Diversity in America Essay

Diversity in america is a trademark of the beauty in our country. Without diversity, America wouldn’t be what it is today. A country that is an obvious reflection of the multiple cultures it contains. The rise and struggle of the African-Americans, The Spanish, Asian, and European immigrants who have all come to the U.S. and contributed to a diverse country. Chinese resturaunts, Soccer, Spanish music, There are so many diverse things that we love. With myself being a part of the Diverse community, it has shown me that being different doesn’t matter. Whether you’re Black, White, or Guynease, anyone can be accepted and become a good friend. In my parents home country of Guyana, the diversity is limited and its shows as they still live as if they are in the 90’s. Being as diverse as the United States has its challenges, races don’t always get along, there is always a feeling of prejudice, and stereotypes put fake labels on people. These challenges can’t always be always be solved it’s up to the people to Be more open minded. Langston Hughes faced a great amount of racism in his days, he had this to say, â€Å"I learned very early in life that our race problem is not really of black against white, and white against black. It’s a problem of people who are not very knowledgeable, or who have small minds, or small spirits.† This quote from hughes tells it all. The benefits from being such a diverse country outweigh the bad, being so diverse means many different people who have different interest and lifestyles. This presents a society where people of all different races are friends and learn from one another. The climate of acceptance in the U.S. is very high, i feel a haitian or cuban immigrant can come to the U.S. and be welcomed and ultimately succeed in this country. This is done by eliminating any racial exceptions and qualifications. Limiting Prejudice is no easy task for any country, there is no law you can put in place to stop it. Ultimately the people have to be educated and told that prejudice is just a factor that exists in your mind to create doubt. They have to know that races are not what many people may perceive. The appreciation for diversity in this country comes from the appreciation of the friends we have made who celebrate their diverse holidays that we too should embrace and the ways of other people and their culture. I happen to already know that our country does appreciate the diversity here and wouldn’t want to see it go and become one-sided. I hold myself to not being prejudice and being accepting, I like to learn of other cultures every once in awhile and be inclusive. All in all, Diversity is an important part of our society and it is a benefit to our country.

Why Do We Loe Music Essay

Why Do We Loe Music Essay Why Do We Loe Music Essay Why Do We Love Music? What is music? There’s no end to the parade of philosophers who have wondered about this, but most of us feel confident saying: ‘I know it when I hear it.’ Still, judgments of musicality are notoriously malleable. That new club tune, obnoxious at first, might become toe-tappingly likeable after a few hearings. Put the most music-apathetic individual in a household where someone is rehearsing for a contemporary music recital and they will leave whistling Ligeti. The simple act of repetition can serve as a quasi-magical agent of musicalisation. Instead of asking: ‘What is music?’ we might have an easier time asking: ‘What do we hear as music?’ And a remarkably large part of the answer appears to be: ‘I know it when I hear it again.’ Psychologists have understood that people prefer things they’ve experienced before at least since Robert Zajonc first demonstrated the ‘mere exposure effect’ in the 1960s. It doesn’t matter whether those things are triangles or pictures or melodies; people report liking them more the second or third time around, even when they aren’t aware of any previous exposure. People seem to misattribute their increased perceptual fluency – their improved ability to process the triangle or the picture or the melody – not to the prior experience, but to some quality of the object itself. Instead of thinking: ‘I’ve seen that triangle before, that’s why I know it,’ they seem to think: ‘Gee, I like that triangle. It makes me feel clever.’ This effect extends to musical listening. But evidence has been accumulating that something more than the mere exposure effect governs the special role of repetition in music. To begin with, there’s the sheer amount of it. Cultures all over the world make repetitive music. The ethnomusicologist Bruno Nettl at the University of Illinois counts repetitiveness among the few musical universals known to characterise music the world over. Hit songs on American radio often feature a chorus that plays several times, and people listen to these already repetitive songs many times. The musicologist David Huron at Ohio State University estimates that, during more than 90 per cent of the time spent listening to music, people are actually hearing passages that they’ve listened to before. The play counter in iTunes reveals just how frequently we listen to our favourite tracks. And if that’s not enough, tunes that get stuck in our heads seem to loop again and again. In short, repetition is a startlingly prevalent feature of music, real and imagined. In fact, repetition is so powerfully linked with musicality that its application can dramatically transform apparently non-musical materials into song. The psychologist Diana Deutsch, at the University of California, San Diego, discovered a particularly powerful example – the speech-to-song illusion. The illusion begins with an ordinary spoken utterance, the sentence ‘The sounds as they appear to you are not only different from those that are really present, but they sometimes behave so strangely as to seem quite impossible.’ Next, one part of this utterance – just a few words – is looped several times. Finally, the original recording is represented in its entirety, as a spoken utterance. When the listener reaches the phrase that was looped, it seems as if the speaker has broken into song, Disney-style. The transformation is truly bizarre. You’d think that listening to someone speak and listening to someone sing were separate things, distinguished by the objective characteristics of the sound itself. It seems obvious: I hear someone speak when she’s speaking, and sing when she’s singing. But the speech-to-song illusion reveals that the exact same sequence of sounds can seem either like speech or like music, depending only on whether it has been repeated. Repetition can actually shift your perceptual circuitry such that the segment of sound is heard as music: not thought about as similar to music, or contemplated in

How to Get a 30 (or Higher!) on the ACT 9 Key Tips

How to Get a 30 (or Higher!) on the ACT 9 Key Tips SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips A 30 ACT score is a solid goal to have for test day. But how difficult is it to get a 30? How many questions can you miss? And what kinds of schools can you get into with a 30? In this guide, we teach you how to get a 30 on the ACT with our nine top tips, covering everything from starting your prep through picking answers on test day. In fact, the tips in this article will help you even if you're shooting for a higher or lower score, like a 32 or a 29. But first, what are the benefits of getting a 30? Can You Get a 30 on the ACT? Why Aim for a 30? In short, yes, you can get a 30 on the ACT- as long as you're willing to dedicate a lot of effort to your prep. Be aware, though:getting a 30 will be easier for some students than it will be for others. How easy (or difficult) it is for you ultimately depends on where you're currently scoring and how much time you can commit to studying. But why 30?Is 30 a good ACT score? According topercentiles,an ACT score of 30is quite high. Data collected by ACT, Inc., shows that a 30corresponds to the 94th percentile. In other words, very few test takers- only 6 percent- score 30 or higher on the ACT, making it a great score to aim for on test day. Getting a 30 offers a couple of benefits to test takers. One isthat it can help make up for less impressive parts of your college application. For example, if you had a lower GPA, an ACT score of 30 could make your application more impressive to schools by showcasing your test-taking skills and proficiency in ACT topics. Another benefit is thatyou’ll have a better shot at getting accepted to competitive schools. With a score of 30, you’ll be just around average for admitted students to many selective private schools, such as Boston University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.You’ll also be in the 75th percentile (that is, at a very good advantage!) for numerous public universities, including UMass Amherst and UC Santa Barbara. On the other hand, a 30 is low for extremely competitive schools. For Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Princeton, a 30 places you below the 25th percentile, meaning you’ll have a very small chance of getting accepted. Too bad the ACT doesn't test how proficient you are in hitting people in Mario Kart. (Giancarlo Marseglia Ceccoli/Flickr) What’s Needed to Get a 30 ACT Score? A 30 ACT score means scoring highly on all sections of the exam (excluding Writing, as this optional section score does not affect your composite score). Because your composite score is the average of your four section scores (English, Math, Reading, and Science), you must aim for at least a composite ACT score of 29.5- or around 30 on each section. These section scores can vary. For example, you could aim for scores in the upper 30s on your stronger sections and scores in the upper 20s on your weaker sections and still get a composite score of 30. To do this, however, you'll always need to score at least 30 on two or more sections of the exam. Here are some ways you could get a composite ACT score of 30: 30s on all four sections. 30s on two sections and 29s on the other two. 32s on two sections and 28s on the other two. 32, 31, 29, and 28 on the four sections. (And so on.) So how many correct answers do you need to get a 30 on the ACT? In truth, the answer varies depending on what test you take. Since all ACTs differ slightly in difficulty,the number of questions you must answer correctly to get a 30 also varies slightly with each test. Below, we’ve analyzed five score conversion tables from official ACT practice tests to calculate approximately how many questions you must get right to get a 30 on each section of the exam. (Remember, you don’t necessarily need to get 30s on all four sections, but you will need to get 30s on at least two sections.) After averaging the conversions, here's what we discovered: To get a 30 on ... You’ll need an average raw score of ... Meaning you can miss around ... English 67 8 questions Math 51 9 questions Reading 34 6 questions Science 36 4 questions Once again, these numbers are allapproximations based on the average number of raw points you'd need to get 30s on five different ACT practice tests. The chart above indicates that you can miss the most raw points on Math and the least on Science. You can also miss several questions on English and slightly fewer on Reading to get a 30. Here is an example of anACT scoring chart, with score conversions to 30 highlighted: Overall, you can’t miss more than a small handful of questions on each section of the ACT if you’re hoping to score a 30. To avoid missing too many questions, you must ultimately learn what to expect on test day and how to study effectively for each ACT section. We teach you how to do this next. Tip #0: don't build a pillow fort to try to hide from the ACT. How to Get a 30 on the ACT: 9 Key Tips Getting a 30 isn’t easy, but it’s certainly not impossible- you just need to know how to prepare. Our top nine tips below teach you how to get a 30 on the ACT and give you the confidence you'll need for test day. #1: Create a Study Plan When aiming for a 30 on the ACT, you'll definitely want to use a study plan to guide your prep, ideally one that specifically prepares you for getting a 30. Start by taking an official ACT practice testto get your baseline score.This is the score you start out with before beginning any ACT prep. As you take the test, try to recreate real testing conditions to give yourself a more accurate indicator of your scoring ability. This means you'll need to minimize potential distractions, take the test in a quiet room, and time yourself using the official time limits. Once finished, use your test’s scoring guide to calculate your section and composite scores. The composite score (out of 36) you get will be your baseline score. Next, subtract your baseline score from your goal score (in this case, 30) to see how many points you'll need to improve by to hit your goal score. Match this difference to one of the point ranges below to see the approximate number of hours you’ll need to study: 0-1 point improvement: 10 hours 1-2 point improvement: 20 hours 2-4 point improvement: 40 hours 4-6 point improvement: 80 hours 6-9 point improvement: 150 hours+ For example, if I scored 26 on a practice test, I’d need 4 points to hit my goal score of 30. Using the list above, we can see that this difference corresponds roughly to 40-80 hours of prep time. Once you’ve figured out the number of study hours you'll need to do, draft a study schedule that works well for you. You should try to study consistently every week until test day, so make sure to divide up your time appropriately. In addition, try to plan around any obligations you have in the time leading up to your test. #2: Use High-Quality Study Materials To get a 30 ACT score, you’ll need to use the best ACT resources currently available. This means no low-quality prep books, no sketchy websites, and no inefficient apps. By far the best resources to use are official ACT materials, many of which are completely free! Popular options include official ACT practice tests, sample questions, and The Official ACT Prep Guide, which currently sells for around $25 on Amazon. Be pickier when choosing unofficial ACT materials. I recommend only opting for those that are highly rated and contain realistic practice questions with comprehensive answer explanations. (Bonus if it includes helpful test-taking tips!) Our guides to the best ACT prep books, apps, websites, and vocabulary listscan give you more info on what unofficial resources to use. In short, always remember that quality beats quantity. There’s no point in getting tons of ACT resources if they’re not going to actually help you understand the test and get the 30 you want, so only get whatever you think will be most useful. #3: Track Your Progress Using Practice Tests An ACT study plan not only helps you space out your prep sessions but also allows you to track your progress. Throughout your studies, it's important to take occasional full-length practice tests to see whether your score is improving. How many tests you take and how often you take them depends on the amount of time you have left before test day. Generally, it’s helpful to take a test every few weeks (but never right before test day!). Once you’ve calculated your score for a practice test, use this to see whether your score is, on average, rising or staying the same. If it’s not rising as quickly as you want it to, consider what kinds of concepts or topics you can focus on more to help raise your score on another attempt. My biggest mistake? Eating eight boxes of Girl Scout cookies within a week. (brian/Flickr) #4: Analyze Your Mistakes When aiming high on the ACT, you’ll need to understand exactly what you’re getting wrong and what you can do to fix your mistakes. As you review your answers to ACT practice questions and tests, don’t just mark the correct answer and move on- take a few minutes to think deeply about why you might’ve missed a certain problem. I recommend doing this before you look at the answer explanation as a way to sharpen your problem-solving skills. After,re-solve the problem and usethe correct answer to guide your thinking. For example, if you thought the answer to a math question was 13 but it was really 36, go through the entire problem again, this time using a different approach to see whether you can find the correct answer on your own. #5: Drill Your Weaknesses Weaknesses will keep you from getting an ACT score of 30. They prevent you from getting certain questions right, even when you’ve studied the concepts. So how do you overcome your weak spots? First, by simply understanding what they are. To see what concepts you struggle the most with, go over all of the ACT practice tests and questions you've completed and try to look forpatterns in the questions you got wrong. For example, are you always missing geometry questions? Do you spend too much time on big-picture questions? Once you know what’s bringing down your score, you can then focus on drilling these weak spots in your prep. This means you’ll need to practice the questions you get wrong, review relevant strategies, and monitor your performance through practice tests to ensure you’re improving. #6: Get Key Strategies Down Pat No matter what score you're aiming for, you should always familiarize yourself with the most useful ACT strategies before taking the test. By "strategies," I mean test-taking approaches and tricks you can use to increase your chances of getting a high score (ideally, a 30!). Some ACT strategies target certain sections of the exam, whereas others apply to the entire test. Not all strategies will necessarily suit you (for example, it's best to pick just one passage-reading strategy that works well for you), but you should always try out all major approaches before choosing one to stick with. Before we dive into section-specific strategies, here are the three general ACT strategies you should be using on test day: Answer every question. There's no penalty for incorrect answers on the ACT, so try to answer every question, even if you have to guess. Because each question is multiple choice with four or five answer choices (only Math questions have five answer choices- everything else has four), you’ll always have at least a 20-25 percent chance of getting it right. Skip hard questions and return to them later. If you come across a question you can’t solve within a reasonable amount of time (see #7), mark the question and proceed to the next one. Then, once you finish the section, go back to any marked questions and try to approach them with a fresh perspective. Use the process of elimination. Not sure which answer choice is correct? Narrowing down your choices can dramatically raise your chance of getting the question right. For example, by eliminating three answer choices for a math question, your possibility of answering it correctly rises from 20 to 50 percent! For additional ACT tips and strategies, check out our individual section guides: English The Top 9 ACT English Strategies You Must Use The Best Way to Approach ACT English Passages How to Get 36 on ACT English: 9 Strategies From a Perfect Scorer Math Plugging in Numbers: a Critical SAT/ACT Math Strategy Plugging in Answers: a Critical SAT Math/ACT Math Strategy How to Guess Strategically on ACT Math How to Get 36 on ACT Math: 8 Strategies by a Perfect Scorer Reading The #1 Critical, Fundamental Strategy of ACT Reading The Best Way to Approach the ACT Reading Passage How to Answer ACT Reading Questions: 5-Step Guide How to Get 36 on ACT Reading: Strategies From a Perfect Scorer Science The 5 Best Strategies for Reading ACT Science Passages The ACT Science Strategies You Must Be Using The Hardest ACT Science Questions and Strategies to Solve Them How to Get 36 on ACT Science: 13 Strategies From a Perfect Scorer Writing ACT Writing Rubric: Full Analysis and Essay Strategies ACT Writing Tips: 15 Strategies to Raise Your Essay Score Why You Shouldn’t Copy Skeleton Templates for the SAT/ACT Essay How to Get a Perfect 12 on the ACT Writing Essay The #1 strategy for Monopoly? Flip the board into the air and play Sorry! instead. #7: Use Your Time Wisely Another key strategy we didn't mention above is to use your time wisely on each section of the ACT.Being able to allocate your time appropriately means you won't be spending too much (or too little) time on certain questions. The chart below shows how much time you have per question on each ACT section. These limits are estimates in that they assume you'll spend the same amount of time on every question. ACT Section Time Per Question English 36 seconds Math 60 seconds Reading 53 seconds Science 53 seconds As you can see, you’ll have the least amount of time per question on English and the most on Math. But even a whole minute can fly by on a math question, so you'll need to know how to approach ACT problems fast yet effectively.For tips on how to pace yourself, check out our time management guides for ACT Math, Reading, and Science. As I mentioned in tip #6, it's a good idea to answer every question since there's no penalty for incorrect answers. But thetime crunch is one of the most challenging parts of the ACT, often making it difficult to finish certain sections in time or get lengthier, more complicated questions correct. Therefore, if you're aiming for a 30, it may be better for you tospend a little more time trying to get questions rightthan to worry about trying to solve every question. You know you'll be missing a few points anyway, so use the time you would've spent answering tougher questions on solving the questions you're absolutely certain youcan get right with a little extra time. Then, just guess on the few you don't have time for. #8: Avoid Careless Errors and Double-Check Your Answers High scorers on the ACT primarily miss questions due to careless errors- that is, questions you misread or misinterpreted, answer choices you didn't fill in correctly, or answer choices you didn't confirm were correct before moving on to the next question. These types of errors, though frustrating, are entirely avoidable. The good news is that these errors mean you’re not struggling with the content of the exam, but the bad news is that you’re losing points on questions as a result of mere hastiness. The best way to avoid making careless errors is to double-check your answers.This means you'll look over each answer before proceeding to the next question. So on a math question, you could quickly double-check your answer choice by plugging it back in and re-solving. Or on an English question, you could reread the sentence you’ve corrected to ensure it sounds accurate. If you have extra time at the end of a section, goback through each question to check that you’ve answered all of them and have marked the appropriate answers on your answer sheet. Here are some additional tricks you can use to prevent careless errors: Read all questions carefully. If you skim, you might misunderstand what the question is asking you to do. For example, on Math, this could mean you accidentally solve for the wrong algebraic expression. Therefore, always read every word in a question. Reread any part of a question you don’t understand.You can't expect to get a question right if you don't get what it's asking you to do. If there's any phrase or word throwing you off, reread the question until you're pretty sure you know what it means. Read all of the answer choices before choosing one.Don't just go straight for the answer choice you think is right- often, what sounds correct isn't actually correct, as many plausible answer choices are included in order to mislead you. Read through all of the answer choices so that you can be certain you know which is right. Write neatly.If your notes are sloppy or confusing (especially when solving for math problems), you'll likely struggle to make sense of what you've written and might even choose the wrong answer as a result. Always write cleanly and coherently so that you don't accidentally foil your own efforts on test day. #9: Don’t Psych Yourself Out Last but not least, don’t let the pressure of the ACT freak you out. Getting a 30 takes hard work, but you shouldn't overwhelm yourself or feel as though your future depends on an ACT score. As long as you’ve got a solid study plan and quality ACT resources, you’re well on your way to getting a great score. Additionally, try to remain calm on test day. A little anxiety is expected, but letting your nerves get to you can make you lose both your concentration and confidence. If you don’t get a 30, remind yourself that it’s not the end of the world; you can always retake the exam or work on improving other parts of your college application. Your chances of college acceptance aren't determined solely by your ACT score, so don’t assume you’re doomed with anything below a 30! Don't look like this after you take the ACT. Seriously. Don't magically turn into a dog. Conclusion: How to Get a 30 on the ACT Many students aim for a 30 on the ACT, but is 30 a good ACT score? Absolutely! In fact,a 30 ACT score is very competitive- in the top 4 percent of test takers, to be exact.This score gives you a solid shot at getting into many moderately competitive universities, such as UC Santa Barbara and Boston University. To get a 30, you mustscore highly on all four sections of the exam (excluding Writing). Specifically, you’ll need to get at least a 30 on two sections and a composite score of 29.5 (which rounds to 30) or higher. This means you can only miss a handful of questions on each section. Above, we taught you how to get a 30 on the ACT using our top nine tips. As a reminder, here are our tips again: Come up with a foolproof study plan Obtain high-quality resources (official ones are a great place to start) Track your progress with practice tests Analyze your mistakes on tests and questions Drill your weak spots so that they don’t bring down your score Learn and practice all major ACT strategies Use your time wisely Avoid making careless errors by double-checking your answers andreading more closely Focus on doing well without psyching yourself out Armed with these tips, you'll be on your way to getting a 30 in no time! What’s Next? Want to aim even higher- say, for a perfect 36?Then check out our in-depth guide to getting a perfect ACT score, written by a real full scorer. What's considered a good ACT score?Our expert guide goes over what ACT scores and percentiles you'll need to aim for in order to be considered a competitive applicant for your schools. What about bad ACT scores? How low is too low?If you're not sure where your score stands, read our guide to low ACT scoresto learn what's considered a poor ACT score. Then, get tips on how to improve. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

A Guide to French Words for Beverages

A Guide to French Words for Beverages Its no secret that the French love to eat and drink. By learning the vocabulary for common beverages and food, youll develop a deeper appreciation for this tasty aspect of French culture and make sure you never go hungry while traveling. This guide some of the most common words and phrases associated with eating and drinking, as well as links to sound files to practice your pronunciation.   Vocabulary   There are a handful of verbs youll use frequently when discussing food and drink, including  avoir  (to have),  boire  (to drink),  prendre  (to take), and  vouloir  (to want). If youre a true foodie, you may also want to learn more about how to talk about wine and coffee in French. la và ´tre!  Ã‚  Cheers! To your health!avoir soif  Ã‚  to be thirstyune boisson   drink, beverageun apà ©ritif, un apà ©ro (informal) cocktail, before-dinner drinkune bià ¨re   beerune boisson gazeuse   soda, pop, soft drinkun cafà ©Ã‚   coffee, espressole champagne   champagneun chocolat (chaud)   hot chocolateun cidre   hard ciderun citron pressà ©Ã‚   lemonadeun digestif   after-dinner drinkleau   watereau du robinet   tap watereau plate   still / plain watereau gazeuse   sparkling / mineral waterun express   espressoune infusion   herbal teale jus   juicele lait   milkune limonade   lemon soda (like Sprite or 7-Up)un pastis   anise-flavored apà ©ritifune pression   beer on taple thà ©Ã‚   teale thà © glacà ©Ã‚   iced teaune tisane   herbal teale vin  Ã‚  Ã‚  winela  gueule  de  bois   hangover​

Case Study on Profitability Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Case Study on Profitability - Assignment Example Thus the decrease in operating profit margin indicates that operating expenses of Deutsche Brauerei rise faster than its sales, which can be clearly seen from exhibit 1: 48.4% increase in sales against 49.5% increase in operating expenses. In turn this means Deutsche Brauerei now has less flexibility in determining prices, and therefore less safety in tough economic times. The ratio of income taxes to earnings before taxes has also increased to 39.5% in 1999 and 39% in 2000 from 33.8% in 1997 and 34.5% in 1998. From exhibit 1 we can see that taxable income increase steadily over years (which can be explained by unstable economic situation in Ukraine), while earnings before taxes grow slower. Consequently return on sales, which shows the operational efficiency of the company dividing earnings before tax by total sales, has decreased from 4% in 1998 (before default) to 2.8% in 1999 leveling the breakdown to 3.2% in 2000. Still shareholders' equity continues to increase shifting the return on equity ratio up to 10.3% in 2000 - the highest measure for four years; the business looks good from this perspective. Return on net assets which is equal to net income divided by fixed assets and net working capital also shows signs of healthy performance increasing to 8.4% in 2000 6.9% in previous year. The return on assets ratio have returned to its value in 1998 - 4.7% - indicating that a company puts its assets to good use when restoring profitability after economic breakdown in former USSR region. As can be seen from the exhibit 1, sales in Germany have been increasing slowly over the last four years, while the main stake was made on the Ukrainian market. Therefore changes in profitability of DB are greatly affected by local economic climate, which was very unstable these years. Although experiencing difficulties in generating profit, DB has made a successful recover from economic difficulties of the year 1998. Leverage Leverage ratios determine the company's long-term solvency. "Financial leverage is the name given to the impact on returns of a change in the extent to which the firm's assets are financed with borrowed money." (Scott, 1998) For instance debt/equity ratio shows how much money the company can safely borrow over long-terms and it is measured with dividing the total debt with total equity. The debt/equity ratio for DB has fallen from 72.3% in 1997 to 66% in 2000. The company has borrowed funds in 1997 making investments into Ukrainian market, which is the reason of such high debt/equity ratio in 1997. It is decreasing along with debt/total capital ratio (long-term debt/ long term-debt + shareholder's equity), which was 39.8% in 2000 comparing to 41.9% in 1997. This is a good sign of increasing long-term solvency. EBIT/interest ratio, which shows how many times the company can cover its obligations was rather stable during the last three years (4.7 in 1999, 2000, 4.8 in 1998) increasing significantly from 3.8 in 1997. The company has significantly decreased its debt in 1998, which was reflected in the increased solvency in the last three years. Asset Utilization The efficiency of the business is measured by asset usage ratios. Asset utilization ratios are especially important for internal monitoring concerning performance over multiple periods, serving as warning signals or benchmarks from which meaningful conclusions may be reached on operational issues (Blok and Hirt, 2005). Asset turnover is one of the most important

The Kent State University Shootings And The Boston Massacre Essay

The Kent State University Shootings And The Boston Massacre - Essay Example These lines printed in bold on the front pages of national newspapers and magazines dated May 5, 1970, conveyed the essence of what had happened during Kent students' protest against the war in Vietnam and the U.S. invasion to Cambodia. The Cambodian invasion took place in late April of 1970. According to the statement of President Nixon broadcasted nationwide on April 30, 1970 the goal of the invasion was to attack the Viet Cong headquarters located on Cambodian territory. The first protests followed the next day after Nixon's statement. Hundreds of American students, whose anti-war sentiment was the highest as compared with other social groups protested in their campuses across the country. Kent State University campus was also involved in the anti-military demonstrations. The protests peaked on Monday, May 4, when several hundreds students of Kent State University gathered at noon to declare their disapproval of the U.S. military policies in Asia2. By strange coincidence the Kent State University shootings bore frightening resemblance to another prominent event of the U.S. history, namely the Boston Massacre of 1770. The Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770 between a group of Boston citizens and British troops. A group of British soldiers shot five colonists during a public protest action against the Townshend Acts and the excessive presence of British troops in Boston and New York. The soldiers, struck by snow and ice balls thrown by the crowd, fired into the demonstrants killing five and wounding half a dozen people3. The first thing one might notice about these two events is striking similarity of dates and numbers. Separated by almost exactly two centuries both shootings occurred in the spring, and both cases produced nearly the same number of victims. In-depth analysis of the historical background of the shootings, comparison of the implications produced by them and examination of their impact on the society reveals even more interesting details. The second half of 20th century was marked by a series of events that determined the modern visage of American society. Nuclear disarmament movement and Civil rights movement in the USA of the late 1950s - early 1960s, Anti-Vietnam War movement in the USA and worldwide of the mid 1960s - early 1970s, students movement in the USA of the mid 1960s - early 1970s, women's movement in the USA that began in the late 1960s and soon spread to Europe - these are only most notable examples of such events. The shootings at Kent University went down in history as the turning point of the Vietnam War era. In those days the nation was torn by deep cultural and political conflict. Richard Nixon won the 1968 election promising to end the Vietnam War, but failed to stick to his promise. Instead, the first draft lottery since World War II was announced followed by the invasion into Cambodia that made the war even more intensive. Thousands of American students responded to the increased risk of being d rafted by protests and demonstrations setting the stage for the Kent University shootings4. The historical background of the Boston Massacre was characterized by a number of similar features, though the context was totally different. Political and economic

Employee Motivation and Job Satisfaction Assignment

Employee Motivation and Job Satisfaction - Assignment Example This research will begin with The Profiles Interviewed Employees. The selected employees for the interview are Frank and Janet (these are not their real names for purposes of concealing their identity). Frank is a chief accountant to Nestle at the headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland. Frank has joined Nestle six years ago, by then as the cost accountant. Three years later, the management promoted him to the position of the chief accountant. Frank, therefore, has an experience of six years as the accountant of the company and three years as a chief accountant. Janet is the overall marketing manager of Nestle. Initially, Janet was the production unit supervisor for four years after joining the company, but because of her remarkable performance, the management promoted her to the general marketing manager and posted her at the headquarters in Switzerland. Janet has five years experience as a marketing manager. Start of the Interview Interviewer: Particularly concerning the number of years you have worked for this company, why have you not left this company to work for a different organization?   Interviewee: The main reason for my extended stay in this company is the motivation that I get from my employer. I have my own intrinsic motivation; that is, the internal desires to produce the best. The company has enabled me to develop positive attitudes towards my work through the extrinsic motivation it offers through bonuses, rewards, recognition, and promotions. Interviewee: Have you ever encountered any problem of receiving your benefits because of your race or gender? Interviewer: No, I think the company has very strict policies to counteract any form of discrimination among the workers. Interviewer: Do you believe that your working in this organization has a meaning? Interviewee: Yes, I do. Working for this company promises a bright future for me and my family. I am fully satisfied with working here because my job tallies with my profession. I am contented with what I receive from here, and I am ready to work here until my retirement age. Interviewer: Does Nestle provide you with opportunities to grow and develop as a professional and as a person? Interviewee: The company is excellent is providing the best opportunities for professional and personal development. The company has a program for allowing employees study leaves and grants financial support for employees who want to advance their careers. There is a pension scheme program where every employee is deducted a certain proportion of income and paid to them upon retirement. Interviewer: Are there any feedbacks you would expect to receive from your company in relation to your performance that you are not receiving? Interviewee: I think I receive