Apple Inc. in 2012 Essay Example for Free

Apple Inc. in 2012 Essay Introduction: Apple Inc. initially started as ‘Apple Computers’ and was mainly known as a computer company with its devices known as ‘Macintosh’. With a few years down the road, it was transformed into a ‘mobile devices company’ and major contribution in this regard was by non-other than Steve Jobs. He revolutionized many industries and paved a way for a more technology-oriented future at Apple. Background:The recently deceased CEO of Apple Steve Jobs was considered to be the most influential and innovative  person in the technology industry for the past decade or so. It was assumed that after his demise Apple as a company would fail to be at its best and would lose way in this battle of technology giants which includes Google, Samsung, HTC, just to name a few. But recent products and market share has proven otherwise that Tim Cook is doing a fine enough job and it is more of an image or brand which is what Apple is and as long as their product line shows consistency, consumers will buy them no matter who is in charge. The tool that will be used for writing this case will be based on SWOT analysis. Starting with strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and finally threats. A concept known as ‘blue ocean strategy’ will also be implemented and defined how it played a role in the success of Apple and making it what it is today. SWOT Analysis: It starts by taking a look at all the angles of a company and then working on those angles to perfect any issues that appear during ‘evaluation’ phase. Strengths:Apple being a ‘brand’ was highly successful and quickly became a status symbol for many who used to buy Apple products (Anon 2013). Marketing was its strongest point and also an area, which had to be because if they were to penetrate a global market where many individual competitors were already acting it was important for Apple to do so. Design, being a brand is not easy and Apple made sure its products were uniquely identifiable as well as easy to use, even for a first time user. Jony Ive who is the head of design at Apple is famous for his distinct product designs and quality. Factors reduced below the industry standard: These are the ones, which are not used regularly and can be put on a back burner to make room for new features. For e.g. setting a design language and focusing on improving that over the years rather than changing it every year. Bigger profit margins, this was possible due to high sale price and also the customer was loyal and was willing to pay more for Apple products. Factors that industry has taken for granted: In Macs, Apple has removed all those features which were not used by consumers and were considered to be obsolete such as firewire ports and have added more advanced one such as thunderbolt and HDMI under its pro line of books. Weaknesses: Developing an ecosystem was a good thing but it had its side effects too. As alternative products were available at low costs, it was difficult to retain a new customer for a long term as sticking to the Apple ecosystem was costly. Incompatibility (Anon 2013) was partially killed in Macs when Apple switched  to Intel chips but due to running its own OS and proprietary set of core applications, many high-end apps that developers or professionals used were missing and were only available on Windows OS. After Jobs demise, a few leading management executives left Apple and it was perceived as a setback for the company. Steve was ruthless in his approach but kept everyone together. Though Apple makes its own devices but the hardware used in many iPhones and iPads is purchased as raw products from Samsung, which is its biggest competitor. Opportunities:After stepping into the mobile phone industry, Apple changed the way people communicated and it ushered a new era for hand held devices. This includes applications that could be installed on a smartphone and one could use it as a ‘minicomputer’ while working on the go. As far as an ecosystem of the company is concerned, Apple made full use of its pioneering into the smartphone business by launching an App Store which was the hub for all things mobile, which later on included the iPad. Factors raised well above the industry standard: Product designs are key to Apple’s success and have been improved significantly by adopting uni-body designs and utilizing this approach for a more firm and sturdy product. Factors which industry has never offered: Invention of an iPad is one such example where a whole new category has been created to consume media and be productive while being portable too. iPad was a revolutionized product of its own as its created a whole new industry and category for people to create and consume media, productivity or just casual use. An advantage which iPad enjoyed as being a new product was the ability to run those same apps available for an iPhone. Further down the line, as companies are trying to penetrate different sectors of a market, Apple can do so by entering a television business as well as wristwatches (Anon 2013). Samsung and Motorola among many others have already released a few watches but with Apples engineering skills and design elements, one can argue just how well this opportunity will be for Apple to exploit and use it to their own advantage. Threats: Competitors are catching up to Apple and Android OS is its biggest rival in smartphone/tablet business. With such rapid change in technology, it is not easy to sustain unless you keep on innovating. Android being an open source operating system has more market share and more market area covered as compared to Apple. It is cheap for a manufacturer to produce and android device than it is for Apple to bring its top class product in  such markets. Size also matters for many consumers as Samsung, HTC, LG and many more have re-defined smartphone screen sizes and Apple is playing catch up in that area. In countries such as India, Malaysia, Singapore, there are many alternatives and they are low cost as they use slightly low end hardware but deliver same set of features which high end manufactures do. As said before, Samsung controls the pricing for silicon and display provided to Apple, it puts them at an advantage and can hinder the manufacturing process for many devices. Businesses should focus less on their competitors and more on alternatives as people try to find low cost alternatives for buying products and companies should also focus on creating new customers (Anon n.d.). Conclusion:It is to be believed that Apple has taken the market by storm and others are to slow to react but with time it all changes as competitors catch up and are innovating in areas where Apple still has to step a foot in, this makes Apple and its rivals kept on their toes and are innovating day by day to progress and outperform each other. Samsung and Google dominate areas, such as wristwatches and eyewear, respectively. Only time will tell how good and how long can one thrive and succeed in this battle of technology giants. Recommendations:For Apple to succeed it is important for them to invest in wearable as this is going to be the next big thing in the technological invention. While on the other hand, Samsung should also work on their smartphone designs as they lack class but are full of features. This takes a huge chunk out of a market, which purely buys products on design and looks such as iPhone or even more recently the HTC one series. References BIBLIOGRAPHY SWOT Analysis of Apple. (2013). Retrieved September 6, 2014, from http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/swot-analyses/apple-swot-analysis.html Whar is Blue Ocean Strategy? (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2014, from http://guides.wsj.com/management/strategy/what-is-blue-ocean-strategy/

Sources Of Finance And Working Capital Management Finance Essay

Sources Of Finance And Working Capital Management Finance Essay In the financial context, the working capital management would include the management of debtors, creditors, stock, cash and bank account. This is a kind of short term financing as working capital management will cover current assets and current liability. It is one of the most important and time-consuming activities of the financial manager to ensure the solvency of the firm while attempting to maximize the firms value, there is a constant need to balance profitability and risk. Proper cash management plays an important part to meet permanent financing needs (pay creditors, pay taxes etc). few methods to ease the shortage of cash, such as postpone capital expenditure, negotiation with suppliers about the postpone or reduction of payment with extra caution as any in appropriate negotiation might hurt trading relationship. Furthermore, business can pay the creditor within the discount period so as to pay less to the vendor to enjoy discount, this is a kind of short term financing as it lower down the working capital. No any cost is carried with such kind of financing; business can enjoy higher profit but bear lesser risk. There are 3 basic financing strategies for working capital management to determine the appropriate mix of short-term and long term financing, which would consist of: the aggressive strategy, the conservative strategy and the moderate strategy. The aggressive strategy uses short-term funds to finance all of the firms seasonal and perhaps, a portion of its permanent needs, however, the cost and risk should be taken for consideration. Lower cost since short term financing cost is cheaper but higher risk as the net working capital is lowest. This may have difficulty in obtaining long term fund in an emergency when more financing is required. The conservative strategy uses long term fund to finance all of a firms projected needs and uses short terms funds only in emergencies. Higher cost is incurred since long term financing is more expensive and not needed all year long but low risk since net working capital is high, in addition, short term financing may be readily available in emergency. The moderate financing strategy is a compromise between the aggressive and conservative financing strategies. This result in a level of net working capital somewhat higher than that in aggressive strategy but lower than that of a conservative strategy. Question 2 There are different kind of financing sources which business can gather for its needs. There are four major types of financing such as government aid, business owners, borrowing from the bank and other way of borrowing. For short term financing, all kinds of business would like to borrow loan from the bank, industrial and financial institutions as HSBC (UK) help in promoting new companies, expanding and development of existing companies, providing underwriting facility, provision of local and foreign currency for the purchase of machinery. Commercial paper can be another type of financing which is an unsecured promissory notes issued by very large firms such as HSBC,GM as commercial paper is usually sold at a discount from its face value. Factoring and invoice discounting are the other 2 kinds of short term financing, which simply means that organisation get the advance cash by assign its debt or invoice to the factor, which normally can up to 80% of the value of debts or the amount of selected invoices. Business can through various forms to obtain the medium and long term financing such as debt financing, equity financing and others various forms. Debt financing is ideal for business as it is cheaper to use debt than other forms of financing because lender take lower risk than other long term contributors of capital, long term debts can be obtained through 2 ways: a term loan made by a financial institution such as HSBC which provides flexible business loan, repay over periods of 12 month to 15 years (10 years for fixed rate). The sale of bonds to institutional and individual investors, normally corporate bond are usually issued with maturities of between 5 to 30 years for raising large sum of money to meet its financing needs. Medium and long term financing are obtained through equity financing such as capital market and Initial public offering (IPO), through borrowing and selling shares, company can get much more cash which can be used for further development and other business opportunities. In addition, Listed company can also raise capital through issue right share which is relatively cheap and normally large amount of capital often be raised. Commercial mortgages offered by financial institutes would finance the business to buy freehold or long leasehold premise, for example: bank of Ireland offers flexible payment terms of up to 20 years with optimal repayments throughout the period of the loan. This would ease the tense of businesss medium and long term financing needs. Finally, a debenture is a long-term debt instrument which companies to obtain funds. A debenture is usually unsecured in the sense that there are no liens or pledges on specific assets. It is however, secured by all properties not otherwise pledged. This would satisfy corporate medium and long term financing needs. Question 3 Please refer to the appendix. (Excel format) Question 4 There is different tax liability applied for sole traders, partners and limited companies. For the sole traders, if he/she has any income from self-employment, then he/she should pay any Income Tax and National Insurance contributions due. This will depend on how much you earn from self-employment as he may have to pay Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance contributions. Class 2 National Insurance contributions were charged at a flat rate, either by monthly Direct Debit or by quarterly bill. However, income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance contributions are based on sole traders profits from self-employment. There is several allowances for personal to claim, such as personal allowance, blind persons allowance, married couples allowance, maintenance payment relief, tax allowances and reliefs. Similar to sole trader, partners have to file an individual Self Assessment tax return. Moreover, partners have to fill in the partnership supplementary pages SA104. In addition, the nominated partner must also file a Partnership Return SA800 showing each partners share of the profits or losses. Supplementary pages might be included too, depending on what types of income the partnership has. The nominated partner is responsible for filing the partnership return but all partners will be jointly liable for any penalties, surcharges and interest if the return is late or inaccurate. Each partner is personally responsible for paying the tax and Class 4 National Insurance contributions due on their share of the partnership profits. Now comes to companies. From 1 April 2010, the corporate tax will be 28%, the taxation changes can be found in the appendix such as small companies tax rate is 21%. A non-resident company carrying on a trade in the UK through a permanent establishment located in the UK is liable to corporation tax on all income and gains attributable to that establishment. Corporation tax rates are fixed for each financial year ended 31 March. If the companys accounting period does not coincide with the financial year, its profits must be time-apportioned and the corporation tax rate is applied accordingly. Marginal relief applies to companies with profits between  £300,000 and  £1,500,000. The tax thresholds may be reduced where the UK Company has associated companies worldwide or an accounting period of less than 12 months. Large companies (broadly, those with profits taxed at 28%) are required to pay their tax to HM Revenue (HMRC) in instalments (generally in four equal instalments). The first payment is due six months and 14 days from the first day of the accounting period. There is a minimum limit which enables companies with an annual corporation tax liability of  £10,000 or less to avoid making such payments. For companies not required to pay their tax in instalments to HMRC, corporation tax is due for payment nine months and one day after the end of the companys accounting period Question 5 In the new tax incentive scheme, all business are eligible for the PIC( Productivity and Innovation Credit) for the year of assessment 2011 to 2015 if company invest in any one of following: Enhanced capital allowance or deduction for acquisition or leasing of prescribed automation equipment; Enhanced deduction of qualifying training expenditure; Enhanced writing-down allowance for acquisition of Intellectual Property Rights; Enhanced deduction of costs for registering certain Intellectual Property Rights; Enhanced deduction of qualifying research and development expenditure; and Enhanced deduction of qualifying design expenditure. Business can deduct up to 250% of their expenditure which incurred during these 5 years on each of these actitivities. Form the YA 2011 to 2012, a combined of 600,000 dollars of expenditure of each activity and 300,000 dollars of expenditure for YA 2013 to 2015 can be deducted from their income. In addition, businesses are eligible to convert up to $300,000 (but not less than $1,500) of the qualifying deductions for all six qualifying activities under the PIC   at a rate of 7% into a cash payout of up to $21,000 each year. This new scheme will promote business to invest most on machinery and train their employees to meet one national goal- more productive and innovative for the nation, for the worldwide competitiveness. For the new start up company, company can claim full tax exemption on the first 100,000 dollars of normal chargeable income and 50% for the next 200,000 dollars. This scheme will support local entrepreneurs and help local business grow as the starting of business is always difficult. Other common expenses or tax incentive companies can enjoy are: business expense, capital allowance, industrial building allowances, land intensification allowance, loss carry-back relief and unutilised losses, capital allowances and donations. Question 6 Problem 2 500,000=100,000+150,000+250,000 The payback period is 3 years. Year Cash Flow PV of Cash Flow Cumulative 0 -500,000 -500,000 -500,000 1 100,000 100,0000.9009=90090 -409910 2 150,000 150,0000.8116=121,740 -288170 3 250,000 250,0000.7312=182,800 -105,370 4 300,000 300,0000.6587=197,610 PV=FVx(PVIFn,11%) The discounted payback period=3+ 105,370/197610=3.53years Since 3 Problem 4 a) Year Cash Flow PV of Cash Flow 0 -225,000 -225000 1 75,000 75,0000.8547=64,102.5 2 125,000 125,0000.7305=91,312.5 3 200,000 200,0000.6244=124,880 (total)=280,295 PV=FVx(PVIFn,17%) NPV=280,295-225,000=55,295 b) PI= 280,295/225,000=1.26 c) The project should be accepted as a profitability index greater than 1 and there is consistent with a positive net present value, 1.26 indicates that company can earn the 17% of required rate of return, plus provide a net present value of $ 0.26 per $1.00 of net investment. Problem 6 Year Cash Flow PV of Cash Flow 0 -875,000 -875,000 1 400,000 400,0000.8850=354,000 2 500,000 500,0000.7831=391,550 3 600,000 600,0000.6931=415,860 Total=1,161,410 NPV= -875,000+400,000/(1+r)+500,000/(1+r)2+600,000/(1+r)3=0 IRR=30% Beginning Value=875,000 Terminal Value=354,000+391,550+600,000=1,345,550 So: MIRR=24% 24%>13% and 30%>13%, so we should accept the project. Question 7 There are several technique of financial appraisal, such as NPV, IRR,payback period, discounted payback period etc. Both NPV and IRR generate same accept/reject decision at given cost of capital but may rank project differently due to underlying assumptions such as NPV assumes cash flow are reinvested at the cost of capital( k is from funding), IRR assumes cash flow are reinvested at the internal rate of return itself( k is for project), thus the magnitude and timing of cash flows will affect the ranking of the projects. Theoretically, NPV is superiors than IRR as it assumes cash flow s are reinvested at the cost of capital which is more realistic than being able to reinvest at a higher rate( usually) in the IRR. Thus, NPV will be more effective to measure project prospect. There are a number of projects for which using IRR is not as effective as using NPV to discount cash flows. IRRs major limitation is also its greatest strength: it uses one single  discount rate to evaluate every investment. Practically, IRR is superior, as it is easier to understand, though more difficult to calculate as trial and error approach is used to find the IRR. The NPV method is inherently complex and requires assumptions at each stage discount rate, likelihood of receiving the cash payment, etc. The IRR method simplifies projects to a single number that management can use to determine whether or not a project is economically viable. The result is simple, but for any project that is long-term,  that has multiple cash flows at different discount rates, or that has uncertain cash flows in fact, for almost any project at all simple IRR isnt good for much more than  presentation value, therefore, IRR is less effective than the NPV. For payback period method, there are two main problems associated with it: It ignores any benefits that occur after the payback period and, therefore, does not measure profitability and ignores the time value of money. Whereas for discounted payback period method, it considers the time value of money and the riskiness of the projects cash flows (through the cost of capital) but no concrete decision criteria that indicate whether the investment increases the firms value and it requires an estimate of the cost of capital in order to calculate the payback and ignores cash flows beyond the discounted payback period. In general, each method has the certain extent of effectiveness on project prospect measurement. Question 8 a)Current ratio = Current Assets/Current Liabilities = 146,438,269/220,500,307 = 0.664 A ratio of 0.664 means that for every $1 owned by the firm, it has $0.664 of current assets that can be converted into cash to meet these debt obligation, so company can not cover its debt now. b) Quick ratio = (CurrentAssets-Inventory-Prepaid Expenses)/Current Liabilities = (146,438,269-59,716,920)/ 220,500,307 = 0.393 A ratio of 0.393 means that each dollars of short-term debt is backed by $0.393 of cash or near-cash assets. c) Inventory Turnover= Cost of Goods sold/Ending Inventory =333,027,693/59,716,920 =5.577 A ratio of 5.577 times means that during the year, on the average, the company sell its inventory 5.577 times. Number of days it takes to sell its stock are 365/5.577=65.4. d) Profit Margin =Gross Profit/Net Sales =65,423,180/1,254,805,671 =0.052 $1 net sales generate $0.052 towards covering operating expenses and the excess contribute to net profit. e) Return on assets =Net operating profit before interest/ending total assets = (44,815,036+41,737,790)/1,612,578,813 =0.054 Every $1 asset generates a profit of $0.054. f) Return on common stockholders equity = net profit after tax/ending ordinary stockholders equity = 44,815,036/516,770,461 =0.087 It means that every $1 invested by the ordinary stockholder earns a net profit of $0.087 g) Debt to total asset ratio =total liabilities/total asset =1,095,808,352/1,612,578,813 =0.680 It means that 68% of the total asset are finance by borrowing as the percentage of assets financed by creditors increases, the riskiness of the company increases. h) Times interest earned = (Net profit before deducting interesttax/interest expense = (44,815,036+41,737,790)/ 41,737,790 =2.074 It means that recurring income is 2.074 times of interest payment. i) Asset Turnover =revenue/total asset =1,254,805,671/1,612,578,813 =0.778 This means that companies with low profit margins tend to have high asset turnover, it indicates pricing strategy. This ratio is more useful for growth companies to check if in fact they are growing revenue in proportion to sales by 0.778 times. ( 2497 words)

The Role And Importance Of The Sun Philosophy Essay

The Role And Importance Of The Sun Philosophy Essay We know that the sun is very important to us but the main question is why. We all understand that the sun supplies Earth with never ending energy that we use in multiple ways. The energy comes in as heat and light and we transform the energy in different ways to create electricity. But how is the energy created and how it gets to Earth? The formation of suns energy lies within its core and radiates outward and travels out to Earth and the rest of the solar system. Our sun is the central part of our solar system; if the sun didnt exist several things wouldnt occur: the process of photosynthesis would not take place, oxygen cannot be created, therefore, life cannot be present. The sun and its sunlight give us access to many resources. Sunlight helps the plants produce oxygen and overtime create fossil fuels. The importance of the sun is both positive and negative, the more we study and understand the sun we learn to advance our society. The suns positive effects help us find and progre ss ways to gain renewable resources, such as creating wind power, dams and solar energy. The negative effects of the sun include climate changes and damaging of the ozone, and harmful effects on humans that result in sunburn, eye damage, and damaging of the skin: skin cancer and premature aging. The sun produces two different Ultraviolet Radiations (UV rays), UVA and UVB. The sun effects earth in many ways to carry on life and thats why it is very important. It gives us the privilege to energy: heat and light, oxygen, water, electricity, and many more. Its truly amazing how this star of gas can create many things to save our lifes and it is important that we understand the reasons why, and not always take it for granted. Who knows scientist say that after another 5 billion years there may not be a sun anymore. The sun plays the most essential role for all living species on Earth, without the sun there would be no existence of life on Earth. Without the sun what would happen to Earth? What will happen to the rest of the Solar System? The questions are important to know and answer. The sun is important in many ways, not only does the sun provides Earth with heat and light, it gives us various things that allow us to live. The understanding of how the sun works, and provides Earth with so many different resources that is significant in our everyday lives. The sun supplies energy through heat and gives Earth light, it is the number one reason we are alive because it helps create oxygen, in which we breathe in order to live. The importance of the all the things the sun offers Earth are positive and negative. Almost all of the energy used on the Earth comes originally from the sun. Astronomers studied the sun in several ways, understanding its functions and applying it to our world today. The st udy of the sun has led us to many understandings in science and advanced us in technology development. The more we understand the sun the more appreciative we become. It is believed that the sun is 5 billion years old star; it formed when gravity drew together an enormous cloud of gas and dust. This gravitational pull released energy and heated the Sun. The sun is huge and has a continuous release of energy; Earth only receives a small portion of that energy. The suns energy is produced by hydrogen fusion which is the sequence of thermonuclear reactions in which four hydrogen nuclei combine to produce a single helium nucleus. This fusion process in the sun is known as the proton-proton chain. (Cooke, 1985) Today, the sun still consists of mostly hydrogen. This means that the fuel supply which has burned through the first 5 billion years should be good enough for another 5 billion for the future. Fusion is the energy source that can only provide this energy rate for more than 5 billion years. Fusion requires high temperatures and high pressure to begin and carry out the process. Energy is transferred in the sun, through gamma rays photons that are produced by fusion in the core. Then energy is carried away from the suns core by radiative diffusion and convection. Radiative diffusion is the energy that is transported by photons flowing from hot, bright regions to cold, dark regions. Convection zone is farther away from the core of the sun. The Convection zone carries energy up to the surface. It allows hot fluids rise and the cold fluids to sink, overturning and bubbling like a boiling pot of water. The photosphere is heated and light is released from the sun; it takes about 1 million years for the light to be released and 8 minutes for that light to reach Earth. Earth receives Light and heat created by the sun. Starting from outside of earth and in our solar system, the sun already begins to have a very important position. Everything in our solar system orbits the sun. If that sun were not to exist, all the planets would have nothing to orbit around. But if there was no sun, nothing would keep all the planets in orbit. It is the gravity of the sun allows pulls all the planets in its orbit. The same as the moon orbiting the Earth, the moon is pulled in Earths orbit. Earth travels in an elliptical orbit around the sun because the velocity of Earth moves in a perpendicular path due to the force of the suns pull. If the sun wasnt present, Earth would travel in a straight line. (Jordan, 2003) Due to the presents sun and its gravity, it causes Earth to travel around the sun, in almost a circle. Without the sun the Earth will be dark, and cold. We wouldnt be able to even survive in extremely freezing weather and permanent darkness. As we know the sun produces light and heat, these two products are very essential to Earth in several ways. The sun helps produce a significant product for all life to occur, oxygen. Without sunlight green plants cannot exist because the process of photosynthesis cannot occur. Photosynthesis is a chemical process which water and carbon dioxide combine together (only in the presence of both sunlight and chlorophyll the chemical that makes the leaves in plants green) to produce glucose and oxygen. (Perles, 2011) Plants take in sunlight, convert it to food to live on, and grow. During the process that plants convert the sunlight to food, plants release oxygen, in which we breathe. If there were to be no existence of sunlight, then the process of photosynthesis cannot take place. Plants could not produce energy for them to survive, which means they c annot produce oxygen and they would disappear. Not only would plants disappear but people and animals would also vanish, because they depend on green plants for food and oxygen to breathe. A simple way to put it is, the food chain begins with plants to animals to humans and without the process of photosynthesis there could be no life on Earth. The sunlight did more than just allow plants to drive out the process of photosynthesis. But after the plants decay and millions and millions of years pass, buried under the ground is their decomposed organic materials: coal, petroleum, and natural gas. (Perles, 2011) Sunlight is a major factor for fossil fuels. The sunlight allowed us to have access to fossil fuels that are very important in our everyday life; we use fossil fuels as one of our energy sources. As we discovered the importance of the sun to the Earth, yet the effects that the sun creates on Earth are both positive and negative. Some positive features of the sun are mainly from its release of energy. The sun is the starting point of the water cycle. The sun heats Earths water bodies (oceans, seas, lakes, rivers) and that causes the water to evaporate. The water vapor transforms into clouds (condensation), and then the water descend from the clouds as precipitation and back into the bodies of water or on land and the cycle starts over again. Another positive result we gain from the sun is wind; wind is created through the method when sunlight heats the bodies of water and land. Earths atmosphere also heats, the warm air rises and the cool air moves to replace the rising warm air. During this transition of warm and cool are is what makes the wind blow. (Stern, 2004) Understanding and studying the sun in its production of wind and water helped us advance in new technology. Through studies of the wind and how it is created by the sun, studies lead us to use the wind to generate electricity to use. Wind is classified as a solar energy and is a renewable resource, because it is ever ending. Wind power or wind energy is the conversion of wind into mechanical or electrical power. Wind turbines is the system that runs the technology, giant windmill devices that are placed in windy locations called wind farms. (EPA, 2010) The turbines twirl and as the wind blows and creates electricity that power generators and produces electrical power. Two other forms of technology that creates electrical power are dams and solar cells. Dams or hydropower is another renewable energy source. Hydropower is the renewable energy source that produces the most electricity in the United States.(EPA, 2010) Hydropower depends on the water cycle that the sun carries through. Th e energy is carried in the flow of water in the river. Water is carried through pipes (penstocks) and then pushed up against a blade of a turbine that turns and spins a generator to produce electricity. The sunlight can be transformed to electricity directly by using photovoltaic cells (solar cells). Photovoltaic cells are electrical devices that convert energy in the sunlight directly into electricity at the atomic level. (Stern, 2004) This is a newer form technology that is advancing our lives today. Photovoltaic cells are used for solar heating on houses. They are placed on the roof of the home to heat the home and water. More recent technology that is becoming very popular is electric cars. Photovoltaic cells are advancing our world because it helps reduce the use of our non-renewable resources. Aside from all the positive results of the sun, the sun has many negative results on Earth. Studies show that the sun is the cause of climate change and some damage of the ozone. Both activities of humans that take place on Earth and the solar output from the sun are found to cause climate change. (Danny, 2008) The sun is massive and powerful, both the pollution and gasses released from the people and the power of the sun created a large hole in the ozone layer. In the past half century climate temperatures have gone up in result of this. Climate will change due to the damage the sun is causing to the ozone, the temperatures on Earth will continue to rise and natural disasters will become stronger. The sun negatively on the humans too, giving them sunburns, eye damage, and damaging the skin leading to skin cancer and premature aging. Ultraviolet Radiation (UV rays) is the light that is projected by the sun; the UV rays are what is responsible for the sunburns, skin cancer and eye damage. The atmosphere is responsible for determining the amount of UV light that is received. There are two types of UV rays that are projected by the sun. UVA rays are less harmful rays but they are not absorbed by the ozone layer. These rays are long wavelengths that cause skin tan, and age prematurely. They are dangerous because they penetrate deep into the skin. UVB rays are more severe than UVA rays, even though these rays are partly absorbed by the ozone layer. They cause sunburn. Overtime the more exposure to these rays cause skin cancer. The light from the rays damages the DNA of the skin cells, which disables the cells from making proteins. (Mazzucco, 2006) Ultimately the DNA transforms compl etely, the new DNA is duplicated and causes cancer. UVB rays also help your body create vitamin D, which is important because it helps keep bones from becoming fragile. Even though vitamin D is in some foods, vitamin D from the sun is quicker and efficient for the body. Moreover the fact that vitamin D is produced by the sun and our bodies need it, the risks that lie in the rays of the sun are hazardous. Our exposure to the sun needs to be monitored to save our health. The sun is a powerful and prominent star in our solar system. The sun does so much for Earth; life cannot carry on without it. The sun provides us with so much and the more we understand the sun the more we are able to advance from our findings. We are able progress in our society and live better lives as we know where to use our resources. As time proceeds, we may find findings to overcome the negative effects of the sun. The more we learn about our brilliant sun we also learn to be grateful for it more and not to always take it for granted, because in about 5 billion years it is presumed that the sun will die and Earth will no longer live.

Hardys Jude the Obscure :: Religion Religion Jude Hardy Essays

Hardy's Jude the Obscure   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Hardy's Jude the Obscure, Hardy shows his views on religion and commitment to the Church which were said to have declined in the latter years of his life. (Ingham, xxvii) Throughout the book Hardy displays his feeling that religion is something that people use in order to satisfy themselves by giving their lives meaning. One instance in which Hardy clearly displays this is when he writes, "It had been the yearning of his heart to find something to anchor on, to cling to." (Ingham, 94) In order to bring out this point Hardy chooses to create Jude as an orphan and has him come from obscure origins. By doing this he creates a character who is looking for something to give him an identity. As a result of his relationship with Mr. Phillotson (who leaves for Christminster in order to become ordained), he finds religion and feels that he can use it to help him gain an identity. Hardy feels that people should shy away from their old ways of thinking and begin to form new opinions of their own. He feels that people should not just blindly follow religion without deciding for themselves that this is what they want. People should not be as Jude who becomes obsessed with religion simply because his mentor Phillotson felt this way. One of the major reasons that causes Hardy to have these views is that he feels religion leads to hypocrisy. He feels that man has many desires that go against the laws of religion, and these desires lead man to feel very hypocritical. These feelings of hypocrisy then cause man to have many inner conflicts that lead to many problems. This negativity towards religion is seen both through symbols in the book and in the plot itself. The symbols that convey this message are the name Jude, which is an allusion to Judas Iscariot who was a traitor to Jesus. The name Jude can also be a reference to the wandering Jew. The second symbol is Christminster. Christminster symbolizes a world in which Jude sees how remarkable the Church is, but it is a place that exists only in Jude's imagination. Another symbol that we encounter is that of Samson who is symbolic of man going after women that are forbidden to him. We also encounter a reference to Nebuchadnezzar's furnace, which is used to question God by asking why the righteous suffer. Finally, the job Jude chooses is also symbolic of the anti-religious attitude that is shown.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The negativity towards religion is first revealed in the name Jude.

The Price of Gasoline Essay -- essays research papers

The Price of Gasoline   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What you are paying for when you buy a gallon of gasoline? Most people complain about the high cost of gasoline, but few understand how the price is calculated. Many people think this cost is for gasoline only, but many other factors determine what you pay at the pumps.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gasoline is a mixture of the lighter liquid hydrocarbons, and used chiefly as a fuel for internal-combustion engines â€Å"Microsoft Encarta,† 2005). Crude oil accounts for nearly 17 percent of the energy consumed in the United States. Gasoline is one of the main products developed from crude oil in the United States. The primary use for gasoline is in automobiles and light trucks. Fuel produced all year round, and is delivered from oil refineries through pipelines to a massive distribution chain serving 167,000 retail stations throughout the United States (â€Å"EIA Brochures†, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The prices paid by consumers at the pump reflect the cost to produce and deliver gasoline to consumers. Included is the cost of crude oil to refiners, refinery- processing costs, marketing and distribution costs, and finally the retail station costs and taxes. Approximately 27 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline is federal, state, and local taxes. Another 14 percent is a combination of distribution, marketing, and retail dealer costs and profits. Refining costs and profits account for about 15 percent of the retail price of gasoline. This part varies from region to region due to the different formulations required in different parts of the country (â€Å"EIA Brochures†, 2004) .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The average retail price for gasoline tends to be higher in certain States or regions than in others. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), other factors contribute to regional and local differences in gasoline prices aside from taxes. Special gasolines are required in some areas of the country. Environmental programs, aimed at reducing carbon monoxide, smog, and air toxins, require oxygenated reformulated, and low-volatility (evaporates more slowly) gasoline, which comes at a much higher price (â€Å"EIA Brochures†, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The proximity of refineries to crude oil supplies can be a factor, as well as shipping costs from the refinery to market. In addition, the areas farthest from the Gulf Coast are the source of nearly half of the gasoline produced in the United States, and th... ...ors that go into that price. Whether it’s the taxes charged by federal state, and/or local government, the amount of competition in the region, the region’s proximity to a reliable gasoline supply or even emissions regulations. The price of the fuel we buy is carefully calculated and is subject to many variables. Informed consumers should understand these factors, and keep them in mind each time they fill their tanks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reference California Energy Commission, Media and public communications office, (1994-2008), page updated 03/17/2007 Retrieved 05/19/2007 from http:///www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline_q- and-a.html Energy Information Administration, (2003) California gasoline price study: preliminary findings, Retrieved 5/04/2007 from Http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/feature_articles/2003/cagasoline/cagasoline.pdf Specialized Information Services, A primer on gasoline prices, publication number DOE/EIA-X040, (released June 2007), Retrieved 5/04/2007 from Http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/brochure/oil_gas/primer/primer.htm Speir, Robert A, Investigation into the current run-up in gasoline, (2004-2008) Retrieved 5/18/2007 from Http://www.iic-inc.com/curr.shtml

What is the importance of Moira in the Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale ?

Moira is a strong character whose determination and past life experiences influence her actions within the new Gilead regime. Moira is undoubtedly a role model for the handmaids in the novel as she is brave and is motivated by her beliefs from which she developed even before the regime was introduced. Moira is also Offred's friend with whom she can associate comfort and trust. However, her determination for her own survival shows her to be selfish and dangerous. One of the underlying purposes of Moira in the novel is as a link to Offred's past. There are many occasions in the novel when Offred refers to her friendship with Moira before the regime: ‘There was a time we didn't hug after she told me she was gay, but then she said I didn't turn her on' Throughout the novel Moira is displayed as a flamboyant character, here, she willingly jokes about her sexuality in order to comfort Offred. She appears to be a complete contrast to Offred as she is bold and out-going, her language is vulgar and brash. Furthermore, the fact that she is allowed to be gay in society shows how much more freedom there was in a pre-Gilead culture. Moira is a clear role model for the handmaids, especially Offred. She displays exceptional courage and determination throughout her time at the Red Centre: ‘You can't let her go slipping over the edge. That stuff is catching' When Janine shows weakness in the Red Centre, Moira takes it upon herself to help her and make sure the Aunts don't find her like it. The fact she tells Offred how to help Janine shows Moira plans to escape. The escape from the Red Centre for the Handmaid's is a fantasy, and when Moira successfully escapes, she too becomes their fantasy. Offred is particularly impressed by Moira's actions and at one point states ‘ if I were Moira, I'd know how to take it apart' This shows Offred's respect for Moira, and suggests her will to be like her. However, Offred makes no attempt to act like Moira, as her disbelief in herself is too strong. Although Moira is caring and a good friend to Offred, her plans to escape the regime are entirely selfish: ‘I've got to get out of here, I'm going bats. I feel panic' Not only does Moira not consider Offred's panic when she tells her she wants to leave but she also implies her escape will be on her own and for herself. Moira's resistance could be a direct danger to Offred, as she is associated as her friend and could therefore be considered either as a source of information for Moira's whereabouts or as a rebel herself. Although Offred's intentions for Moira to stay may also be selfish, as Moira is her only companion, and brings about an air of protectiveness and hope, because she never shows fear and always seems to believe she will escape. The fact Offred finds Moira in Jezebel's hints she has been unsuccessful, as she has escaped to a place, which goes against herself and her ideals: ‘That shit you're with? I've had him, he's the pits' This quote shows she has slept with men, something she would not have been inclined to do in a pre-Gilead society, this clearly shows Moira is not a free woman. Moira is also wearing something she would not haven chosen freely, her out-fit is intended to make her look sexually attractive to men. This is something that Moira would have campaigned against before the new regime was introduced. The fact that Moira was unsuccessful makes her less of a role model in Offred's mind and her mistake was to be too determined. Moira acted on impulse and needed to seek a more powerful resistance than her. Offred's comfort she takes from Jezebels is maybe that the resistance she has discovered is her escape route. Offred now knows she can be successful without being Moira. So, Moira is a strong-minded politically aware woman. Her beliefs in feminism motivate her to resist the sexist regime she has been forced to comply with. Moira is a constant reminder of past life, as she represents freedom for women in a pre-Gilead and Gilead regime, although the sexism she now fights against is magnified in Gilead. Moira's determination is a contrast to Offred's, and her bravery is something, which all the Handmaids wish they had. Moira's heroine status makes her seem she can help any of them and they perceive her to be successful. However, in reality Moira has become a prostitute in Jezebel's. Moira has become something that symbolises what she has fought against mentally and physically throughout her life. Moira is an example in the novel of failed determination. She shows that Offred's subtle attempts to resist the regime and find others like her are not useless.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Essay

Diversity is about valuing individual difference, it can be visible and non-visible. Recognising everyone is unique and has individual differences such as: * Race * Gender * Age * Sex * Ethnicity * Religious beliefs * Sexual orientation * physical beliefs/ qualities * political beliefs * educational background * income * appearance see more:identify barriers to children and young people’s participation In a workplace environment it is very important to support people’s individual differences and to embrace on diversity with each individual. Diversity means more than just acknowledging or tolerating differences it’s about respecting them and understanding that we are all different in many ways. There are seven main forms of discrimination being: Direct discrimination occurs when someone is treated less favourably than another person because of a protected characteristic. Indirect discrimination occurs when a seemingly neutral provision, criterion or practice that applies to everyone places a group who share a characteristic e.g. type of disability at a particular disadvantage. Associative discrimination occurs when someone discriminates against someone because they associate with another person who possesses a protected characteristic. Discrimination by perception occurs when someone discriminates against an individual because they think they possess a particular protected characteristic. Dual discrimination occurs when someone is less favourably because of a combination of two protected characteristics. This means that it will be possible for an applicant to claim that they have been treated less favourably not just because of their race but also their gender. Detriment arising from a disability arises when you treat a person with a disability unfavourably because of something connected with their disability. This type of discrimination is unlawful where the employer or other person acting for employer knows, or could reasonably expected to know, that the person had a disability. Victimisation occurs when an employer is treated unfavourably, disadvantaged or subjected to a detriment because they have made or supported a complaint of discrimination or raised a grievance under the equality act, this policy or the harassment, bullying and discrimination policy or because they suspected of doing so. Third party harassment occurs when an employee is harassed by someone who does not work for the employing organisation such as a customer, visitor, client, contractor from another organisation. They employer will become legally responsible if the employer knows the employee has been harassed on two or more occasions and fails to take responsible steps to protect the employee. Equality Equality is the current term for â€Å"equal opportunities†. In October 2010 it was put in act to protect people from discrimination. Equality is not about treating everyone in the same way, it’s about recognising that there need s are met in different ways. We should aim to recognise, value and manage difference to enable all people contribute and realise their full potential. Inclusion Inclusion is about allowing everyone to join in group activities despite their differences. It’s about promoting equality of opportunities for all and encourages everyone to be treated fairly and valued equally.