The Case Against Giant Sharks

The Case Against Giant Sharks Does anyone remember when Shark Week used to be about sharksthe biology of sharks, the lifestyles of sharks, fun facts about sharks and the people who watch them? Well, those days are long gone: now we have made-up documentaries about giant prehistoric sharks like Megalodon and endlessly recycled exposes of humongous, mythical, 40-foot-long Great Whites that swallow other sharks practically whole. (Lest you think  Im unfairly picking on The Discovery Channel, bear in mind that no less an eminence than The Smithsonian Channel has aired dreck like Hunt for the Super Predator.) But before we go any further, heres an important caveat. There are, in fact, gigantic predators lurking beneath the oceans depths, some of which have only rarely been glimpsed by humansthe classic example being the Giant Squid, which can grow to over 40 feet long. But even the Giant Squid isnt as giant as its cracked up to be: this elongated invertebrate weighs only a few hundred pounds, and its cousin, the Giant Octopus, is only about the size of a well-fed fifth-grader. If these real-life cephalopods are nothing like the monsters depicted in movies and unscrupulous TV shows, imagine how much license producers take when it comes to the long-extinct Megalodon! Everyone clear on this? OK, time for some questions and answers. Q. Isnt it conceivable that a Great White Shark could be 30 or 40 feet long? After all, there are well-documented examples of 20-foot-long Great Whites, and 30 feet isnt that much bigger. A. Lets put it this way: the late NBA star Manute Bol was one of the tallest human beings who ever lived, at seven feet and seven inches. Does the fact of Manute Bols existence mean that human beings can potentially grow 10 or 11 feet tall? No, it doesnt, because there are genetic and physiological constraints on how large any given species, including Homo sapiens, can grow. The same logic applies to all animals: there are no 40-foot-long Great White Sharks for the same reason there are no five-foot-long house cats or 20-ton African elephants. Q. Megalodon swam the worlds oceans for millions of years. Why is it so impossible to believe that a small population, or even one individual, has survived into the present day? A. A species can only prosper as long as environmental conditions are conducive to its continued existence. In order for, say, a population of 100 Megalodons to thrive off the coast of South Africa, their territory would have to be stocked with the kinds of giant whales these sharks feasted on during the Pliocene epochand theres no evidence for the existence of these giant whales, much less for Megalodon itself. As for the persistence into modern times of one lone, ornery individual, thats a tired cultural trope directly traceable to the original Godzilla movie, way back in the 1950sunless youre willing to believe that Megalodon has a million-year life span. Q. Ive seen reasonable-looking people on nature shows who insist theyve seen 40-foot-long sharks. Why should they go out of their way to lie? A. Well, why would your Uncle Stanley lie when he said that Bluefin Tuna ​that got away was seven feet long? Human beings like to impress other human beings, and they arent very good at estimating the sizes of things that lie outside a human scale. In the best cases, these people arent intentionally trying to deceive anyone; they just have a misplaced sense of proportion. In the worst cases, of course, they are intentionally trying to deceive the public, either because theyre sociopaths, theyre out to make a quick buck, or theyve been instructed to misrepresent the truth by TV producers. Q. The Loch Ness Monster surely exists. So why cant there be a living Megalodon off the South African coast? A. As Lois Griffin once said to Peter on Family Guy, Hold on to that thought, because Im gonna explain to you when we get home all the things that are wrong with that statement. There is absolutely no reliable evidence that the Loch Ness Monster (or Bigfoot, or Mokele-mbembe) actually exists, unless you want to credit the kind of fuzzy, forged photographs that shows like Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives traffic in. In fact (and Ill probably be wildly misquoted here), Im inclined to say that theres LESS evidence for the existence of Megalodon than there is for the Loch Ness Monster! Q. How can the Discovery Channel lie about the existence of Megalodon, or giant Great White Sharks? Isnt it legally required to state the facts? A. Im not a lawyer, but based on all the available evidence, the answer is no. Like any TV channel, Discovery is in the business of making a profitand if hogwash like Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives or Megalodon: The New Evidence brings in big bucks (the former shows 2013 premiere was viewed by five million people), the networks executives will gladly look the other way. In any case, the First Amendment makes it nearly impossible to hold broadcasters like Discovery to account: they have a constitutional right to spew half-truths and lies, and the public has the responsibility to doubt all of the evidence presented on these shows.

Thanking in French - Merci et Les Autres Remerciements

Thanking in French - Merci et Les Autres Remerciements You all know â€Å"merci†. But there are different ways to say thank you in French, as well as different meanings to the word. Merci: The Common Way of Saying Thank You in French â€Å"Merci† is ‘thank you’. Its pronounced â€Å"mair see† with an open ‘ay’ sound not a closed ‘ur’ sound. You can make it stronger by saying â€Å"merci beaucoup† – ‘thank you very much’. Note that the very is included, you cannot say â€Å"merci trà ¨s beaucoup†. To say ‘a thousand thanks’ we say â€Å"mille mercis† or â€Å"merci mille fois†. It’s pretty common in French as it is in English. You usually accompany a vocal â€Å"merci† with a smile, and it implies that you accept whatever is being offered to you. However, if you want to refuse something, you could say â€Å"non merci†, or even just say â€Å"merci† with a hand gesture, showing your palm to the person in front of you in a kind of stop gesture.  You make shake your head â€Å"no† at the same time. You may smile or not, depending on how firm you want the  refusal to be. When you thank someone, they may answer merci toi / vous - in English, youd say thank YOU, with the emphasis on the you, meaning I am the one thanking you. Je Vous/Te Remercie Pour... I Thank You For in French Another way to say ‘thank you’ is to use the verb â€Å"remercier†. â€Å"Remercier†, ‘to thank’ is followed by a direct object (so it will take the pronouns me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les), and then by â€Å"pour† ‘for’, just as it is in English. Je vous/te remercie pour ce dà ©licieux dà ®ner. I thank you for this delicious dinner meal. Note that the verb â€Å"remercier† has a stem in â€Å"i†, so the final sound will often be a vowel, just like the verb â€Å"à ©tudier†. Je vous/te remercie pour les fleurs – I thank you for the flowers.Je voulais vous/te remercier pour votre/ta gentillesse – I wanted to thank you for your kindness. Using â€Å"remercier† is very formal in French, much less common than using â€Å"merci†. Click here for more ways of expressing gratitude in French. Les Remerciements - The Thanks When talking about the thanks, the noun, you’d use the noun â€Å"le/les remerciement(s)†, usually used in the plural. Tu as les remerciements de Susan – you have Susan’s thanks.Je voudrais lui adresser mes remerciements – I would like to send him/her my thanks. No Thanksgiving in France Thanksgiving  is not a French holiday at all, and most French people have never heard of it. They may have seen some Thanksgiving dinner on a sitcom on TV, but probably discarded the info. There is no Black Friday sale in France either.   In Canada, Thanksgiving is called â€Å"l’Action de Grà ¢ce(s)† with or without an S and is celebrated pretty much in the same fashion as in the US, but on the second Monday of October. Thank You  Notes in France Its somewhat less common in France to write une carte de remerciement. I mean, its not uncommon, and its very polite, but its not like in the Anglo-Saxon countries  where Thank You cards are a huge market. If youve been treated to something really special, you can absolutely send a thank you card or a handwritten note, but dont expect your French friend to necessarily reciprocate. Its not rude of them, its just not that deeply rooted in our politeness.

Microtubules Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Microtubules - Essay Example aments, which demonstrate diverse turnover rates, are closely associated with actin binding proteins which differ, and it has been postulated that they determine the differences in turnover rates. This plasticity of the internal structure of the actins is responsible for the difference in filament turnover rates in different cellular locations. This is accomplished through direct control of the filament stability and through modulation of protein binding affecting the stability of the filaments (Kueha et al., 2008). These, therefore, are mechanoskelatal proteins which convert energy released by hydrolysis of ATP or from ion gradients and generate mechanical forces. The most important feature of these proteins that while they bind, they carry their own cargo, and hence movement at a specific direction of this protein as a result of microtubular shortening would result in movement of the cargo from one location to the other within the cell. This allows an avenue of movement of the cellular proteins to the target area where further chemical reaction may take place. Thus, this is an example of accessory protein which in association with the cellular microtubules can cause sliding movement between the microtubules that are adjacent and at the same time causes movement of the cytoplasmic particles along a single microtubule to its target (Gibbon, 1988). Recent studies on accessory proteins associated with microtubules demonstrate that cytosolic dyneins are associated with retrograde transmission of intraxonal vesicles within neural tissues, and the forward motion of such vesicles is effected by another accessory protein, namely, kinesins. At the same time, within the brain neural tissues accessory proteins have been located which vary in molecular weights and binding... This essay focuses on the discussion of the microtubules, that on the molecular level comprise of tubulin molecules, which in turn are a heterodimer comprising of globular polypeptides, alpha and beta tubulin which are closely related and tightly linked. Many cellular functions are controlled by these microtubules which essentially are mediated through polymerisation and depolymerisation, which are controlled by nucleotide GTP. Following synthesis, there are molecular rearrangements within these microtubules are stabilized with accessory proteins, which are specific for particular tubulin. In this assignment from different cellular examples, these interactions between the specific accessory proteins and the microtubule molecular structure will be examined in order to describe the structures and functions of these specific accessory proteins. It has been demonstrated in the essay, that within the cell, there is continuous modification of microtubules which is conferred through a proce ss of binding to other proteins. These are known as microtubule associated proteins or accessory proteins. The two main roles that these microtubule-accessory protein complexes perform are stabilization of the microtubular molecular structure against disassembly and more importantly mediation of their interactions with other components of the cell. The most significant and ubiquitous protein associated are ATPases which transduce energy also known as microtubule motor proteins which induce a sliding between adjacent microtubules.

Bell Chemicals Desicion Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bell Chemicals Desicion - Coursework Example The solution is to chart out a decision that works best for the company's reputation and growth. Here the approach should be to take the sum total of the senior management group's (SMG) knowledge and intuition and work around it for the best results. My decision is to go for the Chemex machine. The characteristic of this decision can be termed as a rational approach to decision making. I have tried optimising in order to reach to this decision. In the words of Rue and Byars, "One rational approach, called optimizing, involves following six steps: (1) recognize the need for a decision; (2) establish, rank, and weigh the criteria; (3) gather available information and data; (4) identify possible alternatives; (5) evaluate each alternative with respect to each criteria; and (6) select the best alternative." (1992, p.73) This approach can be linked to the normative decision-making model, on which I have based the explanation of my decision or in other words the main body of my report. The company accountant has revealed that the company had recently financed nearly all its recent capital investments from its own retained profits for products and capital investments in other parts of the firm. ... Mr. Bell himself is not interested in much of outside funding. Capital required to install a new Chemex machine is much lower than the AFU unit. Internal funding will be a major issue for the firm in this financial year, as the company has exhausted accrued profits for expansion and developments in other parts of the firm. This will affect the funding of regular operations of the firm throughout the year. Operating cost of AFU unit is more than double of Chemex. The company is not in a position to cover additional cost of 18000 as operating cost against advantages, which are hardly visible or relevant to the firm at this market stage. Through the facts and assumptions given by the marketing manager - an experienced old timer of the Bell Chemicals, following information on current & expected market can be derived: Table 1: Bell Chemicals Ltd: Comparison of Current & Expected Market Curent Market Expected Market Annual Market Requirement 200000 Kg 250000 Kg Firm's Production Requirement 90000 Kg 100000 Kg There is no indication of any upsurge in market demand. With new competitors in the market, retaining present market share should be the aim. Research activities of the chief chemist in modifying the Preserve so that it can be used in wider range of food products has not given any fruitful result uptil now. Hence increase in demand of production is not predicted. Thus increase in production capacity by installing a new Chemex machine will be sufficient to cover the market growth for next two years. Production and selling cost estimate of 320 per Kg for AFU unit is advantageous as compared to 350 for Chemex machine. The AFU unit can reduce production and selling cost by 2700000 a year at current production rate (30 on 90000 Kg produced) but this

The United States Beer Industry Essay Example for Free

The United States Beer Industry Essay 1.The U.S. brewing industry has become more concentrated over the last two decades for several reasons. a.The consumption of beer has been slowly declining, in order for companies to gain market share, they have to take customers from other companies. This would then lead to some companies to go out of business due to the lack of customers. b.Brand loyalty also increased. Advertisement played a large role. Larger companies were able to spent $0.40 per case of beer sold. Smaller mass-market brewers could not afford to spend near that amount. c.Technological change in canning and distribution lead to the concentration of the brewing industry, as well. The size that a mass-market brewer has to accomplish to acquire all economies of scale has grown. They must produce more beer and achieve more market shares. Not all companies reach minimum efficient scales of production. 2. The competitive structure of the brewing industry using Porter’s five forces model. a.Risk of entry by potential competitors. New micro brewing companies have low barriers of entry. New micro brewing companies do not rely heavily on brand loyalty or economies of scale. Mass market brewers our faced with higher barriers to entry because of brand loyalty of customers and absolute cost advantages. b.Intensity of rivalry of previously established companies new customers are always entering the market as they become legal age and the willingness to consume beer, so mass market brewers try to appeal to them to get their business, minimizing the competition to take other companies competitors. Demand has also been growing, making them less competitive. c. Bargaining power of buyers (buyers may be the individual customers who consume it product) this is low for mass market brewers because there is a large number of buyers available for High microbrewers. d.Bargaining power of suppliers (the organizations that provide input into the industry, such as materials, services and labor) the brewing industry has medium to low bargaining power of suppliers. e.Threat of substitutes is a threat because there are other alcoholic beverages that can be a direct substitute for beer, such as spirits and wine. 3.Small mass market companies in the brewing industry are looking for high barriers of entry, strong bargaining power from suppliers and strong bargaining power from buyers. To reach economies of scale, they would need a lot of money in production volume, causing a high barrier of entry. Suppliers can charge the new companies higher prices because they are also selling to other mass market companies and do not need or depend on the new companies for orders. Buyers are strong and can drive down prices because they do not need to sell the new firms product. There are other mass market beers that already have strong brand loyalty that their customers are purchasing. 4.There are two different strategic groups in the brewing industry: mass market brewers (Anheuser-Busch, SAB-Miller, and Molson Coors) and premium micro brewers. The rivalry is different in both groups. Mass market brewers are more competitive, and focus on getting as much of the market as possible by brewing a beer liked by many. Microbrewers products are focus towards smaller customer by who like distinctive tasting beers.

Jilting in William Faulkners A Rose for Emily and Katherine Anne Porte

Jilting in William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" and Katherine Anne Porter's "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" Webster’s dictionary defines the word â€Å"jilt† as the act of rejecting a lover. So to be deserted by another, left at the altar, or unwanted by another, is to be jilted. In William Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily† and in â€Å"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall† by Katherine Anne Porter, Emily and Granny Weatherall throughout the course of their lives experience jilting several times. In turn, this rejection places a significant emphasis on both of their lives. After Emily’s father passes away in â€Å"A Rose for Emily,† Emily’s sweetheart rejects her. The only man that her father must have approved of ran out on her, leaving her all alone. It must have been unbearable for Emily, to loose the two most important people in her life within such a short time of each other. Emily’s father, Mr. Grierson sent away all of the young men who had come to court her. They were not â€Å"quite good enough† for his little girl. He shut her off from society by standing in the front door â€Å"clutching a horsewhip.† He did not allow Emily to go into town to see how people lived their life. Nor did he allow her to meet people and make friends. Instead, Emily’s father kept her in the house and isolated her from society. This isolation caused Emily to become resistant to change. With no one to turn to in her time of need, Emily was forced into a period of isolation. Because her father had isolated her for the first thirty years of her life, being secluded from the community was all she knew. The narrator (the town) points out, â€Å"After her father’s death she went out very little; after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all.† By iso... ...gain no bridegroom and the priest in the house. She could not remember any other sorrow because this grief wiped them all away. Oh, no there’s nothing more cruel than this ¾I’ll never forgive it. She stretched herself with a deep breath and blew out the light.† This second jilting at death makes the first jilting by George more moving and intensely powerful. The light, which she blows out, represents her life and she descends into the blackness of death, jilted again. Being rejected by a lover can have a major impact on one’s life as it did for Emily, in â€Å"A Rose for Emily† and as it did for Granny, in â€Å"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.† One must find it in their heart to forgive and forget and move on with their life. The jilting of Emily and Granny Weatherall shows how time changes and how it must be embraced, for better or for worse, because the past is no more.

Cash flow stream Essay

?1. What is the present value of the following uneven cash flow stream ?$50, $100, $75, and $50 at the end of Years 0 through 3? The appropriate interest rate is 10%, compounded annually. PV=190.46 (SEE EXCEL FILE ATTACHED) 2. We sometimes need to find out how long it will take a sum of money (or something else, such as earnings, population, or prices) to grow to some specified amount. For example, if a company’s sales are growing at a rate of 20% per year, how long will it take sales to double? It would take about 3.801784 years before the sales double. (SEE EXCEL FILE ATTACHED) 3. Will the future value be larger or smaller if we compound an initial amount more often than annually— for example, every 6 months, or semiannually—holding the stated interest rate constant? Why? It will be larger because it’s basically like adding on interest on top of interest as the frequency increases. 4. What is the effective annual rate (EAR or EFF %) for a nominal rate of 12%, compounded semiannually? Compounded quarterly? Compounded monthly? Compounded daily? EAR = (1 + Nominal Interest/Number of Period) ^Number of Period -1 SEMI ANNUALLY= (1+.12/2)^2-1=12.36% QUARTERLY= (1+.12/4)^4-1=12.55% MONTHLY= (1+.12/12)^12-1=12.68% DAILY= (1+.12/365)^365-1=12.75% 5. Suppose that on January 1 you deposit $100 in an account that pays a nominal (or quoted) interest rate of 11.33463%, with interest added (compounded) daily. How much will you have in your account on October 1, or 9 months later? OCT 1ST= 100*(1+.1133463/365) ^ (365*.75) = $108.87 6. What would be the value of the bond described above if, just after it had been issued, the expected inflation rate rose by 3 percentage points, causing investors to require a 13% return? Would we now have a discount or a premium bond? PV= $837.21 (SEE EXCEL FILE ATTACHED) It would be considered a discounted bond because the present value is less than its face value. 7. What would happen to the bond’s value if inflation fell and rd declined to 7%? Would we now have a premium or a discount bond? PV= $1210.71 (SEE EXCEL FILE ATTACHED)Â  It would be considered a premium bond because the present value is more than the face value. 8. What is the yield to maturity on a 10-year, 9% annual coupon, $1,000 par value bond that sells for $887.00? That sells for $1,134.20? What does a bond selling at a discount or at a premium tell you about the relationship between rd and the bond’s coupon rate? RATE = 11% for a bond that sells for $887 and the RATE = 7% for a bond selling for $1134.20 9. What are the total return, the current yield, and the capital gains yield for the discount bond in Question #8 at $887.00? At $1,134.20? (Assume the bond is held to maturity and the company does not default on the bond.) The return for the $887 bond is 11% and the yield is 90/887 which equals 10.15%. The capital gain would be 11% – 10.15%= .85% The return for the $1134.20 bond is 7% and the yield is 90/1134.20 which equals 7.9%. The capital gain would be 7% – 7.9%= -.9%

Dividend Policy and Share Prices

Introduction In this paper the impact of dividend policy of the companies on the firm’s share prices is analysed and different views in the context of the semi-strong form of the efficient market hypothesis are contrasted. The overview of the traditional and most recent empirical investigations of the stock market reaction to the dividend announcements is provided and different findings are discussed and compared. Three companies have been selected from the FTSE All share price index. These companies are Tesco, Burberry and Vodafone. These firms belong to different sectors of the economy.Tesco is the largest retailer in the UK, Burberry is a fashion firm and Vodafone is the telecommunication services company. The dividends and accounts have been retrieved from annual reports of the companies (Tesco, 2011; Burberry, 2011; Vodafone, 2011). The share prices were sourced from Yahoo Finance (2012). The copies of the company accounts are provided in the appendices. Dividend Policies of Companies These three companies were chosen for the following reasons. Firstly, it was intended to choose large companies that have an established dividend policy and revenue of more than ? billion a year. Secondly, the companies from different industries had to be analysed. Thirdly, both services sector and goods sector were intended to be analysed. Finally, it was interesting to compare both pro-cyclical firms (e. g. Burberry) and counter-cyclical firms (e. g. Vodafone). The former are very sensitive to the effects of the economic recession whereas the latter are less sensitive because consumers would still have to use mobile phones and services regardless of their financial position.The dividend payout ratio has been calculated for these companies for the period from 2007 to 2011. The following formula was used: Dividend payout ratio = dividends per share / earnings per share The results are summarised in the following figure. Figure 1 Dividend Payout Ratios Source: Annual Re ports of Tesco (2011), Burberry (2011) and Vodafone (2011) The payout ratios indicate different dividend policies adopted by the three companies. Tesco’s policy is aimed at maintaining a constant dividend payout ratio, which is very common for mature industries such as retailing.In these industries the majority of the large companies are â€Å"cash cows† for the investors and therefore the dividend policy tends to show constant payout ratios, which inspires trust in the company and expectation of future stability. In contrast, the dividend policies of Vodafone and Burberry are not aimed at a constant payout ratio. In fact, as the following figure demonstrates, the policies of Vodafone and Burberry are aimed at dividend growth. Figure 2 Final DividendsSource: Annual Reports of Tesco (2011), Burberry (2011) and Vodafone (2011) However, whereas Vodafone demonstrates a â€Å"steady dividend growth strategy†, Burberry demonstrates the a strategy that does not show a specific pattern but can be interpreted as a signal to the market because in 2009 the company announced the dividends that were equal to the dividends announced in the previous year in spite of the accounting losses suffered by the firm which were reflected in negative earnings per share (Appendix C).This move can be interpreted as a sign that the management attempted to signal the market that the losses are temporary and the company was expected to recover quickly. It is interesting to note that the latter policy is inconsistent with the position that dividends should be paid out of earnings rather than accumulated capital or reserves. Furthermore, the companies could undertake an alternative dividend policy which would imply linking the dividend payout to the investment opportunities that could be managed by firms (Brealey and Myers, 2003).If the company has many projects that offer positive net present value, then it would be recommended that dividends could be retained and reinv ested in the firm. Only residual earnings, which are left after investments in all positive NPV projects could be distributed as dividends (Bodie et al, 2009). Dividend Announcements and Share Prices Dividend announcements and their impact on share prices can be explained by the semi strong form of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH).Efficient market hypothesis implies that the only thing that may impact the stock prices is new information, since all other possibly influencing parameters are already included in the firm’s stock price (Palan, 2004). The efficient market hypothesis may be divided into three forms: the weak form, the semi-strong form, and the strong form. The weak form implies that share prices bear or reflect the past prices and trade volume information, the semi-strong form adds publicly available information to the weak form, and the strong form adds even insider information to the efficiency approach (Harder, 2008).Empirical evidences show that successive changes in stock prices are independent and this independence is in line with the efficient market hypothesis, as markets promptly react to the new information (Fama et al. , 1969). In this context it may be assumed that dividend announcements convey particular positive information about the company and provide signals about future performance of the firm. The decision about paying dividends is made by the firm’s managers and often supported by shareholders’ voting.Since dividend announcements bear useful information, from the efficient market hypothesis view point this information is reflected in the share price changes immediately after the public announcement (Bodie et al, 2009). The three companies that were chosen have been used to test the semi strong form of the EMH and whether the dividends announcements made by Tesco, Vodafone and Burberry had a significant impact on shareholder returns and share prices. So, the null hypotheses of the analysis are the followin g:H0: Dividends have a positive and significant effect on the share prices H0: Dividends have a positive and significant effect on the weekly stock returns. The alternative hypotheses are the following: Halt: Dividends do not have a significant effect on the share prices Halt: Dividends do not have a significant effect on the weekly stock returns. According to EMH in its semi strong form, the information on dividends should be quickly absorbed into the stock prices during the first week and hence the acceptance of the null hypotheses will be consistent with the semi strong efficiency.However, if abnormal returns persist in the longer run, e. g. three months, the EMH in the semi strong form can be rejected. Empirical evidences also provide support for the semi-strong efficient market hypothesis, implying that stock market efficiently and quickly adjusts to new information about dividends (Aharony and Swary, 1980). However, the research of Amihud and Li (2006) finds that the reaction of stock market to dividend announcement is not constant. It is concluded that cumulative abnormal returns promoted by dividend announcements decline to zero in due course.The findings suggest that dividend announcement are less informative over time, and this may be related to the reluctance of managers to pay extra expenses related to dividends (Amihud and Li, 2006). Moreover, the recent decrease in propensity of companies to pay dividends is sometimes related to the lower informational contend of dividend announcements. Since institutional investors are normally better informed and tend to play key roles in public firms, the costly dividends have become a less popular way to provide information (Baker, 2009).The study of Asquth and Mullins (1983) also suggests that stock prices and shareholders’ wealth are impacted by initiation and increase of dividends. Moreover, the effect of dividend increase is stronger than the influence of dividend initiation. The results are in lin e with assumption that dividend announcements bear valuable information for investors. Dividend policy may be used as a simple way to signal managers’ view of the company’s recent and future performance (Asquth and Mullins, 1983). However, it must be stated that dividend policies are not directly influencing share prices and lead to their changes.Instead, dividend policies are changed by managers when some fundamental developments in company’s performance are expected, and these developments cause the change of the share prices. Thus, dividend announcement is only the way for investors to obtain information about these fundamental developments. Similarly, there are no evidences that a company value may be increased through increase of dividends, since dividends only convey signals about fundamental changes in the company and are viewed as only by-products of the changes (Moles et al. 2011). Nevertheless, the study of Shiller (1981) challenges the efficient marke t hypothesis suggesting that the volatility of stock prices are too high to be explained by the future dividends. A more recent investigation of Mehnidiratta and Gupta (2010) supports the semi-strong form of efficient market hypothesis concluding that stock prices promptly and accurately react to the publicly available information, particularly to dividend announcements. The two-stage study tests the share prices response to dividend announcement.The first stage included the evaluation of beta based on post facto returns on stock and market index and predicted returns on every of the stocks. The second stage these values were used to calculate abnormal returns around the day of announcement. The results provide information that though investors do not obtain significant value prior to the dividend announcement day or on the event day, they do gain value after the announcement. Investors move their security positions on the announcement day which implies that after the event day ther e is informational value in dividend announcement.The evidences prove that the increases in dividends imply more positive abnormal stock returns, and this supports the efficient market hypothesis (Mehnidiratta and Gupta, 2010). But there are also empirical evidences of little stock market reaction to dividend announcements at some periods (Hasan et al. , 2012). The event study methodology was used to evaluate the effect of cash dividend announcements on the share prices. The data about abnormal returns around the event day was analysed and the events before, on, or after the announcement day were pooled.The tested assumption states that payment of cash dividends is the most significant factor that impacts all prices around the event days (Hasan et al. , 2012). In the following figures the results of the regression analysis and statistical tests applied to the regressions are presented. Table 1 Effects of Dividends on Investor Weekly Return Coefficientsa Model Unstandardized Coeffici ents Standardized Coefficients t Sig. B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) .012 .009 1. 375 .175 Dividend -. 002 .002 -. 143 -1. 030 .308 Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate imension0 1 .143a .020 .001 .03489 a. Predictors: (Constant), Dividend According to the first regression, dividends do not have a significant impact on the weekly stock returns and hence the null hypothesis related to stock returns is rejected. However, the output from the regression of share prices on dividends demonstrates that the former have a statistically significant positive influence on the share price performance. This was evidenced with the t-test. Table 2 Effects of Dividends on Share Prices Coefficientsa Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients Sig. B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 151. 362 47. 949 3. 157 .003 Dividend 45. 955 9. 186 .574 5. 003 .000 Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate dimension0 1 .574a .329 .316 191. 66266 a. Predictors : (Constant), Dividend Thus, the null hypothesis related to the effects of dividends on the share prices is accepted. R-squared test has revealed that the second regression had a better fit. Conclusion As the semi-strong efficient market hypothesis suggests, new information including dividend announcement is quickly reflected in the company’s stock prices.Some empirical evidences support the hypothesis (Fama et al. , 1969; Aharony and Swary, 1980). Other findings suggest that the impact of the announcements may decline in the course of time (Amihud and Li, 2006). The recent empirical studies that were reviewed support the semi-strong efficient market hypothesis and find that dividend announcements produce abnormal returns and are positively related to the share prices (Mehnidiratta and Gupta, 2010). But another event study displays different reaction of stock prices to dividend announcement in different years (Hasan et al. , 2012).The analysis in the paper was conducted in th e context of three UK based companies from different sectors. The dividend policies of these companies have been analysed. Furthermore, the relationships between the share prices and the dividends were tested. It was found that the dividends produced a positive and statistically significant effect on the share prices but no significant effect on weekly returns. References Aharyny, J. and Swary, I. (1980) â€Å"Quarterly Dividend and Earnings Announcements and Stockholders’ Returns: An Empirical Analysis†, The Journal of Finance, 31 (1), pp. 1-12. Amihud, Y. nd Li, K. (2006) â€Å"The Declining Information Content of Dividend Announcements and the Effects of Institutional Holdings†, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 41, pp. 637-660. Asquith, P. and Mullins, D. W. Jr. (1983) â€Å"The Impact of Initiating Dividend Payments on Shareholders’ Wealth†, The Journal of Business, 56 (1), pp. 77-96. Baker, H. K. (2009) Dividends and dividend po licy. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Bodie, Z. , Kane, A. and Marcus, A. (2009) Investments, Hoboken: McGraw Hill Professional. Brealey, R. and Myers, S. (2003) Principles of Corporate Finance, New York: McGraw Hill.Burberry (2011) Annual Reports and Accounts, [online] Available at: www. burberryplc. com/bbry/results-centre/respre/rep2011/ [Accessed 6 February 2012]. Fama, E. F. , Fisher, L. , Jensen, M. C. and Roll, R. (1969) â€Å"The Adjustment of Stock Prices to New Information†, International Economic Review, 10 (1), pp. 1-21. Field A. (2005) Discovering Statistics Using SPSS, London: Sage Publications. Gujarati, D. (1995) Basic Econometrics. 3rd ed. , New York: McGraw-Hill. Harder, S. (2008) â€Å"The Efficient Market Hypothesis and Its Application to Stock Markets†, Scholarly Research Paper, Germany: GRIN Verlag.Hasan, S. B. , Akhter, S. and Huda, H. A. E. (2012) â€Å"Cash Dividend Announcement Effect: Evidence from Dhaka Stock Exchange†, Research J ournal of Finance and Accounting, 3 (2), pp. 12-24. Maddala, G. S. (2001) Introduction to Econometrics. 3rd ed. , Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Mehnidiratta, N. and Gupta, S. (2010) â€Å"Impact of Dividend Announcement on Stock Prices†, International Journal of Information Technology and Knowledge Management, 2 (2), pp. 405-410. Moles, P. , Parrino, R. and Kidwell, D. (2011) Fundamentals of Corporate Finance – European Edition. UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Palan, S. 2004) â€Å"The Efficient Market Hypothesis and Its Validity in Today's Markets†, M. A. Thesis. Germany: GRIN Verlag. Shiller, R. J. (1981) â€Å"Do Stock Prices Move Too Much to be Justified by Subsequent Changes in Dividends? †, NBER Working Paper No. 456. Tesco (2011) Annual Report and Accounts [online] Available at: ar2011. tescoplc. com/ [Accessed 6 February 2012]. Vodafone (2011) Annual Report and Accounts [online] Available at: http://www. vodafone. com/content/index/investors/reports/ann ual_report. html [Accessed 6 February 2012]. Yahoo Finance (2012) Weekly Share Prices [online] Available at: finance. yahoo. co. uk [Accessed 6 February 2012].

How to Be an Anti-Racist Ally

How to Be an Anti-Racist Ally Do you feel overwhelmed by the destructive power of racism, but unsure of what to do about it? The good news is, while the  scope of racism in the U.S. might be vast, progress is possible. Step-by-step and piece-by-piece, we can work to end racism, but to begin this work, we must truly understand what racism is. First, review how sociologists define racism, then consider ways that each of us can work to end it. What Is Racism? Sociologists see racism in the U.S. as systemic it is embedded in every aspect of our social system. This systemic racism is characterized by unjust enrichment of white people, unjust impoverishment of people of color, and an overall unjust distribution of resources across racial lines (money, safe spaces, education, political power, and food, for example). Systemic racism is made up of racist ideologies and attitudes, including subconscious and implicit ones that might even seem well-meaning. It is a system that grants privileges and benefits to whites at the expense of others. This system of social relations is perpetuated by racist worldviews from positions of power (in the police or news media, for example), and alienates people of color who are subordinated, oppressed, and marginalized by such forces. It is the unjust costs of racism born by people of color, like denial of education and employment, incarceration, mental and physical illness, and death. It is racist ideology that rationalizes and justifies racist oppression, like the media narratives that criminalize victims of police and vigilante violence, like Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and Freddie Gray, as well as many others.​ To end racism, we must combat it everywhere it lives and thrives. We must confront it in ourselves, in our communities, and in our nation.  No one person can do it all or do it alone, but we can all do things to help, and in doing so, work collectively to end racism. This brief guide will help get you started. At the Individual Level These actions are mostly for white people, but not exclusively. Listen to, validate, and ally with people who report personal and systemic racism. Most people of color report that whites do not take claims of racism seriously. It’s time to stop defending the idea of a post-racial society, and recognize instead that we live in a racist one. Listen to and trust those who report racism, because anti-racism begins with basic respect for all people.Have hard conversations with yourself about the racism that lives within you. When you find yourself making an assumption about people, places, or things,  challenge yourself by asking whether you know the assumption to be true, or if it is something you have simply been taught to believe by a racist society. Consider facts and evidence, especially those found in academic books and articles about race and racism, rather than hearsay and â€Å"common sense.†Be mindful of the commonalities that humans share, and practice empathy. Do not fixate on difference, though it is important to be aware of it and the implications of it, particularly as regards power and privilege. Remember that if any kind of injustice is allowed to thrive in our society, all forms can. We owe it to each other to fight for an equal and just society for all. At the Community Level If you see something, say something. Step in when you see racism occurring, and disrupt it in a safe way. Have hard conversations with others when you hear or see racism, whether explicit or implicit. Challenge racist assumptions by asking about supporting  facts and evidence  (in general, they do not exist). Have conversations about what led you and/or others to have racist beliefs.Cross the racial divide (and others) by offering friendly greetings to people, regardless of race, gender, age, sexuality, ability, class, or housing status. Think about who you make eye contact with, nod to, or say â€Å"Hello† to while you are out in the world. If you notice a pattern of preference and exclusion, shake it up. Respectful, friendly, everyday communication is the essence of community.Learn about the racism that occurs where you live, and do something about it by participating in and supporting anti-racist community events, protests, rallies, and programs. For example, you could: Support voter registration and polling in neighborhoods where people of color live because they have historically been marginalized from the political process.Donate time and/or money to community organizations that serve youth of color.Mentor white kids on being anti-racist citizens who fight for justiceSupport post-prison programs, because the inflated incarceration rates of black and Latino people lead to their long-term economic and political  disenfranchisement.Support community organizations that serve those bearing the mental, physical, and economic costs of racism.Communicate with  your local and state government officials and institutions about how they can help end racism in the communities they represent. At the National Level Advocate for Affirmative Action practices in education and employment.  Countless studies have found that qualifications being equal, people of color are rejected for employment and admission to educational institutions far greater rates than white people. Affirmative Action initiatives help mediate this problem of racist exclusion.Vote for candidates who make ending racism  a priority; vote for candidates of color.  In todays federal government, people of color remain disturbingly underrepresented. For a racially just democracy to exist, we must achieve accurate representation, and the governing of  representatives must actually represent the experiences and concerns of our diverse  populace.Combat racism through national-level political channels.  For example, you could: Write senators and members of Congress to  demand an end to racist practices in law enforcement, the judiciary, education, and the media.Advocate for national legislation that would criminalize racist police practices and institute ways to monitor police behavior, like body cams or independent investigations.Join the movement for reparations  for  the descendants of African slaves and other historically oppressed populations within the U.S., because theft of land, labor, and denial of resources is the foundation of American racism, and it is on this foundation that contemporary inequalities thrive. Keep in mind that you dont have to do all of these things in your fight against  racism. Whats important is that we all do at least something.

Surprising or Not Surprising

Surprising or Not Surprising Surprising or Not Surprising Surprising or Not Surprising By Maeve Maddox Ive become aware of the inexplicable use of the phrase not unsurprising in contexts in which a simple unsurprising is called for. For example: Unpresidential, But Not Unsurprising Its extremely unfortunate yet not unsurprising that such an attack occurred. Annoying but not unsurprising. In each of these examples, the sense is that something might have been expected and is therefore not surprising. Placing not in front of unsurprising garbles the meaning. Something is either surprising or not surprising. surprising: adj. Causing surprise or wonder by its unexpectedness The word unsurprising may be used instead of the phrase not surprising. The OED doesnt bother to define unsurprising as not causing surprise, but it gives this illustration of its use: Adaptations of Dickenss works..are meant to make you feel good. This is unsurprising, as..it could be argued that this is exactly how Dickens intends you to feel. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Exquisite AdjectivesUsed To vs. Use ToUsing "zeitgeist" Coherently

California Alcoholic Beverage Control Research Paper

California Alcoholic Beverage Control - Research Paper Example The fact limits the restaurant for both drink in the restaurant and take away drinks. Application of the liquor license is at the department that deals with alcohol and beverage control in Bay area (Califonia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 2014). During this period of application, the following has to be met by the applicant. Apply and get the sales and tax permit. The permit is obtained at the sales and tax division in California ( Sate of California, 2014). The registration can be done online on their website. The applicant then registers with Board of Equalization online on their website (Califonia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 2014). The next step is to obtain the Federal basic permit at the alcohol and tax bureau. The timeline to obtain the license varies depending on the number of the applicant and an average of 45 to 60 working days. In the restaurant business, have a premise and ensure the all the application requirements are met. Possible technicality includes the zoning by the local government might hinder the choice of the

Methods of Research in Media and Communications Essay

Methods of Research in Media and Communications - Essay Example This paper aims at evaluating the perception that the Greek had during the economic crisis, which threatened to paralyse their economy due to its incapacity to pay its debts. The study utilises an interview form of research to get the views from various individuals with respect to the information they got from the media during the crisis. The information obtained from the interview was then analysed, and findings used to ascertain the perception of the people. Background Information People all over the world have different reactions in relation to the news and reports relayed unto them (Corner et al., 1997). According to European Journalism Centre (2010), the press is the second-most imperative source of information after the television. The news and reports are relied on heavily by the public for any eventual news either in the country or abroad. Therefore, with respect to the economic crisis, the media channels and information sources did their best to bring out the situation exper ienced economically both at home and at the international level (Mullen and Klaehn, 2010). The manner in which news and reports are relayed to the public has a considerable impact to individuals and the implications are dependent on the perception taken by the public (Priest, 2010). Undertaking a research study in the field of media, has positive implications in the sense that it will help in ascertaining the constructive measures to be undertaken by the media bodies, in the kind of news or reports they air, and the manner of delivering the same (Fernandez, 2008). The upsurge and demonstrations portrayed by the public during the Greek crisis can be ascribed to the discernment of the debt crisis as prescribed by the media. This is through the public concept of encoding and decoding what they heard or watched as discussed by Stuart Hall. Various mass media concepts and theories are very crucial in understanding the study undertaken. With respect to the propaganda concept, it helps und erstand and expound on the development, stratification and functioning of communities and how the members interact via communication. The classical Marxist thinking on ideology paved the idea for developing new concepts to understand and explain the role of the media in the contemporary democratic world. According to Herman and Chomsky (2000), the mass media serve as a means for communicating information and symbols to the public. Further, in a world of intense wealth and major conflicts of classes of interest to realise set roles entails the systematic propaganda (Herman and Chomsky, 2002). Political economy entails a fundamental theoretical framework employed in the media studies research. This entails the attempts to understand the power relations that determine distribution, consumption, and production of communication resources (McQuail, 1994, p. 82). This is very relevant to this study as the Greek crisis was national and constituted the authorities. Media has been transformed by technology to be the most crucial a rapid influence on opinions and indulgent in the current world (Wimmer and Dominic, 2011). Chandler (2000) argues that media possess a powerful tool and capacity to encourage global awareness thus, promoting economic trends, cross-cultural understanding,