Gangs in Prison

Gangs in Prison The Aryan Brotherhood The Aryan Brotherhood originates in the CDC (California Department of Corrections) and BOP (Federal Bureau of Prisons). The Aryan Brotherhood was founded in San Quentin, California in the 1960s. The founders were members of other gangs from the 1950s called, â€Å"Bluebirds†, â€Å"Diamond Tooth Gang†, and the â€Å"Nazi Gang†. Barry Mills and Tyler Davis are now the leaders of the Aryan Brotherhood.Their basic beliefs and mission is they believe in the betterment and preservation of the white race, in separatism, that no foreigner should rule over the white race, that all who are against or oppress the white race are sworn enemies, in the rights of the white race, in the right to teach white children of the Aryan cultures and heritage, believe only in the support of the white race, and that it is important to guide the upbringing of white children, as they are the heirs to the future. The Aryan Brotherhood is known to be str ongest in the southwest and pacific regions.They are weakest in northeastern regions, where the African-American population is more dominant. It has been stated that the Aryan Brotherhood is growing. As of now, there are approximately 500 members. The criminal activities that they are involved in are murder, kidnapping, racketeering, and drug distribution. At least one example of how dangerous it is in prison for these members is the ABT leader Kelly Ray Ellery and other members ordered subordinates to kill a prospective member and make it â€Å"messy as possible† to send a message to gang members to cooperate with law enforcement.They also ordered to return the man’s severed finger as a trophy. The Black Guerilla Family The Black Guerilla family originated from San Quentin Prison in 1966. The founders of this gang are George Jackson and W. L. Nolen. Their basic beliefs and mission is to eradicate racism, maintain dignity in prison and overthrow the United States Gover nment. They are strongest in San Quentin, CA and Baltimore, Maryland. They are weakest in the southwestern and Pacific regions. Their ranks are growing, they have 50,000 members today. The criminal activities they are involved in while in prison are drug trafficking, extortion, and violent crimes.One example of how dangerous it can be in prison is the supreme commander, â€Å"Doc† Holiday, proved he still had what it takes to be in the Black Guerilla Family by stabbing a random fellow prisoner to death. The Folk Nation The Folk Nation originated from the Illinois Department of Corrections. I would also like to note that The Folk Nation is not a gang- they are alliances which gangs are aligned. Larry Hoover, the chairman of the Gangster Disciples Nation, created the idea of alliance and persuaded black, white, and Latino gangs from Chicago to join. He did all of this in November 11, 1978.Under their basic beliefs and missions, they maintain a strict code of solidarity, with me mbers promising to hold â€Å"Folk before family† and claiming they will â€Å"not let my brother fall to a knee†. They are strongest in the Midwest and southwest; there is no record of where they could possibly be the weakest, because they are all over the United States. They are continuously recruiting members in the streets and in prisons, therefore stating that they are very dominant and only getting stronger. The criminal activities they are commonly involved in are racketeering, murder, robbery, assault, and illegal use of firearms.The Mexican Mafia The Mexican Mafia originated in 1957 at Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy, California. Luis â€Å"Huero Buff† Flores from the Hawaiian Gardens gang was the founder of The Mexican Mafia. Their basic beliefs were to control the prison system. They are strongest in northern and southern California, but they are in a decline right now. The most obvious of criminal activities of The Mexican Mafia are extortion ( RICO), narcotics distribution, and murder. An example of the danger in the prison system from the Mexican Mafia is in the 1960’s, the Mexican Mafia conducted hits in San Quentin and DVI.Doroteo â€Å"Sleepy† Betancourt and Frank â€Å"moose† Bazure murdered a correctional officer; just to prove their existence. MS13 The MS13 gang originated in Los Angeles in the 1960’s and the 1980’s. They didn’t actually have just one founder; it was a group of young Salvadorans that broke off from other Hispanic gangs. Their basic beliefs are self-protection and protection of their families. They are strongest in Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, and Utah; they are also strong in Canada, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and El Salvador.They are weakest in the East coast. They are neither growing or in decline, because they no longer exist; they are known now as the Surenos. Their criminal activities consists of drug smuggling, gun running, people smuggling, hits for hire, theft, drug sales, and arson. An example to illustrate how dangerous they are is in a recent Texas incident, a member of MS13(Surenos) participated in a gang rape of a 24-year-old woman and then he kicked her in the neck so hard that he broke it and killed her instantly.In conclusion, I noticed that they all had similarities in criminal activity. All of their beliefs were very different except for one thing, they all focused more on their own races of people. I also noticed that all but the Mexican Mafia are growing in population. I also realized that the strongest and most dangerous gang in the world is MS13 aka Surenos. Although the other prison gangs are growing in threat level and population; MS13 aka Surenos is the largest organized crime entity in the world.Therefore, in conclusion, these prison gangs actually have a lot more in common than what they think th ey do. The only thing that is really separating them is their racial beliefs. References: History of the Mexican Mafia prison gang; July 25th, 2007; Valdemar, Richard; www. policemag. com Ten members of Bronx drug trafficking crew charged; Jan. 9th, 2013; U. S. Attorney’s office; www. fbi. gov The Aryan Brotherhood; Montaldo, Charles; Jan. 2013; www. crime. about. com Ebook: Corrections Today; Chapter 8 The Prison Experience(males)

Christmas in Purgatory Essay

After seeing the video and receiving a glimpse into the lives of the people and families that had to live through the traumatic events that took place I completely agreed with the Christmas in Purgatory book that â€Å"there is a hell on earth. † One of the main things I realized from the video and class discussion was that helping better the education and accommodations for students with disabilities is a job for every educator. The video helped me relate the information to my own life by making me realize one major flaw that I failed to see in myself was thinking that because I am not a special education major it is not as important for me to help take the necessary steps to better the educational need of those with disabilities. After watching the Willowbrook video I realized that much of the problem with what happened may have begun with people who looked the other way because they thought it was of no concern of theirs. The images and video really helped me grasp the realness of what happened. It was truly something I had to see to believe. I think it related to the course information by really opening students eyes and making us want to learn more and do more to make things better for those with disabilities. The information I learned has made me realize that my view on what role I should play in helping students with disabilities was incredibly off. This fact really made me like the video because it helped give me a better perspective on things. It really brought to my attention the reality of what happened and how everyone needs to play a part in taking steps to make things better. I think the information we learned and discussed in class will truly make students want to help make a change. The video, images, and discussion will hopefully alter everyone’s perspective, like it has mine, for the better and make us work toward creating an improved learning environment for students with disabilities. The experience of completing this assignment was really exciting for me because I was able to learn something about myself and persons with disabilities that I had not known before. This information should impact everyone, including myself; to make sure that something this tragic never happens again.

Marriage and Family Therapy Essay

Marriage and Family Therapy Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine the field of marriage and family counseling beginning with the history and development of the profession and its importance in the field of counseling. This paper will also evaluate five major themes relevant to Marriage and Family Therapy which include: roles of Marriage and Family Therapists; licensure requirements and examinations; methods of supervision; client advocacy; multiculturalism and diversity. The author will discuss significant aspects to the field of Marriage and Family Therapy such as MFT identity, function, and ethics of the profession. This paper will assess biblical values in relation to Marriage and Family Therapists and to the field itself. In conclusion, the author will provide reflections on Marriage and Family Therapy and the personal commitment to provide counseling that is ethical, biblically grounded, and empirically based. Marriage and Family Therapy This paper is an examination of the history and development of the field of Marriage and Family Therapy. Education, licensure requirements, methods of supervision, client advocacy, and cultural sensitivity are the focus of the evaluation with specific attention given to counselor identity, function, and ethics. History and Development The field of Marriage and Family Therapy is an emerging profession with roots dating back to the late 1940’s. In 2009 licensure for Marriage and Family Therapists was attained for all 50 states and the District of Columbia but this dream began in 1949 when the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (originally called the American Association of Marriage Counselors) joined forces with the National Council on Family Relations to form a committee to create the standards that would one day regulate the practice of marriage and family counseling (Northey, 2009). Marriage and family counseling was once thought of as a subset of other helping professions but now Marriage and Family Therapy is one of the major mental health professions in the United States with over 50,000 licensed therapists (Northey, 2009). The profession has its own accrediting body, COAMFTE, for accrediting graduate and doctorate programs in Marriage and Family Therapy. To further strengthen the profession, 128 core competencies have been identified with six primary domains and five subdomains (Miller, 2010). The six domains include: admission to treatment; clinical assessment and diagnosis; treatment planning and case management; therapeutic intervention; legal issues, ethics, and standards; and research and program evaluation. The subdomains relate to types of skills and are comprised of: conceptual, perceptual, executive, evaluative, and professional (Miller, 2010). According to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy website, a marriage and family therapist is a highly trained professional working in the mental health field that brings a family-oriented perspective to health care (http://www. aamft. org). In order to help families and married partners accomplish this, marriage and family therapists assess what kinds of emotional and mental disorders, behavioral and health problems, and relationship issues are encountered and then a treatment plan is devised. Treatment of the problems that families and couples face often results in greater understanding as well as more effective communication between members and couples which can ultimately aid in the prevention of crises for the individual and family. A main aspect of marriage and family therapy is the focus on the here and now and what can be done to remedy these current situations.

Reflection of motion picture Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reflection of motion picture - Assignment Example As opposed to the movie industry, the structure of television industry is very different. My understanding is that television industry is more tightly regulated by governmental laws as compared to the movie industry, since the medium through which it is transmitted (airwaves) is considered the property of public; hence increased government interference. The cable systems and the satellite-delivered television programs however enjoy exemption, as they do not utilize public’s airwaves. I have noted that interestingly, the movie industry that was in older times a rival of the television media, now uses television as a means of promotion of its products. This channel is utilized to invite audiences for an experience of a bigger better screen and extraordinary sound effects, which are lacking in the television medium. Despite all this, the movie business carries with it a high level of uncertainty which manifests in the forms of monetary peaks and troughs during the various seasons of the

Industrial Growth and Competition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Industrial Growth and Competition - Essay Example Moral hazard originated in the insurance industry where Insurance firms realized that by protecting their customers from risks, they might be encouraging risky behaviors. In cases where there are high potential claims, an insurance firm will charge higher premiums. A moral hazard exists in these situations (Winter 2013): Lack of shared information: One party may happen to possess more information than the other party. For instance, a company selling investments may be aware that it will not succeed in the next two years based on its performance. Investors investing in the firm due to lack of enough information may think that the company is doing well. Principal-agent problem: When an agent or insurance broker is not in alignment with the individual it represents, moral hazards can exist. For instance, an insurance agent may recommend a bigger policy if that is the way of getting a special bonus. In some situations, the membership of the Euro may cause some moral hazards. A country in the community may imagine that if it faces many challenges, the other members will bail it out. For instance, a state may decide to grow its debts knowingly. When Greece joined the Euro, it took advantage of low-interest rates because of its membership in the Euro. The low-interest rates encouraged the country to keep borrowing until it realized too late that the country had borrowed too much. Greece continued to borrow knowing that it enjoyed low interest rates because of its membership in the Euro (Dam & Koetter 2012). If an individual has not insured his house, it implies that he will suffer losses in case of burglary or fire. An individual will be compelled to be careful by installing burglar alarms and employ guards to evade any unexpected event (Jaspersen & Richter 2015). In case a house is insured for its full value, if any bad

Management must strive for efficiency & effectiveness throughout Essay - 2

Management must strive for efficiency & effectiveness throughout organisation. Discuss, relating to strategic and operational theories and concepts covered within the lecture notes of this course - Essay Example re the intrinsic management attributes that are linked with efficiency and effectiveness that is rampant in any organization in the time and age of today. The same are discussed in line with the strategic and operational theories and concepts that have been studied thus far. Strategic basis of the management regimes indicate that an organization is more than willing to think long term, and hence devise ways and means through which success would be envisioned for the sake of the business concern. The operational theories and concepts are also important to discern and later on comprehend because embody the basis of success for an organization in the long run. The manner in which the external environment plays a definitive role as well as the building up of the strategic. Similarly managing the marketing mix is pivotal towards resolving the management related problems on a proactive basis. The same is necessary because it helps solve quite a few issues which basically mar the basis of an organization in the long run (Sims 2002). Efficiency and effectiveness within an organization is achieved through hard work and consistency that is related with the different processes, activities and tasks. The strategy development process could either be an intended one within an organization or it could comprise of an emergent form. Both have challenges and implications which are related with the strategic drift, the learning organizational basis, the uncertain and complex conditions and the overall management of the strategy development processes. The strategic management is therefore a combination of the external environment and the strategic capability that holds the strategic choices like business level strategies, the corporate and international level strategies and the development directions and methodologies (Ruhli 1993). The external environment similarly is related with the building up of the strategic capabilities. This means that the internal level analysis holds

The causes that lead to the crisis and discuss how it has affected the Essay

The causes that lead to the crisis and discuss how it has affected the New Zealand financial system and economy - Essay Example However, even wealthiest governments were forced to declare diverse rescue packages in order to bail out and thereby ensure the safety of their financial systems. The decade witnessed a series of collapses in the American banking sector, which were directly attributed to the crisis. The most challenging issue associated with the global crisis was that the institutions responsible for the financial difficulties were the ones being largely bailed out. This paper intends to explore the major causes that led to the crisis and how it affected New Zealand’s financial system and economy. Facts of the financial crisis Davies (2009) says that the financial crisis widely struck the global financial markets and its first impacts were seen in the United States’ sub-prime mortgage market. As a result of this crisis, the prices of bonds and other financial assets were considerably declined by which the generated losses largely hit the financial system. In the view of Davies (2009), i n this period, number of financial institution underwent bankruptcy mainly due to the collapse in credit; this situation adversely affected the economic confidence of business houses/entrepreneurs and thereby the overall economic growth of nations. A gigantic expansion in credit and asset prices just prior to the collapse increased its severity. This adverse credit as well as asset price expansion was more visible in the housing markets of US. Davies (2009) points that the situation of immense global imbalances between corporate giants created huge reserve accumulations. The aftereffects of these accumulations led to the fall of real and nominal interest rates. Naturally, this economic condition produced an environment that offered excess liquidity and very easy credit; hence, borrowers began to take advantages of this favorable situation. Subsequently, companies also increased their leverage with intent to exploit the situation. In the view of Davies (2009), households got the oppo rtunity to borrow more and more under this economic situation; and consequently, the ‘household debt rose to unprecedented levels in relation to GDP’. The banks and other financial institution were willing to approve this increased demand for credit and allowed credit even to vulnerable and very risky borrowers. Obviously, this massive and thoughtless credit creation hurt the financial stability of the credit sector. Causes of the global financial crisis Prior to the emergence of global financial crisis, it seemed that America had struggled with productivity and competitiveness in the Asian markets. The speculative economy has also notably contributed to this financial turbulence since the relationship of the international money supply did not commensurate with the actual production of goods. We know that energy consumption significantly increased by the beginning of 21st century. Since the existed reserve levels could not meet the increasing energy requirements, it cau sed energy crisis. Scholars opine that this energy crisis has also played a vital role intensifying the crisis. Davies (2009) argues that the irresponsible and passive trade room practices have also contributed to the crisis. Many of the economists are of the opinion that severe feeding problems or food crisis are also factors that fueled the global financial crisis. However, the major cause of the 2007 global economic crisis can be directly

Ethnic Views Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethnic Views - Essay Example Settling in a different context would also result to cultural conflict where the dominant group isolates the minorities due to ethnic and other differences. In this text two incidences; the myth of the Latin women and the American dreamer will be explored to portray how cultural conflicts occur and lead to stereotyping. Fredrickson, M. George put forward four models of ethnic relations and how they are embraced as well as their effects on the affected parties. In this case one-way simulation, a model that tries to forcefully integrate the immigrants into the new ways of the native people in America will be analyzed in the two narratives above and the specific cases outlined to relate the cases occurrences with the model as postulated by Fredrickson. The American dreamer The American Dreamer is a narrative of an Indian woman; specifically from the Bengali speaking tribe who went to study in Canada in the 50s only to be met with harsh racial sentiments and highly contrasting cultural p erspectives that makes her to forget her real identity in a confused racial conflict situation. The hierarchical classification society that she was used to was replaced by a contradicting westernized lifestyle that encompasses virtually everything that her cultural background describes as social norms. The westernized ways of life such as 5 minutes wedding in a lawyer’s office was the climax of departure from a well structured cultural that the writer has abandoned and tries to fit in to a different cultural perspective that is not welcoming. This makes the writer and her family to move to the United States, where she becomes a committed immigrant from being detached onlookers that she had been reduced to. The writer later becomes an advocate of integration among cultures and critically discourages the idea of cultural retentions, a view that did not go well with many scholars and especially those of Indian origin who blames her for leaving her culture, and advocating agains t those cultural lines in America. The writer describes America as having a good bill of rights meaning, that there were chances of equal treatment among the cultures with increased advocacy. Analysis From the story above, Fredrickson model of one way assimilation is evident in both the Canadian and the US platforms though on a lesser extent on the latter. One way assimilation recognizes that humans are equal in treatment and rights, but on terms that strictly specify that the native or dominant culture; in this case the American culture is more superior, pure and has to remain unchanged by the immigrants or new cultures from outside the American culture (Frederickson, 635). This was observed when in 1994 when the Florida Lake country School board announces it policy that required that all middle class teachers to instruct their students that American culture, meaning the European-American culture was â€Å"inherently superior† to other foreign or historic cultures. The case of some of Indian born academics in the US campuses appointing themselves as the guardians of the purity of ethnic cultures also portrays a case of one way assimilation, and this explains their disgust with the writer’s efforts. The myth of the Latin woman This case is a case of stereotyping and culture a conflict between a student of the Hispanic origin and the English culture in Britain. The student is humiliated and undergoes psychological torture as the English speakers isolate her due to her Hispanic looks and view her

Criminal Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Criminal Law - Essay Example For instance, false imprisonment may occur when an armed gang takes control of a bank or any other institution and orders everyone in the building to a certain room and locks them up without their will or consent. Kidnapping is a crime where a person transported from one place to another without his or her will, or confining a person to an isolated place by the use of force. The difference between false imprisonment and kidnapping is that in false imprisonment is the use of force and threat is practiced, though force and threat are elements of kidnapping it is far from kidnapping (Senjo, 2011). Kidnapping is a situation where an individual is restraint by circumstances that he or she will be exposed to serious body harm if the victim does not give in to the demands of the perpetrator. In false imprisonment, the victims are not transported to another location while in kidnapping the victim is transported. False arrest is a situation where a law enforcement officer without his or her legal consent detains a person. but in a case where a law enforcement officer makes an arrest to probable cause and shows that his or her action were supported by a probable cause then the law enforcement officer will bear no

A General Biography Essay Example for Free

A General Biography Essay Colin Jones presents a moderate and historical description of the development of the city of Paris. According to Jones, although Paris was the center of European culture, it was also the center of political intrigues, rebellion, and revolution. From 1715, Paris became the witness of the sad pages in the books of Western history. Revolutions, religious wars, and political chaos descended the city – a result of factionalism. Indeed, according to the author, the beautiful city of Paris shrouded the problems which were common to the French state. From 1715 The reign of Louis XIV brought France to a period of relative peace and prosperity. The ‘Sun King’ built palaces throughout the country to commemorate his glorious reign. Near Paris, for example, he ordered the building of the Versailles Palace. The city, however, was relentless. Riots periodically broke out, as the supply of food in the city gradually diminished. In 1750, the city was again torn by civil dissent. This time, it was the issue of continued colonial wars. Many of the Parisians regarded the colonial wars as addition burden on the part of the common people. However, when viewed from the lens of a historian, it was clear that the dissent was caused by periodic famine in the city. After the death of Louis XIV, the stage was set for a revolution. The reign of Louis XVI seemed to be calm and on the road to progress. Many of the Parisians, as most of the French people, liked the new monarch. He was spiritually subtle and politically mild. The extravagance of his court, however, caught the imagination of the people of Paris. France was suffering from bankruptcy; Paris was descending into another great famine. The French monarchy did nothing to alleviate these sufferings. In fact, when Marie Antoinette asked, â€Å"what is happening to the city? † her maid said, â€Å"the people do not have enough bread. † The queen replied, â€Å"Then, they should eat cakes. † Paris was ripe for a revolution. On July 14, 1789, the prison of Bastille was attacked by a large Parisian mob. The king was forced to call the Estate-General to resolve the economic and political issues. The Third Estate broke from the council and declared the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. Over the years, Paris became a battleground of political ideologies. A republic was established. The king, together with prominent royalists, was executed. Over the course of five years, Paris saw the rise of Napoleon to the throne of France. Paris became the capital of the First French Empire under Napoleon. With the demise of Napoleon in the early 1800s, Paris was the scene of political turmoil. The monarchy was reestablished. By 1830, Parisians revolted against the monarchy during the July Revolution. The February Revolution of 1848 ended the monarchy of Louis-Philippe. The Second Republic was established. The Industrial Revolution and the Second French Empire brought Paris the greatest development in its history. From 1840, rail transport allowed the flow of migrants into Paris. Most of these migrant were attracted by employment in factories. Under Napoleon II, the city underwent massive renovations. Streets were widened and the neo-classical facades of Paris were improved. During the Second and Third Republics, Paris was again renovated. Modern buildings were constructed. During the First World War, the city known today was in place. It was spared from the trenches of the Western Front because the German Army failed to reach its suburbs in 1914. During the Second World War, the city was again spared. It was neither the center of German industry nor the primary target of Allied bombers. After the war, the city was renovated. It became the center of arts and culture in the European continent. Reference Colin Jones. 2004. Paris: The Biography of a City. New York: Penguin Viking.

Asoka Has Contributed Many Significant Contributions Religion Essay

Asoka Has Contributed Many Significant Contributions Religion Essay Asoka has contributed many significant contributions to the development of Buddhism. Asoka became the first Buddhist emperor, and he conversed to Buddhism in 261 BCE and was then known as Dharmasoka. Asoka contributed to the development of Buddhism in three important ways. First he applied basic principles of Buddhism to his rule through government and foreign policies. Second and the most significant contribution, Asoka supported missionaries, he sent them throughout the kingdom in order to spread the teachings of Buddhism. Third, Asoka was able to maintain Buddhism as a major religious tradition in the kingdom. Asoka was able to contribute interfaith dialogue; he maintained positive dialogue with people of other religions because he believed all religions are good. Asoka believed the first precept (Ashismsa) and generosity were very important in witnessing the faith. Asoka taught people about Buddhism in different ways to help them best understand all the Buddhist teachings. For ex ample Asoka taught the educated through writing on edicts and pillars, whereas he taught the uneducated through ministry, stories and paintings. Asoka strengthens Buddhism through Viharas, he built these shrines in order for the Sangha to worship in and practice their faith. Asoka established social welfare support because Asoka believed it was important to support all his people. An example of a social welfare that Asoka did was he grew medicinal herb gardens and shade areas for all the people. Most importantly Asoka believed that everyone should be treated with friendliness. Asoka has been a big part in the development of Buddhism and has contributed many important and significant contributions that are still being used and continued to be followed today. Assess the impact on Buddhism of the significant person or school of thought identified in the previous question. The contributions of Asoka to Buddhism have had a great impact on the Buddhism community. Asokas contribution of the missionaries has impacted Buddhism significantly, it allowed Buddhism to expand beyond Mauryan Empire. A positive impact Asoka had was religious tolerance, as now the Buddhism religion is being respected and is expanding to other neighbouring kingdoms. For example, Asoka sent his son and daughter to Sri Lanka with the missionaries and the impact this had was Sri Lanka converted to Buddhism. Asoka contributions impacted his kingdom significantly. Through Asoka the Sangha and Lay people were able to unite through worshiping in the temples and shires. If it wasnt for Asoka building the Viharas, people wouldnt have been able to unite together and worship their religious tradition. Buddhism is now publicly worshiped and this is due to one of Asokas contributions. Examples of Asokas contributes that are impacted by public worship of Buddhism is the stupas, temples and rock e dicts which are everywhere in the kingdom and visible to the public as they have the Buddhist teachings on them. People were impacted by Asoka as they saw him as a true witness to the faith. This is because Asoka showed how to correctly live the Buddhist life according to the ethics of Buddhism. Also Asoka influenced the people around him to adapt Buddhist teachings to their way of life, this is an ethical decision. The significant impact Asoka left on the Buddhism community is his conversion from a harsh person and a murderer to living by Buddhist ethical standards, which is a very big deal for both Asoka and his people. Through rock edicts, stupas and missionaries Asoka was able to promote Buddhist education as equal access to knowledge. The most important impact Asoka left from his contributions was the importance of social welfare as he showed his people how important social welfare in Buddhism and the care for others is. This was shown through Asokas examples of social welfare, some of these examples include, medicinal herb gardens, hospitals, planting trees and lastly treating everyone friendly and with fairness. People have witnessed Asokas ruling over the kingdom as being a true example for all people of what the lived expression of Buddhism should be through his witness to the faith and this has all significantly impacted all the people of his kingdom and other people from his neighbouring kingdoms who are now Buddhist because of him. Islam In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful,to You lone do we turn for help. Guide us along the straight path. To what extent does this quotation expresses a significant person/school of thoughts distinctive Islamic answer to the enduring questions of human existence? Islam is the submission to Allah. There is a division in adherents in Islam; the two main sects are the Sunni and the Shia. The shiites believes that the accurate leadership of Muslims after Muhammads son-in-law continues through a line of religious teachers. Sunnis support the dominance of the caliphs, which is the line of rulers elected by the people to guard the visionary legacy in the running of community relationships. Islam adherents believe that there is only one God, called Allah. The stimulus above the to you lone do we turn for help. Guide us along the straight path shows this meaning, that there is only one true god and that the adherents are to follow that one god, in order for their questions about human existence to be answered and to be lead on the correct path. The stimulus above is from the Quran, the holy book for Muslim adherents. Sayyid Qutb was a significant person who helped answer the fundamental questions by expressing his distinctive Islamic answers to the questions of human existence. Sayyid Qutb answered those questions through his new interpretation of the principal teachings. His new interpretation was that he wanted everyone in state of Hakimiyya, and this only exists under the Sharia law. Sayyid Qutbs principal teachings to his adherents include Jihad, Jahiliya/Hakimiyya, and submission to the will of Allah which is very important (away from western influences), centrality of Allah through Tawhid (oneness) and Aquida (belief in god) and lastly Sharia law. Sayyid Qutb had a radical practice of Islam which he influenced his adherents to follow. He expressed to the adherents that it was important to have modest life styles of living, and living free from negative influence of the west, namely sexual freedom and materialism. By the adherent following Muhammads way of life, they are helped by Allah and guided to the right path. Sayyid Qutb answered the questions of human life through his philosophy. His philosophy was Hakimiyya, Jahiliya, Jihad, and in order to be in the state of Hakimiyya adherents need to overcome Jahiliya by Jihad. Sayyid Qutb philosophy answers those questions as they express the importance of submission to Allah and he showed adherents how to live to God. The stimulus means to be submitted to Allah, and to only believe in the one true God. Sayyid Qutb was born in Musha, Egypt in 1906, and in 1916 he attended a school in his local village. In 1919 Sayyid Qutb dropped out of school for two years, and he then moved to Cairo in 1920 where he finished his high school education. In 1929 he attended Dar Al-Alum University. Between 1939-1948 Sayyid Qutb worked as a university teacher, he also wrote many articles that reflected the Liberal values. In 1948, Sayyid Qutb, he went to America, achieved a Masters Degree education, and he also wrote a book Social in Islam building an Islamic idea of Tawhid. In 1949 he wrote another book called In the shades of the Quran, which was a commentary on the Quran. An example from the book In the shades of the Quran is There is nothing hindering people to seek the mercy of Allah. All they have to do is to seek it directly from Allah without mediation or intercession except heading to Him in obedience, hope, confidence and submission.  [1]  This quote from the book helps adherents understa nd how important the submission to Allah is, and also in the stimulus above it helps adherents find answers to their questions about human existence. Sayyid Qutb joined Islamic brotherhood. In 1954 Sayyid Qutb was first arrested and jailed for conspiracy to overthrow the ruling Egyptian government through the use of lesser Jihad which he encouraged. He was released from prison in 1964. A year later in 1965 he published another book called the Milestone. In this book he criticised the west because he didnt like the way they were living, and because of that his philosophy about. An example of a quote from the book Milestone is ..as a family is the basis of the society, and the basis of the family is the division of labour between husband and wife, and the upbringing is the most important function of the family, then such a society is indeed civilised  [2]  . In this quote Sayyid Qutb is emphasising that Islam and the Islamic style of living encourages this kind of family. By becoming this family adherents are living the right way of life according to Allah. Sayyid Qutb was rearrested and jailed again on charges of conspiracy aga inst the ruling government, which was implemented through Milestones. In 19966 Sayyid Quote was executed by hanging. As shown in the stimulus above, Sayyid Qutb is an example to the adherents on the right way of life and the right path to take. Sayyid Qutbs philosophy is all about Hakimiyya, and the way to achieve it, his philosophy also consists of Jahiliya and Jihad. He wanted all of the adherents in society to be Hakimiyya, which means for adherents to accept the Sharia and live under it, Hakimiyya is the goal in life. In reference to the stimulus above by being in the state of Hakimiyya you submitting to Allah and following the one true God. Jahiliya is thesubmit to materialism and sexual freedom. In Jihad, there is greater Jihad which is individual struggle to submit to the will of Allah and lesser Jihad which is holy war, and the use of military means. Sayyid Qutb mostly focused on the greater Jihad. His philosophy is all about being in the state of Hakimiyya and overcoming Jahiliya. Sayyid Qutb lived his philosophy and he showed the right way to live to the submission to the will of Allah, in reference to the stimulus this is important in order of walking the right path. Sayyid Qutb has impacted many people, both followers of his philosophy and opposers of his philosophy. The impacts his left on his followers include he brought a new and more relevant understanding of Islam and how it should be lived and he died as a martyr for Islam. He is a model of living his Islamic principles, in spite of the personal consequence even death. Opposers of his philosophy believe that he is a poor example of what Islam should be, also there were protests against him and many Muslims didnt want him known as a significant person. His radical views are seen as examples to other people as there are many radical groups that exist today and follow his philosophy. In reference to the stimulus, Sayyid Qutb is seen as a person who was able to answer the questions about human existence to all adherents. People who follow his philosophy see him as a good example on the way to live to the submission to the will of Allah, and praying to the only true God. Sayyid Qutb has radically interpreted the Quran and he has affected many adherents. His philosophy, Hakimiyya, Jahiliya and Jihad, has answered all the questions that each adherent asks themselves about the existence of life. The meaning behind the stimulus is that there is one true God, and adherents should only follow that one God, also that they should live to the submission of Allah. The Tawhid gives adherents their beliefs and encourages them to live the proper way of life and following in Muhammads footsteps. Sayyid Qutb is a significant person who was able to distinctively answer the enduring questions of human existence.

Benefits of Teaching Culture and Language

Benefits of Teaching Culture and Language Definition of culture Culture (from the Latin â€Å"cutura† stemming from colre meaning â€Å"to cultivate†) generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance. â€Å"Farhang†, meaning culture, has always been the focal point of Iranian civilization. Values (the ideas about what in life seems important), norms (expectations of how people will behave in various situations), institutions (the structure of a society), and artifacts (things or aspects of material culture, which derive from values and norms) are four components of culture (Wikipedia, 2009). The culture of a people refers to all aspects of shared life in community. Children growing up in a social group learn ways of doing things, ways of expressing themselves, ways of looking at things, what things they should value and what things they should despise or avoid, what is expected of them and what they may expect of others. We can define culture from different points of view. But the most common definition of culture among several scholars is what Haddley (2003) have in his book â€Å"Teaching Language in Context†. She tries to classify aspects of culture into two groups. The first group is the best in human life. This is what is called Big-C culture. Literature, music, art, etc. fall into this category. The second group is everything in human life. This is called the small-c culture. This category includes the way people eat, dress, and behaves in their society. The importance of studying culture There are many benefits that people can obtain from studying culture. It is useful for understanding the people of other cultures and also one’s own culture (Kitao, 1991). It can also help us to be more tolerant (Saz as cited in De Gordon, 2007). Dominant thoughts in the societies during the history, the way people look at the world, living manners and different forms of socializing, enculturation and like that lead us to a better understanding and appreciation of economic affairs. According to various developments in the world we can say that although the content and form of culture may change, it never fade away. (Pahlavan, 2003). Culture has been studied under different sciences and fields of study and this can show the importance of culture by dealing with this phenomenon. Culture and language In this section we will come to a wider area and look at the culture with respect to the relation it may have to the concept of language. As usual in this section we will divide these relationships into different sections according to what different scholars believe. There are three kinds of relationship determined between culture and language. The structure of a language determines the way in which speakers of that language view the world. The culture of a people finds reflection in the language they employ. Cultural requirements certainly influence how a language used and perhaps determines why specific bits and pieces are the way they are. A neutral: there is little or no relationship between language and culture (Wardaugh, 1993) Culture and L2/FL Teaching and learning Although some teachers think that the present of culture in current writings is relative recent, a review of the L2/FL literature shows that this is clearly not the case. The early ages were the time people learned an L2/FL for the purpose of reading and studying its literature. Literature is categorized as the high culture or the best in human life (brook, 1975, as cited in Haddley 2003, p.361). The next stage of concerning with culture is the era of Audio-lingual. This is the era of communication goals in language teaching and the time the emphasis is on the â€Å"little c culture†. In 1970s, the communicative competence replaced the audio-lingual method. In this new paradigm a more natural integration of language and culture takes place through a communicative approach than a more grammatically base approach (Lessard-Clouston, 1997). Why teach culture In the previous section we saw that the relationship between language and culture is undeniable. Despite this certain fact we should think of the implication of this reality in a real situation. Therefore, we raise another question regarding the importance of teaching culture and why a teacher should teach culture in the classroom. In order to fully learn a foreign language, an individual needs to understand the culture that goes along with it. What follow are some of the reasons for teaching culture in the classroom. Giving the students a reason to study the target language. Help in teaching grammar: relating abstract sounds and forms of a language to real places and people. In achieving high motivation, culture classes does have a great role because learners like culturally based activities such as singing, dancing, role playing, doing research on countries and people, etc. It gives learners a liking for the native speakers of the target language. Culture studies have a humanizing and a motivating effect on the language learner and the learning process. They help learners observe similarities and differences among various cultural groups. Teaching culture (intercultural learning) Many people have shown their own contribution to the issue of relation between culture and L2/FL learning as well as the role of culture in learning/teaching a language in the classroom. Almost every book in the area of language learning has a chapter in teaching culture. Chastain (1987) maintains that language is used to convey meaning, but meaning is determined by culture. One of the major hurdles to the successful implementation of culture goals in language classes revolves around attitudes. Brown (2000) also has some points in this area: It is apparent that culture as an integrated set of behaviors and modes of perception, becomes highly important in the learning of an L2. The two are intricately interwoven so that one cannot separate the two without losing the significance of either language or culture. Dimitrios Thanasoulas (2001) says that the teaching of culture should become an integral part of foreign language instruction. Culture should be our message to students and language our medium. Teachers should present students with a true picture or representation of another culture and language. Baker (2003) believes that culture has become an increasingly integrated component of English language teaching in recent years. He argues that the root of integrating culture in language learning processes come from the theory of communicative competence delivered by Hymes (1972, as cited in Haddley, 2000, pp.3-5). In this theory communicative competence involves an understanding of the norms of social interaction of one socio-cultural community. This concept of communicative competence is called intercultural communicative competence. Central to the notion of intercultural communicative competence is cultural awareness. Culture and language teaching methods From the early stages of teaching language a lot of methods have been discovered by methodologists and researchers with different points of view towards second language teaching and learning. I’ll investigate several methodologies and their approach to culture and its relationship with language teaching and learning. Grammar-translation method: a fundamental purpose of learning a foreign language is to be able to read its literature. Direct method: culture consists of more than the fine arts (students study cultural values). Audio-lingual method: culture consists of the everyday behavior and lifestyle of the target language speakers. Language cannot be separated from culture. Silent Way method: they believe that culture, as reflected in students unique world view, is inseparable from their language. Suggestopedia: it says that the culture which students learn concerns the everyday life of people who speak the language. The use of fine arts (music, art and drama) enables suggestions to reach the subconscious. Community language learning: it believes in integrating the culture with language. Total Physical Response: says that culture is the life style of people who speak the target language natively. In Communicative Language Teaching: culture is the life style of people who use the language natively. The cultural-communicative learning paradigm: â€Å"learning a language is learning a culture. Intercultural competence Intercultural competence is an enormously popular concept nowadays, its content being discussed in a great variety of contexts. It is not possible to arrive at one particular definition of the concept it is always contextually determined, colored by the latest discourses on competence, culture, communication, language, etc (Risager, 2000). Looking for a comprehensive definition of this phrase, we encounter a lot of different ideas and various definitions. By Alvino E. Fantini (1997) a basic definition of intercultural competence includes: The fundamental acceptance of people who are different to oneself outside one’s own culture. The ability to interact with them in a genuinely constructive manner which is free of negative attitude (e.g. prejudice, defensiveness, apathy, aggression etc.) The ability to create a synthesis, something which is neither â€Å"mine† nor â€Å"yours†, but which is new and would not have been possible had we not combined our different background and approaches (www.kwintessential.co.uk, 2009). Penn State (2009) has also â€Å"A simple definition†: â€Å"the abilities to perform effectively and appropriately with members of another language-culture background on their terms. And finally, In essence intercultural competence can be summed up as the ability to work well across cultures. Culture in Foreign Language Curriculum A major goal of foreign language instruction is to increase students’ literacy in languages other than their own, thereby also increasing literacy in that culture. The concept of literacy encompasses the students ability to read with understanding, to write with clarity and accuracy, to understand what is heard, and to speak comprehensibly with accurate grammar and pronunciation. To communicate successfully in another language, students develop facility, with the language, familiarity with the culture that use the language, and awareness of the ways in which language and culture interact in society. Reaching this point is central to developing literacy in any language. Two aspects of culture appropriate to be included in the foreign language curriculum are: first, the society’s production of art, music, and literature, and second, the social conventions of that society’s members. Culture in the classroom Now it is the time to come to the classroom and investigate culture related to the requirements of the class: Foreign Language Teachers and Foreign Language Learners. Culture and language teachers Traditionally, language teachers have listed culture as one of the five principal objectives of second language study. Attaching the same value to culture as to each of the four language skills is no surprise because of its importance in the development of global awareness and international understanding, in being able to function in the second language society, and in stimulating and maintaining students’ interests and motivation. The primary goal and dominant focus of attention in most classes continues to be language, to the detriment of achieving desirable cultural objectives. As conclusion to this, the teacher ought to be able to describe and assess his or her own intercultural competence. A foreign language teacher should be able to: Understand the contributions and lifestyles of the various cultural groups Recognize and deal with dehumanizing biases, discrimination, and prejudices Create learning environments that contribute to the self-esteem of all persons and all positive interpersonal relations Respect human diversity and personal rights (Lafayette, 1979, p. 132). Some authors do recommend placing the greater emphasis on culture. What these authors are advocating is an organized, systematic presentation of the major characteristics of the second language culture that will lead students to an understanding and an appreciation of the culture. In many regards, culture is taught implicitly, imbedded in the linguistic forms that students are learning. To make students aware of the cultural features reflected in the language, teachers can make those cultural features an explicit topic of discussion in relation to the linguistic forms being studied. It is important for a language teacher as an influential figure in the class to be interculturally aware and responsive. Teachers should be aware of and sensitive to the cultural differences (Valdes, 1986), and its influences on students’ growth and learning. They should also be aware of their own cultural values and beliefs (Wang, 2006). Culture and language learners One of the principal reasons for stressing culture in language classes has to do with the students. They are extremely interested in the people who speak the language they are studying (Chastain, 1987). A program which seeks to develop systematic progress in cultural understanding side by side with growing mastery of the language will ensure that the language learners are able to communicate with the speakers of the language in the fullest sense of the word. Intercultural contact is both a means and an end in second language studies. It is impossible to identify the specific ethnic and cultural groups that represent native speakers of the language. As a result, in order to investigate the role of the intercultural contact in foreign language learning environments, we first need to explore what kind of contact students of foreign languages have with home and how frequently, what attitudes they display and how they see the role of contact in language learning. It appears that favorable contact leads to the discovery of cultural similarity and of our common humanity. Then, contact will improve attitudes (Piage R. M., et al., 1998).

Proposal for paper - Could Genocide have been prevented? :: essays research papers

Proposal for paper - Could Genocide have been prevented? Introduction -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The meaning of Genocide, and the impact it has on a single person and society. -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Start out with a few interesting facts about the war in Bosnia -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Information on the key players that were involved in the war and genocide -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Talk about how the war began/ conflict of interest and religion in area. Thesis -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Specifically state to the reader if there was U.N. intervention, could genocide have been avoided? -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What were the reasons for lack of intervention? -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Could many lives have been saved if intervention occurred? -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prove to reader that where information is coming from, books, articles, internet, etc. -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How paper will prove both sides of ideas, the good and bad reasons of intervention and the good and bad reasons of no intervention. Back ground -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Go over the war in Bosnia starting in 1991. -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Review of reasons why there was a split between the Serbs, Croats and Muslins. -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Review the new physical boundaries of Slovenia and Croatia and what impacted this. -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Review in detail the key players that were involved in the split of the nations by religious reasons. This includes Milosevic. Statement of the problem -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  explain specifically about the genocide -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In chronographic order, explain what the U.N. and the major western countries that were part of the U.N. did in response to the genocide -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What were the steps that the U.N. took when the genocide first occurred -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How the genocide was dealt with when it might have been to late. Possible steps that could have prevented genocide -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Review my opinion -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Look over scholarly articles, books, etc and determine what respected political scientists would have done -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Review steps I may have taken to prevent the tragedy of genocide. Conclusion -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Restate the thesis and the background. -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Write again about the genocide and how it may have been avoided -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rewrite the steps that could have been done and how it could have prevented the genocide all together. -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We can learn from our mistakes in the past and how we can prevent a genocide from never happening again. Limitations of the study -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unfortunatly, all research papers have a limitation to their studies. Some of the limits I may come across is, lack of information, lack of respectable and trusted articles or books. These two will be my biggest concern when writing this paper. The way I plan to try and overcome this obstacle is by gathering all the information I have before hand, and understand the limitations I may occur before I begin writing my paper. This way, I will know my limits while writing my paper and not overstep my boundaries.

Increasing the Gas Tax Would Cause an Improvement in the Environment Es

Increasing the Gas Tax Would Cause an Improvement in the Environment Many people all over the world are concerned about pollution. Gasoline use in automobiles is one of the major causes of pollution. When gasoline is used it releases carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen oxide. These are gasses that contribute to the Greenhouse Effect. The Greenhouse Effect refers to the trapping of the sun's radiation and is also used synonymously with Global Warming (greenfuels.org). Governments are trying to come up with alternatives to gasoline to improve or at least not hurt our environment as much as gasoline does. There are things we can do to help out the environment. One suggestion is better public transportation systems. For example, Des Moines has a public bus system, but not very many people use it and the busses do not reach all parts of the city. As a result, many people drive themselves to work instead of taking the bus and saving gasoline. Another way to cut emissions of vehicles is a type of vehicle that uses an electric motor or a vehicle that uses both an electric and gasoline motor which cuts gasoline use. Also there are alternatives to gasoline that do not release as many harmful agents into the environment. Ethanol and hydrogen are two examples that are more environmentally friendly than gasoline. So, if the federal government were to increase the gas tax by one dollar per gallon, the public would have more incentive to buy the alternatives that are better for our environment than gasoline because of the much higher price. Also, with the increase in the gas tax the money would g ive funds toward the environment. With the increased gas tax, there will be extra money that will enable the government to do things fo... ...ne, most of which are much better for the environment than the gasoline that we are currently using. Even if people did not look for alternatives, there would be money to help out environmental issues. Different vehicles, hydrogen, and ethanol are things that have already been proven to be safer for the environment than gasoline. Just think, if we don't give up on looking for other alternatives what we may think of and we could save our environment in the process. Sources Cited Ford Motor Company: HEV. 11 October 2001. http://www.escapehev.com/index.aps Canadian Renewable Fuels Association: Home of Canada's greenfuels. 10 January 2001. Canadian Renewable Fuels Association 11 October 2001 http://greenfuels.org Alternative Fuel Systems Inc.: Innovative Environmental Technologies. Alternative Fuel Systems Inc. 11 October 2001 http://altfuelsys.com/

How to Overcome a Challenging Obstacle

How to Overcome a Challenging Obstacle in Your Everyday Living. Amethyst K. Oliver Baker College of Clinton Township Composition I Andrea Nienstedt How to Overcome a Challenging Obstacle in Your Everyday Living. Overcoming a struggle is normal for everyone. People should not be ashamed of what they are not good at; we have to look at the fact that each individual is not going to become good at anything so easily like we want it to be. It is always good for a person that wants to really learn something they believe they will be become stronger at.It takes take time and patience. I personally believe for the individuals that are the ones that can’t accept the fact when someone makes a mistake they are not understandable. Dealing with difficult people is very common in life, sometimes we have to figure out and understand the ones who tries to criticize others-what makes them behave the way they do. I think being assertive is always the right thing to do. I’m going to discu ss what Sedaris’s obstacles in this essay were and also discuss more about my few obstacles that was related to Sedaris, personally.Reading what David Sedaris was going through in the essay he wrote, called â€Å"Me Talk Pretty One Day,† the one thing I can relate to that is that I know how it definitely feels to think that you are so alone in a new environment redundant. Personally, I went to two different high schools and I was afraid of meeting new people at first; I was never used to switching schools. I had always stayed at the same school, but I had realized in the near future I would had to face up my fears and socialize with different individuals, different ethnicities.At my last high school, I felt so alone. Everyone at the school had their own â€Å"cliques;† I was always to myself, from the time I started there until the time I was finished. I would try to socialize with some of the people, but I would have this thought that they probably werenâ€℠¢t going to like me. Honestly, there were some people that I kind of wanted to hang around with but they were too stuck-up. I told myself I would never try to please other people if they don’t want to become my â€Å"friend. † Sedaris went to a school in France just to learn and experience a new language: French.When he arrived, he was sadly stuck with a teacher who was abusive and said nasty things to him and other individuals. All of the things that she was saying were frustrating him; he tried to not let her vicious words get to him. He thought he was all alone, in this crazy teacher’s world, when one day he came in to see everyone huddled together talking a language to each other. In addition to that, close to the end of the essay he was finally able about to speak their language just because of the contention that happened in the classroom between his teacher and one of his classmates.I’ve learned from the Golden Rule: â€Å"Treat others the way you want to be treated, respect is earned not given. † Basically what this verse in my own personal experience that I’ve dealt with in my life as I am going to explain about is if there was something that I did not know how to do but another individual doesn’t respect nor understand you are learning something for the first time and they judge you so bad just because my learning skills were different than theirs, they don’t understand the true meaning of fairness.The importance of everyone is not always going to be talented at every single thing, which that does not make them a bad person. Whenever I start learning something that is new to me I always ask someone to help me get through it most will always give back and help me with what they need to do, and majority may not. For the people that would criticize I will not be able to succeed and make it out here in this life. I’ve learned that sometimes it can be hard not letting things get into you, but in order to become stronger you have to believe in yourself and think about the outcomes into figuring out, â€Å"What If? Most importantly, collaboration is very important. The more you and that individual collaborate the better you will be as far as reaching for success. Generally speaking, learning a whole new different language is not easy; there are so many concepts to learning a new language for many individuals to understand. Although, learning how to speak a foreign language that interests you is extremely important. You do not have to pay money or travel just to learn a foreign language, where if you go to school and they have a teacher who teaches one of the many foreign languages for free.When practicing on becoming better at learning a foreign language, there are different aspects into learning a whole new language, which includes with the grammar and pronunciation (the two important ones in composition. ) The pronunciation can become the bigger problem; it can be so ha rd to pronounce something that is new to you. â€Å"You exhaust with your foolishness and reward my efforts with nothing but pain; do you understand me (Sedaris, 2000)? † What Sedaris meant by that is he was tired of what this rude teacher had said to him, it was time for him defend what was right and let it continue. I know the thing that you speak exact now. Talk me more, you, plus, please, plus (Sedaris, 2000). † Two of the quotes in Sedaris’s essay, he meant was that he finally understood the language from after all the chaos and commotion that was going in the classroom and he told that teacher if she has something to say to him say it again. He wasn’t afraid to speak what was on his mind. Those were the two major quotes in Sedaris essay that really moved me and it made me realized with he was emotionally suffering with his deceiving teacher.He was proving his fact toward the teacher and he wasn’t going have her believe that he couldn’t speak out his â€Å"true feelings. † In this essay I’ve read, I believed that Sedaris is a hard worker that is trying his best to accomplish what he was trying to do. I believe that this teacher wanted everyone to get better at the language she was teaching but in my opinion she has to understand that everyone’s person learning skills are way different than others.Similarly, Sedaris and I had one issue in common and that was feeling like you are all alone in this world but really it does feel that way whenever you are at a new environment. Differences are not good or bad, but it is good to accept the fact that people do things differently is the first step to understanding what how they learn differently and with whom they truly are. Be willing to try new things and avoid criticizing others and not let him or her underestimate your abilities. Reference: Sedaris, D (2000) Me Talk Pretty One Day. Me Talk Pretty One Day (pp. 166-173) New York: Little, Brown.

Palate-Able Delights: New Modes of Trade Finance

Consideration was to be given to the applicability of non-traditional online and offline moment and trade finance methods (such as those offered by Papal and UPS), open account terms and more stringent, traditional finance methods such as documentary letters of credit. After careful analysis of the circumstances in the case, it is recommended that PAD adopt a flexible payment system adopting a combination of methods. This is dues (due) to the variability In customers It plans to serve, ranging from small, retail orders to orders up to $150,000.Specifically, for orders up (to) or less than $2,000 PAD should employ a flexible, online method such as that offered by Papal, or the services offered by UPS, which include insurance, collections and financing solutions. For larger orders, a documentary collection method of payment provides PAD with the flexibility it needs in order to sell the goods to an alternate customer should a dispute arise before the products perish, while providing th e customer with much less complexity and expense relative to a documentary letter of credit. 1.Introduction and Case Summary The purpose of this report, commissioned by Mr. Jim Dick, Is to analyses the case ‘New Modes of Trade Finance' and answer all discussion questions attached. The case in question describes the situation of Palate-Able Delights (PAD), a niche retailer of high-end food products such as caviar, truffles and French champagnes, who (which) is In the process of assessing several markets for export of their numerous, highly perishable products. PAD Is attempting to determine Its best suited (best- suited) methods of payment, and is intrigued by non-traditional, online payment options such as Papal.However, impacting on the decision process are a number of important considerations. These are: * While largely focused on small, retail sales, PAD Is also considering larger orders of up to $150,000 In value. * PAD Is aware of the trend towards open account terms, and Is Interested In the benefits of conducting transactions on such terms. * Explicitly stated by PAD's SCOFF is that the trade finance solutions offered by UPS be assessed. * Given the perishable nature of PAD's products, speed of settlement must be Incorporated into the evaluation, as do the various cash flow and financing issues affecting both PAD and Its customers.The following sections address the discussion questions. 2 snouts PAD Adsorb some Incremental I costs In Exchange Tort AAA secure Opt to Stay with Traditional Trade Payment and Financing Systems? TTY, Ana Firstly, the nature of PAD's product, being highly perishable, means that both PAD and its customers face a unique risk which calls for a substantial level of importance placed on transit insurance, such as that offered by UPS Capital or Export Development Canada, to mitigate the risk of loss from product spoilage as a result of detrimental shipping issues (such as delays, mishandling, etc. . Given PAD's high margins an d position in a luxury, niche market, the cost of insurance is one that should be absorbed in exchange for the requisite security. In terms of trade payment, the risk of non-payment is significant, given a potential order size of up to $150,000. Important here, however, are the substantially varied sizes of customer PAD plans to serve – I. E. From the relatively small (single consumer, perhaps) to the very large (up to $150,000).This suggests that differing payment systems and, hence, levels of security and costs are warranted. Furthermore, along with the level of broad-based risk (I. E. Country, commercial and foreign exchange – where these are significant, high security methods such as L/CSS or confirmed L/CSS may be necessary, he costs of which should undoubtedly be absorbed), the type of payment system is dependent on the level of demand for PAD's product in a given market, and its objectives for that market.Although PAD is interested in trading on open account ter ms – by far the riskiest for exporters (FIT, 2008), presumably for the potential of greater sales, the risks are somewhat difficult to Justify. Specifically, PAD's a niche business offering high-end, gourmet products – not a commodity-type product attempting to enter a saturated market. As such, while open terms, given their reverence, may be necessary in markets where competition is high and entry to them is deemed strategically significant, PAD likely commands some level of market pull (demand) in most markets.This suggests that PAD's assumption of the substantial risks associated with open account terms is somewhat unnecessary and, given its high margins and assumed ability to absorb some additional costs, it should opt for a greater level of security. This is especially so for small, perhaps one-time customers, with order values of say, under $2,000. Here, non-traditional payment systems such as Papal or credit card facilities are more appropriate than the employ a nd time-consuming traditional payment types. Furthermore, these methods would typically involve payment-in-advance, providing PAD with a high level of security.Alternatively, the services provided by non-bank providers such as UPS Capital, and their Receivables Management Services, which provides credit insurance and collection services amongst others (UPS, 2010), may be appropriate for established, credible accounts who require a more flexible payment method. For large orders, however, the scale of risk increases – especially for those up to $150,000. Here, the security provided by traditional payment types – most appropriately a documents against payment method – and the subsequent absorption of their costs would be recommended.In all, PAD should absorb some incremental costs in exchange for added security. However, traditional trade payment and financing systems may not always provide the best way to garner this security, as ten practically AT sun mentors var ies according to ten size AT P orders, the market it's selling in, and the relationship with the customer. In response to the latter component of the question, a confirmed documentary letter of credit after review of PAD's needs is not the best option. Confirmed Documentary Letters ofCredit are expensive and time consuming and thus not effective when dealing with the purchasing and shipment of perishable foods. The use of Documentary Collections is more tailored to the needs of PAD as the documents arrive with the product. This means that if there is a disagreement or PAD's customer does not provide payment the documents are already with the product and quick resale is possible cutting down the spoilage of goods and ultimately profit. 3. How well suited is Papal, or some variation of online payment solutions to the PAD business model?PAD can offer an all-in-one online service which can be easy, fast and reliable to customers to improve its business. Papal is one such option PAD can use to improve its business online. Papal is customer friendly, with ease of access providing customers with various account types with multiple log-INS and, also, most importantly it's secure. It accepts almost all the major credit cards as well as debit cards which allow customers to make payments for small orders online relatively easily.Papal is the cheapest option available in terms of a Business Merchant account – for customers outside of the states there is no membership fee (residents of U. S pay $1. 90 or 2. 9% of the order depending on the company's purchase).. With regards to PAD ‘s customers, Papal can be time-consuming as it requires the customers to verify funds deposited by Papal into their account. Even though Papal is secure, it involves risks of fraud which, while generally not affecting the customer (as they are covered by Papal and can be reimbursed up to $2,000), may affect PAD via the losses associated with fraud.Merchant/ Business accounts are pro vided by banks which allow the acceptance of credit cards, debit cards or any other form of online payments. The payment is received and updated immediately through automated systems once the order is placed, confirmed and completed. This allows PAD to have direct access and control over the payment processing system and also by using a trade platform to manage open accounts in a manner that provides better payment visibility to suppliers. Also, the use of debit cards can be encouraged as they're easy for customers to use, and possibly less expensive than credit cards.Through this, PAD will gain more direct control over the payment processing system. Although, this additional control means that they will have to deal with credit card fraud directly as well as maintain the functionality of the website as a whole which ay not be possible depending on the understanding and experience employees have dealing with online payment methods. From the customers point of view there are less ste ps needed when making purchases online as well as there is no need to set up a customer account (unless for business specific reasons stated by PAD). 4.What are the Pros and Cons Related to Traditional Bank-provided Trade Finance, and Open Account Solutions? Do Non-Bank Providers Offer a Credible Solution? I en pros Ana cons related to traditional Dank-Provo account solutions are provided in Table 1, below. I Pros I Cons I Open Account I e trace Atlanta Ana open Open Account I * Potential to boost sales. * Least cost (explicit) intensive. * Least complex and time-consuming. I * Involves the highest risk of non-payment. * Increases cost of credit/receivables insurance. * High risk of disputes, leading to non-payment.

Optimistic Journey

Our country Is not perfect nor do many of the people around you see the optimistic side in the united States of America. On the other hand we, united States citizens, have so many opportunities and should be optimistic. In my eyes people are being prepared for all the negative things that are going to occur, and do not see how incredible our nation is.The other day we found out that our government had shut down because both parties couldn't come to an agreement to settle money situations. Most people saw this to be ridiculous and something that should not had happened. Yes this is an unfortunate obstacle our country faced but on the other hand there were many uplifting contributions people had done. For example Chris Cox went to Washington DC and gathered people to clean the memorials and how a Phoenix food bank gave lad to workers affected by Grand Canyon being closed.Personally I'm not very Intrigued by the government, but I am optimistic about the new advancements In technology, w hich also leads us to new medical cures and procedures created for people living longer, which branches out with many positive advantages to be living in America. With tons of new technology being improved and invented now for the future, it creates a wanting sensation for people being interested to know the new advancement.Whether it's the phone c or new x-ray machinery to find a clearer look at bones, people will be optimistic for the future. By 2020 there will be over hundreds of new technologies, not to mention the United States will have a whole new tank mechanism for our soldiers fighting in war. The new technology brings on new experiences and less hardships In America, because there will be more assurance that the people are safe. Everything Is becoming more and more convenient for our everyday life styles and how Is that not exciting.Our countries opportunities for new technology are extraordinary, and so are our medical advancements and improvements. With new technologies brings on new medical advantages. â€Å"Humans by 2050 will have a life expectancy of 89-94 years old compared to the life expectancy now which is 83-85 years old. † (Cox). Who doesn't want to live longer! I surely do. There is other evidence that medical technology will be created because day by day doctors and scientist are experimenting to have cures for some types of cancer.By 2018 there possibly will be a cure to prostate cancer. Today 29,720 men die a year from this devastating disease, which is very unfortunate. Possibly In the future your son, father, or grandpa will be able to survive from such a awful disease that changes people's lives, because there will be a treatment to cure his cancer. Death is scary and we try to safe people's lives every day and that Is the reason to be optimistic about our future because people will be able to live longer with new medical advancements our every day lives.Not only do the hundreds of advancements help Just the United States bu t it gives us the opportunities for third world countries to have some of the fortunate advantages that we take for granite. For instance an estimated 1,000 children in India die every day due to disease caused by polluted water but with the help of America, that number can drop extremely because of our advancements in technology and medical treatments. We should be very fortunate that we live in such a brilliant country with many unique people that bring United States of America together as a one whole.

Valuating & Financial Prediction of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd

| Valuating & Financial Prediction of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd| AFX9540 BUSINESS FINANCE| | | | Executive Summary This report is written to offer a business analysis of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (FMG) where there will be a discussion on the background of the company, its return on the pre-post announcement of raising funds, the capital structure during the global financial crisis in comparison to its peers and the estimation on the share valuation in comparison to the actual share value. Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:  FMG) is an Australian iron ore mining company.The company has holdings of more than 87,000 km? in the Pilbara region of Western Australia making it the largest tenement holder in the state. It is listed as FMG on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). In 2008, the group loaded its first iron ore shipment bound for China. Fortescue have at least 10 Chinese steel mill contracts lasting for around 10 years. Baosteel was the first company to receive their iron ore. F or the share valuation, the report uses the CAPM model to determine the prevailing cost of capital and also uses the dividend discount multistage model to predict the share price for the company.The components of the CAPM model (i. e. risk free rate, company beta, Market return and growth rate) are calculated and predicted on historical data. The valuation data is then compared with the actual market price of the shares for the corresponding years and a brief analysis is then performed on the economic and internal reasoning behind any variance encountered. Table of Contents Executive Summary2 1. 0Brief overview of the company4 2. 0Capital Structure4 2. 1Funds raised by the company4 2. 2Usage of the fund5 2. 3Announcement date for the issue5 2. 4Share-return pre and post announcement5 2. Market return same period6 2. 6 Market Perception6 2. 7 Effect of recent financial crisis7 3. 0 Valuation of FXJ shares7 3. 1Risk free rate calculation8 3. 2Market rate calculation8 3. 3Beta calculat ion9 3. 4CAPM Calculation10 3. 5Growth rate calculation10 3. 6Share valuation11 3. 7Comparison of valuation vs. actual data12 3. 8 Evaluation of the variation13 4. 0 Conclusion13 Appendix 1: Cash rate target14 Appendix 2: Market data for beta calculation14 Reference & Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 16 . 0General background of the Firm Fortescue Metals Group Ltd is the New Force in Iron Ore and has joined the world's leading producers of iron ore. Since the Company was formed in 2003, its extraordinary growth has been unparalleled. Listed in the S;P/ASX 50 share index, Fortescue has firmly established itself as one of the world's largest producers and sea-borne traders of iron ore. From Construction to Production Construction of Fort escue's port, rail and mine project commenced in February 2006 with the turning of the first sod at the Company's port site at Anderson Point in Port Hedland.Just two years later in 2008, the open-access rail infrastructure was complete and  operations were underway  at the Fortescue Herb Elliott Port and at the Company's first minesite, Cloudbreak. Shipping started on 15 May 2008 and Project Completion was achieved within months. On 18 July 2008, Fortescue's fifth anniversary, the Company successfully mined, railed and shipped at a rate of 24mtpa (Million ton per annum) for a one month period. In the first full year of operations, Fortescue mined, railed and shipped more than 27 million tonnes of iron ore to customers in China. FinanceFortescue's project was founded on the raising of A$3. 7 billion capital, including A$1 billion equity, during two finance road shows in August 2006 and July 2007. The August 2006 raising was the largest single high-yield Asia-Pacific transaction, the largest high-yield bond project financing ever, one of the largest corporate bonds out of Australia and one of the largest global bond issues in the sector. Since then Fortescue has grown to become an S;P/ASX 50 company. Over 55,000 Australians have become shareholders in the proudly Australian founded and managed company.A substantial increase in Fortescue's Resource Inventory to 10. 03 billion tonnes in March 2011, including 1. 6 billion  tonnes of Reserves,  positioned the company as one of the world's major resource houses. This massive Resource Inventory was achieved in record time and was delineated from approximately 10 per cent of  Fortescue's 88,000 square kilometres of Pilbara tenements. 2. 0Capital Structure of the Firm 2. 1Funds raised by the company 1,326,316 number of Ordinary Shares were issued to generate A$6. 3 million. 2. 2Purpose of Fund 1,326,316 number of Ordinary Shares were issued as payment for a distribution of A$6. million due under the A$140m, R edeemable Preference Share issued with maturity on or before February 2017. 2. 3Announcement date of the issue The initial announcement date for this issue of the Ordinary Share was 15th September 2010. 2. 4Share return from two days before the announcement date to two days after the announcement. Holding Period Return=Ending Price-Beginning PriceBeginning Price ? 100 Holding Period Return=p1-p0p0 ? 100; P1 = Ending Price, P0 = Beginning Price | Date| Open| High| ow| Close| Volume| Adj Close*| 17 Sep 2010| 4. 87| 4. 92| 4. 83| 4. 84| 25,307,700| 4. 82| 16 Sep 2010| 5. 2| 5. 02| 4. 85| 4. 86| 15,360,000| 4. 84| 15 Sep 2010| 5. 03| 5. 08| 4. 99| 5. 03| 11,614,800| 5. 01| 14 S p 2010| 4. 99| 5. 07| 4. 97| 5. 02| 10,319,500| 5. 00| 13 Sep 2010| 4. 91| 5. 01| 4. 90| 4. 97| 14,643,800| 4. 95| | Closing price adjusted for dividend and splits Before the Announcement Date: Holding Period Return=p1-p0p0 ? 100 So, HPR=5. 02-4. 914. 91 ? 100 = 2. 24% After the Announcement Date: Holding Period Return=p1-p0p0 ? 100 So, HPR=4. 84-5. 025. 02 ? 100 = -3. 59% 2. 5Market Return same period | Date| Open| High| Low| Close| Volume| Adj Close*| 17 Sep 2010| 4,657. 70| 4,692. 50| 4,657. 0| 4,685. 10| 1,523,846,600| 4,685. 10| 16 Sep 2010| 4,703. 00| 4,707. 70| 4,648. 90| 4,650. 00| 1,813,657,000| 4,650. 00| 15 Sep 2010| 4,670. 10| 4,710. 50| 4,669. 90| 4,702. 70| 1,644,565,600| 4,702. 70| 14 Sep 2010| 4,661. 40| 4,688. 90| 4,661. 10| 4,669. 10| 1,422,233,600| 4,669. 10| 13 Sep 2010| 4,613. 30| 4,660. 90| 4,612. 70| 4,654. 20| 1,433,713,600| 4,654. 20| Closing price adjusted for dividend and splits Holding Period Return=Ending Price-Beginning PriceBeginning Price ? 100 Holding Period Return=p1-p0p0 ? 100; P1 = Ending Price, P0 = Beginning Price Before the Announcement Date:Holding Period Return=p1-p0p0 ? 100 So, HPR=4669. 10-4613. 304613. 30 ? 100 = 1. 21% After the Announcement Date: Holding Period Return=p1-p0p0 ? 100 So, HPR=4685. 10-47034703 ? 100 = -0. 38% 2. 6Market Perception From the above analysis it can be seen that the share performance of the company and the market was stable during the pre and post two days of the announcement. Previously before the announcement the performance of both is going the similar path (upward movement). On the other hand post announcement illustrated negative result (-3. 59% against -0. 38%) for Fortescue Metals Group Ltd.There might be two causes behind this; one, the share price have been over estimated for which the price had to be adjusted. Secondly, the investors did not take the fund raising issue positively as they might think it would not generate much fund for the company’s growth and thus unable to generate enough wealth for them. 2. 7Effect of recent financial crisis | | BlueScope| Fortescue Metals| Mount Gibson| OneSteel| Net Gearing| 2007| 0%| 0%| 0%| 46. 65%| | 2008| 0%| 0%| 25. 42%| 56. 72%| | 2009| 0%| 9%| 6. 29%| 28. 22%| | 2010| 14. 82%| 169. 90%| 3. 97%| 21. 45%| | 2011| 24. 43%| 183. 43%| -| 38. 36%|Table 1: Gearing ratio-peer analysis of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. We can conclude that the recent financial crisis did not affect the industry’s capital structure. As of now the mining industry is going boom. In the time of recession, most of the companies will not have enough profit to repay a debt so; investors are more interested in investing in mining industry rather than some other industry. By using the gearing ratio, it can be seen that Fortescue’s degree of leverage is higher, the more higher the  company is considered risky. However Fortescue Metals Ltd is very strong with their high growth rate compared to its competitors.For them paying off the debt would not be a big issue as they are enjoying three benefits which are; one, mining industry is going boom; two, Australian dollar (AUD) getting stronger; and three, Fortescue’s operations are well placed to maintain the 55mtpa rate across the 2012 financial year while development to 155mtpa conti nues in a mixture of brownfields and greenfields projects, scheduled to take place through to June 2013. 3. 0Valuation of shares The dividend discount multistage model is a procedure for valuing the price of a stock by using predicted dividends and discounting them back to present value.The idea is that if the value obtained from the dividend discount multistage model is higher than what the shares are currently trading at, then the stock is undervalued. Formula P0 = D11+R The required return can be calculated using the CAPM (capital asset pricing model) model, which becomes the cost capital of the project. Formula CAPM: E(r)= Rf+[? i (Rm-Rf)] 3. 1Risk free rate calculation The benchmark interest rate in Australia was last reported at 4. 75 percent. In Australia, interest rates decisions are taken by the Reserve Bank of Australia's Board.The interest rate needs to be adjusted yearly using the Effective Annual Rate. EAR = (1+in)n-1 EAR| 2011| 2010| 2009| Calculation| (1+. 0475/365)36 5-1| (1+. 0396/365)365-1| (1+. 0479/365)365-1| Rf| 4. 86%| 4. 03%| 4. 90%| Table 2: Risk Free rate 3. 2Market rate calculation The calculation of market return will include statistics from 5 years to counteract any data abnormality from recession or seasonal spikes. | 2005| 2006| 2007| 2008| 2009| 2010| 2011| Calculation| 4,229. 93,546. 1-1| 5,034. 04,225. 9-1| 6,310. 65035. 4-1| 3,947. 85,345. 8-1| 3,947. 85,345. 8-1| 4,324. 83,934. 4-1| 4,659. 84,309. -1| Return| 0. 1928| 0. 1912| 0. 2532| -0. 1549| -0. 2615| 0. 0992| 0. 0811| Average Market return based on five years performance is: Rm2011 = (0. 2532-0. 1549-0. 2615+0. 0992+0. 0811)5 = 0. 0034 = 0. 34% Rm2010 = (0. 1912+. 2532-0. 1549-0. 2615+0. 0992)5 = 0. 0254 = 2. 54% Rm2009 = (0. 1928+0. 1912+0. 2532-0. 1549-0. 2615)5 = 0. 04416 = 4. 42% 3. 3Beta calculation: The beta is taken from FinAnalysis. Beta (? ) is a number describing the relation of its returns with those of the financial market as a whole. The beta coefficient is a key parameter in the capital asset pricing model (CAPM).It measures the part of the asset's statistical variance that cannot be removed by the diversification provided by the portfolio of many risky assets, because of the correlation of its returns with the returns of the other assets that are in the portfolio. Formula for Beta is: i=1n[Ri-ER]2n-1 Data from 2009 to 2011 has been used and a data of 3 years is used to calculate the beta. | 2009| 2010| 2011| ?| 0. 91| 0. 80| 0. 88| A beta of greater than 1 indicates that the security's price will be more volatile than the market. Fortescue Metals Ltd has a beta of 0. 88; therefore it is less volatile than the market. 3. CAPM Calculation: Hence, using Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) as Required Return E(r)= Rf+[? i (Rm-Rf)] | 2009| 2010| 2011| Calculation| 4. 90% + [0. 88(4. 42%-4. 90%)]| 4. 03% + [0. 88(2. 54%-4. 03%)]| 4. 86% + [0. 88(0. 34%-4. 86%)]| Return| 4. 48%| 2. 72%| 0. 88%| Table 4: Cost of Capital 3. 5Growth Rate Calcula tion Growth rate calculation represents the  compounded annualized rate of growth of a company's revenues, earnings, dividends, etc. The formula for growth rate = Return on equity X Plowback ratio = ROE ? (1-DividendEPS) This growth rate will be used for the calculation of share prices for the last three years.ROE, DIV and EPS from 2009 to 2011 are shown below: | 2009| 2010| 2011| ROE| 13. 62%| 51. 57%| 75. 36%| DIV ($)| -| -| 7. 0| EPS ($)| 21. 90| 22. 12| 31. 88| Table 5: Financial data g2011 = ROE(2011) (1- Div(2011)/EPS(2011)) = 75. 36%(1-7/31. 88)= 58. 81% g2010 = ROE(2010) (1- Div(2010)/EPS(2010)) = 51. 57%(1-0/22. 12)= 51. 57% g2009 = ROE(2009) (1- Div(2009)/EPS(2009)) = 13. 62%(1-0/21. 90)= 13. 62% Below is the summary of the data discussed: Components| 2009| 2010| 2011| Er| 4. 48%| 2. 72%| 0. 88%| Rf| 4. 86%| 4. 03%| 4. 90%| Rm| 4. 42%| 2. 54%| 0. 34%| ?i| 0. 91| 0. 80| 0. 88| | 13. 62%| 51. 57%| 58. 81%| Table 6: Summarisation of component 3. 6Share Valuation To calculat e the value of the shares, we need to determine the method of valuation so; mixed stage dividend model can be used to calculate the value of the share. Bearing in mind the business nature, we can see an average of 41. 33% growth which is abnormally high. For the purpose of calculation we will presume this high growth rate will continue for another 40-45 years at least. As it is a new mining company and as we know that the return comes late so, the growth rate is high even after a long term.From 2053 onwards we assume that the business will grow at 7% rate, which we believe is a conservative approach, as because by then there will be many mining companies opening both domestically and internationally. China is progressing very fast and by next 15-20 years they will level up, not just China; India, South Africa, South America etc are also catching-up fast, so due to the high competition the market would not remain the same and it will change consecutively as forecasted. The valuation calculation will take this assumption towards establishing the model. P2009=i=20092012D0 (1+g)i(1+Ke)i + Pi(1+Ke)iP2010=i=20102012D0 (1+g)i(1+Ke)i + Pi(1+Ke)i P2011=i=20112012D0 (1+g)i(1+Ke)i + Pi(1+Ke)i | Growth Rate| Net Cash Flow| Cost of Capital| | D2009| | -13,643| 4. 48%| | D2010| | 1,877,963| 2. 72%| | D2011| 41. 33%| 4,206,365| 0. 88%| | D2012| 50%| 4,906,922| 0. 92%| | D2013| 55%| 6,767,080. 65| 0. 99%| | D2014| 60%| 10,435,594. 64| 0. 99%| | D2015| 60%| 16,587,385. 22| 0. 96%| | D2016| 60%| 26,477,415. 36| 0. 98%| | D2017| 60%| 42,346,454. 77| 1%| | D2018| 60%| 67,743,188. 44| 0. 95%| | D2019| 60%| 108,379,297. 7| 0. 96%| | D2020| 60%| 173,398,415. 1| 0. 98%| | D2021| 60%| 277,429,356. 2| 1%| |D2022| 60%| 443,881,664. 5| 0. 98%| | -| -| -| -| | D2052| 8. 19%| 13,101,273,811| 0. 98%| | D2053| 7%| 22,933,861. 67| 0. 98%| | | P2009| 3. 89| | P2010| 3. 61| | P2011| 5. 46| Table 7: Summary calculation 3. 7Comparison of valuation vs. actual data From the valuation calculated thr ough the process, now we will compare that with the actual data from the market. Year| Valuation Data| Actual Data| Variance| Comment| 2009| 3. 89| 3. 64| -6. 40%| Undervalued| 2010| 3. 61| 3. 96| 9. 64%| Overvalued| 2011| 5. 46| 5. 98| 9. 43%| Overvalued| Table 8: comparison of actual and calculated data 3. Evaluation of the variation The valuation of the shares seems to be in the right track compared with the market trend. Nevertheless, post state gives a more variable scenario. Dividend was replaced by using the net operation Cash Flow per share. The operation cash flow only represents the cash flow in the company’s operation activities; whilst the company also have investing activities and financing activities. Thus, only use of the operation cash flow in the valuation has a high percentage of uncertainty. According to the table above, the actual price is undervalued.The valuation can be endorsed to the lower than expected risk premium in the market resulting from the con trolled risk free rate determined by the government. Another issue can be AUD getting stronger compared to USD, resulting additional dent on the nominal cost of capital for the company. In the later part of the table, the actual price is overvalued. In order to illustrate this phenomenon, one possible reason is inflation. Inflation is an overall general rise in prices. As we know, global financial crisis happened few years back, the effect of the financial crisis was significant on the whole market and caused inflation.Therefore, due to inflation, the market prices are higher than the actual prices. Another possible reason is some unpredicted economic/natural events happened during this period and lead to movements of the market price. On the other hand the factors can be attributed to the assumptions and predictions using the calculation components. CAPM formula and Beta calculation has its own risk and de-merits. The growth rate is strongly manipulated by the industry’s lan dscape, economic status and political issues.The information available could also affect the actual share prices in the market which will impact on decision making for share buyers/sellers. The share price valuation will be varied from one investor to another depends on their information. As there is an existence of asymmetric information in the market, one cannot estimate the share price exactly the same with the actual share price. Besides, the investors behaviour are different between one another, hence, the pattern of the actual share price is not only based on market returns in general, but also depends on whether the level of the risk that the investors are willing to bear. . 0Conclusion In conclusion, we need to consider about inflation and unpredicted events when we investigate the market price. In addition, we need to distinguish nominal interest rate and real interest rate when we calculate. Appendix 1: Cash rate target: Effective date| New cash rate| Adjusted cash rate| | | 2011| 4. 75| 5 May 2010| 4. 75| 2010| 3. 96| 7 Apr 2010| 4. 50| | | 3 Mar 2010| 4. 25| | | 2 Dec 2009| 4. 00| | | 4 Nov 2009| 3. 75| | | 7 Oct 2009| 3. 50| | | 8 Apr 2009| 3. 00| | | 4 Feb 2009| 3. 25| 2009| 4. 79| 3 Dec 2008| 4. 25| | | 5 Nov 2008| 5. 25| | | 8 Oct 2008| 6. 00| | | 3 Sep 2008| 7. 00| | |Appendix 2: Market Data for beta calculation: Date| Open| High| Low| Close| Volume| Adj Close| 3/10/2011| 0. 81| 0. 94| 0. 79| 0. 89| 18267300| 0. 89| 1/09/2011| 0. 85| 0. 9| 0. 74| 0. 82| 16091200| 0. 82| 1/08/2011| 0. 87| 0. 92| 0. 68| 0. 85| 15948300| 0. 85| 1/07/2011| 0. 98| 1. 01| 0. 86| 0. 88| 11603100| 0. 88| 1/06/2011| 1. 09| 1. 09| 0. 94| 0. 98| 17479100| 0. 98| 2/05/2011| 1. 32| 1. 33| 1. 03| 1. 08| 21843500| 1. 08| 1/04/2011| 1. 29| 1. 37| 1. 25| 1. 32| 17067200| 1. 32| 1/03/2011| 1. 29| 1. 3| 1. 17| 1. 29| 18402900| 1. 29| 1/02/2011| 1. 34| 1. 46| 1. 28| 1. 3| 14583200| 1. 3| 4/01/2011| 1. 4| 1. 42| 1. 33| 1. 35| 10259000| 1. 5| 1/12/2010| 1. 37| 1. 46| 1. 36| 1. 4| 1 8060000| 1. 4| 1/11/2010| 1. 44| 1. 49| 1. 32| 1. 37| 15254000| 1. 37| 1/10/2010| 1. 45| 1. 55| 1. 4| 1. 45| 12209300| 1. 45| 1/09/2010| 1. 47| 1. 57| 1. 44| 1. 47| 10714700| 1. 47| 2/08/2010| 1. 48| 1. 52| 1. 33| 1. 44| 12983000| 1. 43| 1/07/2010| 1. 3| 1. 51| 1. 29| 1. 48| 10254300| 1. 46| 1/06/2010| 1. 52| 1. 52| 1. 26| 1. 32| 17287600| 1. 3| 3/05/2010| 1. 72| 1. 76| 1. 4| 1. 51| 19697600| 1. 5| 1/04/2010| 1. 79| 1. 83| 1. 72| 1. 73| 12311100| 1. 71| 1/03/2010| 1. 62| 1. 86| 1. 62| 1. 8| 16808300| 1. 78| 1/02/2010| 1. 7| 1. 88| 1. 64| 1. 65| 17412500| 1. 63| 4/01/2010| 1. 74| 1. 88| 1. 7| 1. 73| 13261300| 1. 71| 1/12/2009| 1. 63| 1. 75| 1. 56| 1. 74| 8904800| 1. 72| 2/11/2009| 1. 55| 1. 77| 1. 52| 1. 63| 11449600| 1. 62| 1/10/2009| 1. 72| 1. 8| 1. 52| 1. 61| 14759100| 1. 59| 1/09/2009| 1. 46| 1. 75| 1. 42| 1. 72| 18761900| 1. 7| 3/08/2009| 1. 49| 1. 55| 1. 4| 1. 47| 18455600| 1. 46| 1/07/2009| 1. 19| 1. 48| 1. 07| 1. 48| 15136300| 1. 46| 1/06/2009| 1. 15| 1. 35| 1. 15| 1. 22| 156 24600| 1. 21| 1/05/2009| 1. 18| 1. 18| 0. 99| 1. 14| 15047200| 1. 13| 1/04/2009| 1. 01| 1. 19| 1. 01| 1. 18| 16260500| 1. 17| 2/03/2009| 0. 95| 1. 08| 0. 8| 1. 01| 18923300| 1. 01| 2/02/2009| 1. 35| 1. 39| 0. 92| 1. 08| 9490000| 1. 07| /01/2009| 1. 64| 1. 76| 1. 25| 1. 4| 5383300| 1. 39| 1/12/2008| 1. 4| 1. 67| 1. 33| 1. 63| 7776700| 1. 62| 3/11/2008| 1. 94| 2. 09| 1. 12| 1. 35| 8740000| 1. 34| 1/10/2008| 2. 75| 2. 76| 1. 85| 1. 92| 6877000| 1. 9| 1/09/2008| 2. 82| 3. 11| 2. 59| 2. 64| 7193700| 2. 62| 1/08/2008| 2. 65| 3. 05| 2. 58| 2. 82| 10400800| 2. 79| 1/07/2008| 2. 9| 3. 2| 2. 57| 2. 75| 8612800| 2. 72| References & Bibliography * http://www. asx. com. au/asx/research/companyInfo. do? by=asxCode&asxCode=FMG * http://www. investsmart. com. au/shares/asx/Fortescue-Metals-Group-FMG. asp * http://www. fxj. com. au/shareholders/Fairfax_AnnualReport_2011. df * http://www. fmgl. com. au/IRM/Company/ShowPage. aspx/PDFs/2147-13354473/Appendix3 bAllotmentofShares * http://au. finance. ya hoo. com/q/ao? s=FMG. 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