Julius Caesar Cause and Effect Essay Free Essays

Kaya Lawrance Mrs. Ham Honors English 2 March 7th, 2012 Julius Caesar Cause and Effect Essay: A Leader’s Fateful Decision: Decisions. Decisions are what make the world go round. We will write a custom essay sample on Julius Caesar Cause and Effect Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now Without them, time would be frozen, never moving forward. They are the choices people make that determine our future. Some decisions are hard, some are easy. But, no matter what decisions are made, they will always end with the same result: an effect. So, it’s important that people go through the decision making process to eventually come to a final choice. Everyone has to make many decisions every day that affect our lives. Julius Caesar also had to make many decisions that had substantial results. But, only one of his decisions stood out from all the others. Only one decision would determine his rue fate. This essay will talk about the causes and effects of Julius Caesar’s significant decision to be present at the Senate meeting or not. This determines his tragic fate in a matter of life or death. Caesar had to make the fateful decision of going to the Senate meeting or not. Although almost every sign warns him against going to the meeting, he makes the stubborn decision to go anyways, which eventually leads to his violent, timeless death. This decision has many powerful effects on the people, the conspirators, and Rome. But, it also has many causes or events that led up to it. So, some questions come up: Do the events that led up to Caesar’s decision overweigh the effects of his choice? Or vice versa? The main question is: which choice is the better choice? Causes: There are many causes of Caesar’s final decision. Many of these causes, though, may be better identified as warnings or signs against his attendance at the Senate meeting. At the beginning of the book, Caesar appears at a race in which he is confronted by a Soothsayer telling him, â€Å"Beware of the Ides of March. (1. 2. 21) He thinks nothing of it and tells the Soothsayer to move on. Caesar remains blind of this warning while Brutus, Cassius, and the other conspirators plot his hematic murder. Dramatic Irony is when the readers know what something that the character does not know. Dramatic Irony applies to this because readers know that the conspirators are plotting to kill Caesar while he is not aware that they are. Another â€Å"warning sign† that he should not go to the Senate meeting occurs on March 15 (Ides of March) right before the meeting. Calphurnia describes how she has had strange and frightful dreams of Caesar’s stature pouring our blood while happy citizens of Rome bathe their hands in it. Calphurnia sees this as an omen, and since she does not usually believe in omens, she is frightened by them now and believes this one to be a true omen. A servant also warns Caesar, â€Å"They would not have you to stir forth today. Plucking the entrails of an offering forth, they could not find a heart within the beast. â€Å"(2. 2. 40-42) This is another warning sign for the reason of finding a fault or difference in a sacrificed animal meant bad luck in his time. Although he ignores the Servant’s news out of his own confident arrogance, he decides to stay because of his wife’s unsettling whim. But after Decius appears with plans to escort Caesar to the Senate House, Decius convinces him to go with quick and sly words. â€Å"This dream is all amiss interpreted; It was all a vision fair and fortunate. Your stature spouting blood in many pipes, in which so many smiling Romans bathed, signifies that from you great Rome shall suck reviving blood, and that great men shall press for tinctures, stains, relics, and cognizance. This by Calphurnia’s dream is signified,†(2. 2. 87-94) Decius lies through his teeth to change Caesar’s mind. He describes how the people will think he is a coward for not going, and how he would receive the crown if he went. The arrogant Caesar changed his mind in a heartbeat, blinded by his fear of looking foolish. Effects: The effects of Caesar’s decision to go to the Senate meeting were great, affecting all of Rome in many ways over a long period of time. Of course the main effect of this is his own death. If he would have only listened to the soothsayers warning, taken Calphurnia’s warnings into consideration, listened to the servants message, and had just allowed fear to overpower his over confidence – he would have stayed home and lived. He could then see how blind he had been all along. He would be able to see his true self without the mask of arrogance and complete foolishness. But, fate is inescapable. Even if he had not decided to go to the Senate, he would have met his final resting place – somehow. So, do the events that led up to Caesar’s decision overweigh the effects of his choice? Yes, the causes or events that led up to his death are very good reasons why Caesar should not have gone to the Senate meeting. There were many warnings against him going and Calphurnia’s dream almost made it so clear that he shouldn’t go that it was just foolish to go. Caesar knew that it was a bad idea to go and that the effects of going could be bad. He knew something bad was going to happen, yet his own wretched personality destroyed his life. Two lessons can be learned from this event: 1. don’t allow the faults of your own personality affect your better judgment. 2. â€Å"Men at some time are masters of their fates. â€Å"(1. 2. 146) How to cite Julius Caesar Cause and Effect Essay, Essay examples

J D Wetherspoon and Scottish & Southern Electricity Plc Case Study

Question: Describe about the Finance Corporate Financial Decision Making of J D Wetherspoon and Scottish Southern Electricity Plc? Answer: Aims and Objectives This aim is to compare the financial management policies and financial performance of two companies- J D Wetherspoon and Scottish Southern Electricity Plc. It connects different financial theories with the financial management policies of both companies. After discussing the financial management policies, suggestions for corporate decision making will be given for Next plc. In addition, the method of stock market prices of both companies will be clarified. Business Strategy Next Plc is interested in investing in J D Wetherspoon or SSE Plc. The financial performance of both companies has been analyzed by reviewing the financial statements of both companies. The business strategies, financial statements served as a major tool for analyzing the financial performance of both companies. The decision to invest in a particular company is based on its financial performance (Ang and Liu, 2003). Different tools have been used in order to conduct financial analysis of both companies such as, financial comparability. Financial comparability is significant to make decisions (Bertoneche and Knight, 2001).Financial Ratios; capital structure has been used for better view of the company position in the market. With these approaches, a clear market as well as financial position of both companies has been identified. These tools have clarified the effective distribution of financial resources in order to maximized share holder value. Financial statement is very important to comparability of financial statement(Borland, 2000). Porters five forces model and PESTEL have also been used in order to define impact of industry factors such as bargaining power of suppliers and buyers on financial aspects such as revenues, profits and cost of goods sold mentioned in the financial statements(Bossaerts, 2009). Validity of data To analyse the financial performance of all the companies, reliable data has been stored from the financial statements. This will include risk- beta, sources of finance, gearing, liquidity, investment ratios, working capital, efficiency ratios and capital structure. Source: Markets.Ft In 2013, due to weather related incidents, SSE electricity production was affected and this was the reason behind decreased sales and net income in 2012. In 2013, SSE made investment in its new 460 megawatt (MW) gas-fired power station at Great Island, County Wexford. Later on, the issues were resolved and SSE preformed better which helped the company in gaining effective return from the investment(Guo, 2010). On the other hand, the decision of the company to freeze the prices for household electricity has helped them to gain right value and which supported in generating effective return. On the other hand, the return from assets shows that SSE Plc generated effective net income from their total assets. Further, it can be explained that assets of SSE Plc is capable of generating revenue which ensures that in future that company can be able to gain better and effective return from their valuable assets(Kramer, 2012). Apart from that, the return on equity of the company reveals that co mpany generated effective from the investment made by the shareholders which shows that SSE Plc is ahead of Wetherspoon in providing better return to their stakeholders(Lie, 2001). Source: Markets. FT The dividend yield of the SSE Plc shows that company is able to gain handsome cash flow from the investment made in the equity. Therefore, it can be understood that SSE Plc earns effective dividend every year in context to their share value. Thus, company is able to provide better return to the shareholders and provide sustainable energy in large quantity(Lusardi, 2012). On the other hand, the dividend growth rate is increasing with a rate of 5.19% which suggests that company is able to generate better return from the equity position. Apart from that, it can be mentioned that company is able to satisfy their internal requirements for capital. The main financial management goal of SSE business is to deliver continued real growth in the dividend which payable to shareholders. It aims to regularly improve its full year dividends(MANISHA B, 2012). In 2013, SSE was able to pay a final dividend amounting to 59.0p per share. It increased the full year dividend by 5.1% to 84.2p. The increase in dividends can be results of the increased net income due to purchase of electricity generation assets in Ireland which cost 289.8m in 2012. Source: Markets.Ft From the above figure, it can be analysed that SSE Plc has made nit significant growth in their earnings per share over the last five years. Since 2011, the company has seriously faced considerable decline in their earning per share due to increasing huge amount of investment in the hydroelectric energy and green energy in order to develop sustainable energy(Margolis and Walsh, 2001). Moreover, in 2014 the earning per share declined in spite of increase in 2013. The reason is certain decline in the sale and effective competition from other energy providing companies (Mulford and Comiskey, 2005). Policies for Sources of Finance It can be analyzed that capital structure of a company is shaped by the sources of finance used. Therefore the capital structure and sources of finance are related. Each source of finance has its own cost for example, debt, equity, retained earnings. It can be observed that since past five years, Wetherspoons financial policy for capital structure has focused on debt as a major part of the capital structure. This has major effects on the net income. Using more debt will drive the company to make interest payments that can significantly effect net income. Due to high financial influence, Wetherspoon will be considered more risky that will disappoint the investors to invest in this particular company(Stutzer, 2000). SSE Plc is an important company in UK that delivers electricity services in Ireland and UK. In accordance with International Accounting Standards, SSE Plc prepares its financial statements such as Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement. Risk: beta Analysis This is the heart of this coursework so please elaborate it and explain with refrences The beta is useful in measuring the risk associated with the individual stock in relative to the entire risk of the stock market. Moreover, if the price of the stock experiences movements higher than stock market then it can tend to beta value of more than one (Brooks, Krebs and Paulsen, 2014). On other hand, if the movements of the price of the stock are lower than the fluctuations of market then the beta value can be lower than one. Apart from that being said, if the value of the stock is trending along with the movement of market then the beta value can be close about one (MoneyWorks4me, 2015). Beta of Next Plc is 0.68. Wetherspoons beta is 0.77 as compared to beta of SSE Plc which is 0.25. This implies that Next Plc is reasonably risk-averse company. Wetherspoon is more risky and subjected to slight instability than Next Plc. SSE Plc is least risky as the beta is only 0.25. Beta theory states that companies having beta more than 1 are considered as highly risky companies(Ang and Liu, 2003). All three companies possess a low degree of risk as beta is less than 1. It can be viewed that beta value of both J D Wetherspoon and Scottish Southern Electricity is less than one but the value of SSE is far than expected beta value of one. Therefore, SSE Plc is encircled with less risky aspects in comparison to Wetherspoon Plc. However, both the company can ensure effective return to the Next Plc. On the other hand, it can be considered that both Wetherspoon and SSE is less volatile stock. Therefore, the stock price of Next Plc will not recoil up and down in comparison to market movement. Thus, company can ensure effective return with engaging less risk (Alzer, 2014). Analysis of data- Analysis of Financial Ratios The financial management policy of Wetherspoon includes collecting and review of all types of budgets. The BODs are responsible for Expenditure management and Income(Bertoneche and Knight, 2001). In Wetherspoon, the financial managers are involved in developing income statements and budgeted cash flows that provide them idea for future fundsuse . The BOD holds the authority to prepare budget in obedience with departmental managers and the CEO(Borland, 2000). The Board may apply a budget planning on annual basis and can review actual expenses as compared to expected financial outcomes. Operating profit Ratio Operating profit of Wetherspoon has a fluctuating trend over the past five years. It has decreased to 7.1 in 2013 due to increased cost of trained staff, new additions in menu and expense for improved customers services. Comparatively, SSE Operating profit has been changing considerably over the last five years(Bossaerts, 2009). Currently, it has increased to 2.8% due to reduced expenditures in the energy operations and increased sales due to high demand of energy services. Source: Markets.Ft The net income ratio of Wetherspoon has been fluctuating since past five years. It has increased due to reduced expenses and lower amount of tax charged. SSE Plc has a highly fluctuating trend and it has increased due to lower prices and high demand of goods and services. Investment Ratio Earnings Per share, Payout ratio Source: Markets.Ft The earnings per share are almost similar in all accounted five years. Therefore, company is able to improve their return from investment and provide better return to the stakeholders(CAO and LERNER, 2008). Moreover, company can be able to sustain their market share in order to earn effective income and provide service to the customers. On the other hand, it can be understand that earning per share of Wetherspoon is higher than Scottish Southern Electricity. Therefore, Wetherspoon shareholders earns better return from investment in comparison to shareholders of SSE Plc. Moreover, it can be predicted that Wetherspoon in future can be able to increase their return from investment that will help in providing better return to shareholders and increasing profit(Castre n, Fitzpatrick and Sydow, 2006). Earnings Per share are significant for investors as they can regulate the earnings that they will receive on each share. Wetherspoons EPS has been increasing due to increase in net income of the company. Earnings per share determine the companys ability to generate cash flows in future. It is calculated by dividing the net income with the number of outstanding shares. Investors use this ratio to measure the value of a stock (Stickney, et al, 2009). Due to decreased tax expense, EPS has increased. In addition, the company has been taking effective measures to improve its net income such as improving product and advertising. The financial management policy of SSE focuses on involving an independent evaluator in order to prepare a Financial Statements for the Special Purpose(Estrada, 2005). This is considered as an important effort to provide financial discovery to the interested investors.. The policy involves that members at the annual general meeting accept the auditor. SSE EPS has been changing over the five year period. EPS has increased to 0.45 due to decreased tax expense and increased net income. But, due to increased amount of shareholders company has reduced i ts payout ratio so that each investor can receive return(Fridson and Alvarez, 2011). Source: Markets.Ft Dividends per share of Wetherspoon have been constant over the past five years. This means that shareholders have not received increased returns on their investment. It is evident that payout ratio is 35.78% which means that majority of the portion of net income is being retained by Wetherspoon. The financial policy of Wetherspoon has been able to provide receivable income for the year 2013, amounting to 469.46. This is due to increase in the sales of Wetherspoon. Sales have been increased due to new pubs and expansion programmes in UK. SSE receivable income has been experiencing a fluctuating incline over the past five years. It has decreased due to improper credit management policies of SSE. Managers have to focus and develop appropriate and effective credit management policies in order to increase the receivable income . This would imply that company can be prevented from the bad debts and receive the promised amount form the customers(Kramer, 2012). Fixed Assets Turnover This ratio determines the capability of the company to efficiently use its non-current assets in generating sales volume. A higher fixed asset turnover ratio is favourable for the company and vice versa (Warren, et al, 2013). There is an increasing pattern in FATO of Wetherspoon. It has improved to 1.36 due to effective human resources capital and training provided to the employee workforce. SSE Plc has a fluctuating trend of FATO since the past five years. It has decreased to 2.98 due to inefficient employees and high cost of the operations. Asset Turnover Source: Markets.Ft Asset turnover means the ability of the company to generate or maximize sales by efficiently utilizing its total assets.Wetherspoon Asset Turnover ratio has been increasing over past five years. The reasons for this can be spotedto efficient allocation of resources, effective employee work, training provided to employees and proper cost management techniques. On the other hand , the asset turnover of SSE Plc has been changing since past five years(Lie, 2001). It has decreased to 1.41 in 2013 due to slight increase in sales and ineffective approaches taken by the management in utilizing the resources. The financial management policy of Wetherspoon focuses on developing purchase orders while buying fixed assets. It is important to get approval of the CEO or in his/her absence the authorization of Purchase manager. Wetherspoon's has defined Fraud as the motivation of financial managers, internal auditors or external auditors to mislead the financial statements. Wetherspoon's has clearly defined that any activity such as misappropriation of assets of company by auditors or authorized person will be considered as a fraudulent activity. Recommendation - Wetherspoon or SSE Plc One of the most important business for creativities is the calculation of an appropriate rate of return for invested capital or cost of capital (Galiniene and Butvilas, 2010).In the profitability ratios such as Gross Margin, Net Profit and Operating Profit, Wetherspoon is performing better than SSE Plc. In Liquidity ratios, SSEs performance has decreased and Wetherspoon is able to improve its management of funds. However, SSE Plc has higher liquidity ratios such as Current ratio and acid test ratio as compared to Wetherspoon. Gearing ratios suggest that SSE is a less risky company as compared to Wetherspoon due to low financial weight and its capital structure combines major portion of equity. Efficiency ratios determine that SSE Plc has a strong capability to sell its list faster thanWetherspoon, however SSE;s receivable amount is depends on the customers. Increasing fixed asset turnover and asset turnover suggests that SSE Plc is able to generate more sales revenue using its total assets compared to Wetherspoon. Comparisons Analysis Risk analysis It is recommended that Next Plc should invest in SSE Plc due to lower risk: beta which is 0.25 as compared to Whetherspoon beta: 0.77. Investment analysis It is advised to the CEO of Next Plc to purchase shares of SSE Plc due to improved financial ratios of EPS, Dividends and Net Profit ratio. The Dividend per share (DPS) of SSE- 0.90 is higher than DPS of Wetherspoon- 0.12. Also, the Earning per share (EPS) of SSE- 0.5 is greater than EPS of Wetherspoon- 0.38. This implies that Next Plc should make investment of shares in SSE Plc because SSE Plc is performing better than Wetherspoon in Investment ratios. This has better effects for the investors (Next Plc Group) in the form of increased return on their investments. This means that it is favourable for Next Plc to invest in SSE Plc so that in case if SSE Plc bankrupts, Next Plc will be able to hold a higher amount of money on its shares(MANISHA B, 2012). Capital structure SSE Plc has low debt to equity ratio and low financial debt as compared to Wetherspoon. This implies that Next Plc should invest in SSE Plc. Thus, by the above financial analysis, it is suggested that Next Plc should invest in SSE due to attractive investment, gearing, investment and liquidity ratios. Share Value Analysis- fair value According to Baker and Powell 2009, valuation represents an important process that aims at linking the returns and risks in order to estimate the value of a financial asset or a company. Financial asset can be a bond, preferred share or common share. Between the different types of value, market value is advertised as a vital one. From the view of corporate finance, Market value or current value indicates the price that owner of the financial asset is likely to receive from selling that asset in the stock market. The market value mainly originated from the demand and supply of that asset. Market value is compared with the central value that is also called as Fundamental value (Whaley, 2007). This represents a measure of imaginary value of financial assets. It is difficult to predict the actual estimated value of financial assets because prices are required in order to calculate the value of assets. Critical values are calculated by the investors and shareholders in order to decide whe ther to sell or purchase a financial asset with its current market price or the opportunity cost should take into account .Opportunity cost mean the value of the next-highest-valued alternative use of that resource (Econlib.org, 2014). However, the capital markets cannot be counted as a type of perfectly efficient markets because current share prices and estimated values are likely to differ for financial assets. It is important for corporate managers and financial managers to know the process for estimating value of shares and bonds. This will help in defining if market is correctly playing its role in pricing the financial assets.. Investors are likely to purchase the asset when the estimated value is greater than the current market price. According to Koller, et al (2010), markets are likely to reflect central values and prices that are in line with the basic value of achieving returns on growth and capital. This suggests that managers should concentrate on developing core value as it is the most essential aspect of the markets in the long run. Calculation of Share value As the current stock price is lesser than the core value of stock, this suggests that share price of Wetherspoon is undervalued. It can be observed that the trend of cash flows is stable and investors are likely to get returns if they buy shares of Wetherspoon. Hence, shares of J D WetherspoonPlc represent a fair value.. In 2012, SSE Plc. achieved negative cash flows and positive cash flows were achieved in the next years. The trend of cash flows is highly fluctuating. This means that investors will suffer through losses if they invest in SSE Plc because core value of shares is less than market price. Alternative investment Portfolio Theory The portfolio theory is effective for the investors to understand the nature of risk, return and management of portfolio. Moreover, the theory explores that portfolio diversification can be useful in decreasing the investment risk (Barracchini and Addessi, 2012). On the other hand, Next Plc can use it as an investment decision method. The investors can be able to calculate the required or expected amount of return that they can generate via investing in the particular portfolio or shares. Apart from that, it has been said that portfolio theory holds a view that when the numbers of uncorrelated assets are put together in the portfolio then it can ensure improved return and risk can be controlled (Athanassakos, 2012). Therefore, it can maximize the expected return of the portfolio for an adjusted sum of portfolio risk. However, in order to gain higher return from the investment, the industries or investor has to choose the right proportion of different assets as it can make sure an eff ective return (Barracchini and Addessi, 2012). On the other hand, in order to engage low risk and beneficial return, the company may have to try to acknowledge the risk that is associated with each stock such as JD Wetherspoon Plc and Scottish Southern Electricity. Further, if the Next Plc wants to earn better return then the company may need to take risk more than average. Therefore, when market turn in favour of the company then it can ensure expected return (Gyorfi and Walk, 2012). Apart from that, if the portfolio lies on the efficient frontier point then the company can make decision to make an investment in that portfolio. Therefore, higher expected return can be acknowledged for a specified rank of risk. Thus, the company has to concentrate on that stock or portfolios that are more inclined towards the efficient frontier (Hugonnier, 2012). Next Plcs Profit after tax has increased in 2013 to 473.1 as compared to 427.4. This suggests that Next Plc is in a position to invest in SSE Plc. Next Plc is highly ethical company and incorporates ethical values that will not be followed if Next Plc purchases shares of Wetherspoon Plc. Adverse effects on Next Plcs reputation can occur if it invests in Wetherspoon Plc. SSE Plc have bad cash flows which indicates that it Next Plc can be significantly affected by investing in SSE Plc. When risks are high, a portfolio theory of Diversification can be sued to minimize risks. Thus, Next Plc can use diversification its portfolio by investing in both companies. It will reduce the risks associated with investments. Diversification will reduce random risk events in a portfolio so that the positive performance of some investments can deactivate the negative performance of other investments. Therefore, diversification will be beneficial if the securities in the portfolio are not perfectly conn ected. This strategy is used so that a portfolio including a variety of investments can generate higher returns and lower risk as compared to a single investment found within the portfolio. Dividend Payment Wetherspoon Dividend Trend SSE Plc Dividend Trend Furthermore, the benefit of investing in SSE is that SSE is committed to increasing dividends per share by at least the rate of inflation. Next Plc can be benefited by this action. The Dividend per share (DPS) of SSE- 0.90 is higher than DPS of Wetherspoon- 0.12. This indicates that SSE Plc can satisfy its shareholders by maximizing their shareholders wealth. Next Plc should invest in WetherspoonPlc due to its improved profitability ratios and because the market value of shares exceeds its core value. As both investment indicate risk , Next plc should reinvest the money to expand their shop in the stores. For example , opening restaurant in the stores can lead them to higher returns and can be a alternative to invest in JD Weatherspoon. Valuation of Shares Net Assets Method for the valuation of shares Value per share= (Net Assets Preference Share Capital) / Number of Equity Shares In order to compute the value of share, the data has been accumulated from the financial statement of both the company, JD Wetherspoon and Scottish Southern Electricity. J D Wetherspoon = (1199668 24560) / 227168 = 5.172 (Jdwetherspoon.co.uk, 2015) Scottish Southern Electricity Plc = (3969 487) / 972 = 3.58 (Sse.com, 2015) It can be understood from the adopted share valuation method that, value per share of JD Wetherspoon is higher than SSE Plc. Therefore, it can suggests that Wetherspoon will earn higher income and return on the net profit whereas SSE PLC will gain slightly lesser but can be able to provide effective return to the shareholders. Dividend Discount Model The DDM will be helpful in assessing the current value of the stock on the basis of dividend growth rate. Current Stock Value = Dividend per Share / (R Discount R Dividend Growth) J D Wetherspoon 0.12/ (0.1578 0) = 0.76 or 76 (Jdwetherspoon.co.uk, 2015) Scottish Southern Electricity = 0.82 / (0.26 0.0297) = 352 (Sse.com, 2015) According to dividend discount model, the stock valuation at present scenario of J D Wetherspoon is lesser than SSE Plc. Therefore, it can be understood that SSE Plc is trading at higher rate as the company is large enterprise in comparison to Wetherspoon and provides large amount of electricity to different sectors. Therefore, the price of share is higher. Ethical Issues of Next Plc Next Plc is highly ethical responsible entity which encloses all their stakeholders and shareholders together which helps the company to build their brand image in the industry. The company continuously improve and develop healthy relationships with employees, suppliers and takes active part in the environment sustainability and also makes charities (Ethicaltrade.org, 2015). It is evident that, Next Plc is an active associate of Ethical Trading Initiative and follows ethical trading standard. The Code of Practice Audit team is effectively involved to engage with suppliers in order to identify any non-compliance causes. Moreover, supplier payment policy is followed by the company. On the other hand, the Next Customer Service is involved with the Directory and Retail consumers so that their issues and doubts can be handled. Apart from that, Next Plc effectively makes contribution in health and safety and environment fields. Moreover, Next Plc adopts transparency factor in their disclos ure of financial position (Nextplc.annualreport2013.com, 2015). Conclusion Financial management policies play essential role in effective financial management of the companies. On the basis of financial ratios, Next Plc should invest in SSE Plc due to improved Earnings per Share, Dividend per Share, liquidity ratios low risk and efficient capital structure. However, SSE Plc has poor cash flows that can significantly affect the dividend payment. In compare, Wetherspoons profitability ratios are better than SSE Plc. Apart from financial ratios, other factors such as stock market functioning, demand and supply and market prices are also significant for making investment decisions. Therefore, the stock market analysis ensures that Next Plc should purchase shares of Whetherspoon because the market value of shares exceeds its core value. This will provide increasing returns to the investors in future as compared to SSE Plc. However, Wetherspoon is involved in less ethical business that can significantly affect reputation of Next Plc. Next Plchas the ability to in vest due to increased profit after tax. Thus, Next Plc should follow the strategy of diversification to reduce portfolio risks. Identified by beta analysis, Next Plc includes moderate risk and it should invest in both companies to income return from multiple securities in its investment portfolio or they can reinvest the money to their stores for opening restaurants. References Alzer, H. (2014). Inequalities for the beta function. Analysis Mathematica, 40(1), pp.1-11. Ang, A. and Liu, J. (2003).How to discount cashflow with time-varying expected returns. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research. Athanassakos, G. (2012). Value Investing Vs. Modern Portfolio Theory. Journal of Business Financial Affairs, 01(02). Barracchini, C. and Addessi, M. (2012). Ethical Portfolio Theory: A New Course. 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Penning, A. (2012).Financial performance. Worcester: Osborne Books. Pilcher, R. and Van Der Zahn, M. (2010). LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, UNEXPECTED DEPRECIATION AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE ADJUSTMENT.Financial Accountability Management, 26(3), pp.299-324. Sse.com, (2015). Annual Report 2014. [online] Available at: https://sse.com/media/241200/2014AnnualReport.pdf [Accessed 7 Mar. 2015]. Stutzer, M. (2000). A Portfolio Performance Index.Financial Analysts Journal, 56(3), pp.52-61.

sport Essays - Health, Personal Life, Food And Drink, Nutrition

I cannot say I identify with my family on any health issue. We aren?t terribly susceptible to any one disease, and health habits vary with each person. Age, however, does affect my attitude to health. Young adults are still subject to peer pressure, are free to make their own choices, and are healthy enough to disregard healthy habits. The topic of healthy eating arises because it is a major part of health that young adults do not have the right to ignore. If young people don?t regularly examine themselves for signs of cancer, it?s because cancer is statistically rare for their age group. If they don?t frequently check their cholesterol levels, it?s because they know from previous checkups that high cholesterol levels are unlikely in their young age. But if they don?t manage their diets well, there is no good reason. Eating healthy foods, eating a proper amount of food, and avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol are just as important now as ever, but we do not acknowledge this in our lifestyles. Young adults need to know that their diets now will affect their health later, and they need to provide themselves with healthy eating. As a young adult I see several reasons why healthy eating is not an apparently important topic. Personal responsibility is a new concept at this point in life; if we are used to snacking on junk food and eating healthy meals when they are served, we are not automatically trained to make healthy meals ourselves. With lives full of school and work, it is easy to prioritize economic needs over health. To make matters worse, we feel healthy and energetic, so health and healthy eating never beg for our attention. Compared to the elderly, who take the time to eat vitamins, buy healthy food, and meet regularly with a doctor, the young can seem quite reckless and irresponsible. Another reason for a lack of emphasis on proper eating is peer pressure, whether this promotes donuts, energy drinks, or alcohol. Although I don?t experience this problem personally, I see how dangerous it can be when we have more school friends than work acquaintances. Alcohol can be very tempting when we reach the legal age, because it is to some a symbol of independence. Peer pressure can bring the young adult culture together in a negative way. If we take cues from our fellow students, they imply that fast food and other unhealthy products are acceptable. To worsen the problem is the media, although it may not directly target young adults more than any other age group. Movies reinforce stereotypical images of young adults focused on anything but healthy eating, and advertisements promote junk food, fast food, and caffeine. Mostly, this negligence affects me, too. Eating can be equated with the search for any form of pre-packaged and processed food, and I have not considered any nutritional value, or considered taking vitamin supplements. I realize healthy diets need to be addressed, and will attempt this in the near future, although feeling somewhat victimized by unhealthy eating may hinder my efforts. Part of the problem is that procrastination is so easy. From this disregard for health comes statistical evidence, showing that we do not consider our health or diet enough. Writer Lorraine Heller reveals from one poll, ?75 percent of respondents aged over 55 considered themselves to be healthy eaters, compared to 47 percent of those aged 18 to 34.? That means that out of every four people, one of them will become a healthy eater around his forties. You don?t have to be forty to realize healthy eating will improve your lifespan, yet younger adults put the issue aside for as long as possible. An article entitled ?Smoking, obesity, poor eating highest among young adults? reveals from another survey taken in 2000, ?More than one-third of white men and women ages 18 to 24 smoked, the highest rate among all the groups covered.? A general explanation assumes everyone who wants to smoke starts when they turn eighteen, and then some quit later, but should this be taken for granted? Even when a person at the age of ten decides he will become a smoker, he is not destined to start smoking as soon as

English composition driving

English composition driving ENGLISH COMPOSITION Driving Forget everything you know about driving. Listen to the sound of the engine behind you, enjoy the feeling of your body travelling without moving. Look! In front of you, an empty highway, you are facing your future. Four wheels, a steering wheel, a shape made to pierce the air. Cars are all made of the same elements but incarn various personalities. They are your key to the driving experience. Driving is not only the coordination of eyes, feet and hands, it is a complete involvment of your mind and body. That is why driving is so exciting, you are fighting against yourself. The addition of those two parts define the real meaning of driving, become only one.They seem human, looking at you with two eyes and a heart beating for your pleasure. A mouth open to breathe air and to show their mood. And especially a morphology which reflects their personality.custom car, shot at local car show/swap meetMost of them are fat like those who never practice any sports, t hat is why sports cars are the most interesting, giving you real pleasure, they have been built to race and express themselves. Those thoroughbred are only waiting you to turn on the key. Without them, driving would not have the same meaning. As a bird who needs lightness to fly gracefully they only carry the bare minimum. Their engines are goldsmith's art, made of noble materials and the love of the one who put them together. Take place in the Beast and contemplate a place like nowhere else. Everything here is designed for you, the gages are in your field of vision, the steering wheel has a good grip and the gearbox meets perfectly with your hand. Close your eyes, relax, concentrate and now, fire the cavalry , step on the gas pedal...

Nuclear Weapons in Asia Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nuclear Weapons in Asia - Coursework Example After Khan had been arrested, the secrets concerning the nuclear black market that he used to operate were still uncoiling. They revealed that the fast spread of these weapons was as a result of a global enterprise that was very vast. Before Khan got arrested, he had visited around eighteen counties among them being Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. It is believed that they were business trips where he was either selling the atomic goods or buying the materials to make these weapons. It is therefore; evident that globalization is a great hindrance in bringing to an end the spread of these weapons since they get to be smuggled to many countries all over the world (Richardson, 2004). The nuclear summit hoped to tackle the problem of nuclear weapons. Therefore, the nuclear material’s security was to be governed by the law. President Obama congratulated the team that had come up with the summit. He also insisted that nations should come together in bringing to an end the spreading of these weapons. The summit came up with some ways in which the nuclear weapons could be dealt with appropriately. Among them was coming up with a way in which trafficking the weapons to different places could be

What Duration of Ultraviolet Exposure Kills Bacteria Lab Report

What Duration of Ultraviolet Exposure Kills Bacteria - Lab Report Example This has lead to modification of the law by replacing the speed of reaction constant by the growth rate constant. The modification proved not to be ideal since the graph s obtained after plotting the logarithm growth rate constant against reciprocal absolute temperature results into curves instead of a straight line. It is good to note that the same relationship is applicable to the breakdown of nucleotide and the growth of yeasts and mould (Pommerville, 2007). Ultra violet light is an electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength is less than that of visible light but more than that of X-rays and falls within the range of 10 nm to 400nm with energies of between3eV and 124Ev.My study Hypothesis is that; any amount of UV light exposure will kill bacteria in culture media. Numerous for both. Numerous for both Numerous for both 30 and 23 137 and None Numerous for both Numerous for both Numerous for both 110 and 178 159 and 240 Line chart with the breakdown of the results obtained from the experiment. LINE GRAPH Figure; Showing number of counted bacteria against time. Discussion A change in the DNA base sequence can be referred to as mutation. This change can be beneficial or of neutrality to an organism but in most cases it does turn out to be harmful due to the fact that it results into loss of useful function of a cell. Mutation in the case of bacteria is natural and does happen at a speed of 107-108/base pair in one round of replication. This speed increases in the presence of mutagens. These mutagens can be in the form of chemicals likes nicotine or also in the form of electromagnetic radiation. For the electromagnetic radiations considered as mutagen, they are broadly divided into two types; ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation. Ionizing ones carry a lot of energy that can remove electrons from molecules in a cell like DNA or RNA. They include x-rays or gamma radiations. Ultra-violet (UV) radiations on the other hand form part of the non-ionizing radiat ion. Its mutagenic effect comes by it exciting the electrons in the DNA molecules leading to the formation of an extra bond between adjacent pyramidine bonds and for this reason, it is called pyrimidine dimer (Pommerville,2007)UV light is invisible to the naked yes and has high energy than the normal light. The light is absorbed by the double in pyrimidine base, opening the bond and allows it to react with the surrounding molecules. In case the next molecules are a pyrimidine, the two reacts to form a direct covalent bond. The sole reason for wrapping with aluminum foil is to protect the bacterial DNA from the effect of ultra-violet highlighted above. The exposure time which led to visible realization of death was after 48 Hrs 10 Minutes. At this time the number of the remaining bacteria could be counted, meaning that most of them had succumbed due to the effect of the UV on them. It was evident that not all the bacteria died as a result of exposure to the UV radiation. Like any oth er microorganism, bacteria can sense and is capable of adapting to the changes in its immediate environment. Bacteria forms endospores (proteinaceous coat surrounding the spore and provides resistance to harsh external conditions).With this the bacteria is capable of surviving harsh environmental conditions that would kill them. The stress of which UV radiation is part of can therefore be overcome through endospore formation which was the case for those that survived after the massive death. According to (Pommerville,2007)Spores lacking the

Improve your paragraphs by varying the complexity of your sentences

Improve your paragraphs by varying the complexity of your sentences Exercise name: 1 Exercise type Input Copyright info Instruction In this module you will: learn about how to revise your argument through re-outlining, learn how to improve your paragraphs by varying the complexity of your sentences, learn how to eliminate wordiness review where the passive voice is appropriate, reflect on your word choice practise proofreading your text for punctuation. Module 15: Revising academic writing Exercise name: 2a Intro Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA Many students think of writing as a process that ends when they take the last sheet of paper out of the printer. This is not entirely true. Good writers make thorough, and, when necessary, radical revisions. There are three steps to be carried when revising your paper: Reoutlining, that is re-examining the structure of your argument Re-examining thestyle of your prose Proofreading, that is checking the check the correctness of your paper Exercise name: 2b Reoutlining Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction Reoutlining You may have begun your project with an outline. Re-outlining, that is, writing an outline on the basis of what you have written, helps you see if you have achieved your goal. Compare your two outlines, and ask yourself the following questions: Have I made the thesis or focus clear? Are the ideas and details arranged in the most effective order? Have I divided the text into appropriate segments? Have I made clear the connections between the segments? Do I use appropriate cohesive markers to relay the connection of thoughts? Do I have sufficient support, sufficient evidence for my assertions? Do I have any irrelevant information? Do I need to rewrite my introduction or conclusion? Exercise name: 2c Removing tangents Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA Removing tangents Every sentence in your paper should advance your argument, whether by presenting your thesis, introducing subsidiary points, explaining logical relationships between points, presenting and explaining textual evidence, or drawing conclusions. In other words, if you elaborate on an interesting idea, which does not, however, directly advance your argument, you are going off on a tangent. Tangents may be acceptable in some forms of informal writing, e.g. letters, but they are inacceptable in academic English. Here, arguments have to be linear. Anything else is a filler and should be removed. For example, in a paper on Shakespeares imagery, you would not include biographical information about his family, unless this information is directly and clearly related to your argument about Shakespeares imagery. Exercise name: 3 Removing tangents Exercise type MC V1 Copyright info NA Embedded Pop-up text included. See next page! Instruction Click on â€Å"Read Text† to view the results of a history students re-outlining of a paper on the origins of the World War One. Then, decide which entries below are tangents to the students thesis. [C] Platos political theories [] Bank failures in Germany [] French democracy vs German autocracy [C] Economic repercussions of World War I [] Naval race between Great Britain and German [C] Pre-War European Art Embedded Pop-Up Text to 3 Outline: History dissertation proposal The Origins of World War I I Introduction Thesis: World War I was started by a number of factors which had their origin in the natural rivalries between the European countries II Economic rivalries A. Grain tariffs in Germany and France B. Economic repercussions of World War One III Political rivalries A. French Democracy vs German autocracy B. Platos political theories IV Military rivalries A. The â€Å"naval race† between Great Britain and Germany B. Triple Entente vs. Triple Alliance V Pre-War European Art A. Impressionism B. Expressionism VI Conclusion war was inevitable Exercise name: 4a Re-examining at the sentence level Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA The overall structure of your paper is very important. So, too, is the organization at the sentence level. As you become an experienced writer, the more you will develop your own prose style, your own distinctive patterns of sentence length and structure. While you are developing your style, remember that there are two bad habits to watch out for: Too many simple subject-verb-object sentences in a row Though a few such sentences can be useful to punctuate longer ones, long strings of them tend to sound unintelligent. If you spot a long sequence of simple, short sentences, try to link sentences together by relating their ideas to one another. Spaghetti sentences At the opposite extreme, some writers write overly long and complex sentences in the belief that this is a convention of academic writing. A few very long sentences can be effective in an argument. However, if most of your prose is made up of very long sentences even if they are carefully structured your argument will be weakened. Exercise name: 4b Using the active voice over the passive voice Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA Using the active voice over the passive voice Study the two sentences below. Which sentence do you find to be clearer? Passive: The survey was returned by the subjects by email. Active: The subjects returned to survey by email. Most readers would prefer the second sentence as sentences written in the active voice are generally easier to understand. This is because the actor and the action are clearer. This does not mean that one should avoid writing in the passive voice entirely. The passive important when putting an emphasis on the object in a sentence or in situations where the subject is not known. For example: The subjects were observed over an eight year period. The test dogs were given three large doses of the chemical. Exercise name: 4c Avoiding impersonal â€Å"it† Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA Good writers avoid sentences with phrases that begin with â€Å"it†. Instead, they attempt to clarify the action and focus on actors and actions. Phrases like â€Å"It is suggested† or â€Å"It may be recalled†can often be deleted in favour of the known subject. For example: In the report it is suggested that good nutrition is the key to happiness BETTER: The report suggests that good nutrition is the key to happiness It may be recalled that this topic is discussed in Chapter 2 in greater detail. BETTER: Chapter 2 discusses this topic in greater detail. Stopped here need to replace an exercise Exercise name: 5 Sentence structure extremes Exercise type MC V1 Copyright info Instruction [] Paragraph contains too many short sentences. [] Paragraph two has too many spaghetti sentences. [C] The first sentence of paragraph 1 would be better as: â€Å"As a result of the Prime Ministers remarks, the audience, composed exclusively of diplomats, believe that this governments position would be similar to that of its predecessor † [C] The first sentence of paragraph 2 would be better as: A greenhouse is a building made out of glass where plants grows. [C] The last sentence of paragraph 1 would be better as: â€Å"The Prime Minister failed to understand the gravity of the situation. He acted as if this problem could simply be ignored.† [C] The last two sentence of paragraph 2 could be better if combined to â€Å"The retained radiation heats the earths atmosphere and keeps the planet warm.† Not a very challenging exercise, since all of the reformulated sentences are supposed to be better. Rollover Text 1 Impressions formed from the remarks of the Prime Minister, difficult enough as they were to understand, only confirmed the audience, which was composed exclusively of members of the diplomatic corps, in its belief that the government, which had only been in office for a short while, would not take a stance differing from that of the previous administration, which most of the diplomats found depressing, although they had not liked the previous government. The Prime Minster, however, failing to grasp the gravity of the situation, acted as if this problem, which will certainly accompany his administration for the duration of its term, could simply be ignored. Rollover Text 2 A greenhouse is a building where plants grow. A greenhouse has transparent glass. The glass allows the sunlight to enter, but does not allow the heat inside to escape. The same effect occurs on the earth. The earths atmosphere functions like the glass. The suns radiation passes through the atmosphere to heat the earths surface. The earths surface then produces infrared radiation. This radiation has a longer wavelength than that of sunlight. This radiation rises into the atmosphere where gases such as carbon dioxide, prevent the infrared radiation from escaping into space. These gases are called greenhouse gases. They control how much infrared radiation escapes the atmosphere. The retained radiation heats the earths atmosphere. This radiation keeps the planet warm. Exercise name: 6 Passive and active sentences Exercise type Drag to Category Correct answers in bold. Copyright info NA Instruction Drag the sentences where it would be appropriate to rewrite in an active form to the appropriate box (passive voice, active voice) [The water was poured into the test tube.] [Nuclear power plants are opposed by many voters.] [Reductions of up to 80% in heat and mass transfer coefficients were measured.] [In my department the advice on clear English has been disregarded.] [In the 19th century a fundamental belief in God was taken for granted by most people.] [A reduction in nuclear weapons was proposed by a number of states.] [Each subject was given three injections] [The rats were fed a protein-free diet for 21 days.] [Appropriate use of passive voice] [Sentence should be reformulated in the active voice] Exercise name: 7 Removing impersonal â€Å"it† and â€Å"there† Exercise type Copyright info Instruction In the text written by Giddens it is said that peer pressure among teenagers can lead to violence. [According to Giddens peer pressure among teenagers can lead to violence. This does not mean that it should be prohibited to write about or to show pictures of the celebrities in the mass media. [Writing about or showing pictures of celebrities in the mass media should not necessarily be prohibited.] It is guaranteed that there is freedom of expression in Germany. [Freedom] [of] [expression [ [is] [guaranteed] in [Germany] It certainly seems that Shakespeare intended to suggest that Macbeth was weaker than his wife. [S. certainly suggested that Macbeth was weaker than his wife.] Are we allowed to design connect it exercises where you have almost twice as many options on the right-hand side than on the left? All the other exercise types dont really work with these sentences. My first association was a missing words or text checker exericse, but that wouldnt work here. What did Jeffrey originally want the learner to do here? Exercise name: 8 Find the actor and agent Exercise type Text MC (Là ¼ckentext mit DropDown) Correct answer always bold. Copyright info NA Instruction Find the actor and action for each sentence below. Actor Action In several books it is described how Mahler screamed at the musicians in his orchestra. [books, Mahler, musicians] [describe, scream, play music] It will be beneficial for the Physics Department to expand its internet facilities as more and more communication is web-based. [Physics Department, internet, web-based] [benefit, expand, communicate] It is hoped by both parties that further delays can be avoided. [It, both parties, delay] [hope, delay, avoid] It has been decided by the government of Great Britain that it should make an approach to the World Bank with a view to the possible granting of a loan. [Great Britain, government of Great Britain, World Bank] [decide, approach, grant] It is now incumbent on the United Nations to focus its attention on tasks of the highest priority in order to achieve success within the parameters of its goal expectations. [The United Nations, tasks, goals] [focus, achieve, expect] A recommendation was made by the European Parliament that consideration be given by the Member States to a simplification of the award procedure. [recommendation, European Parliament, Member States) [recommend, consider, simplify] The foregoing table is intended to assist readers in understanding the costs and expenses that the university will bear directly or indirectly. [Table, readers, costs] [intend, assist, understand] Exercise name: 9 Reformulate the sentences Exercise type Unscramble sentences Copyright info NA Instruction Unscramble the improved version of sentences from the previous exercise [Several books] [describe] [how] [Mahler] [screamed] [at] [the] [musicians] [in] [his] [orchestra]. [The United Nations] [must] [now] [turn] [to top-priority] tasks] [in order to] [reach] [its] goals]. [This table] [describes] [the] universitys] [costs] [and] [expenses]. [The European Parliament] [recommended] [that] [the member states] [consider] [simplifying] [the award procedure]. [The Physics Department] [should] [expand] [its] [internet facilities] [to meet] [the growing need]. [Both parties] [hope] [to avoid] [further] [delays]. [Great Britains] [government] [has] [decided] [to ask] [the World Bank] [for] [a loan]. Exercise name: 10a Selecting the right words Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA In 1944, George Orwell came up with a number of rules for writing well. One of these rules is: â€Å"Never use a long word where a short one will do. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.† For example: The Ministry of State has reached the conclusion that it should make an application to the Federal government with a view to the possible granting of a loan Could be cut down to: The Ministry of State has concluded that it should ask the Federal government for a loan. and The experiment had to be postponed because of the unfavourable climatic conditions. Could be rewritten as: The experiment was postponed because of the bad weather. Citation: George Orwell, â€Å"Politics and the English Language† Exercise name: 10b Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA Finding the right word is one of the most important tasks of good writing. Use words accurately, with precision, and avoid gobbledygook and jargon. When revising, look for phrases and words that dont stand up to scrutiny. Generally speaking, it is a good rule to use the more common and simpler word if no loss in meaning is involved. For example: Stratford is the locality where Shakespeare was born. Better: Stratford is the place where Shakespeare was born. Below is a list from the â€Å"Plain English† website of simpler, more common words which may be used in place of words which may at first sound more â€Å"academic† ascertain find out axiomatic obvious endeavour try expedite hasten, speed up facilitate make easier, help formulate work out, devise, form for the reason that because locality place optimum best, greatest, most strategize plan www.plainenglish.co.uk (The â€Å"Plain English† campaign was begun by a British civil servant inspired by Orwell.) Exercise name: 10c Commas Exercise type Input Copyright info NA Instruction NA After you have done the work of reorganizing your structure and of editing your style, you need to proofread. It is very important for that first impression that you make no mistakes in spelling or punctuation. Some of the most common mistakes that can be quickly caught are commas after introductory elements and semi-colons between two complete sentences. Remember the rules: A comma is generally used after an introductory element, especially if this element is long or if the speaker would normally pause at this point in speech. Remembering what Berlin was like in spring, she looked forward to returning. When mentioning a word for the first, a comma is placed in front of any abbreviations, acronyms of that word. [Give an example, e.g. with GNP] However, a comma is misplaced if it comes between the verb and its object. This mistake is especially common before â€Å"that† Incorrect: I doubt, that she understands how to use commas correctly. Correct: I doubt that she understands how to use commas correctly. Exercise name: 11 Exercise type Text checker Copyright info NA Instruction It is axiomatic (obvious) that English has become the worlds most spoken language in science, politics and commerce. It was difficult to ascertain (find out) from the corpora whether the women use more deictic expressions than men. Berlin is the capital of Germany for the reason that (because) it was once the capital of Prussia. The optimum (best) advertising strategy is often only discovered after extensive market research. Subjects who utilize (use) †¦ the library correctly will help facilitate (speed up) your work. Adding this chemical will expedite (speed up) the reaction. Exercise name: 12 Comm