Monday, December 30, 2019

How to be a Truth Seeker - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 731 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/04/01 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Truth Essay Did you like this example? Being a truth-seeker is one of my strengths when it comes to critical-thinking. I always seek the truth regardless of the method required to seek it. On the other hand, being open-minded is also a major strength. I am always open to divergent views of individuals I interact with during every day activities. One of my major weaknesses entails stereotyping. I am likely to judge other people based on their backgrounds and hence I tend to judge the position they may take regarding a particular issue. My other weakness entails being a non-conformer. I am not likely to conform to other peoples judgments and ideas. In order to address these weaknesses, I may need to access training on cultural competence. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "How to be a Truth Seeker" essay for you Create order Interpretation It entails comprehending the subject matter at hand effectively. For instance, one will need to effectively understand what it means to force everyone to receive university education and what it means not to force everyone to do it. One needs to comprehend who is everyone? Is there any age limit? And, what level of university education is being talked about. Analysis One needs to understand the relationships between the items of the subject matter. For instance, is it possible for everyone to acquire university education? Do the universities have the capacity? On the other hand, if no one is forced to acquire university education can that impact access to education? Evaluation This entails effectively understanding the logical strengths of statements that are being made. For instance, it is logical to force everyone to acquire a university education? On the other hand, does it sound more logical when no one is forced to acquire university education? One must be able to find where more logic lies. Self-regulation This entails the ability to monitor cognitive elements that are most needed in making a case about a specific subject matter. For instance, what cognitive element should one apply in making a case for or against forcing everyone to acquire a university education. Inference This is an important process that enables one to choose what elements should be drawn in making a conclusion. For instance, what data or information should be used in support for or in opposing the subject matter which entails forcing everyone to acquire university education? Explanation This is where an individual defends and justifies his case in support or in opposition of the subject matter. One needs to explain how his or her inferences apply (Cottrell, 2011). For instance, one may argue that lack of capacity may not enable everyone to acquire a university education. Every individual should be forced to receive a university education. University education is very important aspect in someones life. Getting this education can help the person to be knowledgeable and get better jobs which can lead him to a better life. Hence, every individual should be forced to enroll in the university to get this knowledge. Having this kind of education will not just help the person himself, but it will help the whole society. To clarify, when people get educated, they will have good jobs and the will be well trained in what they are doing, thus, the productivity will increase which will cause the economy to increase. Also, by studying in the university, the percentages of poverty and unemployment will decrease as students will find good jobs to work on. All of these will lead to many improvements in the country. So, that is why people need to get the education in these learning institutions. Individuals should not be forced to receive a university education. While Studying in the university is one of the best ways to get the knowledge someones needed, there are several other sources that people can rely on to be successful either in work or in life. To illustrate more, some jobs dont require the person to be educated, however it needs some training and practicing in order to get the skill and work successfully. For instance, a lot of painters had drawn fabulous paintings without getting an education in the university, and their paintings were sold at high prices. Those painters used to practice this skill since they were child until they mastered this skill. So, from that it can be understood that even university education seems to be important, a person can depend on the self-education to get the knowledge that is necessary to get a good life.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

The Alien And Sedition Acts Of 1798 - 1594 Words

The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, instituted by President John Adams, were a turning point in American history. The Acts were the result of impending war with France, the French Revolution had just started, France was in turmoil with all the fighting, America was a new country, trying to find its footing and place in the world. President Adams was worried for the nation that the influx of FRench immigrants as a result of the war would disrupt the balance and security of the nation. As a result, Adams created the Alien and Sedition Acts, a series of laws on how aliens were treated and how the populace of American society could speak and act towards the government. The Alien and Sedition Acts instituted by Adams were unconstitutional and in direct violation of the Bill of Rights. In 1798, war was brewing in France, the Revolution had been going for 9 years. But it had not just affected France, but the world. America had been a new nation for over 20 years. At this time President John Adams was the second president of the U. S., with Thomas Jefferson as Vice President, as he lost the presedential election. Adams was a Federalist, through and through. He wanted to model policies off of Great Britain, Federalists saw foreigners as a threat to national security. Aos the Federalists hated the French Revolution because it led to mob rule and the confiscation of property. Thomas Jefferson was a Democratic-Republican, he loved France that they were having their own democraticShow MoreRelatedThe Alien And Sedition Acts1274 Words   |  6 Pagesdevelopment of the United States, one such set of acts played a key role in the way unto which this nation was formed and continues to affect it today. The Alien and Sedition Acts changed American ideology in the 18th Century a nd again influences the nation in the current era. By first understanding what the Alien and Sedition Acts were, how they shaped the nation s development, and their role in America today, the importance and influence that these acts had, will become prevalent and give insight intoRead MoreAlien And Sedition Acts Dbq1456 Words   |  6 PagesSophia Jefferson Mr. Carpenter AP US History 12.14.15 Alien and Sedition Acts DBQ The 1780’s and 1790’s were a time of growing contentions in America, and were capped off with the creation of the Alien and Sedition acts. The Alien and Sedition acts included four laws that made it extremely difficult to be an immigrant in the United States. These laws allowed the president to deport any immigrant he deemed dangerous or suspicious, allowed the government to remove immigrants in time of war and alsoRead MoreJohn Adams : The Second President Of The United States1224 Words   |  5 Pagesbribes that ended in the Quasi-War, which was fought at sea from 1798 to 1800. It was a victory for neither country. It ended in another treaty because it was a pointless argument. John Adams was able to handle it well, for it being one of his first national problems to face as the president. He had to strengthen the central government. In the article it states the cause of the Sedition Act, â€Å"The proximate cause of the Sedition Act was the Quasi-War with France, w hich led to charges that domesticRead MoreAlien and Sedition Acts Essay2819 Words   |  12 PagesOctober 2012 Alien and Sedition Acts In 1798 the United States was involved in an undeclared war with France. â€Å"The United States again stood on the brink of war with a major European power, only this time instead of Great Britain the hostile nation was France.†(Hay 141) Later on the Federalist Party passed a series of four laws which were called the Alien and Sedition Acts and the Federalists saw foreigners as a deep threat to American security. There were a series of four acts that were adoptedRead MoreThe Legacy Of John Adams1474 Words   |  6 Pagesthe four years of John Adams’ presidency were quiet and somewhat forgotten, his successes in foreign policy and his control no doubt outweighed his failures in the Sedition Act and with his cabinet, in part to his background and characteristics. John Adam’s greatest presidential accomplishment or success was his dealings with France in 1798. This incident is better known as the infamous â€Å"Quasi-War†. The Quasi War was a dispute between the United States and France mainly fought over sea with each countriesRead MorePartisan Politics During The Declaration Of Independence971 Words   |  4 Pagesbecause, again they had just fought to escape a monarchy and wanted to center the new government around its citizens, not the other way around. That was the main philosophy of Republicans. The first attempt to cut down Republicans was the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798, signed into law by President John Adams. It limited the freedom of speech by making it illegal to speak out against the Federal Government, which indirectly stopped Republicans from interfering with things that were happening in the whiteRead MoreA Friendship That Was At One Point Strong And Powerful Between Two Of Our Founding Fathers954 Words   |  4 Pageschaos to the United States. Democratic-republics denounced the strong centralization of federal power under Adam’s presidency. Republicans specifically objected the expansion of the U.S army and navy, the attack on individual rights in the Alien and Seduction Acts, and new taxes and deficit spending used to support broadened federal action. Thomas (Articles: Pundits Peddle Civility Sophistry. American Thinker) The election also called the revolution of 1800 was tied between Thomas Jefferson and ArronRead MorePolitical Parties And The Ame rican Political System1657 Words   |  7 Pagesswiftly enacted a series of laws in 1798 to make the United States more secure from traitors and spies. The Alien Enemies and Alien Friends Acts gave the government the authority to detain and deport anyone suspected of committing treason. The final law was the Sedition Act, which made it illegal for anyone to express â€Å"any false, scandalous and malicious writing† against Congress or the president; both positions were dominated by pro-Hamilton ideals. Significantly, the act had no provisions to protect theRead MoreA Brief Biography on Thomas Jefferson Essay1487 Words   |  6 PagesColonists were losing patience, nothing resonated more than the restrictions on individual and political rights, and power inequalities within the Colonies. (www.loc.gov, 2014) It was these oppressions that eventually forced our Founding Fathers to act against King George. Thomas Jefferson played a key and influential role in the American Revolution by putting his thoughts on paper. Before the Declaration of Independence was imagined, discussed, or signed, Jefferson was publishing works to promoteRead MoreAlien And Sedition Acts Violated Citizens Rights2737 Words   |  11 PagesAlien and Sedition Acts Violated Citizens’ Rights - Final George Washington was unanimously elected as the first President of United States of America in 1789 and again in 1792. No political parties existed in America during that time. Founding Fathers including George Washington believed that political parties would be harmful for the young America. They envisioned the politics in the young nation to be cooperative and not competitive. By the end of the eighteenth century, however, political parties

Friday, December 13, 2019

Financial Performance Analysis of Tesco Plc and J Sainsbury Plc. Free Essays

A comparison of the performance of Tesco Plc and Sainsbury Plc, both listed on the London Stock Exchange Introduction: This report will compare Tesco Plc and Sainsbury Plc, paying close attention to selected ratios for comparison. The ratios have been chosen to show profitability, efficiency and liquidity of both companies over a three-year period. Both companies operate in the UK grocery sector, with both classed in the big-4 supermarkets. We will write a custom essay sample on Financial Performance Analysis of Tesco Plc and J Sainsbury Plc. or any similar topic only for you Order Now According to the latest Kantar Worldpanel (2014) report, Tesco held 29.6% of the UK grocery market in top place, while Sainsbury held 17% of the market, holding third place after ASDA. In addition to their main grocery business, both companies have business in other services, including clothing, non-food items, banking and insurance services, as well as international operations for Tesco. Of the two, Tesco has more of a focus on its non-food and non-UK business. According to Tesco’s latest Annual Report (2013), sales from non-UK markets represent ?20.8Billion of revenue, with revenue from Asia growing 6% over 2013; while revenue from the UK banking operation is ?1Billion. In comparison, Sainsbury’s total revenue (all-UK) only amounts to ?23.03Billion, with non-food and banking making up a much smaller proportion of sales, Sainsbury’s (2013). Performance analysis of your chosen companies: This section will consider a number of ratios to determine company performance, splitting the ratios up into profitability, efficiency and liquidity. This report will then use the Annual Reports as well as supporting analysis to determine the reasoning behind the results. Liquidity Ratio Liquidity ratios are a sign whether a company has the ability to pay off short-term obligations (debts due to be paid within one year). Generally, a higher value is desired as this indicates greater capacity to meet debt obligations, for example, shareholders may prefer a company to have current assets that are greater than current liabilities, indicating that the company can repay all debts at short-notice if required, (Koller, 2011) The Current ratio measures a businesses ability to repay short-term liabilities such as accounts payable and short-term debt using short-term assets such as cash, inventory and receivables. This would be the value of a company’s current assets that could be converted to cash over the next twelve months compared to the value of liabilities that may mature over the same period, (Peterson, 2012). The Current ratio is useful as it shows whether a company has adequate resources to repay short-term debt or if it will experience cash flow problems in the near term. A ratio of 2:1 is usually considered a benchmark, however, this may vary across industries depending on cash-flow. A ratio of less than one suggests that the company may not have sufficient resources to settle its short-term debt obligations. For a more conservative alternative, Current Assets may be adjusted to remove inventory, as inventory may be viewed as not very readily convertible to cash; for example, to shift inventory fast, the business may have to discount products. With this the value of inventories will be lower than the value recorded on financial statements. This is known as the Quick ratio, (Moyer et al, 2011) The calculations can be seen in Appendix 1. The results are shown below: The results above show that both retailers have low ratios compared with the benchmark mentioned above; however this may be the case due to: There are very few trade receivables on the books, while trade payables are higher suggesting that the business could effectively operate without any cash. Discussed more in Efficiency. Both businesses have a high level of turnover and high level of cash-generation which could be used to meet short-term obligations. Investor confidence in both businesses would allow the ratios to be lower. Investor’s may demand higher ratios from start-up or ‘riskier’ companies. Comparing the two, Tesco plc, has the higher ratio, which may be down to the business having much higher receivables then Sainsbury’s. For example, in 2013, receivables made up 41.7% of total current assets at Tesco, compared with just 15.9% at Sainsbury’s. This may be down to Tesco having a greater focus on higher-value non-food items through its catalogue business. Higher receivables present higher risks, given some consumers may have an in-ability to pay. Profitability Ratio Profitability ratios measure a company’s profitability. As profits are used to fund capital expenditure and pay dividends, these measures will be important to analysts and closely watched in terms of industry comparisons. Earnings per Share (EPS) measures the earnings available of each share, a shareholder may use this calculation to determine the level of earnings available for each share owned; this could then be compared with the actual dividend to determine the payout ratio. Again, this would be important to a shareholder as a company would use income for either dividends or capital expenditure; so, if dividends are low, investors would expect higher capital expenditure in the hope of increasing the future value of the business, increasing share-price, leading to capital gains. Other ratios to be considered are Gross Profit Margin and Net Profit Margin. Gross profit margin considers revenue minus the cost of goods sold. A company’s gross profit margin may also be viewed as a measurement of production efficiency. A company with a gross profit margin higher than that of its competitors, or the industry average, is deemed to be more efficient and is therefore, all things being equal, preferred, (Paramasivan, 2009). Net profit margin considers the net income once all costs are removed. With this, the margin could be seen as determined by a range of factors including competition or rising costs. Given the results above, Tesco appears to be in a better position given its margin; however this may be down to Tesco’s exposure to a greater non-food business through its catalogue, where it can achieve greater margins, (Head, 2013) [Online]. To add, a greater online presence may have also benefitted Tesco’s margin, giving the lower overheads involved. However in its latest results, Tesco took a charge of ?1.26Billion for exiting its U.S business, which impacted on net profit margin and EPS, (Tesco, 2013). The figures are surprising given Sainsbury’s perception as a more expensive grocer compared to rivals Tesco Plc. The figures also show a falling margin for both grocers in 2013, which could be down to the intense competition in the sector, and supermarket ‘price war’. Efficiency Ratio Efficiency ratios determine how efficient a company is using liabilities/ assets to generate revenue for the business. Ratios such Sales to Inventory could be used to determine the efficiency of the business compared with peers. From the results above, it appears that Sainsbury’s has a greater control over its stock levels, as the company is able to turn over its inventory at a faster pace, which will be important in the grocery industry to reduce waste. However, it must again be noted that Tesco Plc, has greater exposure to the non-food business, which will then impact on stock levels, in particular for its catalogue business, which sells higher-value items such as electrical’s. Another efficiency to mention could be the difference seen between average receivables and average payables. For example take Tesco in 2011; receivables turnover (sales / average receivables) was 60,455/ 4,457 = 13.56, which translated into 27 Days (365 / 13.56). Payables turnover was 55,330 / 5,786 = 9.56, which translates into 38 Days (365/ 9.56). With this, Tesco receives the all the money from sales in 27 Days on average, whereas it doesn’t have to pay suppliers for the goods sold for 38 Days on average. Effectively, the business could survive without cash. Given less focus on non-food items, Sainsbury’s position is favorable to Tesco. Receivables turnover comes in at just 5 Days, while payables turnover comes in at 34 Days on average. Conclusion: Based on the ratios above it appears that Tesco would be the favoured choice, given higher margins stemming from operations in non-food items and a greater online presence. To add, Tesco has a greater presence on the high-street, and so an ability to take advantage of the UK economic recovery. Tesco’s exposure outside of the grocery market could also be seen as a benefit when rivals from Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose continue to take grocery market share. According to Kantar Worldpanel (2014), over the past 3 years, the 3 grocers above have taken a combined 3.5 share points from competitors, equating to around ?4.4Billion in sales. Momentum continues with Y-O-Y growth at Aldi accelerating to 33.5%, compared with Tesco, who over the six-weeks to February 2nd 2014, experienced a 2.4% drop in sales, (Webb, 2014) [Online]. Increasing competition in the industry has led to another supermarket ‘price-war’, which is expected to knock margins again as retailers vie for market s hare. Again, Tesco Plc will be the favoured choice due to its exposure to non-food business as well as international operations, which have potential to drive future sales. Recently, Tesco has announced it will enter the Indian market, under a 50:50 joint venture with Tata, making it the first foreign supermarket to enter India’s ?330Billion retail sector. Given this, Tesco Plc, could be seen as less risky than Sainsbury Plc, given the greater scope of income streams. When considering an investment, other figures may be considered to do with investor returns. First is dividend pay-outs; dividend growth has been stagnant for both companies over a three-year period, while Graph 1 below shows the share price performance, showing that over a three-year period, shares in Tesco and Sainsbury are down by 32.41% and 19.48% respectively. Tesco Plc. is favoured given its extensive offering of businesses, both UK and international, which are expected to benefit as the global recovery strengthens. The main benefit is the business scope, with potential risk in the UK grocery market mitigated by improved performance from other operations and international sales. Sainsbury’s is more exposed to the growing competition on the UK market given the UK market represents the lions-share of its revenue. Tesco is well-placed to take advantage of improving sediment through its multi-channel business. In its latest Interim Report (2013)1, Tesco mentioned sales were supported by strong growth in online retailing (+13% in UK and +54% Overseas), and strong clothing sales up 8.4%. To add, the report also mentioned that UK margins had been hit since FY2013 results, falling to 5.2% (possible downside for Sainsbury’s too), however reported a 6% margin from Asian operations and 17.7% margin from its banking operations, showing that expansion is paying off for the company, (Tesco, 2013)1. References: Bloomberg (2014) [Online]: Company Share Prices, Available at http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/stocks/, Accessed 25/03/2014. Financial Times (2014) [Online]: Tesco Plc, Available at http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Financials?s=TSCO:LSE, Accessed 25/03/2014. Financial Times (2014)1 [Online]: J Sainsbury Plc, Available at http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Financials?s=SBRY:LSEsubview=IncomeStatement, Accessed 25/03/2014. Head, R (2013) [Online]: This is why I’m considering buying J Sainsbury, Available at http://www.fool.co.uk/investing/2013/10/07/this-is-why-im-considering-buying-j-sainsbury-plc-today/, Accessed 25/03/2014. Kantar Worldpanel (2014): Unprecedented changes in grocery retailing in the UK, UK, Kantar Worldpanel. Koller, T, Goedhart, M and Wessels, D (2011): Valuation; Measuring and managing the value of companies, US, McKinsey Company. Moyer, C, McGuigan, J and Rao, R (2011): Contemporary Financial Management, USA, South-Western Cengage Learning. Paramasivan, P (2009): Financial Management, USA, New Age International. Peterson, P and Fabozzi, F (2012): Analysis of Financial Statements, USA, Wiley Finance. Sainsbury’s (2013): Annual Report 2013, London, J Sainsbury Plc. Tesco (2013): Annual Report 2013, London, Tesco Plc. Tesco (2013)1: Interim Report 2013-2014, London, Tesco Plc. Webb, S (2014) [Online]: Supermarket price war looms, Available at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2566542/Every-little-helps-Tesco-slash-prices-attempt-boost-sales-losing-ground-rivals.html, Accessed 25/03/2014. Appendices: Appendix 1 The following tables provide calculations for the chosen ratios. Figures obtained from Financial Times (2014) [Online] and Financial Times (2014)1 [Online]. How to cite Financial Performance Analysis of Tesco Plc and J Sainsbury Plc., Essay examples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Customer Level Of Satisfaction On The Transport Services In Sydney

Question: Discuss about the Customer Level Of Satisfaction On The Transport Services In Sydney. Answer: Problem statement Sydney is one of the cities in Australia. Just like any other city, Sydney is characterized by transport network infrastructures made of trains, bus, and ferry services. The public transport is also made up of airlines, light railways lines, sightseeing buses and taxi services that complement the towns transport network. Taking a case of a city like Sydney, we expect that cases of overcrowding and scrambling for cars, buses, ferries should be past tense. A town with many trains and modern roads, the airline should not be associated with cases of transport challenges. In big cities within European countries, transport is not a worry, and every citizen and residents of such towns enjoy the benefits of using modern class transport services. Sydney is a big city, but the resident of this city is always jealous of the other European cities that pose good subway systems. They still wonder why traveling within their city is so much challenging and what are the reasons as to why its so challenging. Many claims that poor planning is the primary cause of such challenges. Like any other modern city, Sydney transport network is diversified, and the many means of transport options enable the residents to move about the city and the service are just similar to those in other cities. The issue and the topic on the question are why do we have some people comparing their citys transport network with other European cities if in a real sense the Sydney transport service is up to customer expectation and are these customers delighted with this kind of transport services that are being offered in the city.(Bliemer, 2018) Aims and objectives This research aims at investigating the transportation network in Sydney as well as accessing the level of customer satisfaction on the transport services offered to them, and what leads to the comfort. It also aims at investigation what are the reasons that may be causing the dissatisfaction if in any case customers are not satisfied with these services and what are the possible solutions. The objectives of the research include: Determine the current state of Sydney transport service Investigate the level of satisfaction of the customers using the city transport services Examine the factors that lead to the current situation either satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the customers Develop strategies for maintaining or improving the transport services in the Sydney city and solution in case the customers are not satisfied. Brief methodology To accurately determine the level of customer satisfaction on the transport services in Sydney, this research will consider the use of mixed methods to help in achieving the correct result. Data collection the level of customer satisfaction cannot be determined by assessment of one person or one sector within transport service department. All areas ranging from the providers to the users and other relevant stakeholders have to be examined as well. Relevant data concerning transportation service in the city will be collected and analyzed. Source of this data include; transportation agents, the government agencies, transport-related non-governmental agencies and volunteers willing to offer information. Interview- since this is a subjected pertaining the level of customer, the best and convenient method to collect data would be reaching the customer to access their level of satisfaction and also gauges the truth in their response by use of interview method. Literature review-the topic on the level of customer satisfaction is a vast topic that must have being tackled in the past. This is because satisfaction on means of transport in Sydney and its environments is not similar to every customer. Therefore, use of secondary data and findings did prior will be of much use in this research. This entails the use of secondary sources like reports and journals written in the past concerning the issue of the level of customer satisfaction on the Sydney transport services. Secondary data and data analysis methods This research will require the collection of data from secondary sources and interpretation of the data to help in coming up with solutions. This study will involve secondary data from different sources like online sources, books, journal, and reports. The data will be collected to help in assessing whether the customers are delighted with the kind of transportation services offered to them even at the preexisting time. The collected data will be analyzed by the use of regression method where the trends can be observed over a period, and this will help in coming up with solutions(Dudovskiy, 2009) References Bliemer, M. (2018). Sydney's transport is doomed to fail its users, even when it's actually succeeding. NEWS. Dudovskiy, J. (2009). The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dissertation in Business. European Commission. (2016). Smart, green and integrated transport work programme. European Commission. Graham, D. J. (2007). Variable returns to agglomeration and the effect of road traffic congestion. Journal of Urban Economics, 103120. Lyons, G. (2016). Aligning the paradigms of smart and sustainable. Transportation Research Part A. Getting smart about urban mobility, 12-17. Lyons, G. (2016, 2 22). Trends in car ownership, charting transport. Retrieved 3 14, 2018, from mapping transport: https://chartingtransport.com/2011/08/07/trends-in-car-ownership/ McLeod, S. (2017). Urban Public Transport. Journal of Planning Literature, 2. Mulley, C. (2017). Mobility as a Services (MaaS) does it have critical mass? Journal of transport reviews, 247-251. Nelson, J. (2009). Flexible transport services: A new market opportunity for public transport. In Research in Transportation Economics (p. 44). Transport Systems Catapult. (2015, may 21). Traveler needs and UK capability study. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from Transport Systems Catapult: https://ts.catapult.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Traveller-Needs-Study.pdf