Philosophy 112 Essays - Smoking, Tobacco, Habits,

Reasoning 112 Understanding Breaker or Big Money Maker? With regards to the issue of whether it is alright for somebody the intentionally help somebody in breaking an understanding I feel it relies upon the dangers in question for individuals not comprehending what the individual needs to state. For instance, in the event that I had a concurrence with a collaborator to not tell anybody that I had disease I would be irate in the event that somebody constrained that individual into telling everybody. Yet, then again in the event that I made that individual vow not to educate anybody concerning a potential risk to the various laborers and somebody constrained them into saying something it would be obviously better for all the laborers to think about a potential peril regardless of whether I didn't need them to know. As such the satisfaction that originates from the laborers knowing there is an issue and having the option to fix it would out of sight my outrage towards the individual who broke the understanding. On account of huge tobacco I think there is a distinction. Individuals definitely realize that smoking is awful for you and can cause lung malignant growth yet they keep on smoking. The possibility that in light of the fact that the individuals currently realize that enormous tobacco modifies the degrees of nicotine in their cigarettes doesn't mean individuals will be sufficiently furious to stop. The main motivation behind why it is imperative to realize that large tobacco balanced the degrees of nicotine in their cigarettes would be so as to sue them for the way that they purposely attempt to get individuals dependent on an item that will slaughter them. However, that cash ought to be going to one spot and that is pay for all the specialists bills of the individuals kicking the bucket of lung malignancy from being dependent. Utilitarianism would need to concur that the bliss of the individuals that don't need to pay more assessments to help the individuals on Medicare or government assistance who are biting the dust of malignant growth from smoking out of sight the loss of joy of the laborers of huge tobacco. In addition, huge tobacco has enough cash to pay the entirety of the claims and still end up as the winner. The pitiful thing is the administration is essentially turning out to be enormous tobacco in light of the fact that with each claim the costs of cigarettes goes up, however does that imply that smoking has diminished? No, it has really begun to increment among adolescents, more than 1.2 million Americans more youthful than 18 began smoking in 1996, up from 708,000 out of 1988, as per numbers discharged by the Center for Disease Control in the fall of 1998. Utilitarianism may really support not blowing the whistle on huge tobacco since all that is going on is the legislature is simply exploiting cigarette addicts and that makes them no superior to huge tobacco. I realize that I am no more joyful now than before huge tobacco lost the entirety of thei r claims since me, and a large number of different Americans, have not seen any of that cash; regardless of whether through tax breaks or, being in the Seattle region, street upkeep. I think the hit cigarette smokers take to their wallets, by the expansion in costs, makes for more misery than joy. Kant would state, no an understanding can't be broken on the grounds that then you would never settle on an understanding in accordance with some basic honesty. In the event that everybody circumvented breaking their understandings the world would be an awful spot; consequently, in all conditions understandings must be kept regardless. On the off chance that airing a story on large tobacco may harm you monetarily I figure you do should be guided by the open intrigue. In any case, on account of enormous tobacco I don't think it was that large of an arrangement on the grounds that the open definitely realizes that cigarettes are irresistible and that they will murder you. Regardless of whether huge tobacco modifies the levels in their cigarettes isn't that enormous of an arrangement when different parts of cigarettes are notable. The story just appeared to be huge for the individuals who could benefit from it. You would need to gauge the amount of the open intrigue is in question before settling on the choice, and on account of tobacco general society

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Free Essays

THE TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FACTORY FIRE: FROM TRAGEDY CAME CHANGE Donna Baker MG 420 14 February 2011 In the mid twentieth century, workers from Europe overwhelmed Ellis Island in large numbers looking for â€Å"streets cleared with gold† which they accepted to be found in the United States. Most of these migrants settled in New York City to live in apartment lodging and look for some kind of employment in the â€Å"30,000 plant floors and sweatshops that were situated in Lower Manhattan. Every year, 612,000 laborers, generally outsiders were turning out one-tenth of the mechanical yield of the United States. We will compose a custom article test on The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire or on the other hand any comparative theme just for you Request Now A fourth of a million men, ladies and kids toiled with no guidelines. †3 â€Å"The larger part of article of clothing laborers were comprised of Southern Italian and Eastern European Jewish settler ladies. They ran in age from 15 to 23 and many talked minimal English. †2 Their days were long. Overall, laborers put in â€Å"eleven hours, yet regularly they were sixteen to twenty hours, six days per week for which they were paid about $6 every week. †1 The ladies were exposed to terrible, severe working conditions where on the off chance that you were wiped out, you came to work wiped out inspired by a paranoid fear of being terminated. While at work, it was regular practice to be secured in your work space incapable to go anyplace voluntarily. The nightmarish conditions were compared to working in a slave plant. â€Å"The entryways were bolted to keep out association coordinators, to keep the ladies concentrated on their employments, and to keep the laborers from taking material. †2 â€Å"The murmuring of the machines and the shouting of the foremen made it intolerable. Checks were docked or the laborers were terminated for murmuring or chatting on the activity. †3 The restrooms were situated outside and the laborers were made to request to be excused to utilize them. The shirtwaist creators were paid by the piece delivered and speed was everything. The quality, nonetheless, was not significant. â€Å"In a few cases, they were required to utilize their own needles, string, irons and infrequently their own sewing machines which they carried on their backs. †1 The â€Å"shirtwaist†, which is another name for a woman’s pullover, had a high neck, puffed long sleeves and was firmly fitted at the abdomen. It was â€Å"one of the country’s first style explanations that crossed class lines. The blasting instant dress industry made the slick shirtwaist reasonable in any event, for working ladies. Worn with a lower leg length skirt, the shirtwaist was proper for any event †from work to play †and was more agreeable and down to earth than design that preceeded it, similar to undergarments and loops. †1 The piece of clothing laborers had the beginnings of portrayal to address implorable conditions, as essential as it might have been, when on â€Å"June 3, 1900 the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) was established in New York City by agents from seven neighborhood East Coast associations. The association spoke to both male and female specialists who created women’s attire. Despite the fact that partnered with the more moderate American Federation of Labor for the vast majority of its history, the ILGWU was surprising in speaking to both semi-gifted and untalented (computerized) laborers. †8 Although the ILGWU was shaped, it did little to affect the working conditions at the production lines. In this way, on â€Å"November 22, 1909 the ILGWU assembled a conference in the Cooper Union Hall to counsel its enrollment and guide out a technique. †8 The lobby was stuffed full and there were numerous speakers who talked interminably. They guaranteed their help yet dreaded counter by the businesses as firings and physical damage. Clara Lemlich, a sewer and patron who was 19 and right now severely beaten as far as it matters for her in association contribution, approached and made that big appearance. She required a prompt strike of all the piece of clothing laborers and her movement was resoundingly supported. †1 This was to get known as â₠¬Å"the biggest strike of ladies throughout the entire existence of the United States. †1 Within days, â€Å"more than 20,000 shirtwaist producers, from 500 processing plants, exited and joined the picket line at Union Square. This was known as the â€Å"Uprising of the 20,000†. More than 70 of the littler industrial facilities consented to the union’s requests inside the initial 48 hours. Be that as it may, the wildly hostile to association proprietors of the Triangle industrial facility met with proprietors of the 20 biggest plants to shape an assembling affiliation. †1 â€Å"A month into the strike, the vast majority of the little and moderate sized industrial facilities settled with the strikers. †1 The piece of clothing laborers returned to work. The processing plants making up the assembling affiliation understood that the popular feeling was not on their side and consented to arrange. The article of clothing laborers dismissed their proposition since it kept the laborers from having a shut shop. Because of decreasing assets, this first association strike missed the mark. By â€Å"February 1910, the strike was at long last settled and brought about a â€Å"protocol of peace† between the women’s attire industry and work. †7 â€Å"The hardly any outstanding manufacturing plants rehired the strikers, consented to higher wages and shorter hours and perceived the association in name just, opposing a shut shop. †1 The Triangle laborers returned to work without an association understanding. There were still no guidelines of the working conditions. The board never tended to their requests, remembering opened entryways for the processing plant and emergency exits that were practical. This will end up being a very exorbitant mistake inside the accompanying 13 months timeframe. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was situated in the Asch Building, involving the best three stories of the ten-story working in the core of Manhattan’s Garment District. The organization utilized â€Å"over 500 people with most of them Jewish and Italian ladies running in age from 13-23. †3 Their work was principally sewing shirtwaist pullovers. The eighth floor was the place the cutting room was arranged. The ninth floor was the place the sewers worked, lined machine to machine in many long columns, slouched over sewing machines that were worked by foot pedals. The completed shirtwaists held tight lines over the worker’s heads and packages of material, trimmings, and pieces of texture were heaped high in the confined passageway between the machines. †2 The tenth floor housed the organization workplaces. On Saturday, March 25, 1911, at around 4:45pm, with 15 minutes left in the work day, a fire became rapidly wild on the eighth floor cutters zone. It is acc epted to have been brought about by a cigarette or match which was disposed of either on the floor secured with sewing machine oil or in one of the material piece holders, or perhaps from a flash put off from the overheating of an electric cutters machine. Taken care of by a huge number of pounds of combustible fabric†6 fire inundated the zone and spread to the floors above in record speed. The greater part of the laborers on the eighth floor had the option to advance toward wellbeing by utilizing the steps or lift. The laborers on the tenth floor â€Å"received a call about the fire and had the option to move to the top of the structure and advanced toward the connecting New York University fabricating and were saved. †6 The shocking laborers on the ninth floor, nonetheless, didn’t stand an opportunity. Their destinies were fixed on the grounds that â€Å"the just security measure accessible for them were 27 containers of water, an emergency exit that would crumple when individuals attempted to utilize it, and 2 leave entryways which were bolted or just opened internal and were viably held closed by the flood of laborers getting away from the fire. †5 About 200 ladies were caught on the ninth floor without any ways to get out. â€Å"Twenty ladies made it out on the emergency exit before it folded to the road, executing various ladies who were on it. Some endeavored to slide down the lift links just to lose their grasp and tumble to their demises. 2 The frantic ladies didn’t realize what else to do, so they started breaking out the windows and moving out on the thin edge from which they hopped from the ninth floor to the road beneath. Some were ablaze and consuming as they fell. â€Å"For the local group of fire-fighters, the loathsomeness story that unfurled was aggr avated by the way that in spite of the fact that their hardware was the most refined of its day, the stepping stools just came to up to the sixth floor. †6 Firemen observed vulnerably as laborers kicked the bucket directly in front of them. The water pressure in the hoses fizzled. What's more, the existence nets broke when the urgent ladies bounced in gatherings of three and four. In under 30 minutes, the fire had spent itself. Afterward it left 146 dead. †3 â€Å"Of the 146 who kicked the bucket, 141 passed on at the scene and 5 kicked the bucket at the emergency clinic. Six of these casualties were rarely recognized. Most kicked the bucket of consumes, suffocation, obtuse effect wounds or a mix of the three. †2 It is regularly believed that most or the entirety of the dead were ladies in any case, in all actuality, â€Å"almost thirty of the casualties were men. †4 The Triangle fire got known as â€Å"the deadliest mechanical catastrophe throughout the e ntire existence of the city of New York and brought about the fourth most elevated death toll from a modern mishap in U. S. history. 4 Three months after the fire, the proprietors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris were â€Å"indicted for homicide and absolved all things considered. †6 It was accepted that they overstepped no laws. â€Å"Three years after the fire, a court requested the proprietors to pay $75. 00 to every one of the twenty-three families who had sued for the loss of relatives. †3 â€Å"From the cinders of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire came the best political change in American history to achieve social government assistance enactment. †4 â€Å"The awfulness

An Overview of Group Therapy

An Overview of Group Therapy More in Psychotherapy Online Therapy Group therapy is a form of psychotherapy that involves one or more therapists working with several people at the same time. This type of therapy is widely available at a variety of locations including private therapeutic practices, hospitals, mental health clinics, and community centers. Group therapy is sometimes used alone, but it is also commonly integrated into a comprehensive treatment plan that also includes individual therapy and medication. The Principles of Group Therapy In The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, Irvin D. Yalom outlines the key therapeutic principles that have been derived from self-reports from individuals who have been involved in the group therapy process:?? The instillation of hope: The group contains members at different stages of the treatment process. Seeing people who are coping or recovering gives hope to those at the beginning of the process.Universality: Being part of a group of people who have the same experiences helps people see that what they are going through is universal and that they are not alone.Imparting information: Group members can help each other by sharing information.Altruism: Group members can share their strengths and help others in the group, which can boost self-esteem and confidence.The corrective recapitulation of the primary family group: The therapy group is much like a family in some ways. Within the group, each member can explore how childhood experiences contributed to personality and behaviors. They can also learn to avoid behaviors that are destructive or unhelpful in real life.Development of socialization techniques: The group setting is a great place to practice new behaviors. The setting is safe an d supportive, allowing group members to experiment without the fear of failure.Imitative behavior: Individuals can model the behavior of other members of the group or observe and imitate the behavior of the therapist.Interpersonal learning: By interacting with other people and receiving feedback from the group and the therapist, members of the group can gain a greater understanding of themselves.Group cohesiveness: Because the group is united in a common goal, members gain a sense of belonging and acceptance.Catharsis: Sharing feelings and experiences with a group of people can help relieve pain, guilt, or stress.Existential factors: While working within a group offers support and guidance, group therapy helps member realize that they are responsible for their own lives, actions, and choices. How It Works Groups can be as small as three or four people, but group therapy sessions often involve around eight to twelve individuals (although it is possible to have more participants). The group typically meets once or twice each week, or more, for an hour or two.?? According to author Oded Manor in The Handbook of Psychotherapy, the minimum number of group therapy sessions is usually around six but a full year of sessions is more common. Manor also notes that these meetings may either be open or closed. In open sessions, new participants are welcome to join at any time. In a closed group, only a core group of members are invited to participate.?? So what does a typical group therapy session look like? In many cases, the group will meet in a room where the chairs are arranged in a large circle so that each member can see every other person in the group. A session might begin with members of the group introducing themselves and sharing why they are in group therapy. Members might also share their experiences and progress since the last meeting. The precise manner in which the session is conducted depends largely on the goals of the group and the style of the therapist. Some therapists might encourage a more free-form style of dialogue, where each member participates as he or she sees fit. Other therapists instead have a specific plan for each session that might include having clients practice new skills with other members of the group. Effectiveness Group therapy can be effective, especially in certain situations. In a study published in 2014, researchers analyzed patient outcomes at an outpatient clinic and found that group therapy was an effective treatment choice for depression for some patients, almost 1 in 5 patients dropped out.?? An article published in the American Psychological Associations Monitor on Psychology suggests that group therapy also meets efficacy standards established by the Society of Clinical Psychology (Division 12 of the APA) for panic disorder, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, and substance abuse.?? Reasons to Use Group Therapy The principal advantages of group therapy include: Group therapy allows people to receive the support and encouragement of the other members of the group. People participating in the group can see that others are going through the same thing, which can help them feel less alone.Group members can serve as role models to other members of the group. By observing someone successfully coping with a problem, other members of the group can see that there is hope for recovery. As each person progresses, they can, in turn, serve as a role model and support figure for others. This can help foster feelings of success and accomplishment.Group therapy is often very affordable. Instead of focusing on just one client at a time, the therapist can devote his or her time to a much larger group of people.Group therapy offers a safe haven. The setting allows people to practice behaviors and actions within the safety and security of the group.By working in a group, the therapist can see first-hand how each person responds to other people and behaves in s ocial situations. Using this information, the therapist can provide valuable feedback to each client. Find Support With the Best Online Therapy Programs

On Handling Exceptions in Delphi Exception Handling

Heres an interesting fact: No code is error free — in fact, some code is full of errors on purpose. Whats an error in an application? An error is an incorrectly coded solution to a problem. Such are logic errors that could lead to wrong function results where everything seems nicely put together but the result of the application is completely unusable. With logic errors, an  application might or might not stop working. Exceptions can include errors in your code where you try to divide numbers with zero, or you try using freed memory blocks  or try providing wrong parameters to a function. However, an exception in an application is not always an error. Exceptions and the Exception Class Exceptions are special conditions that require special handling. When an error-type condition occurs the program raises an exception. You (as the application writer) will handle exceptions to make your application more error-prone and to respond to the exceptional condition. In most cases, you will find yourself being the application writer and also the library writer. So you would need to know how to raise exceptions (from your library) and how to handle them (from your application). The article on handling errors and exceptions provides some basic guidelines on how to guard against errors using try/except/end and try/finally/end protected blocks to respond to or handle exceptional conditions. A simple try/except guarding blocks looks like: try ThisFunctionMightRaiseAnException();except//handle any exceptions raised in ThisFunctionMightRaiseAnException() hereend; The ThisFunctionMightRaiseAnException might have, in its implementation, a line of code like raise Exception.Create(special condition!); The Exception is a special class (one of a few without a T in front of the name) defined in sysutils.pas unit. The SysUtils unit defines several special purpose Exception descendants (and thus creates a hierarchy of exception classes) like ERangeError, EDivByZero, EIntOverflow, etc. In most cases, the exceptions that you would handle in the protected try/except block would not be of the Exception (base) class but of some special Exception descendant class defined in either the VCL or in the library you are using. Handling Exceptions Using Try/Except To catch and handle an exception type you would construct a on type_of_exception do exception handler. The on exception do looks pretty much like the classic case statement: try ThisFunctionMightRaiseAnException;excepton EZeroDivide dobegin//something when dividing by zeroend; on EIntOverflow dobegin//something when too large integer calculationend; elsebegin//something when other exception types are raisedend;end; Note that the else part would grab all (other) exceptions, including those you know nothing about. In general, your code should handle only exceptions you actually know how to handle and expect to be thrown. Also, you should never eat an exception: try ThisFunctionMightRaiseAnException;exceptend; Eating the exception means you dont know how to handle the exception or you dont want users to see the exception or anything in between. When you handle the exception and you need more data from it (after all it is an instance of a class) rather only the type of the exception you can do: try ThisFunctionMightRaiseAnException;excepton E : Exception dobegin ShowMessage(E.Message); end;end; The E in E:Exception is a temporary exception variable of type specified after the column character (in the above example the base Exception class). Using E you can read (or write) values to the exception object, like get or set the Message property. Who Frees The Exception? Have you noticed how exceptions are actually instances of a class descending from Exception? The raise keyword throws an exception class instance. What you create (the exception instance is an object), you also need to free. If you (as a library writer) create an instance, will the application user free it? Heres the Delphi magic: Handling an exception automatically destroys the exception object. This means that when you write the code in the except/end block, it will release the exception memory. So what happens if ThisFunctionMightRaiseAnException actually raises an exception and you are not handling it (this is not the same as eating it)? What About When Number/0 Is Not Handled? When an unhandled exception is thrown in your code, Delphi again magically handles your exception by displaying the error dialog to the user. In most cases, this dialog will not provide enough data for the user (and finally you) to understand the cause of the exception. This is controlled by Delphis top level message loop where all exceptions are being processed by the global Application object and its HandleException method. To handle exceptions globally, and show your own more-user-friendly dialog, you can write code for the TApplicationEvents.OnException event handler. Note that the global Application object is defined in the Forms unit. The TApplicationEvents is a component you can use to intercept the events of the global Application object.

Teaching ESL Locally - 2504 Words

Assignment 1 1. Private Schools – Depending on the school, qualifications range from a certificate TESOL course to a university/college degree. Tutoring position (company or private) – A degree or/and TESOL certificate would be required to work at a tutoring company while private tutoring, a TESOL certificate is recommended. Home Stay Family – A TESOL certificate is recommended and an available room is required. Community Centres – May required having experience, university/college diploma and TESOL certificate, depending on the centre itself. 2. All positions will depend on the individual company/school/centre with regards to qualifications. For home stay families, it is regulation to have an available room and although a†¦show more content†¦Post advertisements on websites, like Gumtree, etc. Get your name out there by word of mouth. Out of the possibilities available, which ones are you eligible to pursue at the moment? I would be able to only be eligible for homestay and private tutoring as of now, but once I complete the TESOL course I may be able to be eligible for private schools depending on their requirements. Where do you hope your ESL career will lead you? I’m hoping to become a private tutor locally which would make enough income for me to survive on one job alone instead of multiple careers. List 5 important delivery methods for ESL teachers. Direct instructions using actions Lecturing Class discussions Group work Individual instructions Assignment 2 1. In an average ESL classroom, 95 – 100% of students would be the same nationality. A multicultural classroom will have students that have different ideas, understandings, attitudes and perception of learning and classroom environments, this might be a disadvantage as teachers must work extra to become more understanding and flexible of each individual and their culture. 2. The benefit of a multicultural classroom for teaching methods is that most of the student can’t talk in the same language and can only communicate by English. This is highly beneficial as students would want to socialise with the other students, by only being able to communicate in English, they will be ableShow MoreRelatedThe Academic Achievement Gaps Between Ell Students And Native English Language Learners1241 Words   |  5 Pagesher to not be able to score on those tests. When they are inappropriately place in those special education it limits their growth academically.(3) Placement tests tend to put ELL students in ESL programs which, for the most part, are socially isolating for the students. They spend most of their day in the esl classroom, and in the cafeteria they are most likely to be sitting at a table with other ELL students away from the native english-speakers. If they are placed in regular classrooms, they areRead MoreAdvantages And Disadvantages Of Technology In Education1218 Words   |  5 Pagesand the education providers should look forward to. I would like to extend my views regarding the problems that may arise during and due to the usage and overdependence of technology for teaching purposes and precisely in ESL context, especially when the students are unable to adapt the new technique of teaching. Also, I may provide few suggestions so as these difficulties shall be overcome. TESOL Classroom With the help of internet, one can survive without a single book in the library and yetRead MoreTeaching Reading to English Language Learners5240 Words   |  21 PagesINTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study Teaching reading to English Language Leaners requires some strategies and preparations on the part of teachers, which includes the preparation of the lesson plan. 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For adults who struggle with reading, the impact is felt in a number of ways: they unable to obtain a good paying job, make good health decisions, or read to theirRead MoreUnderstanding 21st Century Skills† in English Language Classrooms3761 Words   |  16 Pagesof the 21st century Skills movement which is helping to redefine the goals of general education for today’s world. â€Å"21st Century Skills† is commonly refers to a growing global movement for redefining the goals of education, to transform every day teaching and learning practices, and to expand the range of measures that are being implemented for student achievement, all in order to meet the new demands of th e 21st Century. In other words the main thrust of this movement is to make learners a productiveRead MoreThe District Handbook1897 Words   |  8 Pagesin learning† has been the district’s vision. This, coupled with its mission statement: â€Å"To impart the knowledge and skills that will empower all students to pursue their maximum potential to confidently contribute to and benefit from our society locally and globally,† inform their policies and attitude towards all students, especially English Language Learners. In a Frequently Asked Questions portion, the District answers the question of whether students will fall behind due to learning an extraRead MoreWhy Latinos Children Are Failing in Education? Essay1329 Words   |  6 Pagespolitics that has one approach to deal with the world, but a different standard to measure success locally. In the video the Afro-American students were prohibited of speaking their â€Å"mother tongue† language when there a re many researches that prove that students that learn to read and write in their maternal language do better in school. As Sue Blain, in her article â€Å"Multilingualism `masks deficient teaching of reading`† supports this fact by quoting the dean of education at the University of WesternRead MoreSituation of English Language Teaching3790 Words   |  16 PagesEnglish Language Teaching Situation in Pakistan Analysis) â€Å"†¦a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia† (Attitude Motivation Macaulay 1935 Ms. Mehwish Haider 1 English Language Teaching Situation in Pakistan Table of Contents Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...3 Definition of Second language †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦.4 Definition of foreign Language †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 Different needs toRead MoreBullying in Schools6210 Words   |  25 Pagesusing the measure of central tendency was performed to show the mean average of collected responses. The mean takes into account, or includes, each and every score in its computations. The third grade students enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) and Bilingua l classrooms. The researcher will use random selection to choose forty third grade students from four classes. The Primary School Student Survey (PSSS) will be used to measure student’s experiences, perceptions, and attitudes towards bullyingRead MoreCultural Comparisons Of Mexican And Caribbean Islander Immigrants3636 Words   |  15 Pagesâ€Å"English-only† rule in his school resulted in anxiety and nerves. These emotions make it nearly impossible to focus on learning. (M. Martinez, personal communication, July 2, 2015) [primary]. Latino children may also have trouble with the different teaching styles found in America. For example, students are used to strict teachers who demand both silence and respect in Mexico may struggle to read the signals of teachers who want to make learning fun (Valdes, G. 1998) [primary]. â€Å"They wrongly assumed

Annotated Refernces list final Free Essays

Organizational and media stress among professional football players: Testing an Achievement Goal Theory Model This article includes a study that was to investigate media and coach- athletes stress that would be experienced by the professional football players by examining or testing the goal theory model. The study was about 82 football players that had to complete some questionnaires. In conclusion the study shows that the coaches of the professional football players are advised to reduce the emphasis on performance that would reduce the stress. We will write a custom essay sample on Annotated Refernces list final or any similar topic only for you Order Now The information in this article is objective because it was all based on some issues that happened with professional football players. The goal of this article would be showing how much these players receive. Hint the article would be useful for me in writing the paper. The article relates very much to my topic which is about stress for athletes, so I will be able to write more about what causes these athletes to have stress. Stress-Related Breathing Problems: An Issue for Elite Swimmers The article talks about a problem that elite swimmers might have stress because of breathing problems. The article showed a study that number of swimmers who have this problem is increasing. The study in the article showed 24 elite swimmers in two different swim clubs in Norway. The study explains that swimmers Will have breathing problems when they have higher intensity in their workouts and going to school above that would cause more stress in their daily life. I believe that that information is all objective because the article showed a study that occurred to some swimmers. How to cite Annotated Refernces list final, Papers

Coke Blak Case Analysis free essay sample

Coca-Cola is the world’s largest non-alcoholic beverage manufacturer. The company has been in existence for more than 120 years and offers more than 3,500 products in more than 200 countries. Within the past 10 years, the carbonated beverage industry has experienced a decline in sales. This drop in sales is most likely associated with more knowledgeable consumers and the facts presented that link obesity to the high amounts of sugars in these beverages. In the earlier 2000s, Coca-Cola saturated the market with an abundance of new products, such as Coke Zero, Coca-Cola with Lemon, Coca-Cola Vanilla, and Coke Blak. Many of these new brands did not receive good reviews and have since been pulled from the shelves to become an idea of the past. In this analysis, I will specifically be looking at the short lived lifecycle of Coca-Cola’s Coke Blak and some possible reasons as to why this product is didn’t make the cut. Coke Blak was introduced as a â€Å"carbonated fusion beverage†, which is a coffee flavored coke. The target population of this product was a sophisticated individual in their late 20s and 30s in search of a new experience. Coca-Cola marketed Blak as having, â€Å"Coke effervescence with coffee essence†. II. Key Issues: There were many issues that Coca-Cola faced externally that would discourage consumers from experimenting with any new products that were released during the early 2000s. A push for healthier living had begun and consumers were more apt to purchase non-carbonated beverages such as juice, bottled water, tea, and coffee due to the association of obesity with high fructose corn syrup. This resulted in a decline in sales for the entire carbonated beverage industry. Coca-Cola’s response to this dilemma was to saturate the market with products that they fused with flavors such as lemon, lime, vanilla, and raspberry. Many of these products were short lived and for sometime hurt the Coke brand. Pepsi, Coca-Cola’s largest competitor, had taken its role as the non-carbonated beverage leader and showed their superior business strategy through the acquisition of other products such as Frito Lays (Howard, 2005). Pepsi had previously attempted the idea of a carbonated coffee and failed. Something that may have hurt the Coke Blak campaign was the many failures of its flavored coke just before releasing Blak. The oversaturated market of underperforming Coca-Cola products could have lead to the subsequent demise of its future ideas. III. Causes: With all the issues that surrounded the Coca-Cola brand, there were problems internally that caused Coke Blak to enter the market destined for failure. There could be a number of reasons that lead to Coca-Cola’s decision to pull Blak from the shelves. Coke Blak hit the shelves in 2006 in Europe, the US, and Canada. The European version of Blak was only sweetened by sugar while the American version replaced the sugar with aspartame, acesulfame potassium and high fructose corn syrup to alter the taste to fit the American palate. From the reviews, this product lacked taste needed to generate repeat buyers. The sophisticated population that the product targeted wasn’t impressed by the research put into the product. Aside from the taste, the packaging wasn’t very attractive. Coca-Cola used a short, skinny, 8-ounce glass bottle which was a good touch for the sophisticated audience that it aimed to reach. But they failed by covering this glass bottle completely with plastic shrink wrap, which added a cheaper feel to the bottle and obscured the view of the contents. The black and brownish gold label looked different from any other Coke product and wouldn’t impress the loyal Coca-Cola drinkers. Sight and taste are the two senses that a beverage manufacturer has to capture to remain relevant and Coca-Cola missed on both. Also, the small bottle of Coke Blak was overpriced. Blak was priced close to $3. 00 per bottle. This is the price that consumers expect to pay when going to the local Starbucks to get a â€Å"tall† coffee. The idea that a consumer would neglect a beverage that they know and love to pay the same for an attempt to compete is asinine. With the failure to market, miss on taste, bad presentation, and lofty price tag, Coke Blak was destined to fail, but many alternatives exist to get Blak out of the red and back in the black. IV. Alternative Solutions: Coca-Cola had the opportunity to control the market, but many other steps could have been taken to do so. Seeing that other manufacturers had failed repeatedly trying to perfect the concept, they had the chance to conduct extensive taste tests and research the reasons that similar products like Pepsi-Kona and Mazagran (Pepsi and Starbuck’s ‘sparkling’ coffee) failed, in the past (Melody, 1995). Their results should have lead them in the direction to possibly collaborate with a well known coffee distributor to perfect this new unusual blend of coke and coffee, such as The J. M. Smucker Company that owns Millstone and Folgers and manufactures for Dunkin’ Donuts. Collaborating with a middle grade coffee distributor carries too well known names and helps to keep costs low and affordable for the consumer. Another missed step in the process was the packaging of Coke Blak. The failure to appeal to its consumers could have turned out to be catastrophic for the product. Coca-Cola failed to leave the brand recognizable to its loyal consumers. Incorporating red into the label and enlarging the ‘Coca-Cola’ on the bottle would entice Coke drinkers to buy the drink and possibly inform the company on what should be done to perfect the taste. That brings me to my next point, to improve the quality of Coke Blak. Since Coca-Cola failed to do the necessary market research, they could have offered the product at a discount and encouraged consumers to go on a preset blog or call in to give their opinions. This step would require monitoring and take even more time to get a completely finished product on the shelves, but a good thing is worth the effort and could prove to be profitable for Coca-Cola. This step would also be showing the customer that Coca-Cola values customer input and are willing to make the necessary changes to satisfy the demand of its consumers. The least innovative approach to this dilemma would be to totally get away from a carbonated coffee idea. From the success of Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and other coffee retailers, we know that consumers love their coffee. From Coca-Cola’s success, we know that consumers love their cokes, but in this equation 1+1? 2. The coffee connoisseurs and coke lovers do not want a combination of the two. Coca-Cola could however branch out and gain a share of the coffee industry by venturing away from the carbonated beverage to produce a beverage for the enjoyment of coffee drinkers that still prefer to see the Coca-Cola name. V. Best Solution: Personally, I am a risk taker, so the challenge of combining the two appeals to me. However, there is no easy way for Coke to handle this. Much work is needed on the part of the manufacturers and the sales marketing team to ensure that the voices of the consumers are heard. A combination of the alternative solutions listed above is needed to make the promotion of Coke Blak more successful than its original release. By now knowing what caused the initial failure of Coke Blak, it would prove to be a less daunting task of combining a carbonated drink with a coffee flavor because the areas that need to be focused and prioritized are essentially already laid out. Realizing that the Coca-Cola brand is not prepared to enter the coffee industry alone is the initial step towards improving Coke Blak. They would need to join forces with a well known, yet affordable coffee distributor, such as Folgers. Folgers is affordable and equipped with a variety of different blends that may present a better combination with coke. Coca-Cola would need to retain the largest share in this collaboration to preserve the name, while including Folgers on the label. After extensive testing and the two companies feel that they have produced a quality product, they should bring in a control group made of individuals that enjoy both coke and coffee to get a response on the combination. Once the companies have received a positive response from their control group, they should move to packaging. Utilizing the well known red label and enlarging the ‘Coca-Cola’ on the bottle would entice loyal Coke drinkers to try the beverage. The drinks should be distributing in larger bottles, such as a 10 or 12 oz. The glass bottles would continue to attract the sophisticated consumer without the plastic shrink wrap. This would allow the customer to see the drink and show confidence in the product. After mastering the packaging, the companies would then be able to move to the final phase of the product reproduction, the pricing. Coca-Cola and Folgers are both affordable brands and this should be a main factor when properly pricing Coke Blak. They would need to price this product in a way that remains affordable to the everyday convenience store shoppers. Overpricing would reduce their target market. They would have to price in a way that the consumer would choose their product over the many other competitors’ products. A good starting price to consider would be $1. 89. This keeps the price comparable to its other products and less than the competitor’s products. VI. Conclusion: Coca-Cola failed to combine the two and may have presumably abandoned the idea of doing so. However, if they were up to the challenge of making another attempt to reproduce the product they would be able to take advantage and learn from their previous mistakes. In order to combine the two, coffee and coke, and maintain the â€Å"Coke effervescence with coffee essence†, Coca-Cola would need to focus on mastering the taste, packaging, and price of Coke Blak.

Medical Insurance Essays - Types Of Insurance,

Medical Insurance MEDICAL INSURANCE IS NON-BENIFICIAL The initial idea of medical insurance should have been a good idea as a way of helping Americans afford medical bills in a case of emergency or just routine physicals and check-ups. A lot of lower class Americans could not afford the treatment and would therefore go without medical attention in both of these cases. In cases of emergency, they would usually be put in to collection because they could not pay the bills after the treatment. The government decided to set a plan to have humans insured, just like automobiles, to supposedly make medical treatment available to all people - high, middle, or low class. This should have been a good idea...however, I believe that it has only made things less affordable. By making this plan for insurance on human health, the insurance agencies are making trillions upon trillions of dollars on people who would usually skip going to the doctor for a common cold. Initially, the insurance policies were made to help in emergency situations for people who had a broken a leg, or had to have major surgery and could not afford the price of high-technology treatment. The insurance would have made the customer pay about fifty dollars a month out of they're hard-earned money whether they were going to use it or not, for medical treatment. Still, the insurance did not cover all of the expenses even though the customer is shelling out thousands of dollars, sometimes for nothing. It is just another way for a large insurance business to make people believe that they need to insure their own health, like they were a possession or an item. Now people are paying for insurance that they seldom use, but feel better because the business has made them believe that they cannot and will not live without medical insurance. Another bad result of medical insurance is that it has turned the entire field of medicine in to a financial playground of human life. Doctors are supposed to treat all patients equally, as opposed to treating only those with insurance first, no matter what the circumstance. People who cannot afford health insurance or are not offered the option by their jobs are usually facing the problems of the prices that are now raised as a result of the entire insurance idea. Not only is health insurance making the doctors care less about their patients, it is also raising the prices higher on already outrageous medical bills. In conclusion, I believe that the medical insurance idea is argumentive, because there are a lot of repercussions that people may or may not have thought about. The insurance companies are benifiting immensely, but are we? The prices of medical treatments are rising, the doctor's attention to actual patients as opposed to who has insurance is diminishing, and less people are benefiting from health insurance. I do not think that medical insurance should have been proposed in the first place. I do admit that it should have been a benifit to Americans, but I have yet to see everyone benifit as innitialy planned.

Free Essays on H.G.Wells

Herbert George Wells was born on September 21, 1866 in Bromley, England. He was the fourth and last child of Sarah Neal Wells and Joseph Wells. Born before Herbert George were Frances, Frank, and Fred. Unfortunately, Frances died at the age of nine, before Herbert George was even born. The Wells were not very rich, and Wells used to often joke that while he may not have been born in a manger, his rise to fame was almost miraculous. His mother was a maid in the houses of the upper class of Sussex and his father was a shopkeeper in Bromley. H.G.'s career may have started entirely by accident. When he was eight years old, he broke his leg and spent a lot of time reading and discovered an intense interest in it. Also, he was enrolled in the Thomas Morley's Academy at the age of eight. At the age of eleven, his father fell from a ladder and fractured his thigh. Joseph Wells never fully recovered and money was even tighter after this. So at the age of thirteen, H.G. was withdrawn from the Thomas Morley's Academy and apprenticed to a draper, for which he worked long hours. He hated it and was delighted when he was dismissed from the draper's because of all the mistakes he had been making. After this H.G. went to work for his uncle, as a part-time tutor and a part-time student. However, this job was soon ended when authorities closed down his uncle's school. After this he went through another series of apprenticeships and finally won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in London. He also worked as a journalis! t during this time. In 1891, Wells and Isabel, a daughter of one the Wells family's in-laws- making her his cousin, were married. By this time he was working as a tutor again. However, the marriage didn't last long, partly because of Well's adultery, and in 1894, he left Isabel for Amy Catherine Robbins (nicknamed Jane), a pupil in one of Well's classes. Jane and Wells were married not long after Wells and Isabel's divorce. ... Free Essays on H.G.Wells Free Essays on H.G.Wells Herbert George Wells was born on September 21, 1866 in Bromley, England. He was the fourth and last child of Sarah Neal Wells and Joseph Wells. Born before Herbert George were Frances, Frank, and Fred. Unfortunately, Frances died at the age of nine, before Herbert George was even born. The Wells were not very rich, and Wells used to often joke that while he may not have been born in a manger, his rise to fame was almost miraculous. His mother was a maid in the houses of the upper class of Sussex and his father was a shopkeeper in Bromley. H.G.'s career may have started entirely by accident. When he was eight years old, he broke his leg and spent a lot of time reading and discovered an intense interest in it. Also, he was enrolled in the Thomas Morley's Academy at the age of eight. At the age of eleven, his father fell from a ladder and fractured his thigh. Joseph Wells never fully recovered and money was even tighter after this. So at the age of thirteen, H.G. was withdrawn from the Thomas Morley's Academy and apprenticed to a draper, for which he worked long hours. He hated it and was delighted when he was dismissed from the draper's because of all the mistakes he had been making. After this H.G. went to work for his uncle, as a part-time tutor and a part-time student. However, this job was soon ended when authorities closed down his uncle's school. After this he went through another series of apprenticeships and finally won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in London. He also worked as a journalis! t during this time. In 1891, Wells and Isabel, a daughter of one the Wells family's in-laws- making her his cousin, were married. By this time he was working as a tutor again. However, the marriage didn't last long, partly because of Well's adultery, and in 1894, he left Isabel for Amy Catherine Robbins (nicknamed Jane), a pupil in one of Well's classes. Jane and Wells were married not long after Wells and Isabel's divorce. ...

Criminal Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Criminal Behavior - Essay Example An investigation of male and female criminal activity will see a shift in female behavior that has been influenced by social and cultural pressures, and a narrowing of the gap between male and female perpetrators. Recent decades have seen an increasing prevalence of female criminals and the crimes that they commit have become more violent. During the 10-year period from 1986 to 1997 the adult male correctional population increased by 67 percent, while the women's population increased by 100 percent (Demographic trends, 2008). Still, crime is an activity that is dominated by males as 5 percent of them are under some form of correctional supervision in the US compared with only 1 percent of the female population. However, female crimes have become more violent in nature. In 1989, 13 percent of the crimes committed by females were violent in nature, but that number had increased to 17 percent by 2002 (US Department of Justice, 2004). In addition, in the year 2000 women constituted 6.7 percent of the total state and federal prison population, and that number had increased to 7.2 percent in 2007 (US Department of Justice, 2008). Data from a variety of sources verifies that women have become more a ctive in crime in a more violent fashion. The contrast between male and female crime and the shift in demographics in recent years can help give an indication of the motivations that underlie criminal activity. Emotion has a far lesser impact on a man's decision to commit a crime than it does for a female. When men commit a crime it is often the result of learned behavior that has been the result of social interaction. Ramoutar & Farrington (2006) report that, "According to social learning theory, if individuals have ample opportunity to observe aggressive or violent behaviour, this will increase the chance that they will learn to value violence and incorporate it into their behavioural repertoire" (p.562). These behaviour patterns are learned from parents, family members, social networks, and promoted through the culture of the popular media. The male dominated society has traditionally tolerated male violence and males are responding to the motivation of perpetuating the existing social norms (Women's Aid, 2005, p.7). Soc ial and cultural norms are at the foundation of the difference in male and female demographics in regards to the types of crimes committed. Women commit violent acts as a means of reacting to their socially repressed status, while males commit violent acts as a learned behavior and minimizes the act based on society's acceptance of male domination. While social learning is a factor that impacts a male's decision to commit a crime, it is also a factor that discourages women from criminal activity. Social control theory further states that "human beings have a natural tendency to engage in antisocial behavior, irrespective of gender" and that strong community, family, workplace, and social ties all contribute to a person's reluctance to engage in criminal activity (Li & MacKenzie, 2003, p.279). According to Corbett (2007) there are significant "informal pressures and sanctions placed on women by family to conform to appropriate gender prescribed behaviours that discourage deviance" (p.258). Women have traditionally been perceived as the 'weaker sex' and sheltered from the male dominated activities associated with

College is worth it Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

College is worth it - Essay Example Therefore, after graduation, many students have huge debts to settle despite the reduced availability of jobs. This paper explores whether college education is worth its cost. Students who have acquired college degrees are more likely to get employment as compared to their colleagues with high school education (Time 1). Therefore, though the college education is relatively expensive; it is worth. However, it is important to consider the choice of course that a student enrolls in based on its demand in the market. Some courses are more marketable than others and they pay more and this is especially related to the technical courses such as engineering (Economist 1). The payoff of engineering courses within duration of about 20 years goes beyond a value of 1 million dollars. Students who have achieved a college education are reported to be contented with their investment. In a study that was conducted in United States 86% of the respondents said that college education was worth (Pew 1). This is from the fact that it opened their thinking and they were more likely to get employment as compared to those with high school education. Labor statistics fromUnited States further indicate that the employmentrates for college graduates are twice the national employment average (Konwerski 1). College education will remain valuable also based on the pay gap that is found between college graduate and high school graduates (Leonhardt 1). College education remains worth alsobased onthe fact that the unemployment rate for graduates is less than 5% as compared to the average of 13% unemployment rate in United States (Morgan 1). However, college degree is becoming more expensive and reducing the number of people accessing the education. In contrary, the amount of unpaid loans by college students has grown significantly over the years challenging worthiness of the

Social Work Roles And Criminal Justice Settings Social Work Essay

Social Work Roles And Criminal Justice Settings Social Work Essay There are many competing pressures to direct the service in ways that may not be consistent with Social Work principles towards greater penal and correctional models. It is therefore essential to have a clear understanding of the policy and legal framework that creates the remit and legitimacy for the operation of Social Work in the Criminal Justice process (Whyte, 2001, p.7). Statute law is created by Acts of the UK and Scottish Parliaments and relies upon rulings made in Court Hearings to set precedents that define and interpret key terms i.e. Case Law. Understanding the law is fundamental to practice in Criminal Justice settings. Criminal Law is a powerful instrument of social control and sanctions and the Criminal Courts have the potential to impose restrictions of liberty of individuals. Social Workers have a responsibility towards the general public and the courts to protect the public and ensure their wellbeing however, there is also obligation towards those who are in the Criminal Justice process who may be vulnerable and in need of services provided by Social Work. It is therefore essential that all workers have an understanding of the legal frameworks that govern Criminal Justice Social Work and are aware of the scope and limitations of their mandate (Whyte, 2001). However, law is subject to change and criminal justice policy is more liable to su dden, politically motivated changes of direction than is social policy in other fields (Smith, 2002, p.309) The law defines what a crime is, rules of evidence and criminal procedure. However, discretion is given to those involved and therefore, the criminal justice process is not systematic. The judiciary, police and social work have differing roles, agendas, values and beliefs which are shaped by training and cultures which can make working within the system difficult due to lack of shared understanding of common aims and individual roles. Social Work involves working with the marginalised and disadvantaged and can be both vulnerable to crime and susceptible to criminalisation and practice involves work with victims or offenders. Local Authorities have statutory responsibility to provide Criminal Justice Social Work Services to support the Criminal Justice Process through assessment of individuals, information to the Courts and supervision of offenders. Scotland differs from the rest of the UK in that there is a unique cultural and political heritage and a separate legal system. Social Work therefore, has a central role within the Criminal Justice process in Scotland which is in contrast to England and Wales where probation work is commissioned by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) which is separate from Local Authority control and Social Work functions and shows a difference in their approaches in responding to crime. As McAra (2005) suggests a more welfare orientated approach has been adopted due to its legal culture and political history. The legal framework outlining powers and duties of Criminal Justice Social Work is the Social Work Scotland Act 1968 (as amended). Section 27 of this Act outlines the duty by Local Authorities to provide specific Criminal Justice services (e.g. social background reports, supervision of offenders on an Order or Licence) in respect of central government funding however, it does not explain the objectives of these services or provide guidance on their exercise. Section 12 gives Local Authorities (LAs) discretion to provide additional services (e.g. victims) as part of the general responsibility to promote social welfare. Probation or offender services became the responsibility of the Local Authority Social Work Departments in 1968 and had a general duty to promote social welfare in their locality (S12, Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968). This was due to the Kilbrandon Committee (Kilbrandon, 1964) being appointed to investigate increasing juvenile crime. The Kilbrandon Report recommended a new approach to childrens services based on the needs of children and families and those who offend should be treated the same as those children requiring care and protection. Kilbrandon also suggested diversion and early voluntary intervention as crime prevention and one department for children and adults. This merge of work with adult offenders was pivotal in recognising work with offenders as having a welfare component admittedly with a level of control. Although the Kilbrandon philosophy followed trends of the time which advocated rehabilitation and treatment of offenders and an awareness of the social causes of c rime, this is still highly relevant to todays practice. From the 1980s onwards Criminal Justice in Scotland has undergone major legislative and policy change due to successive governments. As there was concern for public protection and community disposal effectiveness in 1991, 100 per cent central government funding was introduced and the National Objectives and Standards were published which set out core objectives, service provision and guidance on their delivery (Social Work Group, 1991). This resulted in the government committing to Social Work delivering this role. This policy arrangement outlined by Rifkind in 1989 has survived changes in political administration although, it has been suggested that devolution has caused a sudden and dramatic politicisation of Criminal Justice issues and could undermine the welfare tradition (McNeill and Batchelor, 2004: Croal, 2005). Social Work with offenders should aim to address and reduce offending behaviour. Whilst the law provides a framework for practice, effective work with offenders requires Social Work skills such as communication, therapeutic relationships in supervision, assessment and risk management. The task is therefore, varied and complex as Social Workers have the power to control the individuals who are referred via the Courts and enforce any Court Orders but must also work with an offender in a holistic, inclusive way to have a positive impact on their offending behaviour and this can be through support and assistance in relation to personal and social problems but also the individual taking responsibility for their actions. Effective and ethical practice is therefore, about considering and managing the needs and rights of the Courts, the general public, victims and offenders. Although Social Workers have statutory duties and powers to interfere in peoples lives this is not always welcome but is necessary in promoting public safety. Under the Scottish Social Work Services Council (SSSC) Code of Practice Social Workers have an obligation to uphold public trust and confidence and the Criminal Justice Authorities (CJAs) are required by Scottish Executive guidance to develop a strategy to address this (Scottish Executive, 2006b). This strategy includes both offenders and their families and Social Workers should engage these individuals and recognise their views in the development of services. Both Criminal Law and Social Work recognise the autonomy of individuals choices on how they lead their lives and with this capacity is criminal responsibility. Those of which who lack capacity (e.g. children and the mentally disordered) are not culpable in the eyes of the law and may be treated differently. It is therefore recognised that criminal behaviour is not just a choice but may be about social circumstances to which they have minimal control. Social Workers should assist in allowing individuals to improve their capacity for making choices together with consequences to their actions (ADSW, 1996a). Although Social Workers are obliged to protect the rights and interests of service users there is a belief amongst the general public that they have forfeited these rights when they have offended. All Criminal Justice agencies must comply with the Human Rights Act 1988 which incorporates into domestic law the fundamental rights set out in the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). Public Authorities are required to respect all of the provisions however, the two articles with particular relevance to Criminal Law and Social Work are the right to liberty and security (Article 5. ECHR) and the right to a fair trial (Article 6, ECHR). However, the state can impose restrictions on those who breach criminal law or are a threat to public safety as long as the detention is authorised by law and there is a balance between the individual, their victims and the general public. The Social Worker must assess this balance through rigorous assessment and analysis of risk. The Social Work role r equires respect to offenders as individuals and ensure that the offenders ability and right to function as a member of society is not impaired to a greater extent than is necessary in the interests of justice (ADSW, 1996a). Criminal Justice Social Work services are delivered in partnership with various statutory and non-statutory agencies and this can present challenges due to conflicting professional values and aims. The Management of Offenders etc. (Scotland) Act 2005 was introduced to improve joint working and co-ordinate the management of offenders especially in the transition from custody to community supervision and places a duty on Criminal Justice Authorities (CJAs) to have an information sharing process in order that relevant information is shared between agencies (s.3 (5)(g)) for improving offender and risk management. However, sensitive personal information must be handled carefully and be under the principles of the Data Protection Act 1988 and local agency protocols. Practitioners within Social Work must ensure that any information sharing decisions are fully explained and understood by the offender even when their consent to disclosure is not required. Organisations who deliver public services have general duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination and promote equality of opportunity on the grounds of race (Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000), sex (Equality Act 2006), and disability (Disability Discrimination Act 2005). Individuals who are involved with Criminal Justice organisations are entitled to the protection of discrimination laws which relate to sex, race, disability, religious beliefs and sexual orientation, with exception to exercising judicial functions or carrying out Court orders. In these circumstances it may be within Article 14 of the ECHR which prevents to the right to liberty and security of the individual or the right to a fair trial being interfered with on a wide range of discriminatory grounds. Criminal Justice is still influenced by prejudicial and discriminatory views. Research has been carried out by both the Social Work and Prisons Inspectorate for Scotland (1998) which highlighted concerns about the treatment of female offenders in the Criminal Justice process. In addition to this, several inquiries in England and Wales in relation to racial discrimination by the police and prison services has subsequently raised public awareness (Macpherson, 1999; Keith, 2006). The Scottish Government has a duty to publish information of discrimination of any unlawful grounds (s.306 (1)(b) Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995) and therefore, all workers need to practice in an anti-discriminatory way. The law outlines the limits of Social Work intervention and knowledge of the law is essential to anti-oppressive practice. The only legitimacy for intervening in the life of the individual within the criminal justice process is the individuals offending behaviour†¦if individuals have social needs which require to be met but are not crime related or crime producing, or if the offence is not sufficiently serious to fall within the criteria of the twin-track approach, services should be offered, as far as possible, through voluntary provision†¦No-one should be drawn into the criminal justice processes in order to receive social work help (Moore and Whyte, 1998, p.24). Rehabilitative intervention is not just about helping; it imposes limitations on the rights of the individual who is subject to the intervention. Risk assessment and offence based practice is an ethical approach. It aims to ensure that the most intensive and potentially most intrusive services are focused on those service users who pose the greatest risk of causing harm to others (ADSW, 2003) and to prevent socially disadvantaged individuals being taken further into criminal justice control which can result in further social exclusion. Criminal Justice Social Workers must take note that the role involves work with disadvantaged social groups. Certain types of crimes and offenders often criminalise the young, deprived, unemployed and undereducated male with an experience of the care system and this is clear from Social Work and prison statistics (Croall, 2005; McAra and McVie, 2005). There is often a complex relationship between social exclusion and offending behaviour and often the Criminal Justice process displays existing injustices within society. It is important that issues in relation to class, age and social context should be recognised together with vulnerability to discrimination. The Social Workers role should be to address issues of social exclusion and empower individuals to lead law abiding lives by addressing their offending behaviour. Social Work can help offenders develop capacity to make informed choices by actively encouraging their participation in the supervision/change process and their engagement with improving their current social situation (McCulloch, 2005; McNeill, 2004). Assisting offenders to focus on their strengths as opposed to their risk and needs can have a positive impact as they learn to recognise the value in their own lives and respecting the value of others. The sentencing stage in the criminal justice process generates the majority of Criminal Justice Social Work through provision of information to the Court in the form of Social Enquiry Reports (SERs) and the administration of community disposals, with the exception of liberty orders (tagging). SERs have no legal basis but there is a statutory duty on criminal justice social work to provide reports to the Court for disposal of a case (s.27(1)(a) SWSA 1968. Reports provide the court with the information and advice they need in deciding on the most appropriate way to deal with offenders. They include information and advice about the feasibility of community based disposals, particularly those involving local authority supervision. In the case of every offender under 21 and any offender facing custody for the first time, the court must obtain information and advice about whether a community based disposal is available and appropriate. In the event of custody, the court requires advice abo ut the possible need for a Supervised Release order or Extended Sentence Supervision on release. (Scottish Executive, 2004d, para. 1.5) The Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 sets out when the court can or must obtain an SER. Failure to request a report, where required by law, can result in a sentence being quashed on appeal. The Court is not obliged to follow recommendations or opinions in the SER however, Social workers can have a direct influence on the sentence passed. Preparing SERs demands a high standard of professional practice. It requires skilled interviewing, the ability to collect and assess information from different sources, and the art of writing a report which is dependable, constructive, impartial and brief (Social Work Services Inspectorate (SWSI), 1996, Foreword). The law imposes time limits in compiling reports. The Courts require a report within three weeks (s.201(3) (a) if an offender is remanded in custody and within four weeks if the offender is on bail (s.21(3)(b) of the 1995 Act). This means in practice that there are increased demands on a workers time that places increased pressure in the preparation of SERs especially if there are high numbers of worker absence due to leave or whether the worker knows the offender and their individual circumstances. Whilst conducting interviews the worker must ensure that the offender understands the purpose of the report, the relevance of questions (health, addiction issues, and personal relationships) and the limits to confidentiality of this information. Social workers must balance between an informed recommendation and an awareness of the severity of the offence. The report author should be impartial and not minimise the seriousness of the offence and its impact (NOS, Scottish Executive, 2004d, p ara 5.5) and phrases that imply moral judgements, label or stereotype offenders should not be used (para. 5.1). When compiling an SER workers are required to consider the suitability of disposals in relation to the risk posed by an offender and to target appropriate resources which are most appropriate and successful in addressing offending behaviour. Guidelines for the assessment and management of risk are outlined in the Management and Assessment of Risk in Social Work Services (SWSI, 2000) and there are also additional risk assessment frameworks which specifically relate to serious violent and sex offenders. In Criminal Justice the focus has moved from risk of custody to risk of reoffending and risk of harm. Risk assessment is complex and there has been a shift from concern for the offender and their needs to concern about public safety and the offender being a potential source of risk to others. Although the legislation is not explicit about offending behaviour, National Standards state that SERs should provide information and advice which will help the Court decide the available sentencin g options†¦by assessing the risk of reoffending, and†¦the possible harm to others. This requires an investigation of offending behaviour and of the offenders circumstances, attitudes and motivation to change (Scottish Executive, 2004d, 1.6). Risk is defined by Kemshall (1996) as the probability of a future negative or harmful event and assessment of risk includes: the likliehood of an event occurring, who is likely to be at risk, the nature of the harm which they might be exposed and the impact and consequences of the harmful event. Risk assessment has changed over the years and prior to the introduction of risk assessment tools workers relied on clinical methods or professional judgement which was based on an offenders history. These methods were criticised for being too subjective, inaccurate, open to worker bias and dependent on information given by the offender. In the 1990s workers moved towards objective and empirically based risk assessment tools (actuarial) to support their assessment. Actuarial risk assessment tools rely on static (historical) risk factors together with dynamic (criminogenic) risk factors and to assess the risk of reoffending. The static factors (which cannot change) take into account gender, age at first conviction, number of previous offences and custodial experiences, school progress, previous employment and personal history. The criminogenic factors (focus on current areas) include current employment, personal relationships, peer associates, use of time, substance use, mental health and attitudes and behaviour. All of these factors impact on the risk of reoffending (Bonta, 1996). The most widely used assessment tool, The Level of Service Inventory Revised (LSI-R) devised by Andrews and Bonta (1995) incorporates both static and dynamic factors. However, it does not assess risk of harm and this shows that both actuarial and clinical risk assessments are crucial for an effective and comprehensive risk assessment. Clinical methods combine knowledge of the offenders personality, habits lifestyle and an analysis of the circumstances of the offending behaviour and are therefore, the most appropriate assessme nt tool at identifying those who are likely to cause serious harm. Although more time consuming and require more in-depth analysis of both the offender and the offence risk is assessed on predispositions, motivation towards certain behaviours and triggers that may contribute to harmful behaviour. Actuarial tools are not totally accurate (Kemshall, 1996) and although this is improved upon through use of clinical methods in decision making, professional judgement is also crucial. Social workers must be aware that social disadvantage plays a part and this can contribute to a higher assessment of risk and need and to be cautious about the total reliability of these factors when making recommendations that may affect an offenders liberty. Risk assessment and intervention or supervision should be informed by valid, reliable and ongoing assessment and Social Workers should familiarise themselves with research emerging in this area and the many assessment tools and change programmes available (Levy et.al., 2002). To support change Social Workers have to not just think about what work is done with the offender but how that work is done. Offenders under supervision have very high levels of need. Moreover, although most offenders have many needs in common, there are also significant variations that necessitate the thoughtful tailoring of individual interventions if the effectiveness of practice is to be maximised. In delivering effective practice, the accumulated weight of evidence†¦drives us towards recognition that practice skills in general and relationship skills in particular are at least as critical in reducing re-offending as programme content (McNeill et al., 2005, p.5). This recent review of core skills required for effective Criminal Justice Social Work practice raises challenges in practising ethically and effectively but when applied critically and reflectively this could achieve positive outcomes that are in the interest of the public, victims and offenders. Although the law is crucial in framing Social Work practice in the Criminal Justice process it is equally important that Social Work skills and values are central to effective interventions as the role is both demanding and rewarding. Crime has become increasingly prominent both in the public and political agenda and therefore, Social Work has become more prominent and complex. Social Workers have a professional responsibility towards victims, the Court, community and offenders. To fulfil this role effectively, Social Workers must have a clear, confident understanding of their role, the legislative and policy context and a commitment to increasing and developing knowledge, skills and values required for effective and ethical practice.

Linking Financial Ratios and Stock Returns

Chapter I INTRODUCTION Financial ratio analysis is a technique for trying to help interpret financial accounts and to determine the intrinsic value of a security by careful examination of key value drivers such as risk, growth, and competitive position. Various ratios can be calculated from the financial accounts. These ratios will then help us to examine the company’s performance over a number of periods by comparing the same ratios in previous years’ accounts and also the accounts of other businesses operating in a similar environment (Most common benchmarks are industry leaders and industry averages). Financial ratio analysis provides essential information and serve (Investors, Stockholders, lenders, corporation management, Fundamental analysts†¦. ) with a lot of different contexts for different kinds of decisions. 1. 1 Statement of the Problem The enormous number of financial ratios used by financial managers and financial analysts and their relationship with stock return is the main problem in interpreting the financial statements. Based on, the ultimate goal of financial managers is to maximize the wealth of their stockholders; financial managers must understand the impact of their managerial decisions on their company’s financial statements and financial ratios concluded which will consequently affect the stock price of their company. Interpreting such a huge number of ratios distracts attention from the most relevant factors that affect stock prices. 1. 2 Purpose of the study A number of studies such as Timo Salmi (1990) were conducted to reduce the information load resulting from computing a large number of ratios and categorize those ratios that were believed valuable. This study aims to identify those variables that are most relevant to the stock returns of pharmaceutical sector in Egyptian stock market. 1. 3 Statement of objectives This study attempt to achieve the following objective: -The most relevant independent variables (financial ratios) with stock returns as a dependent variable. Chapter II FINANCIAL RATIOS AND STOCK MARKET 2. 1 Literature Review The main goal of our research is to evaluate the relationship between common financial ratios as independent variables and stock returns of the pharmaceutical firms as dependent variable. The relation between financial statement information and stock return was examined by Ou and Penman (1989) who observed returns to investment strategies that are based on a measure that summarizes the information in financial statements to identify the relevant financial ratios. Their study indicate that the predicted returns can not be explained by return based risk measures and that financial statements capture fundamentals that are not reflected in stock prices. The results of the study suggest that it is possible for investors to make excess profits using publicly available information. More recently, the relation between financial statement information and stock return was extended by Holtausen and larcker (1992) who identify value-relevant fundamentals in the context of a return-fundamentals relation. Holtausen (1992) examined the ability of accounting information to generate profitable trading strategies (using 60 accounting ratios). The excess returns were observed in the fourth month following the company’s fiscal year end. The results of the study suggest that the trading strategy was able to earn significantly abnormal returns during the period of 1978-1988. The same issue was examined later by Lev and Thiagarajan (1993) who used fundamental ratios as the basis of analysts’ description of different ratios to identify the value relevance of the financial ratios and their usefulness in security valuation. Afterward, Belkoui (1997) employed the popular financial ratios to show the value relevance, where the popularity of these financial ratios is matched by their usefulness in security valuation. He shows that value relevance of popular financial ratios in both a non contextual setting and a setting conditioned by levels of inflation and growth. 2. 2 Classification of financial ratios The classification of financial ratios was studied by Timo Salmi (1990) who split these financial ratios into five somewhat arbitrary groups: †¢Profitability – how good is the business as an investment. Liquidity – the amount of working capital available. †¢Capital Adequacy – measure the leverage percentage. †¢Debt service coverage – how near is the business to bankruptcy. †¢Efficiency – how good is the management of the business. Each financial ratio has its own signal and its own relation to the stock return. Based on these previous studies, the stu dy selected the most popular financial ratios guided in major financial analysis books such as Mishkin (2001) 2. 3 An overview of Egyptian stock exchange EgyptWatch (2002) studied the history of the egyptian stock exchange and mentioned that the Egyptian Stock Exchange is comprised of two exchanges: the Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchanges (CASE), and is governed by the same board of directors that share the same trading, clearing & settlement systems. The Alexandria Stock Exchange was officially established in 1888 followed by that of Cairo in 1903. The two Exchanges were very active until the 1940s, when the Egyptian Stock Exchange ranked fifth in the world. Nevertheless, the political turmoil of the mid-1950s led to the demise of activity on the Exchange, which remained dormant throughout the period between 1961 and 1992 (MohieEldin and Sourial, 2000). In 1990, the Egyptian government started on economic reform & restructuring program. The move towards a free-market economy has been remarkably swift and the process of deregulation and privatization has simulated stock market activity. The Capital Market Authority (2002) played an instrumental role in initiating and leading the effort for the revival of the Egyptian stock market in the period between 1992 and 1996. The Capital Market Authority (CMA) is the regulatory body in charge of enforcing, regulating & ensuring compliance as well as monitoring market performance. Relevant policy actions undertaken by the CMA include introducing all types of investment vehicles, allowing open competition in the pricing of market services; and providing full investor protection. The main features of the operational framework are fair trading procedures and practices as well as an immediate transfer of ownership of traded securities; optional listing on the stock exchange; quarterly disclosure requirements for companies; adequate protection of minority shareholder rights; and improved data collection schemes. Capital Law 95/1992 has put in place the regulatory framework in which financial intermediaries such as brokers, venture-capital firms, underwriters and fund managers are to operate. With respect to the managerial framework of CASE, a coherent organizational structure with a clear division of authority & responsibilities was established, creating new divisions & departments such as Publications & Public Relations, Research, Surveillance & Market Control, and Information Technology. Additionally, in May 1998, CASE signed a contract with EFA Software Ltd. , to deliver the new electronic trading, clearing & settlement system that will replace the existing one. The Board of Directors also set up several committees with specific responsibilities. At the senior level, an international advisory committee made up of internationally prominent economists, investment bankers, financiers & investors has been developed in order to ensure that CASE stays closely linked to the int’l arena. This group also provides continuous feedback on its policies. Both the CMA & the CASE monitor market activity to detect possible market manipulation or insider trading. Accordingly, they may suspend offers & bids for institutions suspected of price manipulation. In the case of an emergency, the CASE and/or the CMA may halt trading and/or place ceilings on floors trading prices (maximum 5% up or down), based on the closing prices of the preceding day. In the case of individuals, mutual funds & international funds, no taxes are levied on dividends, capital gain & interest on bonds. Profits of Egyptian corporations from securities investments are subject to a capital gains tax. 2. 3. 1 Recent developments On 21 July 2002, CASE commenced its new price ceiling system with regard to the most actively traded stocks. According to the new practice, the five-percent ceiling on daily prices was removed for a set of selected active stocks (currently twelve). This set of stocks comprises 12 out of the most actively traded stocks on CASE. The chosen of this set of stocks was based on meeting some stated criteria decided by CASE (2002): †¢Stocks must be dematerialized. †¢Minimum trading days per company per year is 220. †¢Average number of transactions per stock must be 20. †¢Minimum market capitalization per company amounts to LE 200 million. Minimum free float amounts to 15 percent of the total listed shares. †¢Minimum turnover ratio per company is 10 percent. †¢The company must prepare financial statements for three consecutive years. †¢Transactions conducted on the shares of the company must be executed by at least 20 brokerage firms. The new practice will stipulate the halt of trading on any of the twelve stocks for a period of thirty minutes, forty-five minutes o r till the end of the trading session, if the stock prevailing weighted average price exceeds 10 percent, 15 percent or 20 percent respectively over opening price. When trading is halted, brokers should inform their clients about the temporary suspension, its reasons, duration and should take the necessary actions in order to fulfill their clients requests. Brokers are allowed to cancel, any of their clients’ orders, when trading is halted. 2. 3. 2 Background of Privatization Program The Ministry of Public Enterprise (MPE) is dedicated to achieve the long-term goal of complete implementation of Egypt’s overall privatization plan. In 1991 Public Enterprise Law No. 203 was introduced as a transitional measure. Dr. Khatab M. (Minister of Public Enterprise) (2002) has explained his Ministry’s plans and objectives to facilitate privatization in Egypt and the methods that have been followed in this regard. Also Dr. Mokhtar Khatab has mentioned to the Government of Egypt (GOE) his efforts in undertaking an extensive privatization program whereby state-owned companies are transferred to the private sector through several methods McKinney (1996). †¢The transfer of ownership & control of state-owned enterprise to the private sector through a partial or a full public share flotation on both the domestic or foreign stock exchanges. †¢Direct sale of a controlling interest to domestic or foreign investors. Direct sale of a controlling interest to employees. †¢The law also allows the sale or lease of company assets, unlimited sale of government-owned shares, or liquidation. Primary objectives of the plan are to generate higher productivity and faster (but sustainable) growth, and as a consequence an increase in returns on assets and equity while at t he same time raising internal efficiency, improving capital structure and increasing capital expenditure. Since the early 1990s a number of key programs have been put into place to greatly liberalize commerce and trade; and to re-frame the country’s legal, regulatory, judicial, and tax structures. An equally important focus of the plan is the creation of new jobs that an expanding economy will provide for the workforce. Over the past five years, the GOE has achieved very gratifying results in macroeconomic terms. This is due to the creation of policies to remove trade barriers, the reform of trade and financial markets, and the reform of the legal taxation and regulatory frameworks, Field (1995) 2. 3. 3 Updates on the Situation of the Privatized Companies The Government of Egypt (GOE) has designed a balanced privatization program, which includes the following share sales strategies. The Egyptian Ministry of Public Enterprise Sector (2001) revealed that: †¢Public Offerings on the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange 37 companies have so far been approved by the GOE for privatization and have been sold through Initial Public Offering (IPO) or second offerings. The sales of these companies netted 5. 6 billion pounds which represents 36% of privatization proceeds to date. 16 companies have achieved partial privatization netting the government nearly 1. 76 billion LE. †¢Sale to Anchor and Strategic Investors 3 companies have been privatized by this method, accounting for 6. 4 billion pounds LE in proceeds to the government. Sales to anchor investors have amounted to 42% of the total privatization proceeds thus far. †¢Employee Stock Ownership Programs (ESOPs) The GOE has approved the allocation through the sale of 10 percent of the public enterprises’ share offerings to the employees as part of the â€Å"Employee Stock Ownership Program†. I n other cases, and according to the particular circumstances of each company, the majority of shares have been sold to its management and employees. To date, mainly medium-sized companies in the public works sector have implemented this scheme. So far, 30 Employee Shareholder Association (ESA) sales transactions have taken place bringing in 870 million pounds LE. †¢Lease Management Contracts In this method, Companies were offered for management by the government to the private sector with an option to buy at a future date. This alternative is not very different to the anchor investor approach if and when the managing company exercises its option to buy. Five contracts of this type are currently active. Chapter III PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR OVERVIEW The government has set a 40% ceiling (maximum that could be privatized), 10% of which is reserved for Employee Shareholder Associations (ESA), on the privatization of any public pharmaceutical company. The restriction relates to the government’s desire to maintain control of the industry for its significant role in society, The Egyptian Ministry of Public Enterprise Sector (2001). The first five companies that have been privatized: Alexandria, Cairo, Memphis, Arab and Nile pharmaceuticals. These companies have already been 40% privatized. The privatization plan then expanded to cover 11 companies at the end of June 2002. . 1 Pharmaceutical Industry Highlights Drug policy and planning center (2002) has published the following statistics: 199920002001 Market Size (LE bn)4. 655. 42 No. of Products (thousand)3. 63. 84 Per capita spending (LE)72. 6677. 1882. 14 3. 2 Pharmaceutical Products Total exports made by Egypt to the whole world includes a lot of commodities which are classi fied to (Fuels Products, Cotton, Raw Materials, Semi finished commodities and finished commodities). Central Bank of Egypt (2002) revealed that Pharmaceutical products are considered as part of finished commodities, they represent 3% of finished commodities and 1. % of the total export. Also, Pharmaceutical products play a significant role in Egypt’s import. They represent 4% of the total import and 21% of their classification division (consumer goods). Figure (1) shows Pharmaceutical Export and Import situation. Figure (1) Local production of medicine satisfies 92% of the market demand, whereas the remainder is balanced by imports. Kompass Egypt (2002-2003) classified the local market players as: 1) Public-sector companies. 2) Private-sector companies. 3) Multinationals Figure (2) Note: The term Private sector encompasses Multinationals and other Private companies. The government has set a relatively low tariff on imported drugs, which averages around 5%. The main reason for this comparatively low duty is the state’s policy of making medicine available to the bulk of the population at the cheapest possible price. 3. 3 Pricing Policy Prior to the reform program in 1991, the government’s major consideration when setting prices for drugs was to make medicine affordable to the bulk of the population regardless of a company’s cost structure. The focus on the social role of medicine, rather than the profitability of pharmaceutical companies, is the main reason behind this policy. The Drug Policy & Planning Center (DPPC) is the main regulatory authority controlling the pharmaceutical industry. The center is in charge of drug registration and pricing. The DPPC (2002) uses a â€Å"Cost Plus Formula† to price drugs. The formula stipulates a price equivalent to the products cost plus a certain profit margin. The profit margin is 25% for nonessential products, and 15% for essential products. It is noteworthy that once a product has been priced, it is seldom eligible for re-pricing to account for increasing costs. The heavy drop in the value of the Egyptian pound was mirrored in an increasing raw material costs burdening the Egyptian Pharmaceutical companies, which import around 80% of their raw material requirements. In order to save the profit margins from the aftermath of the devaluation, the Ministry of Health finally agreed to raise the prices of five products for each pharmaceutical company starting February 2002. 3. 4 GATT and TRIPS Egypt is a signatory to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which will come into effect for the pharmaceutical sector in Egypt in 2005. The agreement is likely to have serious repercussions for the pharmaceutical industries of developing countries including Egypt. The agreement calls for the abolition of both quantitative and qualitative barriers to entry for pharmaceutical products, thus eliminating any governmental protection of the industry. Under GATT, Egyptian companies have to abide by the restrictions imposed by patents and property rights for a period of 20 years. Based on the Egyptian commitment with the agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which is part of the GATT, President of Egypt published The Law No. 2 for year (2002), calling for the Protection of any invention whether industrial or intellectual. The agreement will result in the extension of a patent to 20 years and will grant protection to the product and the production process. Chapter IV METHODOLOGY AND EMPERICAL MODELS 4. 1 Data Set In our study, we select all the pharmaceutical companies quoted in the Egypt ian stock exchange which consists of 11 pharmaceutical companies representing the pharmaceutical sector. We covered the period from 1996 to 2001. Analyzing six continuous years of data, strengthen and support results and give our conclusion stability and reasonability. Kompass Egypt Financial Year Book and the Egyptian Capital Market Authority were the prime sources for our data set. Additionally, for the purpose of this analysis, we calculate the returns using annually prices of securities for years starting from 1996 to 2001. 4. 2 Selection of Financial Ratios (Independent variables) According to the literature, we determine the most useful financial ratios that could be functional in security valuation by analyzing and comparing several papers and texts were analyzed and compared. The reasons behind the selection of these financial ratios: †¢Their talent in theoretical explanation of fundamental relationships and signals experienced by the firms. [Foster 1986] †¢The importance of their existence in published annual reports. [Gibson 1982] †¢Surveys proved that chief executive officers and other senior executives are concerning popular financial ratios for various types of decision making. [Walsh 1984] The following table provides the most common financial ratios that might affect stock returns. For each financial ratio, we provide the way of calculation, the hypothesized positive or negative relationship with stock returns. Table (1) The common financial ratios and their prediction with stock returns GroupFinancial ratiosVariablesEquationsPrediction of relationship ProfitabilityEarning per ShareEPSNet income / Number of shares outstandingPositive Return on EquityROENet income / owners’ equity Return on AssetsROANet income / total assets Profit MarginPMNet income / total sales LiquidityCurrent RatioCTRCurrent assets / Current liabilitiesNegative Quick RatioQR(Current assets – Inventory) / Current liabilities Operating Cash flow RatioOCFCash flow from operations / Current liabilitiesPositive LeverageDebt to Equity RatioDERLong term liabilities / owners’ equityNegative CoverageInterest CoverageICEBIT / interest expensePositive EfficiencyAssets TurnoverATOSales revenue / Total assetsPositive Receivables TurnoverRTOSales / Account Receivables EBIT: Earnings before Interest and Taxes We refer to the explanantion of these financial ratios (independent variables) in the Appendix section. . 3 Buy-and-Hold Returns (BHR) As far as the dependent variable is concerned, stock returns, there is no consensus on the appropriate methodology for calculating the long-run stock returns (see among other, Barber and Lyon, 1997; Kothari and Warner, 1997; Brav and Gompers, 1997; and Barber, Lyon and Tsai, 1999). Researchers use several methods to calculate long run returns, in particular Buy-and-Hold returns (BHRs) method. The first s tep in calculating Buy-and Hold return method is to calculate rate of return on stocks. We consider that the appropriate rate of return on a given stock is the difference between the stock prices in time t plus dividends in time t-1 and the stock prices in time t-1 , as follows: (1) Where is the return for security I for period t, refers to the closing price of security I at time t , and is the price of security I at time t-1 , is the dividend received for period t-1 for the firm I As far as we consider time t as a year, rate of return on stocks ( ) that we calculated from the previous equation is the Buy-and-Hold return method for a financial year. (2) Where is Buy-and-Hold Return for security i in period t. we consider it a year. 4. 4 Regression Model To determine the relationship between the independent variables (financial ratios) and the dependent variable (stock return), we follow a similar methodology to that of Belkaoui (1997) and estimate the following regression: (3) Where is the annual stock return of firm I at time t, is the earning per share for firm I at t ime t, is the return on equity for firm I at time t, is the return on assets for firm I at time t, is the profit margin for firm I at time t, is the current ratio for firm I at time t, is the quick ratio for firm I at time t, s the operating cash flow for firm I at time t, is the debt to equity ratio for firm I at time t, is the interest coverage ratio for firm I at time t, is the asset turnover for firm I at time t, is the receivable turnover for firm I at time t. Since the return of a given stock is based on a period extending from 9 months prior to the fiscal year-end and 3 months after the fiscal year-end, corresponding roughly with the period between announcing the financial statement, the starting month would be December for firms whose fiscal years end at Jun, the 30th and June for firms whose fiscal years end at December the 31st. CHAPTER V RESEARCH FINDINGS 5. 1 Results We present results of a regression model where independent variables in the regression equation are chosen in two ways (both general and step wise regression). Multicollinearity tests the correlation among two or more of the independent variables (financial ratios) used in the regression equation. Multicollinearity is a problem because it increases the likelihood of rounding errors in the calculation of the beta estimates and standard error, and also it may produces confusing and misleading (signs of beta parameters are different from those signs expected) results (Mendenhall, 1996). Table (2) shows that the existing problem in this Multicollinearity is especially evident for the correlation between the Current Ratio and the Quick Ratio reaching 0. 92 and significant at 99% level. Current Ratio and Quick Ratio are two faces for the same coin. They are categorized under liquidity ratios group, they have the same explanation about the result and there is a little bit difference in their equations (In Quick Ratio, Inventory is excluded from the Current Assets). So we eliminate Quick ratio from the independent variables (financial ratios) and retain on Current Ratio because it is more popular. Table (2) Correlation Matrix to explain the relationships among the financial ratios as independent variables VariablesQRATODERCTRICEPSOCFPMRTOROAROE QR1. 000 ATO-0. 4204*1. 000 DER0. 03920. 3860*1. 000 CTR0. 9239*-03478*0. 08801. 000 IC0. 3752*-0. 3246**-0. 15040. 3610*1. 000 EPS0. 1884-0. 2604**-0. 12480. 0724-0. 03061. 000 OCF0. 0641-0. 3243-0. 29300. 15720. 19970. 32021. 000 PM0. 1659-0. 4338*-0. 2835**0. 23450. 04750. 6245*0. 34311. 000 RTO-0. 2999**0. 1663-0. 0413-0. 0230-0. 0298-0. 19220. 6846*0. 16561. 000 ROA0. 0535-0. 1600-0. 4080*0. 16850. 17500. 6342*0. 6703*0. 6392*0. 3761*1. 000 ROE0. 1264-0. 1178-0. 01580. 21150. 10610. 11030. 8970. 2610**0. 18200. 3693*1. 000 * Significant at the 1% level ** Significant at the 5% level Table (3) & (4) show the multiple and step-wise regressions of the relationship between explanatory variables (financial ratios) and stock returns utilizing buy-and-hold return (BHR) method. The relationship between stock returns and common financial ratios is es timated using the following equation: Where is the annual stock return of firm i at time t. BHR is calculated as follows: Where is buy- and- hold return for security i, in period T, T is the trading month number 12, and indicates the first event month of calculating the return. s the dependent variable in the regression equation. Table (3) Multiple Regressions of the Relationship between Financial Ratios and Stock Returns Independent variables BetaT testSig. T 1- Current ratio (CTR)0. 7821993. 0940. 0055* 2- Interest coverage ratio (IC)0. 6895873. 0850. 0056* 3 Profit margin ratio (PM)0. 6434102. 5740. 0177** 4- Earnings per share (EPS)0. 3790681. 1190. 2757 5- Operating cash flow ratio (OCF)0. 2002970. 5430. 5931 6- Assets turnover (ATO)0. 1150700. 4550. 6537 7- Return on Equity (ROE)0. 0966730. 5010. 6215 8- Debt to equity ratio (DER)0. 0622020. 3040. 7640 – Receivables turnover (RTO)-0. 165573-0. 4660. 6457 10- Return on Assets (ROA)-0. 121268-0. 3320. 7433 Multiple R = 0. 68529F = 6. 76472 R square = 0. 46962Significant F = 0. 0031 * Significant at the 1% level ** Significant at the 5% level The results from table (3) show that the F test used to test the overall utility of the model indicates that the model is significant at the 99% level. However, the R square is 46. 96% indicating that the ten independent variables together explained approximately half of the variance in the yearly return of pharmaceutical sector as a dependent variable. Also, T test of the individual Betas (financial ratios) indicates that the most active ratios in determining stock returns are Current Ratio (CTR), Interest Coverage Ratio (IC) and Profit Margin Ratio (PM) with a significant level of 99%, 99% and 95% respectively. To check on the signs of the beta coefficient, the dependent variable (stock return) was regressed on each of the independent variables (financial ratios) and the signs of the resulting betas were checked against that of the original equation. There are three ratios which are Current Ratio, Receivable Turnover and Return on Assets that had different signs from the original regression equation The positive coefficient estimated for Current Ratio with stock returns is not expected because conservative policies that tend to keep current asset higher than current liability have lower risk and also have lower expected return than the aggressive policies. So we conclude that rational investors put more confidence in low risky stocks and look forward for stable stocks more than the temporary profitable stocks. On the other hand, Receivable Turnover ratio and Return on Assets ratio are completely insignificant as show in table (3), so there is nothing important to explain their different signs from the original prediction. Table (4) Step-wise Regression of the Relationship between Financial Ratios and Stock Returns Independent variables R? BetaT testSig. T ChangeAccumulation 1- Current ratio 0. 194050. 194050. 7302745. 2990. 0000* 2- Interest coverage ratio 0. 121330. 315380. 7161115. 2420. 0000* 3 Profit margin ratio 0. 072850. 388230. 4597934. 1170. 0001* Multiple R = 0. 62308F= 12. 69213 R square = 0. 38823 * Significant at the 1% level ** Significant at the 5% level In the next step, we utilize the step-wise regression to reach the final model that contains the significant explanatory variables and give better explanation for the relationship. Consistent with the general regression models, the step-wise results confirm the above mentioned findings as Current Ratio (CRT) is the most significant variable at the 99% and explained about 19% of the variance in the yearly return of pharmaceutical sector with R square about 19%, while R square for the model is about 39%. Interest coverage ratio has also explained about 12% of the variance in the yearly return of pharmaceutical sector. Interest coverage ratio is regarded as a measure of a company’s creditworthiness because it shows how much income there is to cover interest payments on outstanding debt. Profit margin ratio explained about 7% of the variance in the yearly return of pharmaceutical sector with R square 7%. From results we conclude that rational investors and stockholders are looking for strength and stability first then profitability when evaluating a pharmaceutical stock company. Table (5) Stepwise Multiple regression analysis for the good predictors Company R? BetaT testSig. T ChangeAccumulation 1- Memphis0. 466240. 466240. 73001412. 4530. 0000* 2- Cairo0. 213940. 680180. 6092937. 6880. 0000* 3- Alexandria0. 094360. 77454-0. 521862-4. 6470. 0001* Multiple R = 0. 88006F= 23. 73573 R square = 0. 77454 * Significant at the 1% level ** Significant at the 5% level Stepwise multiple regression model yielded a reduced equation containing only three companies (independent variables) explaining about 77% of the variance in the yearly return of pharmaceutical sector as a dependent variable: the analysis yielded three good predictors as demonstrated at table (5), the results proved that Beta value of Memphis Pharmaceutical and Chemical Industries was 0. 73 and it is significant at 99% level. Additionally, Memphis Company alone explained about 47% of the variance in the yearly return of the pharmaceutical sector. The second good predictor is Cairo Pharmaceutical and Chemical Industries while its Beta value was 0. 60 and it is significant at 99% level. Cairo Company alone explained about 21% and together with Memphis Company explained about 68% of the variance in the yearly return of the pharmaceutical sector. The third and last predictor is Alexandria Pharmaceutical and Chemical Industries with a Beta value of -0. 52 and significant at 99% level. Alexandria Company explained alone about 9% of the variance in the yearly return. 5. 2 Summary and Conclusion The relationship between financial ratios and stock returns has been a popular issue in the area of accounting and finance for a long time, so we found that it is a good issue to discuss on the Egyptian stock market. Here, an analysis is undertaken to show the value relevance of the financial ratios and their usefulness in security valuation in the Egyptian pharmaceutical sector. In our research, we use step-wise multiple regressions between financial ratios and stock returns, also between pharmaceutical companies’ returns and pharmaceutical sector returns. The results from using step-wise and multi regression indicate that Current Ratio (CTR), Interest Coverage Ratio (IC) and Profit Margin Ratio (PM) respectively, are the most relevant ratios in determining stock returns. Additionally, Memphis Pharmaceutical and Chemical Industries is the most relevant company in explaining the variance of the pharmaceutical sector return as a whole. Finally, it seems that Current Ratio (CTR), Interest Coverage Ratio (IC) and Profit Margin Ratio (PM) play a significant role in formulating investment decisions in the Egyptian stock market (specifically, Pharmaceutical sector). Egyptian rational investors put more confidence in low risky stocks and look forward for stable stocks more than the temporary profitable stocks. 5. 3 Further Research The study was conducted on Egyptian pharmaceutical sector and taken all pharmaceutical companies (11 companies) that have been quoted in Egyptian stock exchange, covered the period from 1996 to 2001. Replicating the study on other sectors in Egypt such as (Agriculture, Food & Beverages, Construction, Banks†¦) at different times could be very useful. The study could be also replicated on the valuable Egyptian market indices such as (Case 30, IFCG, MSCI, EFG Hermes). These studies could help in determining more clearly the relationship between financial ratios as independent variables and stock returns as dependent variable. CHAPTER VI REFRENCES Barber, B. , Lyon, J. , and Tsai, C. , (1999), â€Å"Improved Methods for Tests of Long-Run Abnormal Stock Returnsâ€Å", Journal of Finance, 54 (1), 165-201. Baraber, B. , and Lyon, J. , (1997), â€Å"Detecting Long-Run Abnormal Stock Returns: The Empirical Power and Specification of Test Statisticsâ€Å", Journal of Financial Economics, 43 (3), 41-72. Brav, A. , and Gompers, P. , (1997), â€Å"Myth or Reality? 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(1986), â€Å"The Relative Information Content of Accruals and Cash Flows: Combined Evidence at the Earnings Announcement and Annual Report Release Date† Journal of Accounting Research, p. 165-200 CHAPTER VII APPENDIX (A) Financial Ratios Financial ratios are very important for new investors who would like to invest in the firm and also for stockholders who are the investors of the firm because financial ratios give them several indicators which they can evaluate the firm with. 1) Profitability Ratios The main goal of these ratios is to help us to judge how good the firm's profit performance. Profitability ratios refer to the ability of a firm to generate revenues in excess of expenses. 1. 1 Earnings per Share The portion of a company’s profit allocated to each outstanding share of a company’s common stock. E arnings per share is simply a fundamental measure of profitability that shows how much profit was generated on a per-share-of-stock basis. EPS doesn’t reveal a great deal. Its true value lies in comparing EPS figures across several quarters, or years, to judge the growth of a company’s earnings on a per-share basis. David Irwin (2001) Therefore, studying refers to a positive relationship between EPS and stock market return. To calculate EPS, start with net income (earnings) for the period in question, subtract the total value of any preferred stock dividends and then divide the resulting figure by the number of shares outstanding during that period. Or: Net income / Number of shares outstanding 1. 2 Return on Equity ROE is a fundamental indication of a company’s ability to increase its earnings per share and thus the quality of its stock, because it reveals how well a company is using its money to generate additional earnings. ROE allows investors to compare a company’s use of their equity with other investments, and to compare the performance of companies in the same industry. ROE can also help to evaluate trends in a business. Businesses that generate high returns on equity are businesses that pay off their shareholders handsomely and create substantial assets for each dollar invested as mentioned by Peter S. 1999). To calculate ROE, divide the net income shown on the income statement by shareholders’ equity, which appears on the balance sheet: Net income / owners’ equity 1. 3 Return on Assets A Company’s profitability expressed as a percentage of its total assets. Return on assets measures how effectively a company has used the total assets at its disposal t o generate earnings. Because the ROA formula reflects total revenue, total cost, and assets deployed, the ratio itself reflects a management’s ability to generate income during the course of a given period, usually a year. Ross (2002) Naturally, the higher the return the better the profit performance. ROA is a convenient way of comparing a company’s performance with that of its competitors. ROA should have a positive relationship with the stock market return. To calculate ROA, divide a company’s net income by its total assets, then multiply by 100 to express the figure as a percentage: Net income / total assets 1. 4 Profit Margin Profit Margin is a company’s net profit or loss as a percentage of total sales for a given period, typically a year. This ratio shows how efficiently management uses the sales revenue, thus reflecting its ability to manage costs and overhead and operate efficiently. It also indicates a firm’s ability to withstand adverse conditions such as falling prices, rising costs, or declining sales. Ross (2002) The higher the figure, the better a company is able to endure price wars and falling prices. Investors tend to prefer a higher percentage of profit margins, which considered being an indication of a positive relationship between profit margin and stock market return. The calculation is very basic: Net profit / total sales (2) Liquidity Ratios These are ratios that measure the liquidity of the firm. Firms have to ensure that they have the liquidity required to meet all their commitments. To the extent a firm has sufficient cash flow; it will be able to avoid defaulting on its financial obligations and, thus avoid experiencing financial distress. 2. 1 Current Ratio Current ratio is the company’s liquidity and its ability to meet its short-term debt obligations. By comparing a company’s current assets with its current liabilities, the current ratio reflects its ability to pay its upcoming bills in the unlikely event of all creditors demanding payment at once. Current liabilities are debts that are due within one year from the date of the balance sheet as mentioned by Charles P. (2002). The basic source from which to pay these debts is a current asset. As long as firms are searching for no risks by increasing current assets, profitability will be getting shrunk. So that current ratio should have a negative relationship with stock market return. Working capital is also called net current assets or current capital, and is expressed as: Current assets / Current liabilities 2. 2 Quick Ratio How quickly a company’s assets can be turned into cash, which is why assessment of a company’s liquidity also is known as the quick ratio, or simply the acid ratio. Regardless of how this ratio is labeled, it is considered a highly reliable indicator of a company’s financial strength and its ability to meet its short-term obligations. Because inventory can sometimes be difficult to liquidate, the quick-test ratio deducts inventory from current assets before they are compared with current liabilities-which is what distinguishes it from the current ratio. Potential creditors like to use the quick-test ratio because it reveals how a company would fare if it had to pay off its bills under the worst possible conditions. Indeed, the assumption behind the quick-test ratio is that creditors are howling at the door demanding immediate payment, and that an enterprise has no time to sell off its inventory, or any of its stock. This ratio should have also negative relationship like the current ratio with stock market return. The quick-test is computed by subtracting inventories from current assets and dividing the difference by current liabilities: (Current assets – Inventory) / Current liabilities . 3 Operating Cash Flow Ratio Traditional working capital ratios indicate how much cash the company had available on a single date in the past. Cash flow ratio, on the other hand, tests how much cash was generated over a period of time and compare that to near-term obligations as published by John R. and Jeanne H. (1998). This ratio should str engthen the investors’ confidence toward the firm, therefore it should be positively related with stock market return. The numerator of the OCF ratio consists of net cash provided by operating activities. This is the net figure provided by the cash flow statement after taking into consideration adjustments for non-cash items and changes in working capital. The denominator is all current liabilities, taken from the balance sheet: Cash flow from operations / Current liabilities (3) Leverage Ratios 3. 1 Debt-to-Equity Ratio How much money a company owes compared with how much money it has invested in it by principal owners and shareholders. The debt-to-equity ratio reveals the proportion of debt and equity a company using to finance its business. It also measures a company’s borrowing capacity. The higher the ratio, the greater the proportion of debt but also the greater the risk. Mishkin (2001) describes the debt-to-equity ratio as â€Å"a great financial test† of long-term corporate health, because debt establishes a commitment to repay money throughout a period of time, even though there is no assurance that sufficient cash will be generated to meet that commitment. Creditors and lenders, understandably, rely heavily on the ratio to evaluate borrowers. As long as this ratio is considered to be low, investors’ confidence will be increased which negatively related with the stock performance. The debt-to-equity ratio is calculated by dividing debt by owners’ equity, where equity is, typically, the figure stated for the preceding calendar or fiscal year. Debt, however, can be defined either as long-term debt only, or as total liabilities, which includes both long- and short-term debt. The most common formula for the ratio is: Long term liabilities / owners’ equity (4) Coverage Ratios 4. 1 Interest Coverage The amount of earnings available to make interest payments after all operating and non-operating income and expenses—except interest and income taxes—have been accounted for. Interest coverage is regarded as a measure of a company’s creditworthiness because it shows how much income there is to cover interest payments on outstanding debt. Banks and financial analysts also rely on this ratio as a rule of thumb to gauge the fundamental strength of a business as argued Eugene F. & Joel H. (1998). Investors also rely on this ratio to examine the strength of a firm’s financial statement while this ratio should have a positive relationship with stock market return. Interest coverage is expressed as a ratio, and reflects a company’s ability to pay the interest obligations on its debt. It compares the funds available to pay interest—earnings before interest and taxes, or EBIT—with the interest expense. The basic formula is: EBIT / interest expense (5) Efficiency Ratios Ratios of turnover are constructed to measure how effectively the firm’s assets are being managed. 5. 1 Asset Turnover The amount of sales generated for every pound’s worth of assets over a given period. Asset turnover measures how well a company is leveraging its assets to produce revenue. A well-managed manufacturer, for example, will make its plant and equipment work hard for the business by minimizing idle time for machines. The higher the number the better-within reason. As a rule of thumb, companies with low profit margins tend to have high asset turnover; those with high profit margins have low asset turnover. This ratio can also show how capital intensive a business is. Some businesses-software developers, for example-can generate tremendous sales per dollar of assets because their assets are modest. At the other end of the scale, heavy industry manufacturers need a huge asset base to generate sales as refered by Eugene F. & Joel H. (1998). As long as the plant and equipment work hard and sales are increasing that would be an indication of a good sign. Consequently, this ratio should be a positively related with stock market return. Asset turnover’s basic formula is simply sales divided by assets: Sales revenue / Total assets 5. 2 Accounts Receivable Turnover This ratio explains the number of times in each accounting period, typically a year that a firm converts credit sales into cash. A high turnover figure is desirable, because it indicates that a company collects revenues effectively, and that its customers pay bills promptly. A high figure also suggests that a firm’s credit and collection policies are sound. In addition, the measurement is a reasonably good indicator of cash flow, and of overall operating efficiency as hence by Mishkin (2001). This ratio should have a positive relationship with stock return. The formula for accounts receivable turnover is straightforward. Simply divide the average amount of receivables into annual credit sales: Sales / Account Receivables (B) Statistical Results