Reflection on Experience With Surgical Wound Care

Reflection on Experience With Surgical Wound Care Reflective Practice is something more than thoughtful practice. It is that form of practice which seeks to problematise many situations of professional performance so that they can become potential learning situations and so the practitioners can continue to learn, grow develop in and through practice (Jarvis 1992). Moon (2004) defines reflection as part of learning and thinking. We reflect in order to learn something, or we learn as a result of reflecting, and the term reflective learning emphasizes the intention to learn from current or prior experience. Using the Gibbs (1988) reflective model for analysis, I will be relaying my thoughts and feelings through this essay which talks about my experience in achieving my learning outcome on surgical wound care. DESCRIPTION As I started my adaptation program in the surgical ward, I am expected to be dealing so much with surgical wound care. To reinforce my knowledge skills on the management of surgical wounds, I studied on the similarities differences that I have observed from our practices back home and from what is practiced here. I noted the different types of dressings cleansing solutions used and the different practices protocols regarding management of wounds. I observed how my mentors changed the dressings, how they removed stitches and staples and how they cleaned the surgical wound. I also observed how complications are prevented by providing patient education and observing the principles of proper hand washing and infection control. During my whole adaptation stay, I was able to develop my skills in the management of surgical wounds. During my previous training back home, we were not given the chance to perform procedures such as changing dressings, cleansing surgical wounds, and removing stitches since it was the surgical resident doctors responsibility to do that. Although I know how to do it due to the numerous times Ive seen them perform these procedures, it still feels different when you do these procedures yourself because you will be able to enhance the skill and gain more confidence when you do it more often. FEELINGS The whole training program gave me the opportunity to apply what I know when performing procedures of managing surgical wounds. Every time I finish performing any procedure, I feel really relieved knowing that I am enhancing my skills in this aspect more more and knowing that I am more self-assured with the experiences Ive had. I also became more confident with providing patient education and focused on principles on wound care hygiene, bathing, and prevention of complications. Aseptic technique was always observed whenever I touched the patients wound to prevent infection. Every time I come in contact with the patients skin, I always kept these principles in mind. EVALUATION The whole experience gave a lot of positive outcomes for me. I understood more about topics such as tissue viability wound healing and I was more familiar with the different dressings commonly used. Another new experience for me was when I was able to witness how to change vacuum dressings for a patient who had a chronic wound in his foot. As defined by Thomas (2001), Vacuum assisted closure (also called vacuum therapy, vacuum sealing or topical negative pressure therapy) is a sophisticated development of a standard surgical procedure, the use of vacuum assisted drainage to remove blood or serous fluid from a wound or operation site. I was amazed with how vacuum could help in wound healing. ANALYSIS According to NHS report, 1998, Wound care has, in the past, not been well managed because of the limited understanding of the healing process and the inadequate range of dressing materials available. Wound management has now come full circle, back to Hippocrates principle and dressings are being developed to provide the ideal environment for nature to do its work. Most surgical wounds are categorised as acute wounds, healing without complication in an expected time frame (Bale and Jones, 1997). However, like all wounds, healing is affected by intrinsic and extrinsic factors that may result in complications (Baxter 2003). Surgical complications include infection, dehiscence, evisceration or bleeding at the surgical site. During the whole of my training, preventing complications was another priority in taking care of surgical patients. The whole experience made me alert at watching out for any sign of complications by making sure that frequent assessment is done, principles of infection control are observed at all times and patient education is being delivered. Looking at the whole experience made me conscious about the great deal of learning I have achieved. I have witnessed how much I have improved with my skills with the help and guidance of my mentor. CONCLUSION Through this experience, I have utilized reflection to aid me in attaining an optimum level of learning by not only focusing on my knowledge but most especially on the positive changes that Ive achieved with my skills. Due to this learning experience, my clinical skill on surgical wound management was further enhanced. If I were to make any changes during my whole learning experience, what I could have done was to grab any opportunity that would come my way. When we had a patient with a vacuum dressing, I was hesitant to change the dressings because I was afraid to make any errors especially that it was quite a complicated procedure. Now Ive realized how much opportunity Ive lost knowing that we did not have many patients who had that type of dressing. This realization makes it clearer to me that I should be more assertive when opportunities on new procedures arise. ACTION PLAN This experience made me promise to myself that whenever I would be faced with more opportunities for learning, I would not hesitate to grab them. I should learn to be more assertive the next time and try my best to find more ways of achieving professional development. In the future, I would want to continue my learning about surgical wound management by keeping myself up-to-date about this topic regularly reading new literature. I would also want to know more about other types of dressings that I am not familiar with and find more avenues of learning through seminars, trainings and knowledge updates. Moon, J. (2004) Reflection and Employability, LTSN http://www.heacademy.ac.uk /assets/York/documents/ourwork /tla/employability/id339 _reflection_and_employability.pdf NHS report on wound care www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

The Importance Of Capital Gearing Finance Essay

The Importance Of Capital Gearing Finance Essay Financing and investment are two major decision areas for a company. In the financial decision, the company concerns with determining the best capital structure. There are only two ways that a business can raise money debt or equity. With the right option, the business can minimize its cost and maximize company value. Bos and Fetherston (1993) described that determining debt and equity is an important financial decision faced by companies. The relationship between debt and equity is considered as capital gearing. Hence, in this report, the gearing ratio and its influence to WACC, company value and shareholder wealth will be assessed through the two major theories. Capital Gearing Capital gearing is a term describing the relationship between debt funding and equity funding in a company (Financial Management, 2007). The simplest formula for gearing ratio = (%) For example, ABC Ltd has  £1,000 of debt and  £2,500 of total assets. Thus, capital gearing of this company is: = 40% According to NGFL Wales Business Studies (2009), a company with high gearing is the one who has most of the funding coming from borrowing. It leads to reduced profits available to shareholders because of the increase in interest rate. Moreover, if interest rate increases, the financial costs of business will also go up, thereby total costs of business will rise. However, if a company has a high gearing, it is not really a bad thing. The company may need more money for their expansion activities, taking the opportunity to invest by borrowing at low rates. By using capital from borrowing, the company can take advantage of tax shields. A company with low gearing is the one who has most of the funding coming from investment of shareholders. It proves that the company is developing through reinvestment of profits, minimizing risk (NGFL Wales Business Studies, 2009). For example, in 2009, Apple Inc had Total debt/equity also known as gearing ratio at 0% (ADVFN, 2010). However, low gearing may indicate that the company is not aggressive enough to survive, and may not be seeking opportunities for growth (Pham, 2009). Thus, according to Accounting for Management (n.d.), the importance level of capital gearing is subject to various views. Effects upon WACC, company value and shareholder wealth Debt and equity Debt and equity are the two major sources of funds for a company. So, using of debt and equity proportions are the measurement tools for capital structure. (Glen and Pinto, 1998) In fact, cost of debt is generally less expensive than cost of equity. Nemethy (2010) provided two major reasons for that. Firstly, debt is a secured loan, which may be seized by the lender when the borrower cannot payment their loans. Meanwhile, equity is an unsecured loan because the shareholder cannot seize anything, they only have the right to vote at a shareholders meeting. Thus, an unsecured loan has to a higher interest rate than a secured loan. In other words, cost of equity is expensive than cost of debt. Secondly, Nemethy (2010) said that when the company issues debt in the form of bonds, they pay interest out to their investors, this interest has to be deducted by taxation. It is also called the debt tax shield. Conversely, when the company issues equity, they pay out dividends. These dividends represent corporate income, and they are subject to double taxation: one time by corporation and another time by shareholders. Thereby, the cost of debt is less than the cost of equity. With the two major reasons above, virtually all companies prefer to use debt than equity. However, the increase of debt leads to the increase of risks because when the company borrows money, they would be dependent on the lenders. UoS (2007) stated that a highly geared company may also experience difficulties in attracting fund from investors, who are not attracted by the risks involved in a high-geared company. At that time, the market price of the companys shares will fall. So, the company should choose debt or equity, and the influence of capital gearing to WACC, company value and shareholder wealth. We will assess this problem based on the two theories. The traditional view Modigliani and Miller The traditional view The traditional view of capital structure theory, based on observation and intuition, suggests that an optimum capital structure exists (Cornelius, 2002). In other words, the capital structure of a company has effected on the cost of capital. The more debt in the capital structure of a company, the lower of WACC is. The weighted-average cost of capital (WACC) represents the overall cost of capital for a company, incorporating the costs of equity, debt and preference share capital, weighted according to the proportion of each source of finance within the business (Cornelius, 2002). The formula to calculate WACC: WACC = [ x ] + [ x ] For example, a company has an issued share capital of 1,000 ordinary  £1 shares. The company wants to buy two machines with the price of a machine as  £1,000. As mentioned above, cost of debt is generally less expensive than cost of equity, so, we can assume that cost of debt = 15% and cost of equity = 20%. To buy two machines, the company needs to have  £1,000 for the second machine. There are two options for the company. Option 1: Issuing share (ungeared company) It means that the company will have 2,000 shares in total with  £1 per share. â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¢ Total equity = 2,000 x  £1 =  £2,000 = Total assets = 0% = 20% x = 20% Option 2: Borrowing (geared company) In this option, the company has  £1,000 from initial issuing shares and  £1,000 from borrowing with 15% of interest. â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¢ Total debt = Total equity =  £1,000 Total assets = Total debt + Total equity = 1,000 + 1,000 =  £2,000 = = 0.5 or 50% = [15% x ] + [20% x ] = 0.075 + 0.1 = 0.175 or 17.5% It is clear that when the gearing capital of a company increases, its WACC will decrease. According to Watson and Head (2006), the market value of a company is equal to the present value of its future cash flows discounted by its WACC. Market value of a company = Thus, when WACC of the company decreases, assuming that other factors are constant, the market value of the company increases, in other words, the company value and shareholder wealth increase. The traditional view is usually represented as follows. According to UoS (2007), from all equity financing, WACC first declines because debt financing is cheaper. At higher level of debt (beyond X), cost of equity increases because of higher risks out weights the advantage of cheaper debt financing. Hence after X, the WACC will rise. X will be the optimal debt ratio, where the company will minimize its cost of capital and the company value is maximized. In conclusion, gearing capital is very important because it effects to WACC, company value and shareholder wealth of a company. Modigliani and Miller view In 1958, American academics France Modigliani and Merton Miller (MM), presented a radically different view of capital structure theory. They demonstrated that two companies with identical investments would have the same value, regardless of their gearing capital (Cornelius, 2002). As a result, there is no optimal capital structure for a company. MMs propositions can be presented as follows. MMs proposition (without tax) UoS (2007, p.274) argued that with the same size and the same level of business risks of two companies: one company was ungeared company, another one was geared company. The value of an ungeared company equals value of equity in an identical geared company plus value of borrowings in an identical geared company. Therefore, the only factors that influence the value of a company are risk and return. Returns required by shareholders as reward for risk, , will increase at a constant rate as gearing increases due to the perceived increased financial risk. The rising would exactly offset the benefit of the additional cheaper debt in order for the WACC to remain constant. Lenders have security for their debt so they will not feel at risk whatever the level of gearing; therefore, is constant (ACCA F9 Financial Management: Study Text, 2009). This can be shown as a graph. The WACC, the total value of the company and shareholder wealth are constant and unaffected by gearing levels. No optimal capital structure exists. For instance, there are two companies with the same size and the same level of business risk: one company was ungeared company, another one was geared company. One machine got back  £200 profit yearly. The data of the two companies as follows. Ungeared Company Geared Company Share capital  £1,000  £1,000 Debt  £1,000 Machines 1 2 EPS at  £200 profit level 0.20p 0.25p If the investor in an ungeared company borrows  £1,000 at 15% interest, after buying the second machine, that company has the profit =  £200 x 2 =  £400. â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¢ EPS = = 0.4 p After receiving dividends from ungeared company, that investor has to pay interest for the lender with 15% interest per  £1. Hence, the actual return that investor can receive = 0.4 [15% x 1] = 0.25 p. This is the same return as that expected by shareholder in geared company and it had been created entirely by the ungeared shareholder. Therefore, in this proposition, capital gearing does not effect to the WACC, company value and shareholder wealth. MMs proposition (with tax) Because interest is tax-deductible, the use of debt finance gives rise to a tax saving (Cornelius, 2002). In 1963, MM developed a second version to take account of taxation. MM argued that the value of a geared company was the value of ungeared company plus the present value of any tax shield generated by using debt finance. = + T With:: The value of geared company : The value of ungeared company : The market value of debt T: Corporate tax rate With tax, MM view can be represented as below. According to ACCA F9FM (2009, p.1111), remains constant whatever the level of gearing. Likely as MMs proposition without tax, increases as gearing levels increase to reflect additional perceived financial risk. Because interest on debt is tax-deductible, WACC will fall when gearing increases. And: = x [1 ] = + (1 T) ( ) : cost of equity in an ungeared company : cost of equity in a geared company : cost of debt , : market value of debt and equity in the geared company T: corporate tax rate For example, considering two companies, one ungeared and another geared, both of the same size and level of business risk. Ungeared Company Geared Company  £  £ EBIT 1,000 1,000 Interest (200) PBT 1,000 800 Corporation Tax @25% (250) (200) Dividends 750 600 Returns to the investors Equity 750 600 Debt 200 750 800 Suppose that the business risk of the two companies requires a return of 10% and the return required by the debt holders in geared company is 5%, locking at the table above, tax relief on debt interest (also known as tax shield) in geared company = 800 750 =  £50 For ungeared company Market value of ungeared company will be the market value of equity. It will be the dividend capitalized at the equity holders required rate of return. = 750/0.1 =  £7,500 = 10% For geared company Market value of the equity of geared company is determined by the equity shareholders analysis of their net operating income into its constituent parts and the capitalization of those elements at appropriate rates = [ ] = ] =  £4,500 Market value of debt is determined by the debt holders capitalizing their interest at their required rate of return. = =  £4,000 â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¢ Total market value of geared company = 4,500 + 4,000 =  £8,500 According to MMs proposition with tax, it has: = + T = 7,500 + (4,000 x 25%) =  £8,500 Cost of equity in a geared company: = = = 13.33% = 5% x (1 25%) = 3.75% â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¢ = 13.33% x + 3.75% x = 8.82% According to MMs proposition: = x [1 ] = 10% x [1 ] = 8.82% And = + (1 T) ( ) = 10% + (1 25%) (10% 5%) (4,000/4,500) = 13.33% as per the dividend valuation model above. Thus, under MM theory with tax, there is an optimal gearing level at 100% debt in the capital structure. This is not true in practice because companies do not gear up to 100%. In his research, Cornelius (2002) argued that, in the real world, companies do not raise their gearing ratios to such extreme levels because the high levels of gearing may lead to higher risk of liquidation. Hence, for this proposition, there is no optimal gearing structure, in other words, WACC, company value and shareholder wealth do not depend on the level of capital gearing. The drawback of the two theories According to UoS (2007), both of the two theories may seem to be based on unrealistic assumptions. For traditional view, they ignored taxation, companies have complete choice between debt equity finance, and can change this decision quickly and without cost. It is impossible in the real world. The company could change their decision but it has cost and not quickly. For MM, it was built with assumptions that no transaction costs and individuals or corporations can borrow money at the same rate. In fact, individuals and companies cannot borrow at the same rate, since companies usually have a higher credit rating. Therefore, personal debt usually costs more than corporate debt and is riskier. Moreover, the theory does not mention the issue of bankruptcy costs and other agency costs, as well as personal income tax. Conclusion In conclusion, according to traditional view, gearing capital is very important because the changing of gear may lead to changes of WACC as well as company value and shareholder wealth. If gearing capital increases, WACC will fall. It leads to the increase of profits, in other words, company value will increases. Theoretically, there is an optimal capital structure, in which, the company will minimize its cost of capital and the company value is maximized. In fact, it hasnt found an optimal capital structure yet. Conversely, based on MM theory, it argued that the two companies with the same size and the same level of business risk would have the same value. It does not depend on their gearing. In other words, the level of capital gearing is not quite important for WACC, company value and shareholder wealth. Part B: Explain then critically compare and contrast two investment appraisal techniques indicating their merits and limitations in aiding the sound financial management of a company Introduction Nowadays, investing is very important for a company to survive. According to UoS (2007, p.63) an investment involves the outflow of cash at a point in time in order to obtain benefits in the future. Companies make these investment decisions in order to increase the value of the firm and maximizing shareholders wealth. However, funds are limited, thereby, companies cannot invest in all projects, they must choose between alternative investments. There are four commonly techniques for appraising capital investment projects. Payback Accounting rate of return (ARR) Net present value (NPV) also known as Discounted Cash Flow or DCF Internal rate of return (IRR) also known as Discounted Cash Flow technique In this report, we will look at payback and NPV as two investment appraisal techniques to find out how they can inform future projects, their merits and limitations, and which technique the company would prefer. Explanation of two investment appraisal techniques Payback Payback is the number of years required to recover the original cash flow outlay investment in a project (Brealey, Myers and Marcus, 2001). If the cash flows are constant, the formula is: Payback period = If the cash flows are not constant, the calculation must be in cumulative form. The payback is a commonly used method of evaluating investment proposals. Among alternative investments, the company should decide to invest in the project which payback period is shorter, in other words, this is a project which can recover the initial investment quicker (Ross et al., 2007). For example, ABC Ltd has two projects A and B which cash flows as follows. Year Cash flows from Project A ( £) Cash flows from Project B ( £) 0 (100,000) (100,000) 1 10,000 20,000 2 30,000 20,000 3 40,000 30,000 4 20,000 20,000 5 30,000 50,000 Using cumulative form, we have: Year Cash flows from Project A ( £) Cumulative ( £) Cash flows from Project B ( £) Cumulative ( £) 0 (100,000) (100,000) 1 10,000 (90,000) 20,000 (80,000) 2 30,000 (60,000) 20,000 (60,000) 3 40,000 (20,000) 30,000 (30,000) 4 20,000 0 20,000 (10,000) 5 30,000 30,000 50,000 40,000 It is clearly that after 4 years, project A has recovered all original investment and it will begin making the profit for the company from the firth year, so payback period of project A is 4 years. As for project B, after 5 years, the original investment has recovered and it also generates  £40,000 of profits, so the payback period of this project is: Payback period of project B = 4 + = 4.2 years Thus, following the rule of payback period method, ABC Ltd should invest into project A because payback period of project A is shorter than project B. It means that the company can recover the original investment quicker if they decide to invest into project A. Net present value (NPV) Based on Professional Management Education (2010), The net present value (NPV) method is the classic economic method of evaluating the investment proposals. It is discounted cash flow technique that explicitly recognizes the time value of money. It correctly postulates that cash flows arising at different time periods differ in value and are comparable only when their equivalents present values are found out. The formula to calculate NPV is: NPV = Initial Investment + = Initial Investment + With r is the rate of interest It should be made clear that the acceptance rule using the net present value (NPV) method is to accept the investment project if NPV is positive, to reject it if NPV is negative and consider accepting the project when NPV is zero. For instance, using the same data with example above, in additional, the original proposal of ABC Ltd uses a discount rate of 10%. Using discounted cash flow technique to the present value, we have: Year Cash flows from Project A ( £) Present value ( £) Cash flows from Project B ( £) Present value ( £) 0 (100,000) (100,000) (100,000) (100,000) 1 10,000 9,091 20,000 18,182 2 30,000 24,793 20,000 16,529 3 40,000 30,052 30,000 22,539 4 20,000 13,660 20,000 13,660 5 30,000 18,628 50,000 31,046 NPV NPV (A) = -3,776 NPV (B) = 1,956 > 0 Because NPV of project A is negative and that of project B is positive, in accordance with the acceptance rule, ABC Ltd should choose project B to invest because this project will bring more profits. Analyzing of two investment appraisal techniques Compare and contrast In every company, payback period and NPV are very important to evaluate the value of a proposed project before investing on it. Both of two investment appraisal techniques can measure the sustainability and value of long-term projects. From that, the company can make sound financial decisions. (DifferenceBetween.net, 2010) Regarding calculate technique, payback period is used to calculate a period within which the initial investment of a project is recovered (UoS, 2007). It is equal to the initial net investment divided by annual expected cash flows. For example, a company wants to invest  £10,000 in a new project and they expect to have annual cash flows of  £2,000, so the payback period of this project will be = 10,000/2,000 = 5 years. The shorter the payback period, the better investment is. A long payback period means that the investment will be locked up for a long time, thereby this project is relatively ineffective. Meanwhile, net present value (NPV) uses the time value of money to appraise long-term projects. According to UoS (2007), NPV uses the opportunity cost of capital to discount the flows of cash in and out, over the life of a project to give their value at the present day. NPV method focuses on the present value (PV) because NPV equates to the sum of present values of individual cash flows. For example, a project invests  £1,000 and it will bring cash flows of  £2,000 in the next year, so PV of  £2,000 = 2000/(1+0.1) =  £1,818 with discount rate of 10%. Thus, the NPV of this project = -1000 + 1,818 =  £818. When choosing between alternative investments, NPV can help to define the project with highest present value, and also apply the acceptance rule of NPV, if NPV>0 accept the investment, if NPV Ross et al. (2007) stated that NPV method removes the time element in weighing alternative investment, while payback period focuses on the time required to recover the initial investment. From that, payback period method does not assess the time value of cash, inflation, financial risks, etc. as opposed to NPV, which measures the investments profitability. In addition, although payback period method indicates the acceptable period of investment, it does not take into account what will happen after the payback period and their impact on total incomes of this project. But it is contrary to NPV. Thereby, NPV will provide better decisions than payback when the company makes capital investments. In fact, companies use more often NPV than payback period method. Merits and limitations Merits The most significant merit of payback period is that it is simple to understand and easy to calculate than other appraisal investment techniques (UoS, 2007). Comparing with NPV method, payback method uses fewer costs and less analysts time than NPV. For this method, an investor can have more favorable short term effects on earnings per share by setting up a shorter standard payback period. Professional Management Education (2010) believed that payback period can control investment risks because the longer it takes to recover the initial investment, the more uncertainties there will be during the recovery period. In addition, payback method focuses on the time to recover of the initial investment, so it gives an insight into the liquidity of the project. The shorter payback period, the higher liquidity is. On the other hand, Brealey et al. (2001) stated that NPV is more accurate and efficient as it uses cash flow, not earnings and results in investment decisions that add value. By discounting the flows, NPV can create the comparison between alternative investments, and then, making right capital decisions. NPV method is always consistent with the long-term objective of the shareholder value maximization. We can say that this is the greatest merit of this method. Limitations Payback Consider XYZ Ltd with two projects A and B. It has the same three years payback period, whose flows are as follows. Year Cash flows from Project A ( £) Cumulative ( £) Cash flows from Project B ( £) Cumulative ( £) 0 (100,000) (100,000) (100,000) (100,000) 1 20,000 (80,000) 50,000 (50,000) 2 30,000 (50,000) 30,000 (20,000) 3 50,000 0 20,000 0 4 30,000 30,000 100,000 100,000 Payback Period (Year) 3 3 Ross et al. (2007) stated that the first limitation of payback method is the timing of cash flows within the payback period. Looking at the table above, from year 1 to year 3, the cash flows of project A increase from  £20,000 to  £50,000, while the cash flows of project B decrease from  £50,000 to  £20,000. Because the large cash flow of  £50,000 comes earlier with project B, its NPV must be higher. However, as mentioned above, the payback periods of the two projects are identical. Thus, the problem with the payback period is that it does not consider the timing of the cash flows within payback period. It also shows that the payback method is inferior to NPV because NPV method discounts the cash flows properly. The second limitation is payment after the payback period (Ross et al., 2007). Lets consider projects A and B in the same three years payback period, project B is clearly preferred because it has a cash flow of  £100,000 in the fourth year. Thus, a problem here is that payback method ignores all cash flows occurring after the payback period. For the short-term orientation of the payback method, some valuable long-term projects may be rejected. NPV method does not encounter this problem because this method uses all the cash flows of the project. Because of the first two limitations, the payback method cannot maximize shareholders wealth. According to UoS (2007), the payback period method ignores inflation and discriminates against large capital-intensive infrastructure projects with long times, because it only focuses on the earliest time to recover the initial investment. Net present value (NPV) NPV is the true measure of an investments profitability. But, in practice, it still has some problems. The first limitation of NPV method is cash flow estimation (Professional Management Education, 2010). The NPV method is easy to use if forecasted cash flows are known. However, it is quite difficult to obtain the estimates of cash flows due to uncertainty. The second limitation of NPV is unrealistic assumptions (UoS, 2007). Under NPV method, there is a single market rate of interest for both borrowing lending and an individual can borrow or lend any amount of money at that rate. It is unrealistic, in practice, the interest rate for borrowing and lending is different and everyone has to follow the interest rate for each kind. For example, for Vietnam market in 2011, the interest rate for borrowing at 9% and for lending at 17% per year (Trading Economics, 2012). NPV also ignores transaction costs or taxes. Conclusion In a survey carried out by Graham and Harvey (2001), it was found that 74.9% of respondent companies use net present value (NPV) and 56.7% use payback period method when they appraise the investment projects. It means that in fact, NPV method is used more than payback period method. Techniques % Always or Almost Always Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 75.6 Net present value (NPV) 74.9 Payback period 56.7 Accounting rate of return 30.3 Source: Graham and Harvey, The theory and practice of corporate finance: Evidence from the Field, Journal of Financial Economics 60 (2001), based on a survey of 392 CFOs According to the survey of Graham Harvey (2001) and Sandahl (2003), payback period method is often used in small size companies. The major reason for this can be that payback period method is more simple, cheaper and easier to calculate. Small companies are only interested in the shortest time to recover initial investment because they often lack the source for fund. Moreover, the complexity of the other investment appraisal methods is always a barrier for the small company. However, net present value (NPV) is often used in medium and large size companies (Graham and Harvey, 2001). The major reason for this can be that these companies are interested in the profitability and time value of money than the payback period. They have the source of funds and consider maximizing shareholders wealth as their long-term objective.

The Feminist Movement and Adrienne Richs Power :: Womens Studies

The Feminist Movement and Adrienne Rich's Power "Power," which was written in 1978 by Adrienne Rich, parallels the Feminist Movement that went into full swing roughly ten years earlier. The poem asks that we revise the traditions regarding the roles of women and relates it to Marie Curie, a famous scientist who preceded the Feminist Movement by about 100 years. The bottle and earth described in the first six lines parallel the struggle for women's rights and those who were refusing to accept change. The poem begins describing an excavation: "a backhoe divulged out of a crumbling flank of earth" a bottle of "tonic/ for living on this earth in the winters of this climate" (lines2-5). The fact that this specific tool used to uncover the bottle indicates that much of the earth around it had already been taken away, and the remaining soil had to be removed bit by bit as to preserve the tonic and free it wholly. This, too, can be said for the Feminist Movement of the 60s; the final success of the movement was a result of the distinction of what particularly had to be changed. The larger pieces of earth removed are the successes of women before them, such as the recognition of women's rights. The final bits of earth are the individual rights of women, such as abortion rights and equal rights. The earth stands for those who are not willing to foreg o tradition and accept change. What specifically does the tonic describe? "Tonic" means "an invigorating, refreshing, or restorative agent" ("tonic"). It makes sense that this "restorative" agent be rediscovered because its very meaning implies that something be brought back. This again makes sense in comparison to the Feminist Movement of the 60s because the predecessor's work for women's rights reemerged as they campaigned for individual rights. When Marie Curie is described later, the connection can be made between her and the excavation because she represents those who had freed up much of the barriers women faced, especially because Marie Curie's career as a physicist was unprecedented&emdash;she was the only woman at the 1911 Berlin Conference, and not even a man had won two Nobel Peace Prizes at that time (Gioia and Kennedy, 1247). Marie Curie's determination to work with the dangerous elements that destroyed her body can be likened again to the Feminist Movement. She strove to attain understanding of elements until it killed her.

Excellence Redefined :: essays research papers

Excellence Redefined   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 1980’s has been called the â€Å"me† generation, the decade of materialism, and was responsible for the greatest number of mergers and takeovers in the history of the US market. People were transformed by the power of money, and tried to take advantage of the opportunities in the stock market. The stock market has never guaranteed a profit, but there were those willing to take the risk. People have lost millions from speculating on what was supposed to be a â€Å"sure thing† in the stock market. People would bet their children’s college fund, and their retirement money on a stock tip, only to find bankruptcy the next day. But the growing desire for power and money caused people to achieve success by any means necessary, regardless of the legality. Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken bet their money, but they always seemed to win, even when others would lose. It turns out that they had many â€Å"sure things,† only with one problem : they were all illegal. Boesky and Milken characterize the rest of the financial world at the time, and Wall Street is the movie that exemplifies the such attitudes of the 1980’s from Oliver Stones accurate point of view.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Boesky and Milken had a great system. They would befriend executives in â€Å"blue chip† companies or merger and acquisition lawyers , hoping they would be given information regarding takeovers and mergers of companies before the common public. When Boesky and Milken received such information, they would strategically buy a massive amount shares in a particular company, and simply wait for the corporate announcement to drive the price of their stock up. In an effort to alleviate the Securities and Exchange Commission, Boesky and Milken spread their purchases over a period of time, and each was funded by different offshore and domestic banks to misrepresent the number of buyers. When a company would makes its corporate announcement about the merger, the public would then begin buying the shares, causing the price to skyrocket. Boesky and Milken had purchased the stock so long ago and at such a low price that their profit expectations were quickly met, so th ey wanted to sell everything they had at the same time everyone wanted to buy. Because they owned such a massive amount of stock, there was no liquidity in the market in the market as Boesky and Milken were willing to sell for much less than the market value, and their profits soon became the loss of the public.

Institutional Racism in the United States :: Sociology Racism Prejudice Essays

The history of the United States is one of duality.   In the words of the Declaration of Independence, our nation was founded on the principles of equality in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Yet, long before the founders of the newly declared state met in Philadelphia to espouse the virtues of self-determination and freedom that would dubiously provide a basis for a secessionary war, those same virtues were trampled upon and swept away with little regard.   Beneath the shining beacon of freedom that signaled the formation of the United States of America was a shadow of deception and duplicity that was essential in creating the state. The HSS 280 class lexicon defines duality as â€Å"a social system that results from a worldview which accepts inherent contradictions as reasonable because this is to the believer's benefit.† The early years of what would become the United States was characterized by a system of duality that subjugated and exterminated peoples for the benefit of the oppressors. This pattern of duality, interwoven into our culture, has created an dangerously racialized society.   From the first moment a colonist landed on these shores, truths that were â€Å"self-evident† were contingent on subjective â€Å"interpretation.†Ã‚   This discretionary application of rights and freedoms is the foundation upon which our racially stratified system operates on.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   English colonists, Africans, and Native Americans comprised the early clash of three peoples. Essentially economic interests, and namely capitalism, provided the impetus for the relationships that developed between the English colonists, the Africans, and the Native Americans. The colonialization of North American by the British was essentially an economic crusade.   The emergence of capitalism and the rise of trade throughout the 16th century provided the British with a blueprint to expand its economic and political sphere.   The Americas provided the British with extensive natural resources, resources that the agrarian-unfriendly British isles could not supply for its growing empire.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Britons arrived in North America, the indigenous population posed an economic dilemma to the colonists.   The Native Americans were settled on the land that the British colonists needed to expand their economic capacity.   To provide a justificatory framework for the expulsion of Native Americans off their land, the English colonists created a ideology that suited their current needs.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The attitude of Anglos toward the Native Americans began as one of ambivalence and reliance.   When the English first arrived in North America, they needed the Indians to survive the unfamiliar land and harsh weather.   Once the English became acclimated to their surroundings and realized that the Indians were living on valuable land, it was only a matter of time before guns and

History of Psycology Essay

Before psychology there was philosophy. Descartes was around during the end of the Renaissance and in the era of revolutionary developments in science. Born in 1596 to a French lawyer, Descartes could understand more than most. When he was in his late 20’s, he resembled more of a scientist than a philosopher since he had studied physics, optics, geometry as well as physiology. The first to discover that lenses in one’s eyes are inverted by removing an ox’s eye, Descartes also believed in truth and was an active rationalist, meaning he believed the truth would emerge by careful use of reason and it became his modus operandi. This way to truth was also through the human capacity to reason. He created four rules he used to arrive at truth. He also was the best-known example of a dualist, giving way to accepting a clear partition between mind or soul and body. He believed that the body was like a well-oiled machine and the mind could have a direct influence on it. John Locke followed Descartes in 1632. He wanted to take epistemology, the study of human knowledge and obtaining it, to a more experimental based group of discipline. Locke spurned the idea of innate ideas, only â€Å"faculties†. Some ideas appeared so early in life that they used to believe they were innate but Locke declared that all of our knowledge was derived from experiences. Locke stated that the mind was like a white sheet of paper, blank but able to become something great. Experiences add to the paper by sensations and reflections. George Berkeley was another philosopher born in 1685. His work on vision was the first example of how empiricist thinking could be applied to the study of perception. Lastly there is David Hume. He built his knowledge around the base premise that all of our understanding is rooted in experience, or impressions vs.ideas. Impressions are basic sensations experienced daily such as feeling pain, seeing yellow or tasting saltiness. Ideas are faint copies of impressions but are not as vivid. Hume also offered three laws of association: resemblance, contiguity, and cause/effect. Resemblance meaning the look of one object can bring back memories or ideas of another item. Contiguity means intertwining two things together such as the smell of oranges and the west coast. The greatest of the laws is the law of cause/effect. If one idea causes another idea or memory, the cause reminds you of the effect i.e. burning your hand on the stove while making muffins. When seeing the scar, the memory of muffins will reappear. Hume also suggested that to conclude that A causes B, one must know 1. When A occurs, B must occur regularly, 2. A occurs before B, and 3. B doesn’t occur without being preceded by A. In the 19th century, psychology shifted from being philosophically based to being more scientific. Scientists and physiologists tried to show the world the reasons behind psychology were in fact based on the senses and the nervous system. One example is the Bell-Magendie law. Both Sir Charles Bell and Francois Magendie both were studying the roots of the postierior and anterior roots of the spinal cord and their functions. Bell was credited with the law because his research was published earlier, though limited, and Bell did not conduct an experiment like Magendie did on puppies. They discovered that the posterior roots control sensation where there is movement still but no sensation. Magendie then severed the anterior root in another animal and the limb was flaccid and unable to move though it still had sensation. To conclude, the science of psychology has always been a changing domain from philosophy to the sciences. It will continue to grow and develop as the world changes and shifts. Descartes started the ball rolling by studying optics and how to arrive at the truth with his four laws. Locke showed the world that it is nurture vs. nature that shapes a person. Hume gave us the three laws of association. In the 19th century psychology developed to include sciences. All of these philosophers and scientists shaped the psychology field to what it is today.

New Caledonia

There are two primary facts about New Caledonia that are particularly interesting and unique.   The first is that it was formally colonized by the French in 1864, and for the next four decades following, it served as a Penal Colony.   The prison of ‘New Caledonia’, which housed thousands of French felons, would serve until 1897 when the penal nature of the island ended (World Infozone, New Caledonia). In addition to its use as a penal colony, New Caledonia is also unique for its natural resources.   For a stretch during the prominence of Nickel, New Caledonia as the world’s fourth largest exporter of Nickel, experienced great economic growth (Australian Radio ABC.net, New Caledonia). However, as the world demand for nickel has declined, the economy has struggled to regain its previous levels of prosperity. II. The Penal Colony New Caledonia was settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century.   Eventually, by 1853, it was officially colonized by France, and has remained in France’s possession ever since (Virtual New Caledonia).   â€Å"New Caledonia was founded as a penal colony, and the first shiploads of convicts were shipped from France to New Caledonia in 1864† (Logan, Leanna, p.16, 2001).   The conditions of the four-month sail from France to the new colony were horrible, and the few that did survive ended up living in small makeshift huts.   They were responsible for all of the colony’s public works; they built churches, and carved roads out of the landscape (Logan at p.16). The most terrible of the convicts sent over were kept in dungeons, and were put to extreme hard labor.   They were beaten, and within twenty years of the colonies formalization as a French colony, the guillotine made its way to the colony (Logan at p.16).   The guillotine would be used with regularity once arriving, and during its first 21 years 80 people felt its blade (Logan at. 16). New Caledonia, in all, would house more than 21,000-22,000 convicts from France.   This number would end, as in 1898, Le Governor Feillet decided to close the flow of â€Å"The dirty water spigot†, as he termed it.   He eventually ended the delivery of prisoners to the island (Croixdusud.info, New-Caledonia).   Although the flow of prisoners stopped, the actual camps continued until 1922, when 2310 prisoners were still held in camps (Croixdusud.info, New-Caledonia). The prison colony created several problems during its operation, including the fact that the population was almost exclusively male.   In addition, the large influx of various felons meant that eventually, many would be released, and the nation became a dangerous haven of ex-convicts. III. Nickel as Export The mineral industry of New Caledonia is dominated by Nickel (Lyday, Travis Q., 1999).   The French government, who earned 60% of the New Caledonia share, initially dominated nickel production in the area, while Japanese led companies (10%) and New Caledonia (30%) shared the balance (Lyday, Travis Q., 1999). Although large for a Pacific Island, New Caledonia’s only true export of immense value is Nickel.   As such, the economy is highly dependant upon the market economy for the mineral.   There are several uses for Nickel, and the market has shown major changes since the 1960’s (Cranfield, Peter, 2006, p.2). The peaks of usage rates for the United States were in the 1960’s, which were the golden age of post war growth.   During this time, the world had a growth rate of 7% for Nickel use, and the economy of New Caledonia felt the influx of this wealth of demand (Cranfield, Peter, 2006, p.2).   However, in each of the decades to follow, the demand growth has dwindled to 2%, and it does not appear to be increasing again any time soon. The products created from Nickel range from: stainless steel (62%), non-ferrous alloys (15%), batteries (4%), playing (7%), alloy steels and foundry (5% each)   (Cranfield, Peter, 2006, p.3).   It is very likely that the creation of new demand for nickel, much like the world has seen with stainless steel, will be instrumental in maintaining the economy of the island nation.   At the moment, China accounts for all increases in the demand for nickel worldwide.   Other exports like coffee and tourism assist New Caledonia’s economy, but nickel will remain its staple. IV.   Facts and Conclusions New Caledonia, as of 2006, has a population of 230,000 people (BBC News, 2006).   The major languages are French, Melanesian and Polynesian Dialects.   The major religion is Christianity, and the monetary unit is the Pacific Franc (BBC News, 2006).   The head of state is the French president, although there is a sovereign leader in New Caledonia, which has spurred inconsistent rumblings of an independence movement. (BBC News, 2006)   The representatives are freely elected, although are very polarized along country lines. The media is considered free, and there are various radio stations that are private in nature (BBC News, 2006).   The country is gaining some rights independent of France, as French citizens have been refused the right to vote in the nation subject to residency requirements. (BBC News, 2006)   There are rumors that the nation will vote for its independence between 2014 and 2019 in a referendum. The two most interesting facts about New Caledonia may be its nickel productions amazing level of world contribution, and the fact that it was colonized by the French for the sole purpose of housing its prisoners.   Although much of the impact of the penal camps are now gone, nickel remains the driving force of the economy. Bibliography ABC Radio Australia, ABC.net, New Caledonia, 2005, . BBC News, Regions and Territories, New Caledonia, December 20, 2006, . Cranfield, Peter, The Nickel Industry – Long Term Drivers of Nickel Supply and Demand, October 2, 2006, < http://www.insg.org/docs/Mr_Cranfield_Oct06.pdf >. Croixdusud.info, New-Caledonia, History, . Logan, Leanne, Cole, Geert, Lonely Planet New Caledonia, Lonely Planet Publications 2004, 4th edition. Lyday, Travis Q., The Mineral Industry of New Caledonia, 1999, . â€Å"New Caledonia,† CIA World Fact Book (2001), < http://www.cia.gov>. Nicol, David, The Fundamentals of New Caledonia, Luath Press Ltd. Publishing 2002, copyright 2002. Virtual New Caledonia, Information and Stats on New Caledonia, . World Info Zone, New Caledonia Facts, Copyright World Info Zone 1997-2007, .