A Captured Life free essay sample

Some people may live to make a difference, some people may to just make the money; some may just live to live.But me, I live for photography. I live knowing one day I will take that perfect picture, a picture that will capture the very heart, soul and beauty of this world. My passion for photography was set in motion in the beginning of 8th grade. My only options for electives were beginners photography or teachers aide. Of course I chose the teachers aide, what kid wouldnt? But to pick that elective a parents approval was needed, so my counselor called my father. To my disbelief my father said no and so I wasnt allowed to become a teachers aide. So I was stuck with this photography class I had absolutely no interest whatsoever in. I vowed to myself to get back at my father that I would put forth no effort in achieving a good grade. We will write a custom essay sample on A Captured Life or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Class after class I sat through it knowing that if I let go of this idea of getting back at my father, I would truly enjoy photography. Finally one afternoon my teacher asked me to stay after class so we could talk. She opened my eyes to how much I truly loved it, telling me I was hurting only myself when I didnt strive to reach my potential. After letting myself go, my distaste for photography developed into love and passion. I began to listening to everything my teacher taught, started coming after school and during lunch just so I could spend more time in the darkroom. My teacher would joke, saying I was having a love affair with the darkroom. Some times it would take me days just to get the picture perfect, fixing each mistake over and over again. It was maddening some days, knowing that in the end I was only making a minuscule change that probably only I would see. But to me that was the difference between greatness and mediocrity. As I began to mature and proceed into high sch ool, my passion for photography still blazed inside of me, never ceasing to die. Seeing my appetite for knowledge about photography my father brought me and a friend of his together. His friend, to my disbelief had worked for vogue photographing top models of his time, photographed top models during the infamous fashion week in Milan, and traveled around the world capturing pictures for National Geographic. What I laid in bed envisioning and dreaming about for years, he had actually experienced. Unbelievable. I became his shadow, soaking in every piece of knowledge he offered. Astonishingly enough he never got annoyed or aggravated with me and all the questions I seemed to have. After more then a year of immersing myself in the wisdom of this incredible man, he passed away. Leaving me with only the moment we had together, the knowledge he graciously gave me, and his favorite camera. Days turned into months and I still couldnt even take out his camera with out my eyes filling with te ars. In these moments, photography seemed irrelevant to me. Why should I have been granted the gift to take pictures while his was so hastily taken away? After months I finally realized the lesson I should have learned the first time around, I was hurting nobody else besides myself by not pursuing what I truly loved. And with that, to this day I am still cultivating my love for photography in every single possible way I can.

Computers as an Artifact essays

Computers as an Artifact essays In 1942, John P. Eckert, John W. Mauchly, and their associates at the Moore school of Electrical Engineering of University of Pennsylvania decided instead of doing their jobs they would build a machine to do their jobs for them. This machine became known as ENIAC (Electrical Numerical Integrator and Calculator) the size of ENIACs numerical "word" was 10 decimal digits, and it could multiply two of these numbers at a rate of 300 per second, by finding the value of each product from a multiplication table stored in its memory. ENIAC used 18,000 vacuum tubes, about 1,800 square feet of floor space, and consumed about 180,000 watts of electrical power. It had punched card I/O, 1 multiplier, 1 divider/square rooter, and 20 adders using decimal ring counters , which served as adders and also as quick-access (.0002 seconds) read-write register storage. The executable instructions making up a program were embodied in the separate "units" of ENIAC, which were plugged together to form a "route " for the flow of information. These connections had to be redone after each computation, together with presetting function tables and switches. This computer is significantly slower and bigger from the computers we think of today. (Siman) Computers were a major step in the human exploration of knowledge. They make complex tasks simpler by 1000 fold. Mathematical computations can be completed in mere seconds using computers. Also the editing and reprinting of documents is extremely easier now that you can go and edit one word and the reprint it out instead of typing the entire thing over. The computer field continues to experience huge growth. Computer networking, computer mail, and electronic publishing are just a few of the applications that have grown in recent years. Every year companies produce cheaper and more powerful computers offering making it easier for everyone to have one at their home. Computers today use thousands of little resist...

MARKETING MANAGEMENT Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

MARKETING MANAGEMENT - Research Paper Example 88; Valentin, 2001). This explains why most of the colleges and universities are very focused on equipting all future managers with regards to the use of this particular analytical tool in business (Aghdaie and Zardeini, 2012; Chan, 2011). As defined by Lamb, Hair and McDaniel (2012, p. 40), competitive advantage is â€Å"a set of features of a company and its products that are perceived by the target market as signficant and superior to the competition†. Considering the tight market competition that is currently going on in both domestic and international market, the ability of the managers to develop and create a competitive advantage on behalf of the company becomes very important. With the purpose of gaining more insight on how to critically examine both internal and external factors that can significantly affect the success or failure of a business organization, this study will focus more on critically evaluating the main role of the SWOT analysis framework particularly w hen it comes to establishing strategic priorities that will improve the company’s ability to compete within the local and international market. ... 88) defined SWOT analysis as a â€Å"technique for focusing an individual’s or group’s attention on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, or threats†. Using a 2 x 2 matrix, the main purpose behind the use of the SWOT analysis framework is to help executive managers make important decisions that can affect the company’s short-term and long-term overall business performance (Aghdaie and Zardeini, 2012; Oetomo and Ardini, 2012). According to Ommani (2011), it is possible to conduct a SWOT analysis to help the business people and executive managers gain a better understanding and full insight with regards to the company’s past business experiences. By going through the previous experinces of the managers, Ommani (2011) explained that the company’s top executives can think better in terms of developing effective solutions to the problems. For example, through the use of this particular analytical framework, executive managers will be able to ident ify the company’s current position in the market and all signs of potential future risks. Specifically the identified strenghs and weaknesses are internal factors whereas opportunities and threats are external factors that can significantly affect the business (Aghdaie and Zardeini, 2012). Using the SWOT analysis framework, executive managers will also be able to compare and constrast the company’s internal strengths and weaknesses with that of its close competitors (Aghdaie and Zardeini, 2012; Murray-Webster, 2010, p. 88). According to Ferrell and Hartline (2011, p. 120), the SWOT analysis framework is the simpliest and most effective strategic planning tool which can be used in the study and analysis of all marketing facts and figures. It means that through the use of

Animal Right Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Animal Right - Essay Example This is the reason why there are so many animal rights activists. The basis for animal rights therefore rests upon the idea that animals, just like humans, deserve to be treated humanely. Does this make sense and how does the subject of animal rights fare in ethics? Utilitarianism somehow sheds light on the validity of animal rights, especially the ideas of 19th century British philosopher John Stuart Mill. As utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism, then it follows that utilitarian ethics teaches that the ends justify the moral worth of an action regardless of the means. If we were to defend animal rights on the basis of this principle, then we are to accept the fact that protection of animal rights will produce a good outcome and is therefore good. One benefit that can be derived from this is that â€Å"animal rights teach us that certain things are wrong as a matter of principle† (â€Å"Animal Rights,† BBC). This means that by recognizing animal rights, the society is taught that the virtues of respect, kindness and compassion are indeed existent and are universal, in that one is not supposed to limit the expression of these virtues to humans but also to animals. Moreover, the protection of animal rights will somehow force people to seek more human ways of treating them and to seek other alternatives to the task at hand before resorting to animal use. These sentim ents are echoed in the following statement by German scientist Frank Gannon: Nevertheless, if one simply uses the idea â€Å"the ends justify the means† in defending utilitarian ethics vis-à  -vis human rights, then one would be forced to recognize that animal rights somehow contradict the idea of human rights – especially the human right to eat animals. This means that if one takes the view of utilitarianism, then he would advocate the happiness of the greatest number of people; and if what can help bring about this happiness is the killing of animals for food, then animals

Personal financial planning report for Ms Lucy Hargreaves Essay

Personal financial planning report for Ms Lucy Hargreaves - Essay Example The report further plans to develop and implement an appropriate action plan so that all objectives are achieved at most optimum utilisation and allocation of scarce resources. Considering the fact that the system is composed of both systematic and unsystematic risks and also that the future is uncertain, it will be logical to make some important assumptions in the report so that the outcomes appear more realistic. The report is sub-divided into separate sections highlighting specific aspects related to financial plan. For your convenience, all calculations are included and confined to the Appendices section of this report to maintain clarity of presentation. The report begins with a summary of your priorities and objectives, followed by an outline of your probable attitude towards risk. Then the report makes an assessment of your current financial situation based on the objectives and assumptions and finally the report concludes with recommendations on how you will be able to achiev e your goals. 2) Goals & Objectives 2.1) Immediate Objectives The most apparent immediate objectives are as follows: Protection of your current investments Prioritise financial security for yourself and your family considering the fact that your brother is currently unemployed and lives with your parents Prepare a coherent investment plan for investments in OEIC as the stocks are not performing well currently Protect the capital invested by investing in less risky assets as you have low appetite for risk You are concerned that you might end up paying higher taxes to authorities on your savings and investments and hence you need proper tax planning 2.2) Long-term Goals To save towards a deposit scheme on flat at some time in the near future You are also interested to join a pension scheme so as to achieve financial security even after your retirement (Age UK, 2013) Both your parents are teachers and are planning to retire in 5 years implying that investment in a pension scheme is mus t for future financial security (Standard Life, 2013) Your father has minor health issues but it would be safe to plan proper health insurance scheme in advance so that during situations of emergencies your family is protected Tax savings from incomes and investments In order to achieve the above mentioned objectives, it is important that the report considers aspects of personal retirement planning, risk management, education funding, mortgage planning, and tax planning. It is also important to remember that financial risk arise from debt obligations and hence a part of saving s and investments must also be channelled towards payment of existing liabilities or debts (like use of credit cards and unsecured debts). 3) Current Scenario Analysis On our first appointment I came to know about the fact that you have already purchased Gilt securities worth ?1,500, shortly after your graduation. The primary reason that you have invested in this type of asset class is that you consider Gilts as less risky investment. It was also given that a couple of years ago you purchased OEIC

Impact of Taxation on Dividends

Impact of Taxation on Dividends Abstract: This research paper attempts to analyze the different tax systems and their impact on the dividend distributions. It is explained that the dividend payout is monotonically distributed across tax regimes as the firms in double taxation (classical) system have significantly lower payouts than companies in the partial-imputation system, while companies in the full imputation system pay the highest payouts. Our results hold when the other fundamental determinants of dividends are held through Lintnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s model and the actual payout ratio. Overall, it is reported that the type of dividend tax system affect the dividend payout. Introduction: The tax burden on dividends depends on corporate and personal income tax systems. In a classical system, the total tax is the sum of the corporation tax, the effective capital gains tax and the tax on dividends. Typically the tax on dividends exceeds the gains tax creating an incentive to reduce dividends. In an imputation system on the other hand, the total tax is given by the corporation tax plus the effective gains tax plus the reduced dividend tax. If the reduction in the tax on dividend is large enough to make reduced tax dividend lower than the effective capital gains tax, an incentive to increase dividends is created. Understanding the impact of taxes on dividend policy is important for both academicians and practitioners. From academic perspective, the relevance of taxation will highlight the extent to which companies consider the after tax return of their shareholders and how any tax reform will affect the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s dividend payouts. For practitioners, knowing how taxation affects dividends is also of considerable interest. Since shareholders are taxed differently, if stock prices reflect the tax status of one particular group of investors, other groups can take advantage of these differences by, namely trading around the ex-dividend dates to capture/avoid dividends. Moreover, understanding the impact of dividend taxation will be important for fund managers and analysts as changes in tax codes could affect the net returns and the relative pricing of securities. Most countries around the world adopt different systems of taxing dividends. Some follow a classical tax system where corporate income is treated differently from personal income in terms of statutory tax rate and deduction rules, others use some level of integration between corporate and personal income. The important distinction between these two different systems is the taxation of dividends. Countries that follow the classical system separate shareholders income from the income of their corporations. As a result the same unit of earning in the company is taxed twice when it is paid as dividend: first at the corporate level and then at the personal level; a disadvantage known as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“double taxationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. In contrast, countries that follow a more integrated system usually have a full or partial relieve from dividend tax in consideration of the fact that the same unit of earning has been taxed at the corporate level. In Pakistan, the system of double taxation (cla ssical system) is implemented i.e. the dividends are taxed on corporate level and then the same unit of earning is taxed at shareholder level. Background More than forty years ago, Miller and Modigliani (1961) showed that, after some assumptions, such as complete and perfect capital markets, a firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s dividend policy does not affect its value. While this theory has highlighted the five main factors that could affect dividends, namely signalling, agency costs, behavioral (catering and mental accounting) and taxation, the empirical evidence provided to-date on such effects is mixed, (Allen and Michaely (2006) and Graham (2003). In particular, while in theory taxation is expected to prevent companies from paying dividends, most previous empirical studies have shown that taxation plays a minor role in dividend decision (e.g. Brav et al., (2005), Fama and French (2001), Julio and Ikenberry (2005). Therefore it is not clear why companies still pay dividends despite their heavy tax burden. In this paper, the dividend tax systems is analyzed and test the hypotheses that, in countries where the tax burden on dividends is high, companies pay low dividends. Although dividends may have a tax disadvantage, previous studies show that shareholders react positively to dividend increases and negatively to dividend decreases (e.g. Michealy, Thaley and Womack (1995). Long (1978) provides evidence that in dual class shares, investors favor cash dividend over stock dividend stocks. The tax disadvantage of dividends and yet their popularity challenges the traditional policy of payout policy. Blackà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1976) dividend puzzle discusses the weaknesses of the finance theory in answering the simple question, why firms subject to a classical tax system to pay dividends? Some studies explain dividends away from taxes. For example Lintner (1956) in his classical study, shows that firms adopt a subjective target payout policy by decreasing dividends very slowly and hardly ever cut them. Models based on information asymmetry suggest that dividend changes provide information about the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s future cash flows (Bhattacharya (19 79) and Miller and Rock (1985) or about the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s cost of capital and/or maturity stage (Grullon, Michaely and Swaminathon (2002), Grullon and Michaely (2000). From the agency theory perspective, dividends provide a disciplining tool to reduce agency costs (Easterbrook (1984) and Jensen (1986). Behavioral finance theory suggests that dividends are paid in part to accommodate certain biases in individuals such as market sentiment (Baker and Wurgler (2004) or self control, mental accounting and regret avoidance (Shefrin and Statman (1984). Taxation moel suggests that if dividends are taxed at a higher rate than capital gains, firms should prefer to retain earnings or buy back shares (e.g. Auerbach (1979), Bradford (1981) , Auerbach and Hasset (2003), Lasfer (1996). Literature Review: To assess the impact of dividend tax on investment and financial policy of the firm, the literature has followed three basic approaches. The first approach is to examine the relation between the risk-adjusted pretax rate of return and dividend yield. If dividend tax is relevant and if dividends are taxed at a higher rate than capital gain, than pretax return should increase in proportion to dividend yield to compensate for dividend tax disadvantage. Black and Scholes (1974), Gordon and Bradford (1980), and Miller and Scholes (1982) did not find evidence that the tax differential between dividends and capital gain have an impact on pretax returns, while Lintzenburger and Ramaswamy (1979) find evidence to the contrary. The second approach is to examine the ex-dividend behavior of stock prices. Absent dividend tax, the value of a stock should fall by the full amount of the dividend on the ex-dividend day. Elton and Gruber (1970) provide evidence that US stock prices fall by less than th e full amount of the dividends on the ex-dividend day. Poterba and Summers (1985) and Lasfer (1996) show similar results. Other studies did not find evidence that the tax differential between dividends and capital gains have an impact on the ex-dividend behavior, for example, Hearth and Rimbey (1993), Lakonishok and Vermaelen (1983). The third approach is to employ event study analysis. Changes in tax laws provide a natural experiment for investigating the impact of dividend tax on investment and financial decision. Poterba and Summers (1985) show that higher dividend tax is associated with lower investment and dividends. Poterba (2004) study shows that the tax disadvantage relative to capital gains has a negative effect on dividend payment. Blouin et al. (2004) study the impact of the 2003 tax reduction in the US and find dramatic increase in the regular dividends and the special dividends after enactment and a decline in the share repurchases. Chetty and Saez (2004) report on incr ease in the fraction of dividend payers following the 2003 dividend tax reduction. In Pakistan the system of double taxation is implemented on dividends, its comparison with countries implying other system of taxations is studied. Objectives: The objectives of this research paper are to find out the impact of taxation on dividend policy and its impact on the financial and investment decision of the firms. Research Question: Is the dividend payout ratio of firms in full or partial integration system higher than the dividend payout ratio of firms in double taxation system? Theoretical Framework: Dividend Payout Taxation (Independent Variable) (Independent Variable) (Dependent Variable) Hypotheses: H1: Dividend payout ratio is higher in full and partial integration systems than in classical system of taxation. H2: Dividend payout ratio is NOT higher in full and partial integration systems than in classical system of taxation. Hypotheses Testing: Unlike the full integration system, the classical system carries with it a disadvantage of double taxation. If tax on dividends has an impact on the financial policy of the firm, then firms in classical system will lower or avoid dividends as much as they can, while firms in full integration systems will not have to lower their dividends. Thus the hypothesis H1 is expected to be true. System No. of Firm Observations Net Tax Rate on Dividend (%)* Payout Ratio =DPS/EPS* Classical System 18 50% 0.32 Partial 15 42% 0.45 Full 17 35% 0.47 * = Subject to 10% level of significance Research Methodology: Population: Population includes observations that have been collected randomly from firms in 6 countries representing all the three types of taxation systems. Sample: It includes 50 observations, i.e. data has been collected randomly from 50 firms representing all the three taxation systems. Sources of Data Collection: The annual OECD tax database Corporate and Individual Taxes, A Worldwide Summary, Price Waterhouse Conclusions: The dividend payout policy of companies was analyzed that applies different tax systems with regard to dividends. It is found that companies located in countries that apply double taxation system (classical tax system) to have less dividend payout than do companies located in countries that try to partially avoid double taxation. In general, tax effect measured by the type of dividend tax treatment has a strong effect on the size of dividend payout.

Alternative Building Materials and Methods Essay -- Exploratory Essays

Alternative Building Materials and Methods The buildup of past construction techniques up to our present point in time has denoted wood as being the first and foremost material used to build houses in the United States. Building codes prescribe wood to build homes, because of both its structural benefits and because it is ingrained in the industry as the material of choice. Because wood has been used for so long, it is the material that builders know best and are the most comfortable with. However, the world’s forests are rapidly disappearing, as wood is used inefficiently and excessively in building – both the quantity of houses and the amount of wood used within a single house helps to quickly deplete our natural wood supply. Because of this, alternatives to wood building are being sought out by environmental organizations, with the aims of increasing awareness of the state of our forests and providing information and access to wood alternatives in building and upkeep of houses and other structures. Though it may be a slow process to change building codes and norms, there are other alternatives available. There are two main ways to decrease wood consumption: alternative building materials and alternative building methods. Alternative building materials include concrete, flyash, cob, earth, and straw/bale. All of these materials have been used in both the United States and in different countries to build houses, and have proven to be viable replacements for wood in construction. However, efforts to mostly or entirely supplant the use of wood with these wood substitutes have not yet been successful. Alternative methods for building range from sustainable practices in acquiring materials to the developmen... ...y, there are many barriers to this change that will be very difficult to overcome. As a global environmental issue, however, it is important to strive for the widespread use of alternative options. I believe that if the use of alternatives becomes economically viable, ad campaigns are instituted to promote their use, and government subsidies are allotted differently, then alternative materials and methods will definitely start to be used, to the benefit of the environment and world in general. Works Cited Daly, Ned. Demanding change in the wood and paper markets. Multinational Monitor, v19 n4 p13(4), April 1998. Fowler, Stacey. Building the future: Sustainable building materials come of age. Environmental News Network. September 25, 2001. www.enn.com. Use of Alternative Building Materials Could Save India 25% Cost. AsiaPulse News, Feb 24, 2003; p7044.