 0.59112. Computation of required rate of return is done using capital asset price generating model with a market risk premium of 6% and risk free rate of 4%. Particulars Amount Beta of the company A 0.59112 Risk Free Rate B 4% Market Risk Premium C 6% Required Rate of Return D=B+[Ax(C-B)] 5.18% Required rate of return for prime media group limited stood at 5.18%. The value of beta of prime group is computed at 0.59112 that is indicative of the fact that value of stock will be less variable compared to market index. It depicts that stock if defensive against the down and ups of entire stock market that is in times of change, stock moves less than the market index (Berk and Van Binsbergen 2016). Whether the company has adopted defensive or conservative investment is depicted by value of beta and it shows that, it has chosen a conservative investment strategy. Weighted average cost of capital: Computation of weighted average of capital is done by computing the estimated cost of capital and the table below depicts the WACC. Particulars Amount Weight age Cost Return Rate Tax Rate WACC Total Long Term Debt 43540 39.32% 2542 5.84% 30.00% 1.61% Total Equity 67206 60.68% 5.18% 3.14% TOTAL 110746 100% 4.75% For the evaluation of prospective investment, WACC is regarded as appropriate because the risk associated with project is same as risk in which computation is done. Higher weighted average cost of capital is perceived to be associated with higher risks by management when they make any new investments in new products. Therefore, for the expansion of business, higher WAC would be justified. For the riskier investment, investors would be requiring higher returns and for undertaking risky projects, companies will be raising capital and thereby such projects will have higher cost of capital compared to making investment in safer projects (Lane and Rosewall 2015). It can be inferred from the discussion that riskier projects will have higher WACC attached with it compared to safer projects that will have lower WACC attached with it. Debt ratios for the past two years: Debt ratio of prime media group limited for the two consecutive years that is 2016 and 2017 is computed at 0.638 and 0.568 respectively. This fall in debt ratio in the current year is attributable to decline in total amount of liabilities reported on the balance sheet. Yes, it can be seen from the analysis of annual report of company that effort was taken to improve the gearing ratio, as there was repayment of its borrowings in year 2017. Hence, it can be inferred that company is working towards maintenance of optimum capital structure. Yes, directors report presented in the annual report provides with a discussing about the capital structure. Secured bank loan facility decreased from $ 73402000 in year 2016 to $ 53540000 in year 2017. Moreover, there was reduction in debt facility limit to $ 80 million. The capital structure of firm appears to be stable in recent years due to their efforts for improving their gearing ratio (Titman et al. 2017). Dividend policy: Final dividend that is paid to shareholders is based on the core net profit after tax. Dividend payments are not entitled to long-term incentives. Recognition of dividend revenue is done when the right to receive payments is established by group. The group can adjust dividend payments to shareholders when the required adjustment is to be done to the capital structure (McNeil et al. 2015). Letter recommendation: The analysis of inclusion of stocks of Prime Media group limited is done by evaluating the financial report of recent years in respect to several areas such as its dividend payment, profitability ratio and cost of capital. It has been ascertained that leverage of company has improved in the recent year due to reduction in overall liabilities attributable to company. Moreover, return on assets and return on equity has also witnessed increasing figures indicating that group has been efficiently utilizing their assets and total equity capital. However, year 2016 witnessed negative profits that have influenced their efficiency and profitability position. It was a temporary disruption resulting from some generation of loss in that particular year. Furthermore, required rate of return computed for company is higher than weighted cost of capital. Value of beta is indicative of the fact that company has followed conservative investment strategy (Fitri et al. 2015). It indicates that the stoc k of Prime media group will help in reducing risk exposure to market if the investors include it in a portfolio of high beta value stocks. Furthermore, prime media has its operation in media industry and it has muted reactions to market shocks. The volatility of company is less relative to broad movements in market along with consistent beta value (Chittenden and Derregia 2015). Investors seeking investment in this stock by incorporating it into their investment portfolio would be benefitted due to lower risks during the times of economic decline. Performance of company has been more or less consistent throughout the year compared to market performance. Therefore, from the analysis of all the factors mentioned above, it is recommended to investors to make investment in stocks of Prime media group limited and expanding his or her portfolio in positive aspects. References list: Berk, J.B. and Van Binsbergen, J.H., 2016. Assessing asset pricing models using revealed preference.Journal of Financial Economics,119(1), pp.1-23. Brotherson, W.T., Eades, K.M., Harris, R.S. and Higgins, R.C., 2015. 'Best Practices' in Estimating the Cost of Capital: An Update. Chittenden, F. and Derregia, M., 2015. Uncertainty, irreversibility and the use of rules of thumbin capital budgeting.The British Accounting Review,47(3), pp.225-236. Elmassri, M.M., Harris, E.P. and Carter, D.B., 2016. Accounting for strategic investment decision-making under extreme uncertainty.The British Accounting Review,48(2), pp.151-168. Faccio, M., Marchica, M.T. and Mura, R., 2016. CEO gender, corporate risk-taking, and the efficiency of capital allocation.Journal of Corporate Finance,39, pp.193-209. Finance.yahoo.com. (2018).PRT.AX : Summary for PRIME TV FPO - Yahoo Finance. [online] Available at: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/PRT.AX/ [Accessed 31 Jan. 2018]. Fitri, M.C., Supriyanto, A. and Oemar, A., 2016. ANALYSIS OF DEBT TO EQUITY RATIO, FIRM SIZE, INVECalculation of Beta values and expected rate of returns:ENT RATIO TO PROFITABILITY COMPANY (STUDY ON MINING COMPANIES LISTED IN BEI PERIOD 2010-2013).Journal Of Accounting,2(2). Gitman, L.J., Juchau, R. and Flanagan, J., 2015.Principles of managerial finance. Pearson Higher Education AU. Gotze, U., Northcott, D. and Schuster, P., 2016.INVESTMENT APPRAISAL. SPRINGER-VERLAG BERLIN AN. Lane, K. and Rosewall, T., 2015. Firms investment decisions and interest rates.Reserve Bank of Australia Bulletin. June quarter, pp.1-7. McNeil, A.J., Frey, R. and Embrechts, P., 2015.Quantitative risk management: Concepts, techniques and tools. Princeton university press. Primemedia.com.au. (2018). [online] Available at: https://www.primemedia.com.au/images/pdfs/asxmedia/2017/PrimeAnnualReport2017.pdf [Accessed 31 Jan. 2018]. Reilly, G., Souder, D. and Ranucci, R., 2016. Time horizon of investments in the resource allocation process: Review and framework for next steps.Journal of Management,42(5), pp.1169-1194. Titman, S., Keown, A.J. and Martin, J.D., 2017.Financial management: Principles and applications. Pearson. Zabarankin, M., Pavlikov, K. and Uryasev, S., 2014. Capital asset pricing model (CAPM) with drawdown measure.European Journal of Operational Research,234(2), pp.508-517. Zopounidis, C., Galariotis, E., Doumpos, M., Sarri, S. and AndriosopouloS, K., 2015. Multiple criteria decision aiding for finance: An updated bibliographic survey.European Journal of Operational Research,247(2), pp.339-

Monday, March 30, 2020

The History Of Pi Essays - Pi, Approximations Of,

Pi The History of Pi A little known verse in the bible reads ?And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other; it was round all about, and his height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it about(I Kings 7, 23).? This passage from the bible demonstrates the ancient nature of the irrational number pi. Pi in fact is mentioned in a number of verses throughout the bible. In II Chronicles 4,2, in the passage describing the building of the great temple of Solomon which was built around 950BC, pi is given as equal to three. This value is not very accurate at all and should not even be considered accurate for it's time, however it should be noted that precision was not needed for the task that was being performed and we should let the general concept of pi that the biblical characters posses impress us. Present knowledge suggests that the concept of pi first developed in 2000 BC in two separate cultures. The Babylonians used pi at a value of 25/8 while an entirely different culture, the ancient Egyptians used pi at a value of 256/81. While the biblical calculation of pi=3 most likely came from crude measurement, there is strong reason to believe, because of the relative accuracy of the values, that the Babylonians and Egyptians found pi by means of mathematical equations. In the Egyptian Rhind Papyrus, which is dated around 1650 BC, there is strong evidence supporting that the Egyptians used 4(8/9)2 =3.16 for their value of pi. At that point in history, and for the majority of modern history, pi was not seen as an irrational number as it is today. The next culture that investigated pi was the ancient Greeks. Starting in 434 BC Greeks were unraveling the mysteries of pi. The mathematician Anaxagoras made an unsuccessful attempt at finding pi, which he called squaring the circle and in 414 BC, 20 years after Anaxagoras failed in his attempt to square the circle, Aristophanes refers to the work of Anaxagoras in his comedy ?The Birds?. It took over 100 years for the Greeks to finally find a value for pi. In 240 BC Archimedes of Syracuse showed that 223/71*pi*22/7. Archimedes knew, what so many people today do not, that pi does not equal 22/7 and he made no claim to have discovered the exact value of pi. However if we take the average of his two bounds we obtain pi=3.1418, which was an error of about 0.0002. Archimedes found the most accurate value of pi up to that time and his value would be used exclusively until the next discovery in the world of pi. The next major finding concerning pi did not occur in the western world, but in China by Tsu Chung-chi'h who approximated pi at 355/113 in 480 AD. Next to nothing except for this work is known about Tsu Chung-chi'h's life but it is very unlikely that he had any awareness of Archimedes work. We shall now notice how during the dark ages of Europe, the lead in the research of pi is passed to the East. Aryabhata, working on his own in Persia without any outside information in 515 AD was able to approximate pi to 3 decimal places. A mathematician from Baghdad named Al'Khwarizimi worked with pi however the most accurate finding of pi to date was found even more east in Samarkand by Al-Khashi. In 1430 AD he approximated pi to 16 decimal places, the most to date. His work however, would be the last of note from the east as the European Renaissance brought about a whole new mathematical world. The first notable discovery in the approximation of pi from the European Renaissance was by Viete in 1593 AD. He expressed pi as an infinite product by using only 2's and square roots. In 1610 Ludolph van Ceulen demonstrated the new thought coming out of the Renaissance by calculating pi to 35 decimal places. Around the same time, Snell refined Archimedes's method of calculating pi, and Snell's work was used by Grienberger to calculate pi to 39 decimal places in 1630. In 1655 Wallis showed that pi/2=2/1*2/3*4/3*4/5*6/5*6/7*8/7*8/9..... The 18th centuary brought about great

Saturday, March 7, 2020

The political debate Essay Example

The political debate Essay Example The political debate Essay The political debate Essay The political debate on whether it is best to have a strong or weak presidency has been going on since the dawning of the American Republic, but such a question usually crops up at a time when the security of the American people is in peril, or there is a clear and definite state interest for the American government to limit certain civil liberties of the people for the benefit of the general population. History has been replete on this political discourse especially since the United States convincingly expanded its sphere of influence across the entire world starting with the subjugation of the Philippine Islands to American colonial rule in 1899. As American influence, even imperialism and hegemony, spread across all parts of the world until the present time, the attacks on the democratic life of the American people and the existence of the Republic has been unceasing such as when Japanese militarists bombed Pearl Harbor at the start of World War II and the decades-long communist t hreat of the Soviet Union and allied socialist republics. In pursuit of the protection of the American Republic, the American presidency has always sought to explore ways and means on how to best defend the nation, militarily and diplomatically, without resorting to the curtailment of the civil liberties of the American people. However, for the most part, the American government with the US president at its head, has usually challenged the limits of such civil liberties. No best example can ever be had than the McCarthyist communist witch-hunts of the 1950s where suspected American communists from all sectors of American society were invited to the US Congress only to be vilified and falsely accused of their participation in the Communist Party of the USA. While there was no participation of the American president then in such congressional proceedings, it is clear that he acquiesced in the entire affair led by Sen. McCarthy, notwithstanding the complicity of security agencies of the federal government which are directly under the American President. On the other hand, as perceived curtailments of civil liberties happened throughout American contemporary history, there have been campaigns and struggles from American interest groups to call for the relegation of the American presidency as simply a watchtower of other government branches as the presidency has far too awesome executive powers that can curtail not only on civil-political rights but may e ven infringe on socio-economic and property rights as well. However, the resolution of the debate has always been in favor of strengthening the American presidency as it is clearly within the interest of the state and even the mandate of the American president to ensure the welfare and protection of the American people from threats from within and without. However, in this era of global terrorism and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism the question of a strong presidency emerged once again. The debate is in the light of the recent discovery by the American public that President George W. Bush secretly authorized security forces in 2002 to gather intelligence through wiretapping of telephones and mobile phones, and eavesdropping on emails and other telecommunications services to swoop down on terrorist correspondence within the United States and abroad, without the fulfilling the statutory requisite of a warrant from a surveillance court. Moreover, the controversy erupted in the wake of the approval of the reauthorization of the US Patriot Act, a controversial law that granted very broad powers to security forces to swoop down on perceived enemies of the state, particularly suspected Islamic fundamentalists operating inside the continental United States. Nonetheless, the law is deemed by liberals and progressives as a direct attack on co nstitutional rights of the American people, especially when previously strict surveillance measures are now relaxed, notwithstanding assertions by the security community that the operations in pursuit of the US Patriot Act and the war on terror is not within the purview of the court. If this be so, this would also be tantamount to a curtailment of the judicial power and supremacy of the US Supreme Court to review all acts and omissions of the other branches and government, even if in the guise of national security. The controversy has also elicited further tensions between an American public that was already weary from the ravages of the Iraq War as many feared that even American homes and offices are no longer spared from the operations of the American government in its fight against terror. Nonetheless, the Bush administration has maintained that the president has inherent war powers which may not be expressed but implied in the Section on Executive power in the American constitut ion. Truth to tell, the secret authorization given by President Bush to spy on the American people may find legal basis in the inherent war powers afforded the president, unless the statutory provisions ordering the securing of a warrant prior to surveillance are more controlling. Assuming without conceding that the Constitution grants such residual powers to the American president, the propriety of the authorization is most questionable, as it comes at the heels of growing American discontent over the war in Iraq, especially when the basis for invading Iraq (i.e. direct link with Al-Qaida and production of weapons of mass destruction) was not convincingly and truthfully conveyed by the president to the American people. Nonetheless, the act is well within the purview of the executive’s powers despite the public outrage that ensued upon discovery of the authorization.

Thursday, February 20, 2020

International criminal organization Research Paper

International criminal organization - Research Paper Example The intelligence report further reveals that the top leaders of the criminal gang met at Los Angeles where they made the deliberations on changing tact to camouflage and disguise them against identification. There are all indications that the same information is intended to reach other states where the unlawful sect has been committing a series of criminal activities. It would be therefore challenging on the authorities to rely on the traditional tattoos on their bodies as a prognosis for the group. The gangs’ possible number will be therefore difficult to estimate since further recruitment is ongoing in disguise. The successful change of tact by the group is responsible for the increment of the criminal reports in the last quarter of the year since the groups identification has been a challenge-the authorities always depend on their tattooed bodies for the identification (Books LLC, 2010). Growth The criminal gang has extended their operation in the major states and they are no longer restricted in their original state of Los Angeles. We have ascertained that the gang has significance presence in other states like Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Montgomery, and San Francisco among others (Logan, 2009). Their identification has been mistaken for other groups following successful change of their operation schemes and other recognizable features formerly exclusively associated with the group. The group is also identified to gain exponential growth among the youths who are jobless. Through the intelligence report, neighboring countries have also joined the group and are encroaching into the country to commit crimes this includes Canada and Mexico. It is very difficult to identify the members of the group as at now and our intelligence are working extra hard to have leading information that will help distinguish the group. Reports have also revealed that a group that was constituted by only about one thousand street operators has grown internation al with accumulative number of more than five hundred thousand individuals. Our reports indicate that the group’s presence is felt in Mexico, Canada, and significantly in parts of Central America. We have also unraveled the fact that the operation of the group in transitional between the countries through the porous borders making the gang unpredictable n terms of geographical location. Reliable information indicates that Washington DC is one of their next locations to invade. The security agencies should in this regard keep stringent vigil to avert the establishment of the group in the region. Activities in the Offing Because of the stringent security measure that has been aimed at eradicating the group on their known criminal activities, we have realized that they are in elaborate plan to devise new criminal activities away from what they are traditionally known for. A part from their usual activities of money laundering, drug trafficking, murder kidnapping, and human traff icking, the group has also mutated to engage in other criminal activities such as arms trafficking, extortion, larceny, and pandering (Logan, 2009). It has come to our notice that the gang is putting a spirited effort to cushion themselves against facing the law. Reasonable number of illegal fire arms are also circulating within the group and reliable sources