Nutrition †Obesity Essay

Objective: To survey the relationship between the utilization of inexpensive food (FF) and weight file (BMI) of young people in a huge UK birth companion. Techniques: An auxiliary condition demonstrating (SEM) approach was picked to permit direct measurable testing of a hypothetical model. SEM is a blend of corroborative factor and way investigation, which takes into consideration the incorporation of dormant (unmeasured) factors. This methodology was utilized to construct two models: the impact of FF outlet visits and food decisions and the impact of FF introduction on utilization and BMI. Results: A sum of 3620 members had information for stature and weight from the age 13 center and the recurrence of FF outlet visits, as were remembered for these examinations. This SEM model of food decisions indicated that expanded recurrence of eating at FF outlets is decidedly connected with higher utilization of unfortunate nourishments (b ? 0. 29, Po0. 001) and contrarily connected with the utilization of sound nourishments (b ? A1. 02, Po0. 001). The SEM model of FF introduction and BMI demonstrated that higher presentation to FF builds the recurrence of visits to FF outlets (b ? 0. 61, Po0.001), which is related with higher weight record standard deviation score (BMISDS; b ? 0. 08, Po0. 001). Hardship was the biggest contributing variable to the introduction (b ? 9. 2, Po0. 001). Ends: The adolescents who ate at FF eateries devoured increasingly undesirable nourishments and were bound to have higher BMISDS than those young people who didn't eat as often as possible at FF cafés. Young people who were presented to more takeaway nourishments at home ate all the more every now and again at FF cafés and eating at FF eateries was likewise connected with lower admissions of vegetables and crude organic product in this partner. Global Journal of Obesity (2011) 35, 1325â€1330; doi:10. 1038/ijo. 2011. 120; distributed online 28 June 2011 Keywords: inexpensive food; overweight; ALSPAC Introduction Childhood heftiness predominance have risen drastically over the most recent 30 years in the Western world with the latest figures for England and Wales show that 17% of young men and 16% of young ladies are hefty. 1 An expansion in the accessibility of calorie thick nourishments is embroiled as one of the components in the etiology of the stoutness scourge. Cheap food (FF) is one area of the food advertise that has become consistently in the course of the most recent couple of decades and it was worth d8. 9 billion in the United Kingdom in 2005. 2 FF is regularly brisk, helpful, modest and Correspondence: Dr LK Fraser, School of Geography, University of Leeds, University street, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. Email: l. k. fraser@leeds. air conditioning. uk Received 6 February 2011; reexamined 21 April 2011; acknowledged 12 May 2011; distributed online 28 June 2011 uniform in its production,3 however FF is regularly high in immersed fats, vitality thick and has low micronutrient content. 4â€9 Studies from the United States of America have indicated that kids who expend FF (when contrasted and youngsters who don't eat FF) have higher vitality admission and higher fat intakes9,10 just as lower vegetable and milk consumption. 10,11 Therefore, the utilization of such nourishments might bring about a positive vitality balance; and thus, weight gain. There is some proof from longitudinal investigations in the United States of America that devouring FF as a young person can bring about weight gain in both early12 and center adulthood. 13 FF is regularly promoted to youngsters and teenagers through TV, web and film advertising,14â€17 with brand acknowledgment being available since the beginning. 18 The expansion of toys as endowments with FF dinners additionally draws in youngsters. There is developing group of writing that has surveyed the area of FF outlets and has discovered that regions of higher hardship Fast food and weight file LK Fraser et al 1326 have more FF outlets19â€21 and that FF outlets are regularly found near schools. 22â€24 most of research to date has been attempted in the United States of America, however an investigation that broke down the fat substance of a FF supper in McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets in 35 nations indicated that the measure of fat changed impressively between nations, inside the equivalent FF outlet. 25 This implies results from concentrates in the United States of America may not be generalisable to different nations. This investigation means to survey the cross-sectional relationship between the utilization of FF and the weight record (BMI) of adolescents in an enormous UK birth companion. Strategies The information for this examination were gotten from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC),26 which is a birth partner study where pregnant moms who lived in the old Avon County in the United Kingdom (the Bristol district) were enlisted in the mid 1990s. An aggregate of 14 541 moms finished enlistment. Due to review enlistment the all out example size was 15 224 babies and 14 610 live births. This paper presents information on the youngsters who went to the year 13 facility and finished the year 13 survey. Factors The food recurrence information were gathered from the polls finished by mother (or carer) and separate surveys finished by the young people themselves at age 13 years. The information utilized from the carer survey (gathered simultaneously point) alluded to the inquiries ‘How frequently does s/he eat in a FF café? The reactions to this inquiry were gathered as never/once in a while, when a month, when like clockwork, a few times for every week, 3â€4 times each week, at least 5 times each week. The carers were likewise asked ‘In all out, what number of bits of vegetables does s/he eat in seven days (do exclude potatoes)’, ‘In all out, what number of segments of crude organic product does s/he eat in seven days? ’ These were free numerical reactions, which were held as a consistent variable for investigations. In the food recurrence part of the young person finished survey the adolescents were asked ‘If you ever purchase food yourself from outside school, or from school candy machines, how regularly do you purchase and eat every one of the accompanying things (incorporate after school and ends of the week): chips, burger, pizza, sandwich, pies or pasties, chocolate, crisps, products of the soil food. ’ The tallness and weight information were gathered at center visits at B13 years. The specific age, sex, stature and weight were utilized to figure a BMI standard deviation score (BMISDS) for every member (1990 UK reference dataset). 27 The adolescents International Journal of Obesity were delegated corpulent if their BMISDS was more prominent than the 95th percentile (BMISDS41. 64). The physical action information were gathered through accelerometry at the age 13 center visit. 28 The members wore an accelerometer for seven back to back days and the measure utilized from this is mean checks every moment, which is a consistent variable. A hardship score was appointed to every member by coordinating the directions of their private location (when carer survey was finished) to the fitting lower super yield region. Each lower super yield region has a file of numerous hardship score (Index of Multiple Deprivation 2007 (IMD))29 doled out from the nearby enumeration information. This is a consistent variable where a higher number shows a region of higher hardship. Ethnicity was allocated according to the child’s ethnicity into a paired variable of ‘white British’ and ‘other’ ethnicity. Factual demonstrating Descriptive insights were acted in STATA adaptation 10 (StataCorp LP, College Station, TX, USA). An auxiliary condition demonstrating (SEM) approach was picked to permit direct factual testing of a hypothetical model. SEM has numerous advantages over conventional relapse methods, which incorporate the capacity to demonstrate conditions all the while and the fuse of idle factors. 30 SEM is a mix of corroborative factor and way examination, which considers the incorporation of dormant (unmeasured) factors. 31 This methodology was utilized to manufacture two models: the impact of FF outlet visits and food decisions and the impact of FF presentation on utilization and BMI. The SEM examinations were embraced in AMOS form 17. 0 (IBM SPSS, USA). The estimated model for food decisions is appeared in the outcomes area (Figure 2). The watched factors are shown as boxes and inert factors as circles. Each watched variable has a related irregular mistake term and each inert variable has a related unsettling influence term, which speaks to the change in the dormant variable that has not been clarified by the watched factors related with that idle variable. Relapse ways are appeared by singleheaded bolts and covariances by twofold headed bended bolts. The model fit was evaluated by two lists; the relative fit record (CFI) and the root mean square blunder of estimate (RMSEA). The CFI is an examination of the guessed model contrasted and an autonomy model where all parameters are thought to be autonomous. The RMSEA gives a sign of ‘how well would the model, with obscure yet ideally picked qualities, fit the populace covariance lattice in the event that it were available’. 32 A blend of CFI40. 95 and a RMSEA of o0. 50 is an indication of good model fit. The w2-trial of generally speaking fit is extremely delicate to enormous example size so has not been utilized in these models. 30 The two models were built from the earlier utilizing past research. The dietary substance of chips, burgers, pizza and Fast food and weight file LK Fraser et al 1327 pies are known to be high in immersed fat and vitality and along these lines are ‘unhealthy’,4â€9,33 while products of the soil are known to contain fiber and nutrients as are delegated ‘healthy’. Presentation to FF outlets is known to be higher in zones of higher hardship. 19â€21 In the food decisions model, undesirable utilization (dormant variable) was demonstrated from the recurrence of utilization of chips, burger, pizza and pies (revealed by the youngsters themselves

Reusability of Code Essay Example for Free

Reusability of Code Essay Reusability of codes universally useful is to diminish superfluous coding which at long last decreases venture advancement time and assets. It is basically taking code from one piece of a program and endeavoring to utilize it somewhere else without modifying excessively. This strategy is like reusing programming systems in object-situated programming. Article situated programming and procedural writing computer programs are two programming ideal models that disperse basic characteristics just as different contrasts. A methodology is an extra name for a directing, procedure or capacity. Methodology and articles both use calculations to build up the framework and any sensible figuring that is important for the program. A capacity is separated from factors and information sytheses. Strategies are expected to run the code in an exact request, while OPP combines information with the capacity in the capacity changes the information that is bound to it into a unit distinguished as an item. Other valuable highlights, for example, reflection, embodiment, and legacy can be accomplished while working with OPP. Procedural Programming The most punctual programming dialects were procedural, which means a program was made of at least one strategies. A method is just a module or capacity that plays out a particular assignment, for example, gathering contribution from the client, performing counts, perusing or composing records, showing yield, etc. The projects that you have composed so far have been procedural in nature. The means a program must perform to arrive at the ideal result. System is an autonomous element and a succession of directions that are gathered. In procedural programming, an assignment is separated into collection of factors and subroutines. In OPP, an errand is separated into objects which sum up the information and execution. In a procedural methodology, the altogether called variable is named as an attribute of the article. The thought is to exemplify information and a procedure into what is alluded to as a class. A class is a model; a class can be utilized to make a few items. This permits code be reusable in OPP. Item Oriented Programming Item situated programming (OOP) is focused on making objects. An article is a product element that contains the two information and systems. The information contained in an article is known as the object’s fields. An object’s fields are basically factors, exhibits, or other information structures that are put away in the item. OPPs bunch the information strategies together with the goal that each can work on its own information while systems are utilized to straightforwardly perform procedure on information structures. OPP gives exemplification making class whose articles can be made progressively. OPPs have been seen to give lower quality execution when contrasted with procedural programming. Notwithstanding taking care of the issues of code-information detachment, the utilization of OOP has additionally been empowered by the pattern of item reusability. An item isn't an independent program, yet is utilized by programs that need its administration. (Gaddis, 2010) References Gaddis, T. (2010). Beginning with programming rationale and plan. (2 ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.

From Rags to Riches A Financial History of the NFL

From Rags to Riches A Financial History of the NFL From Rags to Riches: A Financial History of the NFL From Rags to Riches: A Financial History of the NFLFrom a group of four rickety Midwestern football teams to a $14 billion-a-year financial juggernaut, The NFL has come a long way since it was founded in 1920.With the Super Bowl less than two weeks away, we thought it would be a good time to look back at the financial side of the NFL’s almost century-long history. Turns out that before they struck it big on TV, the National Football League was anything but a sure bet. The NFL’s early years saw financial instability and high turnover.If you had told the founders of the NFL that one day the league would be a financial juggernautraking in $14 billion a year and countingâ€"they’d have been surprised, to say the least. When the NFL was formed in 1920 in an auto showroom in Canton, Ohio, it was nothing more than four Ohio-based football teams banding together to make things a little easier for themselves.Those original four teams were the Akron Pros, the Canton Bulldogs, the Clevelan d Indians, and the Dayton Triangles. And when the American Professional Football Association (as it was then known) played its first season later that year, those four teams were joined by ten others, all of them based in the Midwest and almost all of them from small to mid-sized towns like Muncie and Rock Island.Only two of those teams are still with us today. The Decatur Staleys later moved to Chicago and became the Bears, while the Racine Cardinals eventually ended up in Arizona after long stops in Chicago and St. Louis. The Green Bay Packers joined the league in 1921. The following year, the league officially changed its name to the NFL.Those early years were rough going from a financial perspective. Making money from professional football games wasn’t exactly easy, and most of the teams had payrolls held together with spit and rubber bands. As such, teams dropped in and out of the league or outright folded with astonishing regularity. The NFL roster fluctuated year to year wi th a high of 22 teams; it wasn’t until 1936 that league roster saw zero turnover from the previous season.Moving east improved the NFL’s prospects, but baseball and college football  still ruled.After years of instability, the league decided to install some quality control. In 1927, they restricted their membership to twelve teams, all of whom were (relatively) financially stable. Not all of those franchises would survive, but the ones that replaced them were in larger, Eastern cities like Boston, New York, and New York. With the exception of Green Bay, the league’s small-town Midwestern origins were being left behind in favor of the bustling eastern seaboard.Green Bay, by the way, is actually a publicly owned non-profit corporation. Instead of a single owner, they issue “shares” in the team, which are owned by thousands upon thousands of loyal fans. If you’re wondering how they managed to stay in Green Bay all these years, that’s why. Not an Al Davis or Art Modell in sight. (Okay, league-wide revenue-sharing has also helped, but we haven’t gotten to that part yet.)This Eastern migration did help the early NFL draw in more revenue and gain more financial stability. Still, even as the league made slight gains throughout the 1930s, it still struggled, both financially and culturally.One of the biggest problems was the fact that it was completely overshadowed by the college game. Many college football stars saw joining the NFL as a step down from the game they’d played in school. And without high enough salaries to overcome those concerns, many of those same stars choose jobs in regular industries over playing football professionally.World War II saw many NFL players serve overseas, which meant that some teams temporarily merged until they returned. Once the war was over, the national economic boom of the 1950’s lifted the NFL’s prospects as well. Still, it remained a distant second (maybe even third or fourth) next to America’s real pasti me: baseball. As the 1960s dawned it seemed like the NFL was doomed to be a cultural and financial also-ran.The modern NFL is born, all thanks to one man (and millions of TV sets). Enter Pete Rozelle. When the NFL commissioner Bert Bell died in 1959 of a heart attack, the 33 -year-old Los Angeles Rams executive was elected commissioner early the following yearâ€"though only after a whopping 23 ballots. Rozelle understood one thing above all else: The future of football didn’t lie in gate receipts (i.e. money from ticket sales to live games). No, the future of the NFL lay in TV.This might seem like a “no duh” kind of revelation nowadays, but back then it was pretty revolutionary. It was something that the NFL’s main competition, the American Football League (AFL) understood as well. In 1960, the AFL negotiated a two-year contract with ABC worth under $2 million annually to broadcast its games.NFL owners, on the other hand, were skeptical. After all, tickets were their main so urce of revenue. How were they supposed to make money by broadcasting games on TV, which meant that people no longer had to buy tickets in order to see their favorite teams play? And besides, wouldn’t TV money end up turning the big-market teams like New York and Chicago into financial powerhouses, making it impossible for small-market teams like Green Bay to catch up?As it turns out, the AFL also had a slightly revolutionary solution to this problem: Taking the revenue from that TV contract and sharing it equally between all its teams. This promoted financial stability and gave every one of its teams a real chance to succeed. At the very least, it ensured that every team started the year with money in the bank. Revenue-sharing was such a good idea, in fact, that Rozelle wanted to steal it wholesale for the NFL.After the moving the NFL’s headquarters from the tiny Pennsylvania town of Bala-Cynwyd all the way to New York City’s Rockefeller Center, Rozelle set to work negotiatin g the NFL’s new TV deal. What he came away with was a two-year deal with CBS to broadcast every game of the NFL’s 1961 and 1962 seasons. The total price tag? $9.3 million  split evenly between the league’s 14 teams.Here’s what happened next: The CBS deal got blocked in court under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Undeterred, Rozelle started lobbying Congress and the Kennedy administration to get an exemption. After only three months, the Sports Broadcasting Act was passed and signed into law by Kennedy himself. The new law exempted professional football, baseball, basketball, and hockey leagues from antitrust regulations on their broadcast deals.In 1966, the NFL and the AFL announced a merger. While it would take until 1970 for the two leagues to fully combine their operations, some other changes would start immediately. Namely, The 1966 season would be the first one in which the winners of each league played each other for ultimate football supremacy. The name of this game would be … The Super Bowl.The modern NFL is so profitable, its teams might not need actual fans.Last season, the NFL brought in a staggering $8.1 billion in league-wide revenue; add in local revenue, and the total topped $14 billion. Most of that money comes from TV, although the league’s merchandising arm, NFL Propertiesâ€"another Pete Rozelle inventionâ€"has also been a massive moneymaker.In its earliest days, NFL teams struggled to make money. Many were lucky if they could get a couple hundred fans to show up to their game. Nowadays, the importance of TV revenue has made ticket sales something closer to an afterthought. So what if only a few hundred fans show up? When it comes to the Los Angeles Chargers, in fact, the league might accidentally be conducting an experiment to see whether a team can be profitable without any fans at all!To read more about the financial side of history, sports, and pop culture, check out these related posts and articles from OppLoans:The Secret Financ ial History of Voting10 Money Lessons From the Worst Contracts in NBA HistoryMoney at the Movies: Does Box Office Gold Mean a Best Picture Win?The 12 Worst Financial Scandals In HistoryDo you have a personal finance question youd like for us to answer? We want to hear from you! You can find us  on  Facebook  and  Twitter.  |Instagram

Bamburi Cement Company Example For Free - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2462 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? Bamburi Cement Ltd. (Bamburi Cement) is a Kenya based cement production company. Bamburi Cement, through its subsidiaries is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of cement and cement related products, which include the Portland cement, Portland pozzolana cement and Portland limestone cement. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Bamburi Cement Company Example For Free" essay for you Create order The companyÂÂ ´s products are marketed under various brand names which include Power Plus Cement, Nguvu Cement, Supaset, Multi Purpose and Plasta Plus. Bamburi Cement also owns and manages a world class nature and environmental park that was developed from the rehabilitation quarries. The company has its operations in Kenya and Uganda. The company is headquartered at Nairobi, Kenya. In this study, Bamburi Cement has used the total debt-to-assets (or debt-to-capital employed) as a measure of its capital structure. Total debt includes interest bearing long-term and short-term debt. Assets include fixed assets and those current assets that are financed by debt. This paper is divided into several sections namely; Definition of Capital Structure; Rajan and Zingales (1995) argue that the definition of capital structure would depend on the objective of the analysis. For example, for agency-problem related studies, capital structure maybe measured by total debt-to-firm value ratio ., Relevance of Capital Structure; The prevailing argument, originally developed by Modigliani and Miller (1958), is that an optimal capital structure exists which balances the risk of bankruptcy with the tax savings of debt.ÂÂ   Once established, this capital structure should provide greater returns to stockholders than they would receive from an all-equity firm. Evaluation of the Capital Structure of Bamburi Cement Company; Bamburis debt-asset ratio of 22.9% and capitalization ratio of 24.2% shows that it is less dependent on leverage, i.e., money borrowed from and/or owed to others. As seen elsewhere in this paper Bamburi Cement operates in a highly dynamic environment and their choice of capital structure measure resonates well with what modern thinking is, about, finding the right or best financing mix. Firms in industries characterized as exhibiting high levels of dynamism are more successful if they had relatively low levels of debt. One of the dramatic changes cre ated by the expanding global economy is the increase in the rate of change within industries. And as more industries experience greater levels of change, the use of debt-centered governance will prove less effective in the near future. The other areas covered include; determinant factors of Capital Structure, Limitations in improving Capital Structure and How to improve Capital Structure. INTRODUCTION Bamburi Cement Ltd. was founded in 1951 by Felix Mandl a director of Cementia Holding A.G. Zurich. Cementia later went into partnership with Blue Circle PLC (UK). In 1989, Lafarge, the worlds largest building materials group, acquired Cementia, and thus became an equal shareholder with Blue Circle. Lafarge bought Blue Circle in 2001 to become the largest building materials company in the world and Bamburi Cement Limited principle shareholder. Its first plant Mombasa started production in 1954 with annual capacity of 140,000 tonnes of cement. Today the Mombasa based plant has the capacity to produce of 1.1 million tonnes. In 1998, a new one million tonne per annum clinker grinding plant was added just outside Nairobi, increasing the total production capacity to 2.1 million tonnes. With the new plant, Bamburi Cement has been able to improve its service to Nairobi and upcountry markets, through speedier and more efficient packing turn around time, The rail sliding at the Nairob i plant has also facilitated sales to Western Kenya and Uganda. Bamburi Cement is the largest cement manufacturing company in the region and its Mombasa plant is the second largest cement plant in sub-Saharan Africa. It is also one of the largest manufacturing export earners in Kenya, exporting 28 per cent of its production in 1998 (29 per cent). Export markets include Reunion, Uganda and Mayotle. In the past, they have also included Mauritius, Sri Lanka, The Comoros, Madagascar, Seychelles and the Congo. Bamburi is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of cement and cement related products. Bamburi also owns and manages a world class nature and environmental park developed from rehabilitated quarries. Bamburi has financed its various expansion projects through debt over the last six years although its capital structure is a mix of debt and equity. However, there is a reduction in borrowings propping up the cash balances that are expected to fund expansionary capita l expenditure. Firms are free to choose whatever mix of debt and equity or capital structures they desire to finance their assets, subject to the willingness of investors to provide such funds. In some firms, such as Chrysler Corporation, debt accounts for more than 70 percent of the financing, while other firms, such as Microsoft, have little or no debt. A firms capital structure should attempt to determine what its optimal, or best, mix of financing should be. Determining the exact optimal capital structure is not a science, so after analyzing a number of factors, a firm establishes a target capital structure it believes is optimal, which is then used as a guide for raising funds in the future. This target might change over time as conditions vary, but at any given moment the firms management has a specific capital structure in mind, and individual financing decisions should be consistent with this target. 1.1 Definition of Capital Structure Capital structure could be defined in different ways. In the US, it is common to define capital structure in terms of long-term debt ratio. In a number of countries, particularly the emerging markets, companies employ both short-term and long-term debt for financing their assets, including current assets. It is also common for companies in developing countries to substitute short-term debt for long-term debt and roll over short-term debt. Hence, it is more appropriate and particularly in the context of developing economies, to define capital structure as total debt ratio. Rajan and Zingales (1995) argue that the definition of capital structure would depend on the objective of the analysis. For example, for agency-problem related studies, capital structure maybe measured by total debt-to-firm value ratio. Debt could be divided into its various components, and numerator and denominator could be measured in book value and market value terms. In this study, Bamburi Cement has used the total debt-to-assets (or debt-to-capital employed) as a measure of its capital structure. Total debt includes interest bearing long-term and short-term debt. Assets include fixed assets and those current assets that are financed by debt. 1.2 Relevance of Capital Structure A capital structure that is appropriate is a decision that is critical for any kind of business organization. Such a decision is vital not only due to the impact it would have on the organizations ability to handle its competitive environment but also the need to maximize returns to the different organizational constituencies. There is a prevailing argument developed originally by Miller and Modiglian (1958), which states that there is the existence of an optimal capital structure that balances the tax savings of debt with the risk of bankruptcy. Once such a capital structure is established it is capable of providing bigger returns to the stakeholders than they would get from an all-equity organization. Across the industries there are significant differences in the environmental characteristics impacting organizations. The most relevant among the characteristics is environmental dynamism which is defined as the rate of environmental change and the instability of that change. Env ironmental dynamism is usually as a result of different forces operating at one time. They include an increase in the number and size of organizations within a certain industry, increase in the rate of technological variation plus its diffusion throughout that industry. For all involved parties (including stockholders, debt-holders, top managers and others), as environmental dynamism increases it results in an increase in actors increased inability to assess both the present and the future state of the environment accurately. This limits their ability to establish the potential impact of decision-making on future and current business activities and determining feasible alternative that organizations should pursue. This means that the effect of increasing environmental dynamism levels is reduction of access to knowledge required in making critical decision. This as a result reduces the predictability and stability of relations among organizations and their constituents within a ce rtain industry. It is thus a logical inference that varying degrees of environmental dynamism could have a differential influence on similar activities occuring between industries. This means that since the degree of environmental dynamism varies across industries, it would be reasonable to expect significant differences in adaptive capabilities that are required for survival and that such differences should have implications on performance. Table 1 below can verify this. It is a table showing a rank ordering of industries based on their extent of measured environmental dynamism. The industries located towards the top of this table are those characterized as having high dynamism level. This means that the rate of change plus the degree of uncertainty about future states makes decision-making hard. Conversely, the firms in the industries found towards the bottom of the table are in relatively benign environments. Table 1 . This study is a serious test to the traditional capital structure literature.ÂÂ   One of the dramatic changes created by the expanding global economy is the increase in the rate of change within industries. As more industries encounter greater levels of change, the use of debt-centered governance will prove less effective in the near future. Bamburi cement operates in an environment that is highly dynamic and their choice of capital structure measure resonates well with what modern thinking is, about, finding the best or right financing mix. Firms in industries characterized as exhibiting high levels of dynamism are more successful if they had relatively low levels of debt. 1.3 Evaluation of the Capital Structure of Bamburi Cement Company In this study, Bamburi Cement has used the total debt-to-assets (or debt-to-capital employed) as a measure of its capital structure. Total debt includes interest bearing long-term and short-term debt. Assets include fixed assets and those current assets that are financed by debt. Period Year 6-2009 Year 5-2008 Year 4-2007 Year 3-2006 Year 2-2005 Year 1-2004 Sources of Funds: Kes millions Share capital Reserves 20,941 16,602 15,075 13,736 11,281 10,485 Long Term Debt 6,227 6,170 2,422 2,319 2,230 2,348 27,168 22,772 17,497 16,055 13,511 12,833 Weight of Sources of Funds: Share capital Reserves (we) 0.7579 0.71522 0.85454 0.84878 0.82725 0.8077 Long Term Debt (wd) 0.24206 0.28477 0.14545 0.15121 0.17274 0.1922 Dividends per share 11.00 6.00 6.00 5.50 5.30 6.12 Market price per share 156.00 165.00 196.00 215.00 140.00 95.00 Cost of Sources of Funds Cost of Share capital (ke) 7.05128 3.6363 3.0612 2.5581 3.7857 6.4421 Interest rate, i 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 Corporation tax, t 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 Long Term Debt (kd), i(1-t) 6.65 6.65 6.65 6.65 6.65 6.65 Growth in Equity (G) 25.82 8.90 9.31 21.89 8.27 (10.43) Ke+G 32.87 12.54 12.37 24.45 12.06 (3.99) kewe 25.34 9.14 10.66 20.92 10.07 (3.26) kdwd 1.5242 1.8017 0.9205 0.9605 1.0975 1.2167 Weighted Cost of Capital, WACC (%) Ko= kewe+ kdwd 26.8609 10.9446 11.5800 21.8802 11.1662 -2.0448 Net profit Kes millions 6,970 3,412 3,810 2,799 2,155 1,901 Total Assets Kes 000 27,168 22,772 17,497 16,055 13,511 12,833 Return On Investment (ROI %) 25.655 14.9833 21.7751 17.4338 15.9499 14.8133 1.5 Determinant factors of Capital Structure Factors Determining Capital Structure Trading on Equity- Trading on equity becomes more significant when expectations of shareholders are soaring. Degree of control- Bamburi would like to preserve their voting rights in their hands and thus the capital structure consists of debenture holders and loans rather than equity shares. Flexibility of financial plan- In Bamburi t there is both contractions as well as relaxation in plans and therefore the company has gone for issue of debentures and other loans. Choice of investors- Bamburis policy is to have different categories of investors for securities. The capital structure thus gives adequate choice to all kinds of investors to investor while keeping into mind conscious investors. Capital market condition- In the lifetime of the company, the market price of the shares has got an important influence. During the depression period, the companys capital structure generally consists of debentures and loans. While in period of inflation and boons , the companys capi tal should consist of share capital generally equity shares. Period of financing- When Bamburi wants to raise finance for short period, it goes for loans from banks and other institutions; while for long interval it goes for issue of debentures and shares. Cost of financing- In a capital structure, the company has to look to the factor of cost when securities are raised. It is seen that debentures at the time of profit earning of company ascertain to be a cheaper source of finance as compared to equity shares where equity shareholders demand an extra share in profits. Stability of sales- An established business which has a growing market and high sales turnover, the company is in position to meet fixed commitments. Interest on debentures has to be paid regardless of profit. Therefore, when sales are high, thereby the profits are high and company is in better position to meet such fixed commitments like interest on debentures and dividends on preference shares. If company is having unstable sales, then the company is not in position to meet fixed obligations. So, equity capital proves to be safe in such cases. Sizes of a company- Small size business firms capital structure generally consists of loans from banks and retained profits. While on the other hand, big companies having goodwill, stability and an established profit can easily go for issuance of shares and debentures as well as loans and borrowings from financial institutions. The bigger the size, the wider is total capitalization. 1.6 Limitations in improving Capital Structure Four problems that tend to increase as leverage escalates: (1) a growing risk of bankruptcy; (2) lack of access to the capital markets during times of tight credit; (3) the need for management to concentrate on finances and raising additional capital at the expense of focusing on operations; (4) higher costs for whatever additional debt and preferred stock capital the company is able to raise. Aside from the unpleasantness involved, it is noted that each of these factors also entails tangible monetary costs. 1.7 How to improve Capital Structure Effective capital structure management can he achieved through consistent use of the following strategies. strategy 1. organize for effective capital structure management Bamburi will ensure that the board of directors and senior leaders are on the same page about the benefits and importance of effective capital structure management to the organizations competitive financial performance by providing education, establishing the team, and defining the organizations attitude toward risk. strategy 2. determine the appropriate level of debt capacity Bamburi has over the years been able to successfully establish the parameters of the debt portion of the capital structure to remain strategically and financially competitive. strategy 3. determine the optimal mix of debt-to-equity financing and traditional-to-nontraditional financing As a result Bamburi knows how much it can borrow in the debt markets and how much capital it needs to come from other sources, both traditional and nontraditional. Targets for the appropriate debt to equity ratio are based on debt capacity, rating agency benchmarks, and tolerance for risk. Bamburi has to monitor and continuously adjust the debt portfolio to maintain maximum flexibility, lowest possible interest costs, and acceptable levels of risk.The importance of effective and efficient capital structure management to an organizations long-term competitive strategic financial performance cannot be overemphasized. Use of the above capital structure management strategies will increasingly reward the organization with the know-how and muscle to achieve a strategic financial competitive advantage.

The Life Of Gregor Samsa - 1383 Words

Lauren Johnson Ariel McCarter English 2B 3 April 2017 The Life of Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis vs. Joseph Merrick, â€Å"Elephant Man† One person who lived a life that greatly resembled Gregor is Joseph Merrick, the â€Å"Elephant Man.† Merrick was afflicted with a genetic disease, possibly Proteus syndrome (James 554), that deformed him to the point that his skin resembled an elephant. There were bony growths on his face and body. From difficulty moving around to challenges with communications, there are many similarities between the two men. However, there are also major differences between them. One of the principal differences is their ability to keep their humanity and enjoy their lives. Their afflictions came on them at different times as†¦show more content†¦Gregor s family found his attempts to talk annoying and irritating. An inability to communicate easily is a huge blow for someone trying to retain some humanity. One great difference between the two men is that Merrick was able to communicate if he had something to write on, whereas Gregor was not able to communicate well at all. Merrick wrote letters to people who he had met and notes to the doctors and staff at the hospital where he spent most of his adult life (Treves 1). Gregor tried to communicate by pushing things around, like his food, and separating the stuff he wanted from what he didn’t, so his sister would know what to bring him. His sister seemed to understand this system of communications as she adjusted his food accordingly, this made it more difficult for him when she stopped picking up on his hints and did the minimum possible to keep him alive. He also pushed things around his room and hid when people were coming in; this showed that he understood that they didn’t want to see him. Another major difference between the two men was that Gregor always had a place to live. Merrick’s father and step-mother kick ed him out of the house when he was 15. After that, he lived with an uncle for a while, but when the uncle’s family got too large to support another person he went to a workhouse (Howell Ford 51). Gregor always had a place to live, it was the apartment he had rented for hisShow MoreRelatedThe Life Of Gregor Samsa By Franz Kaftka1397 Words   |  6 PagesThe story of Gregor Samsa by Franz Kaftka began with him more or less already being transformed into a nondescript insect. He then began his descent into a bug-like state through slowly ceasing the few actions, thoughts and things that made him human. The more he accepted his state as an insect and the less of a place he held as the family’s breadwinner, the more he disappeared into his physicality. Although it may outwardly appear that Gregor’s physical transformation into an insect happened atRead MoreAnalysis Of Franz Kafka s The Metamorphosis 1711 Words   |  7 PagesGerman-speaking fiction writer of the 20th century, uses a unique style of writing that many people believe is a telling of his own life story. In his well-known short story, â€Å"The Metamorphosis†, many similarities and connections can be seen between the main character, Gregor Samsa, and the author himself, Franz Kafka. A major comparison that can be made is the fact that both Samsa and Kafka died slow, lonesome deaths after being in a dysfunctional relationship with their families and especially their fatherRead MoreThe Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka1052 Words   |  4 Pagespredominant ideal that is seen through Gregor Samsa and his father in The Metamorphosis is that choice is the opportune of the individual. One’s ultimate goal in life is to successfully find a balance between work and leisure. It is through the juxtaposition of Gregor Samsa and his father, the conceding tone of the author, and the choice of diction that we see the acquisition of the homeostasis between work and leisure and in turn this exemplifies the father of Gregor as an existential ideal. Franz KafkaRead MoreMetamorphosis Kafka Relationship Analysis1022 Words   |  5 Pageswork. He is left alone in his room, neglected by those whom he has supported for years. Mr. Samsa is disgusted with Gregor and repeatedly mistreats him. Parallels can be drawn between Gregor’s exchanges with his father to the author’s own experiences. Similar to Kafka’s own kinship with his father, the uneasy relationship between Gregor and Mr. Samsa is due to work and feelings of inadequacy. For years, Gregor has worked hard to accommodate for the needs of his family. Although he is an adult, he livesRead MorePersonal Experiences Reflected in Metamorphosis by Gregor Samsa1061 Words   |  5 Pagesmany of his life experiences into his work The Metamorphosis. The Metamorphosis presents many connections between the life of the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, and Kafka himself. Some literary analysts claim it serves as an outlet for his distraught life. Based on the events of Gregor Samsa’s life, it can be deduced that Franz Kafka used his personal experiences as an inspiration for The Metamorphosis. Kafka portrays the relationship he had with his father through the relationship of Gregor and Mr.Read Moreâ€Å"Analysis of Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka938 Words   |  4 Pagesomniscient by an anonymous figure who tells the story of protagonist Gregor Samsa in a neutral tone. The story was published in 1915 and is primarily about the effects of Samsa’s transformation into a large and monstrous bug. Kafka’s use of irony, symbolism and, major themes make a strong impact. The story takes place in a room of an apartment with no definite historical date or geographical location. It starts one morning when Samsa â€Å"found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous insect†Read MoreFranz Kafka s The Metamorphosis1222 Words   |  5 Pagesthose around them to face the sometimes harsh challenges of day to day life. However, not many often consider the possibility that the family can not only build you up but also tear you down. In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis this destruction is what is seen in the Samsa family. Through what they believe to be necessary, Gregor’s family destroys the environment that he knows, Gregor Samsa destroys his family, and Mr. and Mrs. Samsa bring unnecessary destruction to both of their children. The very natureRead MoreThe Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka1380 Words   |  6 PagesFranz Kafka’s best works of literature. It demonstrates the interconnection between his personal life and the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, of â€Å"The Metamorphosis.† Franz Kafka was born in 1883 and grew up in a financially stable Jewish family in Prague. He was the only son left after the death of his younger brothers, Georg and Heinrich, during his infancy. As a result of this situation, he lived his life in the gloom of his domineering father who put him under constant pressure, because he was the onlyRead MoreThe Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka1614 Words   |  7 Pagesstructure, form, or appearance, or as a change in form from one stage to the next in an organism’s life. In Franz Kafka’s novella, â€Å"The Metamorphosis†, change is a major theme. The theme of change is significant as the main character, Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, undergoes a metamorphosis of his own as he experiences changes living as a giant insect. However, Gregor’s journey through his new life is not subjective, as his transformation provokes significant changes in his family’s dynamics. InRead MoreThe Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka1246 Words   |  5 Pageshas kick-started through homogeneity of the object. Moreover, owing to development of IT technology, people can live much more convenient life rather than the past. According to the theory of Alvin Toffler, as the first wave of agriculture society has arrived to the second wave of industry society, economy has developed rapidly {research}. This change makes life more comfortable and affluent. Before the World War 1, the industrial revolution had broken out and it â€Å"drastically altered the economies

From Boy to a Man Soucouyant Free Essays

Living in the past is a challenge, especially when your past is racing in front of your future. The narrator from Souycouyant written by world famous author, David Chariandy, seems to have taken the role from child to caretaker when his mother, Adele, had been diagnosed with dementia. Upon facing reality, the narrator chased and followed his dreams in the begginging of the novel, but in the end, learned that you can never escape where you came from. We will write a custom essay sample on From Boy to a Man: Soucouyant or any similar topic only for you Order Now The narrator had foreseen the future when he had left Adele along with his brother and father, but then returned feeling regret and guilt. By doing so, the narrator turned from a boy to a man when taking on the responsibilities a child should never have to bear. At the age of seven, the narrator found it hard to cope with, let alone, understand what dementia even was. â€Å"I don’t know what scientists called it; it was hard to understand, some sort of memory loss syndrome† (Chariandy 18). During the beginning of the novel, the young boy had been going through many struggles and was seen as a target for racism and discrimination. â€Å"Get off the bus; you don’t deserve to be here† (Chariandy 12). (EXPLAINATION, WHO SAID THIS, AND WHAT SITUATION? Coming to Canada was meant for a brighter future, FOR WHO? as the family had planned out there lives. But, in the hindsight of these terrible events, reality had taken over their dreams. The narrator did not have the chance of going to TO WHERE? because his father and brother both left the family in their own ways. â€Å" Father had died not long af ter being laid off at work, and my brother left quietly because it was who he was† (Chariandy 16). Adele and her son were both alone and it was up to the boy to take care of her. It seemed as if the opposite of everything that was planned for the family had turned up. Instead of the mother taking care of the son, the son was taking care of the mother. In addition, it was hard for a seven year old to do this when her mother did not even know her own name. â€Å"Adida, Adida is me† (Chariandy 31). Moving to Canada was done in hopes of more prosperous chances, but instead, the narrator and Adele are facing the exact opposite and seeing their dreams come to an end. As the years passed by, the narrator had grown old and tired of Adele. He wanted to move on in search of becoming an engineer and repairing vehicles. â€Å"Mother, I can’t stay with you for long. I am going to become and engineer you know† (Chariandy 89). The narrator had left, leaving Adele all alone. It was as if this related to the title of the story. A Soucouyant is a vampire who sucks the blood out of humans. Comparing this to the novel, Adele has had all of her loved ones â€Å"sucked† away from her, including her own memory. From being trapped in a house with nowhere to go, the young boy had escaped the shadow placed around him by his mother and instead, left her, showing how the protagonist was persistent in his journey to moving forward. After leaving, he lived in a city called Scarborough in a small apartment. Becoming an engineer was impossible, as he had no education or money to get started. He worked at the local restaurant cleaning dishes and unloading the delivery truck CHANGE TO DELIVERY TRUCK(S). â€Å"Inside I was dead, and on the outside, I was hurt from all the work I’ve bin doing just to pay for rent† (Chariandy 129). The narrator felt regret by leaving his mother. Knowing that she cannot take care of herself, the narrator, now a teen, made a plan to work until he got enough money to return back to Adele and get her the aid she really needs. Leaving Adele perceived the narrator to be moving on forward, but returning back to her shows the real growth from a boy to man. Now a fully grown man, the narrator had retuned back to Adele but felt weary and out of place. â€Å"I don’t know if mother has been hurt by my absence, or if she’s even noticed it. I don’t know what meaning there can be between us now† (Chariandy, 144). By coming back home to his mother, the narrator had taken a huge step forward into his growth because he had left his mother because he felt that he was not growing, but returned back because he is now grown. With the money he had received from the countless hours of work he had done, the narrator hired a nurse to look after Adele. â€Å" Mother, I have found a nurse named Meera who will be taking care of you when I’m off at work† (Chariandy 156). Taking on the responsibilities of a Father, the protagonist is now able to help Adele while moving on with his own life. â€Å"With the scrapes of money left over, I will be able to go to school and get a degree in engineering† (Chariandy 171). Furthermore, it seems that the tragic events that happened to the narrator all made up at the end of the novel. He enrolled in an engineering class while Meera was doing her job of taking care of Adele. The opposite had happened from dreams verse reality to reality facing their dreams. Without a father, the narrator took on the role of one and took care of his mother and had taken the steps towards getting the job he had dreamt of. In the beginning, the protagonist was immature and knew little, but as he got older and learned more, he grew as a man by taking on the huge obstacles that were in his way. The growth of the narrator is evident throughout the novel. From coping with his mother’s dementia, leaving, and then coming back to help her, the protagonist dealt with responsibilities that he should never have to face. Not only did the narrator grow to help his mother, throughout his journey he had learned that the tragic events of his fathers and brothers passing were not meant to be disappointments, rather to be an alarm to start growing. As David Brinkley once said, â€Å"A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him†. How to cite From Boy to a Man: Soucouyant, Papers

Yellow Wallpaper Essays (501 words) - Point Of View, Style, Fiction

The narration mimics the narrator?s mental state in its content and tone. The content of the narration drifts from one place to another abruptly, which gives the reader the impression of the narrator?s mind being full of fragmented thoughts. Her thoughts come in bits, and often these bits have no correlation with the thoughts that come before and after them. For example, the narration starts with talking about how the narrator puts in great effort just to get dressed. Just after she mentions this, she suddenly talks about how ?it is fortunate that Mary is so good with the baby?. These two thoughts are completely unrelated. This shows that the narrator?s mental state is that of confusion. The content itself of this excerpt reveals that the narrator is mentally disturbed. The narrator herself expresses these sentiments herself several times. She states that she ?cannot be with [John], it makes [her] so nervous?. She also refers to the wallpaper as the ?horrid paper?, although the wallp aper itself could not possibly have done her any offense. She tells of her being ?nervous? whenever she is with the baby as well. The narrator therefore shows that the narrator is in a state of constant nervousness. The tone of the narration in this excerpt reveals the narrator?s mental state as well. The tone employed in this narrative is passive. The narrator has repeatedly stated throughout the story that she dislikes the wallpaper and most of the things about her room. However, after her husband, John, tells her that the room is doing her good and she is recovering day by day, she gives in to his opinions and states that ?he is right enough about the beds and windows and things?, and that she will cease to be ?so silly as to make [John] uncomfortable just for a whim? by no longer pressing for changing her room. Her passive tone of easily giving in to her husband?s beliefs shows that she is accepting whatever her husband is telling her submissively. Also, there is one part in the excerpt that tells of the narrator being taken into John?s arms and being called a ?blessed little goose?, which further enhances the image of her weak mental state. In addition, the narrator talks about how John has told her that she should not give her mind to ?a manner of excited fancies?. As a result, she resolved to ?use [her] will and good sense to check the tendency?. Even when she states that sometimes she thinks she might get better if she could only write some more, she follows this statement with her feeling ?tired? whenever she tries. This signifies that she has succumbed to John?s beliefs and she is in an increasingly weak mental state, one that has made her increasingly dependent on her husband and inhibiting her from forming or believing her own judgments. The narration therefore mimics the narrator?s mental state in its content and tone.