An Analysis of the Use of Cell Phones While Driving

Introduction Popular culture encapsulates the society’s wholesome activities. Popular culture is the expression of a society’s common beliefs, practices, rituals and ideas through various expressions and materials identifiable with a given society (Browne, 2005, p.3). The cell phone is one of the most prevalent  communication devices across the globe today.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on An Analysis of the Use of Cell Phones While Driving specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Nearly all teens and adults in America own at least one cell phone. When used while driving, the cell phone poses a grave danger to the driver and other road users. Unfortunately, the dangerous habit of texting while driving is extremely common on American roads and highways. There are two theories on popular culture that apply to the act and practice of texting while driving. The first theory is the theory of mass society, and t he second theory is the theory of the culture industry. The Theory of mass society, cell phone and texting while driving The theory of mass society states that, popular culture is an intrinsic expression of the demands and aspirations of the people of a society. The cell phone itself is a cultural icon. In the American society, and especially amongst teens and the youths, cell phone is not only a communication device, but also an entertainment source and a status symbol. With its widespread use, the cell phone has been the subject of many popular myths that have no logical of scientific foundation. For instance, the widely held myth that radiation from cell phones affects the sperm quality of men persists with little empirical and scientific evidence to support it. The act of texting while driving is an expression of the status of modern society. As many Americans acquire cell phones and cars, the phenomena of texting while driving, however dangerous, is bound to occur. The average American engages in multiple tasks; therefore, the use of phones to send a quick message while driving is an expression of the contemporary American’s ever-busy schedule and almost ceaseless engagements. The Theory of Culture Industry, Cell phone Texting while Driving The theory of the culture industry states that popular culture is an expression of the schism of class within a society. According to this theory, popular culture is an expression of the beliefs, values, practices, and images (icons) of people of lower classes within a society. Within the context of the theory of culture, popular culture is almost equitable to an act of rebellion towards the higher class and authority. In the US, youths are most notorious for using their cell phones while driving. The act of texting while driving is perpetuated by the popular myth that the youths, especially women, can easily multitask. This myth highlights the almost superhuman abilities of a woman in performing various engagin g tasks simultaneously.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Although various campaigns and advertisements by government agencies seek to highlight the dangers of texting and the general use of the cell phone while driving, the dangerous habit continues to persist amongst the youths. Some states like California have even enacted laws against the use of cell phone while driving. As the culture industry theory states, the persistence of this dangerous practice, especially amongst the youths, can be attributed to a rebellion against the authority. Conclusion The application of these two theories on popular culture, in the analysis of the popular culture of cell phone texting while driving, enabled an in-depth understanding of the practice/culture. The theory of mass society aided me in gaining insight on the culture of cell phone texting as an emergent expression of the youth of society . On the other hand, the theory of the culture industry helped me to point to practice as a form of rebellious expression. Therefore, an analysis of the topic through the provisions of these two theories enabled for a much broader and in-depth understanding of the topic. Reference Browne, R. B. (Ed.). (2005). Profiles of Popular Culture: A Reader. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. This essay on An Analysis of the Use of Cell Phones While Driving was written and submitted by user GlennTalb0t to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Many Meanings of the French Subject Pronoun On

The Many Meanings of the French Subject Pronoun On More often than not, the modern uses of the French subject pronoun â€Å"on† is a mystery to students of French. Traditional methods teach that â€Å"on† means â€Å"one†. But in today’s French, â€Å"on† is mostly used instead of â€Å"we†. Actually, â€Å"we† is becoming more and more formal, used mostly for writing. When speaking, we use â€Å"on†. Here is how â€Å"on† works 1. On = 3rd person singular verb (ilverb form) The first thing to understand when it comes to â€Å"on†, is that no matter its meaning, â€Å"on† will ALWAYS take a 3rd person singular verb form, like â€Å"il† and â€Å"elle†. On doit, on a, on peut... We must, we have, we can... 2. On = one, people (you) This is the old explanation for â€Å"on†. Honestly, how often do you use the English â€Å"one† in a sentence? So â€Å"on† is the â€Å"impersonal, the unspecific† subject pronoun, but watch out! It’s not at all the same thing as â€Å"it† in English, which refers to a thing or an animal. â€Å"On† always refers to a person. On doit bien chercher - One has to look carefullyOn peut louer une voiture - it’s possible to rent a car In this meaning, you could also translate â€Å"on† as â€Å"people†, or even â€Å"you† - not meaning â€Å"you† in particular, but an unspecific â€Å"you†... that would be a bit more modern than â€Å"one†! En geÃŒ neÃŒ ral, quand on a des enfants, on a une voiture - in general, when people/you have children, people/you have a car. 3. On = we in spoken French Watch out though! When on means we, the verb is still an â€Å"il† form, not a â€Å"nous† form. Olivier et moi, on est contents - Olivier and I, we are happy NOT Olivier et moi on sommes contents. On est, never on sommes. Using on to say we is the most common way of saying â€Å"we† in French nowadays. I use it all the time, so do my parents, so it’s very, very much used this way. â€Å"Nous† is more formal, used in writing or in a formal context. But dont get me wrong, nous is very used as well, and you still need to learn to conjugate the nous verb form! 4. On and the adjective agreements When â€Å"on† means â€Å"we†, the adjective, if any, will agree in number and gender with the true meaning of â€Å"on†: so it will be plural for sure, feminine or masculine. On est contents - we are happyOn n’est pas treÌ€s sportifs - we are not very sporty When â€Å"on† means â€Å"one, you, people†, or an unspecific person, it’s usually masculine singular. Quand on est sportif, on est pas fatigueÃŒ  - when you are sporty, you are not tired. But you have to be smart, and stay focused on the context. Sometime, this unspecific person could only be feminine... Quand on est enceinte, on est fatigueÃŒ e - when you are pregnant, you are tired How To Train to Understand On? If you are serious about learning French, I strongly suggest you find a good French learning audio method. Written French and spoken French are like two different languages, and you need audio - and someone who can not only list the grammar points but explain them well - to conquer French. I suggest you take a look at  my own French learning method  as well as my article on the  Best French tools for the self-learning student. For more about French subject pronouns, I suggest you read my lessons: - introduction to French subject pronouns which will answer questions such as what is a subject pronoun, how to figure out the subject in French? What does the first person plural mean? and other useful information for you to understand the grammatical jargon French books and teachers use. - Singular French subject pronouns for a detailed study of je, tu, il and elle. -  Plural French subject pronouns for a detailed study of nous, vous, ils and elles. I post exclusive mini lessons, tips, pictures and more daily on my Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest  pages - so join me there! https://www.facebook.com/frenchtoday https://twitter.com/frenchtoday https://www.pinterest.com/frenchtoday/

Strategic Management Unit 5 DB SA Final Week Essay

Strategic Management Unit 5 DB SA Final Week - Essay Example These differences could be due to misunderstanding and inability to tolerate each other’s weaknesses. Examples are the merger between Alcatel with Lucent and Daimler with Chrysler which were brought down by disagreement on approaches of various strategies and language barrier. According to Sherman (2011), acquisition of other companies also needs proper strategies and adequate information about the company that is to be acquired to make sure that they have complete knowledge of how the company they plan to acquire is doing and what problems are facing that particular company. This then ensures that when a company is acquired the business will not collapse at some point. The successful acquisition of Google on Picasa and Where 2 must have been due to adequate research before acquiring the two. Acquisition can also fail when a company goes head on to acquire a certain businesses without identifying and establishing its nature and its problems well Sherman, (2011). The presented template shows well how acquisition fails when Microsoft failed on acquiring Danger Company without full knowledge of its internal problems. It also failed to establish the compatibility of the Place Ware Place before it went on to acquire

Educational Standards and Leadership Traits Assignment

Educational Standards and Leadership Traits - Assignment Example The essay will also analyze the traits possessed by the writer of this work and evaluate them against ISLLC standards. School culture is a collection of behavioral attributes that determine the day-to-day activities in educational institutions. School culture is a vital factor in the success of any educational institution. This is because of its contribution to the principles, outlook, and behaviors of students, the teaching staff, and non-teaching staff. In some cases, school managers leave school culture to develop on their own. However, this can be highly ineffective due to the students’ psychological immaturity. This is the reason as to why leaders in educational institution would prefer molding the culture in a way that it would help the schools attain their intended purposes. Leadership traits like persistence, honesty, being knowledgeable, punctuality and self-discipline play a big role in establishing and supporting a positive school community and culture (Owings, Kapl an, & Nunnery, 2005). Having patience when dealing with both the students and members of staff can help in bringing out the best of them. This is because with the patient, they are likely to be aware of their capability to improve. This will also enable a leader in an educational institution to be able to treat all the students fairly, given that some students might take longer to grasp some concepts. Punctuality and self-discipline can also help the leaders set a good example to the students. This is because giving the students theoretical teaching on ethical issues like self-discipline and punctuality might be meaningless if they do not see the institutional leaders practicing it (Waters, & Kingston, 2005). The students might turn out to be highly unethical because they will lack faith in the values and importance of being ethical. Absolute honesty and fairness is a vital trait in school leadership. This is because it helps in enhancing peaceful coexistence amongst the institution s’ communities. This can be associated to the saying, â€Å"honest leaders make honest subjects.† The students will also be able to have a conducive learning environment because they will have to worry less about being subjected to unfair situations (Bryant, Hessel, & Isernhagen, 2002). Honesty and fairness will also increase the level of trust that the students would have on the institution leadership. This type of trust would limit the possibility of dissatisfaction of the school’s management by the students. This will hence prevent occurrences like students’ strikes, which will promote smooth operation of the learning institution. With the smooth operation, the students are likely to benefit highly from the saved time and economical resources. A good sense of humor can also be beneficial to a school leader. Applying humor when interacting with the students will reduce the tension brought by either the generational gap or the gap brought by the differen ce in their status in the learning institution. An environment such as this one, a good sense of humor will enhance the learning process and interaction in the school in general (Waters, & Kingston, 2005). A relaxed environment will also enhance maximum participation of the students in the learning process. This participation increases the quality of education, as it will give room for better communication in the learning i

Case Project Troubleshooting WANs Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case Project Troubleshooting WANs - Coursework Example This step would include identifying if the NIC is properly installed; cable connections into ports and wall jacks are not loose; network length does not exceed IEEE standards; and, device configurations. The best way to troubleshoot would be to replace a suspicious network component with an efficient one. I would set the NIC to 100 MBs with full duplex because there might be an auto-negotiation trouble with the router. I would also try rebooting the server. I would also check if there are any firewalls that are preventing the computers from seeing each other. After this step, I would log into the department’s gateway to check the transfer of data traffic. If that turns out to be okay, then I would try to locate any changes made to the gateway. In case there are no changes, I would try to use a trace route command to an Internet site to the other side of the router to find out where the blockage in data traffic is occurring. This trace route command will go beyond the gateway b ut will fail in case of no connectivity.

Impacts of Mergers Acquisitions on Shareholder Wealth

Impacts of Mergers Acquisitions on Shareholder Wealth This dissertation attempts to investigate, the impact of Mergers Acquisition (MA) on shareholder wealth in the European banking industry from 2003-2007 and explains in depth detail of the literature reviewed by the author to provide the basis of the successful achievement of the project. MA has been a popular research topic in finance with broad literature exists on MA. For this review to be achievable, a broad search for information was undertaken by means of the internet and library. The research question will examine the wealth effects (abnormal returns) of MA involving European banks using `event study` methodology over the period of 2003-2007 in both the announcement period and long run post acquisition period. In other words, can MA improves or destroy shareholder wealth of the targets, bidders and combined firms. 1.2 Introduction The decade of 1990 saw the biggest increase in European MA activity. Merger Acquisitions (MA) have been a significant phenomenon in the Europe. and the world economy which symbolizes one of the most important strategic decisions made by managers and shareholders of the engaged firm. Sudarsanam (2003,para1,p.1) argues shareholders and managers may be the most important stakeholders in MA but other groups such as workers, competitors, lenders, customers all have a collective interest in this activity. MA may be undertaken in order to replace an inefficient management, but sometimes two businesses may be more valuable together than apart. Motivation behind the mergers is to maximise the shareholders wealth. However, according to Jensen and Ruback (1983) and Sirower and O`byrne (1998), in almost two third of cases, mergers produce wealth gains for target shareholders and more or less zero gains to acquirers. Various studies have found that, usually the announcement of bank mergers neither create nor destroy shareholders value Pilloff and Santomero (1998). Also, some studies indicates that the announcement of certain types of bank mergers do create value, if that merger reduce costs. Berger, Demsetz, Strahan (1999) identified five fundamental dynamic factors that motivate corporate takeovers i.e. an increase of globalization, technological progress, financial deregulation, changes in customer demand and the integration of financial markets. Arnold (2005, para2, p.1041), defined mergers as the combining of two business entities under common ownership whereas Bruner (2005) states it as consolidation of two firms that creates a new entity in the eyes of the law. According to Investorwords.com acquisition is a acquiring control of a corporation, called a target, by stock purchase or exchange, either `hostile` or `friendly` which also be called takeover. E.g. in October 2007, Royal bank of Scotland (RBS) merged with Dutch bank ABN Amro to clinch Europes biggest ever banking takeover with 86% of ABN Amros shareholders accepting a 71bn euro (Ft.com). Bruner (2005) argues takeover activities are strategic transactions that could turn out to be an excellent investment of capital and resources. 1.3Merger waves Nowadays, MA is well known fact that comes in waves according to evidence from Bruner (2005), Gorton, Kahl Rosen (2005), Martynova Renneboog (2006). Five individual merger waves were observed in the UK economy in the last century i.e. 1900`s, the 1960`s, the 1970`s, the 1980`s and the 1990`s. (Kastrinaki, Stoneman 2007) Brankman, Garretsen, Van Marrewijk (2008) argues that, in terms of economic importance, the dominant merger wave unpredictable is the positive global outcome, suggesting that MA waves are an economy wide global phenomenon. The wave of bank mergers has been established to explain the diverse theories e.g. the `efficiency hypothesis` expect that mergers improve efficiency and help poor banks to survive as competition becomes increasingly rigorous in the banking industry. Gugler, Mueller, Yurtoglu (2004) finds that merger waves can be implicit if one identify that MA do not boost efficiency and doesnt increase shareholders` wealth but instead sited that MA waves are best come across as the answer of overvalued shares and managerial opinion. 1.4Why do MA occur? In various European countries, mergers have allowed banks to increase efficiency by assisting the coordination of the closing of branches. Banks shareholders and managers need to recognize the potential sources of economic gain emerged from MA. Banks can reduce costs and increase value in different ways e.g. diversification. I.e. if mergers generate cost synergies such as economies of scale, banks can reduce expenses. According to evidence from Berkovitch Narayanan (1993), Sudarsanam, Holl Salami (1996), Hannan Pilloff (2006), Martynova Renneboog (2006), the motives for MA have been categorised into the three main groups i.e. economic motive or synergy, managerial or agency problems and hubris. The actual distribution of merger gains between target and bidder shareholders will depend on their individual negotiating strengths. Therefore, following table shows the impact of mergers on shareholders wealth: Merger Motive Total Gains Target Gains Bidder Gains Synergy + + + Agency problems + Hubris 0 + 1.4.1 Synergy Motive The first key group that accounts for MA is an economic or synergy motive which means that two companies can achieve together which they cant achieve single-handedly. Siems (1996) argued that synergy theory projected that the acquiring bank can efficiently create synergies via economies of scale and scope by reducing costs and eliminating redundancies and duplication. Economies of scale occurs when the average unit cost of production declines as volume increases e.g. banking mergers in the UK of Bank of Scotland and Halifax of 30bn merger in May 2001, to create HBOS fifth major force in UK banking sector. The idea was that the Bank of Scotland was operating in north of the country and Halifax was in south by merging these two banks, were trying to reduce cost of processing banking transactions. Economies of scope occurs when the cost of producing several products in a multi product firm is lower than the cost of producing the same products by individual firms e.g. Banc assurance model, British banking and issuance giant Lloyds TSB acquired Scottish Widows in June 1999 for 7bn. Sudarsanam et al (1996) identified the sources of value creation into three main types i.e. operational synergy, managerial synergy and financial synergy. Operational synergy occurs during the recognition of economies of scale and scope, vertical integration, the elimination of duplicate activities, the transfer of knowledge or skills by the bidders management team and a reduction in agency costs by bringing organization precise assets underneath common ownership (Ravenscraft Scherer 1987, 1989 cited in Martynova Renneboog 2006). Sources of value in vertical mergers includes reducing transaction costs in which combining different stages of the production chain can reduce costs of communication and bargaining i.e. one companys output is other companys input and by putting together will make the business efficient. E.g. Microsoft bid for Yahoo in January 2008, worth $42bn that will create more powerful browser or have a better chance of tackling the internet search leader. Having said that, current trends towards outsourcing suggest that, the benefits from vertical mergers are limited. According to Martynova Renneboog (2006), establishments of operating synergies reduce production distribution costs and yielding an incremental cash flow accruing to the companys post-merger shareholders. Sudarsanam et al (1996) argues managerial synergy could occur if the bidder has a competent managerial team and takes over a target with fewer competent managers. Such takeover is disciplinary and likely to improve the wealth gain for both bidder and target shareholders. Having said that, there is a considerable risk of agency problems where the managers do not operate in the interest of shareholders. Martynova Renneboog (2006) argues that diversifying takeovers are likely to gain from financial synergies in which financial synergies may incorporate improved cash flow stability, cheaper access to capital, an internal capital market as well as contracting efficiencies created by a reduction in managers employment risk. Conglomerate mergers allow risk diversification by spreading the income stream of the holding company over a wide variety of products and markets. Sudarsanam et al (1996) finds that financial synergy materialize from three likely sources i.e. the tax advantage of unused debt, the growth opportunities and financial resources of the emerging companies and the coinsurance of debt of the two companies which result in lower costs of capital. 1.4.2 Agency factor The second main motive for MA is managerial or agency factor. Shareholders are Principals i.e. owners of companys assets and managers are employed as shareholders Agents to manage these assets on their behalf. Managers should make decisions that are consistent with the objective of maximize the shareholder wealth, but managers do not share this objective necessarily. Managers will have their own personal objectives which will be mainly concerned with maximizing their own welfare (Sudarsanam et al 1996). Therefore, managerial decisions in acquisitions may result in agent costs that reduce the total value of the joint firm as they do not maximise but weaken shareholders return. Berger, Demsetz, Strahan (1999) argues that one managerial intention may be empire-building. Executive compensation leads to increase with companys size, so managers may wish to accomplish personal financial gains by engaging in MA, although at least in part the higher observed compensation of the managers of larger institutions rewards greater skill and effort. To protect their firm-specific human capital, some managers may also try to reduce insolvency risk below the level i.e. in shareholders interest possibly by diversifying risk through MA movement. Arnold (2005) observes that the managers may enjoy the thrill of the merger process itself and as a result push for such deals to take place. 1.4.3 Hubris The third and final main motive for MA is Hubris which was specified by Richard Roll in 1986. Arnold (2005, para2, p.1055), define hubris as over weaning self confidence or, less kindly, arrogance. The hubris hypothesis states that the valuation of target by the bidder management is over optimistic and per se the bidding firms management overpays for the target. This perhaps for a number of bases such as decisions makers believing themselves, that the value exists when it does not or that their valuation is correct and that the market is not shimmering the full economic value of the combined firm. These managers may perhaps be overconfident or have misplaced faith in their ability to develop the profit performance of the target firm. Berkovitch Narayanan (1993) argues that the hubris maintains that decision makers in the bidding firms simply pay too much for their targets as a result of mistakes in overestimating the value of the targets. 1.5 Factors influencing shareholder returns Shareholders returns are not just affected by MA announcements, but they are also influenced by bid characteristics e.g. method of payment, cross border MA, friendly vs. hostile bids etc. 1.5.1 Method of payment The method of payment is one of the key variables that must be agreed between the buyer and seller to determine the firms` abnormal returns and overall outcome of the bid. According to Huang and Walkling (1989), The form of payment will influence bidding strategy if it affects the anticipated NPVs of an acquisition. Huang and Walkling found that when method of payment and degree of conflict were taken into account statistically, abnormal returns were no higher in tender offers than in mergers. Payment methods can affect NPVs through interrelations with either acquisition cost or the probability of success or both whereas Dube, Glascock Romero (2007) argues that the different stages of benefit growing to the target and acquiring firms shareholders is attributed to the alternative methods of payments. Arnold (2005, para1, p.1059) states that cash payment has been the most popular and most valued method of payment which offers higher return than equity. For example, bidding firm is expected to carry out stock financed merger if the management of bidding firm has better-quality inside information that the existing assets of the firm are overvalued. However, if the bidder firm has confidential information about the target company and trusts it to be undervalued, then it probably offer cash financed merger. Therefore, merger financed with stocks are a negative signal because the use of stocks as a method of payment is more likely to occur when the stock is overvalued, while the use of cash is taken as the firm being overvalued. Alternatively, if target shareholders consider that their bank is overvalued, they will prefer to receive cash. This theory is supported by empirical literature and it demonstrates that at the time of the bid announcement acquirers who propose cash, tend to practice higher abnormal returns than those who offer stock financed merger. The advantage of cash is that the acquirer shareholders hold the same level of control over their company because their proportion of ownership has not been diluted by giving target shareholders stock options in the merged company. Therefore, the returns to the shareholders of a bidding firm will be higher in cash financed merger than the stock. Brealey, Myers Marcus (2004, para1, p.599) states if cash is offered, the cost of the merger is not affected by the size of the merger gains. And if stock is offered, the cost depends on the gains because the gains show up in the post merger share price, and these shares are used to pay for the acquired firm. 1.5.2 Cross border MA The combination of worldwide financial markets has been going together with, increases in the number and tiny proportion of firms that operate in the global market and the globalization process has been to a rational extent encouraged by cross border MA. According to Brankman, Garretsen, Van Marrewijk (2005, 2008) cross border MA are the main medium for foreign direct investment. MA provides fundamental but also limited understanding of this form of takeover, as cross-border MA are most likely related to economy-wide shocks such as economic integration, changes in the legal and regulatory environment or likely asymmetric business cycles. Based on past empirical evidence, though the majority of the domestic MA create significant wealth gains for the targets and negative or zero returns for bidders, cross border MA could have different impact on related firms. Kang (1993) stated that cross border MA are expected to create more wealth than domestic ones because of existence of market imperfections which leads to guide multinational firms (MNC) having a competitive advantage over local firms. Foreign banks have to act in accordance with with both regulations at home and abroad; domestic credit establishments have cost advantages, since fulfilling two diverse sets of regulation enforce additional costs on foreign banks. Also, different regulations reduce the amount of related fixed costs. This decreases the possibility for banks to collect benefits from economies of scale and scope. Economies of scale propose that bank is able to reduce its costs by growing the volume of output of products and services it already produces. As a result of developing into new country, a bank increases its potential client base and benefits from economies of scale. According to economies of scope, banks that diversify activities could reduce costs by providing more services. 1.5.3 Friendly vs. hostile bids Analysis regarding the impact of hostile takeovers has been arguable, varying from the benefits of market discipline for maximizing efficient utilization of resources to the damage of market shortsightedness on the economy, on the society and on value built over years. Dube, Glascock Romero (2007) argues such debates can impact financial marketsand can be expected to expand as developing markets open up to foreign corporations and as economic power is redistributed amongst countries. Hostile takeovers occur, when the management of a firm resists the takeover attempt by bidders. Lambrecht and Myers (2007) state that in some cases a potentially hostile acquirer could be better off negotiating with the target management for a merger and that such a situation reduces the power of the target shareholder to extract value from the bidder. Hostile acquisitions also involve swifter and more drastic changes in target. In both friendly and hostile acquisitions, overpayment can arise due to age ncy reflection of managerial objective maximization by the acquirer management. Goergen and Renneboog (2003) analyzed the market reactions to the different types of takeovers i.e. friendly, hostile and bids with multiple bidders. They found that hostile bids created the largest abnormal returns for the target i.e. 13% on the announcement day. When a hostile bid is made, the share price of the target straight away reflects the expectation that opposition to the bid will guide to upward revisions of the offer price. Various empirical studies have found that the returns to bidders in hostile takeovers are negative; resulting in low possibility of success of a hostile bid. 1.6 Impact of MA on shareholders Almost all of the studies of MA in banking industry are based on US data. As we know, one of the main objectives of mergers is to maximise the shareholders value by the means of increase in dividends and increase in share prices, so the shareholders can enjoy the capital gains. The two most important methods which can be used to assess the impact of MA were explained by Firth in 1980. In the first method, accounting information is used to determine the firms` financial performance profitability. The second method believes in efficient market which can be used in share price movements to estimate the economic impact of the event. The second method, direct measures any increase or reduction in shareholders wealth but also experience from the reality that no market is really efficient which results to mislead conclusions due to movement in share price. In this project, author chose the second method i.e. an event study in which the focal point will be on three different sets e.g. the target, the bidder and the impact of MA on combined firm in the long run. Various empirical studies on MA have concentrated on establishing stock market reaction around the announcement of a deal and whether a merger creates value for the shareholders of target and bidding firm. Delong (2001) examined 56 banks between 1991 and 1995, for focusing mergers that create positive abnormal returns whereas diversifying mergers produce negative abnormal returns. DeLong (2001) has point out that upon announcement the market responds positively to mergers that focus both on the activities and geography, which is consistent with Siems (1996). Delong finds that the cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) of target firm has been increased to 14.8% after merger and the bidding firm loose a significant 2.2%, whereas the combined firm neither created nor destroyed the shareholders value. The result also shows that the long term performance is improved when mergers involve inefficient bidders, payment not just made by cash and earnings are not diversified. Cybo ottone and Murgia (2000) analysed 54 largest MA deals with CARs at +3,41% between 1988 and 1997 on the European banking sector in 14 European markets. They have found that at the time of announcement, there was a positive and an important increase in the market value of the banks engaged in these deals. They have found positive abnormal returns for both buyers and the sellers using the general market index in the short period of eleven days, but found negative market reaction to acquiring bank. In other words, European bank mergers generate value for the combined firms including the target and the bidders do not lose. Various studies have shown that in Europe and the USA, target shareholders earn positive abnormal returns from mergers. Cyboottone and Murgia (2000) stated that bidding firm shareholders earn positive abnormal returns in European studies whereas in USA studies bidding firm shareholders earn negative abnormal returns from the mergers. Shareholders of target European banks achieve more than the bidding bank shareholders, however, the difference is very tiny indeed. So in other words, we can say that Cyboottone and Murgia (2000) results are not consistent with the USA banking literature which shows that no value creation effects are usually found. Martynova and Renneboog (2006) examined the short term wealth effects of 2,419 European MA announcements between 1993 and 2001 in twenty eight European countries. They found that UK target created higher returns (9%) and UK bidders experienced lower wealth losses (0.5%) in comparison to the total European average result. They also identified the share price reaction of bidding firms; on a hostile merger i.e. it generated a negative abnormal return of -0.4%, on the other hand, a friendly acquisition created a positive abnormal return of 0.8%. Therefore, Martynova and Renneboog (2006) have concluded that MA do create value for the bidding and the target shareholders in which target shareholders enjoy majority of gains as they collect large premiums. Beitel (2001) look at 98 large MA of European banks between 1985 and 2000 using the event study in which he found out, the shareholders of the target firm enjoy positive cumulative abnormal returns (CAR), whereas the shareholders of the bidding firm doesnt earn any CARs. However, the combined analysis of bidding and target European bank merger do create the shareholders value significantly. They also notice a change in the results after 1998 that European bidding banks in large deals experienced negative CARs and especially cross border mergers of European banks appeared to have destroyed shareholders value. Table 1: Summary of bank mergers using event studies of previous Abnormal Returns to shareholders MA studies Sample period Sample size Event Window Target CARs (%) Bidder CARs (%) Antoniou, Arbour Zhao (2006) 1985-2004 396 -2 to +2 17.37 -3.32 Cybo-ottone Murgia (2000) 1988-1997 54 -10 to 0 16.1 Not significant DeLong (2001) 1988-1995 280 -10 to 1 16.61 -1.68 Sudarasanam, Holl Salami (1996) 1980-1990 429 -20to+40 days 29 -4 Becher (2000) 1980-1997 553 -30 to +5 22.64 -0.1 Siems (1996) 1995 19 -1 to +1 13 -2 Houston Ryngaert (1997) 1985-1991 184 -2 to +2 20.40 -2.40 Ismail and Davidson (2005) studied 102 merger announcements in European banking industry between 1987 and 1999. They found positive abnormal returns for targets and the return to bidders differs across the deal type, also the merger deals earn higher returns than acquisition deals. They reported that the high competition in the market and reduction in the profitability in the banking industry in Europe is extending a depressing picture of performance of the future. They also reported low positive abnormal returns to target shareholders compared to other findings in the banking industry in Europe. The reason behind is that the bidder not ready to pay higher premiums in a competitive environment in which level of profits are decreasing. Ismail and Davidson (2005) pointed out that if equity is used as a method of payment instead of cash, then merger deals earn lower returns because of the fact is that equity signal to the market that the equity is overvalued which is consistent with fin dings of Huang and Walkling (1987). 1.7 Conclusion A bank acquires another bank because of number of reasons e.g. diversification, market power, managers preference etc. This literature review looks at the motives of MA based on the past academic studies i.e. Berkovitch Narayanan (1993), Sudarsanam et al (1996), Hannan Pilloff (2006), Martynova Renneboog (2006). Having said that, it is still not clear whether synergy gains or personal quest of managers is behind motivating majority of MAs. Evidence suggests that the managers may use the free cash flow for mergers that may produce negative NPV investments, because managers pursue their own interests rather than those of shareholders, resulting in mergers to not create value for shareholders. Whereas hubris, which supports the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) suggests that any bid for the target at premium overpays and it is result of the hubris. Arnold (2005) state it is similar to `winners curse` where the highest bidder will bid typically higher than the expected value of the purpose. However, most of the evidence suggests that the target shareholders gain positive abnormal returns while the cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) to the bidders are significantly negative and the combined banking firms seems to improve the shareholders value. Various studies also supports the fact that target shareholders gain at the expense of bidder shareholders and bank mergers do not create value for the combined firm in stock market reaction to bank mergers. Also, evidence shows that shareholders returns are not only affected by the MA announcements but they are also influenced by bid characteristics. 2.0 Methodology 2.1 Introduction Choosing appropriate research methods are clearly vital. According to Veal (1997) it is important for the researcher to be aware of the range of methods available and not to make claims that cannot be justified on the basis of the methods used. This part of this dissertation gives an outline how information was collected, the sample design statistics and which methodology is used by concentrating on European banking sector mergers between 2003 and 2007. Firstly, we have to decide the philosophy underlying this research, which involves choosing a paradigm. Collis and Hussey, 2003, p. 352 define paradi

We Must Build a Culture of Peace Essay -- Graduate College Admissions

We Must Build a Culture of Peace      Ã‚   " Think global, act local" is an appealing slogan, but the advice falls short. We live in a world where our best friends live on different continents and we converse more with our neighbor in Nigeria than our neighbor next door. No longer is it logical to say, "Charity begins at home." Instead, our work for human dignity and human rights must be carried on everywhere at once. To create a global culture of peace, youth of the new millennium must think and act both "global" and "local" contemporaneously.    Youth with a burning inner desire to see a global culture of peace must seek opportunities and relationships in which to demonstrate peace. Over 50 years ago, a child fugitive knew this and proclaimed, "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world" (Frank). As a young teen, Anne Frank innately knew that the premise for building a global culture of peace is for each of us to reach out and touch the lives of as many people as possible in an attitude of love and tolerance. To accomplish this goal, young people must work concurrently in 3 spheres: local, national, and global.       Locally, we can create our own community-based peace clubs and/or we can join established clubs within schools which promote peace, peer mediation, and conflict resolution. In these clubs youth can learn about peace and then go a step further to educate others by organizing peace walks, writing letters, distributing petitions, planting peace gardens, writing poetry and essays about peace to present in coffee houses, sponsoring peace essay and art contests, writing peace plays to present to the public, and/or publishing our own newspapers.   ... ...me sow love" (Halamandaris). We must let our peace flow outward to influence other youth and adults to join us in our cause. For it is only when we agree to settle our disputes and attain "liberty and justice for all" with words and not wars, gentleness and not genocide, harmony and not hatred will we achieve the ultimate goal - a global culture of peace.    Bibliography Dumas, Alexandre. The Three Musketeers. Bergenfield, New Jersey: Penguin USA, 1982. Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition. Otto H. Frank, Editor. New York: Doubleday, 1995. Halamandaris, The Brothers, editors. Caring Quotes: A Compendium of Caring Thought. Washington, DC: Caring Publishing, 1994. "World Population Trends." United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). May 28, 2000. Available http://www.un.org

Cheap Air Travels Gives Ordinary People the Freedom to Travel but Others Feel That Air Travel Adds to the World’s Environmental Problems

Block method outline I. Introduction Hook- Air travel has become a common transportation among most of the people in this world. Background information- Approximately 1,423,500,000 people travels by airplane per year and 3,900,000 passengers travel by flight every day. What the writer intends to do- Discuss why huge number of people using air travel to travel. Body A. Paragraph 1 1. Topic sentences 1 * Many of people prefer to choose travel by cheap air travel because of it amount. * Make this world more peace and harmony Government have funds to invest into basic fields in the country * Make someone more relaxed and release heavy pressure. 2. Supporting detail * Gives a person the chance to travel to places where he would like to visit with only a minimum amount. * Promote cultural exchange and mutual understanding and it will make this world a peaceful place to living in. * Visitors from other countries will increase tax revenues especially in those tourism-focused counties and gov ernment for that particular country will have more funds to invest. They may get relaxed and release heavy pressure from life or work when they can travel to the place that they love. B. Paragraph 2 1. Topic sentence 2 * Low-cost air travels have been subject to criticism by governments and regulators. * Global environmental problems. 2. Supporting detail * It is because aircraft are one of the major sources of greenhouse gases that can cause air pollution. * Air travel has been estimated to contribute between 3-30% of global warming. Study conducted by Mayer Hillman, Town & Country Planning magazine, they estimated that a ingle transatlantic return flight emits almost half the CO2 emissions. C. Paragraph 3 1. Topic sentence 3 * Everyone should have the opportunity to travel by air. 2. Supporting detail * Airplane is not the biggest contributor to climate change so far. * Many countries already have carbon taxes or levies included in the price of the airline ticket or aviation fuel. II. Conclusion Restatement- Advantages of cheap airfare outweigh its disadvantages, in terms of boosting cultural understanding and improving living standard.Prediction- Solved with the technology development such as discovery of new environmental friendly fuels. Reference Carleton , Ryan. Environmental impact of aviation. 2002. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_aviation (accessed March 4, 2013). Karcher and Fahey, . â€Å"What's wrong with air transport. † 24. (1997): 389-392. http://pages. uoregon. edu/recycle/caR2. htm (accessed March 4, 2013). CHEAP AIR TRAVELS GIVES ORDINARY PEOPLE THE FREEDOM TO TRAVEL BUT OTHERS FEEL THAT AIR TRAVEL ADDS TO THE WORLD’S ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMSYou may have many reasons for travels from one destination to another. Some of the reason could be a honeymoon trip with your love one, vacation with your family or even a business trip. And most of the people will choose the cheapest way to travel. Nowadays, air travel has become a common transportation among most of the people in this world. According to US travel association, there are approximately 1,423,500,000 people travels by airplane per year and about 3,900,000 passengers travel by flight every day.Because of the huge number of people using air travel to travel, many airlines all over the world offer cheap flight rates that people can afford. Many of people today prefer to choose travel by cheap air travel because it gives a person the chance to travel to places where he would like to visit with only a minimum amount. With little money spent for the flights ticket, travellers have more money saved to make his holiday more memorable and interesting. As we all know, that cheap air travel will make long-distance travel affordable for common people, which is an advantages for us.First of all, as there are more tourists take air travels to other countries, and they will learn and understand the culture the country they visit. In other words, i t will promote mutual understanding and cultural exchange between countries. As a result, the world will become more peaceful and we all can live in harmony. In addition to this, more visitors from other countries will stimulate local tourism, which would increase tax revenues especially in those tourism-focused counties. Therefore governments would have more funds to invest into basic fields, such as infrastructure, health insurance and education.Moreover, because people could afford travel, they may get relaxed and release heavy pressure from life or work when they travelling to the place that they love. However, low-cost air travels have been subject to criticism by governments and regulators all over the world. It is because aircraft are one of the major sources of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapour, and nitrogen oxides (NOx) that can cause air pollution. It is one of the cause that contributors to global environmental problems such as ozone depletion, c limate change and etc. Air travel has been estimated to contribute between 3-30% of global warming.A study conducted by Mayer Hillman, Town & Country Planning magazine in September 1996, they estimated that a single transatlantic return flight emits almost half the CO2 emissions. One recent study has estimated that, if the Airport grows as planned, CO2 emissions by 2020 could be greater than from all other transport in the regional catchment. And some agencies devoted to monitoring and protecting the environment said that the fares should be made more expensive and by doing that it will discourage people from using the air plane. In my opinion, everyone should have the chance to travel by air.Aircraft or airplane is not the biggest contributor to climate change so far. Many countries already have levies included in the price of the airline ticket or carbon taxes. This can offset the carbon produced during the flight. In conclusion, I personally believe that the advantages of cheap a irfare outweigh its disadvantages in terms of boosting cultural understanding and improving living standard. Although there are also some drawbacks but I believe they could be solved with the technology development such as discovery of new environmental friendly fuels, which can improvement of plane safety.

tobacco essays

tobacco essays It is a proven fact that tobacco companies target teenagers in their advertisements. But who wouldn't spend six million dollars to target us? Teenagers are the next generation. We are the ones that are going possess the big houses, the fancy cars, and most importantly, the big bucks. We're the ones that are going to college with our parent's money, and we are the ones most susceptible to advertisement ploys and we are the ones that need peer approval. All these factors make teenagers excellent targets for the ever present need to sell more cigarettes and other tobacco products. It seems that we are stupid enough to fall for it though, because teen-age smoking has risen sharply over the last year and is steadily increasing. It would be a different story if the media didn't inform us of the ill affects of smoking both mentally and physically, but they do almost everyday. Yet smoking kills more people than AIDS, alcohol, drug abuse, car crashes, murders, suicides and fires combined! Cigarettes contain an addictive drug called nicotine , which is ingested by a person through the inhalation of cigarette smoke. Nicotine contains over 500 chemicals such as formaldehyde, cyanide, and insecticide. The cigarette smoke also contains tar which severely damages the mouth, throat, and lungs. Nicotine is a stimulant that affects the brain and central nervous system in 10 seconds and it also affects the body. The immediate affects of nicotine on the body include: increase in blood pressure, increase in heart rate, thickening of blood, narrowing of arteries, decrease in skin temperature, increase in respiration, vomiting, and diarrhea. The long term effects of nicotine on the body include: blockage of blood vessels, thus a slower heartbeat than a non-smoker's at rest, depletion of vitamin C; reduction in the effectiveness of the immune system, making it harder to fight off dangerous infections; cancer of the mouth; throat; and lungs; cancer of the u...

Ancestry of Oprah Winfrey

Ancestry of Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey was born in 1954 in rural Mississippi, the child of a love affair between Vernon Winfrey and Vernita Lee. Her parents never married, and Oprah spent much of her youth being shuttled between various relatives. From her troubled childhood, Oprah Winfrey has grown into a household name, achieving success as a talk show host, actress, producer, publisher, and activist. Tips for Reading This Family Tree First Generation: 1. Oprah Gail WINFREY was born on 29 Jan 1954 on in the small town of Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi to Vernon WINFREY and Vernita LEE. Shortly after her birth, her mother Vernita moved north to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and young Oprah was left in the care of her maternal grandmother, Hattie Mae Lee. At age six, Oprah left Mississippi to join her mother in Milwaukee. After several troubling, neglected years with her mother and half-siblings, Oprah moved again at the age of 14 to join her father in Nashville, Tennessee. Second Generation (Parents): 2. Vernon WINFREY was born in 1933 in Mississippi. 3. Vernita LEE was born in 1935 in Mississippi. Vernon WINFREY and Vernita LEE were never married and their only child was Oprah Winfrey: 1 i. Oprah Gail WINFREY Third Generation (Grandparents): 4. Elmore E. WINFREY was born 12 March 1901 in Poplar Creek, Montgomery County, Michigan and died on 15 October 1988 in Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi 5. Beatrice WOODS was born on 18 February 1902 in Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi and died on 1 December 1999 in Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi. Elmore WINFREY and Beatrice WOODS married on 10 June 1925 in Carroll County, Mississippi, and they had the following children: i. Lee W. WINFREYii. Brister WINFREYiii. Marie WINFREY2. iv. Vernon WINFREY 6. Earlist LEE was born about June 1892 in Mississippi and died in 1959 in Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi. 7. Hattie Mae PRESLEY was born about April 1900 in Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi and died on 27 Feb 1963 in Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi. Earlist LEE and Hattie Mae PRESLEY were married about 1918 and had the following children: i. Susie LEE was born about 1920.ii. Hal LEE was born about 1922.iii. Willis S. LEE was born about 1925.iv. Hubert LEE was born about 1928.3. v. Vernita LEE

To Be Determined Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

To Be Determined - Essay Example She grew up within the ambit of various religious influences, but internally, Christ in the heart was more important to her, than cross on the neck! Even though it is not correct to say that the three religious figures she encountered in various stages of life, influenced her thought processes, the interaction of Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen Burns and St. John Rivers, helped her intellectual growth. But they failed to impact her deeply and crystallize her religious beliefs. They were offered to her as religious syllabus, which she rejected. She evolved her own ideas about faith and principle. She came to the conclusion, that which is not practical, can not be religious or spiritual either. Practical consequences of an idea were more important to her. Her different types of spiritual/religious inclinations could be observed right from her childhood. She observes, â€Å"Of these death-white realms I formed an idea of my own: like all the half-comprehended notions that float dim through children’s brains, but strangely impressive.†(Bronte, 1997, p.7) Religion! And what sins are committed in the name of religious practices! Is the hypocrite act of Mr. Brocklehurst subjecting his students to privations and humiliations in the name of purging their pride, a Christian Act? He instructs to trim the curly hair of one of Jane’s classmates to make it straight. These acts can be compared to the ragging practice among the modern college students, which all the right-thinking people condemn! He was not working for the glory of the Evangelical movement. On the other hand, Jane is disappointed with Helen Burn’s meek type of Christianity. The true surrender to God needs to be dynamic and not weak. Jane personally loves and admires Helen Burn but she will not adopt his passive type of Christianity. This is not the type of individual who can lead the Christian masses to the glory of true Kingdom of

Hypothesis and Conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hypothesis and Conclusion - Essay Example The antiterrorism measures taken by security agencies following the September 11 attacks, discourages the citizens from volunteering relevant security information to security agencies (Hardin, 2003). This hypothesis will enable me define the scope of my investigation and method of conducting investigations through interviews. Although conducting interviews is an expensive research methodology, it the most appropriate in qualitative studies. This is because the method enables a researchers to answer several questions such as why certain occurrences or phenomenon occurs the way they do (Silverman, 2009). Interviews are conducted on a one-to-one basis and, this stand out as the main limitation of this research method. To utilize this method a researcher requires a set of questions and a means of recording information obtained from a respondent. Information or response of a respondent can be recorded through note taking, personal memory or using audio recording devices such as audio tapes. Questioners are the most important tool in research or investigations using interviews (Palgrave, 2011). Questionnaires have either open-ended questions or closed questions and the choice of question depends on the expected response. The first step towards achieving a successful investigation through interviews is identifying a sample. This is important since it is difficult or impossible to conduct an investigation using the entire population. The second step involves designing of questionnaires that involves setting a set of question that the researcher considers appropriate. The question should be tested before a researcher goes to the field in order to ensure that they are sensitive to the society. A pilot study is then conducted to establish the expectation of the actual study. Pilot studies also enable the researchers to refine the questionnaire and estimate budgetary requirements (Palgrave, 2011). A pilot study