Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Patillo Beals

The Novel, Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Patillo Beals, touch basis on African American teenagers in 1957; being the first ever to be integrated in to an all white high school. Melba the leader of the fight for justice in the school system was twelve years old, the Supreme Court ruled that separate schools for whites was illegal, a ruling called the Brown Vs. Broward of Education of Topeka, Kansas. In the year after the ruling, Melba sees very little change in segregation. Melba is still at an all black high school, but she and sixteen other black students sign up to attend the white school in Little Rock , Central High School. It then narrowed down nine because the others even couldn’t handle the violent threats. Every day they would get dropped off to Central High School it would be a mob of whites standing behind barricades shouting out racist slurs. For instance, â€Å"Niggers go back to Africa† or â€Å"We don’t want your dumb asses here†. Those hatred words meant absolutely nothing because Melba and her friends stood their ground even if it meant getting scolded with steaming water in the locker room showers or getting their books knocked out of their hands. They have changed the way blacks are being treated today in society and now we have better opportunities when it comes down to education. Just from reading this novel made me think back on my life as an African American living in a suburban area whereas whites were the only ones walking the streets. When we rode up in our fancy all black Cadillac Escalade followed by three U-Haul trucks in Sunrise, Fl, I’ll never forget how the whole neighborhood came outside hands over face waiting to see what was going to step out of that tinted SUV. My heart as well my family’s, popped out our chest just because we had got the vibe that the welcome we get won’t be sunny side up. As we pulled up to this beige two story home, picket fence, huge pool with a Jacuzzi, fresh smelling green grass my eyes were in amazement. Back where I came from in Opalocka, Fl, our grass was nowhere near that color and we surely didn’t have pools because most blacks don’t know how to swim so you will rarely see those. Finally, we opened our doors together hoping it goes well and to our amazement, everyone grabbed their kids in terror and ran inside their homes. I couldn’t understand why blacks can’t be welcomed as human versus criminals. Next thing we know, police were racing down the street and our next door neighbor ran outside screaming and pointing our way saying, â€Å"That’s them! Those niggers are intruding! † My older sister, Chaunte and I cried and cried because we thought that once Martin Luther King Jr. made those changes everything would be normal. The police grabbed my mom and dad and asked what’s going on. One fat, smelly, white policeman stepped out of the car with a gun and asked, â€Å"How did you people afford a house here? Are you drug dealers? † Who in God’s name gave whites the permission to determine whether or not blacks have decent jobs; my parents together make a larger salary than they ever will. He then spits on our drive way and exclaimed, â€Å"You niggers better what your backs! † My mom being so religious scooped us up inside the house and we all prayed together. While my dad handles all the household work, my mom took us down to this all white school in Coconut Grove named Carrolton. Where we derived from was an all black community meaning all black schools, so this I knew would be a drastic adjustment. My mom didn’t believe in nothing but the best education for her kids so we were going to attend that school like it or not. The next day we started school and it was nothing dreamy. It seemed like were the game pieces on a board game just getting played with. Once my mom disappeared out of sight, everyone threw their lunches on us and pulled our ponytails, screaming, and â€Å"Go back to the projects! † it hurt my heart because they didn’t even give us a chance, but we did fight back that’s what my mom brought us up to do. The bell rung and everyone scattered to class, leaving my sister and I outside crying while we try to make ourselves presentable again. We finally walked inside going our separate ways and as I walk up Ms. Miller’s second grade class I inhale a deep gulp of air. Tempting to place my hands on the door knob I finally walk in, and looking over at my teacher whom obviously didn’t want me there either because she didn’t even bother to greet me but instead just rolled her eyes and continued writing the assignments on the chalk board. All the white kids giving me this deep hatred stare, following me as I walk to an empty desk of course to the back of the classroom. As I go sit down I noticed that they took out all the screws out the seat and carved in the desk lots of racist words like: Nigger, Kunt, Cotton picker, African, and Nappy head. It was rough but look at where I am today, a predominately white college and doing well. To sum all up, I respect Melba for standing up for what’s right. No young girl/boy should have to be a warrior but able to cling to the innocence that’s been slipping away throughout the year. Having accepted the role of a warrior for integration, Melba finds that she can’t put it aside so easily. She learns that being a warrior means more than just venturing into new and hostile territory. It also means leaving behind friends whom doesn’t believe in fighting for their ethnicity but just settling for whatever the white man says is right. The struggle entails more than one persons desire to go to a better high school or eat at a better diner or ride in the front of the bus. Melba’s struggle is a quest to improve the lives of black people all over the country. Melba’s participation in this quest is why her grandmother calls her one of God’s warriors. Myself as a black female learned a valuable lesson from just reading this novel that it can be changes made of only you take the time to speak up and never back down from it because of the obstacles you are likely to face.

Great State Wheat Flakes Can’t Be Beat

Betty, who has been employed for three years as a copywriter for HK&M, a mid-size advertising agency specializing in consumer packaged goods, has been feverishly working for the past week on a new ad campaign for Great State's wheat flakes, a regional breakfast cereal. The account has been with the agency for several years. Although Charlie, the brand manager on this cereal, has been pleased with the agency's work over the years, the old positioning, which stressed taste attributes and fun-filled family breakfasts, has become tired and dated.Marketing research shows a high degree of consumer wearout—people are tired of the campaign, even annoyed with it, and are ready for something fresh. Betty's task was to rejuvenate the brand via repositioning it to take advantage of and tie into the health and well being trends, specifically the interest in eating â€Å"good-for-you† food as well as in physical fitness. The brand was to be pitched as an important part of an active, healthy lifestyle.Betty thought she had come up with the perfect theme line: â€Å"Great State's wheat flakes will give a great start to your active day,† and she had developed what she believed were some clever scenarios for TV and print ads featuring the product being consumed after workouts in health clubs, following a morning jog, after a snowboarding expedition, to power up before rollerblading, and even while zipping along on a scooter (â€Å"Look Ma, no hands! †). However, upon reviewing her proposals, Charlie said that while the vignettes were on target because health-conscious customers would relate well to them, the slogan was off base.He wanted something more specific and hard hitting, and so Charlie developed the theme line, â€Å"Great State Wheat flakes can't be beat. No other wheat flake offers you more vitamins and minerals and fewer calories. † Betty tried to kindly tell Charlie that this was misleading because it implies that Great State's bran d is healthier than most, if not all, of the others, whereas actually all wheat flake cereals are parity products– they are virtual photocopies of each other in terms of taste, texture, and, most important here, composition and therefore nutritional value.In fact, blind taste tests have shown that between 70 and 80 per cent of consumers cannot identify their favorite brand of wheat flakes and that loyalty levels are low — with price incentives consumers will readily switch brands. Charlie, obviously irritated, explained that his tag linewas an honest exaggeration, what the advertising trade termed â€Å"puffing,† and that consumers are expected to see through it. He felt that it offered the point of difference needed to increase brand loyalty. Betty, feeling uneasy, later that day approached her boss Steve, the copy chief at HK&M, asking his counsel.Steve explained that Charlie's suggested slogan is what is called an â€Å"implied superiority† claim. Stev e explained that such claims are commonly made for commodity brands. They stake out a parity position, which does not claim to be superior to, but only as good as, other brands, while using copy that suggests or implies superiority for the named brand. He cited several current and classical examples, such as â€Å"Nothing else cleans better,† â€Å"The maximum fluoride protection in any toothpaste,† â€Å"You can't beat the savings,† â€Å"You can't buy a more effective pain reliever,† and â€Å"Nothing is proven to work better or last longer. In effect, these brands are claiming that they are unsurpassed. However, none claims to be truly better than their competitors. Betty, recalling several other such implied superiority claims she had recently seen, realized that it was, indeed, a popular technique. Steve reminded Betty that there is a distinction between deceptive advertising, which creates false impressions and misleads a consumer acting reasonably , and â€Å"trade puffing,† which is exaggerated praise of the product (e. g. , Almost Home cookies are the â€Å"moistest, chewiest, most perfectly baked cookies† ever; â€Å"Nestle makes the very best chocolate†).Puffery is viewed as acceptable in a society of the superlative. Consumers are assumed to see through the exaggeration or at least engage in a â€Å"willing suspension of disbelief. † He explained to her that whereas deceptive advertising is illegal, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which monitors national advertising for accuracy and fairness in claims, views puffery as legitimate. â€Å"What's more,† Steve concluded somewhat sarcastically, â€Å"using your line of reasoning, Betty, we shouldn't at all advertise any parity products, since all brand advertising is designed to create a brand distinction in the buyer's mind.Advertising is necessary to differentiate yourself from the pack of imitators. And, it helps a small, underdog br and like Great State get a leg up on the big, deep-pocketed companies like our rivals. † Betty thought that, in fact, Steve's taunting comment might, indeed, have some merit. In fact, she feared that it might force Great State’s competitors to improve and differentiate their cereals, thereby benefiting consumers (but harming Great State). Nonetheless, she still felt uneasy.It seemed to her that the â€Å"implied superiority’ claim crossed the boundary from puffery over to deception. QUESTIONS/EXERCISES 1. Identify the ethical issues facing Betty regarding the nature of the proposed â€Å"Implied superiority advertising claim. 2. What are the ethical issues Betty encounters with respect to organizational relationships and conflicts? 3. What are the possible decision alternatives Betty could devise, and what are the ethics of each alternative? 4. Which alternative would you recommend to Betty and why?

History of Physical Education Essay

A brief history of physical education in the United States would kick off in the nineteenth century. There was growing popularity of formal physical education programs all across Europe where calisthenics and gymnastics were all the rage. American schools looked to follow the European model by incorporating physical education into the curriculum for primary and secondary schools. And a brief history of physical education would not be complete with a consideration of institutes of higher education that gradually built up extremely successful sports programs. How it began The brief history of physical education would start in just about 1820 when schools focused on gymnastics, hygiene training and care and development of the human body. By the year 1950, over 400 institutes had introduced majors in physical education. The Young Men’s Christian Association launched its very first chapter in 1851 and focused on physical activities. Colleges were encouraged to focus on intramural sports particularly track, field and football. But physical education became a formal requirement following the civil war when many states opted to pass laws that required schools to incorporate a substantial physical education component into their curriculums. But it was not till 1970 that an amendment was made to the Federal Education Act that allowed women from high school and college to compete in athletic competitions. Sex-based discrimination was completely outlawed from government funded programs at this point. THE HISTORY OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND ADAPTED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN GREECE. In Greece the latest years special education has followed the same progression as in any other country in Europe but in a very slow pace. Specifically, Special Education services were available to Greek children since the beginning of the 20th century, adapted Physical Education was introduced the last two decades. After the first half of the century various associations developed intense activity with the aim to protect specific groups of people with special needs such as, the blind, the deaf and motionaly disabled. The initiative had clearly charitable characteristics with pity as the main feeling. The state welfare was non-existent every kind of care and prevention was accorded to the authorization of the charitable organization that with full power decided during the course of the years about the life and the future of thousands of people with special needs. The offers of the individuals had the form of institutional care (enclosed protection) with the offer of basic knowledge. The interest of private initiative led to the introduction of various institutional units and schools; firstly in the area of Attica and then in other cities of Greece. Some of the first institutions, which were created, was the â€Å"house of the blind† in 1906, the â€Å"house of the deaf and dump† in 1923, and the â€Å"Hellenic organization for the protection and rehabilitation of disabled children†. In 1937 much late there were more branches created such as the â€Å"national institution for the protection of the deaf and dump† in 1937, the â€Å"lighthouse of the blind† in 1946, the â€Å" school of the blind in North Greece† in 1948 etc. These institutions housed a great number of children but the role of the individuals was not only always a charitable one. However, the private sector helped in its way the state preparation so as to take up later the responsibility and interfere institutionally. The first state interferences began in 50’s and concerned mainly legislation arrangements for the blind and after for the motionaly disabled. The state however was interested in the group of the mentally retarded children and later in the motionaly disabled, which the private agents had completely ignored. The first school, which was founded by the state for the mentally retarded children, was the â€Å" original special school of Athens† in 1937. Many people considerthe state interference in the space of special education during the 30’s non-occasional. The considerable evolutions of pedagogical and psychology sciences, the establishment of obligatory attendance for all the children and the great number of mentally retarded children comparatively with other groups of â€Å" inferior individuals† was a reality which the Greek state could not ignore. From the mid of 50’s the 70’s the developments in special education came again from the wide activity of the private sector while the state followed with mainly legislation inferences and the well known sympathy towards the people with special needs. So, during this period educational units were founded and â€Å"deaf and dumb† schools in various areas of Greece and units for motionaly-disabled people. Another offer of the private sector was the foundation of children’s neuropsychiatry clinics and schools for the group of â€Å"marginal adults† and â€Å" mentally retarded children†. The exemplification of the Greek state and the educational policy of the western countries begins in the mid of the 70’s approximately. Specifically towards the end of the 70’s measures were promoted for the professional rehabilitation of the disabled by giving motives to employers for the employment of these people. Since 1980 and then special classes for the children with, learning difficulties and slight mental retardment began to be estamplished. The Greek state in the 80’s seems to desire to participate actively with the other social factors in an attempt of reorganization of the philosophy and pre-existent structure concerning the people with special needs, which imposed their life and social back round. Precisely, emphasis was given in the whole development and the development of the potential of the people with special needs, their introduction in the productive procedure and their mutual acceptance in the social group. Today, thousands of individuals with disabilities are introduced to sports in various settings such as schools or in sports clubs in both segregated and integrated settings by a variety of national and international organizations. The momentum for such change is contributed to several reasons: †¢ One of the most important reason is the introduction and approval of a new law, which mandates not only free public education for all children, but most important integration of children with disabilities in schools settings. This law is consideredas a springboard for the recognition for all children’s rights to participate in physical education activities. †¢ A second reason, is beginning of 90’s the implementation of the program â€Å"Sports for All†, which is organized by the General Secretariat of Sports and implemented with the support of different municipalities within Greece. †¢ A third reason, is the mandatory exposure of all students of physical education in adapted physical activity course work during their core university studies. In this way they have the opportunity not only to be introduced, but also to become specialized later on this subject. This has considerably affected their attitude to teach integrated sports. †¢ A fourth reason is the organization of the Paralympic Games of 2004, which is considered one of the largest events in the world. Due to the magnitude of this event, Greece started to evaluate the current status of the movement for sports for the disabled people, as well as, begin to take important actions towards the best organization of the games.

New Media Marketing and Online Ordering Form Essay

New Media Marketing and Online Ordering Form - Essay Example Thus, the institutions that are undergoing with the effective projections and development are noted to be trying to adopt the diverse changes evident within the system and increasing the prominence. Hence, the need for maintaining the social development based on the technical advancement and other attributes there is a huge needs of maintaining competitive edge by successful adoption of technology in a progressive manner. Online ordering has evolved in a more appropriate manner for developing the overall attributes within the domain of globalization. With the effective development and progression within the social system, the concept of media marketing and online ordering has changed from luxury commodities to necessity. The progression within the social lifestyle and development of technology has initiated the effective development associated with the progression of social development. With the need of progression, social media has been included within the diverse field and has become one of the prominent recourses that supports social progression and effectiveness of the media needs. Integrated approaches of the social system and the rapid progression within the domain of socialization has enhanced transparency and increased effectiveness of the system. Increase on the dependency on technology and time constraints among the people has increased the involvement of new media in marketing (Peltola & M akinen, 2014). With this regard, the essay intends to elaborate on the new media that is associated with marketing and development of ordering forms for meeting the needs of technology savvy consumers. Technological advancement and progression within the system of media management has incorporated a contrasting view in the marketing and ordering online domain. This strategic integration is often noted to possess a very adverse impact on

Violence on Television Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Violence on Television - Essay Example There is no doubt that television has its good side. It can be both entertaining as well as educational. It gives good opportunity for children to learn more about different cultures, and gain exposure to ideas they may never encounter in their own community.Besides, it also gives them a chance to see different places and learn about various aspects on life in different parts of the world. In addition, there are also several motivational programs with positive role models and good moral stories that can influence kids to change their behavior for the better (UMHS n. pag, 2007). However, the concern today is the impact of violence that is projected in the television. Ever since the beginning of television, the effect of TV violence on society has been commonly studied and strongly debated. There are several studies that provide evidence that violence in television can be linked to the real life violence. For instance, a study conducted by four universities and financed by the cable industry found that of nearly 2,700 shows analyzed in a 20 week survey of 23 channels, 57% were said to contain at least some violence (Zoglin 58-61). [1] One of the biggest concerns is the negative effect of television on children. Researchers hypothesize that viewing TV violence can lead to three potentially harmful effects: increased antisocial or aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence (becoming more accepting of violence in real life and less caring about other people's feelings), or increased fear of becoming a victim of violence (Smith and Donnerstein 167-202).12 [2] Television can be a powerful influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior. Unfortunately, much of today's television programming is violent. Children and adolescent concur some of the negative moral influences through TV such as media violence, portrayals of sexual exploitation and attitudes, vulgarity and rudeness, intense and disturbing imagery, passive watching - the "couch potato" syndrome, alcoholism, drug abuse, and other kinds of disturbing activities. For example, the average American child will witness 200,000 violent acts on television by age 18 (Dowshen and Gavin n. pag 2005). These may lead to serious psychological problems. Too much of TV means that children not exercising, reading, socializing, or spending time outside. Children, who view violent events, are also more likely to believe that the world is scary and that something bad will happen to them. These could have serious negative influence on the growth and development of the child. A review of scientific literature on media violence provides ample evidences that the connection of media violence to real-life aggressive behavior and violence has been largely exposed (Donnerstein and Linz 271-284). Estimates suggest that as much as 10% to 20% of real-life violence may be a duplication of media violence (Comstock and Strasburger 495-509). National Television Violence Study presented the following after a three years study: nearly two thirds of all programming contains violence; children's shows contain the most violence; portrayals of violence are usually glamorized; and perpetrators often go unpunished (Federman 1998). Violence on television can influence people to commit crimes. There is an increase of juvenile crimes in the world. While television violence is not the only cause of aggressive or violent behavior, researchers believe that it is clearly a significant factor. It is important

The topic is to discuss developing a case study to analyze and solve Assignment

The topic is to discuss developing a case study to analyze and solve - Assignment Example According to Herzlinger (2006) strong nursing leadership, integrated with a transformational style of leadership would be most effective in overseeing the successful realization of new procedures such as electronic documentation systems in the merged organization (Amerson, 2011). The procedures conducted in nursing homes are usually conducted by nurses. This means that the nurses are in the best position to support urgency for implementing the changes needed while also communicating the vision of change to other medical workers. Nurses can also easily empower each others’ initiatives to support the change while also revising the new merged organization's internal culture so as to create new traditions. Overseeing the Installation of a new Documentation System During transitional phases during which important changes are occurring due to mergers, it might be necessary to employ additional workers who are tasked with helping with implementation challenges. This is especially imp ortant if either of the nursing homes are short-staffed. Even in case the nursing home is fully staffed, it might be necessary for additional staff to be hired so that the nurses have a chance to focus on learning the new methods of operation and adapt to them. This will require time as well as energy. The nurses from the different nursing homes may also require additional time in which to test the efficiency of new operational methods. Since each nursing home’s former documentation models were different there will be a need to test the most efficient method before implementing it in the merged institution (Walker, 2006). This precedes a combined educational training course conducted for the workers of both nursing homes together. The Importance of Mergers between two Nursing Homes Mergers always result in more profits for the health institutions concerned. Such productivity ensures that the institutions survive in an increasingly competitive economy. At present, many nurses working in nursing homes are forced to work in spite of shrinking reimbursements. To remain productive in an age in which the federal healthcare reforms are likely to result in negative financial consequences, mergers have to be implemented (Large, McLeod, Cunningham and Kitson, 2005). Mergers will be a way for both nursing homes to remain solvent while catering to the main objective- the care of patients. Merging will also result in reduced costs as the two nursing homes will be able to use their unity as leverage when purchasing larger supplies. The new merged institution will be able to ask for volume discounts due to higher usage. In addition, if one of the nursing homes were struggling, renovations made in order to make it possible for both institutions to merge would cause make it more lucrative. Why Merger between the Nursing Homes can be difficult to Implement The process of merging, though, is not easily accomplished. There are difficulties in deciding on the operations to streamline, as well as the different methods of documentation used by both nursing homes. When the workers of one nursing home are not well acquainted with their prospective partners, there may be discomfort between the staff of both homes. There may also be changes in leadership that confuse the staff or make them apprehensive about

Strategic HRM(Human Resource management) can be utilised as a Assignment

Strategic HRM(Human Resource management) can be utilised as a competitive advantage today - Assignment Example They must show how the role of HR can be maximized to make an organization successful. Strategic HRM is defined by its role in addressing two crucial needs in an organization- delivering strategic forecasts on the business by making it possible for the organization to source, evaluate and motivate employees in an increasingly dynamic business environment, and providing administrative services that are consistent, cost-effective and responsive to every department within the organization (Regis 2008, p.5). This depicts the evolution of the HR function where an employee has to go beyond the traditional job description. HRM should hence be involved in creation of business strategies because the function of employees is paramount within an organization; for this reason, HR professionals are referred to as strategic business partners. Strategic HRM is important since it facilitates reinforcement of an organizational culture, encourages commitment among employees and promotes a willingness among employees to act flexibly so as to bring about achievement of an organization’s goals that will in turn help it realize excellence. Alternatively, strategic HRM can be defined as all the activities that affect behavior of individuals within an organization, in their efforts to put together and implement its strategic needs. This entails creating a pattern within an organization, thus it is said to facilitate reinforcement of an organizational culture, where employees are informed and part of long-term strategic planning of attaining the organization’s goals and vision. The fundamental aim of strategic HRM is to create strategic capability in employees by ensuring they are skilled, committed and strongly motivated (Armstrong & Bacon 2003, pp.41-42). Strategic HRM is seen as being different across various organizations although certain themes stand out and these are summarized by the fact it imposes a cultural change defined by changes in attitudes, behaviours and values (Wright& McMahan 2011, p.94). Analysis of advantages realized by corporations that practice Strategic HRM for competitive advantage Gaining competitive advantage may either be by being a differentiator or a low-cost leader. It includes decisions, relationships, resources and capabilities that allow an organization to take advantage of opportunities in the market while avoiding threats to its desired position. A corporation that practices strategic HRM whether it is a low-cost leader or differentiator, is able to have continuous innovation, highly skilled and competent workforce making it possible to quickly and efficiently meet customer’s needs and preempt its customer’s moves. Breaking it down, two advantages that a corporation can attain as a result of instituting strategic HRM for competitive advantage include consolidating extensive technologies

Career in Education That Began with 'Teach for America' Article

Career in Education That Began with 'Teach for America' - Article Example There is a personal relationship between Steven and the author, the author being his teacher. The article is a biographical study which spanned through seven years. The methodology used by the author is the conduct of interviews with Steven either personally or through telephone. The author used the biographic-narrative-interpretive (BNIM) method where the interview questions formulated induce narratives (Tellez 6). The author considered this method as very appropriate for the data that he needs for the study, considering that Steve is capable of making the necessary narratives given a simple question. The author also made field observations while Steve was holding classes and he made some video recordings of such. The data were analyzed using the axial coding of themes (Tellez 8). One important finding that the author gained from the biographical study of Steve is that teachers like Steve who began their career without a preservice teaching program were more engaged and directed com pared to other teachers who started their careers with a teaching degree (Tellez 31). Furthermore, the author concludes that teaching should consider the cultural aspect of learning to be effective (Tellez 34). He also emphasized the need for the universities to support a continuous education program for teachers to enhance their professional growth. One cannot totally consider the study by Tellez as sufficient to come up with valid conclusions. First of all, the study is just confined to only one person; thus, generalizations cannot be made. In order for the study to have more weight, the author should have considered a bigger sample size. It would have been better if he studied two types of teachers, one being those who started a teaching career without formal training, like Steve and the other group to be composed of teachers who have preservice teaching program. Another weakness of the study that could be pointed out is the fact that there is the possibility that the author have not been objective in his observations of Steve. This is because of their teacher-student relationship which is further strengthened by their personal relationship as friends. One thinks that a biographical study is not the write genre to use in making conclusions with regards to the teaching profession. A more scientific survey may have resulted in more valid and justified conclusions. One believes that the only legitimate conclusion that can be obtained from this study is that Steve is an effective teacher. Other than that, it does not offer any other convincing finding in the teaching profession. Redefining Student Success: Applying Different Multinomial Regression Techniques for the Study of Student Graduation across Institutions of Higher Education The main thesis of the study is to obtain a clearer picture of the student success rate in higher education by expanding the definition of success. Four categories will be included in the definition of success to cover not only thos e students who graduate with the institution where they entered. The other categories shall include students who get a baccalaureate degree from another higher education institution and students who receive an associate degree/certificate award from another institution (Jones-White, Radcliffe, and Huesman 155). It is the hypothesis of the study

Minority Transfer in California Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Minority Transfer in California - Essay Example Historically, jobs offered to minorities did not require a four-year college education. Secondly, the four-year institutions were not interested in receiving minorities as students from two-year colleges. The four -year institutions mainly targeted students with Advanced Placement. This majority-minority demography who desire and need higher education is hitting colleges and universities. This maintained a two-tier system with an underlying aspect of white supremacy. In California, where 60 percent of K-12 scholars consist of minority groups, only 65-75 percent enrolls in the community colleges. According to reports, only 17 percent Latinos and 19 percent African-American scholars intending to enroll to a four- year institution manage to do so. This system locked out many of the minority students as it is different. Technical course credits were not transferable, and students could not get fee waivers. However, recommendations to revise the old transfer policies are in place (Chau 1) . Statistics indicates that, by 2025, there will be a shortage of degree holders in California. Analyses also indicate that students performing poorly in high schools transfer to community colleges and perform poorly too. ... Poorly prepared students rarely transfer. The report encourages low-performing high schools to help the students realize the challenges of developmental education (Chau 1). Racism is a noticeable aspect within the community colleges. Minority students registered less than 20 percent of all the transfers recorded in colleges. This has necessitated actions aimed at educational reform. Stakeholders involved have come together in order to streamline the system. Civil Rights Project, in its report, recommends dual-enrollment programs, which will provide a better transition between the high schools and colleges, thus expanding programs meant for college readiness. They also recommend simpler transfer processes with credit transfer uniformity. The report also indicated that colleges offering financial incentives would improve on the transfer rates. Some of the colleges have already started implementing the report (Chau 1). In January 1998, Proposition 209 terminated racism segregation in pu blic colleges and universities in the state of California. The Proposition refers to the ban on preferential treatment in learning institutes. Proposition 209 defines new diversity guidelines issued by the Justice and Education departments. Institutions find it difficult to enroll and retain historically under-represented minority (URM) youth. The number of African American and Hispanic scholars drastically dropped at four-year institutions after the year 1998. The University of California has embraced proposition 209. It has diversified efforts and developed a program that reviews the application to incorporate the barriers students have put under control. This has led to the creation of Eligibility in the Local Context program (ELC), to assist in increasing

The IMFs Approach to Economic Stabilization Essay

The IMFs Approach to Economic Stabilization - Essay Example In order to truly diagnose the situation, and properly understand the IMF and its current position in the world, we must ask the following questions: Founded in the turbulent era of the 1940s to stabilize the world economy, and based in Washington, D.C., the IMF (International Monetary Fund) is "an organization of 184 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial security, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty." ("IMF", 2006). The IMF's original purpose was "to establish a code of conduct that would enhance economic cooperation, and avoid the 'beggar-thy-neighbor' policies that led to the economic turbulence of the thirties." (Babb & Buira, 2005). In short, the IMF is a multilateral institution that lends money to governments in order to stabilize currencies and maintain order in international markets. Since the IMF was established its purposes have remained unchanged, but its surveillance, financial assistance and technical assistance operations have developed regularly in order to "meet the changing needs of its member countries i n an evolving world economy." ("IMF", 2006). The IMF "plays a key role in defining how much governments can spendThe Fund's view of what defines the macro economic stability of a country is the authoritative one for all development partners." ("Eurodad", 2003). What are the Main Components of the IMF's Approach to Economic Stabilization Particularly so in recent years, the IMF's quantitative approach to economic stabilization "has been the subject of considerable controversy." ("Survey", 1999). Considered as "the creator of the 'moral hazard'," (Monsod, 1998), the IMF consists of many programs which are often characterized as being "unnecessarily damaging to growth, harmful to the poor, unduly inflexible and unresponsive to the differing needs and circumstances of member countries, and based on rigid application of outmoded and discredited economic principles." (Mussa & Savastano, 1999). In order to understand the IMF's approach to economic stabilization and how it functions in all aspects, one must first understand the process of an IMF supported program: typically an IMF supported program is not permanent or 'set in stone' at the beginning of operations, but rather begins with the seemingly simple a request of a member. It is only then that the IMF staff prepares a blueprint of a program that is used for the actual basis of negotiations. After this, when an agreement is reached, the arrangement is cleared by IMF management and then approved by the IMF Executive Board. Disbursements proceed immediately after this if all performance

Recruiting in the High Schools Essay Example for Free

Recruiting in the High Schools Essay You see them everywhere dressed up head to toe in camouflage and shiny boots, with the image of a super hero. With the recent conflicts in the Middle East, parents across America have protested the military being inside of our children’s schools auctioning off a better life. Let’s face it, who can give a better life to you than your mother? In 2002 the government made a flagship program designed to help underprivileged kids called the â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act†. â€Å"Since 2002 the â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act† has meant that US schools which receive government money must allow the military in to talk to students† (Act of Congress). So this poses a huge problem for the parents that are trying to fight to get the military out of the schools and to put a ban on recruiting from within the confines. The military shouldn’t be able to recruit in high schools for many reasons. The most important reasons why the military shouldn’t recruit inside of high schools is because the mind of a high school student isn’t developed enough to make the right decisions to join; the military gives false hope to kids of financial freedom, and the possibility of death isn’t realistically depicted by the recruiters to the high school students. Why are we recruiting in high schools instead of on college campuses? There could be a lot of reasons behind it, but first and foremost is that seventeen year olds aren’t ready to join. The mind of a seventeen year old isn’t fully developed until their in their twenties. So the judgment of a right and a wrong decision isn’t mindfully thought through. Yes, a seventeen year old only needs a high school diploma and parental consent but, how can they think they are ready for war when they can’t even drink alcohol or vote for their commander and chief? In high schools there are cliques and like any kid they want to be in these so called cliques. Robert Ayers discusses in his book how kids are looking for a clique or group to belong to, â€Å"High school kids are at an age when being a member of an identifiable group with a grand mission and a shared spirit — and never underestimate a distinctive uniform — is of exaggerated importance, something gang recruiters in big cities also note with interest and exploit with skill† (William Ayers). Ayers is depicting to us how easy it is to manipulate, and convince a young mind, seventeen years old, just wants to be part of a group with an image no matter what group it is. All someone has to do is depict an image of greatness and the young people are sold. The fact and bottom line is that our kids look up to a glorified image that the military and their commercials depict from a young age and they shouldn’t be capitalized on nor taken advantage of due to this overwhelming lopsided image. The military is currently under quota of manpower that they need to run a successful defense, so turning to seventeen year olds without the knowledge of military recruiting tactics is the logical and more efficient way to get people to join our depleted military. But this is not a reason to prey on sixteen and seventeen year olds who aren’t even old enough to vote nor drive, but they can make life and death decisions to join the military. But having the undeveloped brain, like we all went through, as they do they are not old enough to cypher through the presentations that the recruiter gives in order to make a valid and rational decision. Why do you see more recruiters in poverty stricken areas contrast to those in areas of good or well financial being? This is because the military is unethically targeting the vulnerable kids in our school system. Recruiters unethically target low income kids while promising them financial aid for school after these students serve in the military. Some of the students are promised is school fully paid for via the â€Å"Post 9/11 bill† and the â€Å"GI Bill†. But if you go www. va. gov website you will see the underlying criteria to actually get 100 percent free tuition. The Veteran Affairs website referenced these criteria’s; Active duty status, months and years served, months retired and a plethora of underlying circumstances. Getting high school students seem to be the plan for high school students, â€Å"The U. S. military’s practice of targeting low-income youth and students of color for recruitment, in combination with exaggerated promises of financial rewards for enlistment, undermines the voluntariness of their enlistment† (Soldiers of Misfortune). So why does the military seem to recruit people of color? Well according to www. census. gov the website tells us a lot about Caucasian children eighteen and under below the poverty line was seventeen percent and the children of the minority races were thirty five percent and higher. So this is actually the ideal place for a recruiter to so called â€Å"fill their quota†. Going back to the argument of recruiters promising false financing of school, this could be an advantage for the recruiters. Promising people who don’t have anything something is unethical and misleading. This is mostly unethical because the recruiters that are usually E-4 to E-6 have no pull to get you in different schooling programs nor give you the position that you could want, in terms of career and financing. â€Å"Many possible recruits are promised that they will receive tens of thousands of dollars in education when, in actuality, 57 percent of veterans who have applied for Government Issue (GI) benefits have not received any financial aid, according to the non-profit organization Finding Alternatives to Military Enlistment† (FAME). Promising financial benefits to kids that less than the majority of the military veterans receive is morally and ethically wrong. Also, the recruiters don’t tell you that in some circumstance you can’t attend school while in an â€Å"Active Duty Status†. Reason being is that you could get deployed and be called off to duty at any time and then the government would have to reimburse the institution for the incomplete credits. The recruiters also don’t tell recruits that if you are a reservist you are not eligible for the GI Bill, being in the reserve status it will be impossible to accumulate four years’ worth of active duty. The military also made it so that this could never be reached, it’s like a safe guard they have in place. The U. S. government also targets disadvantaged communities and areas. The philosophy of recruiters seem to be â€Å" The more in poverty a student is, the more likely they will look for a way out and join the ranks†. When the recruiters target these areas their showing that the more fortunate kids lives are more valuable and worth sparing more than others. It just isn’t right to exploit children from these backgrounds and hold their lives to a lesser status than other backgrounds. Why isn’t war realistically depicted to recruits before they join? Because, it’s nothing like what you see on the video games like â€Å"Call of Duty† or movies like â€Å"The Expendables or The ‘A’ Team†, when people shoot a plethora of bullets at you someone or something gets hit. â€Å"War is catastrophic for human beings, and, indeed, for the continuation of life on Earth. With over 120 military bases around the globe and the second largest military force ever assembled, the U. S.  government is engaged in a constant state of war, and American society is necessarily distorted and disfigured around the aims of war† (William Ayers). A good statistic that should be shared while a recruit is debating whether or not to join the military is, â€Å"During the last decade of that spectacular century, two million children were killed, 20 million displaced, six million disabled† (William Ayers). Now this is a statistic that should get shared with recruits along with the good statistics that are put in there to glorify military service. Another good fact that recruits probably don’t know about â€Å"108 million people were slaughtered in wars during the 20th century† (William Ayers). Now the recruiters should tell the recruits to put this into perspective. 108 million people like you and me were killed within 100 years due to war and military conflict. The kids in high school need to understand that those were kids their age and younger, on some continents that were getting killed over things not fully understood. Then when your contract is up and you are honorably discharged from your branch of service people are still left with images of war and relive it every day. â€Å"Vets suffer long-term health consequences including greater risk of depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, sleep disorders, and more. About one-third of Vietnam vets suffered full-blown post-traumatic stress disorder. Another 22% suffered partial post-traumatic stress disorder. This is the nature of the beast. Anyone who’s been there knows† (William Ayers). If kids the age of 18 and lower are allowed to see and experience these things, then when their brains are fully developed they will be brain washed and war could be instilled in them with no turning back. This could also be that kid’s brains are not fully developed so they don’t have a clear concept of death. Recruiting in the high schools is ethically wrong due to the lack of the recruits’ brain development to cypher through and make a decision based on facts instead of the image the recruiters portray of the military. Also, the recruiters promise tens of thousands of dollars to these kids when that is a very farfetched truth. The recruiters need to tell them what you actually have to do to earn and qualify for that money so it can actually be yours’. Military recruiters also don’t depict a clear picture of war and all that is lost during it. People’s sanity, lives and total way of living are altered forever. Recruiting in high schools should be closely monitored in schools if not done away with all together. Kids eighteen and younger just don’t have a grasp on what’s reality and what’s fabricated. Works Cited Ayers, William. Hearts and Minds: Military Recruitment and the High School Battlefield. Www. democraticdialogue. com. N. p. , 07 Apr. 2006. Web. Cave, Damien. Growing Problem for Military Recruiters: Parents. Editorial. New York Times [New York] 3 June 2005: B6. Www. newyorktimes. com. Web. Census Bureau Homepage. Census Bureau Homepage. N. p. , n. d. Web. 02 Nov. 2012. http://www. census. gov/. FAME Time Series. FAME Time Series. N. p. , n. d. Web. 02 Nov. 2012. http://www. fame. com/. Www. gibill. va. gov. N. p. , n. d. Web.

Biometrics Identification Attendance Monitoring System Essay Example for Free

Biometrics Identification Attendance Monitoring System Essay Technology plays an important role in our society because of modernization. One that makes the daily activities of organizations more convenient is the use of technology. The internet that is really abundant today for handling information, web-based applications are some example of this and Information Technology (IT) is a big help to many companies. To resolve the problems encountered in the daily processes as well as to make their company effective and competitive. â€Å"Business Analytics† is a continuous iterative exploration that refers to the technology, application, processes and a fact based management to driven decision making. Philippine Auto Components, Inc. was established in the Philippines in 1995. The company is a part of DENSO Corporation Japan, which is the leading company in automotive technology components in the world. The products are car air-conditioning and heating systems, electrical automotive and electronic control products, filters, fuel management systems, instrument panel clusters and radiators. PAC is certified as ISO 14001 in August 1998 for it regards the preservation of natural resources and international and environmental standard. The company have the mission to contribute to the better world by creating value together with a vision for future. It’s Vision to become the top design engineering who totally develop Electronic automobile technology. Its philosophy, such as Customer satisfaction to quality products and services, Global Growth through anticipation of change, Environmental Preservation and harmony with society and Corporate vitality and respect for individuality. The organization works the spirit of having teamwork, as One for All, All for One†. The policy in the manufacturing as 3M- Minimum space, stock, investment; 3N- No defect received, produced, delivered; 3S- speed, simple, s. o. p and 3Z- Zero emission, variance, accident. The principles of HR to their employees to motivate them to work with encouragement by fully concentrating with their capabilities, to recruit, assign, retain, and develop competitive workers with creative power and fair HR management policies to gain for DENSO recognition in both community and associates. Since they expanded last year, they will focus on recruitment of new employees and maintaining the performances of their current workers. Because of this they exceed more time and focus for the HR Personnel to generate reports about the employees, the applicants as well as the supervisors. In the recruitment process, there are applicants that will have an exam once they submitted their resume in the company; applicant wait hours while screening of their resume which is checked by HR Personnel. Applicants who passed the exam will be informed through phone for scheduled interview and requirements. Usually applicants wait months with the result. When an employee requests a sick leave, he/she is required to fill up explanatory form. Before request leave acceptance, he is required to submit medical certification for the updating signed by concerned Officers for HR archiving and verification. Ailing personnel is considered unfit to work. Meanwhile, the supervisors have several tasks to accomplish also and the top priority is the work for the flow of the production. They should go to the designation area of the supervisors and employees to update records correcting inconsistencies accomplishing this with given deadline. HR has other reports to be done apart from this. Through cooperation and time management the process with the HR, it should be easier for them to handle. We focused our study on the HR department about their current process in the recruitment, evaluation and filling leave by the employees as well as the reports for the HR. The researchers want to contribute to the improvement of the processes through this study. The Philippine Auto Components, Inc. is one of the companies that want improvement, in their office because they encountered inconveniency. The main objective of the study is to develop efficiently the current process of Human resources of Philippine Auto Component, Inc. Specifically, the study aims to achieve the following: 1. To determine the problem with regards to data rendering of Human Resources. 2. To determine the issues with regards to generating reports of Employees Information. 3. To address accurately the information for the Human Resources related decision. 4. To speed up the process of monitoring the records in recruitment, job evaluation and performance, leave request and employees’ information. 5. To provide a system that can be effective, accurate, reliable, user friendly and secure. 6. To improve the reports and employees information being mishandled that leads to the lost of data and errors in records. Conceptual Framework The researchers used a paradigm structure to support the fundamental principles of the study. A paradigm is a pattern or a model that corresponds to the real world of processes on what the researchers have gathered. It guides the development of the study regarding what the proponents want to improve for the satisfaction among the persons involved in this study. The figure shows the paradigm that is based upon the process in the Human Resource Department or the office. The paradigm has the Input, Process and Output that will guide the researchers for the development of the automation in some HR processes. INPUTPROCESSOUTPUT Figure 1. Conceptual Framework The figure shows the process inside the HR that the information about the employee, applicants and even the supervisors are being recorded. The employees information like their leave request, their performances in their designated jobs including the personal information and which the department they belong to. The applicants’ information with the flow of recruitment and their training are also being input. The supervisors are also being evaluated by the employees. This will be processed and have an output of the reports in evaluations of three, the absence calculations and the lists of the current employees and newly hired as well as the applicants’ information and list. Significance of the Study Prior to the advent of computerization, data is processed manually. However, in the past few decades, the computer and electronic technology has been incorporated into almost every aspect of our lives. They now play a big role in the lives of people and assist them in taking care of files and documents. Today, there is probably no better indication of how technologically advance is the society than a computerization process. Nowadays, computers have become the base technology that enables the people to tap information resources as the fast growing industry of the internet. Great help will be provided for the company Philippine Auto Components, Inc. in terms of trends in Information System, thus, improving the HR functions and benefits as the delivery of services within the organization. The following are the beneficiaries: Company. The Philippine Auto Components, Inc. will benefit because they can save materials like papers and inks as part of their cost in the operation of the company, especially they can now have strategic planning to be more competitive advantages instead on focusing to the manual process that HR has. The company will remove the barrier between the branches or other department. HR Personnel. Can give less effort in the report, target deadlines are being done before the date, eliminates human errors, save time, the leave and absences made by the employees are monitored as well as the communication between the applicants and employee is more convenient. The possible loss of information is less. Supervisors. Accurate and up to date leave reporting and a real-time tracking of leave will generate the system. They are easily informed about the leave request and handling of approval and disapproval will not disturb their other work activities within the company. Employees. Can easily file a leave request without filling up many forms like explanation slip, and they can monitor and aware of their allotted leave such as sick leave and vacation leave. They can work in a fair environment. Their performances are also shown for they will be in the sense of improving their jobs and have a goal to do task well managed and be an asset to the company. Applicants. Hiring within the company is easily being known by the applicants and they will prefer online applications than traditional walk-in job hunting which is time consuming and costly. The announcement online will benefit them, for they can easily apply for what exact job they are looking for. The follow-up Interview schedule through email would be better than waiting for a phone call. Researchers. This will help the future researchers to use this as their reference in their study as well as the programming language being used. This will aid them in enriching their study and will serve as a source of their related literature. Scope and Limitation This study will focus on the HR functions in the company, Philippine Auto Components, Inc. and is intended to eliminate the common problems encountered by the current process of the organization. The information about the current employees, applicants as well as the supervisors will be input to the system. The employees can request a leave which is being approved by the supervisor with the use of the system. Employees can also monitor their allotted leave and performances in their jobs. Applicants can follow-up scheduled interviews through the notification in the HR admin who uses the system. They can also view hiring position within the company. HR can monitor the training of the newly hired employees. The information list of employees in their classification belonged to like contractual, under probationary, regular employees and on the job trainees are also being monitored. The allotted or remaining absence or leave will be monitored by the employee. The performances of employees being evaluated by the supervisor and the applicants’ information are being updated by the HR Personnel. The system offers reports like list of employees, list of applicants, leave monitoring and evaluation reports among the employees. There is a communication between the employee and the HR department and employees can also suggest some ideas to the management. The system does not cover the inventory of all the materials inside the company, cannot compute the sales of the company, do not monitor the prices of the product, cannot monitor trucking and shipping of the products and cannot make purchase order. Definition of Terms Online. A computer-related application that uses an internet connection to be access by the users of the system to communicate easier and faster among the people involved in the institution. It helps the organization to gain more competitive advantages. Company. This is the working environment that has one goal in achieving their vision in terms of business and customer services depending on their products. Organization. It is the groups of people in the company that are involved in the process of Human Resources and needed to have the full attention with regards to the data handling. I. S. Information System. System that help the current process to be more accurate, efficient, secured, user friendly and make their work and day to day operation be more convenient. HRIS. Human Resource Information System. System that develop to collect, process, store and distribute information applying to the policies and process of the Human Resource Management. HRM. Human Resource Management. It encompasses the recruitment, records, leave reports and other information that provides a safe and fair environment in the company. HR Personnel. Person who are responsible in the Human Resource in the current process. HR Department. The persons who are involved in the data reports, recruitment, evaluation and the whole Human Resource process in the company. Supervisors. The head officer of each department in the company that implement the rules and regulations of the company, communicating to the HR for the better flow of the employees’ job, be motivated and guides them for their leave request. Employees. The persons who work within the company’s premises. Applicant. The people who seek job vacancies in the company to have a work and be stable to the day to day life. Leave Request. The employees need to file when in sick, emergency, even maternity and paternity leave covered on period of the date. Computerization. It is the process of applying technology in the paper handling materials for betterment of the organizations’ tasks in the company. Paradigm. A pattern that will help the researchers to overview the covered processes of the HR on what are should be the input data and the accurate output of the system. Quantitative Data. It express the data’s certain amount or range. It makes sense to set boundary limits to such data and it is also meaningful to apply arithmetic operations to data. Quantitative research. This is a technique like surveys whose findings may be expressed numerically and can be computed through mathematical manipulation. That will help the researchers to estimate the future events or quantities. Lickert Scale. It is the way to measure the mean figure responses and evaluate a study through questionnaire using decrement value (Strongly Agree, Agree, Neither, Disagree and Strongly Disagree). Iterative Waterfall. The focus is on delivering a sprint of work as opposed to a series of valuable/shippable features.

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Study

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Study Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy An EIS study was carried out at different dc potentials in order to study the mechanism of ORR in O2 saturated alkaline solutions on prepared GDEs. The Nyquist plots of GDEs under different polarization potentials are shown in Fig. 5. The impedance diagrams show two different behaviors which depend on the applied dc potentials. In the other words, the shape of plots changed at different potentials, suggesting different electrochemical processes occurring on the electrode. The impedance spectra acquired at the potential lower than 0.7 V show one loop in the high frequency region associated with the time constant of a charge transfer process and semi-infinite diffusive manner related to Warburg component in the low frequency region. This semi-infinite diffusive character is related to the adsorption of reactants and intermediate products. The Nyquist plots of O2 reduction on GDEs at the E≠¥0.7 show two loops. The processes that could be involved on the electrode surface that would produce these changes include [37]: (1) Diffusion of O2 through the gas phase in the pores (of porous carbon supported catalyst) and the electrolyte to the reaction site. (2) Adsorption or heterogeneous surface reaction of the oxygen, together with oxygen diffusion. (3) Charge transfer. (4) Diffusion of reduction products into the bulk electrolyte Many reaction mechanisms have been proposed to describe ORR in aqueous electrolytes. Among these models, the Damjanovic model (Fig. 6) is one of the most extensively employed models, due to its applicability over a wide potential region. Damjanovic model describes the ORR as a multi-electron reaction which O2 molecules in the vicinity of the electrode are irreversibly reduced directly to H2O through 4-electron transfer (with a constant rate, k1) or to H2O2 through 2-electron transfer (constant rate, k2). The H2O2 formed can be reduced to H2O through 2-electron transfer (constant rate, k3) or diffuse into the bulk solution [38]. The ORR mechanism on transition metals has also been investigated by theoretical calculation based on the electronic structure [39-40]. The dissociative mechanism and the associative mechanism are proposed for a low current density range (more positive potentials) and a high current density range (more negative potentials), respectively [41]. Dissociative Mechanism (E≠¥0.7 V): In this mechanism, no H2O2 is produced. On a metal surface, O2 adsorption breaks the O-O bond and forms adsorbed atomic O, which further gains two electrons in the two consecutive steps, forming hydroxide ions. Since there is no adsorbed O2 on the catalyst surface, H2O2 cannot be formed. This mechanism can be considered a detailed form of the direct 4-electron pathway and can be written as follows: 1/2O2 + M(metal active sites) → O ºads (11) O ºads + e + H2O → OHads + OHaq (12) OHads + e → OHads → OHaq (13) Associative Mechanism (EË‚0.7 V): Since adsorbed O2 is present, the O-O bond may not be broken in the following steps, resulting in the formation of H2O2. The H2O2 could either be further reduced to H2O or be a final product. Therefore, the mechanism can be written as follows: O2,ads + 2H2O + 2e → H2O2 + 2OH (14) H2O2 + 2e → 2OH (15) The further reduction of H2O2(ads) to hydroxide ions occurs only once the enough overpotential has been reached and before the formed H2O2 diffuse into the bulk solution [41]. The two loop manner of GDEs in Nyquist plots may be related to two basic steps. On the other hand, for E ≠¥ 0.7 V, two time constants are detected during the impedance measurements (Fig. 5). The first time constant at high frequencies is associated with the charge transfer reaction according to Eq. 12, while the second may be associated with the further reduction of OHads to produce OH based Eq. 13. On the other hand, for EË‚0.7 V, the first time constant is related to H2O2 intermediate formation according to Eq. 14 and further semi-infinitive diffusive manner in the low frequency region can be explained by adsorption and diffusion of this intermediate into the bulk solution. In order to obtain quantitative information from impedance spectra in Fig. 5, two electric circuits were employed (Fig. 7). The electric circuit in Fig. 7a was used to simulate the impedance response of those spectra with OCP and E Using the equivalent circuits shown in Fig. 7, a constant phase element (CPE) is suggested instead of pure capacitance (C), due to the non-homogeneous surface of the electrodes. The impedance of CPE is defined as [Yo(jω)n]-1, where Yo is a constant with dimension (S.sn), while the exponent n denotes the correction factor pertaining to the roughness of the electrode and has values that range from 0 to 1. A pure capacitance yields n=1, a pure resistance yields n=0, while n=0.5 represents the ideal Warburg impedance. The true capacitance values can be calculated using the following equation [38]: C=[Yo Ãâ€" R (1-n)]1/n (14) According to equivalent circuits shown in Fig. 7, Rs is associated with the resistance of the solution, connectors, leads and wires. R1 is the charge transfer resistance of the reduction process from O2 to H2O2, R2 is the resistance of adsorbed species with H2O2 as the main intermediate or O2 adsorption into the GDE pores in the figure 7.a. The R1 and R2 circuit components in figure 7b are the charge transfer resistance of the reduction process of O ºads to OHads and the reduction process of OHads to OH, respectively. Parameters calculated from the equivalent circuits (Fig. 7) of O2 reduction on the GDEs are listed in Table 3. According to table 3, the Rs values change as a function of the potential, indicating that the contribution of the apparatus (connectors, leads and wires) from the total impedance of system shouldn’t be dismissed. So, the Rs values have a contribution function of both electrolyte and the apparatus resistance, i.e., connectors, leads and wires. R1 and R2 also show a dependence on the applied dc potentials (Fig. 8). By increasing the positive potential, the R1 values decrease. In the potential region of lower than 0.7 V, the adsorption of free O2 molecules happens on the metal catalyst and then O2,ads reduces to OHads (Eq.8). In the applied dc potential of E≠¥0.7 V, the adsorption of O ºads free radicals happens. By increasing the positive applied potentials, the adsorbed amount of O2,ads and O ºads increases and the further reduction process occurs more easily in the catalyst layer. So the R1 values will be decreased. The dependence of true capacitance values of the applied potentials is shown in Fig. 10. The adsorbed species enhancement by increasing the more positive potentials causes to decrease of C1 values. The R2 values for EË‚0.7 V are related to the adsorption of molecules like H2O2,ads into the GDE pores. When the potential is increased to more positive potentials, the adsorption of H2O2,ads spec ies by the oxygen atom orientation to the metal catalysts will be increased and R2 values became higher. In the potential region of E≠¥0.7 V, the OH,ads species which are reduced to OHaq, increase and charge transfer happens more easily. So the R2 values will be decreased. The C2 values also decrease because of more species adsorption (Fig. 10). Comparison of R values for GDEs shows that the Pt.Ru/C electrocatalyst has the lowest resistance in the whole range of applied dc potentials because of charge transferring occurring more easily and so ORR happens more rapidly at this electrocatalyst type. This behavior can be observed due to the synergistic effects of Pt and Ru catalyst species. The true capacitances of GDEs also show that the calculated of Pt.Ru/C and Ru/C electrocatalyst are higher than Pt.C ones. It is because the Ru species act as a protonic capacitor in the Pt.Ru/C and Ru/C GDEs. 3.5. Chronoamperometery The oxygen diffusion coefficients of GDEs were determined by chronoamperometry technique. Chronoamperograms were obtained by holding the potential of the electrodes at +1.2 V for 10 s and then holding it at +0.4 V relative to the Ag/AgCl electrode for 500 s with oxygen flowing along the electrolyte. With plotting i vs. t−1/2, the linear dependence relationship was obtained for different electrodes [42]: (16) Where I is the limited current, A the surface area of the electrode, D the diffusion coefficient, C the concentration of oxygen, n the number of electrons in the overall reaction of ORR, F the Faraday’s constant, t the time, and à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ °Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  is equal to 3.14. Fig. 11 shows the chronoamperograms of GDEs at +0.4V in relative to the Ag/AgCl in alkaline media. . Cottrell parameters are listed in Table 4, also. The results confirmed the higher Cottrell slope and D values for Pt.Ru/C electrode. So, the Pt.Ru/C cathode has more permeability and activity towards oxygen reduction reaction. Conclusion In this investigation, Pt/C, Ru/C and Pt.Ru/C bimetallic electrocatalysts were prepared by chemical reduction process. Then the resulted inks were coated on carbon paper and used as gas diffusion electrodes for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media. The surface structure of oxygen depolarized cathodes was studied by SEM and EDX analysis. The SEM results showed that all the cathodes consist of rough and porous structures. And Pt, Ru nanclusters were deposited quite uniformly onto/into Vulcan carbon supports with the average particle size of about 30-45 nm. The ORR activity of cathodes was evaluated in 0.1 M O2 saturated NaOH media. Comparison of cyclic voltamograms of Pt/C, Ru/C and Pt.Ru/C electrodes in O2 saturated solutions show that for Pt.Ru/C catalyst current increase induced by ORR is shifted towards more negative electrode potentials and only higher current values have been obtained within the ORR region. It can be concluded that the second metal addition has influenced the catalytic activity of electrocatalyst toward ORR. This matter can be related to synergistic effect, which is playing a critical role in ORR activity. The Pt.Ru/C cathodes showed lower Tafel slops and high current densities. An EIS study was carried out at different dc potentials in order to study the mechanism of ORR in O2 saturated alkalin e solutions on prepared GDEs. The Nyquist plots of GDEs under different polarization potentials show two different behaviors, suggesting different associative and dissociative electrochemical processes occurring on the electrode.

The Royal Truth :: Essays Papers

The Royal Truth The poem Sir Gawain And The Green Knight was written anonymously around 1375 for the royal court in London. This work is a combination of comedy and satire. The poem also has two plots: "the beheading contest, in which two parties agree to an exchange of blows with a sword or ax, and the temptation, an attempted seduction of the hero by a lady" (Norton, 200). This essay will discuss one description of the setting of the poem, the characters' behavior, and how this courtly society has deteriorated from the ideal. The poem begins with the burning of the city, Troy, and the flight of Aeneas. The great-grandson of Aeneas, Felix Brutus, is also the founder of Britain, and he comes to rebuild the city in Britian. The poem continues to describe how the city is built and says that King Arthur becomes the successor of the throne. The author makes the readers understand that the action is taking place during the winter because he mentions that the king, who is the handsomest of all his guests, is having a Christmas party at Camelot. The text states: ...he is the comeliest king, that that court holds, For all this fair folk in their first age were still. Happiest of mortal kind, King noblest fame of will; You would now go far to find So hardy a host on hill (203). The author is also very graphic. For example, the author describes the beheading of the Green Knight this way: "...the head was hewn off and fell to the floor; ...The blood gushed from the body, bright on the green..." (Norton, 211). The passage from lines 60 to 129 of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight describes how the king and his guests celebrate New Year's Day. Before the king enters the room, the food is served to the guests. When the king comes in, everyone stops and the "Clerics and all the court acclaimed the glad season, Cried Noel anew, good news to men" (Norton, 203), which means that the guests exchange greetings with each other. Then men and women hand out gifts, but at the same time they play a kissing game. The entertainment continues until the food is served. In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight, the unknown author explains his characters' personalities and their appearance. He says that Queen Guenevere is a perfect person, who has no faults.

Comparing The Matrix and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? :: Compare Contrast Matrix Androids Essays

Comparing The Matrix and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? For the common moviegoer and book aficionado, the movie, The Matrix and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? are bizarre and peculiar. These works are not the usual themes of normal movies and books. These works have a lot of elements in common. Both works have matrices. The movie and the book stress the idea of reality. In both works the idea of what s real and what s not is the central theme. In the movie, The Matrix there are many similarities with the book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? One similarity is that of the matrices in both works. The movie has a matrix of dreams. According to the movie, humans are dreaming. Dreaming means that the reality humans think of, is not reality. The reality humans think of, is a dream. Confusing, isn t? An easier way of understanding this matrix is to think of human dreams. When humans experience dreams, it is not perceived as a dream until the dream ends. The movie exemplifies humans in the dream state of mind, similar to the dreaming stage. Neo is exposed to his real matrix. The matrix outside of his perceptual reality. He is able to perform with an incredible flexibility and high speed thinking. He is no longer dreaming, or as Neo called it, living. Neo has waken up. The book shares this matrix as well. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? the androids are dreaming. The Tyrell Corporation has programmed these androids to think, feel, and act as instructed. The androids are in a dream matrix just as humans are in The Matrix. The androids don t know what s real. What s real for them is not real. For example, Rachel can play the piano. She doesn t know she can play the piano, until she actually starts playing it. It s a computer generated simulation. She didn t really learn how to play the piano. One difference in both works is the matrix of existence. In the book, Deckard doubts his existence. He starts to wonder what a human being is.

Moll Flanders, Madame Bovary, & The Joys Of Motherhood Essay -- essays

Moll Flanders, Madame Bovary, & The Joys of Motherhood Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders, Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, and Buchi Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood are three novels that portray the life of woman in many different ways. They all depict the turmoils and strife's that women, in many cultures and time periods, suffer from. In some cases it's the woman's fault, in others it's simply bad luck. In any case, all three novels succeed in their goal of showing what a life of selling oneself short is like through the eyes of a woman. In Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders, a woman, Moll is simply trying to get by and is given a wonderful start because she was born in a prison. Moll Flanders leads a life full of crime and prostitution because she feels it is the only way she can survive. She becomes do dependent on theft that she steals even when she does not need any more luxuries. In Moll Flanders, the reader at times feels bad for the main character because she really has no luck when it comes to husbands or life in general. Yet at other times we resent the fact that she leaves her children and continues stealing for no reason. Moll Flanders is somewhat ambiguous because the reader does not know whether to feel sorry for Moll's disadvantages, or feel hatred for her irresponsibility. Moll is somewhat portrayed as ignorant, in that she does not know that what she does is wrong. E. M. Forster wrote that "A nature such as hers cannot for long distinguish between doing wrong and getting caught." Although there are time when the reader feels bad for Moll and feels that she simply does not know better, there are times when Moll admit that she is doing wrong. However, Moll feels no sympathy for the people she steals from. Even after she stops stealing for some time, she being again without remorse. "Thus you see having committed a Crime once, is a sad Handle to the committing of it again; whereas all the Regret, and Reflections wear off when the Temptation renews itself" (184). Moll understands that the crimes she commits are unjust, but she blames temptaion for her delinquency. The most direct reason that the reader feels sympathy for Moll is because she eventually feels guilt. "I had ... ...py, she was abandoned by them in the end. Still, Nnu Ego did everything in her power to give everything to her children, and "The joy of being a mother was the joy of giving all to you children" (224). These three previously mentioned novels all consisted of three extremely different woman selling themselves in one way or another to achieve some sort of self worth or ultimate happiness. Although the situations and acts of the characters were considerably different, one must feel some sort of sympathy to these woman. Not only did they lower their standards, but they also went to extreme lengths to achieve a happiness that in most cases never came. Works Cited Defoe, Daniel. Moll Flanders. W.W. Norton & Company, New York: 1973. Emecheta, Buchi. The Joys of Motherhood. Hinemann, Oxford: 1979. Flaubert, Gustave. Madame Bovary. W. W. Norton & Company, New York: 1965 Forster, E.M. "A novel of Character" from Aspects of the Novel. Harcourt, Brace, New York: 1927. Thibaudet, Albert. "Madame Bovary" from chapter 5 of Gustave Flaubert. Gallimard, Paris: 1935.

Financial Analysis of Tcs and Tech Mahindra

ACCOUNTS PROJECT Submitted By: Kriti Singh Roll No: 236 Section-D, LBSIM, Delhi 1. ) Calculation of Ratios: (All figures used For calculation are in Rs crores) Liquidity Ratios: 1. Current Ratio Formula: Current Ratio=Current Assets /Current Liability Current Ratio of TCS : For 2012: 23275. 09/10465. 01 = 2. 224 For 2011: 17036. 41/7246. 03 = 2. 3511| | Current Ratio of Tech Mahindra: For 2012: 19809/17007 = 1. 16475 For 2011: 18412/15295 = 1. 20379 2. Quick Ratio Formula: Quick Ratio= Quick Current Assets/Current Liability Quick Ratio of TCS:For 2012: 23257. 32/10465. 01 = 2. 223 For 2011: 17013. 59/7246. 03 = 2. 347 Quick Ratio of Tech Mahindra: For 2012: 19807/17007 = 1. 16463 For 2011: 18406/15295 = 1. 20339 3. Cash ratio: Formula: | Cash Ratio of TCS: For 2012: 6003. 37/10465. 01 =0. 5736 For 2011: 4700. 85/7246. 03 =0. 648 Cash Ratio of Tech Mahindra: For 2012: 1389/17007 = 0. 081 For 2011: 1938/15295 = 0. 126 Leverage Ratios: 1. Debt-Assets Ratio: Formula: Debt to Assets = tot al debt / total assets Debt-Assets Ratio of TCS: For 2012: 116. 26/41394. 49 =0. 0028 For 2011: 69. 27/32681. 04 =0. 0021Debt-Assets Ratio of Tech Mahindra: For 2012: 11266/63454 = 0. 177 For 2011: 11827/60804 =0. 194 2. Debt Equity Ratio: Formula: Debt to Equity Ratio =  (Short Term Debt + Long Term Debt)/Tangible N. W. Debt to Equity Ratio of TCS:For 2012: 116. 26/29840. 13 =0. 003 For 2011: 69. 27/24651. 22 =0. 002 Debt to Equity Ratio of Tech Mahindra: For 2012: 11266/34369 = 0. 327 For 2011: 11827/33810 =0. 349 3. Interest coverage Ratio Formula: Interest Coverage Ratio =  (EBIT) / interest.Interest coverage Ratio of TCS: For 2012: 13945. 54/22. 23 =627. 32 For 2011: 11047. 1/26. 48 =417. 18 Interest coverage Ratio of Tech Mahindra: For 2012: 7494/1025 =7. 3112 For 2011: 9173/1113 =8. 2416 4. Total Debt Ratio: Formula: Total Debt Ratio = Total Debt / Capital Employed Total Debt Ratio of TCS: For 2012: 116. 26/30929. 48 =0. 00375 For 2011: 69. 27/25435. 01 =0. 0027 Tota l Debt Ratio of Tech Mahindra: For 2012: 11266/46447 = 0. 425 For 2011: 11827/45509 =0. 259 Activity Ratios: 1. Inventory turnover Ratio: Formula: Inventory Turnover Ratio = Cost of Goods Sold/Inventory Cost Inventory turnover Ratio of TCS:For 2012: 35398. 69/ 17. 77 =1992. 04 For 2011: 26907. 89/22. 82 =1179. 132 Inventory turnover Ratio of Tech Mahindra:For 2012: 46638/2 =23319 For 2011: 42861/6 =7143. 5 2. Receivable’s turnover Ratios: Formula: Receivable Turnover Ratio = Sales/ Accounts Receivable Receivable’s turnover Ratio of TCS:For 2012: 48893. 83/11520. 35 =4. 244 For 2011: 37324. 1/8194. 97 =4. 554 Receivable’s turnover Ratio of Tech Mahindra:For 2012: 52430/12431 =4. 217 For 2011: 49655/9643 =5. 149 3. Payable turnover Ratios: Formula: Payable Turnover Ratio = Cost/ Average Payables Payable turnover Ratio of TCS:For 2012: 35398. 69/ 3247. 87 =10. 89 For 2011: 26907. 89/2572. 33 =10. 46 Payable turnover Ratio of Tech Mahindra:For 2012: 46638/4684 =9. 9 56 For 2011: 42861/3034 =14. 126 4. Fixed assets turnover Ratios: Formula: Fixed assets turnover Ratios = Sales/ Fixed Assets Fixed assets turnover Ratios of TCS: For 2012: 48893. 83/6564. 97 =7. 4 For 2011: 37324. 51/5440. 98 =6. 85 Fixed assets turnover Ratios of Tech Mahindra: For 2012: 52430/8153 =6. 430 For 2011: 49655/6608 =7. 5143 5. Total assets turnover Ratios: Formula: Total assets turnover Ratios = Sales/ Total Assets Total assets turnover Ratios of TCS: For 2012: 48893. 83/11520. 35 =4. 244 For 2011: 37324. 51/8194. 97 =4. 554 Total assets turnover Ratios of Tech Mahindra: For 2012: 52430/63454 =0. 826 For 2011: 49655/60804 =0. 816 Profitability Ratios: 1. PBIT Ratio Formula: PBIT Ratio = EBIT/Sales PBIT Ratio of TCS: For 2012: 13945. 54/48893. 83 =0. 285 For 2011: 11047. 1/37324. 51 =0. 959 PBIT Ratio of Tech Mahindra: For 2012: 7494/52430 =0. 1429 For 2011: 9173/49655 =0. 1847 2. PBT Ratio: Formula: PBT Ratio = EBT/Sales PBT Ratio of TCS: For 2012: 13923. 31/48893. 83 =0. 284 For 2011: 11020. 62/37324. 51 =0. 2952 PBT Ratio of Tech Mahindra: For 2012: 5790/52430 =0. 1104 For 2011: 8060/49655 =0. 1623 3. PAT Ratio: Formula: PAT Ratio= EAT/Sales PAT Ratio of TCS: For 2012: 10413. 4/48893. 83 =0. 212 For 2011: 9068. 04/37324. 51 =0. 242 PAT Ratio of Tech Mahindra: For 2012: 4606/52430 =0. 0878 For 2011: 6967/49655 =0. 1403 4. ROA Ratio: Formula: ROA Ratio= EBIT/ Total Asset ROA Ratio of TCS: For 2012: 13945. 4/41394. 49 =0. 336 For 2011: 11047. 1/32681. 04 =0. 338 ROA Ratio of Tech Mahindra: For 2012: 7494/63454 =0. 118 For 2011: 9173/60804 =0. 15 5. ROE Ratio: Formula: ROE Ratio= EAT/Stockholder’s Equity ROE Ratio of TCS: For 2012: 10413. 4/29840. 13 =0. 348 For 2011: 9068. 04/24651. 22 =0. 367 ROE Ratio of Tech Mahindra: For 2012: 4606/34369 =0. 134 For 2011: 6967/33810 =0. 206 Analysis of Ratios: Liquidity Ratios: Ratio| TCS| Tech Mahindra| | 2012| 2011| 2012| 2011| Current Ratio| 2. 224| 2. 3511| 1. 16475| 1. 20379| Quick Ratio| 2. 2223| 2. 347| 1. 16463| 1. 20339| Cash Ratio| 0. 5736| 0. 648| 0. 081| 0. 126|Ideal current ratio is 2:1. In case of TCS in both years current ratio is almost equal to it. It means company has just the adequate amount of current assets. In case of Tech Mahindra, Current ratio is less than it in both the years. But it is still greater than 1:1. So the company still has sufficient assets to pay its short term obligations. Quick assets means current assets – inventory – prepaid exp. So, it is more conservative measure. Ideal quick ratio is 1:1. It shows that TCS and Tech Mahindra have very less current investments in terms of inventories and prepaid expenses so the ratios are almost equal to the current ratios.Cash ratio is most conservative measure of three as it comprises only cash and marketable securities. TCS keeps more current assets in cash than Tech Mahindra. Leverage Ratios: Ratio| TCS| Tech Mahindra| | 2012| 2011| 2012| 2011| Debt – Assets ratio| 0. 0028| 0. 00 21| 0. 177| 0. 194| Debt To Equity Ratio| 0. 003| 0. 002| 0. 327| 0. 349| Interest Coverage Ratio| 627. 32| 417. 18| 7. 3112| 8. 2416| Total Debt Ratio| 0. 00375| 0. 0027| 0. 2425| 0. 259| Analysis of a firm’s capital structure is essential to evaluate its long-term risk and return prospects. Debt – assets ratio implies portion of total debt in capital structure of a company.The more this ratio is the more risky company is because cost of debt is always greater than cost of equity. So, it is preferred to have more amount of equity than debts. For both TCS and Tech Mahindra, debt ratio is good enough though TCS has better debt ratio. Interest coverage ratio measures the protection available to creditors as the extent to which earnings available for interest cover interest expenses. In case of both companies in both years debt holders are secured as enough profit is available with firm but in case of TCS debt holders are very much secured.Payment of interest on debenture s is always preferred to payment of dividends on equity and preference shares. Activity ratios: Ratio| TCS| Tech Mahindra| | 2012| 2011| 2012| 2011| Inventory Turnover Ratio| 1992. 04| 1179. 132| 23319| 7143. 5| Receivable’s Turnover Ratio| 4. 244| 4. 554| 4. 217| 5. 149| Payable Turnover Ratio| 10. 89| 10. 46| 9. 956| 14. 126| Fixed Assets turnover Ratio| 7. 44| 6. 85| 6. 430| 7. 5143| Total Assets Turnover ratio| 1. 18| 1. 142| 0. 826| 0. 816| Activity ratios describe the relationship between the firm’s sales/cost of goods sold and the assets needed to sustain operating activities.The higher the ratio, the more efficient the firm’s operations as relatively fewer assets are required to maintain a given level of operation. Inventory turnover ratio measures the efficiency of the firm’s inventory management. A higher ratio means inventory does not remain in warehouses for long time. In both years Tech Mahindra has higher ratio than TCS has. Since both are s oftware companies, need for inventory is very less. Hence the ratios are so high. Receivable turnover ratio measures the efficiencies of the firms credit policies and indicate the level of investment in receivables needed to maintain the firm’s sales level.The higher this ratio, the lesser the period in which debtors pays money. Its almost similar for both the companies for 2011-12. For 2010-11, Tech Mahindra is slightly ahead in comparison to TCS in this parameter . It implies that Tech Mahindra gives credit to its customer for lesser time period than TCS does. In 2010-11 average credit time given by TCS is 365/4. 554=80 days approx. while by Tech Mahindra is 365/5. 149=70 days. Payable turnover ratio implies the time duration after which company makes payments to its creditors. The higher ayable turnover ratio, the earlier company makes payments to its creditors. TCS’s payable turnover ratio is slightly better than that of Tech Mahindra in 2011-12. For 2010-11, Tech Mahindra has better payable ratio than TCS as it makes payment to its creditors earlier. Fixed assets turnover ratio measures the efficiency of long-term investment. This ratio reflects the level of sales generated by investment in production capacity and shows the efficiency level of fixed assets. The higher this ratio means more productive and efficient are fixed assets or long-term investments.From table it is clear that investments of TCS are slightly more productive than of Tech Mahindra for 2011-12 but it was reverse by almost the same amount for 2010-11. Total assets turnover ratio considers total assets instead of only current assets so; it measures overall efficiencies of all assets (current fixed). TCS has a better ratio than Tech Mahindra has. Profitability Ratios: Ratio| TCS| Tech Mahindra| | 2012| 2011| 2012| 2011| PBIT Ratio| 2. 224| 2. 3511| 0. 1429| 0. 1847| PBT Ratio| 0. 284| 0. 2952| 0. 1104| 0. 1623| PAT Ratio| 0. 212| 0. 242| 0. 0878| 0. 1403| ROA| 0. 336| 0. 338 | 0. 118| 0. 150| ROE| 0. 48| 0,367| 0. 134| 0. 206| This is the most important ratio because both shareholder’s and stakeholder’s profit/gain depends on profitability of company. These ratios measures profitability in terms of % of sales. Debenture holders are much concerned about PBIT(profit before interest and tax) as they are paid interest out of it, government is more concerned about PBT(profit before tax) as it charge tax on this profit, shareholders are more concerned about PAT(profit after tax) as they are paid dividends on the basis of it. For both the companies there is a little change in these ratios over the previothemyear.Also profitability of TCS is more than Tech Mahindra. ROA measures the management’s ability and efficiency in using the firm’s assets to generate profits and it reports the total return accruing to all providers of capital(debt and equity) while ROE considers amount available for distribution to shareholder’s. Both RO A and ROE are undoubtedly better for TCS than those of Tech Mahindra. TCS is giving superb rate of return on equity to its shareholders as 33-34 % in last two years while that for Tech Mahindra is 15-17%. The relationship between ROA and ROE reflects the firm’s capital structure. 2. Horizontal, Vertical and Trend Analysis Items selected For horizontal, vertical and trend analysis are: Items | TCS| Tech Mahindra| | 2012| 2011| 2012| 2011| Shareholder’s Fund| 29579. 23| 24504. 81| 34432| 33840| Inventory| 17. 77| 22. 82| 2| 6| Fixed Assets| 6564. 97| 5440. 98| 8153| 6608| Cash and bank balance| 6003. 47| 4700. 85| 1389| 1938| Creditors| 3247. 87| 2572. 33| 4684| 3034| Debtors| 11520. 35| 8194. 97| 12431| 9643| Total assets/liabilities| 41394. 49| 32681. 04| 63454| 60804| Vertical Analysis: In vertical analysis Auditors calculate portion of one item in total assets/liabilities in terms of percentages.Items | TCS| Tech Mahindra| | 2012| 2011| 2012| 2011| Shareholderâ€℠¢s Fund| 71. 45| 74. 98| 54. 26| 55. 65| Inventory| 0. 042| 0. 069| 0. 003| 0. 009| Fixed Assets| 15. 85| 16. 64| 12. 848| 10. 86| Cash and bank balance| 14. 5| 14. 38| 2. 18| 3. 18| Creditors| 7. 846| 7. 871| 7. 381| 4. 9| Debtors| 27. 83| 25. 07| 19. 59| 15. 85| Horizontal Analysis: In horizontal analysis Auditors calculate % change in an item over a base year. Here Auditors are considering 2009-10 as base year and will calculate % change. Items| TCS| Tech Mahindra| | 2012| 2011| 2012| 2011| Shareholder’s Fund| 95. 29| 100| 97. 50| 100|Inventory| 60. 87| 100| 33. 33| 100| Fixed Assets| 95. 25| 100| 118. 30| 100| Cash and bank balance| 100. 83| 100| 68. 55| 100| Creditors| 99. 68| 100| 150. 63| 100| Debtors| 111. 01| 100| 123. 59| 100| Trend Analysis: For TCS: For Tech Mahindra: 3. Suggestions: i. Creditors: Since the debt ratios are less, there is a lot of assets and equity backing for the debts. It’s a safe bet to lend to both of these companies. ii. Banks and Finan cial institutions : Interest Coverage ratio is high. So lending to these companies is a safe thing to do. (More so to TCS which has excellent Interest Coverage Ratio) iii.Investors: Both the companies have high ROE. So it’s a good option to invest in them. Returns of TCS are as high as 34-36% while that of Tech Mahindra are 15-17%. iv. Government: Tax benefits can be tightened a bit. Because with the proportion of sales tax appears to be less. PBT and PAT ratios for both the companies are almost equal. v. Management: Crediting policies should be changed a bit. Because software industry being a intangible industry can’t rely much on low recievables turnover ratio. 4. Accounting Policies TCS Fixed Assets Fixed assets are stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation / amortization.Costs include all expenses incurred to bring the asset to its present location and condition. Fixed assets exclude computers and other assets individually costing ` 50,000 or less which are not capitalized except when they are part of a larger capital investment program. Depreciation / Amortization Depreciation / amortization on fixed assets, other than freehold land and capital work-in-progress is charged so as to write-off the cost of assets, on the following basis: Type of asset Method Rate / Period Leasehold land and buildings Straight line Lease period Freehold buildings Written down value 5%Factory buildings Straight line 10% Leasehold improvements Straight line Lease period Plant and machinery Straight line 33. 33% Computer equipment Straight line 25% Vehicles Written down value 25. 89% Office equipment Written down value 13. 91% Electrical installations Written down value 13. 91% Furniture and fixtures Straight line 100% Intellectual property / distribution rights Straight line 24 –60 months Rights under licensing agreement Straight line License period Fixed assets purchased for specific projects are depreciated over the period of the project. InvestmentsLo ng-term investments are stated at cost, less provision for other than temporary diminution in value. Current investments, except for current maturities of long term investments, comprising investment in mutual funds are stated at the lower of cost and fair value. Inventories Raw materials, sub-assemblies and components are carried at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost is determined on a weighted average basis. Purchased goods-in-transit are carried at cost. Work-in-progress is carried at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Stores and spare parts are carried at cost, less provision for obsolescence.Finished goods produced or purchased by the Company are carried at lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost includes direct material and labtheir cost and a proportion of manufacturing overheads. Tech Mahindra Fixed Assets including intangible assets: Fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Costs comprise of purchase price and attributable c osts, if any. Depreciation / amortization of fixed assets: (i) The Company computes depreciation of all fixed assets including for assets taken on lease using the straight line method based on estimated useful lives.Depreciation is charged on a pro rata basis for assets purchased or sold during the year. Management’s estimate of the useful life of fixed assets is as follows: Buildings 28 years Computers 3 years Plant and machinery 5 years Furniture and fixtures 5 years Vehicles 3-5 Years Office Equipments 5 years (ii) Leasehold land is amortised over the period of lease. (iii) Leasehold improvements are amortised over the period of lease or expected period of occupancy whichever is less. (iv)Intellectual property rights are amortised over a period of seven years. (v) Assets costing upto Rs 5,000 are fully depreciated in the year of purchase. vi)The cost of software purchased for internal use is capitalized and depreciated in full in the month in which it is put to use. Invest ments: Long term investments are carried at cost. Provision is made to recognise a decline other than temporary in the carrying amount of long term investment. Current investments are carried at lower of cost and fair value. Inventories: Components and parts: Components and parts are valued at lower of cost and net realizable value. Cost is determined on First-In-First Out basis. Finished Goods: Valued at the lower of the cost or net realisable value. Cost is determined on First-In-First Out basis. . ) Key Highlights TCS a. ) Auditor’s Report 1. Auditors have audited the attached Consolidated Balance Sheet of TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES LIMITED (â€Å"the Company†) and its subsidiaries (collectively referred as â€Å"the TCS Group†) as at March 31, 2012,the Consolidated Statement of Profit and Loss and the Consolidated Cash Flow Statement for the year ended on that date, both annexed thereto. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’ s management and have been prepared by the management on the basis of separate financial statements and other financial information regarding components.Their responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on their audit. 2. Auditors conducted their audit in accordance with the auditing standards generally accepted in India. Those Standards require that Auditors plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatements. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements.An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by the management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Auditors believe that their audit provides a reasonable basis for their opinion. 3. Auditors did not audit the financial statements of certain subsidiaries whose fina ncial statements reflect total assets (net) of ` 4825. 13 crores as at March 31, 2012, total revenues of ` 7601. 89 crores and net cash inflow amounting to ` 514. 17 crores for the year ended on that date.These financial statements and other financial information has been audited by other auditors whose reports have been furnished to us, and their opinion in so far as it relates to the amounts included in respect of these subsidiaries is based solely on the report of other auditors. 4. Auditors report that the consolidated financial statements have been prepared by the Company’s management in accordance with the requirements of the Accounting Standard (AS) 21, Consolidated Financial Statements prescribed by the Central Government under Section 211 (3C) of the Companies Act, 1956 and other recognized accounting practices and policies. 5.Based on their audit and on consideration of the separate audit reports on the individual financial statements of the Company and the aforesai d subsidiaries and other financial information of the components, and to the best of their information and according to the explanations given to us, Auditors are of the opinion that the attached consolidated financial statements give a true and fair view in conformity with the accounting principles generally accepted in India: (i) in the case of the Consolidated Balance Sheet, of the state of affairs of the TCS Group as at March 31, 2012; (ii) in the case of the Consolidated Statement of Prof t and Loss, of the profit of the TCS Group for the year ended on that date; and (iii) in the case of Consolidated Cash Flow Statement, of the cash flows of the TCS Group for the year ended on that date. b. ) Management Discussion The Company’s strategy to support longer term growth is to continually extend the core IT services business by expanding its geographic reach, industry coverage and service capabilities and by deepening existing client elationships, building or acquiring emergi ng businesses and adopting or creating new business models and business solutions. Risks The Company has put in place an Enterprise-wide Risk Management (ERM) programme based on the Committee of Sponsoring Organisations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) framework. Reports are placed before the Board of Directors at regular intervals. The risk management process is continuously improved and adapted to the changing global risk scenario. The agility of the risk management process is monitored and reviewed for appropriateness with the changing risk landscape. The process of continuous evaluation of risks includes taking stock of the risk landscape on an event driven as well as quarterly basis.The risk categories covered under the ERM programme includes strategic, operational and financial as well as compliance-related risks across various levels of the organisation. This includes risk assessment and mitigation at the company level, business / functional unit level, relationship level an d project level. c. ) Corporate Governance Effective corporate governance practices constitute the strong foundations on which successful commercial enterprises are built to last. These practices are categorised through principle based standards and not just through a framework enforced by regulation. It develops through adoption of ethical practices in all of its dealings with a wide group of stakeholders encompassing regulators, employees, shareholders, customers and vendors.Strong leadership and effective corporate governance practices have been the Company’s hallmark and it has inherited these from the Tata culture. The Company will continue to focus its resources, strengths and strategies to achieve its vision of becoming a truly global leader in software services, while upholding the core values of excellence, integrity, responsibility, unity and understanding, which are fundamental to the Tata companies. By combining ethical values with business acumen, globalisation w ith national interests and core business with emerging business, the Company aims to be amongst the largest and most respected global organisations. The Company elieves in adopting the ‘best practices’ that are followed in the area of corporate governance across various geographies. The Company has a strong legacy of fair, transparent and ethical governance practices. The Company has adopted a Code of Conduct for its employees including the Managing Director and the Executive Directors. In addition, the Company has adopted a Code of Conduct for its Non-Executive Directors. Both these codes are available on the Company’s website. The Company’s corporate governance philosophy has been further strengthened through the Tata Business Excellence Model, the Tata Code of Conduct for Prevention of Insider Trading, as also the Code of Corporate Disclosure Practices.The Company has in place an Information Security Policy that ensures proper utilisation of IT resource s. The Company is in compliance with the requirements stipulated under Clause 49 of the Listing Agreements entered into with the Stock Exchanges with regard to corporate governance. Tech Mahindra a. ) Auditors’ Report The audit was conducted in accordance with the auditing standards generally accepted in India. Those Standards require that auditors plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatements. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and the disclosures in the financial statements.An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and the significant estimates made by the Management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Auditors believe that their audit provides a reasonable basis for their opinion. (a) Auditors have obtained all the information and explanations which to the best of their knowledge and belief w ere necessary for the purposes of their audit; (b) In their opinion, proper books of account as required by law have been kept by the Company so far as it appears from their examination of those books; (c) The Balance Sheet, the Statement of Profit and Loss and the Cash Flow Statement dealt with by this report are in agreement with the ooks of account; (d) In their opinion, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Prof t and Loss and the Cash Flow Statement dealt with by this report are in compliance with the Accounting Standards referred to in Section 211(3C) of the Companies Act, 1956; (e) In their opinion and to the best of their information and according to the explanations given to them, the said accounts give the information required by the Companies Act, 1956 in the manner so required and give a true and fair view in conformity with the accounting principles generally accepted in India: (i) In the case of the Balance Sheet, of the state of affairs of the Company as at 31st March, 2012; (ii) In the case of the Statement of Profit and Loss, of the profit of the Company for the year ended on that date and (iii) In the case of the Cash Flow Statement, of the cash flows of the Company for the year ended on that date. b. ) Management Discussion Opportunities Growth in Emerging MarketsCompared to the subdued growth expected in developed markets, emerging markets will continue to drive relatively higher growth due to new spectrum licensing, migration to direct to home platforms, broadband penetration, focus on value added services and conducive regulatory environment. This will create opportunities for the software service providers who can assist operators in achieving their business objectives in these areas. Moreover, as the developing world focuses on shift of Mobility, it may bring in huge investments in this area which could create opportunities for companies like Tech Mahindra. Legacy to Next Generation IT transformationTelecom is a dynamic and evolving indus try with high focus on consumers’ changing demands. Service providers around the globe, on the back of dropping legacy revenues and high costs, are looking to transform their clients’ legacy platforms into next generation platforms. This will enable clients to optimize their product portfolio, and rationalize the costs associated with running the systems. These transformation initiatives will lead to outsourcing opportunities. Tech Mahindra has been at the forefront of helping its clients transform their businesses in line with the changing global telecom environment. Increased scope of outsourced activitiesAccess to talent and cost optimization is the key driver for outsourcing. Telecom service providers are adopting several outsourcing strategies to benefit from off shoring. One of the trends is services which traditionally were done in house are now being included in the scope of global sourcing. In the network domain, network outstheircing provides an opportunity f or wide range of services like field services, maintenance & support, E2E implementations and network infrastructure management. Managed services deals to cover network legacy systems have been tried in the mature markets and a similar trend will continue for the coming years. Adoption of Next Generation TechnologiesThe telecom industry continues to adapt and evolve with new technologies and new ways to communicate. Successive waves of new technology in wire-line, wireless and IP domains have been sweeping the industry landscape. The Telecom industry is also altering to cope up with the changing needs and behavitheir of consumers and increased competition. Customers believe in convenience, choice of services, responsiveness and cost as important parameters to choose their service provider. Success in current business environment is characterized by the ability to adapt to the higher user expectations on the one hand and a rapidly changing technology environment on the other.As mobil e broadband penetration expands, quick monetization has become a strategy of paramount importance for telecom service providers. Service providers are now focusing on providing solutions to enterprises by enabling their applications to be accessed via mobile platforms such as smart phones and tablets. With the growth in social network media across the world, coupled with higher broadband penetration, users have been voicing their views about quality of services. Analysis of user sentiments on such social networks, within limits of privacy laws, is another area where there has been a growth in demand. Threats Reduction in Telecom Spending The global economy is going through turbulent times and most companies are reacting to the increased volatility.Though cash-rich, telecom companies have turned cautious due to the challenging macroeconomic environment. The decisions cycles on new discretionary spend are prolonged. The service providers continue to focus on reducing costs by adopting measures such as optimizing IT Spend and postponing investments. Such cost-saving measures could have an adverse impact on outsourcing. Global IT companies posing challenge with growing India presence Global IT service providers such as Accenture, HP, CapGemini and IBM are expanding their presence in India and pose a challenge to Indian IT service companies with their global client relationships, deep pockets and domain knowledge. Risks High customer concentrationIn FY 2012, revenues from the leading client, top 5 and top 10 clients account for 37%, 68% and 78% respectively. Though customer concentration has been declining over the years, loss of any of these clients could have a material adverse impact on their revenue and profitability. After Mahindra Satyam’s merger with the Company customer concentration will reduce significantly. Withdrawal of tax benefits In the past Auditors benefited from certain income tax incentives under Section 10A of the Income Tax Act (for the IT services that Auditors provide from specially designated â€Å"Software Technology Parks† or STPs) and also from Section 10AA of the Income Tax Act (for the IT services Auditors render from units set up in SEZs).As a result of these incentives, their operations in India have been subject to relatively low tax liabilities. The income tax benefits available to STP units have been discontinued from 1st April 2011. As this withdrawal was foreseen, the Company decided to set up facilities in SEZ units at various locations as the units set up in SEZ area would continue to provide them with tax benefits similar to those in STPs. Auditors commenced operations in SEZ units at Hinjewadi Pune, Chennai, Kolkata and Chandigarh. Additional units are coming up at Noida. But despite this, tax incidence will increase over the previous years due to withdrawal of Section 10A benefits.In addition, there is no assurance that the Indian government will not enact laws in the future that would ad versely impact tax incentives further and consequently, their tax liabilities and profits. When their tax incentives expire or are terminated, their tax expense will materially increase, reducing their profitability. Exchange rate risks The exchange rate between the Indian Rupee and the British Pound and the Rupee and the U. S. Dollar has fluctuated widely in the recent past and may continue to fluctuate significantly in the future. The average value of the Rupee for the FY 2011-12 against the British Pound appreciated by approx 7. 7% and against U. S. Dollar by approximately 4. 4% for the FY 2010-11.Accordingly, their operating results have been and will continue to be impacted by fluctuations in the exchange rate of the Indian Rupee with the British Pound, the U. S. Dollar along with other foreign currencies. Any strengthening of the Indian Rupee against the British Pound, the U. S. Dollar or other foreign currencies, as witnessed in the last year, could adversely affect their pro fitability. c. ) Corporate Governance Report The Company believes that Corporate Governance is a set of guidelines to help fulfill its responsibilities to all its stakeholders. It is a voluntary code of self-discipline to ensure that the Company abides by highest ethical standards. In line with this philosophy, the Company follows healthyCorporate Governance practices and has been reporting the same in annual report even before the Company was listed in August 2006. Board of Directors: The Composition of the Board is in total conformity with Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement, as amended from time to time. The Company has a balanced mix of eminent executive, non-executive and independent directors on the Board. The total strength of the Board of Directors is eleven. The Company has a Non-executive Chairman, who is a professional Director in his individual capacity and belongs to the Promoter Group and the number of independent directors is seven which is more than half of the total strength of the Board as required by the provisions of the Listing Agreement.The number of Non-Executive Directors is ten which is more than 50% of the total number of Directors. The Company is managed by the Vice Chairman & Managing Director and the Management Team. The Board reviews and approves strategy and oversees the performance to ensure that the long term objectives of enhancing stakeholder value are met. The Independent Directors and the Senior Management have made disclosures to the Board confirming that there are no material financial and/or commercial transactions between them and the Company which could have potential conflict of interest with the Company at large. The Board meets at least four times a year and the maximum gap between two meetings is not more than four months.During the year 2011-12, six meetings of the Board of Directors were held on 20th April 2011, 26th May 2011, 12th August 2011, 15th November 2011, 8th February 2012 and 21st March 2012. Agenda for the Board Meetings containing all necessary information / documents is made available to the Board in advance to help the Board to discharge its responsibilities effectively and take informed decisions. In some instances, documents are tabled at the meetings and the concerned manager also makes presentations to the Board or Committees. None of the Directors on the Board is a member in more than 10 committees or acts as a Chairman of more than 5 committees across all companies in which he is a director.The directors of the Company are not inter se related. CEO / CFO Certification As required under Clause 49 V of the Listing Agreement with the Stock Exchanges, a Certificate on the Financial Statements for the financial year ended on 31st March, 2012 has been given to the Board of Directors by the Vice Chairman & Managing Director and the Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Code of Conduct All the Directors and senior management personnel have affirmed compliance with the Code of C onduct/ Ethics as approved and adopted by the Board of Directors and a declaration to that effect signed by the Managing Director. The Code has been posted on the Company’s website – www. techmahindra. om Policy for prohibition of Insider Trading In compliance with the provisions of SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 1992, (as amended from time to time) and to preserve the confidentiality and prevent misuse of unpublished price sensitive information, the Company has adopted a policy for prohibition of Insider Trading for Directors and specified employees of the Company, relating to dealing in the shares of the Company. This policy also provides for periodical disclosures from designated employees as well as pre-clearance of transactions by such persons. Whistle Blower Policy The Company has a Whistle Blower Policy in place.In terms of this policy, all employees are encouraged to report any instance of unethical behaviour, fraud, violation of the Company ’s Code of Conduct or any behaviour which may otherwise be inappropriate and harmful to the Company. The policy provides a mechanism for employees to raise concerns that relate to violation of the Code of Conduct, Accounting, Internal Controls, Auditing Matters and applicable national and international laws including statutory / regulatory rules and regulations. This policy has been communicated to all employees and has been posted on the Company’s Intranet for ready access. Risk Management: The Company has a well-defined risk management framework in place. The risk anagement framework adopted by the Company is discussed in detail in the Management Discussion and Analysis section of this Annual Report. The Company has established procedures to periodically place before the Board, the risk assessment and minimization procedures being followed by the Company and steps taken by it to mitigate these risks. 6. ) Share Prices Analysis Share Prices of TCS as on 29th August ar e nearly Rs 1352. 90. It has increased from approximately Rs 954 to Rs 1352. 90. Share prices have been on the increase in the last year. According to the price movements and ratios calculated it is a very good buy. Share Prices of Tech Mahindra as on 29th August are nearly Rs 875. 80.It has increased from approximately Rs 617 to Rs 875. 80. Share prices have been on the increase in the last year. According to the price movements and ratios calculated it is a good buy. Comparing both together TCS is a better buy. 7. ) Key Improvement Areas and Ratings a. ) Key Improvement Areas Both should try to reduce their debtors. Tech Mahindra should increase its volume of current assets. Rest both the companies are high performing companies as seen by the analysis and share prices. b. ) Rating TCS is better than Tech Mahindra as the ratios are fairly better for it. Also from investment point of view share prices and ROE has been better for TCS. Also profitability of TCS is higher.