Race And Ethnicity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Race And Ethnicity - Essay Example The Act and its subsequent amendments offer protection regardless of whether an individual propagates racism deliberately or not in the society (Tonry, 1998: 49). However, racial discrimination persists in British society a situation that has resulted to serious social crisis in the country. Access to medical services is one sector where racism and racial discrimination is prevalent in Britain. Findings from research study conducted by Smedley (2001) established that people from minority groups in United Kingdom experience worse health than those from the majority group. (Smedley, 2001: 25). Though there are various opinions regarding these findings, noted that the minority groups experienced many socioeconomic challenges that undermined their access to medical care. In health sector, Smedley, (2001) argues that perceptions attributed to the biological and cultural differences of the minority groups undermine their accessibility to health in Britain (Smedley, 2001: 37). These percept ions are usually used to justify unfair medical attention in health care institutions across the country. The study established that these negative perceptions prevented minority groups from interacting with medical staff in the country. The minorities face other additional social-economic challenges such as poor economic status and when these unjustified perceptions are included, access to good medical care becomes a difficult challenge. According to Benzeval et al (1992), racial discrimination in the United Kingdom affects health of the minorities in various ways. They include poor sanitation and living conditions, which arises from inequitable distribution of resources, poor treatment due to lack of resources... This paper stresses that health care system in the United Kingdom lacks important aspects, which perpetuates racial discrimination in the sector. These include lack of representative medical staff from the minority groups, insufficient policies and regulations to address patients from minority groups, in addition to very few users from the minority ethnic groups. Other aspects in the health sector include lack of medical staff qualified to work in ethnically diverse environment and poor relationship with non-governmental organisations that provides care to the minorities. Another major area of racial discrimination in Britain is the criminal justice system. In United States, African Americans a minority race continue to suffer from high levels of criminal injustice especially in capital offenses and imprisonments. This report makes a conclusion that the British government has made commendable efforts in ensuring that racial discrimination is eliminated, incidents of racial discrimination persists in the society and in institutions. This trend points to the widely construed notion that regards particular social group of people to certain characteristics. Regrettably, the ascribed notions have been used to draw and direct inhuman treatment to that particular group. In this regard, it is important for all British citizens to realize that respect for human dignity especially to the minority groups is the ideal measure of the country’s social economic development. This can be attained by ensuring equal access to justice, health, employment, education and in the political structure of the country.

Continuity and Change in Chinese Nationalist Ideology World War I to Present Essay Example for Free

Continuity and Change in Chinese Nationalist Ideology World War I to Present Essay Since the beginning of the First World War to the present, nationalist ideology within China has caused change and continuity in several aspects of this nation’s society. One major change in China from the First World War to the present is its foreign relations with other countries due to factors such as communism and neocolonialism. Although China has changed in this way, it has remained one united nation despite foreign invasion and other internal/external conflicts. In the early 1900s, China was a state of continual civic and revolutionary unrest. As support for revolutionary efforts began to spread, China shifted from a monarchy to a republic. However, this rule didn’t last long as warlords within the nation began establishing themselves as regional or provincial rulers. This helped lead to the deterioration of Chinese society. Another factor leading away from a centralized state was fragmented relations with foreign powers. Since the 1900s, a network of foreign control over the Chinese economy had been established by the unequal treaties, which effectively prevented economic development within China. These treaties and other concessions permitted foreigners to intervene in Chinese society and not control the state, but impair its sovereignty. After the First World War, nationalism began to develop rapidly in China. China eagerly looked to the U. S. government to support the elimination of the treaty systems and the full restoration of Chinese sovereignty. However, when the U. S. approved increasing Japanese interference in China, this sparked the May Fourth Movement. Chinese people protested Japanese interference and began to re-establish national unity. As China began shifting from a divided sphere of influence to a dominant world power, it also became more influenced by communism. During the Second World War, the majority of concern to combat communism was in the Soviet Union. While this was taking place we, the U. S. , neglected to aid the efforts of Jiang Jieshi, who sought to unify the nation of China and bring the conflicts of nationalism and communism to an end. In his place, Jiang Jieshi leaves behind a void of power. Communist leader, Mao Zedong stepped up to fill this void. He like many other rulers in China used the Mandate of Heaven to justify his rise to power and take control of China. In 1949, Mao started the Red Revolution, a revolutionary effort to spread communism in China. Communism soon overpowered the nationalist party as the main ruling party. Mao also aimed to make China a self-reliant, isolated nation. However in doing so, China could not economically support itself or its communist views. In the 1970s the People’s Republic of China began large, radical economic reforms forcing the country to become one of the most capitalistic nations in the world. China quickly added itself to the global economy by opening its borders to the trade of various nations. China soon became the economic power that it is today and despite all the turmoil that has occurred from the First World War to the present, China has remained one united nation. From the past to the present, the ideology behind Chinese nationalism has been in a constant state of change. The shift in government and foreign relations throughout the world has been a major source of China’s nationalism. Although these foreign relations are constantly changing, China has remained a unified nation.

Grandma and Grandpa :: Personal Narrative Profile

Grandpa Pat McGill, Jr. of Wisner, Nebraska always entered a room smiling. Pat fathered eleven children, including my mother, and had over fifty grandchildren, including me. Even though my grandpa and I were not all that close, I admired and respected his kind and gentle nature. He passed away in the summer of 1996, and I didn't get to say goodbye to Grandpa Pat McGill before he headed up to heaven with all the other saints. All but one of the McGill grandchildren were at my grandpa's memorial service. I held my mom's hand as all of the children and grandchildren lined the aisle and acted as an "honor guard" for the casket. We both sobbed. At the end of the service, the priest announced that there would be an all-night vigil in the church for my grandpa, and they needed volunteers to sign up to stay with him in the church. I didn't think much of it, assuming that townspeople and family members would flock to the signup sheet. Apparently EVERYONE made this assumption. A contingent of my cousins went out to the bars to hold "an Irish wake" and lubricate themselves with alcohol. The residents of Wisner mostly went home to their beds. It turned out that no one had volunteered to stay with my grandpa from the hours of 2:00 AM to 6:00 AM, and hysteria broke out. My grandma was heartbroken. My mom was scrambling to solve the problem. Then I spoke up: "I'm used to staying up all night. I can do it." Everyone looked at me and blinked. "Really?" they said. "All night?" I took my notebook to the church and sat in the front pew. I worked on a short story called Mushroom until I was alone in the church with my grandpa's open casket. It was impossible to distract myself from this situation anymore. I approached my grandpa and looked closely at him. I started talking to him about the things I had been doing in Massachusetts. I sang songs to him. I asked him if I would ever find a way to stop loving the girl who broke my heart a year earlier. I cried for a little while. I touched his hands. I realized how much I admired the power of his smile and his capacity for joy.

Financial statement analysis

Most notable products from Apple include the Phone, Pod, Pad, ND Imax personal computers. Apple is also involved in computer and web based application developments, which support their essential products such as Tunes, Safari, and Cloud. Through its innovative, streamlined, user-friendly designs, Apple has achieved a meteoric rise to industry domination since 2002. This growth, however, has recently come to a relative standstill following its peak in 2012 and has investors speculating if this marks the end of Apple's bullish behavior, or just a minor setback because of the company's change of management.Apple Inc. Saw a 9% total increase in revenue this sat year from SSL 56,508 million in 2012 to $170,910 million in 201 3(Apple Inc. , 2013). This growth is in part due to the release of the Phone â€Å"As† and â€Å"c† models, the introduction of the Pad â€Å"Mini† retina display as well as the company's normal day to day sales. This 9% growth may be some cause f or concern though, as prior years increase in revenue saw a 45% average growth from year to year (44% in 2012 and 65% in 2011).Apple's annual release of new products typically yields a 30% overall growth in revenue, which potentially indicates there is stagnation of growth overall in the current racket. This stagnation may be attributed either to heavy saturation of products within the current market, leaving little opportunity for expansive growth, or that consumers are unimpressed with the current product line. Apples peer firm Microsoft (MOST) has seen a modest 5% increase in total revenue from $73,723 million to $77,849 million from 2012 to 213 respectively (Microsoft Corporation, 2013).This increase is consistent with prior 3 years which have each yielded a 4-5% increase in revenue. Compared to Apple, Microsoft has a relatively stable growth and be attributed to the elatedly consistent flow of products from year to year. The â€Å"earnings per share† ratio (PEPS) reflect s the decline in overall profitability as well, with a 10% decline in Apple's PEPS from $44. 43 to $40. 29 in 2012 and 2013 respectively (Apple Inc. , 2013).This can be attributed to two factors: a decrease in net profit margin and a paralleled decrease in gross profit margin. There was an 11% decrease in net profits because of an increase in overall inventory. Increasing inventory will also increase a company s operating expenses as they accommodate new production. Companies typically raise their inventory evils as they release new products in anticipation for projected consumer demand for these products.As is the case with Apple, this will have a negative impact on a company's net profit when there is less than anticipated demand for their new product. The depreciation of older inventories can also be responsible for an overall decrease in profitability. Microsoft has conversely seen an increase in PEPS from $2. 03 per shard to $ 2. 63 per share as a result of an increasing profit margin ratio from 23% to 28% in 201 3(Microsoft Corporation, 2013). Overall this increase can be attributed to an increase in ales over the period as new technologies are release.Overall PEPS increase as a result of Microsoft's lower CEQ duty/investment into their company where as Apple has put much more equity into the release of their new releases in 2013. The increase in cost of sales is reflected in the decline of the gross profit margin ratio which is an additional indicator for a comprehensive decrease in profitability. Apple's total gross profit fell from $44. 00 to $38. 00, in 2012 to 201 3 respectively, which is below the $42. 00 industry average as their cost of sales experienced a 22% increase from 587,846 million to 1 06,606 million dollars.The decrease in gross profit is explained by a number of factors according to Apple: â€Å"introduction of new versions of existing products with higher cost structures and flat or reduced pricing; a shift in sales mix to products w ith lower margins; introduction of pad mini with a gross margin significantly below the Company's average product margins; higher expenses associated with changes to certain Of the Company's service policies and other warranty costs; price reductions on certain products, including pad 2 and phoned; and an unfavorable impact room foreign exchange fluctuations. (Apple Inc. , 2013). An intangible effect that could positively impact Apple's gross profit in the long run is an increase in the number of product consumers as well as a potential increase in consumer loyalty. When compared to Microsoft smaller 2% decrease of gross profit margin from 76% to 74% in 2013. Microsoft decision to decrease sales price of windows 8 and decrease margins for the Oxbow One is responsible for the decrease in gross profit margin much like Apple. Tooth Apple inch's and Microsoft's overall decrease of gross profit margin can be said o increase consumer satisfaction because more advanced technologies are sol d at a lower margin thus giving a customer more value to their purchase. By lowering the price on certain high value items, such as the phone 4 and the pad 2 mentioned in Apple's statement, Apple has made these products more accessible to potential customers with lower incomes or frugal spending habits.Furthermore, if there is an increase in Apple product consumers as a result of the change in price, there will likely be an increase in customer loyalty and satisfaction with these products. The PEPS decline and he increase in cost of sales can further be explored through an analysis of the company's balance sheet. There was a significant increase in Apple's inventory from $791 million to SSL . 76 billion from 2012 to 2013 respectively. This 123% increase in inventory demonstrates a wholesale investment in anticipated consumer demand and loyalty.Apple typically announces product releases long before the actual release date in order to build market â€Å"hype† and also sets rele ase dates to coincide with times of historically greater spending in the market, such as the Christmas holiday season. This â€Å"hyping† recess, however, can go both ways in terms of sales by either positively building up consumer anticipation or by allowing time for consumers to second guess the product before it is released. There is also an inherent risk in inventory expansion based on projected sales; consumers may just not be in the market for new products.An indication that this may be the case is found by looking at the inventory turnover ratio which experienced a decrease from 11 1 times per quarter to significantly lower 83 times per quarter. Microsoft, like Apple, has seen a significant decrease of inventory turnover of 14% from 15. 2 times to 13. 13 times per quarter. This decrease in overall turnover much like, Apple is due to customer anticipation of newer release. However, these changes were significantly different for Microsoft as their offerings have less vol atility, especially in sales of operating systems, and usually see less adoption by consumers in starting stages.Apple acid test ratio, involving current assets over current liabilities, stands at 1. 64 in 2013 which is an increase of approximately 8 points from 2012. This is much higher than the industrial average of 1. 0, indicating Apple is a relatively safe investment and has enough in current assets to cover its debt Obligations. This sets Apple as one of the safer blue chip stocks that can provide consistent wealth for their share holders. Microsoft has experienced a increase acid test ratio from 2012 to 201 3 from 2. 57 to 2. 66 respectively this is significantly higher than Apple Inc. ND can be said to be a safer investment. Microsoft overall keeps their balance of ratios to asset very consistent and insures that they can meet their bottom line as well as provide security for their investors, more so than Apple In the third quarter of 201 3 Apple accrued total of 1 6,960 mil lion dollars in debt. The long term debt was used to offset the repurchase of stock of $22. 9 billion as well as dividend equivalent rights of $10. 6 million dollars. This accrued debt helps Apple Inc avoid taxes of upwards of $9. 2 billion dollars (Burrows, 2013) meanwhile Apple will only incur a $308 million interest a year.Had they used their offshore cash Apple would have had to pay a 35% tax and will save another $1 00 million as these interest payments are tax deductible (Burrows, 2013). Apple's move to take on this debt to finance $55 billion dollars in stock repurchase is an effort to increase overall earnings per share as well as increase total value to the consumer meanwhile adding to overall company value. The statement of cash flows revealed that In 201 2 Apple board of directors authorized a $10 billion stock which was later raised to a total of $60 billion in 2013.Apple repurchased/retired a total of $22,860 million dollars worth of stock in 201 3 as opposed to issuanc e of 665 million in 2012. Apple stated that this repurchase was a move to increase end value to shareholders. Shareholders that are offered buy back will in turn gain profit and will decrease the overall outstanding shares. By decreasing the total shares the company's earnings per share ratio will consequently increase, and given the current plan should increase PEPS by around $4 over the following fiscal year (Hughes, 2013) and adding to the company's overall worth.The overall decrease in outstanding shares also decreases the total amount of dividends paid to investors thus cutting expense and adding to company revenues. Apple began issuing dividends toward the end of 2012 and has since seen a significant raise in dividends issued to its stockholder. Apple has since issued $10,564 million of vividness to shareholders representing a 324% increase dividends paid for 2013 from the $2,488 of dividends paid in 2012. Quarterly dividends were raised by 15% from SO. 65 per share to $3. 05 per share in 2013.The price to earnings ratio also increased from 9% to 13 % as well as the increase in payout ratio from . 29 to. 06 reflects this change value to stockholders as a consequence of stock retirement and increased dividend payout.. A very lucrative opportunity presents itself for current stockholders as the prospective raise of PEPS due to buy back will ultimately add incredible attention value due to increased dividend yield. Microsoft's plan to buy back a total $40 billion plan began in 2008, they began this buy back to increase overall PEPS and PIE as well as increase the companies payout ratio.Buyback has thus far increase PEPS however subsequent drops in PIE ratio from 12. 36 to 10. 24 and stagnant dividend yield make investment into Microsoft a riskier endeavor than Apple as the decrease in P/E does not bode well for buyer confidence. Though the higher dividend yield is still attractive to investors and is higher than that of Apple Inc. Apples market share in sma rt phones should e of particular concern to interested investors as of recent events. Market share, especially for key products, gauges the company's current position amongst its competition and overall pull within the market.It can effectively gauge if the company is meeting the needs of its consumers and prospective growth. Within the past year the Phone only gained around a 13% overall growth in sales, however this is miniscule compared to overall Smartened market growth of 44% in 2013. Apples market share shows further struggles as overall mobile market share decrease by a full 4% from 19% market share n 2012 to a 15% in 2013. (Gardner, 2013) However, other companies like Microsoft and Samsung saw significant increases in SO use and hardware use with Samsung clearing 31% total market share from its 30% in 2012.This may be worrisome as Apple may not providing what customers want and can account for a decrease in overall prospective growth. However, this may be remedied by Apples breakthrough to markets china and Japan late in 2013. The departure of Steve Jobs and the arrival of Tim cook in august of 2011 has been a cause for a weaker overall product line. The recent introduction of ewe products have spawned a lackluster response by consumers especially in the release of the Phone 5 variants (as and c) as well as the improved retina display pad mini.These products neglected to offer anything new or revolutionary to set Apple apart, they were just mere improvements to tested product. The lack of ingenuity has potential to cause a decline Apples growth in sales and may cede market share competitors who have more to offer to the consumer. Microsoft on the other hand has remained consistent in its product offerings throughout the years. This is expected of Microsoft as hey re key product involves enterprise systems that provide basic needs for businesses. Financial Statement Analysis (2004-2008) Course Title: Managing Financial Resources Course: MSc. Finance Date: 11th January 2010. TABLE OF CONTENT Executive Summary This report shows the analysis of the financial performance of Centrica Plc, one of the top energy business providers in UK. Based on my analysis from this report I can conclusively state that: Centrica Plc has an upper hand in the energy and gas market than it s competitor; Scottish Power. Centrica Plc’s turnover was very high in 2008 which shows that it made better sales than its competitor. Although Centrica’s sales turnover was high in 2008 but the profit margin dropped drastically. In the overall financial performance Centrica Plc made a loss of ? 645million in 2008 compared to the previous year 2007 when the company had a retained profit of ? 1088million. This was considered to be an impact of the global financial crises that hit the UK and US economy causing increase in oil prices and a drastic fall again as the level of global oil demand rises and at the same time causing a tight supply position. Centrica Plc’s Total shareholders return has an upper hand when compared with other 99 members of the FTSE 100 in 2008. INTRODUCTION evaluate the impact of financial accounting concepts on corporate reporting of Centrica Plc. evaluate the limitations of ratio analysis discuss the role of management accounting in the evaluation of Centrica’s business performance. I have been motivated to choose Centrica Plc because of the type of product they deal in, which is energy. It is a product that is essential for all, not just households. And it will be good to know if this company is actually doing well in terms of profitability and customer’s satisfaction. LITERATURE REVIEW *PROFITABILITY RATIO ANALYSIS *OF CENTRICA PLC AND SCOTTISH POWER (Reference: FAME (Financial Analysis Made Easy) FINANCIAL RATIO ANALYSIS OF CENTRICA PLC AND SCOTTISH POWER (Reference: FAME (Financial Analysis Made Easy) GRAHPICAL PRESENTATIONS OF RATIOS {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS BASED ON THE GRAHPS According to Barry Elliot and Jamie Elliot, ratios show different items in the financial statements. A ratio is not useful in isolation and its usefulness depends on what aspects of the firm’s business affairs are being investigated. Ratios, according to them are a powerful tool in interpreting and understanding a company’s account. Therefore, the graphs above show the performance of the Centrica plc and its competitor; Scottish Power over a period of 5years and will be analyzed below. DEBTORS TURNOVER: This ratio shows how long it takes debtors of a company to pay back credit purchases. In as mush as credit facilities enhances sale turnover in a competitive market, it is very important to take adequate control of it because it is an essential part of working capital management. (Buz/ed, 2009) It is calculated as: Debtors' Turnover*= Average Debtors * ? 365days Centrica Plc has been able to achieve a positive stock turnover ratio over the years with a 55% less time between 2004 and 2008 compared to its competitor that has a longer time of 18% to sell off its products. This shows that Centrica Plc has more sales turnover than Scottish Power. The trend on the graph show that Centrica Plc has been more liquid than Scottish power because the higher the ratio, the more liquid the business is said to be. It is obvious from the graph that Centrica Plc is more liquid than Scottish Power. That is Centrica Plc has a better capacity to pay it short term debt than Scottish Power, with reference to their current ratio of 1. 12 to 0. 59 respectively in 2008. DISCUSSION IMPACT OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING CONCEPT UPON CORPORATE REPORTING OF CENTRICA PLC Going Concern: The Board of directors of Centrica Plc continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statement because they have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources needed to continue operational existence for the foreseeable future Business Entity: Centrica Plc operates as a separate business entity from its investors. Cost: Centrica Plc reports the market value of its assets. Sincerity: The financial Statement of Centrica Plc is prepared and audited by auditors from the Pricewaterhouse coopers Monetary Unit: The financial statement of Centrica Plc shows a single monetary unit dominated in GBP (? ) because the parent company is in the UK. Dual concept: Centrica presents it total assets as liabilities (debt finance) plus equity (shares). Accrual: The revenue or income of Centrica Plc are recorded when they are actually earned. (Asmii V. 2009) ROLES OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING ON THE BUSI*NESS PERFORMANCE OF CENTRICA PLC According to Institute of Management Accountants, Management accounting can be defined as â€Å"the internal business building role of accounting and finance professionals who work inside the organizations† They are concerned about the growth of the business in terms of evaluating the business prospects, budgeting and forecasting, implementing and monitoring internal controls for the purpose of achieving economic value. The Board of Directors of Centrica Plc believes that there must be high standards of corporate governance which are relevant to the overall integrity and performance of the business. The Company adopted a new set of Articles of Association which states the power of the Board of directors at the 2008 Annual General Meeting and stated below are few of the responsibilities of the Directors with respect to the managerial accounting of the company. the Group’s corporate governance and system of internal control development of strategy and major policies nterim dividend payments and recommendation of final dividends the appointment and removal of Directors and the Company Secretary the Group’s corporate responsibility arrangements including health, safety and environmental matters reviewing management performance approval of the annual operating plan, the financial statements and major acquisitions and disposals The Board gives thorough monitoring to the development of the co mpany’s strategies and also during the year 2008, the Board had a full review of the company’s overall strategy with the assistance of an independent external consultant. The Board also place value on their investors and promote communication program in order to hear their views of their shareholders as regards the key matters affecting the company. The Chief Executive and Group Finance Director held regular meetings with the Company’s major shareholders during the year and the Company’s Rights Issue which was the main topic of discussion was successfully completed during December 2008 after which an approval was given at the Company’s General Meeting held on 21 November 2008. The company’s Executive Committees also established a control infrastructure to ensure proper monitoring and management where major risks have been identified. *THE NON-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE* OF CENTRICA PLC The fluctuation in demand and prices of oil worldwide as well as the global financial crises in 2008 made Centrica Plc face series of challenges and the Chairman of the company (Roger Carr) tagged the year â€Å"a difficult year†. But despite the difficulty, the company still performed well because it is a company that aims at delivering stability and growth for the benefit of their customers, employees and shareholders. Centrica Plc’s non-financial performance can be outlined in terms of the following: *BUSINESS PERFORMANCE OF CENTRICA* PLC LIMITATIONS OF RATIO ANALYSIS Ratios are useful methods of analyzing the performance and financial position of a business but they have their flaws which are seen as limitations and will be analyzed below. THE IMPACT OF THE CHANGE FROM UK GAAP TO IFRS ON THE CORPORATE REPORTING OF CENTRICA PLC that IFRS has improved the company’s 2004 operating profit and statutory Earnings Per Share (EPS) reduction in shareholder’s fund as a result of pensions deficit Adjustment the company’s policy to link dividend to earnings thereby increasing pay out ratios. Some assets and liabilities will be treated differently which will affect timing of profit. CONCLUSION With reference to the ratios analyzed above, Centrica Plc has an upper hand in the energy and gas market than it s competitor; Scottish Power. Centrica Plc’s turnover was very high in 2008 which shows that they made better sales than its competitor. Although Centrica’s sales turnover was high was high in 2008 but the profit margin dropped drastically. In the overall financial performance Centrica Plc made a loss of ? 645million in 2008 compared to the previous year 2007 when the company had a retained profit of ? 088million. This was considered to be an impact of the global financial crises that hit the UK and US economy causing increase in oil prices and a drastic fall again as the level of global oil demand rises and at the same time causing a tight supply position. Finally, we can say that from the record of 2007, the financial performance in 2008 was good despite the economic instability. Centrica Plc made strong progress against the strategic priorities set out at the end of year 2006. The global financial crises which remain very challenging in the UK till date could pose as a problem for many of the company’s customers. But Centrica Plc promises to continue to place their customers’ needs at the forefront of their agenda, alongside the determination to deliver increasing long-term value for our shareholders FUTURE OF CENTRICA PLC According to the Chief Executive’s Review, some priorities have been set for the future growth of Centrica which would help measure performance in year 2009. Some of which are: To build on the company’s growth platform: Increasing the value of their customer base by expanding the overlap between the energy and services business. Also establishing a centralized service platform and the acquisition and construction of gas and power assets which will enable the company to compete efficiently in the energy market. To reduce risk through integration: There will be more focus on UK in the coming year 2009, due to the high demand. Therefore more production has to be made by integrating/building closer relationship with the National Oil Companies. To transform British Gas: In order for Centrica Plc to succeed, British Gas Residential which seems to be the core backbone of Centrica’s business has to deliver high level of profitability. Therefore, there will have to be an integration of the British Gas Residential, British Gas Business and British Gas Services into a single customer-focused organization. Amidst all these future plans briefly mentioned above, I can now conclusively say that the future performance of Centrica Plc is not 100% certain of profitability as they are not exempted in the effect of the global financial crises which is still hitting the UK economy. Although demand for product might rise causing increase turnover but consumers might not be able to meet up with financial obligations of paying cash. So, Centrica must be prepared for more credit sales which might decrease its debtor turnover. Also, prices of product must be put into consideration despite the goal of maximizing profit not forgetting its competitors. And finally, the leadership of Centrica Plc will be playing major role in delivering stability and growth for the benefit of customers, employees and shareholders. REFERENCES Asmii Vernekar, 2009. Available at: http://www. buzzle. com/articles/basic-accounting –concepts-and –principles. html. Assessed on 15th December, 2009 Buz/ed, 2009. Available at: http://www. bized. co. uk/compfact/ratios/sdc5. htm Assessed on 13th December, 2009. Centrica Plc, 2005. International Financial Reporting Standards. Available at: http://www. centrica. co. uk/files/results/2004_ifrs_transcript. pdf. Assessed on 15th December, 2009 FAME (Financial Analysis Made Easy), 2009. Available at: http://www. fame. bvdep. com/version-20091130. Assessed on 11th December, 2009 Peter Atrill, and Eddie McLaney (2008), Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists, 6th ed. Prentice Hall, financial times. David Alexander and Christopher Nobes. (2007), Financial Accounting, An International Introduction, 3rd ed. Prentice Hall, financial times. Financial statement analysis Most notable products from Apple include the Phone, Pod, Pad, ND Imax personal computers. Apple is also involved in computer and web based application developments, which support their essential products such as Tunes, Safari, and Cloud. Through its innovative, streamlined, user-friendly designs, Apple has achieved a meteoric rise to industry domination since 2002. This growth, however, has recently come to a relative standstill following its peak in 2012 and has investors speculating if this marks the end of Apple's bullish behavior, or just a minor setback because of the company's change of management.Apple Inc. Saw a 9% total increase in revenue this sat year from SSL 56,508 million in 2012 to $170,910 million in 201 3(Apple Inc. , 2013). This growth is in part due to the release of the Phone â€Å"As† and â€Å"c† models, the introduction of the Pad â€Å"Mini† retina display as well as the company's normal day to day sales. This 9% growth may be some cause f or concern though, as prior years increase in revenue saw a 45% average growth from year to year (44% in 2012 and 65% in 2011).Apple's annual release of new products typically yields a 30% overall growth in revenue, which potentially indicates there is stagnation of growth overall in the current racket. This stagnation may be attributed either to heavy saturation of products within the current market, leaving little opportunity for expansive growth, or that consumers are unimpressed with the current product line. Apples peer firm Microsoft (MOST) has seen a modest 5% increase in total revenue from $73,723 million to $77,849 million from 2012 to 213 respectively (Microsoft Corporation, 2013).This increase is consistent with prior 3 years which have each yielded a 4-5% increase in revenue. Compared to Apple, Microsoft has a relatively stable growth and be attributed to the elatedly consistent flow of products from year to year. The â€Å"earnings per share† ratio (PEPS) reflect s the decline in overall profitability as well, with a 10% decline in Apple's PEPS from $44. 43 to $40. 29 in 2012 and 2013 respectively (Apple Inc. , 2013).This can be attributed to two factors: a decrease in net profit margin and a paralleled decrease in gross profit margin. There was an 11% decrease in net profits because of an increase in overall inventory. Increasing inventory will also increase a company s operating expenses as they accommodate new production. Companies typically raise their inventory evils as they release new products in anticipation for projected consumer demand for these products.As is the case with Apple, this will have a negative impact on a company's net profit when there is less than anticipated demand for their new product. The depreciation of older inventories can also be responsible for an overall decrease in profitability. Microsoft has conversely seen an increase in PEPS from $2. 03 per shard to $ 2. 63 per share as a result of an increasing profit margin ratio from 23% to 28% in 201 3(Microsoft Corporation, 2013). Overall this increase can be attributed to an increase in ales over the period as new technologies are release.Overall PEPS increase as a result of Microsoft's lower CEQ duty/investment into their company where as Apple has put much more equity into the release of their new releases in 2013. The increase in cost of sales is reflected in the decline of the gross profit margin ratio which is an additional indicator for a comprehensive decrease in profitability. Apple's total gross profit fell from $44. 00 to $38. 00, in 2012 to 201 3 respectively, which is below the $42. 00 industry average as their cost of sales experienced a 22% increase from 587,846 million to 1 06,606 million dollars.The decrease in gross profit is explained by a number of factors according to Apple: â€Å"introduction of new versions of existing products with higher cost structures and flat or reduced pricing; a shift in sales mix to products w ith lower margins; introduction of pad mini with a gross margin significantly below the Company's average product margins; higher expenses associated with changes to certain Of the Company's service policies and other warranty costs; price reductions on certain products, including pad 2 and phoned; and an unfavorable impact room foreign exchange fluctuations. (Apple Inc. , 2013). An intangible effect that could positively impact Apple's gross profit in the long run is an increase in the number of product consumers as well as a potential increase in consumer loyalty. When compared to Microsoft smaller 2% decrease of gross profit margin from 76% to 74% in 2013. Microsoft decision to decrease sales price of windows 8 and decrease margins for the Oxbow One is responsible for the decrease in gross profit margin much like Apple. Tooth Apple inch's and Microsoft's overall decrease of gross profit margin can be said o increase consumer satisfaction because more advanced technologies are sol d at a lower margin thus giving a customer more value to their purchase. By lowering the price on certain high value items, such as the phone 4 and the pad 2 mentioned in Apple's statement, Apple has made these products more accessible to potential customers with lower incomes or frugal spending habits.Furthermore, if there is an increase in Apple product consumers as a result of the change in price, there will likely be an increase in customer loyalty and satisfaction with these products. The PEPS decline and he increase in cost of sales can further be explored through an analysis of the company's balance sheet. There was a significant increase in Apple's inventory from $791 million to SSL . 76 billion from 2012 to 2013 respectively. This 123% increase in inventory demonstrates a wholesale investment in anticipated consumer demand and loyalty.Apple typically announces product releases long before the actual release date in order to build market â€Å"hype† and also sets rele ase dates to coincide with times of historically greater spending in the market, such as the Christmas holiday season. This â€Å"hyping† recess, however, can go both ways in terms of sales by either positively building up consumer anticipation or by allowing time for consumers to second guess the product before it is released. There is also an inherent risk in inventory expansion based on projected sales; consumers may just not be in the market for new products.An indication that this may be the case is found by looking at the inventory turnover ratio which experienced a decrease from 11 1 times per quarter to significantly lower 83 times per quarter. Microsoft, like Apple, has seen a significant decrease of inventory turnover of 14% from 15. 2 times to 13. 13 times per quarter. This decrease in overall turnover much like, Apple is due to customer anticipation of newer release. However, these changes were significantly different for Microsoft as their offerings have less vol atility, especially in sales of operating systems, and usually see less adoption by consumers in starting stages.Apple acid test ratio, involving current assets over current liabilities, stands at 1. 64 in 2013 which is an increase of approximately 8 points from 2012. This is much higher than the industrial average of 1. 0, indicating Apple is a relatively safe investment and has enough in current assets to cover its debt Obligations. This sets Apple as one of the safer blue chip stocks that can provide consistent wealth for their share holders. Microsoft has experienced a increase acid test ratio from 2012 to 201 3 from 2. 57 to 2. 66 respectively this is significantly higher than Apple Inc. ND can be said to be a safer investment. Microsoft overall keeps their balance of ratios to asset very consistent and insures that they can meet their bottom line as well as provide security for their investors, more so than Apple In the third quarter of 201 3 Apple accrued total of 1 6,960 mil lion dollars in debt. The long term debt was used to offset the repurchase of stock of $22. 9 billion as well as dividend equivalent rights of $10. 6 million dollars. This accrued debt helps Apple Inc avoid taxes of upwards of $9. 2 billion dollars (Burrows, 2013) meanwhile Apple will only incur a $308 million interest a year.Had they used their offshore cash Apple would have had to pay a 35% tax and will save another $1 00 million as these interest payments are tax deductible (Burrows, 2013). Apple's move to take on this debt to finance $55 billion dollars in stock repurchase is an effort to increase overall earnings per share as well as increase total value to the consumer meanwhile adding to overall company value. The statement of cash flows revealed that In 201 2 Apple board of directors authorized a $10 billion stock which was later raised to a total of $60 billion in 2013.Apple repurchased/retired a total of $22,860 million dollars worth of stock in 201 3 as opposed to issuanc e of 665 million in 2012. Apple stated that this repurchase was a move to increase end value to shareholders. Shareholders that are offered buy back will in turn gain profit and will decrease the overall outstanding shares. By decreasing the total shares the company's earnings per share ratio will consequently increase, and given the current plan should increase PEPS by around $4 over the following fiscal year (Hughes, 2013) and adding to the company's overall worth.The overall decrease in outstanding shares also decreases the total amount of dividends paid to investors thus cutting expense and adding to company revenues. Apple began issuing dividends toward the end of 2012 and has since seen a significant raise in dividends issued to its stockholder. Apple has since issued $10,564 million of vividness to shareholders representing a 324% increase dividends paid for 2013 from the $2,488 of dividends paid in 2012. Quarterly dividends were raised by 15% from SO. 65 per share to $3. 05 per share in 2013.The price to earnings ratio also increased from 9% to 13 % as well as the increase in payout ratio from . 29 to. 06 reflects this change value to stockholders as a consequence of stock retirement and increased dividend payout.. A very lucrative opportunity presents itself for current stockholders as the prospective raise of PEPS due to buy back will ultimately add incredible attention value due to increased dividend yield. Microsoft's plan to buy back a total $40 billion plan began in 2008, they began this buy back to increase overall PEPS and PIE as well as increase the companies payout ratio.Buyback has thus far increase PEPS however subsequent drops in PIE ratio from 12. 36 to 10. 24 and stagnant dividend yield make investment into Microsoft a riskier endeavor than Apple as the decrease in P/E does not bode well for buyer confidence. Though the higher dividend yield is still attractive to investors and is higher than that of Apple Inc. Apples market share in sma rt phones should e of particular concern to interested investors as of recent events. Market share, especially for key products, gauges the company's current position amongst its competition and overall pull within the market.It can effectively gauge if the company is meeting the needs of its consumers and prospective growth. Within the past year the Phone only gained around a 13% overall growth in sales, however this is miniscule compared to overall Smartened market growth of 44% in 2013. Apples market share shows further struggles as overall mobile market share decrease by a full 4% from 19% market share n 2012 to a 15% in 2013. (Gardner, 2013) However, other companies like Microsoft and Samsung saw significant increases in SO use and hardware use with Samsung clearing 31% total market share from its 30% in 2012.This may be worrisome as Apple may not providing what customers want and can account for a decrease in overall prospective growth. However, this may be remedied by Apples breakthrough to markets china and Japan late in 2013. The departure of Steve Jobs and the arrival of Tim cook in august of 2011 has been a cause for a weaker overall product line. The recent introduction of ewe products have spawned a lackluster response by consumers especially in the release of the Phone 5 variants (as and c) as well as the improved retina display pad mini.These products neglected to offer anything new or revolutionary to set Apple apart, they were just mere improvements to tested product. The lack of ingenuity has potential to cause a decline Apples growth in sales and may cede market share competitors who have more to offer to the consumer. Microsoft on the other hand has remained consistent in its product offerings throughout the years. This is expected of Microsoft as hey re key product involves enterprise systems that provide basic needs for businesses. Financial Statement Analysis (2004-2008) Course Title: Managing Financial Resources Course: MSc. Finance Date: 11th January 2010. TABLE OF CONTENT Executive Summary This report shows the analysis of the financial performance of Centrica Plc, one of the top energy business providers in UK. Based on my analysis from this report I can conclusively state that: Centrica Plc has an upper hand in the energy and gas market than it s competitor; Scottish Power. Centrica Plc’s turnover was very high in 2008 which shows that it made better sales than its competitor. Although Centrica’s sales turnover was high in 2008 but the profit margin dropped drastically. In the overall financial performance Centrica Plc made a loss of ? 645million in 2008 compared to the previous year 2007 when the company had a retained profit of ? 1088million. This was considered to be an impact of the global financial crises that hit the UK and US economy causing increase in oil prices and a drastic fall again as the level of global oil demand rises and at the same time causing a tight supply position. Centrica Plc’s Total shareholders return has an upper hand when compared with other 99 members of the FTSE 100 in 2008. INTRODUCTION evaluate the impact of financial accounting concepts on corporate reporting of Centrica Plc. evaluate the limitations of ratio analysis discuss the role of management accounting in the evaluation of Centrica’s business performance. I have been motivated to choose Centrica Plc because of the type of product they deal in, which is energy. It is a product that is essential for all, not just households. And it will be good to know if this company is actually doing well in terms of profitability and customer’s satisfaction. LITERATURE REVIEW *PROFITABILITY RATIO ANALYSIS *OF CENTRICA PLC AND SCOTTISH POWER (Reference: FAME (Financial Analysis Made Easy) FINANCIAL RATIO ANALYSIS OF CENTRICA PLC AND SCOTTISH POWER (Reference: FAME (Financial Analysis Made Easy) GRAHPICAL PRESENTATIONS OF RATIOS {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS BASED ON THE GRAHPS According to Barry Elliot and Jamie Elliot, ratios show different items in the financial statements. A ratio is not useful in isolation and its usefulness depends on what aspects of the firm’s business affairs are being investigated. Ratios, according to them are a powerful tool in interpreting and understanding a company’s account. Therefore, the graphs above show the performance of the Centrica plc and its competitor; Scottish Power over a period of 5years and will be analyzed below. DEBTORS TURNOVER: This ratio shows how long it takes debtors of a company to pay back credit purchases. In as mush as credit facilities enhances sale turnover in a competitive market, it is very important to take adequate control of it because it is an essential part of working capital management. (Buz/ed, 2009) It is calculated as: Debtors' Turnover*= Average Debtors * ? 365days Centrica Plc has been able to achieve a positive stock turnover ratio over the years with a 55% less time between 2004 and 2008 compared to its competitor that has a longer time of 18% to sell off its products. This shows that Centrica Plc has more sales turnover than Scottish Power. The trend on the graph show that Centrica Plc has been more liquid than Scottish power because the higher the ratio, the more liquid the business is said to be. It is obvious from the graph that Centrica Plc is more liquid than Scottish Power. That is Centrica Plc has a better capacity to pay it short term debt than Scottish Power, with reference to their current ratio of 1. 12 to 0. 59 respectively in 2008. DISCUSSION IMPACT OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING CONCEPT UPON CORPORATE REPORTING OF CENTRICA PLC Going Concern: The Board of directors of Centrica Plc continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statement because they have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources needed to continue operational existence for the foreseeable future Business Entity: Centrica Plc operates as a separate business entity from its investors. Cost: Centrica Plc reports the market value of its assets. Sincerity: The financial Statement of Centrica Plc is prepared and audited by auditors from the Pricewaterhouse coopers Monetary Unit: The financial statement of Centrica Plc shows a single monetary unit dominated in GBP (? ) because the parent company is in the UK. Dual concept: Centrica presents it total assets as liabilities (debt finance) plus equity (shares). Accrual: The revenue or income of Centrica Plc are recorded when they are actually earned. (Asmii V. 2009) ROLES OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING ON THE BUSI*NESS PERFORMANCE OF CENTRICA PLC According to Institute of Management Accountants, Management accounting can be defined as â€Å"the internal business building role of accounting and finance professionals who work inside the organizations† They are concerned about the growth of the business in terms of evaluating the business prospects, budgeting and forecasting, implementing and monitoring internal controls for the purpose of achieving economic value. The Board of Directors of Centrica Plc believes that there must be high standards of corporate governance which are relevant to the overall integrity and performance of the business. The Company adopted a new set of Articles of Association which states the power of the Board of directors at the 2008 Annual General Meeting and stated below are few of the responsibilities of the Directors with respect to the managerial accounting of the company. the Group’s corporate governance and system of internal control development of strategy and major policies nterim dividend payments and recommendation of final dividends the appointment and removal of Directors and the Company Secretary the Group’s corporate responsibility arrangements including health, safety and environmental matters reviewing management performance approval of the annual operating plan, the financial statements and major acquisitions and disposals The Board gives thorough monitoring to the development of the co mpany’s strategies and also during the year 2008, the Board had a full review of the company’s overall strategy with the assistance of an independent external consultant. The Board also place value on their investors and promote communication program in order to hear their views of their shareholders as regards the key matters affecting the company. The Chief Executive and Group Finance Director held regular meetings with the Company’s major shareholders during the year and the Company’s Rights Issue which was the main topic of discussion was successfully completed during December 2008 after which an approval was given at the Company’s General Meeting held on 21 November 2008. The company’s Executive Committees also established a control infrastructure to ensure proper monitoring and management where major risks have been identified. *THE NON-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE* OF CENTRICA PLC The fluctuation in demand and prices of oil worldwide as well as the global financial crises in 2008 made Centrica Plc face series of challenges and the Chairman of the company (Roger Carr) tagged the year â€Å"a difficult year†. But despite the difficulty, the company still performed well because it is a company that aims at delivering stability and growth for the benefit of their customers, employees and shareholders. Centrica Plc’s non-financial performance can be outlined in terms of the following: *BUSINESS PERFORMANCE OF CENTRICA* PLC LIMITATIONS OF RATIO ANALYSIS Ratios are useful methods of analyzing the performance and financial position of a business but they have their flaws which are seen as limitations and will be analyzed below. THE IMPACT OF THE CHANGE FROM UK GAAP TO IFRS ON THE CORPORATE REPORTING OF CENTRICA PLC that IFRS has improved the company’s 2004 operating profit and statutory Earnings Per Share (EPS) reduction in shareholder’s fund as a result of pensions deficit Adjustment the company’s policy to link dividend to earnings thereby increasing pay out ratios. Some assets and liabilities will be treated differently which will affect timing of profit. CONCLUSION With reference to the ratios analyzed above, Centrica Plc has an upper hand in the energy and gas market than it s competitor; Scottish Power. Centrica Plc’s turnover was very high in 2008 which shows that they made better sales than its competitor. Although Centrica’s sales turnover was high was high in 2008 but the profit margin dropped drastically. In the overall financial performance Centrica Plc made a loss of ? 645million in 2008 compared to the previous year 2007 when the company had a retained profit of ? 088million. This was considered to be an impact of the global financial crises that hit the UK and US economy causing increase in oil prices and a drastic fall again as the level of global oil demand rises and at the same time causing a tight supply position. Finally, we can say that from the record of 2007, the financial performance in 2008 was good despite the economic instability. Centrica Plc made strong progress against the strategic priorities set out at the end of year 2006. The global financial crises which remain very challenging in the UK till date could pose as a problem for many of the company’s customers. But Centrica Plc promises to continue to place their customers’ needs at the forefront of their agenda, alongside the determination to deliver increasing long-term value for our shareholders FUTURE OF CENTRICA PLC According to the Chief Executive’s Review, some priorities have been set for the future growth of Centrica which would help measure performance in year 2009. Some of which are: To build on the company’s growth platform: Increasing the value of their customer base by expanding the overlap between the energy and services business. Also establishing a centralized service platform and the acquisition and construction of gas and power assets which will enable the company to compete efficiently in the energy market. To reduce risk through integration: There will be more focus on UK in the coming year 2009, due to the high demand. Therefore more production has to be made by integrating/building closer relationship with the National Oil Companies. To transform British Gas: In order for Centrica Plc to succeed, British Gas Residential which seems to be the core backbone of Centrica’s business has to deliver high level of profitability. Therefore, there will have to be an integration of the British Gas Residential, British Gas Business and British Gas Services into a single customer-focused organization. Amidst all these future plans briefly mentioned above, I can now conclusively say that the future performance of Centrica Plc is not 100% certain of profitability as they are not exempted in the effect of the global financial crises which is still hitting the UK economy. Although demand for product might rise causing increase turnover but consumers might not be able to meet up with financial obligations of paying cash. So, Centrica must be prepared for more credit sales which might decrease its debtor turnover. Also, prices of product must be put into consideration despite the goal of maximizing profit not forgetting its competitors. And finally, the leadership of Centrica Plc will be playing major role in delivering stability and growth for the benefit of customers, employees and shareholders. REFERENCES Asmii Vernekar, 2009. Available at: http://www. buzzle. com/articles/basic-accounting –concepts-and –principles. html. Assessed on 15th December, 2009 Buz/ed, 2009. Available at: http://www. bized. co. uk/compfact/ratios/sdc5. htm Assessed on 13th December, 2009. Centrica Plc, 2005. International Financial Reporting Standards. Available at: http://www. centrica. co. uk/files/results/2004_ifrs_transcript. pdf. Assessed on 15th December, 2009 FAME (Financial Analysis Made Easy), 2009. Available at: http://www. fame. bvdep. com/version-20091130. Assessed on 11th December, 2009 Peter Atrill, and Eddie McLaney (2008), Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists, 6th ed. Prentice Hall, financial times. David Alexander and Christopher Nobes. (2007), Financial Accounting, An International Introduction, 3rd ed. Prentice Hall, financial times.

Attribution Theory Definition

Attribution Theory Definition Attribution theory is concerned with how people interpret events and relate them to their thinking and behavior. It's a cognitive perception which affects their motivation. This theory was first proposed in a book called, The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations by Fritz Heider in 1958. According to Heider, men behave as amateur scientists in social situations. He also said that, we generally explain behavior in two ways; either we attribute the behavior to a person or a situation. Attribution literally means a grant of responsibility. Albeit, the theory was first proposed by Heider (1958), later Edward E.Jones (1972) and Harold Kelley (1967) developed a theoretical structure, which is now seen as an epitome of social psychology. The theory divides the behavior attributes into two parts, external or internal factors. Internal attribution: When an internal attribution is made, the cause of the given behavior is within the person, i. e. the variables whic h make a person responsible like attitude, aptitude, character and personality. External attribution: When an external attribution is made, the cause of the given behavior is assigned to the situation in which the behavior was seen.The person responsible for the behavior may assign the causality to the environment or weather. In 1967, Kelley tried to explain the way people perceive internal and external attribution. He tried this, postulating the principle of co-variation. This model was known as Covariation Model. The basic principle of the covariation model states that the effect is attributed to one of the causes which co-varies over time. It also means that the behavior at various occasions varies. The covariation model considers three major types of information to make an attribution decision and to observe a person's behavior.The three types of information are: Consensus information: This responds to the fact, how people with similar stimuli behave in similar situations. If mo st people behave alike, i. e. their reactions are shared by many, the consensus is high. But, if no one or only a few people share the reactions, the consensus is low. Distinctiveness information: This is about, how a person responds to different situations. There exists a very low distinctiveness if the person reacts similarly in all or most of the situations.However, if a person reacts differently in different situations, it is said that the distinctiveness is high. Consistency information: If the response of a person to different stimulus and in varied situations remains the same, then the consistency is high. But Kelly's covariation model has some limitations. The most prominent being that, it fails to distinguish between the intentional and unintentional behavior. Read more at Buzzle:  http://www. buzzle. com/articles/attribution-theory-of-social-psychology. html Kelley's Covariation Model Kelley’s (1967) covariation model is the best known attribution theory.He develo ped a logical model for judging whether a particular action should be attributed to some characteristic (internal) of the person or the environment (external). The term covariation simply means  that a person has information from multiple observations, at different times and situations, and can perceive the covariation of an observed effect and its causes. He argues that in trying to discover the causes of behavior people act like scientists. More specifically they take into account three kinds of evidence. Kelley believed that there were three types of causal information which influenced our judgments.Low factors = dispositional (internal) attributions. * Consensus: the extent to which other people behave in the same way in a similar situation. E. g. Alison smokes a cigarette when she goes out for a meal with her friend. If her friend smokes, her behavior is high in consensus. If only Alison smokes it is low. * Distinctiveness: the extent to which the person behaves in the same w ay in similar situations. If Alison only smokes when she is out with friends, her behavior is high in distinctiveness. If she smokes at any time or place, distinctiveness is low. Consistency: the extent to which the person behaves like this every time the situation occurs. If Alison only smokes when she is out with friends, consistency is high. If she only smoke on one special occasion, consistency is low. Let’s look at an example  to help understand his particular attribution theory. Our subject is called Tom. His behavior is laughter. Tom is laughing at a comedian. 1. Consensus: Everybody in the audience is laughing. Consensus is high. If only Tom is laughing consensus is low. 2. Distinctiveness: Tom only laughs at this comedian. Distinctiveness is high.If Tom laughs at everything distinctiveness is low. 3. Consistency: Tom always laughs at this comedian. Consistency is high. Tom rarely laughs at this comedian consistency is low. Now, if everybody laughs at this comedian, if they don’t laugh at the comedian who follows and if this comedian always raises a laugh then we would make an external attribution, i. e. we assume that Tom is laughing because the comedian is very funny. On the other hand, if Tom is the only person who laughs at this comedian, if Tom laughs at all comedians and if Tom always laughs at the comedian then we would make an internal attribution, i. . we assume that Tom is laughing because he is the kind of person who laughs a lot. So what we’ve got here is people attributing causality on the basis of correlation. That is to say, we see that two things go together and we therefore assume that one causes the other. One problem however is that we may not have enough information to make that kind of judgment. For example, if we don’t know Tom that well we wouldn’t necessarily have the information to know if his behavior is consistent over time. So what do we do then?According to Kelley we fall back on past ex perience and look for either 1) Multiple necessary causes. For example, we see an athlete win a marathon and we reason that she must be very fit, highly motivated, have trained hard etc. and that she must have all of these to win 2) Multiple sufficient causes. For example, we see an athlete fail a drug test and we reason that she may be trying to cheat, or have taken a banned substance by accident or been tricked into taking it by her coach. Any one reason would be sufficient.

Repressed memories essays

Repressed memories essays A Towering Debate Ever wondered if it is possible to forget a major event in your life and then after several years just recover that lost memory? If you have and were unable to reach a conclusion on this issue you are not alone. The reliability of repressed and recovered memories has been one of the most controversial issues in the field of Psychology during the last two decades. Even after years of researches and debates, no one could claim with certainty that repression of memory occurs or does not occur or that recovered memories are trustworthy or vice versa (Lynn and McConkey 33). Repressed memories are those memories that are buried away from the conscious mind; [repression is] an unconscious mechanism for not remembering (Baker 22). According to many mental health professionals, repressed memories can linger intact for years or even decades until some experience, stimulus, or process calls it up (Til 22), and they define recovered memories as repressed memories brought back to consciousness ( Wassil-Grimm 73). However there are others who deny the existence of repressed memories. According to them repression of memories never happen, and they are convinced that recovered memories are always a result of therapy (Worsnop 593). So we have two groups trying to prove themselves right. In the light of many recent developments including court trials based on the recovered memories of the accuser, it becomes highly important to understand the repressed-memory debate. During the past decade, the day-to-day problems of most grown adults, such as depression, eating disorders, and marital difficulties, were linked to repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse by recovered memory therapists. And, the trend still continues (Til 34). Adult children of many parents have pressed and are pressing charges of child sexual abuse against their parents. During the first five year of the Fa...

PRIVACY essays

PRIVACY essays Ensuring Your Privacy "Privacy. There seems to be no legal issue today that cuts so wide a swath through conflicts confronting American society. From AIDS tests to wiretaps, polygraph tests to computerized data bases, the common denominator has been whether the right to privacy outweighs other Robert Ellis Smith, the Privacy Journal Computers have been a very instrumental technology that has greatly advanced the ways in which we now do things such as; business, daily activities, shopping, scheduling appointments, and many other things. And with more and more people using the Internet, more and more information being passed over the Internet, more problems arise. The Internet has been an advance in technology that has greatly increased the capacities of a computer. These new capacities have been the cause of some serious problems though. One very important trouble is the lack of privacy on the Internet. People pass much important information over the Internet and they expect it to be safe from others. Information passed over the Internet can in fact be intercepted and read by other people. For many years, this has been happening, and it has always been a problem, but with more and more information being passed through, people want something to ensure their privacy. The government does not want to allow everyday people the privelage of computer security. Although they have tried to place laws on the uses of some methods of privacy, they have not been as successful as they had hoped. Privacy is important to people, governments and businesses, and finding a method to protect their information is also a concern. Privacy has been defined as "the claim of individuals, groups, or institutions to determine for themselves when, how, and to what extent information about them is communicated to other...

Great Horned Owls Facts

Great Horned Owls Facts Great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) are a large species of true owls that inhabit many parts of North and South America. These nocturnal avian hunters take a wide range of prey including mammals, other birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Fast Facts: Great Horned Owls Scientific Name: Bubo virginianusCommon Name(s): Great horned owl, hoot owlBasic Animal Group: BirdSize: 17–25 inches tall; wingspan to five feetWeight: 3.2 poundsLifespan: 13 yearsDiet: CarnivoreHabitat: Boreal forests of North and South AmericaPopulation: Unknown, stable over the last 40 years in North AmericaConservation Status: Least Concern Description Great horned owls were first described in 1788 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin, a German naturalist who published the 13th edition of Systema Naturae by Carolus Linnaeus. That edition included a description of the great horned owl and gave it the scientific name Bubo virginianus because the species was first observed in the Virginia colonies. Sometimes called hoot owls, great horned owls range in length from 17 to 25 inches, have a wingspan of up to five feet, and an average weight of 3.2 pounds. They are the second heaviest owl in North America (after the Snowy Owl), and they are powerful hunters that can grip and crush a full-grown rabbit: their talons form an oval between 4–8 inches in diameter. Theres a good chance that youve heard the hoo-hoo-hoo call of the great horned owl if youve spent any time in the woods at night; young great horned owls will hiss or screech, especially when disturbed or frightened. Characteristics vital for their hunting success include large eyes, excellent hearing, and silent flight. Their eyes are adapted for night vision but are relatively immobile, directed forward. To compensate, their cervical vertebrae are quite flexible, allowing owls to turn their head over 180 degrees. Great horned owls have prominent ear tufts atop their head, one of several owl species that possess ear tufts. Scientists disagree as to the function of these ear tufts: Some suggest that the ear tufts serve as camouflage by breaking the contour of the owls head, while others suggest that the tufts serve some role in communication or recognition, enabling the owls to convey some kind of signals to one another. Experts agree though, that the ear tufts play no role in hearing. Because they remain largely inactive during the day, great horned owls are cryptically colored- that is, their coloration is patchy so that they can blend with their surroundings while they rest. They have a rust-brown colored facial disk and white feathers on their chin and throat. Their body is a mottled grey and brown color above and barred on the belly. NNehring / Getty Images Habitat and Distribution Great horned owls occupy the most extensive range of any owl species, including most boreal forests of North and South America, from Alaska and Canada, southward throughout the United States and Mexico, into Northern parts of South America and throughout Patagonia. Since they find hunting is somewhat difficult in thick forests and underbrush, owls prefer habitats with open clearings near secondary-growth woodlands and tree-edged meadows and swaths. They also adapt well to human-modified environments, agricultural fields and suburban areas where there are places to perch and open fields to hunt in. Diet and Behavior Great horned owls are carnivores who eat a very wide range of prey. Like all owls, these fascinating carnivores eat their prey whole and then regurgitate pellets containing fur and crushed bones. Usually active at night, they are also sometimes spotted during the late afternoon or during the hours around dawn. These unique and beautiful birds prefer to eat rabbits and hares but will settle for any small mammal, bird, reptile, or amphibian that comes within its reach. They are the only animal that feeds on skunks; they also hunt birds such as American crows, peregrine falcon nestlings, and osprey nestlings. They require an average of 2–4 ounces of meat per day; larger animals are killed and may be fed on for several days. Reproduction and Offspring Great horned owls nest during the months of January and February. During mating season, male and female great horned owls hoot back and forth to each other in a duet. Their mating rituals also include bowing to each other and rubbing bills. When ready to nest, they do not build their own nest but instead seek out existing sites such as the nests of other birds, squirrel nests, tree holes, crevices in rocks and nooks in buildings. Some great horned owls mate for many years. Clutch size varies with latitude, weather, and food supply, but generally, are two or three eggs. When prey is available, nesting begins earlier in the year; in leaner years, nesting is later and sometimes owls will not lay eggs during very poor years. Stan Tekiela Author / Naturalist / Wildlife Photographer / Getty Images Conservation Status Great horned owls are long-lived birds, known to live a typical 13 years in the wild, and have been known to live as long as 38 years in captivity. Their biggest threats come from the activities of human beings, who shoot and trap owls, but also build high-tension wires and run into owls with their cars. Owls have few natural predators but are occasionally killed by members of their own species or by northern goshawks, a species that often battles with the owls for available nesting sites. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the great horned owl as Least Concern. Sources Armstrong, Aaron. Eagles, Owls, and Coyotes (Oh My!): Taphonomic Analysis of Rabbits and Guinea Pigs Fed to Captive Raptors and Coyotes. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 5 (2016): 135–55. Print.Bubo virginianus. BirdLife International. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T61752071A132039486, 2018.  Newton, Ian. Chapter 19: Irruptive Migrations: Owls, Raptors and Waterfowl. The Migration Ecology of Birds. Ed. Newton, Ian. Oxford: Academic Press, 2007. 563–86. Print.Smith, Dwight G. Wild Bird Guides: Great Horned Owl. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 2002.

Asian Management for Toyota Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Asian Management for Toyota - Case Study Example The automation (ji-do-ka) consisted of equipping machines with an automatic system to stop them in case of problems. Automation applied to operators who stopped their production line if they ran into problems, so that product quality could be guaranteed and the problem solved on the spot the number of workers per line was diminished through the kaizen (continuous improvement) of production processes. The Asian values of lifetime employment, seniority-based wages, and the company union form the triptych of Japanese-style industrial relations. The relationship between the union and management hinges on reciprocal trust as provided by the 1962 Management-Union joint declaration. The union had no more strikes after 1954. Collective bargaining was replaced by a summit conference organized by company administrators and union executives. Worker bonuses were paid twice yearly, and a retirement bonus was provided. Toyota's weaknesses are its aging workforce, the exit of the Japanese salary man and the end of the era of lifetime employment. ... This case relates closely to the general theories and practices in Asian Management Systems. First, Toyota's Human Resources Division prides itself in treating its workers and suppliers as part of a big family. This close relationship based on trust is seen in the entire production system. First, the company encouraged the workers to propose solutions to production problems. The increased profitability is shared by huge bonuses given to the workers at the end of the year. Second, the company gave them a sense of ownership over their workplace through participation in its improvement. Thirdl, they reinforced bonds among workers by encouraging them to discuss and reflect upon their work. Finally, they promoted leaders from the rank and file and helped them develop their communication skills. Human relations activities were aimed at promoting the manager's personal touch and it has a mentoring system within the company. Toyota helps its suppliers in their production processes, work orga nization, production costs, and product quality. Toyota chose suppliers for each new model. Toyota informed its suppliers of its quarterly production plan so that they could prepare themselves. By creating competent suppliers, Toyota is able to increase its price and quality competitiveness. Customer satisfaction and dealer satisfaction is important. Dealer contracts prohibited them from selling other brands. Toyota provides financial support on condition that they remained loyal. Each dealer signed an annual contract indicating sales per model. The role of the dealers consisted of getting the complaints, requirements, and desires of current and future customers, so that these factors could be taken into account in the design of new

Happy Ending Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Happy Ending - Essay Example Margaret deftly and almost brutally shatters this faade of "ever lasting love" disseminated by emotionally and intellectually lazy writers, who often care little about exploring the mechanisms of love and desire in a realistic context. The intention of the writer seems to be to boldly jolt her readers out of their crumpling perceptions about love, which instead of bolstering human relationships, abandon them in a bog of disillusionments and frustrations. Though initially feeling disoriented after going through this seemingly simple work, the reader ultimately emerges with a more through and pragmatic grasp over the emotions of love and desire, that is not childishly black and white, but grounded in an adult atmosphere, dominated by shades of grey. Love is a noble emotion that imbues any relationship with bliss and happiness. Though it is a different thing that many a times people fail to fulfill the conservative claims of love, going by the frailty and imperfection inherent in human life. 'Happy Endings' astonishingly unravels this inevitable dilemma of love through a variety of relationships considered in the narrative. Desire is an aspect of love which if exercised in isolation, degenerates into a selfish and blind quest for self gratification.

New fuel cell technology used to replace APU in new boeing 737 and Essay

New fuel cell technology used to replace APU in new boeing 737 and airbus A320 - Essay Example It is monitored and controlled by the Electronic Controller. There are actually many different kinds of APUs used in the Boeing 737, created by a few different manufacturers. The AlliedSignal APU has the highest power rating at 90kVA up to 31,000 ft. (Brady, 1999); this power rating drops at higher altitude. Fuel cell technology is currently able to match this 90 kilo-Volt-Ampere power rating, in order to replace this APU. This has been demonstrated in test flights of hydrogen-powered aircraft, as described below. ‘The SOFC uses jet fuel as the reformer in the proton exchange membrane to give a 440kW APU that is 75% efficient compared to the conventional 40-45% efficient APUs. This would give a typical fuel saving of 1,360t for a 737 over a year. It is actually a hybrid gas turbine / fuel cell due to the sudden surges in demand eg engine starts and gear retraction etc. The SOFC will use air from a compressor passed through a heat exchanger for its gas turbine section. A potential drawback is that it has a 40min start-up time, so it would have to remain on for the whole day and depending upon its noise levels this could be a problem at airports which require the APU to be shutdown during the turnaround. ‘ The efficiency of SOFCs over conventional APUs is large; although the long start-up time might be prohibitable. The technology needed for a SOFC APU to replace the current Boeing APU may be available by 2010, but it could take much longer. Boeing was working in conjunction with Airbus to develop the necessary technologies to replace the APUs with fuel cell technology, since they essentially share the same supplier pool, but they were ready to split when it came to time to develop competitive finished products. The technology for building hydrogen-fueled aircraft has already been demonstrated. The Airbus A320 Fuel Cell Demonstrator was first publicly presented in Berlin in 2008. The fuel cell system provides 20kW of

Dissertation Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Dissertation Proposal - Essay Example High- leveraged firms in the EU do not respond to economic crises in the same way that low-leveraged firms do. The former responds by adopting a more debt more repayment policy while the latter responds by adopting a less debt more equity policy. This strategic policy dichotomy underlies the very nature of EU corporate culture too. Invariably strategic policy responses of this nature are characterized by paradigm shifts that both primarily and immediately presume corporate governance and sustainability issues. EU companies operate in a highly regulated competitive environment that gives them little, if any, freedom to achieve organizational goals, both short term and long term (Spedding, 2004). In this backdrop leveraging decisions of firms are basically determined by long term organizational goals related outcomes as much as they are determined by theoretical conceptual frameworks. A set of endogenous and exogenous variables that impact on these outcomes has been studied with greater emphasis on organizational outcomes related to leverage in general (DeMarzo and Duffie, 1991). However a series of questions as to what, why, when, where and how have not been properly answered concerning the significance of more debt and less equity in order to settle existing debt against the backdrop of the current economic downturn (Cooper, 2008). Strategic finance policy shifts in the EU corporate sector against the backdrop of the current global economic downturn have been marked by more debt to pay existing debt (Pettit, 2007). This kind of leveraging practice has a very far reaching impact on the overall capital structure of the firm as well (Lele, 1992). Issuing more debt in order to settle existing debt is a strategic financial initiative adopted by EU firms thus obviating the need for issuing equity (O’Conner and Jen, 2002). However the strategic financial policy on leveraging in the EU corporate sector has acquired a new dimension, i.e. while exiting debt might

Hemmingway and OConnor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hemmingway and OConnor - Essay Example There, a man and a girl are shown talking and drinking beer: they are obviously a couple waiting for a train... and, probably, waiting for something else, too. We see that the story is virtually suspended in awaiting for a resolution. The second story provides an image of a â€Å"typical† family of the early 1950’s going on a short vacation and eventually facing silly and unexpected accident and death. Reading and interpreting both stories, the reader will inevitably sense that familial ties play a great role in them, detrimental and harmful role. Moreover, both readings can be related to American society, as the conflicts and moral concerns implied in them have been rather relevant in America for decades. â€Å"Hills like White Elephants† and â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† both illustrate corruption of family ties and incapability of the family members (or lovers) to lend real moral support to a person. Though the style of Hemmingway excludes any explicit descriptions of the story’s context, one can sense that the American is trying to convince the girl that an abortion is the best solution to the dilemma they are facing (Mellow). Although he tries to convince her softly and seems to comfort her with the idea that they â€Å"will be fine afterward† (Hemmingway), his true motivation is visible: he doesn’t want this child (maybe he isn’t ready or finds it hardly affordable to raise a child). Therefore, the role the close (almost familial) ties play in the decision-making the girl faces is unsupportive and even negative. The simple operation, as the American puts it, is supposed to solve rather his than her problems. Another thing arresting the reader’s attention is the way the two characters talk. They seem so distanced from each other, none of them actually listening to what the other says. Thus, presenting their dialogue as talking rather than com municating, Hemmingway might push the reader towards one more

Quotation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Quotation - Essay Example Actions, which might threaten or lead to loss of life contradict the right, and thus need condemnation (Freeman 5). All constitutions of the world recognize and respect the right to life and that any person who attempts or violates it faces stiff penalty. For instance, when a person kills another person, he faces life sentence for violating the right of the deceased to live. This is evident in several countries such as in the Middle East whereby tyrants who had been accused of mass murder of human beings got punished. Former Iraq president, Saddam Hussein was hanged for killing many people during his reign (Freeman 5). Therefore, since nobody provided right to life to a fellow being, he or she has no right of taking such right from another being by killing or threatening. However, there are some instances when such right is denied or when a person accused of killing a fellow human being is pardoned (Freeman 9). Such situation arises when the accused was trying to defend himself or he rself from murder by the deceased. This normally happen when in times of conflict such as war or when a person turns wild and desires to kill. Moreover, when a person kills the other, and thus turns to be a security threat to public, police officers kill him (Freeman 9). A good instance occurs during mass shootings which have characterized the U.S.A. and which have left many people grieving from loss of loved ones. A recent incident was the US school shooting in Brooklyn, Newtown. Consequently, all constitutions on earth recognize and respect the right to liberty of all human beings. People have a right to be free from all forms of bondage and slavery. Capturing or enslaving a fellow human being is currently an international offence condemned by all nations (Freeman 11). Unlike in the past when people were taken as slaves due to debt or as war captives, all constitutions of the world prohibit the act and even imposes heavy penalty on the offenders. Since God created human beings whe n they were not under the rule or authority of anybody, no person should be denied such right. Right to liberty ensures that people move around the earth doing as they wish with their freedom so long as they respect and accord the same to other people (Freeman 14). Therefore, people who capture their fellow human beings contradict the right to liberty. Such acts include those witnessed by illegal groups such as militants or pirates who capture sailors and keep or otherwise kill them. A good example is the capturing of sailors in Indian Ocean by Somali pirates who demand huge ransom in order to release the captives. This action is bad and illegal since it contravenes the captives’ right to move (Freeman 14). However, the right to liberty is restricted in some instances. Such instances include when a person commits a criminal offence, and thus convicted and sentenced to imprisonment. While serving a prison term, a person is denied the right to be free (Freeman 14). This is a fo rm of punishment directed at the prisoner in order to compel him to change from criminal activities. Human beings also have a right to lead a happy life on earth. Such freedom is God – given and thus, nobody should be denied (Freeman 27). God created human beings to be happy creatures and thus, should thank him for such right by worshiping him. Therefore, actions, which inhibit man from pursuing happiness on earth go against the right and thus, need condemnation. Thus, human beings have a

Hemmingway and OConnor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hemmingway and OConnor - Essay Example There, a man and a girl are shown talking and drinking beer: they are obviously a couple waiting for a train... and, probably, waiting for something else, too. We see that the story is virtually suspended in awaiting for a resolution. The second story provides an image of a â€Å"typical† family of the early 1950’s going on a short vacation and eventually facing silly and unexpected accident and death. Reading and interpreting both stories, the reader will inevitably sense that familial ties play a great role in them, detrimental and harmful role. Moreover, both readings can be related to American society, as the conflicts and moral concerns implied in them have been rather relevant in America for decades. â€Å"Hills like White Elephants† and â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† both illustrate corruption of family ties and incapability of the family members (or lovers) to lend real moral support to a person. Though the style of Hemmingway excludes any explicit descriptions of the story’s context, one can sense that the American is trying to convince the girl that an abortion is the best solution to the dilemma they are facing (Mellow). Although he tries to convince her softly and seems to comfort her with the idea that they â€Å"will be fine afterward† (Hemmingway), his true motivation is visible: he doesn’t want this child (maybe he isn’t ready or finds it hardly affordable to raise a child). Therefore, the role the close (almost familial) ties play in the decision-making the girl faces is unsupportive and even negative. The simple operation, as the American puts it, is supposed to solve rather his than her problems. Another thing arresting the reader’s attention is the way the two characters talk. They seem so distanced from each other, none of them actually listening to what the other says. Thus, presenting their dialogue as talking rather than com municating, Hemmingway might push the reader towards one more

Prepare a written business plan of (The Apple INC) on the Orbis Essay

Prepare a written business plan of (The Apple INC) on the Orbis database - Essay Example Apple has already launched its iphone in India using a marketing strategy wherein it launched its phones in eight Indian cities at midnight of August 22, 2008. As pointed out in an article printed from Wharton, Apple’s strategy in India was different from its launch strategy in the United States, where the company followed a different strategy. As articulated by Professor Peter Fader of Wharton: â€Å"Here in the U.S., Apple basically wanted to bust the market open all at once. So, they had all these people lined up all around the block, and when they flipped the switch -- boom! -- the market existed. In India, its almost like they are doing a test market.† (www.knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu). The launch was a small scale one and was carried out without much fanfare. This report will address various other marketing aspects of Apple’s strategy in India and recommend measures that could be taken in this regard. The development of the iphone is a relatively recent development in the electronics industry, which relies upon 3G networks in order to operate efficiently. The 3G generation of mobile networks is expected to complete the worldwide process of global communication (Lindemann et al, 2003). Mobile communication systems, if effectively provisioned and utilized, could provide a means to include a range of new services with different quality of service requirements, so that radio resources can offer a high capacity level of service over a planned coverage area. In a 3G scenario, RRM functions will play a pivotal role because they influence system efficiency and the operator infrastructure cost. In providing an optimum level of quality of service, two major aspects would be important, i.e., the network planning in terms of features such as the number of cell sites and their design and location, as well as the radio resource allocation or the manner in which the resources are

The Medea by Euripides and The Aeneid by Virgil Essay Example for Free

The Medea by Euripides and The Aeneid by Virgil Essay In The Medea by Euripides and The Aeneid by Virgil the characters of Medea and Dido respond to desertion by their husbands, the individual they love most, in the form of a quarrel. Both characters go on to attempt to alleviate their pain via revenge. Their judgments and actions are impaired by each womans great eros and amor. Euripides and Virgil illustrate their vision of passion and love through the effects of Medea and Didos actions under the influence of these emotions. Both women could choose a healthier course for their pain by thinking rationally. Ultimately what matters is Medea is permitted to be distressed because she truly is abandoned by her husband, while Dido, on the other hand, is betrayed and destroyed by a lover she cons herself into believing is her husband. In response to the abandonment of their lovers, both Medea and Dido quarrel with their husband in an effort to sway him into altering his resolution. Medea attempts to make Jason leave his new bride and come back to her while Dido tries to influence Aeneas into staying with her. Each woman vents by launching their monologue with an introduction of insults. Although Medea straight forwardly calls Jason a coward in every way, Dido is more controlled and implies that Aeneas attempts to slip away in silence (Euripides, 465) (Virgil, IV.419). Throughout the remainder of the speeches, they attempt to get the men to bend to their wishes. The women use logic. Medea reminds Jason of the shame he will face as a result of having children wandering as beggars. Dido informs Aeneas of the bad weather he will encounter if he leaves now. Both women remind their lover of all they have sacrificed for him and everything they have not asked for in return. Medeas raging comments continue on about the broken marriage oath. Like Medea, Dido tries to force Aeneas to remain by her side because of the marriage that [they] entered on (Virgil, IV.432). Medea and Dido seem to end their side of the argument with final jabs at manhood of their husbands, but in her last breath, Dido asks for pity on her utterly bereft self (Virgil, IV.454). In the course of her speech Medea is seen as a very angry, vengeful woman while Dido is seen as desolate and pitiful. Both women, however, only want to be with the man they love. As a result of the abandonment of their husbands, both Medea and Dido hope  to quench their furor through revenge. Medea satisfies her thirst by killing four innocent victimsthose closest to Jason. Conversely, Dido constructs a funeral pyre that is a reconstruction of her life with Aeneas and throws herself upon it. Medea seeks revenge on others with the intention of mak[ing Jason] feel pain (Euripides, 1398). In hopes to extinguish her furor through her own demise, Dido stabs herself twice in the chest with the sword she gave to Aeneas; this way she says is a blessed relief to go into the undergloom (Virgil, IV.1048). Medeas rage ends with the satisfaction of innocent lives lost. Dido feels compelled to satisfy herself even further by hoping Aeneas painfully views the funeral pyre from his ship and by cursing Aeneas as well as her own people and all the children of their children (Virgil, IV.875). Ultimately, both women succeed in dousing the burning fury within. It is important to follow the paths these women select to satisfy their hurt because these paths are the result of both women allowing their eros and amor to cloud theirr judgment and influence her actions. While Medeas heart [is] on fire with passionate love for Jason and he returns her love, Medeas power and passion were enlisted for his aid (Euripides, 8). Didos love and passion for Aeneas overcome her passion for that of the city she founded. The moment either woman is betrayed, their passionate love for their husbands becomes passionate hate against them. Consequently, this is the motivation for Medeas bad judgment in her quest for revenge. Like Medea, Dido uses very bad judgment and so projects [are] broken off in Carthage (Virgil, IV.124). Both women refocus all of their eros and amor intended for the good of others to a single selfish purpose. Through Medea and Dido, two maddened lovers, both Euripides and Virgil illustrate their outlook on the effects of eros and amor (Virgil, IV.92). Both women allow their heart to rule, which brings trouble for many people. As a result of Medea following the wishes of her heart, she destroys or alienates her entire family. Because Dido uses her violent heart as a compass, Aeneas is almost derailed from his destiny (Euripides, 38). Aeneas is only back in line with destiny and the gods after he leaves to found Rome and begins to navigate with his head. Both Virgil and Euripides prove that  Medea and Dido create chaos as a result of allowing passion, not reason, to rule. Even in the midst of their turmoil it is feasible that Medea and Dido could choose to begin ruling with their minds and not their passion. Medea could kill Jason as a result of his hurtful act and not destroy four innocent people. If Dido truly loves Aeneas, she could risk going with him even if the consequences could be that she continues to be his mistress or that the Trojans tire of her and throw her overboard, as opposed to senselessly committing suicide. Medea could overcome her barbaric culture and allow Jason to live his life while she cares for her children as a loving mother should. Euripides and Virgil leave many options for both Medea and Dido if they can only get past the desires of their hearts and see past them to what is the superior good. Each development of Medea and Dido builds their similarities, but the crucial difference between the two wives in their justification for their actions and emotions is in the very foundation of their relationship with their husbands. Medea is married to Jason. She has gone through a marriage ceremony viewed by many and contested by none. Conversely, as Juno has intended, Dido misinterpreted the events which took place in the cave after the hunt. Virgil says she called it marriage. Thus, under that name, she hid her fault (Virgil, IV.237-238). Medea reacts to her betrayal atrociously. Although she kills the innocents, Euripides justifies the horrendous actions of Medea because she is married to Jason. He has left her for another woman. Because they had no commitment, Dido cannot justify her suicide and curse with the abandonment from a man she has an affair with and chooses to develop this affair into a liaison. Virgil does not specifically condemn Dido, but the tone of her commentary seems to put the blame on her. While Euripides Medea and Virgils Dido have similar reasons, reactions, and motivations, Medea is understood and Dido is just seen as bitter, vindictive, and pathetic.