The Sultans of Kabult free essay sample

The Kite Runner is an epic story centered around Amir, a 12 year old boy living in 1970s Kabult, Afganistan with his father, Baba. Amir is a one of a kind character in the sense that you have completely different views and opinions of him following every couple of chapters; this is due to the constant changing of his sense of belonging, his perception of his father, and the way he sees Afghanistan. When these changes occure, he becomes mature and learns that the world is going to change one way or another, he also sees the beauty of his youth that he has come to know a place of freedom, life, and solidarity turn into nothing but violence and fear amoung the living citizens of Afghanistan after Russia invaded during the 1970s. Amirs sense of belonging in the world plays a huge part in everything that occures in the book. In early 1970s Afghanistan, Amir doesnt see himself in Babas life once so ever; he feels incredibly jealous due to his father showing more attention to Hasson on different occasions and feels hes being bought out by his father in order to replace 1 on 1 time with him considering they never have that time throughout the entire length of the book. We will write a custom essay sample on The Sultans of Kabult or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His desperation for Babas attention causes him to act irrationally and turns on Hasson by planting his watch under Hassons pillow which causes him to some what get in trouble with Baba. Then time skips to the year 2,000 now taking place in San Francisco, at this time Amir has just graduated college and is enjoying a celebratory beer with Baba. By this time Amir couldnt care less about getting attention from his dad, it will always be in the back of his mind but he gave up and moved on with his life. Their relationship at this time is more of a buddy buddy friendship rather then a father son one. Even with the dad not really giving that much attention to Amir, hes made it clear that he is very much so proud of his sons achievements, its debatable that he cares about Afghanistan rising from the ashes, cause by Russia, more than anything else in the world. Through out the entire book he teaches amir about Afganistan pride and how to never forget where he came from rather than teaching him whats right and wrong. Amirs views of Afghanistan is dramatically changed as the tie period shifts from 20th century Afghan, to 21st century Afghan. As a young boy he seen Afghanistant as a beautiful place with no worries, no problems, and the ability to be care free; excluding his relationship issues between him and Baba and the racist bullies this is shown through how much he talks about and cares for Afghanistan. His feelings come out through his actions: the amount of compassion he shows for the sport of kite flying, the carving into the branch saying The Sultans of Kabult, and how badly his heart is broken when he sees what Afghanistan has become when he comes back for his nephew in the 21st century. Upon Amirs arival into Kabult, he is in utter shock and in disbelief when he sees how his place of youth and purity has turned into a place rittered with violence and chaos. To make it worse the god like character of the movie, his brother Hasson, died a week before his arrival by a gunshot when defend ing the things that meant the world to him: his son Sohrab, wife Farzana, and his homeland (Kabult, Afghanistan). Amirs sense of belonging stimulates from which point of time hes in: during 1970s Afghanistan, his only sense of belonging is getting the full undivided attention of his father instead of the attention going to Hasson. He wants to reach this goal so desperately that he chucks pomagranits at Hasson, tries to get get him fired by his own dad, and allows him to get raped by a bunch of bullies that Hasson protects Amir from. Amir in the 21st century is a confident college graduate who gives unconventional love to Baba and Farzana. Rather than seeking attention, he is now simply enjoying life itself and is living without regrets even though his life in Afghanistan will always be in the back of his mind his sense of belonging is giving his full attention to Farzana by caring for her, writing more stories for them both to enjoy, and in a way preserving the pride that lies amoung the citizens of Kabult; he does this by making sure his relationship status stays within his heritage (Amir is not a racist, he just prefers a partner who has the same cultural background as he does, someone who speaks his language/ in no way is he like the indivisuals who raped Hasson), going back to his homeland to rescue his nephew, and doing so without any fear thou he has yet to see what has become of Kabult over the years since he moved to America nor worries and is optimistic about what the future lies for him, his blood family, and the country of Afghanistan. Later on in the year 2,000, Amir has return from Kabult to San Francisco with his nephew, Sohrab. Amir dedicates this part of his life treating Sohrab the same way Hasson treated him as a kid: with care, the need to protect, and the love that only a father/best friend can give, or even love that can only be given by a godly source (assuming that a God exists). Amir is a character that can only be explained through his emotions and the state of mind he is in during all three points of time: 1970s Kabult, 21st century San Francisco, and late 2,000 when he goes and comes back to and from Kabult, Afghanistan. His sense of belonging, his perception Baba, and the way he views Afghanistan changes dramatically through out the entire book. As a complicated character, Amir deserves admiration for learning from every single mistake he has made in the past and putting it into his current life in order to hae a bright future with a conforting and warming family in peace and harmony (Hassons life is being lived through Amir, another God reference, more over a Jesus reference).

How does Shakespeare Create Comedy in A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay Example

How does Shakespeare Create Comedy in A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay Example How does Shakespeare Create Comedy in A Midsummer Nights Dream Paper How does Shakespeare Create Comedy in A Midsummer Nights Dream Paper Essay Topic: Literature I am writing an essay based on the several ways Shakespeare creates comedy in A Midsummer Nights Dream. I will start by explaining the visual humour first, followed by the aural humour and ending with my conclusion that gives an overall evaluation of Shakespeares presentation of humour in this play. Doing this I will hope to find out how a contemporary audience still finds the play humorous just as an Elizabethan audience did four hundred years ago. Plays are meant to be performed and therefore the visual aspect of them is very important when examining an aspect of the play. They are not like books where the reader must imagine the pictures in his/her head. Some plays can be performed over the radio but they rely completely on aural skills to be appreciated. A Midsummer Nights Dream would lose much of its humour were the audience only able to listen to it. There is a lot of visual humour to be appreciated within this play. An example of this is when the lovers chase each other through the woods. Both men, Lysander and Demetrius, are in love with only one woman, Hermia. Helena just follows Demetrius like a lost puppy, obsessively declaring her love for him. Demetrius: Ill run from thee, and hide me in the brakes, and leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts. Helena: The wildest hath not such a heart as you. Run when you will. The story shall be changed. No matter how repulsed Demetrius seems, Helena will not take no for an answer and maintains stalking him throughout the woods. After Lysander falls in blind love with Helena, she becomes suspicious and confused making it impossible for the audience not to laugh when Hermia and Helena provide one of the most comical scenes of the play, the catfight. Together they scream amusing accusations to each other as then men start to fight. Hermia: O me, you juggler, you canker-blossom, you thief of love. What, have you come by night and stolen my loves heart from him? Helena: Have you no modesty, no maiden shame, no touch of bashfulness? What, will you tear impatient answers from my gentle tongue? Fie, fie, you counterfeit, you puppet, you! An Elizabethan audience as well as a contemporary audience would have found this hilarious, considering how this it is such a weak argument. Shakespeare also shows a great deal of hilarity when all of the Elizabethan workmen take a shot at acting. Bottom recommends a prologue, to show he is in reality Bottom and the lion was in fact snug the joiner so that the ladies would not become frightened and hysterical. He suggested they also cut out all the fighting. This would make the play look very funny considering the play was essentially based on fighting. To top off the whole performance, the men play the rolls of the ladies, and attempt high-pitched voices just to feel the part. Bottom, in my opinion, is the funniest character in the whole. For instance, they are all in the forest and are each given part to play. Bottom is given the part of Pyramus, the manly man that would be perfect for him. is given the part of Thisby, but Bottom jumps at the chance and pleads to get this part and virtually every other part Quince assigns. Its funny the way he over-performs each part to be in the spotlight. Whilst A Midsummer Nights Dream is visually comic, a lot would be lost were there no sound to go with it. The play is rich in Shakespeares language as a tool for creating comedy. I am now going to explore the various ways that the language is used to this effect. A lot of enjoyable malapropism is in this play. Bottom displays this plenty of times when rehearsing and performing the play. Annoying Quince, he tends to say ninny quite a lot of times instead of Ninus, ninny meaning stupid or foolish. Quince also makes the same mistake when Bottoms head is turned into an ass head. Quince confuses his words and tells him thou art translated when really he intended to say transformed. Bottom says, What do you see? You see an ass-head of your own do you? This is ironic, bearing in mind only the audience can see that he himself has the head of an ass and he just happens to come out with this. His voice as a donkey is very funny and husky in comparison to Titanias gentle voice, and when she speaks to him as though is any ordinary person, it will leave the audience in hysterics. The four lovers bring aural comedy into the play with their content of language. Just the manner of the words Demetrius uses is enough to make anyone laugh when he says; I would rather feed his (Lysanders) carcass to my hounds. Shakespeare has took a pleasant man and fed him funny language used in context in this way. Hermia gets labelled a lot of things, and all because of her size. One of the things Lysander identifies her with, is a bead. But he does not stop there, and continues to compare her with an acorn of all things. I believe the whole play relies on every form of comedy. It would not have the same hysteria if it had only the aural comedy and equally the other way round with Visual humour. I dont feel that the play would have had as much of a humorous affect if it had a miserable ending. The audience would see the unhappy ending and have that fixed in their head blocking out the funny side of the play. Shakespeares made this play comical by using witty humour, offending characters in an amusing way and even providing visual hilarious scenes that not only an Elizabethan audience would find funny but a contemporary audience would, just as much. But saying that, there were a lot of scenes where it just wouldnt be funny to a contemporary audience because the humour has matured a lot more than it wouldve been in the sixteenth century. For example, all the men who played the womens parts, this would be extremely amusing for a sixteenth century audience because in those days things were different and it was uncommon. An audience today would have seen this so many times in reality that the funny side of it would have just worn off. I personally only found slight parts of the book funny and the video moderately funny. Whether Id find the film funny or not I think relies totally on the director and whether he feels the comedy he adds in is appropriate or pointless. Hes the only one who can decide the comedy involved in the play and just hope the audience enjoy it.

Aristotle’s views on slavery

Aristotles views on slavery Ancient Greek society generally, and therefore classical Athens, even when it was a ‘democracy’, was bored in slavery, an institution which Aristotle did not consider to be unjust and which he defends in book I of his Politics. This essay will focus on why Aristotle spent so much time on the subject of slavery. Also he claims that woman should not be treated the same as slaves, I would like to discuss the grounds in which he makes this distinction. What is the difference between conventional slavery and natural slavery? And most importantly what is the effect of Aristotle’s argument on conventional slavery? Aristotle’s views on slavery are to the modern mind morally objectionable. Many find them poorly argued and incompatible with more fundamental tenants of his system[1]. Aristotle raises the question of whether slavery is natural or conventional. In his writing he insists that the former is the case. Is theory insists that some people are naturally slave s and some are naturally masters, thus he says: â€Å"But is there any one thus intended by nature to be a slave, and for whom such a condition is expedient and right, or rather is not all slavery a violation of nature?†[2]. It is not hard to answer this question, on the basis of reason and fact. For it is clear that it is necessary for some to rule and other be ruled from the hour of their birth, some are marked for subjection and some to rule. However, it may seem that those who are ruled must be slaves but this is not true at all. It seems clear that in the situation between a slave and a master, the master does not treat the slave as an equal, or as he wishes to be treated, as no one would willingly allow themselves to be enslaved. By implication this would mean that the relationship between ‘master’ and ‘slave’ is an unjust one, which in turn violates Aristotle’s fundamental principal of justice. However Aristotle states that this would o nly be the case if master and slave were indeed truly equal. In fact, however they are not. Because not only is the slave not an Athenian citizen but in addition the master is the superior of the natural slave in a number of respects e.g. possession of reason, wisdom, capacity for autonomous action etc. All of which are qualities that Aristotle associates with ‘humanity’, and all of which in his view are lacking in those who are natural slaves[3]. Aristotle says: â€Å"Where then there is such a difference as that between soul and body, or between men and animals (as in the case of those whose business is to use their body, and who can do nothing better), the lower sort are by nature slaves, and it is better for them as for all inferiors that they should be under the rule of a master. For he who can be, and therefore is, another’s and he who participates in rational principle enough to apprehend, but not to have, such a principle, is a slave by nature. Whereas t he lower animals cannot even apprehend a principle; they obey their instincts. And indeed the use made of slaves and of tame animals is not very different; for both with their bodies minister to the needs of life. Nature would like to distinguish between the bodies of freemen and slaves, making the one strong for servile labor, the other upright, and although useless for such services, useful for political life in the arts both of war and peace. But the opposite often happens–that some have the souls and others have the bodies of freemen. And doubtless if men differed from one another in the mere forms of their bodies as much as the statues of the Gods do from men, all would acknowledge that the inferior class should be slaves of the superior. And if this is true of the body, how much more just that a similar distinction should exist in the soul? but the beauty of the body is seen, whereas the beauty of the soul is not seen. It is clear, then, that some men are by nature free , and others slaves, and that for these latter slavery is both expedient and right.†[4]

English Language Learners Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

English Language Learners - Essay Example The major education reform issue stemming from this perspective is that "bridges" must be created between the repertoire of students and forms of knowledge and behavior accepted within classrooms and the school. Building connections between schools and homes and communities is likely to be a necessary component in improving schooling success. There is a need to build multiple forms of connections. Two important goals are to strengthen parents' and community members' participation in the education of children and to improve the quality of instruction offered students. Yet a third goal may emerge as very important and that is to devise learning opportunities for parents so that they may improve their literacy and schooling knowledge and opportunity to help their children progress in school (Baker, 2001). This focus is not meant to imply lesser importance to parental and community involvement in schooling decisions and indeed the latter deserves separate attention in a broader, more systematic discussion of interventions. Everyday survival is dependent upon "funds of knowledge" or sociocultural capital that is exchanged among community members as they go about everyday activities. Funds of kno wledge are exemplified by skills required in everyday activities and chores of life, such as childcare, purchasing goods and appliances, repairing equipment and cars, dealing with institutions such as hospitals, banks, etc (Crawford, 1995). The survival of family and community in the everyday world requires making sense out of the world and requires cooperation among community members in resolving everyday needs and problems. Schools are critical. Many educators advise bilingual families avoid a native language usage and help their children to master a new language. They are settings where many of the skills for real world survival are learned (Crawford, 1995). This appreciation is missing for students because of the failure of schools to draw these connections into the curriculum and because bilingual students do not see the ways in which their own family-community experiences are related to schooling. Building ties between funds of knowledge in families, communities, and schools appears promising in that it can provide bilingual students with a way to see how school learning fits into the everyday experiences of family and community members. Extensions of such work to bridge connections between foreign students and other communities and institutions would also appear to be just as promising. Other institutional contexts worthy of attention include college and university connections to elementary and high schools and industry connections to home and community settings (Baker, 2001). Resources for language acquisition involve peer groups and roles models, home support and classroom interaction, motivation and community programs for bilingual children. Recent years, more attention to ways in which the everyday world of students is connected to schooling in and of itself will not ensure that students learn in classroom settings (Baker, 2001). The very nature of classroom activities needs to be reconceptualized and cast from within more effective models of teaching and learning (Crawford, 1995). While research on effective instruction has

Analyzing Diversity and Learning Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analyzing Diversity and Learning - Coursework Example As a human being, I would like to acknowledge that each and every person is affiliated to certain culture. Once one is born in a society, one automatically inherits the cultural practices of the people within that locality. In this regard, educational programs should always be designed to cater for cultural diversities. Meaning, all learners should be taught without showing any disregard to their culture. If it is done, education would be made democratic and important for promoting equality to all regardless of their background (Levinson & Ember, 1996). During my time as a student, I got an opportunity to interact with learners from different backgrounds. Being that my school and classroom was composed of the native whites, foreigners and the Asian, Latin American and African immigrants, learning was quite interesting. However, this did not bar me from knowing much about my people’s culture. Since our teachers were conscious about our differences, they took all the necessary initiatives to make us be identified with our respective cultural traditions. I believe that my teachers did a great job towards my holistic development. By recognizing and affirming my culture, they were preparing me for life in my society. In fact, it has made me be so successful both in my academic, professional and day to day life. As an educationist, I am aware that educational environments are always composed of people from different cultural backgrounds. Since each and every learner should be treated as an individual, I have been taking it upon myself to ensure that I acknowledge their diversities. In my capacity as an instructor, I do promote equality amongst all my learners. None of these students should be discriminated upon based on their culture. In my class, I always ensure that each and every learner’s culture is safeguarded and not looked down upon (Nieto & Bode, 2012). It is important to

Ogre to Slay, Outsource It to Chinese Essay Example for Free

Ogre to Slay, Outsource It to Chinese Essay David Barbosas brilliantly engages his audience with a catchy title that urges the reader to complete the piece to understand what it is that he is discussing. â€Å"Ogre to Slay? Outsource It to Chinese† is eye-catching and its content and is very thought-provoking and well researched. His preparation for the article includes him finding sources in China, who are engaged in illegal outsourcing of computer game players and contributing to what the Chinese government are attempting to halt, what they call â€Å"internet addiction†. Not only does Barbosas find these valuable sources for information and quote them, he also cites workers in these gaming factories. The effort of his research and concise conclusions to an interesting technological issue makes this piece very well put together and easily readable and understandable to a diverse audience. Barbosas says that this is an issue that spans from â€Å"Seoul to San Francisco† and he is very eloquent in his comparison between the affluent gamers, who are willing to pay Chinese workers to complete initial rounds of computer games and the gamers, themselves, who work 12 hour days, 7 days a week for a mere $250 a month. He does well, also, in showing the change of contrast from what has in history been a clear line between fantasy and reality to illustrate how these lines have blurred. He makes the point of outlining the beginning of the changes in the virtual world of gaming, when gamers began playing others worldwide a few years ago and then when they began becoming so enmeshed with their avatars (or characters that they create), that they pay others to essentially baby-sit them, as the Chinese do or use virtual currency to buy components, such as weapons to help their avatars. Barbosas does well in explaining the complex and intricate world of virtual gaming to even readers, who have no familiarity of the subject. He simultaneously delves into explaining this strange new world while vividly describing the Chinese workers behind the scenes or, more accurately, behind the screens. He paints an interesting picture of what he refers to as, â€Å"virtual sweatshops†. There gamers are playing in dark basements, surrounding by posters of the games they play. These Chinese farmers make up an estimated 40-50% of the gamers involved worldwide in these popular games and it is believed that 1 in 4 internet users in China use their online connection for gaming. In addition to the other staggering statistics Barbosas integrates into his commentary, he integrates what those involved in gaming have to say and what experts share on this issue. One conclusion by an American professor is that this illustrates how the time of Americans is valued more over the time of persons in countries, such as China. In contrast, one owner of a â€Å"sweatshop† believes that if these gamers were not working for him that they would be going back to hard farm work with smaller wages or on the streets. In conclusion, Barbosas shows his journalistic talent in this piece. His research, illustrated by interview citations and statistics, demonstrate his expertise in this strange, technological world. He presents many trends in the world of gaming, in reality versus fantasy, and in the currency involved in these questionable online enterprises. His work is easily readable by a wide audience and his lead-in to the article with it’s catchy title definitely lives up to the interest that title holds.

Essay on Disguised Men and Transformed Women in Taming of the Shrew

Disguised Men and Transformed Women in The Taming of the Shrew      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A recurrent theme in Shakespeare's plays is the idea that things are not always what they seem. The Taming of the Shrew provides a good example of this theme.   In this play we find many discrepancies between what seems to be and what is. We can find these incongruities at many levels as we analyze the three main plot lines of the play: The Induction, The Wooing of Bianca and The Taming of Katherina. Each of these subplots is based on earlier works of literature or folk tradition. Shakespeare is not alone in his choice of "false supposes" as a theme.   According to The Shakespeare Handbook,   Shakespeare adopts the entire narrative [for the Bianca story] complete with some stock characters and some pieces of staging, from George Gasciogne's play Supposes   (1566) a prose version of Aristo's   I Suppositi which is in turn a recycling of one of the standard plots of New Roman comedy as written by Plautus and Terence." (Fox, 97)    Each of Shakespeare's three story lines in the Taming of the Shrew contains examples of both people who pretend to be what they are not and those who become what they were not.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the Induction for this play we meet Christophero Sly, a common tinker who is course and rough in both his language and behavior.   His pedestrian station is codified in the usual Shakespearean way: he speaks in prose   (Barron's Book Notes on the World Wide Web).*  Ã‚   When he falls asleep, he is tricked into believing he is lord of the manor. As he starts to believe the trickery, he begins to change and becomes like that which he is "supposed" to be.   At the moment of his realization he even begins to speak in verse, ... ...s kicking and screaming child and starts kicking and screaming right along side him.   While onlookers might find this bizarre, it gets the child's attention and reveals to him just how foolish his own actions are.   By his actions then, the parent wins the child into a more reasonable attitude and behavior.    Works Cited Barton, Ann.   "The Taming of the Shrew." The Riverside Shakespeare 2nd ed. Ed. Dean Johnson et al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.   138-141. Daniel, David. "Shakespeare and the Traditions of Comedy." The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare Studies.   Ed. Stanley Wells. Cambridge:   Cambridge UP, 1987. Fox, Levi, ed.   The Shakespeare Handbook. Boston:   G.K. Hall & Co., 1987. Shakespeare, William. "The Taming of the Shrew." The Riverside Shakespeare 2nd ed. Ed. Dean Johnson et al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.   142-171.      

Quazi

African Journal of Business Management Vol. 5(27), pp. 11005-11010, 9 November, 2011 Available online at http://www. academicjournals. org/AJBM DOI: 10. 5897/AJBM11. 326 ISSN 1993-8233  ©2011 Academic Journals Full Length Research Paper Impact of working capital on firms’ profitability Hassan Aftab Qazi1*, Syed Muhammad Amir Shah2, Zaheer Abbas3 and Tanzeela Nadeem4 1 University of Central Punjab, Lahore 1-Khayaban-e-Jinnah Road, M. A. Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan. 2 Illama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan. 3 Islamic International University, Islamabad, Pakistan.Accepted 20 April, 2011 The correlation between working capital and profitability of firms is analyzed for the management of cash cycle management. Working capital is made by the three important factors, debtor, creditor and stock. When we include cash conversion cycle (CCC) to working capital then it becomes working capital management (WCM). Two sectors are selected as a sample size: automobile and oil and gas sector. The time period is from 2004 – 2009. Different variables affecting the profitability of firms are selected.In this study, networking capital, inventory turnover in days, average account receivable and financial asset to total assets (FATA) are taken as independent variables. The result shows positive movement of working capital (WC) on firm’s profitability. R shows the fitness of the model which is 49. 95%. The independent variables explain 49. 95% of the model. Key words: Working capital management (WCM), cash conversion cycle (CCC), account receivable (AR). INTRODUCTION A good number of firms have put sufficient cash in working capital. Working capital management (WCM) is an important factor of financial management (FM).Debtor, creditor and inventory are the major components of working capital (WC). Large stock and trade credit policy can increase the sales volume. Inventory is the main part of the working capital. Increase in the inventory will give dec rease in the risk of stock out. Inventory is done for fulfilling the demand of the public. Inventory is the liability of the company to sell it. The other element of working capital (WC) is accounts payable (AP). Firms can check the quality of the products provided by the producer by giving them late payment, whether it is suitable for the firm or not.Late payments create very bad impression of the firm in the market. Accounts receivable is also the major part of the working capital. Delay in the days of receivable creates more complication for the company. Working capital management is still taken lightly by some companies. It works as a key to free the cash from stock, accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR). To deal with the less important aspects of efficient and effective Working Capital (WC), firms can sharply reduce the out sourcing and they can save the money for future investment or opportunities.This can create more financial flexibility and increase the worth o f the firm by reducing capital employed (Buchmann and Jung, 2008). This study basically focuses on the long run financial decisions, future investments and allocations of funds, dividends and valuation of the firm in the stock market. However, balance sheet components assets and liabilities are significant in short term planning and they need to be carefully analyzed by the firm. Short term assets and liabilities are managed carefully by working capital management (WCM) for the growth of the firm’s profitability (Smith, 1980).For creating good worth of the share in front of shareholders, firms have to manage working capital efficiently and effectively. Working capital management process starts from the purchase of raw material up to the sales of the goods. It creates significant impact on the profitability and liquidity of the firms (Shin and Soenen, 1998). Net working capital (NWC) and gross working capital (GWC) are the two major concepts of working capital (WC). The total current assets and *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email  protected] com. Tel: +92-42-35880007 or +923334604314. 11006 Afr. J. Bus. Manage. orking capital (WC) can be replaced as a Gross working capital of the firm. By subtracting Current Liabi-lities from Current Assets it becomes Net Working Capital. Net working capital (NWC) can also be used to measure the liquidity but it is not useful when firms are compared with each other regarding performance, but useful in measuring the internal control of the firm. The net working capital helps to compare the liquidity of previous record of the firm performance. The main purpose of the working capital management (WCM) is to make the sustainable level of the working capital (WC) which is favorable for the firm.Net working capital (NWC) is the part of the currents assets which is main-tained through funds having maturity life more than one year. Current assets represent the source of short terms funds. If the firm has less short term funds then it is supported by long term funds and sustains the firm value and market share price. This is very useful for the ana-lysis of trade between profitability and risk in the shares of the firm. Positive working capital (PWC) and Negative Working Capital (NWC) are the two possible signs. Positive working capital (PWC) is the sign of firm healthiness.Positive working capital (PWC) means that firm have the ability to pay the liabilities which maturity date are less than one year of the firm on due date. Positive working capital (PWC) is calculated by comparing Current Assets (CA) by current liabilities (CL). Negative Working Capital is the sign of firm weakness. Negative working capital means that company does not have the ability to pay the short term liabilities. When the Working Capital (WC) shows negative sign, it indicates long term funds support the short term funds and firm can easily pay the obligations on due date and save the value or worth of firm in the market.But in th e different case, firm declining means bankruptcy. If declining working capital ratio continues for longer period then it can affect the firm value. If the firm efficiency is more in the operation, the more increase in working capital (WC). It can be analyzed by comparing the operation of working capital (WC) periodically. Working capital is raised from profits or outsourcing. Outsourcing means when there are more sales in the season but the firm is not able to invest and produce more products.From outsourcing, more liabilities arise but on the other way from investing more, revenue will generate from more sales and it will increase the assets of the firm. Working Capital Management (WCM) has its impact on profitability as well as liquidity of the company and the primary goal of a company is to increase the annual revenues. Keeping the company liquid is an extremely main task also. Increase in company profitabiliy by reducing the liquidity of the company can bring some serious probl ems for it. Goals cannot be ignored at any cost because each individual goal has its own importance. If goal of maximizing the profit is gnored, survival is not possible for a longer time. Similarly, if liquidity objective is ignored, insolvency or bankruptcy could be faced. Because of these bases, proper attention should be given to Working Capital Management (WCM) which affects the companies profits and through this, it will show the effect of the Working Capital (WC) on profitability (PRT). The research problem of this study is: does working capital have significant impact on profitability of a company? The objective of this reseach is to find out the correlation between working capital and profitability (PRT) through statistical analysis of a sample of listed companies.The purpose of this research is to analyze the impact of traditional working capital policies (WCP) on the profitability (PRT) of the firms, to analyze whether Working Capital Policies (WCP) can become stable over a long run-up and to draw a conclusion about the impact of working capital on the profitability of companies. LITERATURE REVIEW A significant portion of financial research is concerned with the Management of working capital (MWC). This issue has been investigated at both theoretical and empirical levels. Different researchers have worked on working capital from different perspectives and in different economic environment.The environments and perspectives are discussed in detail in this work. This paper is conducted for the association between working capital (WC) and value creation for shareholders. Working capital has three parts. First, account receivable; second, account payable; and third, inventory. Account receivable is a part of balance sheet, placed in the Asset Side (AS) and it is the inflows of firm. Account receivable is maintained when a company makes sales on credit bases. Account payable is also the part of the balance sheet, placed on the liabilities side and also th e outflows of the firm.Account payable is maintained when a company do sum expenditures on the credit bases and make a payment on different terms. Inventory is maintained for generating the revenues from sales. The standard measure for working capital management (WCM) is cash conversion cycle (CCC). Cash conversion period reflects the time span between disbursement and collection of cash. Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) is based on three components: number of days of account receivable, number of day of accounts payable and number of day of inventory. It is measured by the sum of inventory conversion period less payable conversion period.Different researchers use the name like net trade cycle for calculating the Working Capital Management (WCM). In this, every component is calculated in percenttage of sales (Soenen, 1998). Qazi et al. 11007 In Marc’s view most firms invest cash in working capital (WC) and it shows that the management of Working Capital leaves good impression on t he Profitability of firms. Similarly, firm’s Working Capital Management (WCM) is a major part of financial positions. It helps the firms in maximizing their wealth and value of the shares. Larger inventory and trade policy can make higher sales for the firm.Large inventory reduces the risk of stock out for fulfilling the demand of the public. By providing credit sales to the customers, suppliers have significant cost advantage over financial institution (Deloof, 2002). Different researchers have different views that they test on the working capital. There is a positive correlation between account receivable and operating income of firm. Because if the good provided on credit bases then the days of the accounts receivable will not be for long period. On the basis of the accounts receivable, firms running their operations can meet the payment on due date.Efficient liquidity management (ELM) is a process which includes planning and controlling of current assets (CA) and current liabilities (CL). Liquidity and profitability of firm have great relation with each other. This relationship can be analyzed by current ratio (CR) and cash gap (CG) (Abdual, 2007). Firms short terms liabilities are directly related to the former while the continuity of liabilities is concerned with the latter. Higher investment blocked in stock and accounts receivable creates problem for operation. Decrease in number of days of account receivable gives increase in early eserves (Padachi, 2006). Financial managers can gain profit by maintaining component of cash conversion cycle (CCC) at a higher level (Nazir and Afza, 2009). If the inventory gets to the minimum level and the number of days account receivable (NDAR) also becomes minimum, then firms can increase their profits and run their project efficiently and effectively (Abdul, 2007). The policies of working capital management can help to measure the WC. If the policies which the firm is going to implement are very strict and hel pful for the firm then the firm will not bear losses or stock out or less short term assets.The financing policies mean how to allocate the revenue to different departments and after how many days the firm is going to receive their payments and ability to pay his own payments. The share value can be created by the financial managers if they efficiently manage through conservative approach (Nazir and Afza, 2009). Different researchers use different analysis models. For empirical investigation, the anova and Pearson correlation analysis is applied. From these models, firm size and cash cycle can be measured easily.It is easy to measure the efficiency of working capital management (WCM), performance evaluation and the whole efficiency of the firm by setting up their targets. For calculating the overall efficiency of the firm, the target has to be achieved in limited time period. Researchers use pooled data for the analysis. In the pooled data, different independent variables such as re gress combine with the dependent variable (Zariyawati, 2009). The financial leverage and growth in sales are the major factor of firm profitability. Firms have to select the best policy to improve their collection and payment period.Efficient management financing of working capital can increase their operational profitability (Abdul, 2010). After studying the above articles, it is seen that the results of all researchers are the same on working capital management (WCM) and profitability (PRT) regardless of different companies, environments and situations. METHODOLOGY This research is to analyze the impact of working capital (WC) on the profitability (PRT) of oil and gas and automobile industry with reference to Pakistan. Different statistical tools are applied to analyze the significance of the variables. So, the method of coefficient of correlation has been selected.Regression analysis is applied for testing the model reliability and significant relationship between variables. Data set and sample Two sectors are selected from Karachi Stock Exchange. The first is oil and gas and the second is automobile sector. A total of 20 companies are taken as sample for the data collection, which are collected from different sources. They are taken from 2004 – 2009 from the annual report. Some data are collected from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) provides an analysis report of different sectors and companies which were listed in Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE).In this study, different variables are taken to measure the working capital (WC). Working Capital is taken as independent variable (WC) while profitability is taken as dependent variable (PRT). In this case, profit after tax is taken as profitability of firms. Working Capital can be measured by different ways. First is net working capital (NWC), which is measured by current assets (CA), divided by current liabilities (CL). Second is inventory turnover in days (ITID), which is cal culated by inventory divided by Cost of Goods Sold (CGS) and multiplied by 365.Third is number of day of accounts receivable (AAR), which is calculated by other current assets divided by sale and multiplied by 365. Forth is financial asset to total assets (FATA), which is calculated by adding cash and investment and the whole divided by total assets. In addition, current ratio (CR), debt to equity ratio (DER) and sales natural logarithm (LOS) are taken as control variable in this analysis. All the aforementioned variables are affecting the Working Capital, Working Capital Management (WCM) and it will have negative or positive impact on the profitability of the firms.Hypotheses testing The objective of this research is to examine the impact of Working Capital (WC) on the profitability of firms. Figure 1 shows the impact 11008 Afr. J. Bus. Manage. Figure 1. Impact of Working Capital on Profitability. of working capital on profitability† H1: Working capital has positive effect on the profitability of firms. H0: Working capital has no positive effect on the profitability of firms. Model specification In this study, panel data regression analysis and time series of data are taken. For the regression analysis, pooled data are used.In this pooled data, all variables are combined on the same level and selected variables are grouped as independent and dependent variables. After that, all variables are selected for regression and correlation analysis. Model equation PRT it = ? 0 + ? 1 (AAR it) + ? 2 (ITID it) + ? 3 (CR it) + ? 4 (DER it) + ? 5 (LOS it) + ? 6 (FATA it) + ? 7 (NWC it) + ? PRTi t = Net Profit t; i = 1- 20 firms. ?0 : Beta ? i: Coefficients X it X it: Independent variables i at time t t: Time = 1-5 years. ?: The error term Whereas, AAR = Average Account Receivable ITID = Inventory Turnover in Days CR = Current Ratio LOS = Sales logarithmFATA = Financial Assets to Total Assets NWC = Net Working Capital DER = Debt Equity Ratio Qualitative analyses In th is paper, two analyses are applied. First, correlation and statistical tools are applied in these data. We select person correlation model for this study to find out the degree of correlation among dependent and independent variables. In the regression analysis, we gather the data from annual reports and turn it to the same level. This gathering of data is called pooled data. For this analysis, we select E-views software to analyze it correctly in the case of pooled data.DATA ANALYSIS AND REGRESSION RESULTS The correlation and determination coefficients are the measures of the regression model. First, correlation coefficient (49. 95%) and the determination coefficient (26. 12%) show the degree of correlation among working capital and profitability of selected firms from oil and gas and automobile sector over 2004 – 2009. The standard error value is 6. 5926 and F-statistics value is 5. 4213 which is significant at 1% and shows 100% fitness of the model (Table 1). Similarly, th e Durbin-Watson statistics is 1. 9991 which clearly defines that there is no serial correlation in this regression model.Table 2 shows the estimation results of the six antecedents for the independent variable of working capital at Qazi et al. 11009 Table 1. Model summary. R R2 Adjusted R-squared Standard Error of Estimate Durbin-Watson statistics F statistics 0. 499599 0. 261211 0. 213029 6. 592679 1. 991426 5. 421362 Table 2. Estimation results. Variable NWC NDAR ITID FATA DER CR Means 23. 58595 129. 4913 75. 80012 0. 217936 17. 96434 18. 85266 SD 8. 415465 351. 7532 143. 2339 0. 191679 3. 368055 0. 597391 T stats 4. 520358 0. 254527 0. 937944 -0. 477942 -0. 554939 0. 096545 Remarks Sig Not Sig Not Sig Not Sig Not Sig Not Sig Table 3.Correlation matrix. PROFIT NWC NDAR ITID FATA DER CR PROFIT 1. 000000 0. 474400 0. 109619 0. 112621 -0. 124623 -0. 201328 -0. 217375 NWC 1. 000000 -0. 086246 -0. 125120 -0. 054646 -0. 308676 -0. 397314 NDAR IITD FATA DER CR 1. 000000 0. 748882 -0. 190 807 -0. 095937 -0. 040053 1. 000000 -0. 311687 0. 061122 -0. 118921 1. 000000 0. 078238 0. 396036 1. 000000 0. 008978 1. 000000 1% significance level. The results show that Net Working Capital (NWC) has positive and significant impact on the Profitability (PRT) of firms and the rest of the variables explain the behavior of profitability but have no significant impact on profitability.In the correlation results shown in Table 3, networking capital has strong positive relationship with profitability of firms while number of days of account receivable (NDAR) and Inventory turnover in days (ITD) are positive but have weak correlation power with profitability of firms; financial assets to total assets (FATA), debt equity ratio (DER) and current ratio (CR) are weak and negatively correlate with the Profitability (PRT) of the firms.But the correlation results of independent variables somehow showed positive and strong correlation of inventory turnover in days (ITD) with number of days acco unt receivable (NDAR) and a strong but negative correlation of current ratio with net working capital; the remaining variables correlate but are weak in both the positive and negative sense, thus the concept of colinearity does not exist among the variables as evident by the analysis results. Conclusion This study is the relationship of working capital (WC) and profitability (PRT) of firms. orking capital (WC) is the major portion of the balance sheet. In this paper, data are collected form Annual Reports (AR) and analysis report which is provided from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). In this analysis report, the companies which are listed in stock exchange are analyzed and summarized. In this research, oil and gas and automobile sectors are taken 11010 Afr. J. Bus. Manage. as sample. Data are taken from 2004 – 2009. In this research, R shows the fitness of model which is 49. 95%. The independent variables explain 49. 95% of the model.In the regression results, only net work ing capital is positive and significant and Number of Days of Account Receivable (NDAR) and Inventory Turnover in Days (ITD) are positive but insignificant; and all other independent variables are negative and insignificant. In the correlation results, networking capital is positively correlated with profitability of the firms. The other two variables are weakly correlated with the profitability of firms and the other three independent variables are negatively correlated with profitability of firms.Hence, the empirical results of the paper show the positive trend of working capital on profitability of the firms. The results are supported by previous studies of Rahman (2007) and Nazir and Afza (2009) and Deloof (2002) on the Working Capital (WC). REFERENCES Abdual RMN (2007). Working Capital Management And Profitability – Case Of. Int. Rev. Bus. Res. Papers, pp. 279-300. Abdul RMN (2007). Working Capital Management And Profitability – Case Of Pakistani Firms. Int. Rev. Bus. Res. Papers, pp. 79-300. Abdul RTA (2010). Working Capital Management and Corporate Performance of Manufacturing Sector in Pakistan. Int. Res. J. Finan. Econ. , 47: 152. Buchmann P, Jung U (2008). Best-practice working capital management: Techniques for optimizing inventories, receivables, and payables. Q. Financ. , pp. 1-7. Deloof M (2002). Does Working Capital Management Affect Profitability of Belgian Firms? investopedia. com. (2010). Working capital : definations; negative working capital, positive working capital.Retrieved October 10, 2010, from www. investopedia. com: http://www. investopedia. com/terms/w/workingcapital. asp. Nazir S, Afza T (2009). Impact of Aggressive Working Capital Management Policy on Firms’ Profitability. J. Applied Manage . Padachi K (2006). Trends in Working Capital Management and its Impact on Firms’ Performance: An Analysis of Mauritian Small Manufacturing Firms. Int. Rev. Bus. Res. Papers, pp. 45 -58. Shin HH, Soenen L (1998). Eff iciency of working capital management and corporate profitability.Financ. Pract. Educ. , pp. 37-45. Smith K (1980). Profitability versus liquidity tradeoffs in working capital management, in readings on the management of working capital. ST. Pual,New York: West Publishing Company. Soenen S (1998). Liquidity management, operating performance, and corporate value: evidence from Japan and Taiwan. J Multi. Manage. , 159-169. Zariyawati MN (2009). Working capital management and corporate performance:Case of Malaysia. J. Modern Account. Audit. , 5(11): 4754.

Letter to Senator About Smoking Ban

Dale Schultz Senator 17th Senate District Room 122 South State Capitol P. O. Box 7882 Madison, WI 53707-7882 Dear Mr. Schultz, My name is Juan Jimenez, I have been a citizen and active voter of Wisconsin for over 8 years now, and while I may not agree with some of the states past decisions, I do commend the job you and your colleagues have done. That being said, I am writing in regards to the public smoking ban that the state legislation committee is currently considering. I, and many others like me, do not support this proposed bill and I will tell you why. I do agree that a smoking ban is reasonable in some places. Between the age of most students and the declined health of hospital patients, it makes sense to ban smoking in the areas of schools and hospitals. I will also agree that smoking in a restaurant is something most everyone looks ill upon. Now bars, on the other hand, are a different story. According to taxpolicycenter. org, Wisconsin collects over 50 million dollars annually in alcohol tax revenues. Many of the bars that those taxes come from have a majority of patrons who enjoy smoking while they relax and have a drink. If they are no longer allowed to smoke in their local bar, they may just stay home, which results in lost income for local businesses, as well as, lost tax revenue for the state. As far as banning smoking in front of public building entrances, I agree due to the fact that people have to enter and exit through there. However, parking lots and parking garages offer a wide area of outdoor air and space. It’s not inconceivable that one who doesn’t want to smell smoke would quite easily be able to avoid such encounters. Having a mandatory smoking area a set distance from entrances makes sense. 1000 feet away, however, is an xtremely ridiculous proposal. Ultimately, this is about the freedom of choice and ones right to exercise that freedom. If smoking in public can be reasonably regulated, then non-smokers and smokers would be able to enjoy the same rights of choice. You, Mr. Schultz, as an elected official, must look out for all of your constituent’s freedoms. This c urrent government has far more important matters to focus time and energy toward, like our economy and the massive overspending that has become commonplace. I would like to see you take action against such frivolous rule making and vote no. Thank you for your support. Sincerely,

The Abortion Controversy w Works Cited essays

The Abortion Controversy w essays Since the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, about one out of three pregnancies end in abortion. This means that 1.5 million abortions are performed in the United States each year (Flanders 3). Not since slavery has an issue posed a greater moral dilemma. It ranks among the most complex and controversial issues, arousing heated legal, political, and ethical debates. The modern debate over abortion is a conflict of competing moral ideas and of fundamental human rights: to life, to privacy, to control one's own body. Trying to come to some sort of a compromise has proven that you cannot please all of the people on each side of the debate. Many people describe the abortion debate in America as bitter and uncompromising, usually represented on both sides by people with an intense devotion to their cause and usually with irreconcilable positions. Many of those who are pro-choice insist that a woman's right to abortion should never be restricted while those who are pro-life maintain that a fetus has an unequivocal right to life that is violated at any stage of its development if abortion is performed. Discussions between both sides are usually argumentative, and sometimes violent, so any attempt at coming to a mutual agreement is drowned out. How can anyone hear if they refuse to acknowledge the other side except to shout at them? Since the Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion, proposed compromises on limiting or allowing abortion have taken two forms: those based on the reasons for abortion and those base on fetal development at different stages of pregnancy. The first compromise would allow abortion for "hard" cases (rape, incest, or risk of the life or health of the pregnant woman), but not for the "soft" cases (financial hardship, inconvenience, possible birth defects, or failure of birth control). Compromises of the second type would allow abortions, but only until a given stage of pregnancy,...

Is Your State Governed by Daubert or Frye Term Paper

Is Your State Governed by Daubert or Frye - Term Paper Example by using experience and common sense, professional witness give conclusions on the basis of the knowledge and practices beyond the average judge’s comprehension (Suzanne, 1996). Consequently, statement by unpoliced professional witness can possibly have a biased effect on the judge, who might tend to be more inclined to believing that that the statement is exclusively based on the expert status of the witness. How can the trial jury be in a position of determining whether the professional is just speculating, or even whether the proof on which the professional is basing their statement is adequate to support the ruling? Certainly, the lay witness is prevented from speculation by the jury and can direct rulings when there is adequate evidence in support of a finding. Then is the screening of professional witness by a judge different from this practice? This is a question that poses weighty issues regarding the nature of the role of the judges. In order to be in a position of ma king an informed judgment concerning whether to admit a professional, the jury would appear to require at least a modicum of professionalism in the field of witness. In Robinson, which involved a professional testimony regarding whether a DuPont fertilizer harmed the pecan trees of Robinsons, we find that the Supreme Court of Texas maintained that the Texas’ Civil Evidence Laws not only need a professional witness to be qualified, but also to offer statement that is relevant and also on the basis of a credible foundation. Nevertheless, in so doing, Robinson sufficiently adopted the standard of Daubert. The main difference in the case of Robinson was the fact that the Supreme Court of Texas had never adopted the ‘general acceptance’ standard of Frye that was particularly dismissed in Daubert, but instead had used an examination of whether the professional testimony ‘helped the fact’s trier’ under the 702 Rule. However, the Supreme Court of Texas perceived the credibility and

Qatar fencing federation organizational behavior and management Essay

Qatar fencing federation organizational behavior and management - Essay Example The Qatar Fencing Federation’s issue started once it hosted the Asian games in 2006. The games drained the federation’s resources in order to ensure success in these games, and attainment of good results which it achieved. Shortly after the games, the federation lacked agenda and plans on what to do next and with the President being inexperienced in the sports field, he delegated the mandate of seeking a plan to the coaches. The coaches on the other hand, similar to the president, lacked experience in the sports field and hence made weak plans about the future. They were more concerned about keeping their positions and appeasing the president than the welfare of the federation. The managers on the other hand, were simply followers of the coaches’ decisions without questions being asked. They lacked enthusiasm in the federation’s affairs as was indicated by their constant lack of attendance in the teams’ practice sessions. The last and most crucial p arty is the players who had not only become expatriates but wanted more benefits without making any effort in their performance. Their lack of motivation contributed to their poor results. Based on the background provided about the federation, and the issue they have at hand, the problem lies with the lack of effective management, lack of motivation as well as lack of group and team work in the Qatar Fencing Federation as a whole. This can however change if concentration is put on the management, teamwork and motivation of the players who are the key to success. The federation can once again emerge successful in the future. Management and leadership are two different things in any organisation. A leader is supposed to be a motivator and inspire the followers while a manager’s work is to plan and organize. A manager should also be a leader in any organization if success is to be