Bristol and Liverpool: the Demise and Rise of Rival Ports in the Eighteenth Century Slave Trade.

Bristol and Liverpool: The demise and rise of rival ports in the eighteenth century slave trade. In the early eighteenth century, Bristol’s dominant position as a slave trading port remained virtually unchallenged. Yet, by the end of the century, Liverpool firmly established its status as Britain’s leading slave trading port, surpassing Bristol completely. Despite some similarities between the rival ports, a number of factors, decisions and circumstances serve to explain Liverpool’s magnificent rise and Bristol’s consequent demise. The ports differing geographical locations, markets, trade goods, vessels, voyages and war impacts all played a role in Liverpool’s subversion of Bristol. The decision-making and business capabilities of the merchants also proved influential in the developments of the ports. This essay argues that most importantly, the Bristolian merchants’ poor economic and market decisions, compared with the exceptional business acumen of Liverpudlian merchants, sealed the fate of both ports. Bristol’s geographical location and new parliamentary legislation acted favourably to propel the town into the slave trade. The location of the River Severn and Bristol Channel encouraged early involvement in trade over the waterways, stimulating the development of the port city. Contributions to Atlantic trade also initiated Bristol’s role in the sugar trade, following the capture of Jamaica in 1655. [1] However, increased competition in the trade of sugar thrust Bristol merchants into the trade of slaves. An Act passed in 1698 further encouraged Bristol’s participation in slave trading, stating that any subject of Great Britain could trade to any part of Africa â€Å"between Cape Blanco and the Cape of Good Hope†, successfully ending the London Company’s monopoly. 2] Bristol’s geography served to hinder the port’s trading ability, mainly due to difficulties in navigating the meandering River Avon, its wide tidal range, and industrial waste in the river. Geographical location and legislation also contributed to Liverpool’s commencement in the slave trade. Located on the coast in northwest England, Liverpool benefited from close proximity to many industrial and textile producing centres such as Manchester, Birmingham and Sheffield. A network of rivers, including the River Mersey, made the port easily accessible to the many incoming and outgoing vessels. 3] The Isle of Man provided a useful off shore base, allowing for trade with Ireland and entry into the contraband trade with Spain. The Grenville Treaty of 1747 soon ended this arrangement, forcing Liverpudlian merchants to consider new options for trade. Utilizing the knowledge and wealth gained from contraband trade, the merchants developed vessels and goods specially suited to the African market, putting them towards gaining entrance to the slave trade. [4] Small vessels and on board slave revolts lessened the slave carrying capacity and efficiency of Bristol merchants ships. The smaller size of Bristol vessels perhaps resulted from the winding nature of the River Avon, with navigation difficult for larger ships. The period 1727 to 1769 provides an example of seventy Bristol vessels, one at fifty tons, thirteen at fifty-one to seventy-one tons, and thirty-eight at seventy-six to one hundred tons. [5] Even before Liverpool’s rise, London outshone Bristol in tonnage, 5,925 tons to 4,250 tons at a value of 137,000 to 98,820 pounds Stirling. [6] The origins of slaves purchased by Bristolians, coupled with lengthy on shore waiting times for slave deliveries, both reduced carrying capacity and efficiency of vessels. A concentration of suicide prone Ibo slaves and rebellious Ibibio slaves caused many problems. Consequently, merchants received instruction to shackle and bolt slaves from the popular Bight of Biafra region, to reduce the loss of slaves on board vessels. [7] Liverpool merchants similarly witnessed slave revolts, but they experienced superior carrying capacity and efficiency of vessels. Liverpool specialised in manufacturing fast slaving vessels in the docks of the River Mersey. [8] Liverpool’s carrying capacity far exceeded that of Bristol, as demonstrated in the 1100 ton Kent of 1773, the largest ship built in Northern England. 9] Such large ships and the capacity of five slaves per two tons, allowed for maximum vessel efficiency, and in 1753, 101 Liverpool vessels managed to carry over 30,000 slaves to the Americas. Poor vessel conditions for slaves resulted from maximising carrying capacities, and up to a third of slaves died. [10] One renowned incident on board the Zong di splays how captains attempted to avoid the loss of slaves: Captain Collingwood threw 132 sickly slaves overboard in order to claim insurance, rather than risk not selling them in the Americas. 11] Unbearable conditions on board also resulted in increased mutinies between 1751 and 1775, which Mannix and Cowley attribute to ruthless Liverpudlians’ efforts to save money by reducing the size of crews on vessels. [12] Slaving voyages and their destinations impacted greatly on Bristol’s attempts to gain prominence in the slave trade. Bristol’s shorter voyage time gave merchants a distinct advantage over London, and until the 1730s most Bristol voyages travelled to the Bight of Biafra where they encountered little competition. 13] Most Bristol voyages targeted Old Calabar, which oversupplied male slaves, leading to many trading failures. Merchants such as James Rogers only managed a delivery rate of seventy-three per cent from this region. [14] Bristol destination choi ces remained conservative, including Angola and the Gold Coast, despite increasing competition there from Liverpool. [15] The rise of Liverpool caused a vast reduction in voyages made by Bristolians. Jamaican voyages fell from sixty-nine to twenty-five per cent from 1728 to 1730. [16] As a result, the period of 1786 to 1807 produced only 240 voyages, compared with 2,473 from Liverpool. 17] Voyages direct to Jamaica became a common trend by 1750, with 104 trips taking place between 1749 and 1755, compared with seventy-four voyages following various triangle trade patterns. [18] Liverpool merchants achieved more numerous and varied voyages and destinations compared with Bristol. Liverpool’s first slave trade voyage departed in 1708, which is a much later entry than Bristol. Despite Bristol’s early advantage and established market destinations, Liverpool succeeded in creating new slaving destinations in areas such as Sierra Leone, Cameroon and Gabon. 19] In contrast with Bristol’s prioritisation of the region, only one voyage took place to Old Calabar in 1793 out of forty-seven voyages, instead thirty-six sailed to Angola where slaves were much more desirable. [20] In 1771 alone, 105 vessels travelled to Africa, obtaining 28,200 slaves. [21] In Jamaica, Liverpool trade comprised seventy-four per cent of delivered slaves and seventy-two per cent of visiting vessels. Liverpool’s dominant presence at Atlantic slave trade destinations displays the port’s numerous options, and their lack of presence at the unpopular sites displays their competent business choices. The choice of trade goods further influenced Bristol’s success as a slave trading port. James Rogers' voyages, perhaps not entirely typical of Bristol trading, provided African merchants with East Indian and English textiles, bar iron, gunpowder, beads, hardware and liquor. [22] Other Bristol merchants traded with refined sugar, haberdashery, window glass, bottled beer, wrought iron, woollens, copper and brass, in return for slaves. Wales generally provided the tin and iron for Bristol’s supplies. 23] Once in Africa, in addition to slaves, Bristol merchants requested items such as wax, ivory and redwood, either for sale in the Americas or back in Bristol. [24] Interestingly, Bristolians sent little linen to the African coast in comparison with other slave trading ports. [25] Linen stood as a leading commodity in Liverpool’s choice of trading goods, giving the port a considerable advantage over Bristol. Linen formed ninety-one per cent of all British exports to No rth America and West Africa, which Liverpool benefited from due to its easy acquisition of Lancashire cottons and Manchester textiles. 26] Manchester’s provision of checks and silk handkerchiefs contributed to the expulsion of Bristol’s German, French and Scottish textiles from the market. [27] In addition to linen, Liverpool traded copper and brass from Staffordshire, salt from Cheshire, and firearms from Birmingham. Liverpool also re-exported a number of goods from East India, such as Chintz, glass beads, cotton and calicoes. [28] The careful assortment of trade goods meant numerous colonies demanded trade with Liverpool. A number of international conflicts severely hindered Bristol’s progress in the slave trade. Throughout the eighteenth century conflicts existed with France, Spain and America. Bristol’s location in relation to the Bristol Channel meant a great number of vessels were lost to french privateers. [29] Consequently, Bristol successfully turned to privateering during the Spanish Succession from 1702 to 1713. The capture of over seventeen of its vessels by the Spaniards deepened Bristol’s involvement in privateering further during the Seven Years War (1756 to 1763). Trade with the West Indies suffered in consequence, due to the heavy amount of investment in privateers. 30] The American War of Independence and subsequent loss of American colonies hampered the triangular trade, which Bristolians heavily relied on. Shipping from the United States dropped from approximately 21,202 tons in 1773-7 to 12,326 in 1778-80. [31] Bristol’s slave trade experienced war in an entirely negative way during this period. On the other hand, Liverpool made substantial gains from G reat Britain’s involvement in international conflicts. Williamson, an observer of the War of the Austrian Succession 1739 to 1748, stated that: â€Å"trade flourished and spread her golden wings so extensively that if they had ossessed it seven years longer, it would have enlarged the size and riches of the town to a prodigious degree†[32] Involvement in conflicts meant that the dockyards on the River Mersey fitted out many ships in order to fill the void left by Bristol’s departure from trade. Slave trading voyages increased considerably during the wars, and vessels successfully avoided meeting French privateers due to Liverpool’s advantageous geographical location. War also enabled Liverpool merchants to take advantage of price differentials between England and the colonies. Profits inevitably resulted, which contrasts starkly with Bristol’s experience of the wars. [33] Vast potential existed for profit in the slave trade, yet when factoring in costs, Bristol struggled to reap the benefits of the system. Loss of slaves in the middle passage presented one expense, as Captain Black’s letter to James Rogers depicted. His voyage lost thirteen female slaves, fifty-six males and sixteen sailors. [34] Bristol merchants also paid generous wages, commissions and financial incentives to captains and slave sellers in order to ensure a loyal partnership. 35] When Robert Thiennison’s brother, a cook on Rogers’ Pearle, died, he requested wages of 55 shillings for a month’s work, revealing the high wages paid by Bristolians. High duties also frustrated Bristol merchants, especially those on tobacco, which is something they specialised in. [36] David Richardson offers an estimated return of 7. 8 to 19. 8 per cent on Bristol voyages, ho wever Rogers’ voyages barely managed three per cent profit, and the highest estimate still comes in lower than the profits made by Liverpudlians. 37] Liverpudlian merchants made significantly higher profits in the slave trade, primarily due to cunning commercial decisions. Manipulated stock records enabled merchants to avoid paying duties on up to twenty per cent of the tobacco shipped into the port. [38] Proposed estimates suggest that 100-ton ships returned profits of 750 pounds Stirling based on five Negroes per two tons. [39] The Liverpool vessel Lively produced a 300 per cent profit in 1737, but most voyages secured around ten per cent profit, which barely proved sufficient considering the risks involved in slaving. 40] One particular Liverpool voyage achieved a profit of 8000 pounds Stirling (before deductions for victuals and trade goods), with costs approximately comprising duties of 134 pounds, Doctor wages of thirteen pounds, Captain salary of 4 pounds per 104 made on total returns, and commission costs of 454 pounds Stirling. [41] Liverpudlians clearly possessed a unique capability to make large profits, despite mounting costs. The merchant oligarchy of Bristol overlooked crucial investments in port facilities in favour of spending profits on luxurious lifestyles, proving detrimental to their trade accomplishments. Instead, investments centred around the urban â€Å"renaissance† taking place in the city, rather than focusing on shifting towards industrialisation[42]. Prioritising Caribbean ventures over local industrial schemes demonstrates a further hindrance to the development of Bristol. [43] It appears that Bristolians’ preferences centred on funding a lifestyle founded on wealth and consumption, reflected in the growing local demand for sugar and tobacco. Furthermore, Bristol did not invest in the port until the nineteenth century, when developments included a floating harbour, which proved highly inefficient also. 44] Comparatively, the port of Liverpool received extensive urban development as a result of profits made in the slave trade. The city underwent considerable expansion and urban growth, facilitating merchants’ ability to exploit the Atlantic trade system and various markets. The city’s wealth stemmed from the merchants, hence their control over city d evelopments. Subsequently, profits funded financial structures and transport networks including canals, enabling Liverpool to maintain control over sources of goods such as the salt of Cheshire. 45] Investment in the docklands proved most influential, earning Liverpool the title of largest ship construction site in England, with sixty-one of the 161 English-built slave vessels manufactured in Liverpool. [46] The swift response to mercantile needs and construction of the Midlands canal network resulted in the shipment of valuable, high demand trade goods to Liverpool, not Bristol. A notable shift in Bristol’s priorities may account for Liverpool’s eclipse of Bristol as the leading slave trading port in England. The transition to specialisation in the sugar trade proves the most convincing causal factor in the reduced role in slave trading. The Bristolian pleasures derived from sugar, tobacco and snuff consumption drove merchants to focus on supplying the domestic market with what locals demanded. [47] The sugar industry thrived in Bristol, which is reinforced by the sustained existence of twenty sugarhouses between 1720 and 1775. [48] Tobacco and sugar faced restrictions regarding direct trade to foreign countries, perhaps further encouraging Bristolians to cater to local markets. 49] One argument proposes that Bristol became more conservative, simply preferring safer, more profitable trade options as they arose. A Jamaican agent noted that â€Å"Bristol†¦is rich enough, but don’t care to launch out much†. John Wesley, an abolitionist, also observed Bristol’s â€Å"love of money and ease†. [50] The increasing abolitionist environment and comparative ease of the sugar trade perhaps rendered the Bristolians content with exiting the slave trade. The lack of familial slaving dynasties and a reluctance to engage in mercantile competition with close ties offer two further justifications for Bristol’s demise in the slave trade. Bristol failed to secure dynasties through which to pass commercial knowledge and wealth to, mainly because eighteen of the leading twenty-five Bristol merchants died as bachelors. Encouraging others to continue the slave trade proved particularly difficult. The problems faced in re-exporting tobacco presented one deterrent, and the inevitable encounters with disease on the African coast and challenges in securing return goods also discouraged new entrants to the trade. [51] Bristol merchants tended to form strong, friendly connections with fellow traders, making ruthless competition difficult. To â€Å"wage war† against familial, banking or residential associates would destroy useful connections and jeopardise one’s reputation. [52] Liverpool merchants, on the other hand, formed strong bonds and maintained family dynasties, but did not refrain from competition, further enhancing their prominence. [53] The Bristol merchants experienced limitations in available market options, which presented a sizeable obstacle to success in the slave trade. Bristol traders lacked the vital trade goods necessary for securing demand from markets that would stock vessels with healthy slaves from desirable locations. Merchants such as Rogers tended to focus on Jamaica and Grenada to sell their slaves, places whose markets displayed an aversion to slaves from Old Calabar due to their poor health and high mortality. [54] These detrimental oversights in buying unsuitable slave cargoes and being unaware of the slave preferences at plantations provided great motivation to move away from trading in slaves. Bristol persisted in trading commodities with Jamaica, South Carolina and Charlestown, however they gained no advantage over Liverpool or even London. 55] Furthermore, Bristol failed to respond to new markets such as the Ceded Islands including Dominica and St Vincent, leaving the opportunity wide open for Liverpool. Liverpool slave traders successfully seized every new market opportunity that arose, providing numerous market options for the diverse trade goods they supplied. After trade opened up in 1750, Liverpool launched into trade with Upper Guinea and other markets in America, where they made g ains over Bristol. 56] Liverpool also possessed advantageous contacts throughout the West African coast, especially Sierra Leone. [57] In contrast to Bristol, Liverpool concentrated on lesser markets such as Barbados and the Leeward Islands. Barbados supplied over fifty per cent of Liverpool’s imports after 1735, closely followed by Chesapeake, the Leeward Islands and Jamaica. The range of trade goods supplied, and entrance into the trade at a time of colonial economy deceleration also enabled Liverpool merchants to almost monopolise the Anglo-American commercial market. 58] Liverpool merchants conducted business on the coast of Africa from the Senegal River to Ambriz[59], where healthy slave populations attribute to the demand for Liverpool commerce in a vast number of West Indian locations. With so many options for destinations to conduct trade with slaves, it is unsurprising that Liverpool ousted the port of Bristol from its dominant position. Despite the numerous causes a ttributed to the demise of Bristol, the inability of merchants to make economical, competent business decisions ultimately present the most significant explanations. Bristolians paid munificent salaries to captains and crew, as well as allowing privileges, daily charges and commission payments. Captains ate and drank excessively on shore, eroding profits considerably. Less profit also resulted from fully manning vessels, with the knock on effect of needing to charge more for slaves. [60] Bristol merchants found themselves outbid for slaves in Old Calabar, driving them to purchase unhealthy slaves. Their condition worsened further due to cheap provisions on board. [61] Consequently, prices achieved in the Americas for slaves were lower. The Bristol merchants justifiably earned a reputation as extravagant and unbusinesslike squanderers, who treated their Captains like â€Å"young gentlemen on the Grand Tour†. [62] A credit crisis in 1793 caused many merchants to go bankrupt, putting an end to the slave trade for the majority of Bristolians. [63] The lack of business acumen amongst Bristol merchants proved detrimental to their success. Conversely, the business expertise and economical ability of Liverpudlian merchants secured the city’s title of the most successful slave trading port in Europe. Liverpool merchants trained their crew better, paid lower wages, and minimized outfitting costs. Additionally, merchants were economical by paying wages annually not monthly, and refusing cabin privileges, primages and port allowances. For example, crew ate salt beef and drank rum punch on board their vessel, compared with Bristol crewmembers’ excessive drinking of Madeira on shore. [64] Low expenditure enabled Liverpudlians to sell slaves for four to five pounds Stirling less than other traders, underselling Bristolians considerably. 65] Accepting Bills of Exchange avoided reliance on return goods for payment, giving flexibility to merchants, which allowed them to return direct to Africa to embark more slaves. Liverpool merchants skilfully evaded customs administrators by importing â€Å"damaged† and therefore duty free goods, and disembarking â€Å"underweight† hogsheads, only to re-export them at heavier weights. [66] These tricks meant payment of less duty ta x, maximising profits. Resourceful and imaginative actions and decisions thrust Liverpool to record heights never reached by Bristol in the slave trade. Liverpool’s skilful rise to prominence in the slave trade undoubtedly provides explanation for Bristol’s demise from a once eminent slave trading port. Geographical location, vessel size, voyages, trade goods, international conflicts, market destinations, and urban development all provide convincing explanations of Bristol’s fall from the position of leading British port. However, problems could easily have been overcome or averted had the Bristol merchants possessed strong business capability, judgement skills and knowledge. Perhaps Bristol’s priorities did shift toward catering for the domestic market. Nevertheless, the Bristolians’ lack of skills and knowledge, so clearly possessed by Liverpool merchants, sealed Bristol’s demise from a once world-leading slaving port to an average sugar-importing town. Liverpool on the other hand, traded slaves on such a grand scale that it secured its position amongst Europe’s leading port towns far beyond the abolition of the slave trade. Word Count: 3,258 BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary Sources An account of the ships employed in the African trade, from the ports of London and Bristol, belonging to the separate traders to Africa; with the value of the said ships and cargoes, and the number of Negroes usually carried by the said ships, London, 1713, Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale Group. Captain W. Black of the Ship Jupiter to James Rogers, owner of The Jupiter, 20th August 1790, James Rogers Papers, Public Record Office, C/107/12, http://www. englandpast. net/education/. Great Britain, Parliament, An act for the better improvement of the trade to Africa, by establishing a regulated company, London, 1708, Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale Group. Letter To Captain Richard Prankard commander of the Unity Snow to Angola, Bristol, 29 January 1732, Bristol Central Reference Library, The Jefferies Collection: Volume 13, http://www. englandpast. net/education/. Letter from Robert Thiennison (? ) to James Rogers, slave ship owner concerning his brother who was a ship’s cook on the Pearl, Mr. Rogers London 15 August, 1786, Public Record Office, C107/8, http://www. englandpast. et/education/. Secondary Sources Behrendt, Stephen D. , â€Å"Markets, Transaction Cycles, and Profits: Merchant Decision Making in the British Slave Trade†, The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 1, 2001, pp. 171-204. Behrendt, Stephen D. , â€Å"The Annual Volume and Regional Distribution of the British slave trade, 1780-1807†, Journal of African Hi story, Vol. 38, 1997, pp. 187-211. Benezet, Anthony, Some historical account of Guinea, its situation, produce, and the general disposition of its inhabitants. With an inquiry into the rise and progress of the slave trade, its nature, and lamentable effects. Also a republication of the sentiments of several authors of note on this interesting subject: particularly an extract of a treatise written by Granville Sharpe, Philadelphia, 1771, http://www. gutenberg. org/files/11489/11489-h/11489-h. htm. Clarkson, Thomas, The history of the rise, progress, and accomplishment of the abolition of the African slave-trade by the British parliament, Vol. 1, London, 1808, http://www. gutenberg. org/files/12428/12428-8. txt. Clemens, Paul G. E. , â€Å"The Rise of Liverpool, 1665-1750†, The Economic History Review, Vol. 9, No. 2, 1976, pp. 211-225. Enfield, William. An essay towards the history of Leverpool, drawn up from papers left by the late Mr. George Perry, and from other materials since collected, by William Enfield. With views of the principal public structures, a chart of the harbour, and a map of the environ, 2nd Ed. , 1774. Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale Group. Hyde, F. , Parkinson, B. , & Marriner, S. , â€Å"The Nature and Profitability of the Liverpool Slave Trade†, The Economic History Review, Vol. 5, No. 3, 1953, pp. 368-377. Jones, S. J. â€Å"The Growth of Bristol: The Regional Aspect of City Development†, Transactions and Papers (Institute of British Geographers), No. 11, 1946, pp. 57-83. Klein, Herbert S. , â€Å"The English Slave Trade to Jamaica, 1782-1808†, The Economic History Review, Vol. 31, No. 1, 1978, pp. 25-45. MacInnes, C. M. , â€Å"Bristol and the slave trade†, in Patrick McGrath (ed. ), Bristol in the Eighteenth Century, Newton Abbot, 1972. Mackenzie-Grive, Averil, The Last Years of the English Slave Trade: Liverpool, 1750-1807, London, 1941. Morgan, Kenneth, â€Å"Bristol and the Atlantic Trade in the Eighteenth Century†, The English Historical Review, Vol. 07, No. 424, 1992, pp. 626-650. Morgan, Kenneth, â€Å"Bristol West India Merchants in the Eighteenth Century†, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Vol. 3, 1993, pp. 185- 208. Morgan, Kenneth, â€Å"James Rogers and the Bristol slave trade†, Historical Research, Vol. 76, No. 192, 2003, pp. 189-216. Morgan, Kenneth, â€Å"Shipping Patterns and the Atlantic Trade of Bristol, 1749-1770†, The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 46, No. 3. , 1989, pp. 506-538. Richardson, David, â€Å"Shipboard Revolts, African Authority, and the Atlantic Slave Trade†, The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 1, 2001, pp. 69-92. Richardson, David, â€Å"Slavery and Bristol’s ‘Golden Age’†, Slavery and Abolition, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2005, pp. 35-54. Williams, Gomer, History of the Liverpool privateers and Letters of Marque: With an account of the Liverpool slave trade, London, 1897. Williams, Eric, â€Å"The Golden Age of the Slave System in Britain†, The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 25, No. 1, 1940, pp. 60-106. Websites Liverpool & The Slave Trade, http://www. liverpoolinpictures. com/Slavery_in_Liverpool. htm —à ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ [1] S. J. Jones, â€Å"The Growth of Bristol: The Regional Aspect of City Development†, Transactions and Papers (Institute of British Geographers), No. 11, 1946, pp. 64; 71. [2] Great Britain, Parliament, An act for the better improvement of the trade to Africa, by establishing a regulated company, London, 1708, Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale Group. [3] Eric Williams, â€Å"The Golden Age of the Slave System in Britain†, The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 25, No. 1, 1940, p. 67. [4] Gomer Williams, History of the Liverpool privateers and Letters of Marque: With an account of the Liverpool slave trade, London, 1897, pp. 67-468. [5] C. M. MacInnes, â€Å"Bristol and the slave trade†, in Patrick McGrath (ed. ), Bristol in the Eighteenth Century, Newton Abbot, 1972, p. 173. [6] An account of the ships employed in the African trade, London, 1713, Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale Group. [7] David Richardson, â€Å"Slavery and Bristol’s ‘Gold en Age’†, Slavery and Abolition, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2005, p. 44; David Richardson, â€Å"Shipboard Revolts, African Authority, and the Atlantic Slave Trade†, The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 1, 2001, pp. 74, 80. 8] Eric Williams, p. 69. [9] Averil Mackenzie-Grive, The Last Years of the English Slave Trade: Liverpool, 1750-1807, London, 1941, p. 16. [10] F. Hyde, B. Parkinson, & S. Marriner, â€Å"The Nature and Profitability of the Liverpool Slave Trade†, The Economic History Review, Vol. 5, No. 3, 1953, p372; Anthony Benezet, Some historical account of Guinea, Philadelphia, 1771. [11] Thomas Clarkson, The history of the rise, progress, and accomplishment of the abolition of the African slave-trade by the British parliament, Vol. 1, London, 1808. 12] David Richardson, â€Å"Shipboard Revolts, African Authority, and the Atlantic Slave Trade†, p. 77. [13] David Richardson, â€Å"Slavery and Bristol’s ‘Golden Age’†, pp. 42-3. [14] Kenneth Morgan, â€Å"James Rogers and the Bristol slave trade†, Historical Research, Vol. 76, No. 192, 2003, pp. 195, 200. [15] Kenneth Morgan, â€Å"Bristol and the Atlantic Trade in the Eighteenth Century†, The English Historical Review, Vol. 107, No. 424, 1992, p. 641. [16] Similarly, South Carolinian voyages also fell by twenty-fiver per cent. Ibid. , p. 640. [17] Stephen D. Behrendt, â€Å"The Annual Volume and Regional Distribution of the British slave trade, 1780-1807†, Journal of African History, Vol. 38, 1997, p. 189. [18] Kenneth Morgan, â€Å"Shipping Patterns and the Atlantic Trade of Bristol, 1749-1770†, The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 46, No. 3. , 1989, pp. 515, 532. [19] Morgan, â€Å"Bristol and the Atlantic Trade in the Eighteenth Century†, p. 641. [20] Stephen D. Behrendt, â€Å"Markets, Transaction Cycles, and Profits: Merchant Decision Making in the British Slave Trade†, The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 1, 2001, p. 88. [21] William Enfield, An essay towards the history of Leverpool, 2nd Ed. , 1774. [22] Morgan, â€Å"James Rogers and the Bristol slave trade†, p. 197. [23] Morgan, â€Å"Bristol and the Atlantic Trade in the Eighteenth Century†, p. 635. [24] Letter To Captain Richard Prankard commander of the Unity Snow to Angola, Bristol, 29 January 1732, Bristol Central Reference Library, The Jefferies Collection: Volume 13. [25] Morgan, â€Å"Bristol and the Atlantic Trade in the Eighteenth Century†, p. 635. [26] Ibid. ; Eric Williams, p. 67. [27] Gomer Williams, p. 467. 28] Liverpool & The Slave Trade, http://www. liverpoolinpictures. com/; Enfield, p. 85. [29] MacInnes, p. 175. [30] Morgan, â€Å"Bristol and the Atlantic Trade in the Eighteenth Century†, pp. 630-2. [31] Jones, p. 76; Ibid. [32] Mackenzie-Grive, p. 4. [33] Paul G. E. Clemens, â€Å"The Rise of Liverpool, 1665-1750†, The Economic History Review, Vol. 29, No. 2, 1976, p. 210. [34] Captain W. Black of the Ship Jupiter to James Rogers, owner of The Jupiter, 20th August 1790, James Rogers Papers, Public Record Office, C/107/12 [35] Richardson, â€Å"Slavery and Bristol’s ‘Golden Age’†, p. 40. 36] Morgan, â€Å"Bristol and the Atlantic Trade in the Eighteenth Century†, p. 645. [37] Morgan, â€Å"James Rogers and the Bristol slave trade†, p. 215. [38] Clemens, p. 215. [39] However, restrictions of two Negroes per ton reduced potential profits to 200 pounds Stirling per voyage. Hyde et al. , p. 372. [40] Liverpool & The Slave Trade, http://www. liverpoolinpictures. com. [41] Gomer Williams, p. 471. [42] Richardson, â€Å"Slavery and Bristol’s ‘Golden Age’†, p. 46-7. [43] Kenneth Morgan, â€Å"Bristol West India Merchants in the Eighteenth Century†, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Vol. , 1993, p. 205. [44] Morgan, â€Å"Bristol and the Atlantic Trade in the Eighteenth Century†, p. 628. [45] Clemens, p. 212-7. [46] Herbert S. Klein, â€Å"The English Slave Trade to Jamaica, 1782-1808†, The Economic History Review, Vol. 31, No. 1, 1978, p. 42. [47] Richardson, â€Å"Slavery and Bristol’s ‘Golden Age’†, p. 47. [48] Jones, p. 71. [49] Morgan, â€Å"Bristol and the Atlantic Trade in the Eighteenth Century†, p. 646. [50] Morga n, â€Å"Bristol West India Merchants in the Eighteenth Century†, p. 204. [51] Ibid. , p. 203. [52] Ibid. , p. 205. [53] Clemens, p. 217. 54] Morgan, â€Å"James Rogers and the Bristol slave trade†, pp. 205, 209, 215. [55] Clemens, p. 219. [56] Richardson, â€Å"Slavery and Bristol’s ‘Golden Age’†, p. 46. [57] Morgan, â€Å"James Rogers and the Bristol slave trade†, p. 199. [58] Clemens, pp. 213-8. [59] Behrendt, â€Å"Markets, Transaction Cycles†, p. 172. [60] Gomer Williams, p. 471. [61] Morgan, â€Å"James Rogers and the Bristol slave trade†, pp. 196, 203. [62] Mackenzie-Grive, p. 4. [63] Morgan, â€Å"Bristol and the Atlantic Trade in the Eighteenth Century†, p. 633. [64] Gomer Williams, p. 471; MacInnes, p. 170. [65] Ibid. , p. 470. [66] Clemens, pp. 215, 221.

Case 15: Teletech Corporation, 2005 Essay

Case Study 3: Estimating the Cost of Capital 1. Currently Teletech Corporation (TC) uses a single hurdle rate for both their Telecommunications Services (TS) and Products and Services (P&S) divisions. This hurdle rate obtained by an estimate of TC Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), which is calculated at 9.3%. When analyzing critically at this point, TS is underperforming with a return on capital (ROC) of 9.1%, whereas, P&S segment is well over the required rate of return as it is gaining a ROC of 11.0%. As a result, the firm’ share price is inactive. Their price-to-earning is far below investor’s expectation in comparison to the firm’s risk. The use of a single constant hurdle rate brings about an uncorrelation between risk and return. With an approx. $2 billion being invested in the upcoming years, the discount rate is significantly important in order to make investment decision on profitable projects, that will increase shareholder’s value. 2. Estimate the segment WACCs for Teletech: Corporate TS P&S Explanation MV asset weights 100% 75% 25.00% Bond rating A-/BBB+ A BB Pretax cost of debt (Kd) 5.88% 5.74% 7.47% Tax rate (t) 40% 40% 40% After-tax cost of debt 3.53% 3.44% 4.48% Kd(1-t) Equity beta (ÃŽ ²) 1.15 1.04 1.36 Industry Average Rf 4.62% 4.62% 4.62% 30-year U.S Treasury Securities RM 10.12% 10.12% 10.12% Source: Bloomberg RM-Rf 5.50% 5.50% 5.50% Cost of equity (Ke) 10.95% 10.34% 12.11% Ke=Rf + ÃŽ ²(RM-Rf) Weight of debt 22.19% 22.19% 22.19% Assume that it stays the same as Weight of equity 77.81% 77.81% 77.81% Teletech WACC 9.30% 8.81% 10.41% WACC=Wd *Kd(1-t) + We*Ke 3. It seems that TS is actually profitable on a risk-adjusted basic, even though it is underperforming compared with the firm hurdle rate. The reason behind is the current use of constant hurdle rate does not mirror the higher cost of debt required for P&S, and shows that the cost of equity required for TS will not have sufficient capital in the future but P&S will be given more than enough because TS’ return is less than P&S. It also indicates that TS certainly is less risky than the company and therefore it should be provided adequate funds in the long run. 4. In term of â€Å"economic value†, all money is green. Teletech having a book value of $16 million, they would fit the profile no matter it is under two segments its return on capital is viewed as one whole part. Investors are only concerned with the company as the whole, rather than its individual segments. The implication of that view is to let investors deeply understand that Teletech will still have return at the hurdle rate despite the fact that P&S is less profitable than TS. The return is being produced for shareholders are clearly dependent on where Teletech invests its fund. The argument in favor is that the returns on  capital of the two segments complied into Teletech hence, it is practical to keep all capital contributions at the firm should be treated individually. The argument against this statement is that the decision might be wrong if the use of strategic consideration is not included. The use of single hurdle rate will make the NPV results consistent but the NPV as well as the economic profit estimations would lose their meaning and comparability across TS and P&S. The separation of using different hurdle rates will make Teletech’s return higher. 5. If all the firm’s assets were invested only in the telecommunication segment the firm would increase the total risk as the lack of diversification on multiple investments. From another point of view, currently Teletech is using a constant rate to determine the projects and this rate is used as the discount rate. If the hurdle rate is set constantly at 9.3%, return on capital of TS (8.5%) is far lower than the hurdle, it seems like TS will reduce the firm’s value. While the return on capital of P&S (11.4%) exceeds the hurdle, it means P&S will enhance the firm’s value. TS P&S Explanation Return on Capital (%) 9.10% 11.00% NOPAT (million) $1,180.00 $480.00 Capital (million) $12,967.03 $4,363.64 Capital=ROC*NOPAT Economic Profit (million) -$25.98 $74.17 Use of a constant hurdle rate EP=(ROC-Hurdle Rate)*Capital $37.66 $25.54 Use of individual hurdle rates Where: The constant hurdle rate = WACCfirm = 9.3% The individual hurdle rates: Used for TS = WACCTS = 8.81% Used for P&S = WACCP&S = 10.41% From the table above, obviously observed that the use of the constant hurdle rate will mislead investment decisions, as it probably will result in negative economic profit from TS (-$25.98 million) as it does not take into account any additional risk associated with each segment. In fact if the use of individual hurdle rates applied, it will generate a large positive economic profit from TS ($37.66 million), PS still remains profitable but it is far below the original economic profit that calculated by using the constant hurdle rate. 6. From the calculations above in part 5, P&S will contribute extra value ($25.54 million) to Teletech as the term â€Å"all money is green† because P&S’ actual return is up to 11%, which is, lightly exceeded the hurdle rate of 10.41%. 7. There is no conflict with holding two seats on Teletech’s board of directors as he demanded, but the initial purpose of business is to provide firm’s customers the best goods and services, that will make Teletech to become the best telecommunication service. The firm will have to generate the best possible return, maximize the shareholder’s wealth, maintain the heavy development in both expansions of range as well as increase in customer’ satisfaction. So far, each segment has shown clear evidences and signs that they have been being brought value to Teletech, therefore Teletech have to decide to treat both TS and P&S like individual firms in the uses of equity and debt for a long run benefit.

Azuria Medical Problems Essays - Medicine, Health Care, Free Essays

Azuria Medical Problems The state-run medical system has collapsed in Azuria, and only rudimentary care is available through NGOs (when they aren't being shot or kidnapped). Statistically there is supposed to be one doctor for every 4,640 people in Azuria. Diarrhea, communicable and parasitic diseases are rampant in the country. Chloroquine-resistant malaria is present in all parts of the country. Larium should be used for chemical prophylaxis. Cholera, dracunculiasis (Guinea worm), cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis, rabies, relapsing fever and typhus (endemic flea-borne, epidemic louse-borne and scrub) are prevalent. Azuria is also receptive to dengue fever, as there have been intermittent epidemics in the past. Meningitis is a risk during the dry season in the savanna portion of the country, from December through March. Schistosomiasis may also be found in the country and contracted through contact with contaminated freshwater lakes, streams or ponds. A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required for all travelers coming from infected areas. There's also a pesky little problem with Tumbu Fly, a local maggot that burrows into human skin, munching on flesh all the way. The larvae grows big enough to rip out flesh before it turns into a fly. Hospital Resources No non-trauma medical care is being delivered at the hospitals. If the needs of those with chronic or acute medical conditions, such as diabetes, are being met, it is likely to be through the efforts of private physicians working out of their private homes in the community. Hospitals provide casualty care to heavily populated portions of the country. Digfer Hospital in Mogadishu has the capacity for about 650 inpatient beds, with an estimated current inpatient census of 1,000 patients. Benadir Hospital in Djibouti City has approximately the same capacity and current census. Medina Hospital in Mogadishu currently holds approximately 400 patients. Hospital needs in the north are served by a team of five Azuri physicians who set up the "Health Emergency Committee" on April 18, 2005. They work out of 27 converted villas, which have been combined to form what is called Karaan Hospital, where most of the emergency surgery takes place. An additional set of 16 villas in the north constitute a collective inpatient ward, Karaan 2, for patients who are convalescing from acute injury. The total number of patients hospitalized in these 45 villas is approximately 5,000 to 6,000 people. For medicines, the Karaan Hospital relies entirely on weekly supplies brought in by the ICRC. The physical condition of the acute care areas of these hospitals is uniformly austere and, with the exception of the casualty and operating areas of Medina Hospital, where the expatriate staff from Mdecins Sans Frontires-France (MSF) have taken over and renovated the most advanced of the city's surgical units, conditions are unsanitary. As the factional fighting prompted urban fighting and then as the intra-clan conflict broke out, makeshift casualty wards were set up in the existing entryway in the other two hospitals in the south during the course of the past year. During this year, both parties to the conflict have looted and destroyed public and private facilities. They have not spared hospitals. Digfer Hospital was particularly hard-hit and stripped almost bare of equipment, furnishings, and supplies. The ICRC had opened a hospital for the care of acutely injured casualties for the north in early February, but after one week of operations, was forced to close it abruptly in the face of active hostilities. (The hospital is operational again; see below). The surgical care structures on the north are even more minimal, since they were built as private homes. With the exception of the acute casualty and surgical areas of Medina Hospital, none of these hospital structures have screens over the windows to keep out flies and other insects. Electricity is available only to the operating areas on an intermittent, limited basis, from locally maintained diesel fueled generators. Running water is infrequent and unclean. There is no oxygen available in the city and no inhalation anesthesia possible. Surgical drapes are scarce or non-existent, depending on the site or hospital. Sterilizers occasionally work and are used according to varying routines and frequency. Much of the surgical equipment in most of the sites is re-used without interim sterilization over a 24-hour period. Casualty and operating areas are mopped down intermittently, depending on the volume of cases arriving in acute condition. Available antibiotics included penicillin and erythromycin; medicine for the prevention of tetanus was in short supply. Medical support can continue to be provided at its current rudimentary level only if the lifeline provided by the ICRC can be maintained. Medical supplies to both sides of the city and food rations for

Innovative Culture and Innovative Competencies Assignment

Innovative Culture and Innovative Competencies - Assignment Example Alliances are, thus, useful avenues of not only gaining access to the skills and capabilities of partners, but also serve to strengthen the core competencies within organizations. Indeed with the globalized competition, it is no longer possible to compete in the traditional sense of self-sufficiency, which, in a sense, is untenable as markets increasingly become highly volatile, rapidly rendering techniques and products obsolete almost as fast as they are invented. Though innovation has been pushed to the center of production dynamics, the hurdles to its realization have more than doubled, complicating its management and making it even more elusive. As such, firms committed to breaking new grounds begin from the very foundation of harnessing the requisite competencies, with speed given precedence both in terms of resources and organizational support (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990). It is more of a common knowledge that entrepreneurship is but an adventure that carries with it several unknow ns that demands creativity to achieve the preset objectives. Noteworthy, the link between innovation and growth has long been a subject of theoretical research right from the days of Adam Smith (1776). In his â€Å"Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,† Smith (1776) articulates gains in productivity as a factor of specialization, division of labor as well as the technological advances in capital equipments and processes employed. Besides the role of Research and Development being a key determinant of competitive advantage, Smith also recognizes Technological Transfer via a web of network that incorporates suppliers and product end-users in that very analysis: â€Å"All the improvements in machinery, however, have by no means been the inventions of those who had occasion to use the machines. Many improvements have been made by the ingenuity of the makers of the machines, when to make them became the business of a peculiar trade; and some by that of thos e who are called philosophers or men of speculation, whose trade it is not to do anything, but to observe everything; and who, upon that account, are often capable of combining together the powers of the most distant and dissimilar objects. In the progress of society, philosophy or speculation becomes, like every other employment, the principal or sole trade and occupation of a particular class of citizens†¦ and the quantity of science is considerably increased by it † (Smith, 1776). Buoyed by the assumption that there is no heterogeneous formula of acquiring innovation capability, structured theories have been proposed to explain the differences between the nearly excellent and the poor innovators. The Resource-Based Approach (RBA), for instance, explains the differences as a reflection of the capacity [resources and capabilities] within a given organization to confront challenges; resources and capabilities which are somehow unique and very difficult to reproduce and/or substitute by other players in the market (Hamel & Prahalad, 1994). Teece & Pisano’s (1994) dynamic capabilities theory deviates from the RBA, explaining

The British Thought about Colonialism Literature review

The British Thought about Colonialism - Literature review Example In the colored community, very less skill level people are there and job opportunities are more in the manufacturing sector, women and racial or ethnic minorities are less to possess the human capital and its characteristics are associated in its job opportunities. To get a job one has to be skilled in a particular area. Every company looks for an ideal candidate who should be an asset to the company and should not become a liability. Colored groups (immigrants from Asia and Africa) earn less compared to whites. So which is different wages for each category or group? In cultural context colored women are not allowed to grow in their career life or in personal life, they prefer not to work outside the home. Compared to colored the Whites are more liberal and enjoy gender equality provided by the European countries constitutional laws. Whatever the reasons there still exists inequality among these groups. The Morant Bay issue shows how the English tend to show their prevalent masculinity and representations in the ascension to power of the middle class whose concept of gentility was based on religion and dignity. In this case, Thomas Carlyle and John Stuart Mill stood up to for those who are oppressed under the whites.

Progress Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Progress Report - Essay Example She also shows some anticipation for the next step in activities with familiar routine and is beginning to show ability to communicate a desire for activities to continue. Record of Progress Communication and Language Activities experience by the pupil this year Communication underpins every activity that Cristina undertakes at school. She has participated in a range of activities over this year to provide opportunities for her to develop her communication skills. These activities included greetings, end of the day sessions, massage, sensory story, interactive music, and one-to-one interaction sessions with familiar members of the staff. Responding Pupil’s progress Cristina has been working towards developing anticipation of the next step in well-established routines and responds appropriately or consistently to a range of different sensory stimuli. As the year progresses, Cristina has become more consistent in showing anticipation for regular daily activities such as greeting s and her favourite weekly sensory story session titled ‘We going on the bear hunt’. A good example is her excellent progress in anticipating for greeting or interactive sessions during Autumn term. She would look at a bottle of essential oil when presented to her by an adult and stay still for a few seconds to smell the oil of the day. She initially smiled broadly when asked whether she wants more of a smell particularly if given plenty of time to respond. During Spring term, she showed ability to recognize the sequence of steps within same activity. She has also begun exploring the drum positioned under her hands by making small finger movement especially if encouraged verbally by adults to perform a task. Over the time, she has learnt to prolong the activity by trying hard to continue her small hand movement in exploring this musical instrument especially with prolonged one-to-one interaction she gets from an adult at such times. She has also begun to get less startl ed if adult leading the activity use a countdown such as ‘one, two, three’ when introducing noisy objects, such as drum. Recently, she began to vocalise when asking for a tune to say hello, although she is not yet consistent and will need more time to consolidate this skill. During the sensory story sessions, she has shown ability to anticipate certain familiar routines, especially if an adult used the phrase ‘ready, steady†¦go’. She would for example anticipate for water spray by turning head and looking at an adult shaking a thunder maker for brief moment of 2-3 seconds. She would also smile when activities were accompanied by ‘ready, steady†¦go’. On some occasion, she would actively turn her head towards rainmaker and tracked torch light on the black material other than just smiling or stilling in response. Interacting Pupil’s progress Cristina has been working towards developing her interaction skills with familiar and less familiar adults and shows ability to distinguish between them. Cristina remained interested when adults interacted with her and continued to smile or became animated when the adult talked to her. She responded best during one-to-one intensive sessions when familiar members of staff interacted with her. She showed a clear awareness of the presence of others and would at times smile when chatting to a class staff member. She has also responded with various facial expressions and random vocalizations. She has learnt to accept physical contact from familiar and

Love Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Essay

Love Office of Community Oriented Policing Services - Essay Example The police officers will regularly tour the schools to spot bullies and victims. Upon finding a bully incident, the police officers can immediately arrest the bullies and drag them to jail for the filing of the appropriate charges. However, schools follow traditional norms of hiring the security guards to handle the school’s anti-bullying efforts. The guards arrest students who bully the teachers, administrators, school employees, and students. In addition, Scott Berinato (2007) emphasized the school guards can reduce the 27 percent K-12 bullying statistics in United States schools. The police will enter the bullying scene when requested by school authorities, students, parents, and other affected persons. Police records show that the current bullying scene includes 27 percent of K -12 students classified as bullying victims. The bullying statistics includes 8 percent of teachers being threatened by bullies in elementary and secondary schools. Specifically, the school administ ration of New England School refused to allow the police to have access to the controls of the school cameras. The police wanted full control in order to take full charge in case a school shooting incident or illegal activity. However, the police were only allowed to view the camera’s films of the school shooting incident. ... 12 defined policing as â€Å"a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies, which support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques, to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.† Consequently, the police must encourage the school administration to do its share to effectively prevent or reduce the bullying statistics within the school’s premises. Furthermore, the above police department article Bullying in Schools (Sampson, 2009) states that bullying is composed of two components, repeated harmful acts and imbalance of power. It involves repeated physical, verbal, or psychological attacks or intimidation directed against a victim who cannot properly defend him or herself due to the assailants’ size or strength, or the victim is outnumbered or psychologically resilient. European and Scandinavian studies show that bullies are aggressive, domina nt, and slightly below average intelligence and reading ability. Additional research shows bullies compensate their poor social skills with bullying strategies. Bully victims are generally smaller and weaker than the school bullies. In addition, Anne Garrett (2003) reported accused 2007 shooter, Andy Williams, was a constant victim or target of California’s Santana High School’s bullies. Williams shot the students who bullied him. Several years after the Williams shooting spree, a study showed that one half of Santana High School students did not feel safe inside the school’s premises. In addition, one third of the students of Santana High School reported they were victims of the school bullies’ constant verbal abuses. In addition, 17 percent of same

International Expansion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

International Expansion - Assignment Example There are different methods of globalization and they include internationals trade, economic globalization and social cultural globalization. International trade involves exchange of services, capital and goods across territories or borders. People are involved in importation and exportation products from one country to another or across continents. Social culture globalization is the exchange of cultural and social practices from different countries like the spread or western culture (Ritzer, 2010). When establishing a business internationally, application of SWOT analysis will held the business owner in understanding many aspect. The strengths will help the business owner to understand the factors or things which will help him in establishing the business. The weakness will help the business owner in identifying the points or the things which needs improvement. After identifying the weakness the business owner will have the chance to improve and eliminate each weakness. The opportunities will help the business owner to notice the things which will enable him to prosper. Proper use of opportunities will enable the business to work effectively. The threats will enable the business owner to identify things which needs to be worked on for effectiveness (Ritzer,

Platos The Philosopher Ruler Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Platos The Philosopher Ruler - Essay Example In some ways, too, Pericles' account of his democracy can also be seen as ideal. On certain subjects, therefore, concerning the types or descriptions of government and heroic men advocated in these two works, while some amount of concurrence can be seen between them, some differences can also be detected. Close attention to the texts of both works give the idea, of an underlying unity, though they do represent differing (i.e. ethereal vs. corporeal) levels of a similar idea. One of the first ideas presented in "The Philosopher Ruler" is one that describes citizens as courageous warriors who would under no inducement desert their positions in battle. This seems an appropriate beginning when one considers the circumstances for which persons are gathered in "Pericles' Funeral Oration." The deaths being mourned are those of warriors who have seemingly embodied the virtue being lauded here in Plato's description of the ideal citizens. The men have demonstrated the ultimate courage and have died in the service of their country, proving themselves to be true patriots of the order described by Plato. Yet Plato seems to be concerned with more than just these expressions of courage. In fact, as Schofield (1999) writes, "What Plato is interested in is justice and moral excellence and the question of the unity or complexity of the human mind" (p. 4). He describes an excellence that lies far beyond the physical and which expresses an ideal. In Plato's record of the dialectic between Socarates and Glaucon, one finds Glaucon inquiring whether or not ideals can or have ever been fully expressed in the actual. He wonders whether persons have ever truly been what they have been said to be. He says, "Is it not the nature of things that, whatever people think, practice should come less close to truth than theory" (Plato, 1952, p. 262). This question appears particularly pertinent in view of the type of oration being given by Pericles. This speech attempts to show forth (among other things) the works and characters of the men who fought and died for their state. Pericles seems to express a similar idea, yet one that is (paradoxically) opposite to that expressed by Glaucon. While Glaucon argues from the point of the ideal-wondering whether language or even the real occurrences on earth have ever been shown to express it precisely, Pericles worries that language itself might fall short in expressing the actual. He says, "It would be enough, I think, for their goodness to be proclaimed in action" (Thucydides, 1972, p. 144) as he expresses concern at being able to accurately speak on it. Therefore, while Pericles considers the exploits of the heroes as possessing ideal qualities that may not be utterable, Glaucon contends that such exploits (being expressions of the actual) could never attain the heights of the ideal. While Socrates and Glaucon appear to praise the virtues of the intellect as ones that are indispensable to the constitution of a ruler, one finds that they also describe physical attributes and training as desirable qualities for a leader to possess. They mention the grooming of youths who have distinguished themselves in attention to philosophy taught them in their youth, and who have also distinguished themselves in the physical aspects of training as well. Hanson and Heath support

Analysis of The Prologue to WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE AND YOUNG Article

Analysis of The Prologue to WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE AND YOUNG - Article Example Indeed, they were given medals and recognized for their sacrifices however, to a man who has shown such dedication and fervor in serving his country, those are not enough. It is true that war changes people. War destroys lives, families and the mind. There are many untold stories of soldiers whose lives and their loved ones’ lives were drastically changed because of the effects of their active participation in war. This story speaks for most of them although it is possible that there are soldiers who experienced even worse situations. The story is an eye opener to us who just hear and read stories of war. It is not just an expression of the author’s thoughts and emotions but it is also an appeal to the readers for them to remember the fallen soldiers and the others who survived the war; as they continue to enjoy the freedom that they have fought for. It asks for remembrance and the heart to value the lost lives, whether on the American side or on the enemies’ sid e because after all, we are all humans unworthy of animalistic

The College Experience Essay Example for Free

The College Experience Essay The years spent in college are a big transitional stage in every ones life. The years in college are spent in preparation for future endeavors in the real world. Choosing a college is imperative in that it can potentially effect your level of preparation for a professional career or in some cases graduate study. Your choice will impact the quality of education you will be receiving as well as shape your independence. When it came time for me to begin looking at schools I wasnt sure where I wanted to go. I felt that their were so many choices and I found it difficult narrowing my choices down. Factors such as the schools size, the schools locale, and the cost were all part of my decision process. Up until this point schools such as Xavier University of Louisiana, Hampton University, North Carolina State University, Howard University, and North Carolina Central University were all realistic choices for school. North Carolina Central became my top choice by virtue of its close proximity to my hometown Raleigh, the cost of attendance, and the predominately black enrollment . The location was important because I knew that I would be surrounded with people who shared similar experiences and back grounds while at the same time I would be exposed to students with different experiences and back grounds from that of my own. I felt that North Carolina Centrals location would make it easier adjusting to college simply because being a citizen of Raleigh I am naturally familiar with the area. The size of the institution was also a big factor in my choosing North Carolina Central. I felt that in large schools there was little student teacher interaction, in or out of the classroom but in a smaller school like NCCU I would have an easier time developing a relationship with my professor. In retrospect I feel that this hold true because of teacher to student ratio encourages a more intimate learning environment. When I arrived at Central in January I was surprised by the familiar faces I saw. In my first couple weeks I got reacquainted with many former friends from high school and various summer programs I had participated in. Having acquaintances prior to my attending school made my transition considerably smoother. Having a friend that was familiar with my surroundings was beneficial to me. Living with roommates was an adjustment because I am the only child I never had to really share my space with anyone. The independence and responsibility that comes with living in dorm benefited me and helped me adapt to the new environment and new people. By virtue of my experiences both academically and socially I truly feel that I am in an institution that embraces people like myself and I am anxious to create a legacy of my own to add to the rich tradition here at North Carolina Central University. Overall I am completely satisfied with choosing North Carolina Central University as my school because I researched schools and made the decision best for me. I knew that my choosing Central was an important step in my life and my actions that followed would have to reflect my goal of graduating.

Assignment Writing Guide Essay Example for Free

Assignment Writing Guide Essay INTRODUCTION While your assignment comprises only 25% of your subject grade, it serves an  important function in helping you focus on the concepts and clarify your learning. In this sense, the assignment prepares you for the exam, which is much more heavily weighted at 75%. Scoring well on the assignment can sometimes mean the difference between a pass and a fail for the subject – or a high distinction versus just a distinction. This Assignment Writing Guide consists of five parts: 1. Importance of citation and referencing 2. Using peer reviewed / scholarly journal articles; 3. A nine-step approach to writing assignments; 4. The basic format of an assignment; and 5. Appendix A Example assignment with added comments IMPORTANCE OF CITATION AND REFERENCING 1. Assignments must contain proper citations and referencing using the Harvard ‘authordate’ style referred to in the AIB Style Guide, that is: a. citations (or in-text references) of quoted and paraphrased materials to support your arguments/comments; and b. a reference list relating specifically to your in-text references. 2. Your grade will be adversely affected if there are no or poor citations and/or reference list, as referred to above. 3. Your assignment should normally contain the following number of relevant references from different sources in the reference list. a. BBA assignments: 5 – 10 b. MBA assignments: 6 – 12 4. All references must be from credible sources such as books, peer reviewed journals, magazines, company documents and recent articles. Students are highly encouraged to use peer reviewed journal articles as this may contribute towards a higher grade. 5. You are encouraged to make use of the AIB online library (i.e., EBSCO Host) which can be accessed through the AIB website. 6. AIB checks assignments with anti-plagiarism software. Please carefully check your assignments before final submission to ensure that all quoted and paraphrased materials are properly cited and referenced. 7. You are strongly advised to carefully read The AIB Style Guide for clarification of these requirements. USING PEER REVIEWED/SCHOLARLY JOURNAL ARTICLES Peer review is an academically accepted measure of quality. Peer reviewed journal articles are normally considered more credible, authentic and reliable as they are evaluated and recommended for publication by several experts in the field. It is therefore strongly suggested that you use the most recent peer reviewed / scholarly articles for your assignment. This will not only provide you with up to date knowledge but will also enable you to produce quality work. The â€Å"Refine your search† option (as shown below) in the AIB Online Library can help you to filter and view the peer reviewed / scholarly articles. Preferably you should filter the publication date to within the last 3 to 5 years. A NINE-STEP APPROACH TO WRITING ASSIGNMENTS The following provides a recommended nine-step approach to writing assignments. It is strongly recommended that you follow these steps in sequential order in order to address your assignment requirements. 1. Read, understand and address the assignment question Carefully read the assignment question and make sure you understand clearly what is being asked. Your submission must be responsive to the assignment question. This is the first and most important step. By doing this you will know what you need to do, how to do it and whether you need some form of assistance to finish the assignment. Furthermore, make sure you check the word count and make sure you understand what is required. The word count  should be used as a guide as to the desired length of your written assignment. But, be mindful that submissions that exceed the word count guide by more than 10% will have marks deducted. Then, consider the subject of the assignment and who will read it. Do the assignment instructions suggest that the assignment should be aimed at a particular manager of a particular organisation? If no particular manager is mentioned in the instructions, assume that the instructor will be  the audience. Whoever the reader is, aim the assignment at them and their requirements and knowledge. 2. Do background reading and jot down notes Do some brief background reading around the topic, starting with your textbook, jotting down the main concepts and ideas that seem relevant. Is there any relevant history related to your topic? Or is there any important detail that will be of high significance to the future? Are there any important people involved? Knowing such details will give you a better idea as to how to start and finish your assignment. 3. Organise your assignment Make a tentative, organized list of headings and some sub-headings and topics about important issues that will have to be addressed. Inform yourself as to how Table of Contents (TOC) fields are formatted in MS Word, or other word processing application you may be using; and how to update the page numbers for your Table of contents as your composition grows and evolves. Fine-tune your listing of subject headings as you start gathering information about the assignment’s topics. Organisation is always the key to a well-written assignment. It not o nly gives you direction as you write, but it also gives your paper a certain level of professionalism. 4. Collate information and note your sources for proper citation and referencing Gather information from articles and other credible sources (preferably from peer  reviewed journal articles). Take notes and write down reference information about your sources (you may forget or lose them, otherwise). The AIB Style Guide has details of what information is required for referencing in the assignment; make sure you collect all that information when you first have your hands on the source of information. Collecting all the necessary information for proper citation and referencing as soon as you encounter the source will save you precious time during the course of your writing. The list will also come in handy if you want to double check information. 5. Organise your notes bearing in mind the marking criteria Organize your notes and finalise the outline with its headings and sub-headings and topics. Consult the Assignment Cover Sheet and Assessment Sheet and the marking criteria for your assignment with weightings for concepts, application of concepts and so on. Bear these in mind as you plan and write the assignment. Comparing your outline with the Assignment Cover Sheet and Assessment Sheet will let you know if you have covered everything that the assignment requires or if you have included something that is irrelevant. It will give you a chance to finalize your outline before proceeding with the actual writing. 6. Start writing the assignment Then, and only then, start writing the assignment. The notes below about the format of an assignment have details of how each part of the assignment should be written (and include the recommended length of some sections). For your assignment writing, we recommend you use the Office Word Format/Font command to set Times New Roman Regular 12 point font, and the Format/Paragraph command to set 1.5 line spacing – refer to the AIB Style Guide. 7. Re-read and re-write your assignment ensuring you adhere to the word count Re-writing is essential. Make sure you add or delete appropriate words or paragraphs and check the spelling and grammar. Prior to re-writing, read and re-read your draft. Check whether the flow of thoughts is clear and maintains continuity. Check for any grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and/or improper use of periods, commas or question marks. Make sure you read your assignment carefully to check for errors or omissions. Lastly, ensure that you adhere to the required word count, and add / delete words as necessary. 8. Write the Executive Summary Now write the Executive Summary. This is the summary of the entire assignment. Include only salient points of your assignment. It is called a summary because it is supposed to be brief and comprehensive. 9. Write the References Add the References according the requirements of the AIB Style Guide, and submit the assignment to AIB, remembering to provide a word count which includes the Introduction section through to the beginning of the References section (that is, do not include the Executive Summary/Abstract, References or Appendices in the word count). BASIC FORMAT OF AN ASSIGNMENT REPORT This section will explain how you should develop the sections of your assignment. An example assignment that follows this format is provided at Appendix A. Title page Give your assignment a title and type out the main words from the assignment for the marker to know what the assignment is all about. Include the name of the business investigated if you are writing a case study. The title of the assignment should be comprehensive enough to give the reader an idea about the coverage of the assignment. Also, you need to place the word count (which includes all text from the Introduction section to the end of the Conclusion section) here. Executive summary This tells your reader what the assignment is about because it describes the topics or issues discussed, as well as providing a summary of the  conclusions and recommendations and reasons for them. Before going through the entire assignment, readers first want to see the summary. In fact in many busy business situations, sometimes decisions are often made solely on the basis of executive summary if it is persuasive. Your executive summary should include what you did, how you did it, what your main findings were and what are your key recommendations. Although the executive summary appears as first section of the  assignment, it should be written last after completing the assignment. Do not include any sub headings in this section. It is usually one or two paragraphs and should not be more than 250 words. Remember to not include these words in the word count, except if you are asked to write a marketing plan. As the executive summary is part of the marketing plan, it is included in the word count. Table of contents After the title page and the executive summary, you should show a table of contents with a list of the numbered sections and subsections of the assignment, with their page numbers. Numbered appendices, tables and figures with their titles should also be presented in the table of contents. MS Word provides a function for inserting an automatic table of contents. Please ensure the table of contents is updated before you submit the completed assignment. To update the page numbers in the contents table, when you have completed your assignment: †¢ left click on the table †¢ right click and select Update Field †¢ ensure â€Å"Update page numbers only† is selected †¢ click OK Introduction The introduction tells your reader what you are going to tell them in the body of your assignment. The first paragraph of your introduction gives the background to the assignment and why it is useful. Then your second paragraph should say what the aim, purpose or objective of the assignment is, any limitations and a very brief summary of the sections (no more than about two lines for this summary of the sections). The whole Introduction section should not take more than about half a page or so. Discussion The sections after the Introduction are where you begin the discussion, outlining relevant facts and events. A rule of thumb is that there should be at least one section or subsection heading per page. These sections after the Introduction will follow a logical pattern of thought. Make your headings longer than just one or two cryptic words, so that they also help the reader to quickly understand the sections and flow of the assignment. Present information in a logical order. Use information from a number of credible sources to support your findings and try not to include numeric calculations in the main body of the assignment. Instead, include these as an appendix to the assignment. This is to prevent interrupting the flow of the assignment. Acknowledge all sources using the Harvard ‘author-date’ style. The start of each section should make obvious its link to previous sections; for example, ‘The previous sections discussed strengths; this section turns to weaknesses’. Transition words are especially useful for this linking of paragraphs; for example, ‘moreover, furthermore, in addition, consequently, so, on the other hand, in contrast, but, however, nevertheless’.

Calculating Year-On-Year Growth of GDP

Calculating Year-On-Year Growth of GDP Introduction The model which is to be developed is real GDP in the UK. From such a series of real values, it is straightforward to calculate year-on-year growth of GDP. Selection of variables To model GDP, key factors identified by Easton (2004) include labour costs, savings ratio, taxation issues, inflation and terms of trade. However, many of these variables are not available for the required 40 year time span. The variables eventually chosen and the justification were as follows: GDP: the dependent variable, measured at 1950 prices. As GDP deflator figures were not available back to 1960, the eventual starting point of the analysis, the RPI inflation measure was used to convert the series into real prices. Exim: this variable is the sum of imports and exports, at constant 1950 prices. As a measure of trade volumes, EXIM would be expected to increase as GDP also increases. The RPI deflator was also used for this series. Total trade was plasced into one variable was to abide by the constraint of no more than four independent variables. Energy: energy consumption was calculated as production plus imports minus exports in tonnes of oil equivalent. As energy use increases, we would expect to see an increase in the proportion of GDP attributable to manufacturing.[1] Labour: this variable is the total number of days lost through disputes. We would expect this variable to have a negative coefficient, since an increase in the number of days lost will lead to a reduction of GDP. Scatter diagrammes showing the relationship between the dependent variable GDP and each of the independent variables is sown in Appendix 1. These diagrammes support each of the hypotheses outlined above. Main results The regression equation produced by EViews, once the energy variable is excluded, is as follows: GDP = -73223.22384 + 1.062678514*EXIM 0.1391051564*LABOUR + 1.565374397*POPN The adjusted R2 is equal to 0.978; or, 97.8% of the variation in GDP is accounted for by the variation in EXIM, LABOUR and POPN. Each of the coefficients of the three independent variables, EXIM, LABOUR and POPN, have t-statistics sufficiently high to reject the null hypothesis that any of the coefficients is equal to zero; in other words, each variable makes a significant contribution to the overall equation. To test the overall fit of the equation, the F value of 703 allows us similarly to reject the hypothesis that the coefficients are simultaneously all equal to zero. Dependent Variable: GDP Method: Least Squares Date: 04/15/08 Time: 09:10 Sample: 1960 2006 Included observations: 47 Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic Prob. C -73223.22 23204.60 -3.155548 0.0029 EXIM 1.062679 0.117445 9.048297 0.0000 LABOUR -0.139105 0.036951 -3.764585 0.0005 POPN 1.565374 0.443541 3.529270 0.0010 R-squared 0.980046 Mean dependent var 32813.25 Adjusted R-squared 0.978654 S.D. dependent var 10905.60 S.E. of regression 1593.331 Akaike info criterion 17.66631 Sum squared resid 1.09E+08 Schwarz criterion 17.82377 Log likelihood -411.1582 F-statistic 703.9962 Durbin-Watson stat 0.746519 Prob(F-statistic) 0.000000 The Akaike and Schwartz criteria are used principally to compare two or more models (a model with a lower value of either of these statistics is preferred). As we are analysing only one model here, we will not discuss these two further. Using tables provided by Gujarati (2004), the upper and lower limits for the DW test are: DL = 1.383 DU = 1.666 The DW statistic calculated by EViews is 0.746, which is below DL. This results leads us to infer that there is no positive autocorrelation in the model. This is an unlikely result, given that we are dealing with increasing variables over time, but we shall examine the issue of autocorrelation in detail later on. Multicollinearity Ideally, there should be little or no significant correlation between the dependent variables; if two dependent variables are perfectly correlated, then one variable is redundant and the OLS equations could not be solved. The correlation of variables table below shows that EXIM and POPN have a particularly high level of correlation (the removal of the ENERGY variable early on solved two other cases of multicollinearity). It is important, however, to point out that multicollinearity does not violate any assumptions of the OLS process and Gujarati points out the multicollinearity is a consequence of the data being observed (indeed, section 10.4 of his book is entitled â€Å"Multicollinearity; much ado about nothing?†). Correlations of Variables GDP EXIM POPN ENERGY GDP 1.000000 EXIM 0.984644 POPN 0.960960 0.957558 ENERGY 0.835053 0.836279 0.914026 LABOUR -0.380830 -0.320518 -0.259193 -0.166407 Analysis of Residuals Overview The following graph shows the relationship between actual, fitted and residual values. At first glance, the residuals appear to be reasonably well behaved; the values are not increasing over time and there several points at which the residual switches from positive to negative. A more detailed tabular version of this graph may be found at Appendix 2. Heteroscedascicity To examine the issue of heteroscedascicity more closely, we will employ White’s test. As we are using a model with only three independent variables, we may use the version of the test which uses the cross-terms between the independent variables. White Heteroskedasticity Test: F-statistic 1.174056 Probability 0.339611 Obs*R-squared 10.44066 Probability 0.316002 Test Equation: Dependent Variable: RESID^2 Method: Least Squares Date: 04/16/08 Time: 08:24 Sample: 1960 2006 Included observations: 47 Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic Prob. C -2.99E+09 4.06E+09 -0.735744 0.4665 EXIM -49439.98 45383.77 -1.089376 0.2830 EXIM^2 -0.175428 0.128496 -1.365249 0.1804 EXIM*LABOUR -0.049223 0.047215 -1.042532 0.3039 EXIM*POPN 0.982165 0.879151 1.117174 0.2711 LABOUR -18039.83 18496.29 -0.975322 0.3357 LABOUR^2 -0.018423 0.009986 -1.844849 0.0731 LABOUR*POPN 0.344698 0.336446 1.024526 0.3122 POPN 120773.0 157305.5 0.767761 0.4475 POPN^2 -1.217523 1.523271 -0.799282 0.4292 R-squared 0.222142 Mean dependent var 2322644. Adjusted R-squared 0.032933 S.D. dependent var 3306810. S.E. of regression 3251902. Akaike info criterion 33.01368 Sum squared resid 3.91E+14 Schwarz criterion 33.40733 Log likelihood -765.8215 F-statistic 1.174056 Durbin-Watson stat 1.306019 Prob(F-statistic) 0.339611 The 5% critical value for chi-squared with nine degrees of freedom is 16.919, whilst the computed value of White’s statistic is 10.44. We may therefore conclude that, on the basis of the White test, there is no evidence of heteroscedascicity. Autocorrelation The existence of autocorrelation exists in the model if there exists correlation between residuals. In the context of a time series, we are particularly interested to see if successive residual values are related to prior values. To determine autocorrelation, Gujarati’s rule of thumb of using between a third and a quarter of the length of the time series was used. In this particular case, a lag of 15 was selected. Date: 04/16/08 Time: 08:05 Sample: 1960 2006 Included observations: 47 Autocorrelation Partial Correlation AC PAC Q-Stat Prob . |**** | . |**** | 1 0.494 0.494 12.234 0.000 . |*** | . |** | 2 0.423 0.237 21.409 0.000 . |*. | .*| . | 3 0.155 -0.171 22.669 0.000 . | . | .*| . | 4 0.007 -0.145 22.672 0.000 .*| . | .*| . | 5 -0.109 -0.069 23.319 0.000 **| . | .*| . | 6 -0.244 -0.160 26.674 0.000 **| . | . | . | 7 -0.194 0.037 28.845 0.000 **| . | . | . | 8 -0.202 -0.004 31.247 0.000 **| . | .*| . | 9 -0.226 -0.162 34.344 0.000 **| . | .*| . | 10 -0.269 -0.186 38.859 0.000 .*| . | . |*. | 11 -0.134 0.122 40.013 0.000 .*| . | . | . | 12 -0.079 0.047 40.428 0.000 .*| . | .*| . | 13 -0.078 -0.151 40.837 0.000 . | . | . | . | 14 0.013 0.029 40.849 0.000 . | . | . | . | 15 0.041 0.018 40.970 0.000 The results of the Q statistic indicate that the data is nonstationary; in other words, the mean and standard deviation of the data do indeed vary over time. This is not a surprising result, given growth in the UK’s economy and population since 1960. A further test available to test for autocorrelation is the Breusch-Godfrey test. The results of this test on the model are detailed below. Breusch-Godfrey Serial Correlation LM Test: F-statistic 15.53618 Probability 0.000010 Obs*R-squared 20.26299 Probability 0.000040 Test Equation: Dependent Variable: RESID Method: Least Squares Date: 04/16/08 Time: 09:23 Presample missing value lagged residuals set to zero. Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic Prob. C 9294.879 18204.51 0.510581 0.6124 EXIM 0.047292 0.092176 0.513065 0.6107 LABOUR 0.039181 0.031072 1.260967 0.2144 POPN -0.182287 0.348222 -0.523479 0.6035 RESID(-1) 0.788084 0.154144 5.112655 0.0000 RESID(-2) -0.180226 0.160485 -1.123009 0.2680 R-squared 0.431127 Mean dependent var 0.000100 Adjusted R-squared 0.361753 S.D. dependent var 1540.499 S.E. of regression 1230.710 Akaike info criterion 17.18731 Sum squared resid 62100572 Schwarz criterion 17.42350 Log likelihood -397.9019 F-statistic 6.214475 Durbin-Watson stat 1.734584 Prob(F-statistic) 0.000225 We can observe from the results above that RESID(-1) has a high t value. In other words, we would reject the hypothesis of no first order autocorrelation. By contrast, second order autocorrelation does not appear to be present in the model. Overcoming serial correlation A method to overcome the problem of nonstationarity is to undertake a difference of the dependent variable (ie GDPyear1 – GDPyear0) An initial attempt to improve the equation by using this differencing method produced a very poor result, as can be seen below. Dependent Variable: GDPDIFF Method: Least Squares Date: 04/16/08 Time: 08:17 Sample: 1961 2006 Included observations: 46 Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic Prob. C 14037.58 12694.29 1.105818 0.2753 EXIM 0.084287 0.052601 1.602398 0.1167 ENERGY 0.011470 0.011710 0.979487 0.3331 LABOUR -0.004251 0.014304 -0.297230 0.7678 POPN -0.300942 0.265082 -1.135279 0.2629 R-squared 0.207408 Mean dependent var 816.6959 Adjusted R-squared 0.130082 S.D. dependent var 657.1886 S.E. of regression 612.9557 Akaike info criterion 15.77678 Sum squared resid 15404304 Schwarz criterion 15.97555 Log likelihood -357.8660 F-statistic 2.682255 Durbin-Watson stat 1.401626 Prob(F-statistic) 0.044754 Forecasting The forecasts for the dependent variables are based on Kirby (2008) and are presented below. The calculation of EXIM for future years was based upon growth rates for exports (47% of the 2006 total) and imports (53%) separately. The two streams were added together to produce the 1950 level GDP figure, from which year-on-year increases in GDP could be calculated. The results of the forecast are shown below. The 2008 figure was felt to be particularly unrealistic, so a sensitivity test was applied to EXIM (population growth is relatively certain in the short term and calculating a forecast of labour days lost is a particularly difficult challenge). Instead of EXIM growing by an average of 1.7% per annum during the forecast period, its growth was constrained to 0.7%. As we can see from the â€Å"GDP2† column, GDP forecast growth is significantly lower in 2008 and 2009 as a result. Critical evaluation of the econometric approach to model building and forecasting GDP is dependent on many factors, many of which were excluded from this analysis due to the unavailability of data covering forty years. Although the main regression results appear highly significant, there are many activities which should be trialled to try to improve the approach: a shorter time series with more available variables: using a short time series would enable a more intuitive set of variables to be trialled. For example, labour days lost is effectively a surrogate for productivity and cost per labour hour, but this is unavailable over 40 years; transformation of variables: a logarithmic or other transformation should be trialled to ascertain if some of the problems observed, such as autocorrelation, could be mitigated to any extent. The other, more relevant transformation is to undertake differencing of the data to remove autocorrelation; the one attempt made in this paper was particularly unsuccessful! Approximate word count, excluding all tables, charts and appendices: 1,400 Appendix 1 – Scatter diagrammes of GDP against dependent variables Appendix 2 obs Actual Fitted Residual Residual Plot 1960 17460.5 15933.8 1526.78 | . | * | 1961 17816.1 16494.5 1321.57 | . | *. | 1962 17883.8 16714.1 1169.67 | . | * . | 1963 18556.7 18153.6 403.108 | . |* . | 1964 19618.0 19117.8 500.191 | . | * . | 1965 20209.7 19558.9 650.773 | . | * . | 1966 20699.1 20272.1 426.905 | . |* . | 1967 21303.1 20973.3 329.754 | . |* . | 1968 22037.1 22395.3 -358.204 | . *| . | 1969 22518.6 22824.6 -305.982 | . *| . | 1970 23272.7 23147.8 124.912 | . * . | 1971 23729.9 23395.8 334.070 | . |* . | 1972 24806.3 22418.6 2387.67 | . | . * | 1973 26134.9 27249.5 -1114.60 | . * | . | 1974 25506.2 28880.9 -3374.64 | * . | . | 1975 25944.6 28401.8 -2457.14 | * . | . | 1976 26343.7 30306.2 -3962.47 |* . | . | 1977 26468.8 29829.1 -3360.31 | * . | . | 1978 28174.4 29922.0 -1747.61 | * | . | 1979 29232.7 27846.9 1385.71 | . | *. | 1980 28957.2 29271.0 -313.855 | . *| . | 1981 28384.0 29590.8 -1206.86 | .* | . | 1982 28626.2 29526.2 -899.933 | . * | . | 1983 29915.3 30883.9 -968.627 | . * | . | 1984 30531.7 29677.7 853.960 | . | * . | 1985 31494.3 33289.4 -1795.09 | * | . | 1986 32748.5 33293.0 -544.520 | . * | . | 1987 34609.2 34223.2 385.976 | . |* . | 1988 36842.2 34669.4 2172.76 | . | . * | 1989 37539.8 35938.6 1601.20 | . | * | 1990 37187.7 35988.5 1199.22 | . | *. | 1991 36922.2 35080.4 1841.84 | . | .* | 1992 37116.4 35793.7 1322.74 | . | *. | 1993 38357.7 38051.2 306.418 | . |* . | 1994 39696.7 39790.8

Balancing Politics and Pedagogy :: Bilingual Education Classroom Language Essays

Balancing Politics and Pedagogy Thesis: Research over the past thirty years shows conflicting evidence for or against bilingual education leading to a heated debate between educators and politicians with bilingual education becoming a scapegoat for a number of educational issues, perhaps hiding the real causes of Hispanic difficulties from the critics. Proposition 227, the so-called "English for Children" law, abolished thirty years of bilingual education in California in June, 1998, forcing students who are not fluent in English into all-English classes in all subjects all the time. Bilingual education, according to Krashen, is the target of critics who list a number of objections (1). Newspapers and TV are often against bilingual education. They say that bilingual education is not functioning, while students learn English very well without it. They also say that the majority of parents and teachers are not in favor of it. Another argument is that bilingual education is only for Spanish speakers and not for those who have different writing systems. In addition, it is true that there are not enough teachers for bilingual education (1). Furthermore, the dropout rate of Hispanic children in the U.S. is still high even after thirty years of efforts. Research of the past thirty years shows no justification for bilingual education, clai ms Porter (28). However, it may be a fallacy to conclude that bilingual education is not working. Bilingual education has become a scapegoat for a number of educational issues, perhaps hiding the real causes of Hispanic difficulties from the critics. The issue of bilingual education is not new. In fact, its history in the U.S. has vacillated between acceptance and rejection. During the nineteenth century, instruction was given in a wide variety of foreign languages, such as German, Polish, Italian, Dutch or any other language that parents demanded. Between 1897 and 1915, thirteen states changed their policies to requiring English instruction in basic subjects such as math, science, and geography from fears of a so-called "babel of tongues" (Zimmerman 39). By the end of World War I, thirty-seven states had limited foreign language instruction including explicit prohibitions on German in favor of "100 percent Americanism" (39). After the war, public schools became open to a wide range of foreign language instruction; however, in fact, only 20 percent of high school students were taught in any non-English language class by 1949. Immigrant parents, says Zimmerman, wanted their children to learn English as a vehicle of social mobility in America instead of taking courses in their native languages (39).

The Movie Bugsy :: essays research papers

BUGSY Benjamin Segal was an infamous mobster during the World War II era, a time when America was experiencing national unity. The world war was in the back of everyone’s mind. In the middle of all this madness the daily trials of being American were harder than the easier times of today. Benjamin Seigal was a big part of the mob. He was the mastermind behind the great town of Las Vegas. His borderline genius was shown throughout the movie, as well as his borderline madness. Ben Seigal aka bugsy was confronted by many problems throughout his life both the one that set him back was his love for the ladies, which led to his demise.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Main Characters include Bugsy-Warren Beatty –the main character Virginia Hall-Annette Benning –Bugsy’s love interest Mickey Cohen-Harvey Keitel –Bugsy’s right hand Harry Greenberg-Elliot Gould –Bugsy’s friend from NY Meyer Lansky-Ben Kingsley –Bugsy’s boss Warren Beatty was the main character in this film. Virginia Hill was Bugsy’s love interest. These two actors did a wonderful job of acting in a manner congruent with the times of the 40’s. The cast was sprinkled with tremendous talent such as Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, and Elliot Gould. As a whole I think the cast did a magnificent job taking the viewers to an era of America, which is not easily forgotten by those who lived through it. A time when the world was being destroyed by the Nazi Germans was over shadowed by America’s self-involvement. A time when Americans were beginning to be proud of their little world power was accented by the world war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The wardrobe and setting were excellent. The clothes the actor wore were so authentic and representative of the times. I had a conversation with my grandmother and she reminisced with me about the times in which this movie took place. She told me stories of her youthful days. She raised her nine children on Long Island in the state of New York. She witnessed the power of the mafia in the time when the mob ruled. While watching the movie she pointed out several things she had remembered from her youth. There were signs on restaurants and businesses that read, â€Å"we have air conditioning† a sign of the times. Signs that advertised things that are either not available today or completely obsolete filled the background. Air conditioning was in its early stages of development. Today I don’t think anyone would patronize a place of business that did not have air conditioning.

The Fundementals of Baseball Essay -- Hitting, Fielding, Throwing, Bas

  Ã‚  Ã‚   A man once stated, "You can have all the physical ability in the world, but you still have to know the fundamentals" (â€Å"Fundamentals Quotes†). The greatest and most talented players' in the world still have to learn and know the fundamentals to play the game. Fundamentals are the simple basics of the sport and explain how to play the game. The important fundamentals of baseball include hitting, fielding, throwing, and also base running.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many people believe that hitting is where to begin, according to an old coach, "The main part of baseball that brings people in to the game is hitting. Some have seen professionals do it on TV and others have seen it in person. But as for hitting, it is the major part of baseball for many players" ("Basic"). Another coach agrees going as far as saying, "A successful player must be able to hit the ball" ("Basic"). Hitting is not just a part of the game; hitting is the game. Hitting is the main and most important part of the game of baseball. During the sport of baseball, hitting is what determines who will win the game and who will lose. A great hitting team can have off days. In baseball everyone has good and bad days. As far as hitting, it is what determines the end results.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hitting the baseball is the time for the batter to shine, time to stand out, and the time when everyone's eyes are on the batter. It is his time to do what he has been working for his whole life. A coach agrees with hitting being the main part of the game saying, "The main part of baseball that brings people into the game is hitting. Some have seen professionals do it on TV and others have seen it in person. But as for hitting, it is the major part of baseball for many players" ("Basic"). It is ti... ...strong.com/article/272178- basic- fundamentals-of-baseball/>. "Fielding Position." Infield Fundamentals Baseball Drills. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. "Fundamentals of Fielding a Ground Ball." Human-kinetics. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. . "Fundamentals Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, Web. 26 Mar. 2014. . "How to Increase Pitching Velocity." How to Increase Pitching Velocity. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. . "Linear and Rotational Hitting  « Baseball Drills from the Ground Up." Baseball Drills from the Ground Up Linear and Rotational Hitting Comments. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. hitting/hitting/>.