Surprises from the RealAge

I am surprised by the findings of the RealAge test. I am only 33, but my RealAge turned up to be 38. This makes me 5 years older than I am. On the other hand, the test did explain why I am older. In particular, I inhale second-hand smoke quite regularly, because some of my friends and family members smoke. I also lack strength training and flexibility exercises, although I walk every time I can. I also need to know my blood pressure rate and other health statistics, so that it can be clear to know how healthy or unhealthy I am.I also need to improve eating healthier, by including more fruits and vegetables into my daily meals and snacks. The barriers to taking action that can improve my RealAge are my environment and lifestyle. First, my environment is not actually conducive to healthy living. Smokers abound inside and outside the house, so I tend to inhale second-hand smoke, which I know is bad for my health. However, I cannot control or influence others to stop smoking. They should quit smoking on their own. My environment is also somewhat polluted, so it is not an incentive to be walking around, as there is barely fresh air to inhale.In terms of my eating habits, college life is not essentially a haven for healthy eaters, as the study of Deshpande, Basil, andBasil (2009) revealed. College life is often stressed and students frequently skip meals or do binge eating, when they have the time, which I also frequently do. Second, my lifestyle is more or less sedentary, which also makes me not enough motivated to exercise. Sometimes, I want to exercise, but it is easy to find excuses, like it is too hot or cold outside. I can overcome these barriers by following simple advices from the Department of Health and Human Services.According to this agency: â€Å"The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend three to five servings from various vegetables and vegetable juices and two to four servings from various fruits and fruit juices, depending on calorie needs† (2009a). I will put more effort into integrating fruits and vegetable juices into my life. This way, even when I do not have time to eat fruits, I can always drink fruit or vegetable juices. Furthermore, the agency noted: â€Å"The adoption and maintenance of regular physical activity†¦ provide multiple opportunities to improve and maintain health† (2009b).Since I do not have the time to exercise for an hour or more (four to five times per week), I can just divide these exercises into 10-minute workouts. There are already numerous 10-minute workouts in Youtube. com that I can use; so that whenever I am watching TV or passing time, I can do some exercise. I will also improve my physical activity by being more active. For example, I can do some squats or push ups, while waiting for my coffee to cool down a little, or when I am just waiting for anything. Increasing my physical activity can incrementally add up to burn more calories.I was also surprised with the findings o f the Portion Distortion Quiz. I realized that I have mostly underestimated the calories in today’s servings, especially for burgers, French fries, desserts, softdrinks, and other fast food choices. This can also be the reason why I feel sluggish after eating these foods. Evidently, they are packed with more fats and calories than I originally imagined. I plan to use this information to improve my food choices and how I eat fast food. For instance, instead of drinking a whole bottle of soda, I can divide it into two and drink the rest later.I will also bring my own water bottle, so that I do not need to drink too much sugary drinks, like softdrinks. Furthermore, I will cut the servings of fast food meals into two, since almost all of them have twice the calories and fats I need per meal. I will also strive to eat more fruits by bring fruits with me or fruit/vegetable juices. This way, I can feel full and not eat more junk or fatty foods. Thus, through systematically changing my lifestyle, I can become pursue a healthier life. References Deshpande, S. , Basil, M. D. , & Basil, D. Z. (2009).Factors influencing healthy eating habits among college students: An application of the health belief model. Health Marketing Quarterly, 26 (2), 145-164. U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2010a). Healthy People 2010: Nutrition and overweight. Retrieved May 1, 2010 from http://www. healthypeople. gov/Document/HTML/Volume2/19Nutrition. htm U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2010b). Healthy People 2010: Physical activity and fitness. Retrieved May 1, 2010 from http://www. healthypeople. gov/Document/HTML/volume2/22physical. htm#_Toc4 90380794

Poverty-a Social Evil Essay

Poverty is the cause of all social Evils This universe is replete with innumerable masses who are unable to afford the bare minimum necessities of life. They live below the poverty line and even face the problem of getting a square meal. They lack in food, clothes and shelter. Generally they live in slums and jhuggis. They move from pillar to post in search of food but return in the evening empty handed. They even spread their hands before all but remain devoid of alms. Poverty leads to criminal activities like robbery, thefts, Murder, kidnapping and looting. Now and then one can find headlines in the papers about their criminal activities. We often come across reports about whole family committing suicide by taking poison as they cannot afford a square meal. Even the parents do not hesitate to sell their children for just Rs. 1000. These are such a people who kill their small wards because they cannot provide them the minimum necessities of life. Woman you can be even seen selling their bodies or working as sex-workers. When people are unable to get their livelihood by honest means, they are bound to turn into criminals. Very often people find criminals living only in slums. Poverty is the cause of all social Evils This universe is replete with innumerable masses who are unable to afford the bare minimum necessities of life. They live below the poverty line and even face the problem of getting a square meal. They lack in food, clothes and shelter. Generally they live in slums and jhuggis. They move from pillar to post in search of food but return in the evening empty handed. They even spread their hands before all but remain devoid of alms. Poverty leads to criminal activities like robbery, thefts, Murder, kidnapping and looting. Now and then one can find headlines in the papers about their criminal activities. We often come across reports about whole family committing suicide by taking poison as they cannot afford a square meal. Even the parents do not hesitate to sell their children for just Rs. 1000. These are such a people who kill their small wards because they cannot provide them the minimum necessities of life. Woman you can be even seen selling their bodies or working as sex-workers. When people are unable to get their livelihood by honest means, they are bound to turn into criminals. Very often people find criminals living only in slums.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Thirtynine

Ned had known their faces as well as he knew his own once, but the years leech at a man’s memories, even those he has vowed never to forget. In the dream they were only shadows, grey wraiths on horses made of mist. They were seven, facing three. In the dream as it had been in life. Yet these were no ordinary three. They waited before the round tower, the red mountains of Dorne at their backs, their white cloaks blowing in the wind. And these were no shadows; their faces burned clear, even now. Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, had a sad smile on his lips. The hilt of the greatsword Dawn poked up over his right shoulder. Ser Oswell Whent was on one knee, sharpening his blade with a whetstone. Across his white-enameled helm, the black bat of his House spread its wings. Between them stood fierce old Ser Gerold Hightower, the White Bull, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. â€Å"I looked for you on the Trident,† Ned said to them. â€Å"We were not there,† Ser Gerold answered. â€Å"Woe to the Usurper if we had been,† said Ser Oswell. â€Å"When King’s Landing fell, Ser Jaime slew your king with a golden sword, and I wondered where you were.† â€Å"Far away,† Ser Gerold said, â€Å"or Aerys would yet sit the Iron Throne, and our false brother would burn in seven hells.† â€Å"I came down on Storm’s End to lift the siege,† Ned told them, â€Å"and the Lords Tyrell and Redwyne dipped their banners, and all their knights bent the knee to pledge us fealty. I was certain you would be among them.† â€Å"Our knees do not bend easily,† said Ser Arthur Dayne. â€Å"Ser Willem Darry is fled to Dragonstone, with your queen and Prince Viserys. I thought you might have sailed with him.† â€Å"Ser Willem is a good man and true,† said Ser Oswell. â€Å"But not of the Kingsguard,† Ser Gerold pointed out. â€Å"The Kingsguard does not flee.† â€Å"Then or now,† said Ser Arthur. He donned his helm. â€Å"We swore a vow,† explained old Ser Gerold. Ned’s wraiths moved up beside him, with shadow swords in hand. They were seven against three. â€Å"And now it begins,† said Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. He unsheathed Dawn and held it with both hands. The blade was pale as milkglass, alive with light. â€Å"No,† Ned said with sadness in his voice. â€Å"Now it ends.† As they came together in a rush of steel and shadow, he could hear Lyanna screaming. â€Å"Eddard!† she called. A storm of rose petals blew across a blood-streaked sky, as blue as the eyes of death. â€Å"Lord Eddard,† Lyanna called again. â€Å"I promise,† he whispered. â€Å"Lya, I promise . . . â€Å" â€Å"Lord Eddard,† a man echoed from the dark. Groaning, Eddard Stark opened his eyes. Moonlight streamed through the tall windows of the Tower of the Hand. â€Å"Lord Eddard?† A shadow stood over the bed. â€Å"How . . . how long?† The sheets were tangled, his leg splinted and plastered. A dull throb of pain shot up his side. â€Å"Six days and seven nights.† The voice was Vayon Poole’s. The steward held a cup to Ned’s lips. â€Å"Drink, my lord.† â€Å"What . . . ?† â€Å"Only water. Maester Pycelle said you would be thirsty.† Ned drank. His lips were parched and cracked. The water tasted sweet as honey. â€Å"The king left orders,† Vayon Poole told him when the cup was empty. â€Å"He would speak with you, my lord.† â€Å"On the morrow,† Ned said. â€Å"When I am stronger.† He could not face Robert now. The dream had left him weak as a kitten. â€Å"My lord,† Poole said, â€Å"he commanded us to send you to him the moment you opened your eyes.† The steward busied himself lighting a bedside candle. Ned cursed softly. Robert was never known for his patience. â€Å"Tell him I’m too weak to come to him. If he wishes to speak with me, I should be pleased to receive him here. I hope you wake him from a sound sleep. And summon . . . † He was about to say Jory when he remembered. â€Å"Summon the captain of my guard.† Alyn stepped into the bedchamber a few moments after the steward had taken his leave. â€Å"My lord.† â€Å"Poole tells me it has been six days,† Ned said. â€Å"I must know how things stand.† â€Å"The Kingslayer is fled the city,† Alyn told him. â€Å"The talk is he’s ridden back to Casterly Rock to join his father. The story of how Lady Catelyn took the Imp is on every lip. I have put on extra guards, if it please you.† â€Å"It does,† Ned assured him. â€Å"My daughters?† â€Å"They have been with you every day, my lord. Sansa prays quietly, but Arya . . . † He hesitated. â€Å"She has not said a word since they brought you back. She is a fierce little thing, my lord. I have never seen such anger in a girl.† â€Å"Whatever happens,† Ned said, â€Å"I want my daughters kept safe. I fear this is only the beginning.† â€Å"No harm will come to them, Lord Eddard,† Alyn said. â€Å"I stake my life on that.† â€Å"Jory and the others . . . â€Å" â€Å"I gave them over to the silent sisters, to be sent north to Winterfell. Jory would want to lie beside his grandfather.† It would have to be his grandfather, for Jory’s father was buried far to the south. Martyn Cassel had perished with the rest. Ned had pulled the tower down afterward, and used its bloody stones to build eight cairns upon the ridge. It was said that Rhaegar had named that place the tower of joy, but for Ned it was a bitter memory. They had been seven against three, yet only two had lived to ride away; Eddard Stark himself and the little crannogman, Howland Reed. He did not think it omened well that he should dream that dream again after so many years. â€Å"You’ve done well, Alyn,† Ned was saying when Vayon Poole returned. The steward bowed low. â€Å"His Grace is without, my lord, and the queen with him.† Ned pushed himself up higher, wincing as his leg trembled with pain. He had not expected Cersei to come. It did not bode well that she had. â€Å"Send them in, and leave us. What we have to say should not go beyond these walls.† Poole withdrew quietly. Robert had taken time to dress. He wore a black velvet doublet with the crowned stag of Baratheon worked upon the breast in golden thread, and a golden mantle with a cloak of black and gold squares. A flagon of wine was in his hand, his face already flushed from drink. Cersei Lannister entered behind him, a jeweled tiara in her hair. â€Å"Your Grace,† Ned said. â€Å"Your pardons. I cannot rise.† â€Å"No matter,† the king said gruffly. â€Å"Some wine? From the Arbor. A good vintage.† â€Å"A small cup,† Ned said. â€Å"My head is still heavy from the milk of the poppy.† â€Å"A man in your place should count himself fortunate that his head is still on his shoulders,† the queen declared. â€Å"Quiet, woman,† Robert snapped. He brought Ned a cup of wine. â€Å"Does the leg still pain you?† â€Å"Some,† Ned said. His head was swimming, but it would not do to admit to weakness in front of the queen. â€Å"Pycelle swears it will heal clean.† Robert frowned. â€Å"I take it you know what Catelyn has done?† â€Å"I do.† Ned took a small swallow of wine. â€Å"My lady wife is blameless, Your Grace. All she did she did at my command.† â€Å"I am not pleased, Ned,† Robert grumbled. â€Å"By what right do you dare lay hands on my blood?† Cersei demanded. â€Å"Who do you think you are?† â€Å"The Hand of the King,† Ned told her with icy courtesy. â€Å"Charged by your own lord husband to keep the king’s peace and enforce the king’s justice.† â€Å"You were the Hand,† Cersei began, â€Å"but now—† â€Å"Silence!† the king roared. â€Å"You asked him a question and he answered it.† Cersei subsided, cold with anger, and Robert turned back to Ned. â€Å"Keep the king’s peace, you say. Is this how you keep my peace, Ned? Seven men are dead . . . â€Å" â€Å"Eight,† the queen corrected. â€Å"Tregar died this morning, of the blow Lord Stark gave him.† â€Å"Abductions on the kingsroad and drunken slaughter in my streets,† the king said. â€Å"I will not have it, Ned.† â€Å"Catelyn had good reason for taking the Imp—† â€Å"I said, I will not have it! To hell with her reasons. You will command her to release the dwarf at once, and you will make your peace with Jaime.† â€Å"Three of my men were butchered before my eyes, because Jaime Lannister wished to chasten me. Am I to forget that?† â€Å"My brother was not the cause of this quarrel,† Cersei told the king. â€Å"Lord Stark was returning drunk from a brothel. His men attacked Jaime and his guards, even as his wife attacked Tyrion on the kingsroad.† â€Å"You know me better than that, Robert,† Ned said. â€Å"Ask Lord Baelish if you doubt me. He was there.† â€Å"I’ve talked to Littlefinger,† Robert said. â€Å"He claims he rode off to bring the gold cloaks before the fighting began, but he admits you were returning from some whorehouse.† â€Å"Some whorehouse? Damn your eyes, Robert, I went there to have a look at your daughter! Her mother has named her Barra. She looks like that first girl you fathered, when we were boys together in the Vale.† He watched the queen as he spoke; her face was a mask, still and pale, betraying nothing. Robert flushed. â€Å"Barra,† he grumbled. â€Å"Is that supposed to please me? Damn the girl. I thought she had more sense.† â€Å"She cannot be more than fifteen, and a whore, and you thought she had sense?† Ned said, incredulous. His leg was beginning to pain him sorely. It was hard to keep his temper. â€Å"The fool child is in love with you, Robert.† The king glanced at Cersei. â€Å"This is no fit subject for the queen’s ears.† â€Å"Her Grace will have no liking for anything I have to say,† Ned replied. â€Å"I am told the Kingslayer has fled the city. Give me leave to bring him back to justice.† The king swirled the wine in his cup, brooding. He took a swallow. â€Å"No,† he said. â€Å"I want no more of this. Jaime slew three of your men, and you five of his. Now it ends.† â€Å"Is that your notion of justice?† Ned flared. â€Å"If so, I am pleased that I am no longer your Hand.† The queen looked to her husband. â€Å"If any man had dared speak to a Targaryen as he has spoken to you—† â€Å"Do you take me for Aerys?† Robert interrupted. â€Å"I took you for a king. Jaime and Tyrion are your own brothers, by all the laws of marriage and the bonds we share. The Starks have driven off the one and seized the other. This man dishonors you with every breath he takes, and yet you stand there meekly, asking if his leg pains him and would he like some wine.† Robert’s face was dark with anger. â€Å"How many times must I tell you to hold your tongue, woman?† Cersei’s face was a study in contempt. â€Å"What a jape the gods have made of us two,† she said. â€Å"By all rights, you ought to be in skirts and me in mail.† Purple with rage, the king lashed out, a vicious backhand blow to the side of the head. She stumbled against the table and fell hard, yet Cersei Lannister did not cry out. Her slender fingers brushed her cheek, where the pale smooth skin was already reddening. On the morrow the bruise would cover half her face. â€Å"I shall wear this as a badge of honor,† she announced. â€Å"Wear it in silence, or I’ll honor you again,† Robert vowed. He shouted for a guard. Ser Meryn Trant stepped into the room, tall and somber in his white armor. â€Å"The queen is tired. See her to her bedchamber.† The knight helped Cersei to her feet and led her out without a word. Robert reached for the flagon and refilled his cup. â€Å"You see what she does to me, Ned.† The king seated himself, cradling his wine cup. â€Å"My loving wife. The mother of my children.† The rage was gone from him now; in his eyes Ned saw something sad and scared. â€Å"I should not have hit her. That was not . . . that was not kingly.† He stared down at his hands, as if he did not quite know what they were. â€Å"I was always strong . . . no one could stand before me, no one. How do you fight someone if you can’t hit them?† Confused, the king shook his head. â€Å"Rhaegar . . . Rhaegar won, damn him. I killed him, Ned, I drove the spike right through that black armor into his black heart, and he died at my feet. They made up songs about it. Yet somehow he still won. He has Lyanna now, and I have her.† The king drained his cup. â€Å"Your Grace,† Ned Stark said, â€Å"we must talk . . . â€Å" Robert pressed his fingertips against his temples. â€Å"I am sick unto death of talk. On the morrow I’m going to the kingswood to hunt. Whatever you have to say can wait until I return.† â€Å"If the gods are good, I shall not be here on your return. You commanded me to return to Winterfell, remember?† Robert stood up, grasping one of the bedposts to steady himself. â€Å"The gods are seldom good, Ned. Here, this is yours.† He pulled the heavy silver hand clasp from a pocket in the lining of his cloak and tossed it on the bed. â€Å"Like it or not, you are my Hand, damn you. I forbid you to leave.† Ned picked up the silver clasp. He was being given no choice, it seemed. His leg throbbed, and he felt as helpless as a child. â€Å"The Targaryen girl—† The king groaned. â€Å"Seven hells, don’t start with her again. That’s done, I’ll hear no more of it.† â€Å"Why would you want me as your Hand, if you refuse to listen to my counsel?† â€Å"Why?† Robert laughed. â€Å"Why not? Someone has to rule this damnable kingdom. Put on the badge, Ned. It suits you. And if you ever throw it in my face again, I swear to you, I’ll pin the damned thing on Jaime Lannister.† A Game of Thrones Chapter Thirtynine Ned had known their faces as well as he knew his own once, but the years leech at a man’s memories, even those he has vowed never to forget. In the dream they were only shadows, grey wraiths on horses made of mist. They were seven, facing three. In the dream as it had been in life. Yet these were no ordinary three. They waited before the round tower, the red mountains of Dorne at their backs, their white cloaks blowing in the wind. And these were no shadows; their faces burned clear, even now. Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, had a sad smile on his lips. The hilt of the greatsword Dawn poked up over his right shoulder. Ser Oswell Whent was on one knee, sharpening his blade with a whetstone. Across his white-enameled helm, the black bat of his House spread its wings. Between them stood fierce old Ser Gerold Hightower, the White Bull, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. â€Å"I looked for you on the Trident,† Ned said to them. â€Å"We were not there,† Ser Gerold answered. â€Å"Woe to the Usurper if we had been,† said Ser Oswell. â€Å"When King’s Landing fell, Ser Jaime slew your king with a golden sword, and I wondered where you were.† â€Å"Far away,† Ser Gerold said, â€Å"or Aerys would yet sit the Iron Throne, and our false brother would burn in seven hells.† â€Å"I came down on Storm’s End to lift the siege,† Ned told them, â€Å"and the Lords Tyrell and Redwyne dipped their banners, and all their knights bent the knee to pledge us fealty. I was certain you would be among them.† â€Å"Our knees do not bend easily,† said Ser Arthur Dayne. â€Å"Ser Willem Darry is fled to Dragonstone, with your queen and Prince Viserys. I thought you might have sailed with him.† â€Å"Ser Willem is a good man and true,† said Ser Oswell. â€Å"But not of the Kingsguard,† Ser Gerold pointed out. â€Å"The Kingsguard does not flee.† â€Å"Then or now,† said Ser Arthur. He donned his helm. â€Å"We swore a vow,† explained old Ser Gerold. Ned’s wraiths moved up beside him, with shadow swords in hand. They were seven against three. â€Å"And now it begins,† said Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. He unsheathed Dawn and held it with both hands. The blade was pale as milkglass, alive with light. â€Å"No,† Ned said with sadness in his voice. â€Å"Now it ends.† As they came together in a rush of steel and shadow, he could hear Lyanna screaming. â€Å"Eddard!† she called. A storm of rose petals blew across a blood-streaked sky, as blue as the eyes of death. â€Å"Lord Eddard,† Lyanna called again. â€Å"I promise,† he whispered. â€Å"Lya, I promise . . . â€Å" â€Å"Lord Eddard,† a man echoed from the dark. Groaning, Eddard Stark opened his eyes. Moonlight streamed through the tall windows of the Tower of the Hand. â€Å"Lord Eddard?† A shadow stood over the bed. â€Å"How . . . how long?† The sheets were tangled, his leg splinted and plastered. A dull throb of pain shot up his side. â€Å"Six days and seven nights.† The voice was Vayon Poole’s. The steward held a cup to Ned’s lips. â€Å"Drink, my lord.† â€Å"What . . . ?† â€Å"Only water. Maester Pycelle said you would be thirsty.† Ned drank. His lips were parched and cracked. The water tasted sweet as honey. â€Å"The king left orders,† Vayon Poole told him when the cup was empty. â€Å"He would speak with you, my lord.† â€Å"On the morrow,† Ned said. â€Å"When I am stronger.† He could not face Robert now. The dream had left him weak as a kitten. â€Å"My lord,† Poole said, â€Å"he commanded us to send you to him the moment you opened your eyes.† The steward busied himself lighting a bedside candle. Ned cursed softly. Robert was never known for his patience. â€Å"Tell him I’m too weak to come to him. If he wishes to speak with me, I should be pleased to receive him here. I hope you wake him from a sound sleep. And summon . . . † He was about to say Jory when he remembered. â€Å"Summon the captain of my guard.† Alyn stepped into the bedchamber a few moments after the steward had taken his leave. â€Å"My lord.† â€Å"Poole tells me it has been six days,† Ned said. â€Å"I must know how things stand.† â€Å"The Kingslayer is fled the city,† Alyn told him. â€Å"The talk is he’s ridden back to Casterly Rock to join his father. The story of how Lady Catelyn took the Imp is on every lip. I have put on extra guards, if it please you.† â€Å"It does,† Ned assured him. â€Å"My daughters?† â€Å"They have been with you every day, my lord. Sansa prays quietly, but Arya . . . † He hesitated. â€Å"She has not said a word since they brought you back. She is a fierce little thing, my lord. I have never seen such anger in a girl.† â€Å"Whatever happens,† Ned said, â€Å"I want my daughters kept safe. I fear this is only the beginning.† â€Å"No harm will come to them, Lord Eddard,† Alyn said. â€Å"I stake my life on that.† â€Å"Jory and the others . . . â€Å" â€Å"I gave them over to the silent sisters, to be sent north to Winterfell. Jory would want to lie beside his grandfather.† It would have to be his grandfather, for Jory’s father was buried far to the south. Martyn Cassel had perished with the rest. Ned had pulled the tower down afterward, and used its bloody stones to build eight cairns upon the ridge. It was said that Rhaegar had named that place the tower of joy, but for Ned it was a bitter memory. They had been seven against three, yet only two had lived to ride away; Eddard Stark himself and the little crannogman, Howland Reed. He did not think it omened well that he should dream that dream again after so many years. â€Å"You’ve done well, Alyn,† Ned was saying when Vayon Poole returned. The steward bowed low. â€Å"His Grace is without, my lord, and the queen with him.† Ned pushed himself up higher, wincing as his leg trembled with pain. He had not expected Cersei to come. It did not bode well that she had. â€Å"Send them in, and leave us. What we have to say should not go beyond these walls.† Poole withdrew quietly. Robert had taken time to dress. He wore a black velvet doublet with the crowned stag of Baratheon worked upon the breast in golden thread, and a golden mantle with a cloak of black and gold squares. A flagon of wine was in his hand, his face already flushed from drink. Cersei Lannister entered behind him, a jeweled tiara in her hair. â€Å"Your Grace,† Ned said. â€Å"Your pardons. I cannot rise.† â€Å"No matter,† the king said gruffly. â€Å"Some wine? From the Arbor. A good vintage.† â€Å"A small cup,† Ned said. â€Å"My head is still heavy from the milk of the poppy.† â€Å"A man in your place should count himself fortunate that his head is still on his shoulders,† the queen declared. â€Å"Quiet, woman,† Robert snapped. He brought Ned a cup of wine. â€Å"Does the leg still pain you?† â€Å"Some,† Ned said. His head was swimming, but it would not do to admit to weakness in front of the queen. â€Å"Pycelle swears it will heal clean.† Robert frowned. â€Å"I take it you know what Catelyn has done?† â€Å"I do.† Ned took a small swallow of wine. â€Å"My lady wife is blameless, Your Grace. All she did she did at my command.† â€Å"I am not pleased, Ned,† Robert grumbled. â€Å"By what right do you dare lay hands on my blood?† Cersei demanded. â€Å"Who do you think you are?† â€Å"The Hand of the King,† Ned told her with icy courtesy. â€Å"Charged by your own lord husband to keep the king’s peace and enforce the king’s justice.† â€Å"You were the Hand,† Cersei began, â€Å"but now—† â€Å"Silence!† the king roared. â€Å"You asked him a question and he answered it.† Cersei subsided, cold with anger, and Robert turned back to Ned. â€Å"Keep the king’s peace, you say. Is this how you keep my peace, Ned? Seven men are dead . . . â€Å" â€Å"Eight,† the queen corrected. â€Å"Tregar died this morning, of the blow Lord Stark gave him.† â€Å"Abductions on the kingsroad and drunken slaughter in my streets,† the king said. â€Å"I will not have it, Ned.† â€Å"Catelyn had good reason for taking the Imp—† â€Å"I said, I will not have it! To hell with her reasons. You will command her to release the dwarf at once, and you will make your peace with Jaime.† â€Å"Three of my men were butchered before my eyes, because Jaime Lannister wished to chasten me. Am I to forget that?† â€Å"My brother was not the cause of this quarrel,† Cersei told the king. â€Å"Lord Stark was returning drunk from a brothel. His men attacked Jaime and his guards, even as his wife attacked Tyrion on the kingsroad.† â€Å"You know me better than that, Robert,† Ned said. â€Å"Ask Lord Baelish if you doubt me. He was there.† â€Å"I’ve talked to Littlefinger,† Robert said. â€Å"He claims he rode off to bring the gold cloaks before the fighting began, but he admits you were returning from some whorehouse.† â€Å"Some whorehouse? Damn your eyes, Robert, I went there to have a look at your daughter! Her mother has named her Barra. She looks like that first girl you fathered, when we were boys together in the Vale.† He watched the queen as he spoke; her face was a mask, still and pale, betraying nothing. Robert flushed. â€Å"Barra,† he grumbled. â€Å"Is that supposed to please me? Damn the girl. I thought she had more sense.† â€Å"She cannot be more than fifteen, and a whore, and you thought she had sense?† Ned said, incredulous. His leg was beginning to pain him sorely. It was hard to keep his temper. â€Å"The fool child is in love with you, Robert.† The king glanced at Cersei. â€Å"This is no fit subject for the queen’s ears.† â€Å"Her Grace will have no liking for anything I have to say,† Ned replied. â€Å"I am told the Kingslayer has fled the city. Give me leave to bring him back to justice.† The king swirled the wine in his cup, brooding. He took a swallow. â€Å"No,† he said. â€Å"I want no more of this. Jaime slew three of your men, and you five of his. Now it ends.† â€Å"Is that your notion of justice?† Ned flared. â€Å"If so, I am pleased that I am no longer your Hand.† The queen looked to her husband. â€Å"If any man had dared speak to a Targaryen as he has spoken to you—† â€Å"Do you take me for Aerys?† Robert interrupted. â€Å"I took you for a king. Jaime and Tyrion are your own brothers, by all the laws of marriage and the bonds we share. The Starks have driven off the one and seized the other. This man dishonors you with every breath he takes, and yet you stand there meekly, asking if his leg pains him and would he like some wine.† Robert’s face was dark with anger. â€Å"How many times must I tell you to hold your tongue, woman?† Cersei’s face was a study in contempt. â€Å"What a jape the gods have made of us two,† she said. â€Å"By all rights, you ought to be in skirts and me in mail.† Purple with rage, the king lashed out, a vicious backhand blow to the side of the head. She stumbled against the table and fell hard, yet Cersei Lannister did not cry out. Her slender fingers brushed her cheek, where the pale smooth skin was already reddening. On the morrow the bruise would cover half her face. â€Å"I shall wear this as a badge of honor,† she announced. â€Å"Wear it in silence, or I’ll honor you again,† Robert vowed. He shouted for a guard. Ser Meryn Trant stepped into the room, tall and somber in his white armor. â€Å"The queen is tired. See her to her bedchamber.† The knight helped Cersei to her feet and led her out without a word. Robert reached for the flagon and refilled his cup. â€Å"You see what she does to me, Ned.† The king seated himself, cradling his wine cup. â€Å"My loving wife. The mother of my children.† The rage was gone from him now; in his eyes Ned saw something sad and scared. â€Å"I should not have hit her. That was not . . . that was not kingly.† He stared down at his hands, as if he did not quite know what they were. â€Å"I was always strong . . . no one could stand before me, no one. How do you fight someone if you can’t hit them?† Confused, the king shook his head. â€Å"Rhaegar . . . Rhaegar won, damn him. I killed him, Ned, I drove the spike right through that black armor into his black heart, and he died at my feet. They made up songs about it. Yet somehow he still won. He has Lyanna now, and I have her.† The king drained his cup. â€Å"Your Grace,† Ned Stark said, â€Å"we must talk . . . â€Å" Robert pressed his fingertips against his temples. â€Å"I am sick unto death of talk. On the morrow I’m going to the kingswood to hunt. Whatever you have to say can wait until I return.† â€Å"If the gods are good, I shall not be here on your return. You commanded me to return to Winterfell, remember?† Robert stood up, grasping one of the bedposts to steady himself. â€Å"The gods are seldom good, Ned. Here, this is yours.† He pulled the heavy silver hand clasp from a pocket in the lining of his cloak and tossed it on the bed. â€Å"Like it or not, you are my Hand, damn you. I forbid you to leave.† Ned picked up the silver clasp. He was being given no choice, it seemed. His leg throbbed, and he felt as helpless as a child. â€Å"The Targaryen girl—† The king groaned. â€Å"Seven hells, don’t start with her again. That’s done, I’ll hear no more of it.† â€Å"Why would you want me as your Hand, if you refuse to listen to my counsel?† â€Å"Why?† Robert laughed. â€Å"Why not? Someone has to rule this damnable kingdom. Put on the badge, Ned. It suits you. And if you ever throw it in my face again, I swear to you, I’ll pin the damned thing on Jaime Lannister.†

New KFC International Structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

New KFC International Structure - Essay Example There are numerous sections in the organization that management may be required such as in the Human Resource department, sales and marketing, research and the financial department. Just as with other organizations, there are major considerations for the successful operations of the organization. In this case, I intend to concentrate on increasing the sales of the firm, improving the customer and staff relations as well as minimizing conflict within the running of the firm (Stacks, 2010, p. 128). In increase, the sales there are a number of aspects that I should look into. Firstly, I have to assess the current market needs, against what KFC offers. The aim of the management in this stage is to create a competitive edge. As management, to increase the sales we have to have a proper marketing and advertising strategy, serve the customers and popularize our products. A SWOT analysis is important at this stage to ensure that all the needs of the business are met. The strengths that KFC has to include reputation, a wide point of sales, and an elaborate distribution system and community acceptance. The weaknesses that the management is to work on include a growing number of competitors, ever increasing costs of products and operational costs (Day and Antonakis, 2012, p. 123), dwindling revenue and an overwhelming pressure against the fried foods that compose a large portion of our menu. The opportunities that are presented to KFC include indulgence of organic and healthy foods, cor poration with other firms in other fields such as airlines and sporting organizers. The major threats to the company are the upcoming restaurant businesses and the tendency of customers avoiding the fast foods. In advertising, the best option to take on currently is the IT geared advertisements. The bulk that is KFC’s target is the youth and the middle-aged persons.  

The Role of Political Philosophy by Rawls and Mill Research Paper - 4

The Role of Political Philosophy by Rawls and Mill - Research Paper Example It is apparent that Mill believes that social and economic equalities and can be deemed justified if they can help the underprivileged in the society thus leaving the open the question of what and how inequalities can be justified (Reynolds 7-12). In fact, there were no political actualities that could realize the sameness of the arguments provided by both Mill and Rawls and the notion of a guaranteed social minimum serves as part of real-life democratic politics. Mill believes that society but the Difference Principle that was portrayed by the common moral sense should guarantee social minimum but the society rejected it. On the other hand, the idea of the social minimum is an indication of a publicly accepted principle of democratic politics and Rawls thinks that there are interventions including the fact that disallows are widely treated with suspicion. However, Mill’s principles of justice as explained by Rawls may be justified on utilitarian grounds and they have consider able acceptability in the current democracies. Public acceptance is vital for Rawls due to the weight it puts on overlapping consensus and he considers his principles of justice can be validated from various reasonable ethical positions that entail utilitarianism (Reynolds 13-18). Rawls is convinced that utilitarianism is an important and reasonable ethical position that even though he does not support he feels that utilitarianism may be an overlapping accord on Mill’s arguments although it does not show that Mill’s perception could be part of an overlapping consensus (Reynolds 16-22).

Discussion Responses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Discussion Responses - Essay Example The manager of Human Resources however, failed to implement the changes in accordance with the guidelines. He neglected the most important step – to inform all employees that changes were about to be made – instead he told them when they were being made. Obviously the repercussions were terrible. 3. The manager needs to ensure that decisions are made within certain time lines. I think that like all people working within a schedule they keep working to the limits and constraints provided, so if the manager provides a strict time frame, that is in fact longer than that really required, he/she will attain what he/she wants within the ‘real’ time schedule. I don’t think you will ever come to the situation where you need to consider giving up. 4. Obviously management needs to follow up on the outcomes of made decisions but this should be done in such a way as not to undermine middle management personnel. Feedback should be sought from them rather than embarking on their own inspection. Trust and autonomy are paramount and if not considered by employees as provided, will impact negatively on future decision making. 5. One way to deal with change resistance is to organize a group of personnel to determine who are the protagonists and advocates of the change and to determine who are the most influential among the protagonists. Concentration should then be placed on convincing that person of his/her personal gain with the change and the disadvantages for them without the change. 6. Ethics are in the eye of the beholder. If we believe the decision is truly right then we should have made it in consideration of everyone involved. If there is an employee who stands to lose by that decision then this needs to be acknowledged and dealt with my offering alternatives for that employee. The ethical option is not to lie and deceive but to be honest. 7. I know that business is undertaken in very different ways within

Environmental Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Environmental Issues - Essay Example Rubenstein et al oppose this argument by pointing out that these animals would be introduced into a completely new environment from that of their predecessors, with unpredictable results. Dolan also argues for re-wilding as a means of restoring species’ evolutionary potential. Rubenstein et al rebuff this argument as impractical because both the species being reintroduced and those in the current habitat have evolved very differently from past species (Easton, 2011). According to Dolan, re-wilding boosts conservation efforts. Endangered species from Africa and Asia stand a better chance of survival if protected in North American reserves (Easton, 2011). Rubenstein et al however disagree with this on the basis that diversion of resources away from on-going conservation efforts further reduces these species’ chances of survival (Easton, 2011). Rubenstein et al therefore highlight serious concerns on the viability and practicality of re-wilding. Instead of diverting attent ion and funds towards experimental efforts, I believe it is more productive to focus on current conservation efforts. ISSUE 5: MILITARY TRAINING AND THE ENVIRONMENT The United States military is entrusted with 25 million acres of land for military training purposes (Easton, 2011). There are more than 300 species on these lands, and so far, the military has displayed a conservative approach towards these species, training and conducting its activities in a manner that preserves the integrity of these species, an approach termed ‘working around’ (Easton, 2011). Benedict Cohen argues that environmental concerns hinder the military from achieving its training objectives and renders them satisfactorily unprepared to defend the country. He therefore argues for exemption of the military from strict environmental protection policies on the basis that military activities do not greatly endangered species. Cohen provides assurance that the military will continue to conserve the l and under its stewardship (Easton, 2011). Clark strongly opposes the exemption of the military from environmental regulations, arguing that the military has so far trained satisfactorily while within the limits of environmental policies. She also gives examples of the military’s active environmental conservation by incorporating environmental concerns into its training routine, thus demonstrating that military objectives and environmental conservation are not mutually exclusive, but capable of being integrated. Clark also argues that if limitations are removed, there will be no guarantee that the military will clean up after itself, and irreparable damage may be inflicted on the ecosystem (Easton, 2011) . I believe that no institution should operate under a mandate of zero accountability. The military cannot be expected to adequately police itself as regards environmental conservation, and should therefore be held accountable by regulatory bodies on the impact of its activiti es on the environment. ISSUE 6: CARBON EMISSION RESTRICTIONS The growing realization of the devastating impact of green-house gases emitted by human activities and the subsequent climate change necessitated establishment of controls and regulation of emissions by these industries. The debate over carbon emissions is a result of climate change concerns and the need for human beings to regulate their

Writing Assignment 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Writing Assignment 8 - Essay Example During all my research I failed to locate any negative reports that indicated abuse of the system or felt it was unworkable. I took the further step of contacting maintenance to get an estimate of plans, expense and materials. These are included in the report. They have assured me that it will be a simple task to transform an existing office into a Quiet Room. I have also contacted Human Resources and they are evaluating the project to assure it has proper oversight. Interviews with employees and the questionnaires that were returned indicate a highly favorable reaction to a Quiet Room. Though there was a healthy amount of skepticism, I think the report will alleviate any lasting concerns when the value of the program is understood. The construction of a Quiet Room will certainly aid in creating a more dedicated and productive workforce. Again, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to explore this very valuable project. I feel the time was well spent and I look forward to getting the reaction of senior management. I would be glad to follow up any further issues or questions that may arise in the future with regards to this project. This report outlines the risk to health and well being we expose our employees to by creating a culture of sleepiness and perpetuating the fear of proper rest. It points out the benefits that are gained when workers feel free to get the necessary rest and relaxation they need while at the job. It proposes the construction of a Quiet Room where employees can take a quiet break away from their duties in the course of their workday. Health and psychologists have pointed out the need for proper rest and adequate sleep. The cost to companies in absenteeism, accidents, and lost productivity is enormous. Researchers have also found a correlation between short naps and marked improvement in alertness and mental ability. Resting quietly during the day can aid our physical health as well as our mental

Discuss the lecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discuss the lecture - Essay Example She also discusses what challenges she had to face while writing the poems and researching for the book. The lecture is more of a personal story of how Rita Dove’s inspiration and journey that ended up in the form of this book. She tells it very much like a personal story of intrigue and research to find out about Bridgetower. She sprinkles her lecture with light humor every now and then to save the listeners from monotony and reads out from her book to help us actually see how her research on Bridgetower was employed to weave poems. Being a black American wed to a white man, and having a child she can totally relate to Bridegtower’s story. Being the son of an African prince and a Polish mother, Bridegtower was ‘different’ as Rita Dove calls it, his father helps him ‘exploiting the difference’ and that is explained by Rita Dove when she reads out ‘The wardrobe’. Similarly we notice that Dove virtually goes back in time and gets into Bridgestone’s shoes to explore what it felt like being him back then. The way Rita Dove tells the story of her research and inspiration behind the book, and then when we listen to those recitations of poems from Sonata Mulattica, we can easily see how she went into every small detail for writing her poems. Like she tells how Thomas Jefferson was there in one of Bridgetower’s concerts. And then the way she tells how being black or mixed or ‘different’ was treated differently back then if compared with todayâ€⠄¢s world. She calls this story ‘More than a story’ and her treatment of it proves that she has indeed turned it into more than a story, breathing life into it. Rita Dove loves playing music and her interest in music and classic compositions takes her at a totally different level to be able to understand and appreciate Bridgetower’s lost talent. She celebrates it

Summarizing experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summarizing experience - Essay Example For example, my personality profile is 42 percent extroverted and 58 percent introverted. Here, I was able to pinpoint useful information such as my ability to concentrate for long periods of time, my independence and ability to pursue self-guided projects. Then, I was also classified as Intuitive and Perceiver and was given several pointers in regard to maximizing such nature. Another important feature of the assessment test was the comprehensive outline of careers that matched my personality - from the job description, related occupations, job requirements, salaries, video presentation, to important pointers. These variables were specifically tailored not only on my educational background, but also on my temperaments, motivation, interest and character. All in all, the website was straightforward and easy to use. I was able to peruse the content I was given and I was satisfied. The experience was helpful in the sense that I learned more about myself in the context of embarking on a career, which was my objective in using the

Rules for You Put All of Your Company’s Products Essay Example for Free

Rules for You Put All of Your Company’s Products Essay Once you put all of your company’s products into their respective categories, you then consider these rules: 1. Stars:  invest your marketing dollars in these since they could become dominant market leaders 2. Cash Cows:  milk these to provide the cash to invest in your stars and a few question marks 3. Question Marks:  invest in the most promising of these as well — but only a few 4. Dogs:  cut the leash and let these go to the highest bidder for some much needed cash To illustrate, imagine that you’re Coca-Cola. Your portfolio might look something like this: Question Mark:  your energy drink brand (Full Throttle) ? Star:  your bottled water (Dasani) ? Cash Cow:  your namesake soft drink (Coca-Cola) ? Dog:  your sweetened juice drink (Hi-C) As Coca-Cola’s CMO, you would use income from Coke to invest primarily in Dasani and Full Throttle, while looking to sell off Hi-C to some private equity fund with too much cash on its hands. But before you rush off and start reallocating your dinero, consider these caveats†¦ Caveat #1: Markets change with the economy and other conditions — sometimes very quickly. What if consumers make a massive shift from bottled water to tap water, as many municipal governments are doing? Dasani is doomed. Or what if  Tiki Bar TV  uses Hi-C as a drink mixer, making it a hip and trendy drink amongst geeks overnight? Your dog is now a star†¦ Caveat #2: One company’s dog is another company’s cash cow (or better). Some investors have struck gold by buying another company’s dogs. In 2003, Nike bought troubled Converse for only $305 million (less than what the movie â€Å"Iron Man† earned in two months). Tips: Invest for sales growth and market share. Use cash from Cash Cows to support required investments. Star examples: Apple = iPhone Coca-Cola = Vitamin Water Cash Cows Low Growth, High Market Share [pic] †¢ Foundation of the company and Stars of yesterday †¢ Generate more cash than required †¢ Extract profits by investing as little cash as possible †¢ located in an industry that is mature and not growing or declining Tips: Maintain the strong market position and defend your market share. Take advantage of sales volume and leverage the size of operations. Support other businesses. Cash Cow examples: Apple = iPods Coca-Cola = Coca-Cola Classic Dogs Low Growth, Low Market Share [pic] †¢ Cash traps †¢ Do not have potential to bring in much cash †¢ Number of dogs in country should be minimalized †¢ Business is situated at a declining stage Tips: Optimize your current operations. Get rid of all non value added activities and features. Reposition your offering to generate positive cash flow or sell this business. Dog examples: Apple = Since good company should not have any dogs Coca-Cola = New Coke

Going To The Extremes Of The Normal Curve Essay Example for Free

Going To The Extremes Of The Normal Curve Essay In statistical analysis, a normal curve represents the normal or standard distribution of data from a large sample size (Hogg, 2004). A normal curve is generally represented by a symmetrical bell-shaped distribution in a graph. A normal curve or distribution represents a sample population that has a mean of 0 and a standard deviation value of 1 (Mendenhall and Sincich, 2006). These standard scores are also called z-scores, which represent standardized data that have been had the mean value taken away and have been separated by the standard deviation. The distribution observed in a normal curve can be employed to test a hypothesis about a mean. This may be performed sampling the members of a population being studied and extracting the mean itself. By taking samples from this distribution, one may determine whether the sample mean age is different from the real mean age. This test is also referred to as the two-tailed test, wherein the extremes of the normal curve represent the proportion of cases by 0. 0. 5 or less (Hogg, 2005). This means that the scores at the low and high extremes of the normal curve may be different from the established mean of the sample population. This also provides that 95% of the sample population follows the average mean that has been calculated by simple calculation. The normal distribution that is observed in a normal curve follows the assumption that the variable of interest is well-distributed in the population. There are z tests that are considered as parametric tests that assume the setting of normally distributed data. On the other hand, those that do not require an assumption regarding the distribution of data are referred to a non-parametric statistics. References Hogg RV (2004): Introduction to mathematical statistics, 6th ed. New York: Prentice-Hall. 692 pages. Hogg RV (2005): Probability and statistical inference, 7th ed. New York: Prentice-Hall. 752 pages. Mendenhall W and Sincich T (2006): Statistics for engineering and the sciences, 5th ed. New York: Prentice-Hall. 1072 pages.

Dividend Policy of Pakistans Oil Sector

Dividend Policy of Pakistans Oil Sector INTRODUCTION Corporate dividend policy is one of the most debated topics in corporate finance. Many researchers have devised theories and provided empirical evidence regarding the determinants of a firms dividend policy. The dividend policy issue, however, remains still unresolved as due to the fact that there are so many variables depending upon the type of company, its financial conditions, its industry etc that no single formula could be applicable. Clear guidelines for an optimal payout policy have not yet emerged despite the voluminous literature. We still do not have an acceptable explanation for the observed dividend behavior of companies. During the last fifty years several theoretical and empirical studies have been done leading to mainly three outcomes: The increase in dividend payout affects the market value of the firm. The decrease dividend payout adversely affects the market value of the firm. The dividend policy of the firm does not affect the firm value at all. However, we can say that empirical evidence on the determinants of dividend policy is unfortunately very complex. Basis on which corporations pay out dividends to the share holders is still an unresolved puzzle. First prominent study that appeared in the literature of finance regarding dividend policy was that of Miller and Modigliani (1961) where they state that there are no deception in a perfect and a rational economic environment. This was the starting point for other researchers to explore dividend payout policy phenomena. Almost all researches that followed referred back to Miller and Modigliani (1961). Various researches were carried out by many researchers to explore the determinants of dividend payout policy, some of them focused on profitability, some on size of the firms, some on growth rate of the firm while others on agency costs. For example researches carried out by Nissim et el (2001), Brook et el (1998), Bernheim et el (1995), Kao et el (1994), and Healy et el (1988) found out a positive association between increase in dividend payout and future profitability. Kalay et el (1986) and Asquith et el (1983) found out that stock returns is positively associated with dividend changes. Sasson et el (1976) conclude that the payout ratio is positive association with average rates of return. On the other hand, studies of Benartzi et el (1997) and DeAngelo et el (1996) find no support for the relationship between future profitability and dividend changes. On Other side most debated factor affecting dividend policy arguably is agency costs. Jensen (1986). Agency cost argument suggests that cost is reducing by dividend payments and cash flow Rozeff (1982). Researches carried out by Jensen et el (1992), and Lang et el (1989) supported this agency cost hypothesis, while others such as Lie (2000), Yoon et el (1995) and Denis et el (1994) found no support for this hypothesis. Size of the firm is another factor which seems to have an impact of dividend payout policy. Firms larger in size are considered to have more ability to payout dividends to its share holders. Lloyd et el (1985), and Vogt (1994) pointed that firm size plays a role in clarifying the dividend-payout ratio of firms. They argued that because larger firms are mature and have easy access to capital markets thus they are not really much dependant on internally generated funding which enables them to payout higher dividends. The purpose of this research is to investigate the dynamics and determinants of dividend policy of oil gas sector firms in Pakistan. The independent variables selected from the literature include: market capitalization, profitability and annual rate of growth of total assets. Analysis of these variables should reveal there exist an impact of these variables on dividend payout policy of the firms and very nature of the relationship. The remaining part of this thesis is organized as follows. In section 2 brief reviews of theories about the dividend will be presented. In section 3 this thesis discusses the data and possible variables that can act as proxy for different influences for analysis .In section 4 this thesis will establish the model. Section 5 will provide details of methodology used. In section 6 thesis will establish analysis and interpretations and section 7 will present results and draw a conclusion. CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW There are various theories which provide insight on how a firm pays the dividends. 2.1 Miller and Modigliani theory According to Miller and Modigliani (of Merton Miller, Franco) (1961) dividend do not affect firms value in perfect market. Shareholders are not concerned to receiving their cash flows as dividend or in shape of capital gain, as far as firms doesnt change the investment policies. In this type of situation firms dividend payout ratio affect their residual free cash flows, when the free cash flow is positive firms decide to pay dividend and if negative firms decide to issue shares. They also conclude that change in dividend may be conveying the information to the market about firms future earnings. Example: Its a common believe that dividend policy is created by shareholder himself for example if a person has 10,000 PKR and wants income of 3,000 PKR a year from that portfolio, simply 3000 PKR money value can be sold by a person this amount as dividend income does not accept by him. This theory says, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Who is anxious about dividends?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? MM explains that under certain assumptions including rational investors and a perfect capital market, the market value of a firm is independent of its dividend policy. Smirlock Marshall, (1983) stated that relationship between the Dividend and Investment Decisions indicates that no causality between the dividend and investment decisions of the firm. The fact that the firm-specific data conclusively supported the separation principle is particularly convincing. This is the first application of causality tests to a large sample of firms. 2.2 The bird in the hand theory Investors always prefer cash in hand rather then a future promise of capital gain due to minimizing risk Gordon (1963). Gordon believes that he is anxious about investing in dividends and dividend stocks. Gordon say that when he is paid hard cash by the company, he knows that the company is not just telling him that it is making money but the fact it that it is really making money . This is the idea that cash payment is valued by the investors in their hands over the hope of future profits. 2.3 The agency theory Traditionally, corporate dividend policy has been examined under the assumptions that the firm is one homogenous unit and that the managements objective is to maximize its value as a whole. The agency cost approach differs from the traditional approach mainly in this way that it explicitly recognizes the firm as a collection of groups of individuals with conflicting interests and self-seeking motives. According to the agency theory, these behavioral implications cause individuals to maximize their own utility instead of maximizing the firms wealth. The agency theory of Jensen and Meckling (1976) is based on the conflict between managers and shareholder and the percentage of equity controlled by sponsor ownership should influence the dividend policy. The theory focuses on the relationship between an agent of the principal (companys managers) and a principal (shareholder) . Jensen and Meckling (1976) in corporations, agency problem arise from external debt and external equity. Jensen and Meckling (1976) analyzed that how firm value is affected by the distribution of ownership between inside shareholders and outside shareholders who can consume perquisites, and who cannot. Within this framework, increased managerial ownership of equity alleviates agency difficulties by reducing incentives to consume perquisites and expropriate shareholder wealth. Jensen and Meckling (1976) argue that equity agency costs would be lower in firms with larger proportions of inside ownership. Managers are better understanding their interest with stockholders when they increase the shareholders ownership of the firm. Dividends are believed to play an important role in reducing conflicts between managers and stockholders. Any dividend policy should be designed to minimize the sum of capital, agency and taxation costs. According to Bathala (1990), in the agency costs and dividends, two lines of thought can be found explaining cross-sectional variations in payout ratios. First view Holds that a firms optimal payout ratio is the results of a trade-off between a reduction in the agency costs of external equity and an increase in the transaction costs related with external financing resulting from dividend payments as the payout ratio increases. Second view Argues that inside ownership and external debt are substitute mechanisms in mitigating agency costs in a firm. Basic study for the first line of thought is based on Rozeffs (1982) propositions. He suggests that dividend payout ratios may be explained by reduced agency costs when the firm increases its dividend payout and by increased more expensive external capital. Easterbrook (1984) gives further explanation regarding agency cost problem and says that there are two forms of agency costs; one is the cost monitoring and other is cost of risk aversion on the part of directors or managers. The agency theory is related with resolving two issues that can be held in an agency relationship. PROBLEMS: The desire of the principal and agent conflict and it is expensive or complicated for the principal that it cannot check that the agent has behaved appropriately. Risk sharing is a problem that occurs when the agent and principle have different behavior towards hazard. The issue here is that the principal and the agent may prefer separate actions because of the separate risk preferences. According to (Naceur, Goaied, Belanes, 2006) profitable firms with more stable earnings can pay larger dividend. Whenever they are growing very quick, dividend policy doesnt get any impact from financial leverage and ownership concentration. Also the liquidity of stock market and size negatively impacts the dividend payment. Oskar kowalewski and Ivan Stetsyukand Olesksandr Talavera (2007) study that how corporate governance determines dividend polices in Poland. They have established for the first time, quantitative measures on the quality of corporate governance for 110 non- financial listed companies. Their result suggested that large and more profitable companies have higher dividend payout ratio .Furthermore, risky and more indebted firms prefer to pay lower dividend s. The results finally, based on the period of 1998-2004, Reveals that dividend policy is quite important in the valuation process of companies, but the issues still remain scantily investigated in transition countries. A study on the determinant s of dividend policy and its association to corporate governance in a transition economy both offers an interesting subject and complements the existing corporate governance literature. The agency theory points that dividend may mitigate agency costs by distributing free cash flows that otherwise would be spent on unprofitable projects by the management. It is argued that dividends expose firms to more frequent analysis by the capital markets as dividend payout increase the likelihood that a firm has to issues new common stock. On the other hand, scrutiny by the market helps alleviate opportunistic management behavior, and thus, agency costs. Agency cost, in turn, is related to the strength of shareholders rights and they are associated with corporate governance. Furthermore, agency suggested that shareholders may prefer dividends, particularly when they fear expropriation by insider. They test the determinants of dividend policy in a multiple regression framework to control for firm specific characteristics other than governance. All the variables enter the regressions with expected signs. Size and return on assets are positively associated with variable cash divid end. Leverage is negatively associated with variable cash dividend. Their results provide evidence that in Poland listed companies where corporate governance practices are high and as a result shareholders rights are for strong payout higher dividend. Jianguo Chen and Nont Dhiensiri(2009) suggest that relationship between dividend pay-out ratio (POR) with the pro Cash flow variability (CFV), ownership dispersion, insider ownership, free cash flow, collateral stable assets, Past growth (GROW1), future growth (GROW2), stable dividend policy and imputation credit (IMP). They analyze the determinants of the corporate dividend policy using firms listed on New Zealand Stock Exchange .They examined that firms traditionally have high dividend pay-outs compared with companies in the US. They find that their is a negative relationship between dividend payout ratio and CFV, Insider, Beta ,growth and positive relationship between ownership dispersion ,free cash flow, collateral stable assets stable dividend policy and imputation credit. Their conclusion provides strong support to the agency cost theory and partially supports transaction cost and residual dividend theory. They do not have any evidence to support the dividend stability theory a nd the signaling theory. 2.4 Signaling theory The explanation about the signaling theory given by Bhattacharya (1979) and John, Kose and Williams (1985) dividends allay information symmetric between managers and shareholders by delivering inside information of firm future prospects. 2.5 Effect of tax preferences theory Miller and Scholars (1978) find that the effect of tax preferences on clientele and conclude different tax rates on dividends and capital gains lead to different clientele. Tax Preference theory Investor gave an important consideration to the taxes. This should by keep in mind that the dividends are taxed at a higher rate than the capital gains. As such, capital gains are preferred by the investors as compared to the dividends. This is known as when the investments are actually sold only then the capital gains are paid. When capital gains are realized inverses can control, but dividend payments are un controllable by them and the related company controls the dividend payment. In an estate situation, capital gains are not realized. For example: If a stock is purchased by an investor 50 years ago and is held by him until his or her death, when it is passed on to an heir after he is expired. Now that heir does not have to pay taxes on stocks appreciation. 2.6 Life Cycle Theory Life Cycle Theory and Fama and French (2001) states that the firms should follow a life cycle and reflect managements assessment of the importance of market imperfection and factors including taxes to equity holders, agency cost asymmetric information, floating cost and transaction costs. 2.7 Catering theory According to Baker and Wurgler (2004) in Catering theory suggest that the managers in order to give incentives to the investor according to their needs and wants and in this way cater the investors by paying smooth dividends when the investors by not pay when investors prefer non payers but put stock price premium on payers. 2.8 Lintners Model John Lintner (1956) initiates with his theory relies on two important things that he studied about dividend policy: 1) According to the amount of positive net-present-value (NPV) projects the companies tend to set long-run target dividends-to-earnings ratios. 2) Earnings increases are not always bearable. As a result, until managers can see that new earnings levels are bearable, dividend policy is not changed As regards the empirical literature the roots of the literature on determinants of dividend Policy is related to Lintner (1956) seminal work after this work the model is extended by The Samy ben naceur, Mohamed goaied and Amel belanesthe (2006) during the period (1996à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"2002) on the Tunisian Stock Exchange listed study the dividend policy of 48 firms. Lintners model is applied using static and dynamic panel data regressions. They examined that Tunisian firms rely more on current earnings that past dividends to fix their dividend payments in the way that dividends tend to be more sensitive to current earnings rather than prior dividends. Any inconsistency in the level of dividends is directly reflected in the earnings of the corporation. Samy ben naceur, Mohamed Goaied and Amel belanesthe (2006) focused on the relationship between dividend and ownership, liquidity, return on assets (ROA), profitability, investment, leverage ratio, size. The results indicate that highly profitable firms with more stable earnings can afford larger free cash flows and thus pay out larger dividends. Moreover, fast-growing firms distribute larger dividends so as to demand to investors. On the other hand, ownership concentration does not have any impact on dividend payment. In fact, being closely held Tunisian firms witness less agency conflicts and shareholders do not resort to dividends in order to reduce managerial discretion and protect their interests. The liquidity of the stock market has a negative influence, which confirms that the implementation of the electronic transaction system in the TSE has facilitated the realization of capital gains, which has reduced the need for dividend payments. At last, the negative coefficient on siz e found in the full sample has disappeared when regulated firms are excluded, which reduces the strength of this factor. Researchers have proposed many different theories about the factors that affect a firms dividend policy. Kanwal Anil and Sujata Kapoor (2008) analyzed that The Determinants of Dividend Payout Ratio-A Study of Indian Information Technology Sector. The period under study is 2000-2006 as it is known that the period of 5 to 6 years covers both recession and booming of IT industry. They stated that profitability has always been considered as a primary indicator of dividend payout ratio. There are numerous other factors other than profitability also that affect dividend decisions of an organization namely cash flows, corporate tax, sales growth and market to book value ratio. They suggest that dividend payout ratio is positively related to profits, cash flows and it has inverse relationship with corporate taxes, sales growth and market to book value ratio. Statistical techniques of correlation and regression have been used to explore the relationship between key Variables. Thus, the main theme of this study is to recognize the various condition that effect the decision of dividend payout poli cy of IT firms in India. In short factors influencing the corporate dividend policy, according to them, may substantially vary from country to country because of inconsistency or variations in legal, tax and accounting policy between countries. In view of these facts, the present study aims at identifying the variables influencing corporate dividend policy in Pakistan. CHAPTER III DEPENDENT AND INDEPENDENT VARIABLES Objective of this study is to determine factors that have an impact on dividend of Oil Gas Exploration and Oil Gas Marketing sector of KSE. Dividend yield is dependent variable and the three independent variable are size, profitability and growth. These variables are discussed here. 3.1 Dividend yield (DY) Arthur A Thompson in his book Crafting and Executing Strategy says that the measure of the return that shareholder receives in the form of dividend is called dividend yield (DY). A typical dividend yield is 2 -3%, the dividend yield for fast growth companies in often below 1%(may be even 0) and the dividend yield for slow-growth companies can run 4-5%. Dividend yield can measure by annual dividend per share divided by current market price per share. Samy ben naceur et el(2006)The DY (dividend yield ) as our measure of the dependent variable equals to dividend per share to price per share, payout ratio cannot be used as a measure of dependent variable because sample contains firms with negative earnings. Khamis Al-Yahyaee et el (2006) and Hafeez et el (2009) also used dividend yield (DY) as the dependent variable. CHAPTER IV EXPLANATORY VARIABLES This thesis selected 3 variables used by different researchers Samy ben naceur et el (2006) and Hafeez et el (2009). 4.1 Firm Size Hafeez et el (2009) The firm size has been calculated as the total assets of the firm because a posiyive coefficient is expected from this variable as there is a very low chance of bankruptcy in large more diversified firms and it can sustain higher level of debt. Scott and martin (1975) found that the size of the firm is very important factor which can affect the firms dividend policy and debt policy. A negative impact has been found by market capitalization and size of the firms on dividend payout policy which clearly shows that the firms prefer to invest in their assets rather than pay dividends to its shareholders. The financial characteristic of size has been explained by Market capitalization and the size of the firm. According to the null hypothesis for this financial characteristic there is no relation between the market capitalization and size with dividend payout ratio but the results show that there is a inverse and significant relationship between dividend payout and MV.Hence null hypothesis is rejected. The evidence supported by the finding of Belans et al (2007), Jeong (2008) deviate from Avazian et al (2006). Samy ben naceur et el (2006) the size of the firm by total market value (LNSIZE) and it is expected to be positively correlated with dividend paid. The literature suggests that size may be inversely related to the probability of bankruptcy (Ferri and Jones 1979; Titman and Wessels 1988; Rajan and Zingales 1995). In particular, larger firms should have an easier access to external capital markets and can borrow on better terms, Moreover, larger firms tend to be more diversified and their cash flows are more regular and less volatile. Thus, larger firms should be more willing to pay out higher dividends. Even the conflicts between creditors and shareholders are more severe for smaller firms than the larger ones. Khamis Al-Yahyaee et el (2006) they measure size of the firm from Log of sales. Firms dividend policy is influenced by variables such as size. There is an advantageous position for larger firms to raise external funds in the capital markets and are less dependent of internal funds. Therefore there is a negative relationship between dependence on internal financing and the size of the firm. Moreover, there is a chance of lower bankruptcy probabilities in larger firms and thus they are able to pay more dividends. Thus as per this research the hypothesis is H1= Firm size is positively associated with dividend payouts. 4.2 Firm profitability Empirical research found that there is a positive relationship between dividend yield and profitability. The more profitable the firms are, the more internal financing they will have, and thus are able to afford larger dividends. Some of them are as follow. Khamis Al-Yahyaee et el (2006) measured profitability by earnings before interest and taxes to total assets as our surrogate for profitability. Hence a positive relationship between profitability and dividend is expected. Since the annual profits pay the dividends therefore its logical that more dividends are paid by profitable firms. Samy ben naceuret et el (2006) measure the profitability by the return on assets (ROA) net income/total assets and it is positively correlated with dividend payments. Firms with high profitability can afford larger free cash flows and hence new investment opportunities. Therefore, paying higher dividends does not disturb them. In the same vein and according to the pecking order theory, firms prefer using internal sources of financing first, then debt and finally external equity obtained by stock issues. The more profitable the firms are, the more internal financing they will have, and thus are able to afford larger dividends. Hafeez et el (2009) measured Profitability Net Earnings and Earning Per Share after tax. The net earnings show the positive relationship with the dividend yield. The net earnings after interest, depreciation and after tax have been used as the explanatory variable to examine the role of earnings to pay dividends. Thus as per this research the hypothesis is H2= There is a positive relationship between a firms profitability and dividend payouts. 4.3 Firm Growth Samy ben naceur et el (2006) measure investment and growth by MBV (market value of equity/ book value of equity) and annual rate of growth of total assets. Firms anticipate higher growth, when they establish lower dividend payout ratio because growth entails higher investment expenditures. When firms retain higher proportion of earning to finance future investment need due to high cost of external financing, their dividend pay out in anticipation of future growth stands reduced. Hence, a negative relationship between dividend payout and expected growth is expected. Khamis Al-Yahyaee et el (2006) measure the growth opportunities through market-to-book ratio. A negative relationship is expected between growth opportunities and dividend. Large additions of capital are required by the firms experiencing substantial success and rapid growth. Consequently, lower dividend payout policies are expected by growth firms. Similarly, the pecking order theory predicts that more earnings are retained by the firms having a high proportion of market value followed by growth opportunities hence they are able to minimize the need to raise new equity capital. Free cash flow theory also predicts that their will be a lower free cash flow and lower dividend is paid by the firms with high growth opportunities. On the other hand Hafeez et el (2009) argued with the above researcher. According to the signaling theory the higher the firm grows, the higher they pay dividends to shareholders. The shareholders get signals from the growth of the firms having high growth opportunity. The sales growth has been used as proxy of Growth in the empirical analysis of the study and has been used as percent age change in sales annually as proxy of the growth. Whereas Kanwal Anil et el (2008), measured growth and investment by sales growth and MTBV. Hafeez Ahmed et el (2009) measures investment as SLACK = accumulated retained earnings/ total asset. Thus as per this research the hypothesis is H3= Firm growth is negatively associated with dividend payouts. Table 1 Summary of Proxy Variables and Research Hypotheses H1: Size MCAP = market capitalization Positive H2: Profitability ROA= net income/total assets Positive H3: Growth GROWTH = sales growth Negative CHAPTER V METHODOLOGY DATA COLLECTION METHOD The data is collected from Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan, State Bank of Pakistan and the Karachi Stock Exchange. The variables of the study are calculated from the Audited Annual Accounts of 6 firms for the period of 2001 to 2008 resulting in about 240 observations for each variable and as such it is a long period enough to smooth out variable fluctuations. (Rozeff, 1982) SAMPLE Sample Size consists of six companies from oil and gas exploration and marketing sectors in Pakistan, listed on Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) Total of six companies listed on Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE). Data collected from year 2001 to year 2008. STATISTICAL TEST Linear Regression test was performed to analyze data. Dividend yield is a dependent variable and growth, size and profitability are taken as independent variable. REGRESSION MODEL This study uses multiple regression analysis. This thesis estimate that Y= X0 + X1 + X2 + X3 + e Y = Dividend yield. X0 = Intercept of the equation. X1 = Firm size. X2 = Firm profitability. X3 = Firm sale growth. e = Error Term. CHAPTER VI DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION Table 2 MODEL R SQUARE F Sig. 1 .223 3.917 .015(a) Table 2 above shows F Ratio for the regression model is significant which indicates that regression model is a best fit. Total variation in the dependent variable explained by the regression model as indicated by R square is .223 i.e. 22.3% change in dividend yield is explained by these three independent variables. Table3 UNSTANDARDIZED COEFFICIENT STANDARDISECOEFFICIENT t Sig. B Std. Error Beta (Constant) 0.066 0.011    5.826 0 Size -1.10E-06 0 -0.503 -2.879 0.006* Profitability 0.16 0.094 0.269 1.709 0.095** Sale growth 2.17E-07 0 0.484 3.038 0.004* *Significant at 1% **Significant at 10% Table 3 reports the ordinary least square results of the regression analysis. Results indicate that size of the firm is significant as shown in table 3 and shows that size is negatively correlated with dividend at 1% .As researcher taken in its own hypothesis that the size will present positive relation but its coefficient is negative which rejects researcher hypothesis. Since the size is also statistically significant but the hypothesis for this thesis shows that the growth is negatively related to dividend hence this hypothesis rejected. Some researcher result find out size as positive. Fama and French (2000 and 2001) concluded that more dividends are payable by large and more profitable firms. Lloyd and Jahera (1995 cited on holder 1998) concluded that those larger firms have easier access to capital markets which are more mature hence allowing for higher dividend pay-out ratios and reducing their dependence on internally generated funding. Aneel Kanwer (2002) measured size with total sale and researcher find out that size is positive related to dividend yields. Smaller company gives lower dividend as compared to larger company. Oskar kowalewki et el (2007) made a research in Poland and they measured size with total assets .they find out that size is positively related to dividends because more dividends are paid by companies which are larger in asset and size.. Some researcher result find out size as negative .The result of the research by Hafeez Ahmed et el (2009) on KSE (non financial firms) is similar to this thesis result. they measure size with natural logarithm of total assets This results indicates that the size of the firms have the negative impact on dividend payout policy which shows that the firms prefer to invest in their assets rather than pay dividends to their shareholders .. Samy Bin Naem et el (2006) made their research on the firms of the Tunisian Stock Market and They measured the size with logarithm of stock market capitalization. They concluded that there is a negative relationship between size and dividend, but the negative relationship disappeared when regulated firms are removed. Since the result of the researcher Fama and French (2000 and 2001) , Lloyd and

Managing Workforce Diversity Essay example -- Workplace Diversity

Introduction Without a doubt, the greatest asset an organization can have is its human resource. Therefore, issues affecting the staff have increasingly become popular among business managers, scholars, policy makers and other stake holders. One of the issues that have particularly generated sufficient interest is managing workforce diversity. O’leary & Weathington (2006) defines diversity simply as way of differentiating one person from another. Diversity is about recognizing and appreciating the uniqueness of each person. People can be different in terms of race, sexual orientation, age, gender and physical abilities just to mention a few (Burke 2007). As a result, workforce diversity has become a major business concern. Managing it should not be merely motivated by the potential of increasing the profit margin, but also should be to ensure the working environment is conducive, safe and nurturing (O’leary & Weathington 2006). Any business that manages its workforce effectively is bound to enjoy a number of benefits. Advantages of Workforce diversity It would be hypocritical not to acknowledge the fact that most business primarily exist with an intention of profit maximization. As result most of the organization activities will be geared towards achieving this goal. Efficient management of the workforce diversity can accelerate the process by increasing the company’s competitive edge (Ongori & Agolla 2007). O’leary & Weathington (2006) pointed out that are diversified staff is likely to be more creative, innovative and generally possess a relatively high ability of coming up with quality work. As oppose to a homogeneous group, when a diverse group get acquainted to each other, their job performance becomes superior due to an ... ...orkforce, they have been reaping the sumptuous benefits. Works Cited BMO Financial Group c 2010, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion [Online] available from [17th Dec 2010]. Browder, LM & Miller 2009, Workforce Diversity: The Big Blue Case, McGraw-Hill, New Delhi. Burke, LM 2007, Managing the Diverse Workforce Effectively, Rutledge, London. IBM c 2007, Global workforce diversity [online] available from [17th Dec 2010] O’Leary, BJ & Weathington, BL 2006, ‘Beyond the Business Case for Diversity in Organisations’, Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, Dec, vol 18, issue 4, pp1-10. Ongori, H & Agolla, JE 2007, ‘Critical Review of Literature on Workforce Diversity’, Africa Journal of Business Management, pp 72-76.

The International Bill That Threatens Online Privacy Essay -- U.S. Law

Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) were big bills recently in the EU and America that caught the attention of nearly every internet user. It was hard to not notice these two bills. These legislations would have pushed copyright infringement on many sites and much of the internet as it is known would have been shut down. On January 18, big sites such as Wikipedia, and Google blacked out their site for a day. This sent a loud and clear message to the creators of this bill and they put it on indefinite hold. While this was happening another bill decided to raise its ugly head. It had been lurking in the shadows of the other two bills and would prove to be a much more immense monster to face. Much like SOPA and PIPA, the Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), would restrict users of the internet exponentially, and there would be a large amount of unnecessary prosecution because of it. ACTA is an international bill that has some great potential , but lacks proper structure, therefore most of the internet, as it is known, will be shutdown or deemed illegal in many of the established countries around the world. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (also known as ACTA), is an international bill that was kept secret since its creation in 2008. It eventually leaked onto the internet and caused an isolated outrage but not a very large one. Many internet users continued on with their daily lives unbeknownst to them that there was even such a thing as ACTA. While ACTA was being secretly conducted, two new bills, specific to the United States, called the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) caught the nation’s attention. There were rallies as much in flesh as... ...ice of the United States trade representative. United States Trade Representative, n.d. Web. 15 Mar 2012. "Anti-Illicit Trade Conference to Discuss Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement." Africa News Service 30 Sept. 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. Clabough, Raven. "Obama Tries to Bypass Congress with Deadly Global Internet Treaty ACTA ." The New American. N.p., Friday, 27 January 2012 16:00 . Web. 15 Mar 2012. EFF, . "Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement." Electronic frontier foundation. Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2012. Web. 15 Mar 2012. "Europe's Internet revolt: protesters see threats in antipiracy treaty." Christian Science Monitor 11 Feb. 2012. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. Kain, E. D.. "If you thought SOPA was bad, just wait until you meet ACTA." Forbes. N.p., 2012. Web. 15 Mar 2012.

Higher Immediacy Contrasted with Ethical and Aesthetic :: essays research papers

Explain higher immediacy by contrasting it with the ethical and the aesthetic. Higher immediacy or religious faith is the most important achievement made by a person because only faith offers an individual to have a chance to become a "true self". Self is what is done throughout life which God judges for infinity. Consequently, humans have a huge responsibility because those decided choices in life constitute the eternal salvation or damnation. With the religious faith, the ethical and aesthetic are needed to form it, that is why they can not be the same. "Faith itself cannot be mediated into the universal, for it would thereby be destroyed." (p.69) To arrive in the position of religious faith, the ethical must first be accepted, and a commitment must be made to choose the ethical and step away from the aesthetic. The ethical, the universal, is what decides what is good and what is evil. These traits are not decided upon by society, however. They are dependent of God and God decides what is good and evil and His definition would outrank any human definition, so humans are constantly in sin. There has to be a recognition of a duty to a higher being, not to just social norms. For example, in the case of Abraham, his actions could have been very irrational and wrong if there was no belief in the religious faith. It is something that must be decided on by the individual, to believe that Abraham was legitimate in obeying God or not. That is was what must be decided as a matter of religious faith. Abraham’s "ethical relation is reduced to a relative position contrast with the absolute relation to God." (p. 69). If Abraham’s actions were ethically analyzed, it would seem he hated Isaac because he killed him. But since faith is not in the ethical, "by its paradoxical opposition to his love for God, made his act a sacrifice." (p71). Then you have the aesthetic, which is the lowest immediacy because there is no order and order is needed for a structured life. The aesthetic is not a way to live because there is no conscience, or moral sense, where you have that in the ethical and the religious. Living in the moment is bad, selfish and egotistic. In the aesthetic, one is always striving to transform the boring into something interesting for one’s own selfish reasons.. In higher immediacy, you already have the sense of completeness and are not striving

Serial Dilution Homework

Serial Dilution Homework Problems Name:_Vidya Punati_____________________ Section #:__36_______________________ 1. In the image above, the final dilution is 1:____1X10^-8___________________. 2. You make six 2-fold serial dilutions of a solution. Your final dilution will be 1:_64_________. 3. You dilute 1 ml of an unknown sample of bacteria to 1 x 10-6 and plate out 100? l onto a Petri dish. The next day you count 64 colonies.The number of viable bacteria in the original sample was a. 6. 4 x 107 cells/ml b. 6. 4 x 108 cells/ml c. 6. 4 x 109 cells/ml d. 6. 4 x 1010 cells/ml 4. A 1 ml sample of bacteria was diluted to 10-6 and 100? l was plated on the Petri dish at right. What was the approximate concentration of the original sample? 8 x 10^7 bacteria per mL. | | 5. What are two reasons serial dilution is a useful technique for counting populations of bacteria? ) When there are a lot of bacteria, it is hard to count undiluted colonies accurately because there could be hundreds of them. Serial dilution is a useful technique because the colonies are counted twice with different people and the average number of colonies is reported as the number of bacteria present in the sample after multiplying the dilution factor. 2) If the number of bacteria in the samples is high, colonies of bacteria are likely to cover the whole plate so that one cannot count any colonies at all.

Determination of the vitamin D status of adults living in the UK and identification of factors influencing the efficacy of dietary intervention

Introduction There is overwhelming clinical evidences that vitamin D plays a significant role in terms of the normal functioning of human body. One of the most common functions of vitamin D is to ensure normalcy in maintaining blood levels of both calcium and phosphate. The two elements are essential for normal bone mineralisation, contraction of muscles, conduction of nerves, and other general body cellular functions. As such, deficiency of vitamin D is associated with various adverse health complications including failure in proper bone development, cancer, and heart diseases (Holick, 2011, p.6). A review of several studies has also established evidence that vitamin D replacement can boots longevity among other health benefits (Gaddipati, et al. 2010). Adequate synthesis of vitamin D3 from the skin, everyday diet and supplements is essential for health of bones. In addition to the well-known role of vitamin D in regulating calcium metabolism, active form of vitamin D is also associated with ant i-proliferative as well as immunomodulatory effects that are linked to several serious conditions such as cancer, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes, tuberculosis, dementia among other illnesses (Zitterman,et al., 2001). There have been concerns that vitamin D deficiency is significantly increasing in the western nations, and the likelihood of the problem becoming an epidemic in itself worries nutritionists as well as medical practitioners alike (Hypponen and Power (2007). A recent survey in England has revealed a worrying statistics that half of the adult population does not have sufficient levels of vitamin D (Pearce and Cheetham, 2010). The same study also revealed that 16% of this population has experienced severe hypovitaminosis D during winter and spring, with the highest rate being residents of Northern England regions. It is perhaps unsurprising that there have been increasing calls for regular screening during normal health care services. The concerns over vitamin D deficiency has led to a shift over the past decade, with several researchers striving to establish some of the most common risk factors associated with vitamin D deficiency (Holick, 2004). In a study to establish difference in propensity to vitamin D deficiency between metabolically health and unhealthy obese adults, Esteghamati et al. (2004) found out that metabolically healthy obese registered more concentration of vitamin D than metabolically unhealthy obese. This difference persisted even after accounting for body mass index (BMI) and circumference of the individuals’ waists. Further, there was significantly better metabolic status and higher concentration of serum 25-hydro vitamin D among the subjects with metabolically healthy obesity. The researchers also noted that the metabolically unhealthy subjects had higher concentrations of liver enzymes and inflammatory markers. In February 2014, Health & Social Care Information centre released a report on obesity, physical activity, and diet in England, which indicated that obesity cases were on the rise (HSCIC, 2014). The data indicate that there has been a significant increase in the proportion of obese populat ion from 13.2 percent in 1993 to 24.4 percent of men in 2012. Women recorded a similarly high increase during the same period from 16.4 percent to 25.1 percent. Linking this data to relationship between obesity and vitamin D deficiency, it prudent to highlight that vitamin D deficiency prevalence is a point researchers should note with keenness it deserves. The extent to which vitamin D deficiency is a public health problem in Britain is believed to have increased for several reasons ranging from lifestyle to weather patterns. On lifestyle as a factor, Hypponen and Power (2007) states that the sedentary lifestyle in the western world, including Great Britain, leads to vitamin D deficiency, which is exacerbated by a number of other factors including working indoors during daylight hours, high latitude and a mostly cloudy climate in regions such as Manchester. Statistics also indicate that vitamin D dietary intake is much lower in Great Britain compared to other western nations incl uding United States and Canada (Calvo et al, 2005, p.314). The variance in dietary intake of vitamin D between Britain, on the one hand, and United States and Canada, on the other, may be due to the mandatory fortification of both milk and margarine in the USA and Canada. Some of the most common food sources rich in vitamin are fish, liver, fortified margarine and fortified cereals. However, clinical nutritional assessments of natural food items suggest that with the exception of fish and cod liver oil, most natural food stuff contains minimal vitamin D, if any (Brough et al., 2010). Significantly, it is important to note that insufficient natural sources for vitamin D is a risk factor in itself, and should be taken into consideration when plans are put into place to tackle the problem. Moreover, vitamin D supplements’ availability cannot be described as reliable since demand always exceeds supply (Brough et al., 2010). Studies have revealed that there are high rates of vitam in D deficiency all over Great Britain, particularly in the cloudy regions like Manchester and Scotland (Pal et al., 2003). Obesity is a well-known risk factor for vitamin D deficiency, and its high prevalence in Great Britain is likely to affect vitamin D status in the population of high-risk regions such as Greater Manchester. In another nationwide study conducted to investigate the demographic characteristics of white population and possibility of supplements use, it emerged that women and non-obese participants were more likely to use vitamin D supplements (Gaddipati et al, 2010). Similarly, residents of Northern England were found to consume less oily fish, an important source of vitamin D, compared to their Southern counterparts. The study concurs with reports that people living on the Northern England and Scotland have higher risk of hypovitaminosis D (Roy et al., 2007; Holick, 2004). In fact, those who are obese and also live in high-risk regions have a likelihood of having vitamin D deficiency twice as high as other obese people living in other areas of Great Britain. Vitamin D deficiency has also been reported to be prevalent among minority communities living in Great Britain (de Roos et al, 2012). Some ethnic minorities living in Great Britain are more susceptible to vitamin D deficiency than other groups. According to Brough et al. (2010), minority ethnic communities, particularly those who trace their roots to Indian subcontinent and Africa as they tend to suffer from rise in skin pigmentation. They are also found to increase their susceptibility to vitamin D deficiency by wearing clothes that tend to cover their entire bodies and staying indoors longer hours during the day (de Roos et al, 2012; Brough et al., 2010). Other researchers recognise the need to increase vitamin D supplement intake among the minority population, amid report that there are no consistent or routine supply of vitamin D; neither are there recognised screening programs targeting this group (Dealberto, 2006). A study looking at population demographics in the North West has revealed that the region has increasing number older people (North West Regional Assembly Report, 2000). As stated earlier, elderly people are at high-risk of vitamin D deficiency. Clinical studies have investigated age-related decline in vitamin D intake, including rate of skin absorption and response to targeted methods of increasing vitamin D through dietary interventions (Shaw and Pal, 2002). Several other studies have also linked low vitamin D status with people living in low economic status (Dealberto, 2006.). In many of these linkages, the authors cite issues such as poor nutrition, poor lifestyle and inability to afford supplements. For instance, poor nutrition intake is prevalent in regions with high poverty rate, mostly affecting middle aged women of child-bearing age (Brough et al., 2010). According to Brough et al. (2010) a socially deprived population cannot afford some of the basic nutrients essential for normal metabolic function such as vitamin D and thus resort to ‘shortcuts of life’ while exposing their immune system to chronic diseases. Poverty report released by the Greater Manchester Poverty Commission in 2002 identified Manchester as one of the regions with the highest cases of extreme poverty, with 25 percent of its population living in abject poverty (GMPC, 2012). The report further reveal that poor families cannot protect themselves from winter temperature, which makes them stay indoors longer than other UK residence with average annual income. This can only mean that they have higher risk from vitamin D deficiency. OECD report (2014) suggests that the first step in ensuring low income community members in the United Kingdom are protected from lifestyle related diseases is through social interventions. Tests have revealed that modest rise in vitamin D intake of up to 20 Â µg per day for this group can significantly reduce the rate of bone fracture (Hypponen and Power, 2007). The findings have raised focus by agencies and researchers, who have recommended that vitamin D intake for the elderly should raised from the current 5Â µg per day to between 10-20Â µg per day in order to maintain the normal hydroxy vitamin D of 25 (de Roos, 2012, p.6). Considering the need to increase vitamin D intake among the population at risk of vitamin D deficiency, the UK Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy (COMA) recommended that people eat at least 280 g of fish per week, with preference to oily fish (de Roos, Sneddon and Macdonald, 2012, p.6). The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) endorsed the COMA recommendation, emphasising that this is the bare minimum fish consumption recommended for the average population goal to achieve the desired vitamin D status. However, they acknowledged that this recommendation does not represent the level of fish consumption required for optimal nutritional benefits. The campaign to encourage more UK population, particularly those living in North Western region, should be directed at increasing oily fish intake by at least 280 Â µg per week as statistics indicate that majority of them do not consume enough fish (de Roos, 2012; Holick, 2011; Hypponen and Power, 2007). Although studies (de Roos, 2012; Holick, 2004) have dwelt on the need for multiple interventions ranging from dietary to medical, of more significant for the efficacy of dietary intervention is the need for education among the population on the importance of adopting healthy diet and lifestyle. This is mostly recommended for the high-risk persons including the low-income population, those living in marginally wet and cloudy regions including Manchester, obese, and young women of child bearing age group. References Brough. 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