Abridging Cultural Differences in Learning Essay Example for Free

Abridging Cultural Differences in Learning Essay The world is not only composed of different races that come from different countries but also comprised of innumerable cultures unique from each other. Races from all around the world are greatly diverse. The diversity includes differences in practices, traditions and other cultural manifestations. Culture is one of the distinguishable characteristics of a group of people living in society. Culture is embedded in the community and is illustrated in various forms. In fact, even architectural design depicts culture of people in a particular place. Culture shapes and reshapes a persons individuality. It is influenced by various factors including socio-political, sociological, religion, and historical. Culture continually conform and mold to provide the ever-changing needs of the people in the society. The difference in cultural identity of the people could be attributed to the inherent beliefs, traditions and practices they adhere or grew up with. It is also due to the geographical locations of where we live because culture should match or fit to the geographical and topographical characteristics of the place. For these characteristics greatly affects some aspects of the culture. Learning Styles Learning plays a big role in the lives of people for it is essential in acquiring knowledge that is utilized in understanding things. Learning is an inherent human ability that is honed by factors that affects this particular human process like parenting, formal schooling, experience etc. The process of learning is never-ending, as people reach old age they still acquire new things like information and knowledge they will be able to utilize in some way. Learning has biological and sociological aspects or dimensions. These aspects affect learning either in a positive or negative way. Students may have different processes in taking in information and different ways of learning. Teaching strategies and methods also vary among teachers. Whenever teacher-student education style methods and preference are the same, learning is more likely successful. When there is an existing discrepancy in the learning style preferred by both students and teachers, the students tend to get bored and become inattentive to the lessons (Felder). Every individual have their preferred way of learning things. They are often unaware of this particular preference, they are just aware that they learn more of things that way. People tend to learn more using certain activities and methods than others (Melkman Trotman, 2005). The learning style preferences determine how people learn and the comfortable way in which they were able to learn more. These preferences exert influence learning efficacy (Melkman Trotman, 2005). Some of the biological aspects of learning are sound and light (Shalaway Beech, 1998), some people could not digest the things they should learn in the presence of loud noise and dim light, while there are some people who understand more of the lesson under that certain circumstances. The perception of an individual also affects the learning process of an individual. State of mental health is also another aspect that affects the learning process in which we determine if a person could easily learn the things being taught to them. This is where we could separate fast, average and slow learners. Developmental and sociological aspects that affect the cognitive processes include motivation (Shalaway Beech, 1998), in which some persons need to be motivated in order to digest what is being taught. Being in the in-group also one of the factors that is mostly seen in the school setting where students are more eager to go to school when they are not ostracized by the cliques or social groups. In most classroom settings, noise is not tolerated. Teachers react negatively whenever students squirm or wriggle in their seats, whenever they tap their desks with their pencils or whenever they show restlessness. However, studies prove that some children need such activities for then to able to concentrate, think and learn (Shalaway Beech, 1998). Research shows that when the learning preference of the children, either their biological or sociological aspect, there is a notable increase in achievement and behavioral response. Teachers also have individualized learning styles that affect their way of teaching. When the learning styles of the teacher and students happen to be the same, the more the students will learn (Shalaway Beech, 1998). Various sources discussed many types of learning style preferences. The three main learning style preferences are the auditory, visual and kinesthetic. The auditory learning style explains that some students learn more using their sense of hearing. They tend to get oral instructions easily. The visual learning style, on the other hand, explains how some students tend to learn more using their sense of sight. They are the students who frantically take down notes and copy down keywords from visual aids in class. The kinesthetic learning style explains why some students opt to learn on their own. They tend to learn more through experience and discovery (Learning Styles, 2005). Cultural Differences and Learning Culture and learning are two inseparable things (Moore and Anderson, 2003). The innate cultural identity of a person tends to affect their learning capabilities through influencing their learning styles. Researches find out that cultural groups tend to have unique learning styles that are different from other ethnic groups. But there is also a contrasting finding that members of the family tend to have different learning styles. Instructors and learning facilitators should be aware of three important things. 1. There are existing universally accepted learning principles, 2. Culture greatly influences the learning styles of individuals, 3. Every person has their distinguishable learning style preferences that affect their potential achievement and acquired knowledge (Moore Anderson, 2003). Culture could be held responsible in the developed learning style of an individual. Culture determines the preferences and values a person holds. United States is a multiracial and multicultural society in which the normal classroom is composed of people coming from the different ethnic groups (Shalaway Beech, 1998). Oftentimes, we are having a difficult time understanding people who have dissimilar taste and preference, because we know that there is no commonality or common ground that that two person could talk about. We tend to be biased in some way. Cultural differences are persons strengths, knowing the cultural background of the student will greatly help us to facilitate and induce classroom learning (Shalaway Beech, 1998). The knowledge in the cultural diversity and how it influences the learning process is very important especially to the course designers because there is an inevitable possibility that a group of individuals have different learning styles preferences (Moore Anderson, 2003). The negative implication of the culturally diverse classroom setting is composed of individuals with various learning style preferences. The instructor or learning facilitator have no control over the heterogeneous mixture of learning styles for it is difficult to develop a mixture of training methods and teaching strategies for all the students to learn in class. Conclusion Learning is among the fundamental human process very essential in life. The process of learning occurs in every setting and outside the confines of school and we are unaware that it happens. Culture is the embedded characteristic deeply rooted in society. It somehow defines the social identity of a person. Culture shapes individuality and influences the different aspects of a person, including tastes and preferences. Variety is the spice of life. The global society is composed of different races and cultures. Cultural differences are reflected in learning style preferences. The negative implication of cultural diversity in a classroom and having too many learning styles is that the teachers do not know what teaching methods they should used in order the students to learn the subject. Knowledge in this particular matter is very important especially to learning facilitators and course designers to develop a comprehensive and efficient teaching method to be utilized in classrooms in which ever student’s learning style is utilized. In this way we will be able to abridge cultural differences in learning. References Felder, R. Learning Styles. Resources in Science and Engineering Education. Retrieved June 25, 2008 from http://www4. ncsu. edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Learning_Styles. html. Learning Styles. (2005). Student Development Services. University of Western Ohio. Retrieved June 25, 2008 from http://www. sdc. uwo. ca/learning/index. html? styles. Melkman, A. Trotman, J. (2005). Training International Managers: Designing, Deploying and Delivering Effective Training for Multi-Cultural Groups. England: Gower Publishing Ltd. Moore, M. G. Anderson, W. G. (2003). Handbook of Distance Education. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Shalaway, L. Beech, L. (1998). Learning to Teach: Not Just for Beginners: The Essential Guide for All Teachers. New York: Teaching Resources/ Scholastic Professional Books.

Drinking Regime Evaluation of Boluses

Drinking Regime Evaluation of Boluses Ondrej Hanu; Daniel Bro, Milan Ã…  imko, Branislav Glik, Miroslav Jurek, Michal Rolinec, Robert Herke Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovak Republic Original Paper Drinking regime evaluation with continuous ruminal monitoring boluses The aim of this study was to continuously monitored drinking regime of 7 dairy cows of Holstein breed using boluses during 24 weeks of lactation in relation to the outside temperature and observed daily drinking regime with the impact of drinking on rumen temperature at University Experimental Farm in Oponice. Animals were fed once daily and milked 3 times per day. The bolus pH and temperature values implemented via esophagus were measured every 15 minutes (96 data points per day) with accuracy  ±0.1 ph and  °C. Outside temperature by FREEMETEO meteorological server (48 times per day) was measured. Outside temperature can affect the drinking regime of dairy cows. During lactation weeks with higher outside temperature higher average number of drinking events (ANDE) was determined. The biggest difference between weeks in ANDE 18.33% (p=0.000) was found. Daily ANDE 9.25 ±1.85 and average daily temperature (ADT) 19.03 ±5.19  °C were observed. The most of the drinking events (ND E) concentrated to 4 main peaks (25.17%) during working hours (74.98%) was found. After the feed intake and milking the highest frequencies of NDE were observed. The highest average ruminal temperature after drinking (ARTAD) during night before first feeding due to lower NDE in this time were found. Overall ARTAD 36.86  °C was observed. The most measured ruminal temperatures after drinking (RTAD) (51.53%) in the interval 35 37  °C were found. This research proved that continuous ruminal monitoring with boluses is an appropriate tool for drinking regime evaluation and heat stress determination in herd of dairy cows. Keywords: bolus, rumen, temperature, water intake, outside temperature Water supplies for both humans and livestock are becoming a subject of increasing importance. Indeed, climate change and drinking water deficits in certain areas have meant that supplies of clean water for livestock are becoming problematic, at least during certain periods of the year. Water is considered the most important nutrient for health and performance in dairy herds. Loss of water from the body occurs through milk production, urine and fecal excretion, sweat and vapour loss from lungs (NRC, 2001). A adequate water intake is essential to avoid negative effects on animal health, performance and welfare (Murphy,1992; Meyer et al., 2004), and 25 and 50% restriction of drinking water relative to ad libitum intake decreased feed intake and milk yield in dairy cows (Steiger Burgos et al., 2001). Results of several experiments showed that an average of 83% of the water demand is met by drinking (NRC, 2001). Many studies found the association between water intake and outside temperatu re and between water intake and the number of drinking events (Matarazzo et al., 2003; Brown-Brandl et al., 2006; Arias et al., 2008). Drinking activity can be monitored continuously and simultaneously for randomly enrolled cows using a data acquisition system based on an individual radio frequency identification collar (Cardot et al., 2008) or with observers (Jago et al., 2005). Huzzey et al. (2005) monitored drinking activity of dairy cows using video cameras connected to a video multiplexer and a time-lapse videocassette recorder. Bewley et al. (2008) monitored ruminal temperature using boluses permanently residing in the cows reticulum and indentified temperatures influenced by drinking events. The aim of this study was to monitored drinking regime of dairy cows using boluses during lactation in relation to the outside temperature, daily drinking regime and the impact of drinking on rumen temperature. 2.1 Animals and housing Measured data from 7 dairy cows of Holstein breed (average age 3.57) in cooperation with the University Experimental Farm in Oponice during 24 lactation weeks were collected. Selected cows had average milk production 10 175 kg per lactation with 3.94% of fats, 3.10% of crude proteins and 4.70% of lactose. Experimental cows were housed in the groups with another dairy cows together. 2.2 Feeding and water availability Animals were fed once daily with Total Mix Ratio (Table 1) ad libitum between 4:00 and 5:00 and milked 3 times per day at 6:00, 12:00 and 18:00. Corn silage (pH 3.85) and alfalfa silage acidity (pH 4.85) with Sodium Bicarbonate (550 g.head-1) and Magnesium Oxide (51 g.head-1) were neutralised. In one section for 20 dairy cows two drinkers were available. Table 1 Total Mix Ratio composition DM (kg) NEL (MJ.kg-1) CP (%) NDF (%) Starch (%) 25.45 153.86 15.74 24.35 25.39 abbreviations: DM dry mater, NEL netto energy of lactation, CP crude protein, NDF neutral detergent fiber 2.3 Data measuring and data collecting Every dairy cow had implemented farm bolus for continual data measuring which was implemented through esophagus orally with the use of special balling gun. The bolus pH and temperature values were measured every 15 minutes (96 data points per day) with accuracy  ±0.1. Outside temperature by FREEMETEO meteorological server (48 times per day) was measured. Used boluses (eCow Devon, Ltd., Great Britain) are characteristic with its small dimensions (135 27 mm) and weight 207 g. Data with the handset with antenna and dongle connected with USB dongle connector with the radio frequency 434 MHz in the milking parlour were downloaded. Collected data were summarized with HathorHBClient v. 1.8.1. 2.4 Statistical evaluation Statistical evaluation with IBM SPSS v. 20.0 was realised. Descriptive statistics with One-way ANOVA were recalculated. Statistically differences between average daily outside temperatures (ADT), average ruminal temperatures after drinking (ARTAD) and average numbers of drinking events (ANDE) with post hoc Tukey Test were determined. Effect of outside temperature on number of drinking events with Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was realised. As drinking event a decrease in ruminal temperature less than -0.70% and ruminal pH less than 0.00% with previous data point using data filter was selected. Drinking regime of dairy cows during lactation with average temperatures during drinking events in the Figure 1 are shown. ANDE during monitored period 9.25 ±1.85 and ADT 19.03 ±5.19 were observed. Minimal reported ANDE found Jago et al. (2005) 5.2. Higher average ANDE for monitored period observed Huzzey et al. (2005) 9.5 ±0.4 and Perera et al. (1986) 9.4. Cardot et al. (2008) determined ANDE 7.3 ±2.8 during their experiment. The effect of ADT r=0.132 on ANDE was determined (p=0.001) but in 19 cases the same change both increase or decrase in the comparison with previous week between ANDE and ADT was found. Gonzà ¡lez Pereyra et al. (2010) found effect of outside temperature on ANDE r=0.507 (p

Economic Geography of Industry Location in India :: India Economics Industries Essays

Economic Geography of Industry Location in India ____________________________________ Paper prepared for the UNU/WIDER Project Conference on Spatial Inequality in Asia 3 Economic Geography of Industry Location in India Where do different industries locate? What factors influence the spatial distribution of economic activity within countries? Finding answers to these questions is important for understanding the development potential of sub national regions. This is particularly important for developing countries as they have relatively lower levels of overall investment and economic activity is concentrated in one or a few growth centers. Thus, regions that do not attract dynamic industries are not only characterized by low productivity, but also by lower relative incomes and standards of living. These questions on industry location and their implications are not new. Examining the locational aspects of economic activity has long been of interest to geographers, planners, and regional scientists (Weber, 1909; Là ¶sch, 1940; Hotelling, 1929; Greenhut and Greenhut, 1975, Isard 1956). However, analytic difficulties in modeling increasing returns to scale marginalized the analysis of geographic aspects in mainstream economic analysis (Krugman 1991). Recent research on externalities, increasing returns to scale, and imperfect spatial competition (Dixit and Stiglitz 1977; Fujita, et al. 1999; Krugman 1991) has led to renewed interest in analyzing the spatial organization of economic activity. This is especially true in case of geographic concentration or clustering. Models in the ‘New Economic Geography’ literature (see review in Fujita, Krugman, and Venables, 1999) allow us to move from the question ‘Where will manufacturing concentrate (if it does)?’ to the question ‘What manufacturing will concentrate where?’ These insightful theoretical models provide, for the most part, renewed analytical support for the â€Å"cumulative causation† arguments made in earlier decades on the core-periphery relationship, on agglomeration economies, and on industrial clustering. In this context, we are interested in finding empirical answers to these (very old) questions, and to go beyond, to ask, â€Å"What manufacturing will locate where and why†? Industry location and concentration decisions are driven by two fundamental considerations: a set of â€Å"pure† location or â€Å"economic geography† criteria, including well recognized elements such as urbanization and localization economies, market access, infrastructure availability, etc. The other is a set of â€Å"practical† or â€Å"political economy† criteria, where the state is a key player in industrial ownership and production, and uses location considerations that are different from the private sector. The private sector responds to the very strong influence of state regulations, and the result is an industrial geography that is shaped by factors of economic geography and political economy. To understand the process of industrial location and concentration, it is important to first analyze the location decisions of firms in particular industries.

DaVinci code Essay -- essays research papers

The Da Vinci Code By Dan Brown   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For my book report I read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. The Da Vinci Code has one main character and many supporting characters. The main character is Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist and professor. He is a tall American with coarse black hair and blue eyes. He is very intellectual and very modest. He is a quick thinker under pressure and doesn?t give up easily. He is careful with his words.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most important supporting character is Sophie Neveu. She is a cryptologist the and granddaughter of Jacques Sauniere, the murder victim. She has blond hair and green eyes and is French. She is very independent and commanding. She is also very intellectual, fluent in two languages, and good at breaking codes. She is a very determined person and does not give up with out a fight. She is also very quick witted. She is a very good liar, very convincing. She likes to take matters into her own hands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second most important supporting character is Leigh Teabing. Sir Leigh Teabing is a avid researcher of the Holy Grail. He has bushy red hair and hazel eyes. Both his legs are in metal braces. Leigh is a sly Englishman, who is obsessed with discovering the hiding place of the Grail. He is a very good actor and loves to exaggerate. He is never at a loss for words.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another main supporting charater is Bezu Fanche. He is the officer who is leading the search for the murderer and suspectcs that it is Langdon. Fanche is a large cold man who is desperrate to find this culprit. He grealt needs this case to be solved because his reputation is on the line here. He made a few too many mistakes and needs to restore his reputataion or he risk losing his job.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I also believe that another imortant supporting character is Jaucques Sauniere. He is murdered in the first chapter, however throughout the book Jaucques Sauniere affects the story line dramatically. Jaucques Sauniere is man who really believes that you need to work for what you get and nothing should come easily to you. He is an amazing code specialist and when he hides something it will stay hidden unless he wants you to find it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Da Vinci Code is about the journey Robert and Sophie take to find the Holy Grail. It begins in the Louvre Museum of Art where Jaucques Sauniere who was a curator in the Louvre. He was also the master of a secret organiza... ... to smash the box because inside lies a small glass vile containing vinegar which will dissolve the parchment on which the message is written. Once Langdon, Shopie, and Teabing open the first cryptex another lies inside.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He also never lets the story slow down or stop moving. There is always an unexpected twist which will astound you yet make perfect sense. Such as Teabing betrayal. It was totally unexpected yet it fit Teabings personality perfectly. He always wishes to have the upper hand. Another unexpected twist was that the Grail really wasn?t hidden in Great Britain in the Rosslyn which all the clues seemed to lead. Another unexpected twist was that both Opus Dei and the Priory of Sion both wished to keep the contents of the Grail hidden.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dan brown is also good at gathering real information and joining it together to make a story that seems possible. His story is based on facts which he has distorted to make fit to what he wishes to achieve. You can never tell what is coming next or what the outcome of an action will. He constantly keeps you guessing and I enjoy that. I give this book two thumbs up. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, DoubleDay publishing 2003.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   DaVinci code Essay -- essays research papers The Da Vinci Code By Dan Brown   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For my book report I read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. The Da Vinci Code has one main character and many supporting characters. The main character is Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist and professor. He is a tall American with coarse black hair and blue eyes. He is very intellectual and very modest. He is a quick thinker under pressure and doesn?t give up easily. He is careful with his words.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most important supporting character is Sophie Neveu. She is a cryptologist the and granddaughter of Jacques Sauniere, the murder victim. She has blond hair and green eyes and is French. She is very independent and commanding. She is also very intellectual, fluent in two languages, and good at breaking codes. She is a very determined person and does not give up with out a fight. She is also very quick witted. She is a very good liar, very convincing. She likes to take matters into her own hands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second most important supporting character is Leigh Teabing. Sir Leigh Teabing is a avid researcher of the Holy Grail. He has bushy red hair and hazel eyes. Both his legs are in metal braces. Leigh is a sly Englishman, who is obsessed with discovering the hiding place of the Grail. He is a very good actor and loves to exaggerate. He is never at a loss for words.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another main supporting charater is Bezu Fanche. He is the officer who is leading the search for the murderer and suspectcs that it is Langdon. Fanche is a large cold man who is desperrate to find this culprit. He grealt needs this case to be solved because his reputation is on the line here. He made a few too many mistakes and needs to restore his reputataion or he risk losing his job.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I also believe that another imortant supporting character is Jaucques Sauniere. He is murdered in the first chapter, however throughout the book Jaucques Sauniere affects the story line dramatically. Jaucques Sauniere is man who really believes that you need to work for what you get and nothing should come easily to you. He is an amazing code specialist and when he hides something it will stay hidden unless he wants you to find it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Da Vinci Code is about the journey Robert and Sophie take to find the Holy Grail. It begins in the Louvre Museum of Art where Jaucques Sauniere who was a curator in the Louvre. He was also the master of a secret organiza... ... to smash the box because inside lies a small glass vile containing vinegar which will dissolve the parchment on which the message is written. Once Langdon, Shopie, and Teabing open the first cryptex another lies inside.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He also never lets the story slow down or stop moving. There is always an unexpected twist which will astound you yet make perfect sense. Such as Teabing betrayal. It was totally unexpected yet it fit Teabings personality perfectly. He always wishes to have the upper hand. Another unexpected twist was that the Grail really wasn?t hidden in Great Britain in the Rosslyn which all the clues seemed to lead. Another unexpected twist was that both Opus Dei and the Priory of Sion both wished to keep the contents of the Grail hidden.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dan brown is also good at gathering real information and joining it together to make a story that seems possible. His story is based on facts which he has distorted to make fit to what he wishes to achieve. You can never tell what is coming next or what the outcome of an action will. He constantly keeps you guessing and I enjoy that. I give this book two thumbs up. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, DoubleDay publishing 2003.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Julius Caesar - Summary Of Act I-v :: essays research papers

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a play about loyalty, betrayal, love, and deception. There are many characters with fairly in-depth personalities. Some of the main characters are Cassius, the crafty, deceptive, witty man who is the leader of the conspiracy that killed Caesar. Brutus, the noble, honest, honorable man who is one of the key members of the conspiracy. There is also Antony, who is Caesar’s right hand man. He is shrewd and ruthless man, willing to do anything to get revenge for Caesar’s death. Act I is centered around introducing the play and some of its characters. The play opens around a crowd of people waiting for Caesar’s return after his victory over Pompey’s sons. As the parade marches by, a soothsayer bids Caesar to "beware the ides of March." Later in Act I, Cassius persuades the frightened Casca to join the conspiracy during a violent storm. They both plan to visit Brutus later with fake petitions to help persuade Brutus to join the conspiracy. Act II opens with Brutus contemplating whether to join the conspiracy or not when Lucius brings Brutus one of Cassius’s petitions. Cassius and five other conspirators enter. Brutus agrees to become a conspirator, but refuses to take and oath, including Cicero in the conspiracy, and killing Mark Antony. Brutus then leaves with Caius Ligarius for the Capitol. Later in the morning, Caesar’s wife, Calpurnia, begs Caesar not to go to the Capitol. He is finally persuaded to go by Decius. Mark Antony and the conspirators enter, and they all leave for the Capitol together. On the way, Artemidorus tries to warn Caesar of his impending death with a letter, which never makes it to Caesar. Portia sends her servant, Lucius, to the Capitol for news while she speaks with a soothsayer who will try to warn Caesar a second time. In Act III, Caesar, along with the conspirators, makes his way to the Capitol. The soothsayer and Artimedorus both try to warn Caesar to no avail. He is killed at the Capitol, stabbed first by Casca with the words "Speak, hands, for me!" All the conspirators except Brutus follow Casca’s lead and stab Caesar. Caesar tries to fend off all the blows until he sees Brutus’s raised dagger. Caesar dies after Brutus stabs him with the words, "Et tu, Brutè? Then fall, Caesar!" Brutus then explains the conspirators reasons for killing Caesar at his funeral. Julius Caesar - Summary Of Act I-v :: essays research papers The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a play about loyalty, betrayal, love, and deception. There are many characters with fairly in-depth personalities. Some of the main characters are Cassius, the crafty, deceptive, witty man who is the leader of the conspiracy that killed Caesar. Brutus, the noble, honest, honorable man who is one of the key members of the conspiracy. There is also Antony, who is Caesar’s right hand man. He is shrewd and ruthless man, willing to do anything to get revenge for Caesar’s death. Act I is centered around introducing the play and some of its characters. The play opens around a crowd of people waiting for Caesar’s return after his victory over Pompey’s sons. As the parade marches by, a soothsayer bids Caesar to "beware the ides of March." Later in Act I, Cassius persuades the frightened Casca to join the conspiracy during a violent storm. They both plan to visit Brutus later with fake petitions to help persuade Brutus to join the conspiracy. Act II opens with Brutus contemplating whether to join the conspiracy or not when Lucius brings Brutus one of Cassius’s petitions. Cassius and five other conspirators enter. Brutus agrees to become a conspirator, but refuses to take and oath, including Cicero in the conspiracy, and killing Mark Antony. Brutus then leaves with Caius Ligarius for the Capitol. Later in the morning, Caesar’s wife, Calpurnia, begs Caesar not to go to the Capitol. He is finally persuaded to go by Decius. Mark Antony and the conspirators enter, and they all leave for the Capitol together. On the way, Artemidorus tries to warn Caesar of his impending death with a letter, which never makes it to Caesar. Portia sends her servant, Lucius, to the Capitol for news while she speaks with a soothsayer who will try to warn Caesar a second time. In Act III, Caesar, along with the conspirators, makes his way to the Capitol. The soothsayer and Artimedorus both try to warn Caesar to no avail. He is killed at the Capitol, stabbed first by Casca with the words "Speak, hands, for me!" All the conspirators except Brutus follow Casca’s lead and stab Caesar. Caesar tries to fend off all the blows until he sees Brutus’s raised dagger. Caesar dies after Brutus stabs him with the words, "Et tu, Brutè? Then fall, Caesar!" Brutus then explains the conspirators reasons for killing Caesar at his funeral.

Dow Pbb

Dow Chemical By Kai Draaisma Laurens de Blij Diedrik Oost Eva Sloff Lesley Flohil 13-11-2012 Duisenberg School of Finance Executive summary 1. Summary of Facts. With an annual revenue of $20. 2 billion Dow held the leading market position worldwide in ethylene and polyethylene (exhibit 1b). To consolidate all of Bahia Blanca’s polyethylene activity under Dow’s control a three-stage plan was developed. The first stage involved taking control of PBB, the second stage involved acquiring Polisur’s two polyethylene plants, and the third stage involved building a new ethylene cracker.To determine a proper risk premium Dow had to consider possible country risks. Currency and government policy risk may have had an impact because of possible future crises and changing government policies relevant to foreign investments. Furthermore, because of the ending of the convertibility law Dow also had to consider a possible exchange-rate risk. Dow created a holding company, Dow In vestment Argentina, to invest in the project, then they had to decide whether they will use general corporate funds or raise debt for the PBB bid. 2. Statement of problem . 1General analysis Rational for Acquisition of PBB Dow Chemical’s corporate strategy is to look for horizontal- and vertical integration, achieve technological leadership and gain international presence. Dow will benefit from a more integrated production process by lowering their cost of production. PBB will also create stable supplies of ethane for Dow allowing them to achieve operating rates near 100%. Cracking ethane in the region will result in lower operating risk for Dow meaning the supply/input risk for the production of Polyethylene.An increase in the production output of Dow will allow them to benefit from economies of scale. Overall Dow will gain technology leadership and operational excellence from adding PBB to their company and enhance them with a costleader position in the market required to c ompete with the government-subsidized chemical complexes. Risk measurement In this section we provide a brief risk analysis. Table 1 is designed to give a compact overview of the different risks, possible mitigating actions and whether the risks are integrated in the cash flow or discount rate.Not every risk was applicable in the acquisition of PBB. The risk that influenced our cash flows the most is the currency risk caused by a possible liquidity crisis in Argentina. Argentina has experienced eight major currency crises (tijd/reference)and there is a risk of a new currency crisis in the future. When this happens, Dow will not be able to sell its output to the home country and will have to increase its export. Revenue de We have also taken into account that the convertibility law that now provides stability could eventually stop. This will also have a significant impact on inflation.Operating risk is the second risk with a large impact on projected cash flows. This is mostly the ri sk of not meeting the full operating capacity. For the first 3 years we keep the operating rate of the plant at 65% and from 1995 we increase the operating rate by 5% each year. Other risks had less of an impact on our cash flows. Information risk was less of an issue because Dow was already present in Argentina and PBB was important to the government of Argentina. Corporate Governance risk in Argentina is not expected to have a significant additional impact on cash flows.This risk is already included in the discount rate for similar projects in the US. Table 1: Risk overview| Risk| Mitigating actions| Cash Flow (CF) or Discount rate (DR)| Corruption risk| 1. Have a large bank loan from a national bank. 2. Government stake of 49% here is a mitigating factor | DR| Expropriation risk| Same actions as for corruption risk| CF (tax wil increase 5%)| Operating risk (only post/ completion risks )| n/a| CF| Sovereign risk| Through the convertibility law, the peso has been anchored to the US D to prevent hyperinflation. | DR| Currency/ Foreign exchange risk| 1.Dow is a well diversified investor, therefore this should be mitigated. 2. Buy put options on the Arg peso. | CF| Corporate Governance risk| Give shares to management to align incentives. | DR| Repatriation risk| Current political climate is stable, not likely that Arg will impose limits on fund outflows. | DR| Information Risk| Dow Chemical already has presence in Argentina, therefore are more likely to receive high quality information. | n/a| Adjusted discount rate All risks that are not used for adjusting cash flows are integrated in the adjusted discount rate.These risks include but are not limited to corruption risk, information risk, hyperinflation, sovereign risk, repatriation risk and other residual risks. These risks are partly mitigated, however all the different risks combined constitute a premium which we will add on to the the given discount rate for similar projects in the US of 8%-10%. A reasonable assumption for the combined premium will be [ ]. The auumed premium results in a discount rate of [ ] which we will use in our further valuation. 4. Recommendation Bidding decisionCompeting bidders need to comply with certain covenants (exhibit 6). Competitors Perez Companc S. A. and Copesul do not comply with the requirements of having a statement of net worth of at least 5 billion. Even if the two companies would merge they do not meet the the requirements. This makes Dow the sole bidder for PBB. This has a profound impact on the internal valuation. Appendix 1 Risk Information risk. When you are doing a cross-border valuation you have to take into account that there may be information risk.This includes the risk of outside investors getting the wrong information because of poor disclosure in the financial statements. However since Dow entered Argentina in 1957 we assume they are familiar with the market and accounting rules, therefore information risk for this project is low as Do w chemical has already collected country experience in Argentina via Dow Quimica. Because this is difficult to quantify we have taken this into account in our discount rate. Corruptionrisk. The risk of corruption includes the illegal payments and favors outside the rule of law.Corruption exists to some extent in all countries, but there are large differences across countries. According to the Global Corruption Index by Transparancy international, the level of corruption for Argentina in 1995 was given a 5. 24 out of a possible score of 10. This gave them a ranking of 24 out of 42 countries surveyed. All of which were assumed to be developed countries. However, Dow somehow secured itself thanks to PBB’s importance and the Argentine government’s intention to keeps 49% which is an advantage and not a disadvantage.The Argentine government will also appreciate the jobs being created in the later project stages, if successful, and a good relationship with the government will likely also be beneficial when discussing with YPF about long-term ethane supply. Mitigation: Part of this risk can be mitigated by taking a loan in Argentina to finance the project as the government will not want Dow to default on their debt resulting in an overall bad outcome for Argentina’s economic situation. Furthermore part of this risk is mitigated as the government has a stake in the company so it is also in their interest to keep the company strong.Currency risk: As Argentina has experienced 8 major currency crises in the past there is the risk of a new currency crisis occuring in the future. Even though the convertibility law took away some of the risk, Dow will still have to bear in mind that when a crises happen, they will not be able to sell their output to the home country and will have to increase its export. This risk is taken into account in the cashflows. Expropriation risk. Political instability or expropriation is small as they company has had a stable dem ocratic government past 12 years.However, changes in the policy of the government will cause a risk for Dow and their foreign investments. At that moment there were no restrictions on borrowing abroad and there were no limits imposed on payments of foreign loan principal and interest. If something changes in this regulations it may have an effect on the acquisition of Dow. For this reason we will also include this risk in our discount rate. Furthermore the government has no limits on cash flows going out of their country but can eventually decide to do so.We consider the risk of the government taking over the company to be low as the production of polyethylene and deriving ethylene from hydrocarbon crackers is complex. This is a process for skilled people and not just anyone can therefore run the company properly. The risk of expropriation is therefore low. As the production of ethylene and derivatives such as polythylene is a highly complicated process, requiring large captial inve stment and a high operating leverage, not many companies will be able and willing to take over the business.Furthermore as Polythylene is a commodity product that trades globally with a narrow price range. Mitigation:Dow can decrease the risk exposure by taking on a loan in Argentina to finance their project. This will decrease the risk exposure as Dow can only default on their debt when the government decides to raise taxes, which will not lead to a company default. Foreign Exchange Rate Risk. Foreign Exhange rate risk will be low because of Dow Chemical’s international presence and the assumption that shareholders are sufficiently diversified. The convertibility law which ensured a fixed Argentine peso and U.S. dollar at exactly one already decrease the foreign exchange rate risk. However we need to take into account the risk that the convertibility law might come to an end. Mitigation: The risk can be decreased by setting up binding financial contracts with the governmetn to make sure the deal will happen. Furthermore Dow could decide to place a put option on the peso to protect themselves when the peso collapses. Operating risk Pre-completion: as the project is already completed there is no risk concerning the technology risks or other completion risk.Post-completion: we have included the post-completion risk in our cashflows as we run the risk of not meeting the full operating capacity. For the first 3 years we keep the operating rate of the plant at 65% and from 1995 we increase the operating rate by 5% each year. As the company provides their own input this risk does not need to be taken into account. Operating risk would likely matter but we handled that risk by adjsuting down our casfhlows in stage 1 so we do not take it into account for adjusting our cost of capitalSovereign risk Politcal events suchs as wars, labor strikes, terrorism and changes in laws can happen in any country you work with and therefore needs to be taken into account. Sinc e it is hard to quantify this risk we have handled it through the discount rate. Appendix 2 | | Source: Erb, Harvey Viskanta, ‘Poltical risk,Economic risk and Financial risk’, Fuqua School of Business Working Paper No. 9606, 1996. | ——————————————– [ 1 ]. For broader explanation of the different risks see Appendix 1 [ 2 ].According to the Global Corruption Index by Transparancy international the level of corruption for Argentina in 1995 was given a 5. 24 out of a possible score of 10. This gave them a ranking of 24 out of 42 countries surveyed. All of which were developed countries more or less. Source: http://archive. transparency. org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/previous_cpi [ 3 ]. See Appendix 1 for an explanation of the mitigating factors of the before mentioned risks [ 4 ]. This conclusion was reached byTaking the ‘total assets’ as net worth on the financial statements of Perez on Copesul (exhibit 8a &8b).

Advert analysis.

What Is that one, particular strategy that a marketer will employ to drive a consumer to buy a product? The answer to that Is advertising. In today's consumer driven world, advertising is the main force behind a company's success. The more convincing, appealing and effective the advert, the bigger the market for the product. They employ appeals including logos, ethos and pathos to convey their message to the audience. The most effective adverts, it seems, are the ones aimed at beauty or simply put, â€Å"looking good†. The Avenue Active Natural advert, in a recent issue of theNatural Health Magazine, is one such advert that uses all such appeals and leaves The Avenue Active Natural advert immediately quite an impact on women. Captures ones attention while randomly flipping through the magazine pages. The advert Is about a dally moisturizing lotion that uses a special Oat Formula. It uses warm, natural colors, basically different shades of green, which sort of has a soothing an d relaxing effect on the audience. It features a glowing Jennifer Animations posing with an ever radiant smile; this mage takes up the entire left side of the page.The background shows a place with a lot of greenery. On the bottom of the ad one can see the campaign slogan â€Å"see the beautiful difference healthier skin can make†, in large white font; simple yet thought provoking. To the right side is more text explaining why oat is important for dry skin and how it is recommended by dermatologists, with a â€Å"before and after test† to provide some sort of evidence of how effective it is. The product itself, the lotion pump, is shown further towards the bottom of the page. On the top right corner is the brand name, â€Å"Avenue, active naturals† In white font.Since this ad Is featured in a women's health magazine, It ill capture the attention of health conscious women. It will target women who are looking for a good and effective moisturizer. Those who have s kin problems, specifically dry skin, might find this ad particularly useful since It claims that the moisturizer uses oats which are recommended for dry skin. Health conscious women mostly look for organic products with the least amount of chemical because they are so conscious about their skin. Every woman wants to look as close to perfect as possible.They are always on the move to find anything that will make them look good, s good as the models they see in magazines and in ads such as this one. Advertisers know that women will never be happy with how they look. Ads like these play on such insecurities and they always seem to succeed! The ad effectively makes use of logos to educate women as to why it would be a rational decision to buy this product. â€Å"Healthy, beautiful skin begins with oat†. That right there makes the audience want to read on. The more she reads, she learns that the moisturizer uses an exclusive oat formula.She's Impressed. What comes next really make s her eager to try this product. The ad says how oat Is recommended by dermatologists â€Å"to Improve the health of dry skin†. Did somebody say â€Å"dermatologists†? With the support of fact true that oat is one of natures' best kept beauty secrets. If women had any doubt about that, well this information Just proves them otherwise. Furthermore, the ad shows a skin test to prove how using the product will improve skin in one day and show significant changes within Just two weeks.Through this information and mostly professional opinion on the matter, the advertiser sets out to show that they care about the audience enough to provide them with such information. Pathos is used almost everywhere in this advert. Firstly, the text plays a very important role. Phrases such as â€Å"see the beautiful difference healthier skin can make† play on the audience's emotions in the sense that it makes them curious as to what exactly â€Å"beautiful difference† means. F urthermore, it mentions how beautiful skin begins with oat. This again appeals to the audience.It makes them confident and believe that there is something out there that will give them better, more beautiful skin. Words like â€Å"exclusive oat formula† make the product seem unique. The advert levelly makes use of a beaming Jennifer Animations who is renowned for her natural beauty. It is trying to convince the audience that they too can look as beautiful and radiant as Jennifer Animations, if they use the product. Moreover, the warm, natural colors, as well as the greenery in the background and the clear blue sky, have a soothing effect on the audience.They are relaxing to the eyes and give an overall â€Å"natural† feel and that is exactly how the advert wants the audience to feel when thinking about the product since it uses a natural formula. Lastly, the advert employs ethos to build up trust among the audience. If someone as famous as Jennifer Animations has chose n to campaign for the product, then it is probably something worthy of using. It is probably effective because it is making her and has always made her look that good.This exact notion goes through the audience's mind when looking at the advert. Now whenever they talk or think about the product, they will probably say something like, â€Å"Oh! It is the same brand Jennifer Animations uses. † Furthermore, the advert shows the reliability of the product with the statement, â€Å"it's the ingredients most recommended by dermatologists†. It also uses phrases like proven to seal in moisture for healthier skin†, emphasis on â€Å"proven†, to further strengthen the trust element among the audience.It is safe to say that this advert was a successful one. Surely, it made a lot of women get off their sofas and drive to the mall to look for Avenue, Active Naturals moisturizing lotion. If not that, it must have at least triggered some sort of response out of the women . The reason for that is that the ad successfully appeals to and prompts the audiences' emotions and their sense of trust and reason. Such a technique is of the best sort when it comes to beauty products like this one.