Thursday, August 27, 2020

Integrating Budgets and Capital Investment Appraisal

Question: Examine about the Integrating Budgets and Capital Investment Appraisal? Answer: Presentation Requirement for Budgeting Planning is a procedure of making an arrangement of how the cash will be spent. It guarantees that the organization has enough money for its business exercises and aides in staying with a free and clear. Through planning, an organization can keep away from inefficient uses, rapidly adjust to the changing money related conditions and along these lines, accomplish its budgetary objectives. It helps in separating the costs and aides in knowing precisely how a companys incomes and costs will be overseen. Procedure of Budgeting The different advances remembered for planning are as given underneath: Defining the objectives the as a matter of first importance step is to define the money related objectives for the organization. Various organizations may have distinctive budgetary objectives like winning a necessary level of benefit, earning back the original investment, paying off past commitments, development and extension and so forth relying upon these objectives, the organization readies its future spending plans which will eventually fulfil these objectives. The objectives can be present moment, medium term or long haul. Wellspring of Finance the subsequent advance is choose the wellsprings of fund which incorporates own capital or borrowings. Contingent upon the budgetary objectives, the organization picks its wellspring of money. Like on the off chance that a makes long haul objective to grow its business, at that point it might need to attempt a lot of advance separated from own capital. Projection of Revenue and costs the income projections depend on verifiable figures and anticipated development. The fixed expenses are pretty much known and can be effectively remembered for the spending plan. The variable expenses can be controlled and ought to be appropriately planned. Target net revenue each business works to make benefits, subsequently, target overall revenues ought to be chosen and remembered for the financial plan. Board Approval the readied spending plan ought to be introduced to the board for endorsement and the board should keep a check if the exhibition is according to the financial plan. Spending audit the financial plan ought to be looked into on an occasional reason for real execution versus the planned. Any change ought to be found and be managed. Confinements of Budget Its not generally conceivable to precisely decide income and costs Includes part of time and desk work and is exorbitant Removes the adaptability of the administration It might at times lead to unreasonable spending as an office attempts to use all the sum assigned to it It might prompt bury division clashes in an association Spending Preparation of the Hotel John needs to begin an inn with 20, 00,000. He has furnished with the speculation subtleties that should be attempted for beginning the lodging which incorporates acquisition of fixed resources like property, furniture, kitchen gear, clothing hardware and exercise center gear. Additionally some venture will be made in working capital. John has given subtleties of expected income and costs for the initial a half year beginning from April to September 2016. Based on the data gave, fiscal summaries including Income Statement and Balance Sheet have been readied and a Cash Budget has likewise been readied. The announcements are introduced underneath: Money Budget of the Hotel for a half year finishing 30th September, 2016 Points of interest April May June July Admirable September All out Opening Cash Balance 1,25,000 1,27,430 1,42,415 1,63,745 1,98,440 2,40,965 1,25,000 Receipts Assortment from clients 12,150 16,200 28,350 36,450 36,450 28,350 1,57,950 Assortment from clients 28,350 37,800 66,150 85,050 85,050 3,02,400 All out receipts 12,150 44,550 66,150 1,02,600 1,21,500 1,13,400 4,60,350 Installments Direct Materials 1,620 2,160 3,780 4,860 4,860 3,780 21,060 Direct Materials 6,480 8,640 15,120 19,440 19,440 69,120 Work cost 8,100 10,800 18,900 24,300 24,300 18,900 1,05,300 Overhead expense 10,125 13,500 23,625 30,375 30,375 1,08,000 All out Payments 9,720 29,565 44,820 67,905 78,975 72,495 3,03,480 Shutting Cash Balance 1,27,430 1,42,415 1,63,745 1,98,440 2,40,965 2,81,870 2,81,870 Planned Income Statement for the Hotel for a half year finishing 30th September, 2016 April May June July Admirable September Absolute Deals 40,500 54,000 94,500 1,21,500 1,21,500 94,500 5,26,500 Cost of merchandise sold Direct Materials 33,100 10,800 18,900 24,300 24,300 18,900 1,30,300 Work 8,100 10,800 18,900 24,300 24,300 18,900 1,05,300 Overhead 10,125 13,500 23,625 30,375 30,375 23,625 1,31,625 Absolute COGS 51,325 35,100 61,425 78,975 78,975 61,425 3,67,225 Net Profit - 10,825 18,900 33,075 42,525 42,525 33,075 1,59,275 Devaluation 4,875 4,875 4,875 4,875 4,875 4,875 29,250 Net gain - 15,700 14,025 28,200 37,650 37,650 28,200 1,30,025 The salary proclamation recommends a positive result of the business as the organization will begin procuring benefits from the first month itself and we can see that the benefits are expanding each month on a normal aside from May and September, anyway the all out benefits over 10% of the complete income. Planned Statement of Financial Position of the Hotel as on 30th September, 2016 Resources Sum Liabilities Sum Current Assets Current Liabilities Stock 10,000 Payables 38,745 Money 2,81,870 Receivables 66,150 All out Current Assets 3,58,020 All out Current Liabilities 38,745 Fixed Assets Proprietor's Equity Leasehold Property 16,00,000 Proprietors capital 20,00,000 Furniture and Fittings 1,50,000 Held Earnings 1,30,025 Kitchen Equipment 50,000 Clothing Equipment 25,000 Rec center Equipment 15,000 All out Property, plant Equipment 18,40,000 less deterioration - 29,250 All out Fixed Asset 18,10,750 All out Owner's value 21,30,025 All out Assets 21,68,770 All out Liabilities 21,68,770 The money related situation of the organization looks great as the current resources are more than the current liabilities and the organization has no obligations in their whole business tasks. The organization is in a fluid situation with an expanded money balance from 125000 to 281870. This is a decent marker of productive business. Capital Budgeting Techniques Capital planning is an arranging procedure of deciding if a speculation proposition ought to be attempted or not. In the above case, John needs to set up the lodging and needs to work the equivalent for a long time. It is critical to know whether venture embraced for the inn will be beneficial or not for example the net incomes from the speculation will be sufficient to recoup the underlying venture or not. Capital planning limits the future incomes to carry it to the multi year so we realize the future incomes limited at current period are more than the underlying venture or not. This procedure is attempted to alter for the impacts of expansion and furthermore the time estimation of cash. The three most significant capital planning methods incorporate Net Present Value (NPV), Payback period and Internal Rate of Return (IRR). NPV of the venture Net present worth is the distinction between the money surges and money inflows produced from the undertaking. It is a powerful instrument since it considers the limited incomes to modify for the vulnerabilities of things to come incomes. Year Net Cash Flow Continues from offer of inn All out Cash Flow Present worth factor PV of net income 1 1,84,275 1,84,275 0.9345 1,72,204.99 2 1,89,803.25 1,89,803 0.8734 1,65,774.16 3 1,95,497.35 1,95,497 0.8163 1,59,584.48 4 2,01,362.27 2,01,362 0.7629 1,53,619.27 5 2,07,403.14 2,07,403 0.7129 1,47,857.70 6 2,13,625.23 2,13,625 0.6663 1,42,338.49 7 2,20,033.99 2,20,034 0.6227 1,37,015.16 8 2,26,635.01 2,26,635 0.582 1,31,901.57 9 2,33,434.06 2,33,434 0.5439 1,26,964.78 10 2,40,437.08 32,00,000.00 34,40,437 0.5083 17,48,774.17 Complete PV of Cash Flows 30,86,034.78 Starting Investment 20,00,000.00 Net Present Value 10,86,034.78 The net incomes are accepted to increment by 3% consistently. Compensation period Compensation period is the time required by the undertaking to recoup its underlying speculation. Year Net Cash Inflow Aggregate net money inflow 0 - 20,00,000.00 - 20,00,000.00 1 1,84,275 - 18,15,725 2 1,89,803 - 16,25,922 3 1,95

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Spirits And The Supernatural I Essay Research free essay sample

Alcohols And The Supernatural I Essay, Research Paper The Idea of Spirits and the Supernatural You will no vulnerability notice that shades and alcohols play a rather large capacity in Hamlet. Not just as an oft utilized character, yet close to as a head balance for the plotline, and one of the cardinal indicants of Hamlet s lunacy. His dead male parent s soul remains on our human plane to explain how he did to Hamlet. The idea in the show is that the shade is truly at that place, instead of being a minor fantasy of Hamlet s creativity. What was the balance for Shakespeare to use the shade in the primary topographic point? The idea of otherworldly presences was non new in Shakespeare s cut. It has been around since the morning of clasp, because of grown-up male s invariable captured advancement on that which he can non see or elucidate. We will compose a custom article test on Spirits And The Supernatural I Essay Research or on the other hand any comparable point explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page Be that as it may, considerations environing conceals appeared to obtain progressively genuine in the Middle Ages, because of the ascent of numerous new and various religions. Basically the faith in every individual holding their ain soul may hold been bounty for some individuals to see these shades. In any case, even with the expansive happenings of these dreams, and the ease of conveying individual that you had seen one, there was ( back thus, every piece much as there is today ) your renowned advantaged tip top. The supposed illuminated individuals, who knew not to have confidence in such ridiculous undertakings. They considered the individuals who believed to be bad tempered. The general thought Pr ocess was that many work powers do despondently convey themselves that they see or hear conceals. On the off chance that you had seen a shade, you had no doubt experienced something that had caused significant melancholiac or furious feelings. The legitimate reasoning was that your encephalon, to offset, framed a dream of something to make with those feelings. Another record was that the perish of individual cherished to you could do you to see that person in soul. On the off chance that this occurred, you were thought to hold incomplete worry with that conceal ( which is dry, as the individual seeing that shade would almost certainly accept that the shade had some incomplete worry with them ) . These were the official elitist positions on conceals. What one may take into setting, by and by, is that a great many people in the Elizabethan age were rather uneducated, and the illuminated individuals were rare. This indicates to the general thickly settled putting stock in the mysterious . Today, with building, and in this way what is existent ( world ) , flooding, and with confidence s simple reducing Numberss, there is no place near as much faith in the otherworldly ( in the Western universe, at any rate ) . We are increasingly taught all in all, and discover unquestionably more about the universe than our antecedents. As a result of their inadequacy of guidance, their lack of capacity to elucidate numerous things about the universe, and their religions, the vast majority had faith in alcohols and the heavenly during Elizabethan occasions.

Friday, August 21, 2020

How to Write Aegumative Essay Topics

How to Write Aegumative Essay TopicsWhen you are writing your Aegumative essay, you will want to make sure that you follow some of the basic rules that other subjects have to follow. This will ensure that you get it right and that your writing is good.The first basic rule that you need to follow is to make sure that you write it all in one go. Many people make the mistake of trying to think of topics to discuss in different ways. You can end up with half-baked topics if you try to write several essays at the same time. By breaking it down into more manageable chunks you will be able to get the information out much quicker.Another general rule to remember is to write from your point of view. By writing from your own perspective, you are able to avoid taking sides on the issues that you are discussing. Your personal experiences will help you connect with the material better and will help you to create stronger and more effective essays.Aegumative Essay Topics are typically able to cove r a lot of ground. You do not need to be too specific about it, but you do need to take the time to write it all. By breaking it down into smaller parts, you will be able to move along much quicker. You will also be able to become more efficient with the material as well.In order to complete the topic properly, you will need to ensure that you dedicate the proper time to it. If you try to cram too many things in too fast, you will find that you will run into problems in the writing and the rewriting. It is important to use your time wisely and make sure that you do not rush through it.It is also important to ensure that you donot make the mistake of having Aegumative Essay Topics that is too generalized. This is the opposite of what you want to do when writing your essay. You want to focus on the specifics so that you can get more information into it.If you are going to be writing it in the same topic for several years, you might want to consider moving it around a bit. Try to find a new topic to write about each year and see how it goes. If it is not working out too well, try to keep writing about the same thing. Try not to repeat yourself too much.No matter what type of topic you are doing for your Aegumative essay, you will want to make sure that you put in the proper amount of time. You can write in sections or start out with one section, then move on to another. As long as you take the time to ensure that you do not rush through it, you will be able to produce very good results.

Monday, May 25, 2020

Does Technology Affect Us Negatively - 1348 Words

The topic of controversy for this essay is whether or not technology has a negative or positive affect on people. In order to help explain whether or not technology has a positive or negative affect on us there will be four articles that will be discussed within this essay. The first article is â€Å"Is Google Making Us Stupid?† by Nicholas Carr, â€Å"The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens by Ferris Jabr, â€Å"Get Smarter† by Jamais Cascio, and â€Å"Technology Doesn’t Dumb Us Down. It Frees Our Minds† by Damon Darlin. Carr and Jabr’s articles say that technology does affect us negatively, while Cascio and Darlin say that technology affects us in a positive way. An interested, but uniformed person can learn most about this†¦show more content†¦He mentions two bloggers, Scott Karp and Bruce Friedman, whose minds have been affected by the Internet. Karp’s way of thinking had changed and Friedman co uldn’t read long passages and texts anymore. The last example that Carr uses is how magazine and newspapers have shortened the words within them so that so that people will be able to read and comprehend the magazine, article, or newspaper. So, Carr is basically saying that technology does affect us in a negative way by altering our minds, impeding our ability to comprehend and read long articles, blog posts, etc. Jabr’s article happens to go along with Carr’s article, he claims â€Å"When it comes to intensively reading long pieces of plain text, paper and ink may still have an advantage† (Jabr 12). He claiming that print reading is better than reading electronically when you need to learn, comprehend, or memorize the material or information being presented or read. Throughout his article, he lists three reasons why reading something in print is better than on a tablet or electronic device. These reasons are navigating textual landscapes, exhaustive rea ding, and attitude adjustments. 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In this technology driven Information Age many researchers believe it is important to determine the affect of such electron ic devices on the population’s health and day-to-day life. While measuring scales and values differ among articles, there is an agreement among researchers that in bed technology use is positively associated with Insomnia. The relationship has been assessed

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Neutrality America And Canada - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 2988 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Type Case study Did you like this example? In past few years the term Network Neutrality or Net Neutrality appeared in many cases when considering the use of internet. What is Net Neutrality? It is a choice of internet users to browse any internet content without any restrictions. Net Neutrality helps those users to freely surf on the internet with helping to prevent Internet Service Providers (ISP) or in some cases even governments to block any content or sites. There are many reasons why the Internet Service Providers (ISP) does that. Two of the primary reasons are money and self interest. Let ´s say for example that we want to search something on Google Search Engine and the connection is extremely slow and even impossible (error on the page). At a same time our Internet Service Provider (ISP) has its own search engine or has an agreement with other independent search engine web site. The reason why we have connection errors or extremely slow internet is because our Internet Service Provider (ISP) does not respect Net Neutrality and intentionally slow down the internet or even in some cases block the content. To avoid that there are many debate how to do that. On every continent the laws are different and Net Neutrality applies in many varieties. Recently, in United States of America there are many law cases that deal with Net Neutrality and who is actually responsible to control the Net Neutrality. Some politicians in United States of America have built their personal career in certain manner based on rights and laws of Net Neutrality. Most important person who is supporting Net Neutrality is current President of United States of America, Barack Obama. In his election time he explained the problem: What youve been seeing is some lobbying that says that the servers and the various portals through which youre getting information over the Internet should be able to be gatekeepers and to charge different rates to different Web sitesso you could get much better quality from the Fox News site and youd be getting rotten service from the mom and pop sites, he went on. And that I think destroys one of the best things about the Internet which is that there is this incredible equality there. (NEWS, 2011) Basically what President Barack Obama tried to say is that all the web sites should be equally rated and equally provided to all internet users and not charged differently. Otherwise, there would be a discrimination and unfairness. The good example is described above with Google Search Engine. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Neutrality America And Canada" essay for you Create order Who controls the Net Neutrality? With a confidence, I would say that each country has different policy regarding the Net Neutrality. In: USA: Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Canada: Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Since the topic Net Neutrality is very broad we will focus mainly on Net Neutrality issues in United States of America and just scratch the surface of Net Neutrality issues in other countries. HISTORY The first appearance of Net Neutrality could be connected to the Pacific Telegraph Act of 1860 signed by United States of America President James Buchanan where stated: That messages received from any individual, company, or corporation, or from any telegraph lines connecting with this line at either of its termini, shall be impartially transmitted in the order of their reception, excepting that the dispatches of the government shall have priority. (Museum, 2011) What started in 1860 is actually the neutrality effect that we can compare with the philosophy of Net Neutrality today and exactly what President Barack Obama was promoting during his campaign. Another appearance of Net Neutrality issue happened in 1956 in law case between HUSH-A-PHONE Corporation, vs. United States of America and Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In this case the problem occurred with understanding of Telecommunication Act from 1934. The part of the case important regarding the Net Neutrality was: ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦subscribers right reasonably to use his telephone in ways which are privately beneficial without being publicly detrimental. (HUSH-A-PHONE CORPORATION vs. USA;FCC, 2011) That means that it was a right of a people for privacy and right to use the new component that was giving the option to users for private conversations. The debate was on a safety, but the real reason was actually the outflow of information that was given out in the public and now with a new technology that was not a case anymore. In recent history the appearance of Net Neutrality occurred in 2003 when University of Virginia Law School professor Timothy Wu published his Network Neutrality, Broadband Discrimination ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚ ¾paper in which he pointed out the concern about Net Neutrality. In his paper, Professor Timothy Wu wrote: The promotion of Network Neutrality is no different than the challenge of promoting fair evolutionary competition in any priv ately owned environment, whether a telephone network, operating system, or even a retail store. Government regulation in such contexts invariably tries to help ensure that the short term interests of the owner do not prevent the best products or applications becoming available to end-users. The same interest animates the promotion of network neutrality: preserving a Darwinian competition among every conceivable use of the Internet so that the only the best survive. (Wu, NETWORK NEUTRALITY, BROADBAND, 2011) Basically what Professor Timothy Wu addressed as potential problem was to define a broadband regime to reach the final goal and that is Net Neutrality. One of the proposed Net Neutrality laws that Professor Timothy Wu wrote in his paper was to ensure the quality of internet connections without any throttling or delays or any other practical deviation. Moreover, this particular problem I will discuss later in law case Federal Communications Commission (FCC) vs. Comcast in United States of America where the outcome after appeal was different than above mentioned. In year 2003, Professor Timothy Wu and Professor Lawrence Lessing wrote the letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) stating the same issues and proposing the same Net Neutrality law ´s and putting a pressure on above mentioned institution to prioritize the issues and deal with the problem such as Net Neutrality. They focused mainly on the broadband users and the rights that they have. The accusations are coming from both sides. Application developers accuse the cable industry of discrimination and blocking content, and say it must be stopped. The cable industry accuses developers of manipulating governmental regulation to gain a competitive advantage. (Wu Lessig, Ex Parte Submission in CS Docket No. 02-52, 2011) Does Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have legal rights on Net Neutrality control over Internet Service Providers (ISPs)? What are the laws that show the righ tness to do such thing? In countries that I will mention in this paper there are government agencies but the laws are not complete and there need to be a lot of revising and completing the formal regulations. NET NEUTRALITY IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA The concept of Net Neutrality is mostly spread in United States of America and that is why I will focus mainly of this country. At the moment the Net Neutrality is present just as a basic and broad term which leaves open to any telecommunication company to set the basic rate for each internet user on usage of any internet content or service. When I mentioned basic and broad term, I meant that there are no clear restrictions against charging more or less for different usage of broadband internet consumption. A lot of Internet Service Providers (ISP ´s) tend to manipulate the usage of services in a way to block certain internet ports or slow down intentionally the internet speed. That disables the consumer to surf the internet or certain web sites or make it impossible to download certain internet material. Recently, the things are starting to change due to a high pressure of internet consumers and internet service providers (ISP ´s). Laws and Regulators Federal Communication Commission (FCC is an independent agency of the United States government that has legal rights to control the issues with Net Neutrality. It regulates non- government use of the radio spectrum (radio and TV), all interstate telecommunication (wire, satellite, and cable), and all international communications that originate or operate in the United States of America with jurisdiction in 50 different states. There are two laws that control the actions of Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and those are: Telecommunication Act of 1934 and improved Telecommunication Act of 1996. As already mentioned, the jurisdiction covers the 50 states, District of Columbia, U.S. possessions. (Commission, Telecommunication Act of 1934, 2011) (Commission, Telecommunication Act of 1996, 2011) In 1996, at the 104th Congress of United States of America, the Senate and House of Representatives of United States of America imposed and empowered a new Telecommunications Act to impr ove and challenge the competition in a way to reduce prices and increase the quality of service to all customers in United States of America. Furthermore, they wanted to support the deployment of new technology. The parts of the Telecommunications Act that deal with Net Neutrality are mainly the section 706 and Section 230. In general the Section 706 (Advance Telecommunications Incentives) state: The Commission and each State commission with regulatory jurisdiction over telecommunications services shall encourage the deployment on a reasonable and timely basis of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans (including, in particular, elementary and secondary schools and classrooms) by utilizing, in a manner consistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity, price cap regulation, regulatory forbearance, measures that promote competition in the local telecommunications market, or other regulating methods that remove barriers to infrastructure investment. (Commission, Telecommunication Act of 1996, 2011) Furthermore, inquire was: The Commission shall, within 30 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and regularly thereafter, initiate a notice of inquiry concerning the availability of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans (including, in particular, elementary and secondary schools and classrooms) and shall complete the inquiry within 180 days after its initiation. In the inquiry, the Commission shall determine whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion. If the Commissions determination is negative, it shall take immediate action to accelerate deployment of such capability by removing barriers to infrastructure investment and by promoting competition in the telecommunications market. (Commission, Telecommunication Act of 1996, 2011) The one part of the Section 230 (Protection for Private Blocking and Screening of Offensive Mat erial) state the following: The Congress finds the following: (1) The rapidly developing array of Internet and other interactive computer services available to individual Americans represent an extraordinary advance in the availability of educational and informational resources to our citizens. (2) These services offer users a great degree of control over the information that they receive, as well as the potential for even greater control in the future as technology develops. (3) The Internet and other interactive computer services offer a forum for a true diversity of political discourse, unique opportunities for cultural development, and myriad avenues for intellectual activity. (4) The Internet and other interactive computer services have flourished, to the benefit of all Americans, with a minimum of government regulation. (5) Increasingly Americans are relying on interactive media for a variety of political, educational, cultural, and entertainment services. (C ommission, Telecommunication Act of 1996, 2011) It is a policy of United States of America to: (1) Promote the continued development of the Internet and other interactive computer services and other interactive media; (2) Preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the Internet and other interactive computer services, unfettered by Federal or State regulation; (3) Encourage the development of technologies which maximize user control over what information is received by individuals, families, and schools who use the Internet and other interactive computer services; (4) Remove disincentives for the development and utilization of blocking and filtering technologies that empower parents to restrict their childrens access to objectionable or inappropriate online material; and (5) Ensure vigorous enforcement of Federal criminal laws to deter and punish trafficking in obscenity, stalking, and harassment by means of computer. (Commission, Tel ecommunication Act of 1996, 2011) Case study To best explain the situation with Net Neutrality in United States of America, it is necessary to discuss about the law case between Comcast Corporation as plaintiff and Federal Communication Commission (FCC) as defendant. Comcast Corporation was at the time largest US cable operator and Internet Service Provider. Everything started in 2008 when Federal Communication Commission (FCC) forced Comcast Corporation to stop blocking peer to peer traffic among customers. To be precise what Comcast Corporation was doing is slowing down intentionally the broadband connection when customers were using Bit Torrent to download or upload any internet material. After that decision the Comcast Corporation decided to appeal at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit claiming that Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has no rights to forced them to do so. Comcast Corporation claimed that Federal Communication Commission (FCC) could not prove in right justice the jurisdicti on over this violation and that the final order in 2008 was not enough reasoned. Therefore, they stated that there are two laws violated in a way of misinterpretation and abuse of not given authority: Section 706 and Section 230b of 1996 Telecommunication Act. The official statement was following: Implying that this court has done what the Commission has not, the Commission points to a recent decision in which we wrote, The general and generous phrasing of 706 means that the FCC possesses significant, albeit not unfettered, authority and discretion to settle on the best regulatory or deregulatory approach to broadband. Ad Hoc Telecomms. Users Comm. v. FCC, 572 F.3d 903, 906-07 (D.C. Cir. 2009). In that case, however, we cited section 706 merely to support the Commissions choice between regulatory approaches clearly within its statutory authority under other sections of the Act, and upheld the Commissions refusal to forbear from certain regulation of business broadband lines as neith er arbitrary nor capricious. Nowhere did we question the Commissions determination that section 706 does not delegate any regulatory authority. The Commissions reliance on section 706 thus fails. As in the case of section 230(b) and section 1, the Commission is seeking to use its ancillary authority to pursue a stand-alone policy objective, rather than to support its exercise of a specifically delegated power. (United States Court of Appeals, 2011) Since I already explained two sections of the law, I would like to address the holdings of the court because this was the first case that was at the same time a turning point for Net Neutrality. Before the Comcast case, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has won all the other cases (Verizon, Google, and Turner). It showed that the laws and regulations regarding Net Neutrality in United States of America are not structured well enough and that something needs to be changed. The congress need to make clear the details about the o bligations of Federal Communication Commission (FCC) as institution that is responsible for Net Neutrality. At the end, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that: Because the Commission has failed to tie its assertion of ancillary authority over Comcasts Internet service to any statutorily mandated responsibility, Am. Library, 406 F.3d at 692, we grant the petition for review and vacate the Order. (United States Court of Appeals, 2011) At that point in time, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) had no authority to regulate the internet for the purpose of Net Neutrality. The authority was taken based on different interpretations of the laws from Telecommunication Act. It is expected now from United States of America Congress to impose a new law and reclassify the rules that will allow Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to control the internet in any way. NET NEUTRALITY IN CANADA The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) had in 2009, as a regulatory system in Canada, allowed to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) possibility to manage internet traffic but only under certain explicit circumstances. Before explaining the four circumstances by which Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) had in 2009, as a regulatory system in Canada, allowed to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) possibility to manage internet traffic, it is important to mention that: As required under section 47 of the Act, the Commission must exercise its powers and perform its duties in accordance with any policy direction from the Governor in Council. (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, 2011) The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) control the managing the traffic based on the following four considerations: Transparency ISPs must be transparent about their use. Consumers need this information to make informed decisions about the Internet services they purchase and use. Basically, in case Internet Service Providers (ISPs) decide to slow down certain internet content or to block certain web site, the customers need to know that before they sign a contract. Innovation The Commission recognizes that some measures are required to manage Internet traffic on ISP networks at certain points in the network at certain times. The innovations are favourable to improve the quality and quantity of internet service networking. Clarity ISPs must ensure that any Internet traffic management practices (ITMPs) they employ are not unjustly discriminatory nor unduly preferential. The Commission has established an ITMP framework that provides clarity and a structured approach to evaluating whether existing and future Internet traffic management practices (ITMPs) are in compliance with subsection 27(2) of the Telecommunications Act (the Act). That means slowing the traffic cant be done without prior approval of Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approval. Competitive Neutrality ISPs may continue to employ Internet traffic management practices (ITMPs) without prior Commission approval. The Commission will review such practices, assessing them against the framework, based upon concerns arising primarily through complaints by consumers. (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, 2011) CONCLUSION Net Neutrality is a hot potato that due to increase of usage of internet appeared to be a subject that calls for quick improvements. The debate is still who has the right and what institution is actually in charge of controlling the issues of Net Neutrality. In some countries, this regulation is well imposed, but for example in United States of America it is on United States Congress to clarify exactly the duties and obligations of Federal Communication Commission (FCC) so that everyone is safe and know its business.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

U.s. Foreign Oil Dependency - 1094 Words

Foreign oil dependency is a major topic that is hotly debated in US politics. The United States relies on imported oil for about 40% (in 2012) of petroleum consumed and is the world’s largest consumer of oil. About 53% of the foreign oil imported is from other Western nations such as Canada, Mexico and Brazil. 28% is from the Persian Gulf, 16% from Africa and the remaining from other areas of the world. Canada is currently the leading crude oil supplier to the US. Some believe that importing oil has benefits to our economy, while others believe it is a security threat. Some economists believe total energy independence would reduce the demand for the US dollar, as the oil trade is done is US dollars. Since oil prices are set for the total supply of oil, the global market will decide the price of oil regardless of whether the US imports oil or not. Therefore, to keep the dollar strong we should continue to import oil. However, the U.S Department of Energy claims that although US petroleum production has increased and net imports have decreased oil imports have cost our economy around $116 billion in 2014 and oil price shocks and price manipulation are to blame. The solution the US Dept. of Energy has set out is to developed more advanced and fuel efficient vehicles, and create new energy sources to replace petroleum. Arguments are made for alternative means of retrieving oil on North American soil such as fracking and tar sands but there is a strong oppositionShow MoreRelatedOil Dependency Essay910 Words   |  4 PagesDimon English 091 November 5, 2006 Oil Dependency: Increase Research Funds Americas dependency on foreign oil is slowly crippling the average citizens hard-earned income with outrageous fluctuation in gas prices. 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Should the Alaska tundra be opened for oil drilling? III. I will analyze this controversy in terms of the following stock issues. A. Ill: Is there a problem with the American energy supply? B. Blame: Is the presentRead MoreAlaska Oil Drilling1301 Words   |  6 Pagesdegradation. An example that sheds light on the conflict between human interests and environmental responsibility is the controversial approval of the oil drilling in the Northern Slope region of Alaska and the drilling that has already began, in the Tar Sands of Alberta. In this paper I will firstly explain the situation regarding why the drilling for oil is up for debate to take place. Secondly I will assess the benefits and the irreparable damage that could possibly bring forth devastating effects

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Factors contributing to the su Essay Example For Students

Factors contributing to the su Essay Factors Contributing to the Succes of Shakespeares Much Ado About NothingIn Shakespeare’s â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing,† many factors are combined to make it one of his most wittiest romantic comedies. He addresses several issues at the same time. For example, he addresses the concern of England that Elizabeth had no legitimate heir for the throne in his portrayal of Don Juan. Don Juan is seen as malicious, self-interested and dangerous. This is perhaps a warning to England about the possible actions of an illegitimate heir on the throne. At the same time, Shakespeare examines the nature of love and marriage. He utilizes the two plots between Beatrice and Benedict and Claudio and Hero. While Claudio and Hero have a relationship that is more in line with the current view on marriage and love, i.e. that marriage is a business deal and love is not relevant to such matters, he further explores other options to the current contractual view. To this end, he introduces the notions that people who marry should have a solid commitment to one another as well as great respect for each other. Furthermore, he introduces us to the idea that people in love communicate, sometimes at high decibels. He challenges us to look at the difference between reality and play-acting, specifically in the way courtly love distanced itself from the reality of real love. Claudio and Hero demonstrate the conventional play-acting of love. They do not know one another well, and because of this fact, they misread one another to near fatal ends. Their marriage has been slightly arranged, but is more based on a sexual attraction, which Shakespeare challenges as being adequate for real commitment. Her outstanding qualities are the fact that she is an heiress as well as being available. He on the other hand is very young and gullible. He takes a lie for the truth, with predictable ease. While Beatrice and Benedict have the makings of a true commitment, based on each other’s inward qualities, Claudio and Hero have the mere appearance of love and commitment to one another. Shakespeare challenges us to speculate on which union will be the most contented. Hero symbolizes to her father, the hope of great connections and personal gain. If she marries well, it will be a reflection on him. He has little concern for the inward merits of her future husband and less concern for her personal happiness. He is also concerned with the outward appearance of the status quo. To her family, she represents a valuable asset, a family treasure and a bargaining tool. To her class she represents the embodiment of the expected behavior and attitude of women of means. However, without the approval of her father, she can do nothing. To her countrymen, she represents to what degree they will go to assume the appearance of legitimacy, at the expense of examining the true virtues of the individual. These factors are important in Shakespeare’s England, because they represent the clamor for a legitimate heir for Elizabeth to the extent that a person’s inward worth and ability to rule a nation is overshadowed by the appearance of strength and capability. Hero represents also, the vulnerability of the throne and the danger in marrying it off to the most handsome suitor. While appearing to be capable of commitment, the suitor is unable to defend the throne in times of attack or slander. This concern is still relevant today, in our own country where fancy words and plenty of money tend to secure positions of power in politics. Many times, it is not until a crisis arises that we are able to see the true character and the true extent of the commitment of the person whose influence and wealth has secured them a position of great importance. The reason the position is important is not because of the title or connections attached to it, but rather the responsibility as well as the power to impact the lives of other’s either good or bad. .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07 , .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07 .postImageUrl , .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07 , .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07:hover , .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07:visited , .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07:active { border:0!important; } .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07:active , .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07 .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ufb27fbbdad1128b0b0cba1b7c68aac07:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: AP Physics SHM EquationsDon Juan chooses Hero as his target and slander as his weapon. He is able to use this against her so effectively, because even the hint of wrongdoing was enough to cause her family, and more specifically her father shame. People involved were quick to believe the lie without any further investigation. With the exception of Beatrice, who cannot believe that Hero could act in such an inconsistent manner. The clergy is compassionate and merciful as well. He convinces Hero’s father to investigate the allegations a bit more. The â€Å"nothing† that there is much â€Å"ado† about is the lie that was told and the resulting actions of those who chose to believe it or reject it. There is connection between Marlowe’s â€Å"Hero† and Shakespeare’s â€Å"Hero.† Marlowe’s Hero has as her one asset, her virginity. She is expected to keep it no matter what. She treasure this is a prize possession and prides herself on her ability to defend and protect it. Similar to Shakespeare’s Hero, she is prized for her outward appearance rather than her true virtue. Once she has lost the most precious thing she has, she is condemned to hell. Marlowe says: â€Å"Till she o’ercome with anguish, shame and rage, Danged down to hell her loathsome carriage† (Norton’s 767). The portrayal of Constable Dogberry and his night watchmen shows how people can assume themselves to be more important than they are. Dogberry and his men create a position for themselves this is neither needed nor wanted. They put on airs pertaining to their importance to Hero’s father. They demonstrate they extent people will go to create a role of significance for themselves in society. Constable Dogberry assumes himself educated by the type of words he uses with no regard for their meaning and context. He assumes that if he talks the talk, he will be able to convince others that he is truly informed about the current events in the world. Shakespeare pokes fun at all of us, who rather than use a small word whose meaning we are certain, chose to put on heirs in order to impress people, to the opposite effect of making ourselves look less educated. Big words are not enough to give someone character. One cannot hide behind his words, because the lack of insincerity will be rev ealed to those around him. Words are meant to express thoughts, not for impressing the listener. Constable Dogberry’s malapropisms are very serious when played out in the court of justice. Words express thoughts and create pictures for ideas. When someone is being accused of something or tried for a crime, the words used by those in the legal arena have the power to give life or death. Sentences can have wide variations depending on the choice of one or two words. For example the sentence of â€Å"involuntary manslaughter† is much different from â€Å"manslaughter.† In for instance one confuses the word involuntary for voluntary or confuses their meaning the results could be devastating. Shakespeare reminds us that words are only important in the meaning and thoughts they convey. They have no value outside of their true meaning. They are tools, not decorations.

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Hinduisms Main Principles

Hinduism is one of the oldest and widespread religions in the world; currently it is practiced by people who may live in very different countries. This paper is aimed at discussing the main principles of Hinduism, it cultural aspects and its impact on the society in the United States. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Hinduism’s Main Principles specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The knowledge of these issues is important for understanding the diversity of modern societies in which people may have different beliefs, values or even perceptions of God. Overall, one can identify the following characteristics of Hinduism, namely the acceptance of different religious views, the belief in reincarnation of soul, and the idea that God can take many different forms. Furthermore, it should be noted this religion is now practiced in many Western countries, such as the United States and its presence increases the diversi ty of modern American society and makes people more aware about the variety of religious beliefs. First of all, Hinduism is very difficult to define because this religion incorporates a variety of beliefs that recognize the moral authority of the Vedas which are religious texts originating from ancient India (Mittal and Thursby 3). Moreover, Hinduism includes several denominations or groups of people who may have different rituals. It should be noted that there are several distinct features of Hinduism. Certainly, the supporters of this religion accept the existence of God as a higher power that created the universe. Moreover, God is present in every living being. Yet, Hindus think that an individual can worship God in different forms. The deity can have different identities such as Shiva, Vishnu, or Brahma (Neusner 186). It is difficult to determine whether Hinduism is monotheistic or polytheistic religion. The thing is that in some denomination of Hinduism, people can accept the existence of several deities (Neusner 186). Thus, Hindus do not accept the idea that God can take only one form. This is one of the issues that people should remember. Moreover, people should take into account that Hinduism is not based on some specific canon or a set of written sources. The Vedas do play an important role in the lives of Hindus, but various religious leaders could provide their own interpretation of God and morality. Secondly, it is worth noting that this religion does not set direct requirements for the worshipers who may follow different religious rituals. More importantly, Hinduism does not reject other forms of religious faith. It is not opposed to Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. Hindus do not argue that their view on God and the universe is the only possible one. These are the main distinctions of the religion and people should remember about them when interacting with Hindus.Advertising Looking for essay on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More One should also discuss the culture of Hinduism. It should be taken into consideration that Hinduism evolved in the course of several millennia during which Indian subcontinent witnessed many political, social, and demographic changes. Furthermore, Hinduism can be practiced in different countries, for example, India, Sri Lanka, or Bangladesh. This is why one should not suppose that this religion is always associated with some distinct cultural values or practices. There are several rituals that play an important life in the cultural life of Hindus, for example one can mention, different forms of yoga, or festivals such Gudi Padwa and Bihu (Kaur 1968). These festivals are held by Hindus who may live in different countries. Secondly, Hinduism accepts the idea of material possessions and even sensual pleasures provided that a person does not violate the ethical principles, especially if he/she does not limit the freedom of o ther people. Additionally, it is possible to identify several cultural values that Hindus usually recognize, in particular, the respect for elders, modesty, and acceptance of ones limitations and weaknesses. So, this religion stresses the humility of an individual. These cultural values affect Hindus’ relations with other people. Additionally, one should note that Hinduism can now be practiced in the United States for more than a century. Certainly, this religion is not followed by the majority of the popularity. Yet, nowadays, Hindu temples can be found in different parts of the country, for instance, one can mention such states as California, Illinois, New York, and so forth (Neusner 180). Many Hindus live in such urban areas as Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, or New York (Neusner 180). This religion is followed by people who came to America from India or Sri Lanka. There are several ways in which this religion influences the society. First of all, one can mention t hat American people have become more aware about religious and cultural practices that may exist in non-Western countries. The presence of Hinduism makes people more aware of the fact that there are various forms of religious faith, and they can differ from the Judeo-Christian tradition which is dominant in the United States. Some of these practices have become very popular, for instance, one can mention Yoga that is very popular among many people. Therefore, the influence of Hinduism can be considered positive because this religion emphasizes the necessity of tolerance and respect toward the views of others.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Hinduism’s Main Principles specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Overall, I have a positive attitude toward Hinduism, even though I did not have direct contacts with this religion. As it has been said before, it accepts different forms of worship and religious faith and it is not opposed to other religions. This feature greatly appeals to me because the supporters of Hinduism do not think that their religious views are in any way superior to those of other people. Secondly, Hinduism does not impose certain restrictions on worshippers. They do not have to follow certain rules, when worshipping God. In other words, these people have a relative degree of freedom. So, a person, who is not affiliated to any religion, may have a favorable attitude toward Hinduism. Certainly, my judgment may be very subjective, and more accurate assessment can be given if I learn more about the beliefs and ethical principles that Hindus recognize and various denominations of this religion. On the whole, these examples suggest that contemporary Hinduism is a vibrant religion that can now be practiced in Western and non-Western countries. Its principles include the rejection of dogmatism and emphasis on the liberty of an individual. In the course of its history, it underwe nt several significant changes, but it does remain appealing to many people in part because Hindus do not claim their perception of God is better or more accurate than the beliefs of other people. The presence of Hinduism in the United States can be seen as a positive force because American people can learn more about the ethical and cultural aspects of other religions. Works Cited Kaur, Raminder. Performative Politics and the Cultures of Hinduism: Public uses of Religion in Western India, Delhi: Anthem Press, 2005. Print. Mittal Sushil, and G. Thursby. Studying Hinduism: key concepts and methods, New York: Routledge, 2008. Print.Advertising Looking for essay on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Neusner, Jacob. World Religions in America: An Introduction, Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009. Print. This essay on Hinduism’s Main Principles was written and submitted by user Malcolm Mason to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Monday, March 9, 2020

John Fowles The French Lieutenants Woman Essay Example

John Fowles The French Lieutenants Woman Essay Example John Fowles The French Lieutenants Woman Essay John Fowles The French Lieutenants Woman Essay Essay Topic: Literature The Heart Of a Woman According to Nelson Vieira, John Fowles The French Lieutenants Woman: falls under the rubric of what is commonly known today as metafiction. Metafictional writers thus operate and function with a freedom of exposing illusion for what it is- a device used to mask narrative as a construct and a figment of ones imagination.1 John Fowles has no qualms about admitting that literature is, in fact just an illusion. This is most noticeable in his telling the reader that The story I am telling is all imagination. The characters I create never existed outside my own mind2. It seems then, that John Fowles, in destroying the readers illusion, and also destroys the suspension of disbelief necessary in following a story told by an omniscient narrator3 Fowles destruction of this suspension of disbelief in reminding us of the fictitious nature of all characters and events taking place creates a gulf between himself, or his story, and the reader. To be drawn into the world of fiction, we must feel that it is true, and that we are a part of a real world, and not merely some illusion or magic trick. It is also impossible for the reader to take ownership of the story when the author is so insistent at writing himself into the novel. Fowles not only intrusively reminds us that he writes a fiction and not a truth, but appears himself in the shape of the man in the railway carriage- we are, however, further confused as to whether, perhaps, his story is based in reality, as he observes Charles and asks now what could I do with you?4 This brings us to the conclusion that, perhaps, Fowles truly observed a man on a train, and, in doing so, brought the character of Charles, and so the story, into being, and so confuses the story from reality. It becomes nearly impossible to distinguish reality from the artificial when Fowles suggests that he is perhaps writing a transposed autobiography; perhaps I now live in one of the houses I have brought into the fiction; perhaps Charles is myself disguised.5 We feel that if the author himself cannot decide to which depth his story is, in fact a reality, then we cannot hope to engage with it either as a piece of fiction or a factual document. Palmer points out that: Fowles intrudes in chapter thirteen in order to jolt the reader who, reading this seemingly traditional historical novel is becoming too passively comfortable in his over-stuffed arm chair. He wants to start a dialogue with his reader.6 Whilst this is indeed most probably, in fact, almost certainly, Fowles intention, it does interfere with storytelling. A story is any narrative or tale recounting the sequence of events7, and Fowles interruption only interrupts the story, although it may give the reader a more mental exercise. Palmer also claims that Fowles is attempting to free the reader from the traditional role of passive, uninvolved observer8, but one must wonder whether the reader wishes to be so liberated. He certainly does free himself and his characters from the tyrannising roles of the traditional novelist god-character relationship9, but rather than freeing his readership, he has enslaved them. Rather than being at liberty to enjoy the narrative, they are forced into a realisation that the world constructed around them is merely that, a construct. However, having forced his reader into a realisation that they have been living in a world of mere make-believe, Fowles taunts his audience, in telling them that my characters still exist, and in a reality no less, or no more real than the one I have just broken.10 Whilst this may seem a confusion, and confusion most certainly is an alienation of the reader, problematising the role of both the author and the story, he is, in fact referring to the reality he has just broken, which, as he has just told us, is no reality at all, but a mere construct. Fowles seems to torment his reader with unsure statements whilst keeping them from the narrative, the purpose of a novel. Fowles has been described as a writer stalking himself, or better, he is a novelist writing into a mirror so that each or his works reflect back upon his own mind and vision11. The reader is never sure what to believe of the novel, just as we are never sure where two mirrors reflecting in on themselves may end. It is in just this way that we cannot tell where Charles will end: indeed, even Fowles seems not to know, hence his triple ending. This too, could present a barrier for his readership: if Fowles, as the author and creator of the text, cannot discern the direction of a narrative, how then, is his readership supposed to manage such a feat? We are given the impression that Fowles is perhaps remarkably indecisive, which brings us out o our suspension of disbelief almost as much as the authorial interruptions. This confusion over plot in his inability to come to a conclusion could be rooted in Fowles determination to rewrite the Victorian novel. Even character is at time confused- we are unsure as to Fowles intentions for Charles, or even Charles origins as a literary figure. Palmer claims that the novel hangs insuspension: between the traditions of Victorian fiction, with its attendant restrictions, and the experimental, intensely-self conscious novel of the mid-twentieth century.12 He also reiterates that The French Lieutenants Woman is, in one of its many aspects, Fowless dramatisation of his own theory of the novel. It is a metatheatrical work of literary criticism.13 It is this idea of the metafiction that provides the complexities of the novel, but also draws the reader away from the characters, creating a barrier between them and the story. We feel that we are, perhaps, guinea pigs for Fowles experiments with literature. The same could be said of Virginia Woolfs Jacobs Room. It has been described as Woolfs most consciously experimental novel14, as so much of the modernist movement is an attempt to break away from the Victorian style that Fowles attempts to recreate. She shies away from the normal, and particularly the narrative- Zwerdling cites her as claiming to want to do away with exact place and time, this appalling narrative business of the realist: getting on from lunch to dinner: it is false, unreal, merely conventional 15. In doing this she cuts out much of the tedium of the Victorian novel, but yet has a good chance of leaving her reader floundering: we may feel at the end of the novel that we do not truly know even Jacob, let alone the peripheral characters. He has been described as far too shadowy a figure who fails to come to life.16 There are few reference points within the novel: Woolf has indeed succeeded in her goal of doing away with typical narrative. We see only brief but typical vignettes chosen seemingly at random,17 and have little means of stringing them together to form a picture of his true character and experiences. Joan Bennett claims that the novel builds up no whole that can be held in the mind18 As such, Jacobs Room seems not so much to problematise storytelling as to obliterate any concept of story. Zwerdling describes Jacobs Room as a surgical excision of clogged detail.19 However, we must consider the meshing of art and science in this idea. A surgical excision seems very far from the constructive art of writing, and, whilst surgery is an exacting, science-dependant field, writing, surely, is a free art, the bounds of which are only the farthest reaches of the imagination, not the facts of textbooks. Whereas Fowles makes us wonder as to the true reality of his characters and story, especially Charles, suggesting that he sees much of Charles in himself, Woolf admits to actively disliking Jacob. Zwerdling suggests that this is largely thanks to his sex, quoting Woolf in Jacobs Room- granted ten years seniority and a difference of sex, fear of him comes first20. Frank Kermode, in the biographical preface to Jacobs Room suggests that this might be possibly related to the sexual molestation of which her half-brother, George Duckworth is accused.21 He also puts points out that there have been many accounts of the marriage very hostile to Leonard Woolf22. Indeed, Woolf gives Jacob thoughts that she, as a woman in the twentieth century, surely could not agree with- he compares the presence of women at the Kings College service to the presence of dogs: No one would think of bringing a dog into church. For though a dog is all very well on a gravel path, and shows no disrespect to flowers, the way he wanders down an aisle, looking, lifting a paw, approaching a pillar with a purpose that makes the blood run cold with horror (should you be one of the congregation- alone, shyness is out of the question), a dog destroys the service completely.23 As educated as she was, although not having attended university, Virginia Woolf could not have agreed with such ideas. As a modern reader, these ideas grate on our sense of equality. In an age where education is available regardless of gender, moments such as these create a distance between the writing and the reader and prevent a true feeling of connection with the text. The French Lieutenants Woman too has some anti-feminist moments, which could present a barrier between the text and a potential readership- Charles believes that Ernestina, as a woman could no possibly hold the same value as a man: He could not be angry with her. After all, she was only a woman. There were so many things she must never understand: the richness of male life, the enormous difficulty of being one to whom the world was rather more than dress and home and children.24 However, this could also represent the other side of the argument- whilst Fowles may alienate a segment of society which was active at the time of the novels publication; he was also attempting to echo the Victorian novel, in which this would very much be a recognised and accepted viewpoint- the Victorian icon- the angel in the house the presiding hearth angel of Victorian social myth25. Charles expects women to stay the same, and to be reliant on men- he expects Sarah to rely on him, and seems to find her making her own way in the world faintly repulsive. In one way, therefore Fowles is problematising his storytelling in possibly alienating a part of his readership, but also moving his story closer to the goal he set out to achieve. As I earlier pointed out in relation to The French Lieutenants Woman, the purpose of storytelling is for entertainment; therefore making a stilted or confusing narrative will certainly problematise the process of storytelling. Jacobs Room is very much a metaphorical text: McNichol points out that there has been too much concentration on what the novel is not26 largely because of a failure to grasp the originality of Virginia Woolfs new conception of a novel27 However; she also notes that it is, in fact, an abstract and theoretic work28, and so we must wonder how much of a story it is, or whether it is, in fact, a challenge to the nature of fiction itself29, and as such, more an academic treatise than a novel. The metaphorical nature of the text is made clear in the relation of the title to the work: the room of the title is in fact in the context of the space, metal and physical, which is occupied by Jacob Flanders30 rather than the physical rooms in which we see him in the course of the novel: asleep in Cornwall with his sheeps jaw, at Cambridge, and at Lambs Conduit Street, among others. As a metaphorical text, the novel is designed not so much for the process of storytelling as to make a statement on the accepted structure. Virginia Woolf is a far more solid presence in the text that any of her characters; indeed, McNichol presents Jacobs Room as being full of authorial dialectic31, just as The French Lieutenants Woman is full of authorial intervention. It seems that the role of the author and the role of storytelling are, to an extent, mutually exclusive. For the author to have a role in their text, it seems they must take a presence in it, as Fowles does in chapter thirteen, and as Woolf does in making Jacobs Room more about an experiment conducted by her than about her characters and plot, and so her readership. As I have pointed out, this concentration on the experiment disrupts the idea of storytelling: for a reader to fully appreciate a story, they must be able to view it as a reality, which the readership of both texts cannot truly do, as the author refuses to give up their place in the piece. Whilst the author is present, we are aware that the constructed world is just that, a fiction, where we would prefer to believe if as a reality, at least for a time. It seems that for storytelling to be effective, therefore, the role of the author must only extend as far as the writing of the story, not featuring in it. As such, storytelling in these texts is problematised by the role of the author, and the role of the author is problematised by storytelling.

Friday, February 21, 2020

What is Effective Leadership within an Organisational Context Essay

What is Effective Leadership within an Organisational Context - Essay Example It seems that these characteristics are not standardized. Indeed, each leader seems to have different criteria for prioritizing organizational needs and for handling organizational crises. For this reason, the description of effective leadership may have different forms, focusing on the leader’s personal characteristics (traits), the role of leadership in transforming the organizational environment and so on. The review of the theories developed in the particular field led to the following assumption: effective leadership can exist in modern organizations but not in its ideal form. This means that even leaders who are characterized as quite successful may fail in responding to all needs of their organization. This finding can be characterized as logical since leaders, like all people, can also have weaknesses and preferences. However, there is a characteristic that differentiates successful leaders from others, non-charismatic leaders; successful leaders are able to use their weaknesses as means for promoting their ideas. The lack of flexibility of Margaret Thatcher in regard to her political decisions has been also considered as a power for supporting her ideas. In other words, in charismatic leaders, weaknesses are transformed into exceptional characteristics, contributing in the success of these leaders within their environment. 2. Effective leadership – description and analysis 2.1 Nature of leadership The last decades, the development of leadership has been rapid. The reason is that the specific concept has been highly related to the organizational development. In fact, it has been proved that leaders have a key role in the success of organizations in the international market. A wide range of leadership definitions has appeared, aiming to explain the nature of the concept and its role in the organizational performance. In accordance with a well-known description of leadership, this of Bass (1990), the most appropriate description of leadershi p would refer to leadership as ‘a group of processes’ (Bass 1990, in Northouse 2010, p.2). In the context of the above description, the leader is believed to be the center of organizational processes, and that his views reflect the views of his environment, meaning the employees. However, the above description fails in explaining the role of leader in taking initiatives, a role which is quite important for modern organizations, as analyzed further in the sections that follow. From another point of view, Northouse (2010) notes that leadership can be considered as a concept reflecting ‘a combination of special traits’ (Northouse 2010, p.2), meaning that each leader has specific characteristics, which are those that make the particular leader exceptional within his environment, both the internal and the external. The trait-theory on leadership, as described above, is quite popular, focusing on the personality of leader and not so much on his role within the or ganization. It is expected that the response of each leader to his environment will be different, in accordance with his personal characteristics, meaning his perceptions, his background and his skills. 2.2 Types of leadership in modern organization As noted above, the views of theorists in regard to leadership and its role are differentiated. Most theorists consider leadership as related more to the personal characteristics of the leader, a view promoted in the traits theory of leadership. However, there are also theorists who

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Integrated Marketing Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Integrated Marketing Communication - Essay Example The promotional strategies used by the companies are essential to communicate with the target customers regarding the products that are launched by the company. The study aims at evaluating the importance of salesperson in an organization and also to understand the effectiveness of advertising a product. The research offers a scope to develop a policy in order to remain ethical in the advertising practices of a company. A good salesmanship is necessary for a company to promote its goods and services that have been newly launched and to create awareness among the buyers regarding the invention (Holm, 2006). A good salesmanship involves maintaining a good relationship with the customers so that the customers develop a brand loyalty for the product. The personality of the salesman should be such that they are successful in convincing the customers to purchase the products and also to visit the outlets regularly. The process of advertising facilitates the personal selling and the responsibility of the sales person becomes easier in case the customers have the knowledge regarding the product (Reid, 2005). The personality of the salesman helps in attracting new customers and enhancing the goodwill of the company. A more knowledgeable sale person is an ultimate requirement of the company and it also increases the possibility of bringing success to the company. The type of sales promotion varies based on the products that are launched in the international market. For example, Maruti Suzuki has launched a new model of car that is highly fuel efficient and it would be beneficial for the customers. However, for carrying out the promotional activities, the company has to train the salesperson regarding the features of the new model.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

ERP Comparison of Developed and Emerging Markets

ERP Comparison of Developed and Emerging Markets Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Research Topic The investment dilemma hits when individuals earn more than their consumption needs. Considering the fast rising inflation globally, saving the surplus earnings for future consumption is not sufficient anymore. Hence, making an investment such that the surplus earnings grow or even multiply over time is almost imperative. Such an investment can be made in many ways for instance commodities, stocks, bonds, pension funds, real estate etc. This study is concerned with individuals investment in stocks. When an individual invests, he/she expects a certain rate of return in the future from the investment which should ideally compensate future consumption needs, future increase in inflation and uncertainty of return if any. Therefore, investments with higher returns are preferred. A number of studies find evidence of stocks giving higher return than government bonds, although the relative uncertainty of return from stocks being much higher than from bonds (Dimson et al, 2002; Ibbotson Senquefield, 1976). Consequently, the more uncertain the future return gets, the riskier it is to invest. Hence, when an individual invests in stocks, he/she expects added compensation for added risk which leads to the concept of Equity Risk Premium (ERP). ERP is the surplus return from stocks/equities over the return from nearly risk-free (here on mentioned as risk-free) asset such as government bonds.It is the premium that individuals demand for bearing the additional risk in equity investments (Reill y Brown, 1999). ERP is calculated using equation-1. Stock returns can be the returns from a benchmark index (market returns) such as FTSE 100 and the returns from risk-free asset (risk-free returns) can be those from UK gilts. (Reilly Brown, 1999) ERP is an important consideration from an investors point of view for building and analysing a domestic equity portfolio or an entire equity market especially for an investor looking to diversify globally (here on mentioned as global investor). Therefore, it is a widely researched topic, however yet the existing literature is inadequate, considering there are numerous debates and puzzles pertaining to various aspects of ERP. Hence, looking at its significance in theoretical practical finance, ERP is chosen as the central topic to be researched in this study. 1.2 Research Background Individuals (retail investors) use ERP to forecast the expected growth of their equity portfolios over long-term and for portfolio allocation decisions. Corporations (here on mentioned as organisations) need ERP as an input to determine the cost of equity i.e. the annual expected rate of return from investment in stocks and for capital budgeting decisions. Overall, ERP is a significant factor in most risk-return models of corporate finance and investment management. Hence, estimating future ERP and identifying possible reasons for the results found, is an important financial and economic research topic for academia and practitioners alike. Although historical data is most popularly used to estimate future ERP, there exist financial, economic asset pricing models developed over the years which predict an implied ERP based on companies, macroeconomic equity market data. Evidence from the relevant literature suggests that every ERP estimation method has a distinct set of assumptions a nd underlying ideas therefore exuding both merits and demerits when compared to another estimation method. Rapid economic growth of emerging countries has been apparent especially because of industrialisation. Consequently the performance of emerging equity markets has been remarkable in the past decade. The big 4 i.e. Brazil, Russia, India China (BRIC) alone, accounted for more than 50% of the world GDP in 2006 (RICS, 2008). Due to saturation in developed countries and growing avenues for investment in those emerging, the ERP of emerging markets has risen due to growing investor confidence. Although perceived social, economic political risks are equally high, financial systems have strengthened and macro-economic conditions have improved drastically for most emerging countries. Barry et al (1997) argues that investing in emerging markets is more than just profitable, considering the risk-return trade-off. Hence, gauging the future of emerging equity markets has become a vital research topic for economists, finance professionals and global investors alike. In a discussion of emerging markets, India cannot be left out. Post liberalisation (i.e. post 1991) India is definitely the secondmost preferred emerging economy by global investors after China. Although Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows have been average compared to other emerging countries, Foreign Institutional Investment (FII) flows increased almost 10 times, from United States Dollar (USD) 739million in 2002 to a record USD 7.59billion in 2003. CALPERS, the worlds biggest pension fund with a base of USD 165billion has recently included India in their list of countries for investment (BSE India, 2008). The noteworthy rise to the position of the sixth largest emerging equity market with a total market capitalisation of USD 818billion and 8% p.a. average economic growth (CIA Fact-book, 2008) over past decade accentuates the importance of Indias ERP estimation and analysis. 1.3 Research Gap, Objective Questions Most of the research on ERP has focussed on developed markets clearly because of their sound history and stable fundamentals. Within limited research conducted on ERP in emerging markets, Salomons Grootveld (2003) demonstrate the evident differences in ERPs of developed and emerging markets and claim that global business cycle influences these differences. Claessens (1995) argues through his empirical research that investment in emerging markets can be fruitful in long-term considering that high ERP compensates for high risk. Although these and similar related researches vaguely guide investors wanting to explore emerging markets, there lacks a clear evidence of the possible risks attached and whether those risks can be tackled to earn complete benefit of the high ERP. Bernartzi Thaler (1995) and Campbell Cochrane (1999) claim that the reason for increase in investors interest in U.S. markets was the high ERP it offered. Hence if the same rule is applied to emerging markets then i nvestments should be made without any prior estimation of possible risks, especially considering the success of U.S. markets. However it is not the case, as investors are still sceptical about getting confirmed high returns from emerging markets. Therefore, the precise reasons for the difference in ERPs of developed and emerging markets have not been clearly identified as yet, hence constituting the first research gap. There exists considerable evidence on how political, social and especially macroeconomic factors affect the equity market returns of developed countries, especially U.S. (Chen et al, 1986). Considering the limited work done on ERP of emerging markets on the whole, negligible contribution has been made to analysing ERP in India with respect to its growing economy, Mehra (2006) being the most notable, hence constituting the second research gap. Considering the importance of ERP it is interesting to note that in-spite of there being many ways to calculate ERP; there exists no consensus on the best approach. Financial market analysis is performed based on historical data and the ERP measured from past performance of equity markets is most commonly used as an estimate of future ERP. For instance Ibbotson Sinquefield (1976) exemplified first accurate calculations of annual rate of return on equity investments in U.S. and ERP. Since then, Siegel (1992) Dimson et al (2002) are two of the most notable researches on ERP estimations using the historical method. However, there exist models developed for instance by Fama French (2002) and Arnott Bernstein (2002) that determine future ERP entirely based on forward-looking information through estimation of future investors markets expectations. This variation of approaches to ERP estimation has only widened the range of results and complicated the unresolved debate, hence constitut ing the third research gap. The 3 research gaps identified above lead to the overall Research Objective of this study, which is: Comparative analysis of ERP in the leading developed emerging markets; determine the macroeconomic influence on ERP and examine the ERP estimation methods; all from a global investors point of view. It is not realistically possible to fill the research gaps entirely through this study considering time, knowledge and relevant experience constraints. However, this study aims to fulfil the above objective through the accomplishment of satisfying solutions to the following 3 Research Questions: After estimating future ex-post ERP in the chosen sample index of developed and emerging markets, what is the impact of risk responsible for the differences found through the comparison of their risk-return trade-off? What effect do the country specific macroeconomic factors have on the ERP in India, if any? After estimating future ex-ante ERP in India using a supply-side method and comparing it with the estimated ex-post ERP, what is the most suitable method for global investors, if at all, and why? Research Contribution As this study is predominantly aimed at analysing the ERP of leading emerging markets and particularly India, it is hoped that this study contributes to simplify the decision making of global investors regarding their equity investments in emerging markets India. Furthermore, it is hoped that this study provides guidance to the global investors regarding the macroeconomic situation in India and its influence on the ERP, for sound portfolio management. Moreover, it is hoped that this study adds a small brick to the large edifice of ERP analysis/measurement/estimation on the whole. Finally, if this study motivates the eminent researchers and consequently triggers some ground breaking academic scholarship regarding the ERP of emerging markets, then the worthiness of this study will be truly identified. 1.4 Research Structure The following is the chronology and brief content of the chapters in this study here on: Chapter 2: Literature Review: This chapter aims to explain the historical development of ERP through empirical researches and relevant theoretical background. Furthermore, it examines important research literature on ERP estimation methods and emerging equity markets. Chapter 3: Overview of Research Methodology: This chapter aims to briefly explain the chosen research methodology for this study and justify its appropriateness. It also describes the chosen data collection method and clarifies how the data will be collected used for achieving the research objective. Chapter 4: Data Analysis, Findings Interpretative Analysis: This chapter aims to identify the collected data, explain the data analysis technique/model/method in detail, analyse the data that is collected by using the chosen methods models; and finally, interpret, examine evaluate the results/findings from the analysis to identify justifiable solutions to the research questions. The chapter is divided into 3 parts, each part pertaining to each research question and the procedure is conducted separately for each. Chapter 5: Discussion Conclusion: This chapter aims to summarise the results from chapter 4, recapitulate the entire paper and testifies the level of fulfilment of the research objective. Also, it plausibly links the past literature results from this study to check the level of accomplishment in filling the research gap and to identify the need for future study. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Chapter Introduction ERP is a vital numerical figure in practical modern finance as it is considered by financial analysts, business managers and economists for the purpose of decision-making; perhaps best testified by Welch (2000, p.501) wherein he calls ERP the single most important number in financial economics. Consequently, it is and has been one of the most fascinating topics for academic scholarship leading to vast amount of literature. This Chapter discusses the various significant perspectives about ERP generated from the literature. The literature reviewed in this chapter is primarily related to the research questions that this paper aims to answer; having said that, other theoretical developments and empirical researches in the field of portfolio management and corporate finance that are significantly relevant to the research topic, are also discussed. Broadly speaking, the content matter in this chapter is organised in chronological order beginning from the earliest. Here on this chapter is divided into 5 sections. The historical advancements in productive assessment of the relationship between equity risk and return resulting from empirical researches which lead to the conceptualisation of ERP is discussed in section-2. The next section-3 highlights the important theoretical developments which laid the foundation for the large edifice of researches on investment management. Section-4 focuses on the models/methods that were formulated based on the theories, with an aim to calculate expected returns and measure estimate ERP. It also looks at the important contemporary researches in the field of ERP with a brief backdrop of macroeconomic factors. The following section-5 highlights the important literature with respect to the ERP Puzzle. It discusses the significant attempts by researchers to solve the puzzle. The next section-6 follows which briefly looks at the important literature on emerging equity markets overall. Finally, section-7 summarises the entire discussion. 2.2 Historical Conceptualisation of ERP The apt risk-return trade-off sought by investors worldwide augmented the importance of ERP evaluation and forecasting. Consequently, vast theoretical empirical research under various objectives has been conducted till date since the early 20thcentury on measuring, estimating and analysing ERP, most of which has concentrated on the developed markets, especially U.S. Furthermore, eminent financial economists have been engaged in empirical analysis of past investment results to gauge future investment strategies. In the late 19th and early 20thcenturies, most economists did not endorse the importance of risk in evaluating and justifying excess returns. The conception of the fact that incremental profit on equity investments is a result of the higher risk attached, was a gradual process. For instance, Clark (1892), professor at university of Columbia, claims that investments in some organisations give higher returns than risk-free rate some other organisations because those organisations have an advantage of monopoly in the market. Furthermore, modernisation and development in technology lead to comparatively higher competitive advantage which in turn gives excess returns. However, renowned author of the book Risk, Uncertainty and Profit, Knight (1921), does not endorse Clarks view but instead criticises him for inadequately exploring the association of risk and return in the models used in his economic research. Knight analyses the importance of risk in equity investments through past performance of U.S. markets and aimed at relating it to the concept of profit in the basic economic theory. He argues that any kind of risk deserves a premium (i.e. excess returns), even if the risk is unquantifiable (which he later termed as uncertainty), although, he could not suggest any solid and foolproof way of measuring the premium that he justified. As a cumulative result, the debate on equity risk and the attached premium flared up which necessitated ground breaking empirical researches based on historical data of past performance. Hence, many scholars developed stock price indices in early 20thcentury in order to measure long-term investment performance and estimate future returns; For instance, Mitchell (1910, 1916), Persons (1916, 1919), Cole Frickey (1928) in the U.S. and Smith Horne (1934) and Bowley et al (1931) in the U.K. However, Hautcoeur et al (2005) in their analyses of early stock market indices; argue that the main motive in development of these indices was forgotten in no time and instead they were used to gauge the influence of macroeconomic cycles on equity markets and as an easier way to estimate macroeconomic fluctuations. The popular index of 30 stocks developed by Charles Dow was never aimed at estimating future long-term returns but instead to measure daily returns on the market. Consequently, the relevance of the returns from risk-free assets like government bonds to comparatively risky equity returns was tested. The difference in their rate magnitude of returns solidified the so far debated idea of returns being a compensation of the risk attached to the investments made. Smith (1924) advocates through empirical research and later through his book that; equities give higher returns than bonds because they carry higher risk. He collected historical data on stock prices, dividends and corporate bonds from the stock exchanges at Boston and New York spanning 1866-1923. Furthermore, he divided this period into 4 sub-periods to recognise the economic development. After creating separate portfolios for each asset class (10 securities in each portfolio), he measured cash income and capital gains from both. Equity investments give higher appreciation and returns than bonds in the long-term in-spite of economic changes in the sub-periods, was his conclusion. Further in his book, he suggested a mechanical way of calculating ERP by paying out the equivalent amount of bond returns from the total equity returns and re-investing the remaining in the same equity portfolio. In this way, the relative growth rate of the equity portfolio is the ERP over the bond portfolio. Smiths estimation and method of ERP calculation attracted many retail investors towards the equity markets in 1920s. Later, Smiths attempt to assess equity investment returns over bonds; was improvised by Cowles (1938). He collected historical data on most of the stocks of NYSE instead of only 10 for the period 1872-1937 and notably created the first nearly-accurate index of total returns from common stock investments. Furthermore, he suggested of re-investing the dividend yields into the equity portfolio to save from measuring cash returns and value appreciation separately, the way Smith did. However, he made no concluding remarks such as equity investments can be more profitable than bonds, unlike Smith. By then, although the idea of an ERP was making financial economic sense, a solid way of estimating future ERP could not be developed yet; the two main reasons being the unavailability of adequate historical equity market data and the ignorance about the possibility of a forward looking method. However later, John Williams (1938) wrote the first book that defined; modelled and estimated forward looking ERP. Although he estimated future ERP in U.S. using Dividend Discount Model (DDM), he argued that ERP estimates based on Historical Method are equally precise. He believed that the most suitable way to calculate the riskiness of a security is by appending a premium to the risk. Later, he also became the first researcher to numerically estimate a forward looking ERP for U.S. By then, the concept of ERP had been clearly understood and its importance had been recognised. Nearing late 1940s economists and researchers had realised the importance of risk and conceptualised ERP as an essential ingredient to calculate future returns on equity investments. Moreover, enough historical data of U.S. equity markets was also available for past performance analyses and empirical researches. Even so, there was no method/measure that could quantify future risk and returns for any given portfolio of investments, as most experts and investors believed in calculating risk-return trade-off individually for equities and other securities. However, that did not serve the purpose of optimal risk-return trade-off as far as entire portfolio of investments was concerned, until 1952 when crucial theoretical developments began. 2.3 Theoretical Developments This section summarises the important theoretical developments which built models to quantify future risk and returns of equities and related vital researches in portfolio investment management and corporate finance, with a backdrop of their implications on ERP. The 4 most important theories/models reviewed in this section are Portfolio Theory, Capital Market Theory, Capital Asset Pricing Model and Arbitrage Pricing Theory. 2.3.1 Markowitzs Portfolio Theory Harry Markowitz (1952) introduced the Portfolio Theory or now what is called the Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT). It provides a formalised method to diversify the portfolio of all investments (not just equity) with an aim to achieve highest possible returns for lowest possible risk. MPT records expected returns, volatility or risk (standard deviation) for each investment and correlation of one investment to another to create the best combination. Therefore, risk is minimised while maintaining the expected returns, if investments are diversified based on the risk of each individual investment. However, Markowitz (1952) assumed that investors are naturally risk averse, i.e. they tend to choose the investment with highest returns for a given level of risk and refrain from investing if risk is higher than acceptable/favourable levels. Hence, by applying MPT, investors can choose less risky and highly risky investments at the same time in such a way that cumulative expected returns are unharmed and optimised. The risk appetite, although, of each investor differs from the other. Therefore, based on the above assumption, Markowitz (1952) believed that depending on the risk appetite, every investor aims at attaining highest possible returns for the level of risk that he/she is ready to bear. In other words, aims to build an Efficient Portfolio. Consequently, all the portfolios, ranging from high-risk to low-risk, which give optimal returns lie on the Efficient Frontier, as termed by Markowitz. Although Markowitzs MPT is still followed by many experts and investors, it also faces criticism on its unreal assumptions. MPTs assumption of volatility with figures of standard deviation or variance of an investment as its risk measurement may not always be true, especially for equities. It speaks about only a single period when actually volatility changes over time. Therefore, even if a portfolio is efficient today, it may be not be the same tomorrow. For instance, in an economic crisis or equity market crash, there is a high possibility of correlation of two assets in an efficient portfolio increasing than average. Malkiel Xu (1997) empirically prove that volatility of stocks increases with an increase in institutional ownership in the organisations. Similarly Campbell (2000) shows results of increased volatility with reduction in number of conglomerates as organisations started to narrow their focus. Lofthouse (2001) criticises MPT on the fact that it bases its calculation of expected returns, volatility and correlation on past historical figures which is inadequate especially when the aim is to build the most efficient portfolio possible. Furthermore, Bernstein (2002) notes that; MPT assumes that there is a possibility that some investments absolutely do not correlate with any of the other investments which is untrue, as each investment at some point in time correlates with one or the other investment in the portfolio. Hence, although MPT model enables investors to optimally gauge the future risk to gain highest possible returns, it is based on idealistic, theoretically decorative and practically unreal assumptions. 2.3.2 Capital Market Theory After MPT was developed, many researchers worked on the most important missing link in MPT, the inclusion of risk-free asset with zero volatility, zero correlation with risky assets and certain future returns. Tobin (1958) was the first to extend Markowitzs Portfolio Theory by introducing risk-free asset to the Efficient Portfolio. Later, Sharpe (1964), Lintner (1965) and Mossin (1966) contributed to his idea as they independently worked on similar theories. The final development is known as Capital Market Theory (CMT). It is important to note that CMT shares 3 assumptions with those made by Markowitz (1952) for MPT, as follows: Investors are always risk averse Investors decisions are solely based on expected returns and their volatility There exist no transaction costs and taxes However following are the new assumptions that CMT makes as extracted from Lofthouse (2001): All the investors have the exact same time-horizon for their investments Borrowing and lending at the risk-free rate is not restricted All the investors have the exact same expectations for correlation, risk and returns CMT states that the volatility for Efficient Portfolios that include risk-free asset; is actually the linear equivalent of volatility (risk) for the portfolios before risk-free asset inclusion. Hence these combined Efficient Portfolios lie on the straight line graph of risk and return, joining the risky and risk-free assets. This way, the optimal combined portfolio i.e. point-M in Figure.2.2, is identified at the tangency point formed by the ray starting from point-F in Figure.2.2 i.e. expected return of risk-free asset and the Efficient Frontier. It is optimal because it gives the highest possible returns for any level of risk. Therefore, it is known as Market Portfolio as it has all risky assets and the ray is known as Capital Market Line (CML). CMT advocates that all the investors should aim to build their portfolios on CML depending on their risk appetite. They could invest in risk-free asset by lending or borrow at risk-free rate to invest in Market Portfolio. Either way their p ortfolios will earn more returns than other portfolios (blue spots in Figure.2.2) on or off the Efficient Frontier, for any given risk (Brealey et al, 2007). Therefore, under the CMT the expected returns of the equity portfolio are calculated by determining the slope of CML which is the change in return for a given change in risk and intercept which is return of risk-free asset (See Equation-2). The risk is measured by the standard deviation (Lofthouse, 2001). The development of CMT was ground-breaking in the field of investment management. It clarified the effect of including risk-free asset in an equity portfolio. It formed the first equation made of ERP, risk and returns, all together. In Equation-2, change in return is market return less the risk-free return which is actually the ERP. However, this estimation of ERP is an empirical deduction (calculated from slope of CML), as early development of CMT by Tobin (1958) was just an extension of MPT. Until it was theoretically formalised by Sharpe (1964), Lintner (1965) and Mossin (1966) independently, which then led to the gradual development of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). Hence, the CAPM is usually referenced as SLMs CAPM for Sharpes, Lintners and Mossins equal and vital contributions. 2.3.3 Capital Asset Pricing Model The CAPM is undoubtedly the most widely known model to calculate expected returns. It is a sophisticated improvisation of CMT, which in-turn is an extension of MPT and therefore builds on the relationship/trade-off between risk and returns. It is primarily based on the universal classification of risk into 2 broad categories namely: Systematic: Risk that affects almost all assets equally Unsystematic or Specific: Risk that affects only individual asset or asset class (Sharpe, 1964) The CAPM is developed through the conception of Security Market Line (SML) (See Figure.2.3) which is a ray similar to CML originating from the return of risk-free asset. However, the big difference being that SML represents the linear relationship between risk and return from individual assets and/or inefficient portfolios in respect to market portfolio, unlike CML which only represents efficient portfolios. The risk that is measured is only systematic as it is un-diversifiable and hence rewarded, unlike unsystematic risk. The standardised measure of this systematic risk is called Beta which is covariance of an asset or portfolio with market portfolio divided by variance of market portfolio. Market portfolio has Beta equal to 1. Asset with Beta higher than 1, is riskier than market portfolio and hence higher return is expected. Assets with Beta lower than 1, are less risky with lower return. The expected returns are calculated by adding return on risk-free asset to the product of ERP and systematic market risk borne by the stock (See Equation-3) (Sharpe, 1964), (Lofthouse, 2001). However, the value of Beta for individual stocks of portfolios is not known. It needs to be estimated and is hence subject to errors. Understanding the mechanics and application of the CAPM is imperative to the study of ERP, as the slope of SML i.e. linear relationship between risk (Beta) and return, equals the difference between market returns and risk-free returns which is ERP. The application of the CAPM is extremely vital in the context of ERP measurement methods as it uses ERP as an input to calculate the expected returns on a stock. The empirical studies and relevant literature related to the CAPM and its applicability in ERP estimation methods are discussed in section 2.4.3. 2.3.4 Arbitrage Pricing Theory As seen before, MPT and CMT both assess only the cumulative risk of individual assets and market risk respectively, while calculating expected future returns. Ross (1976) proposed the Arbitrage pricing Theory (APT) based on the perception that the risk of assets and their future returns vary in accordance with the risks affecting the overall economic situation. Ross believed that unsystematic risks can be curbed/nullified through diversification as suggested by MPT CAPM and hence will not affect expected returns. But systematic risks having influence on all assets cannot be diversified and hence can cause fluctuation in the expected returns. Although he did not suggest any particular factors that can trigger the systematic risk, empirical results of Burmeister et al (1997) implied the following 5 factors: Inflation Business cycle Investor confidence Time horizon Market timing APT states that; the sensitivity of assets to the unanticipated instability in the above factors varies due to which one of them can get mispriced therefore creating an arbitrage opportunity. Consequently, by selling the highly-priced asset to buy the low-priced asset, the investor can ensure profit and nearly-perfect pricing of both assets. This arbitrage can be termed as the Risk Premium for that particular factor. However, this profit is expected and not guaranteed unlike usual arbitrage gains. Like MPT and CMT, APT also has some underlying assumptions as follows: No transaction costs Short selling i.e. selling assets that are not owned, is allowed Enough assets to diversify unsystematic risks (Ross, 1976) APT has faced many criticisms on its applicability in calcul