Monday, December 30, 2019

Exegesis on the Story of the Good Samaritan - 832 Words

Anonymous October 26, 2012 Mr. ------ Luke 10:25-36 The passage of Luke 10:25-36 is an essential story because it applies to every Christian today the same way, but in order for us to follow the example Jesus made, we must first understand what the story would have meant to the Jews in Jesus’ time. The first step in understanding the story of the Good Samaritan is to understand the relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans of the time. The Samaritans were considered unclean by the Jews, because they saw the Samaritans as a corruption of God’s chosen people, therefore the Jews were not supposed to make contact with the Samaritans whatsoever. Not only were the Samaritans considered unclean, the Jews would have seen them as†¦show more content†¦Jesus was instructing the Jews to be an example to the nations by loving all people the way Christ did, which is why he changed the Jews’ understood meaning of neighbor, from someone who was righteous, to all men. The two religious people were una ble to do what God wanted from them in the parable, because they were unable to look past the law for the greater good, unlike the Samaritan, who was up and ready to help because he was not blinded by obligations that would cause him a slight disadvantage, because what was important to him was helping the broken man on the road. This parable is a great example of Christ’s love for us, since we are all corrupted with sin, yet he loves us and is merciful to each of us, although it is not deserved. Bibliography 1. Gaebelein, Frank. The Expositors Bible Commentary: Volume 8. Grand Rapids, Zndervan:

Sunday, December 22, 2019

How Technology Effects Children Essay - 3441 Words

In today’s society we are overwhelmed with technology. Technology is changing everyday, and will forever be a staple in our lives. The effect that technology has on our children has brought on some concerns and some praises. Children these days have no choice but to some how be influenced by the ever growing technology in our societies. Our common concern has been that although digital technology has boosted children’s talent for multitasking, their ability to process information deeply may be deteriorating (Carpenter, 2010). Many people have a wide range of opinions on if technology is having a positive influence on our children or a negative, there is a vast amount of evidence to support both of these arguments. Technology can refer to†¦show more content†¦Gentile, 2004). The effects of both violent and non-violent video game playing can be determined by the amount of time playing the video game and by the content of the games being played. The content of th e games being played could definitely have a factor in how a child performs in school, and how aggressive they are towards peers and teachers. Obviously if a child is playing hours upon hours of violent video games, this can lead to them acting out violence and having no consequences for it. If a child took the time that they played video games a week and used that time to be engaged in reading, homework or even a creative activity we’d have less issues with our children’s school performances. Parents should really be monitoring how long their child is playing video games, but this doesn’t always happen. A child who plays video games for long periods of time could also build up a social wall, become a loner. It is important for children to interact with other children in order to help develop their social skills, which without will make it very difficult to make it in this world. At the age children start playing video games, it is hard for them to distinguish w hat is reality and what is not. So in some cases the violent acts in video games could make the child believe the world is a scary place. More than a thousand scientific studies andShow MoreRelatedTechnology And Its Detrimental Effect On Children1123 Words   |  5 PagesLuke Stafford En 102 Essay 4 6/22/2015 Technology is a large part of everyday life in the 21st century, and the effects of its power over our culture are clearly visible in multiple ways. For example, social media is the most popular form of communication and using the internet and computers seems second nature to us, especially in the form of entertainment. Many children today have never known a time when they didn’t have access to the internet, a television, or a cell phone. 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As the society depends on technology more and more to find an answerRead MoreTechnology Devices Can Enhance Social Development For Children Essay1491 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Purpose: The purpose of this literature review is to determine whether technology devices can enhance social development for children in schools. This literature review summarises peer and non-peer reviewed literature nationally and internationally. I mainly researched data bases from Porirua Library. Outline: This literature review summarises peer and non-peer reviewed literature nationally and internationally. I mainly researched data bases from Porirua Library. Literature was gainedRead MoreNew Evolving Technology And Its Effects On Relationships Or Connections Within The Family940 Words   |  4 Pagesthe 19th century, technology has begun to incorporate itself into our society. We have begun to see appliances, such as televisions, cell phones, computers and other influential devices, being integrated into our homes and family structures. The inner workings of our family life have changed, and a great deal of those changes revolve around the rise of technology. My Theoretical Perspectives Paper will be revolved around how families use this new evolving technology, and its effects on relationshipsRead Moreeffects of technology on children1279 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON CHILDREN In today’s world Technology is everywhere. We use computers for almost everything in everyday life, including â€Å"babysitting† our children. Computers can have both positive and negative effects on children, while some of the negative effects on health and development are unseen. As adults, we understand the physical world around us and the concepts inside computer programs. Children, on the other hand, need to learn this with traditionalRead MoreThe Illusion Of Technology1535 Words   |  7 PagesThe Illusion of Technology The thinking process of a child’s mind is one of the most significant aspects of their development. The neuropathways intrinsically wired into the central nervous system can be incredibly impacted by the rapid over load that technology constantly exposes children to. A child’s brain is like a sponge, and when electronic devices are repeatedly absorbed, there are some serious long term effects. This can hinder children’s physiological development, attention span, readingRead MoreAnalysis Of Ray Bradbury s The Sound Of Thunder 1162 Words   |  5 PagesTechnology plays a large roll in society today. Ray Bradbury uses technology in many of his stories to show what types of effects technology can have on society. Whether it be with dinosaurs, nurseries, or smart homes, Bradbury always manages to convey a common theme across many of his stories. This common theme that Bradbury focuses on is the adverse effects that technology has, or may have in the future, on soci ety. One story where the theme of the effects of technology is evident is â€Å"A SoundRead Moreâ€Å"Seventy-Eight Percent Of Teens Have A Cell Phone, 47 %1275 Words   |  6 Pageshave become a part of children and teens everyday lives. Parents are not able to supervise their children’s cell phone. Technology has changed each year, and children want to have the newest smartphone so that they can fit in. Now in days, adolescents can no longer live without their phone because it has become a necessity for them to be up to date with everything. Most parents allow this because they want the child to feel like they fit in. It has become a habit for children to spend a lot of their

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Ruby Turpin Essay Free Essays

Her knowledge does not rest upon the will of God, but on the racist environment she lives in. Ruby Turnip is a closet racist, she loves to categorize people and put them in boxes. It is the environment she is surrounded with that influences her actions. We will write a custom essay sample on Ruby Turpin Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now But the influence around her is not invincible. Ruby Turnip has been given the capability to break out of her mold and become something more. She has been given by God a chance to become a better Christian. A culture and way of life are engraved into your being from the beginning of your birth. A hypocritical culture, like that of the South, creates an interesting conflict of ideas and beliefs. The ordinary Southerner is a Christian who airships God every Sunday; one believes that at the end of time, God will judge them by looking at all his lifetime’s deeds, both good and bad. But he is also born into an environment that has a lot of prejudice. These opposing values, one symbolizing charity and brotherhood and the other representing an elitist culture, are taught and engraved in the South. Ruby Turnip believes she is a good Christian women but participates in the old southern pastime of racism. She believes that she is not racist, but is shocked to see blacks leading the way into heaven. She treats the black helpers like idiots, putting on a ask to cover her true prejudices and beliefs. It takes the spontaneous outburst of Mary Grace for Ruby Turnip to be shaken out of her closed point of view. She cannot understand how she is both a Christian and a warthog from hell. At first she cannot understand why, not seeing her own hypocrisy and pharisaic attitude. But at the end of the story, Ruby Turnip has a vision of the procession to heaven with those she considered lesser in front of her to heaven. It is a cultural shock. Everything she was made to believe in is false. Everything she has learned about the world and its society is false. The only Ruth she now has is the Divine Truth, the revelation from God. It is up to Ruby Turnip to use this new found truth as way to become a better Christian ore forsake this new divine revelation. It is possible for Ruby Turnip to overcome and triumph over the social norms she faces in the depraved and biased culture she faces in the South. She, unlike the other characters we encounter in the story, ponders over the caste question. In one sense Ruby Turnip is better than her husband, Claude, and most other Southerners. She constantly ponders and obsesses over the classification of people as she may have a guilty conscience. Her constant thinking might make her able to come to terms with her own attitude. Claude is a man that accepts the bias culture that he has grown and lived with. Moreover, he neither questions nor ponders about the social question he is surrounded with. He chooses to ignore it. On the other hand, Turnip falls asleep pondering this question. Quote. Her nonstop mulling over this question shows that it is possible for her to grow into a more perfect Christian. The idea that while others do not think about the bias they have grown with, Ruby Turnip thinks about this social norm every day. Ruby Turnip t her core is a person with contradicting beliefs: a Christian, and a judgmental Southern. She is a person capable of being apathetic to the plight of others. She agrees with the spirit of the song. The gospel song’s message â€Å"You go to your church / And I’ll go to mine / But we’ll all walk along together We’ll help each other out† (496), which is played in the reception room, States that all though we are all different We are all Christians and that we will all walk together hand in hand to heaven and ultimately to God. This shows that her Christian beliefs of equality is a strong and integral part of her being. Ruby Turnip’s philosophy in life is to help others. She makes it her life goal to help those that are in need, who need a hand. She never spared herself when she found somebody in need, whether they were white or black, trash or decent’ (497). It is her duty as a morally upright Christian to not see others for what they are but for who they are. Ruby Turnip knows that before death, we are all equal. She dreams that â€Å"they [people] were all crammed in together in a box car, being ridden of to be put in a gas ovenà ¢â‚¬  (492) This graphic imagery references the holocaust when the Jews were crammed into box cars and transported. O camps. This scene symbolizes that before death and ultimately God we are all equal. That no matter our station or position in life we are, before God’s judgment we are equal. Ruby Turnip although a biased and judgmental person, she is not morally at fault. The definition of a sin is any act regarded as such a transgressions especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle. Her sin or transgression is no a deliberate act against God’s will. She believes in the truth that she has been taught: that racism and judgmental doesn’t go against or oppose the divine will of God. The environment around her has affected her to the point of not realize her own moral faults and defects. This is the reason why she has trouble grappling over Mary Grace’s revelation: that she, Ruby Turnip, a believer in the grace of God is a warthog from hell. Her judgmental and racism can only be considered a culpable sin when she encounters Mary Grace. Mary Grace is the first oppositions to the beliefs Ruby Turnip has grown up with. She is the only one to go against the social norms that have been imposed by the southern society. Mary Grace represents an enlightened, more modern world view on societal bigotry. It takes the grace of God to knock some human development into her. Ruby Turnip is not culpable for her sin because of her ignorance. Her ignorance of a more Christian point of view of the world, blocks her path to God. But as soon as God reveals to her the truth, Ruby Turnip has a choice: either accept this revelation or turn away from God and believe in the society beliefs. â€Å"For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required; and to whom much was committed, more will be asked of him. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes† (Luke 12:48). Those who are not given much are not expected to give back, they are punished less severely than those who much is given but don’t give back to God are punished to the most limits. â€Å"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Chrism’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise: (Galatians 3:26-29). We are all brothers and sisters with Christ and because Of this We are the heirs to the promise of eternal salvation with God. How to cite Ruby Turpin Essay, Essays

Friday, December 6, 2019

Real Life Project and Studies

Question: Write an essay on a real life project and studies. Answer: The report is based on Delhi Metro Rail, India. The following report evaluates a real life project and studies the feature of the project and its various shortcomings related to the project. The report studies the concept of project management and uses the application of stakeholders theory and theory of management. The report highlights the various shortcomings and challenges faced during the different stages of the project. The report highlights the various issues like land acquisition issues and sheds critical light into the arguments between the selection of elevated corridors and underground corridors. The reports shows the importance of stakeholders and also highlights the criticism faced from the public regarding issues like deforestation, noise pollution and development of project. Introduction In the current generation there are various projects that are undertaken by different sectors to meet specific goals and objectives. There has to be a clear structured path, which is involved in meeting these goals and objectives. Management is a disciplinary body, which makes a clear strategy needed to be adopted for reaching goals and objectives. Project management is a discipline that combines initiation of a project, planning, implementation, controlling and signing off the work of a group regarding a specific project. This helps the team in achieving specific goals and objectives of the project. Project management is hinged on the general functions and principles of management, which are planning, organizing, staffing, controlling and coordinating. It is also a part of other management practices like financial forecasting and estimation, organisational behaviour, management science and cost and budgeting elements. It is an amalgamation and derivative of different body of managem ent (Schwalbe 2015). The topic chosen for the research paper is the project related to Delhi Metro Rail. The study critically analyses the struggles and challenges encountered during the different phases of the study. The study will shed critical light into the different application of management functions and theories in the quest of overcoming the challenges and difficulties phased during the different phases of the project. The relevance of different theories like theory of management and stakeholders theory are utilised in the research paper, in order to establish a comprehensive and cohesive study of the project. Delhi Metro Rail, India India is a developing country with increasing population. The rise in population tends to bring a lot of issues to the fore. Some of the issues are traffic snag and environmental issues. The increasing number of environmental issues led the government and town planners to evaluate the alternative in terms of transportation system to overcome this impending danger. In such circumstances, the metro rail system was advocated as an alternative means of transport. This was important as it reduced environmental pollution and functioned separately without providing a hindrance to the traffic system. The Delhi Metro Rail is a project of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited. The project is a joint venture between Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited and Ministry of India and along with the Delhi Government. The primary focus of this project was to provide Delhi with an alternative source of transport and consequently assist the country in the economic development (Pemsel and Wiewiora 2013). There are five elements in a project management, which comprises of initiation, planning, execution, controlling and closing. These five elements form the basic pillar of functioning of the management of the project. The Delhi Metro Rail Project has four phases in the total duration of the project. The phases are termed as phase 1, phase 2, phase 3 and phase 4. These 4 phases form the major stages that are involved from the beginning to the completion of the project. It is to be noted that each stage has its own separate issues and challenges that the managing body has to tackle and overcome. The Delhi Metro Rail is underlined with key and strategic issues at various levels of the project. One of the keys issues and challenges in the Delhi Metro Rail project are the assessment and he understanding of the preliminary activities to be taken before the execution of such projects. Understanding the significance of the role of a project planner and the selecting an efficient project planner was one of the key issues to be assessed. Application of key management concepts like stakeholder management and team management was difficult in the Delhi Metro Rail project. Creating a proper work culture was one of the key areas of concern and a major challenge in the Delhi Metro Rail project. Assessing and understanding the importance of stakeholders and managing the needs of stakeholders are another area of concern during the project. Understanding and assessing these key areas of concern poses as a challenge to the project. Addressing and providing remedial solutions to such areas of concern is one of the challenging tasks. The economic state and development of the country is one of the criteria that have to be recognised in understanding the challenges of the project. Economic developing countries generally have to deal with funding issues relating to a project (Pemsel and Wiewiora 2013). Population explosion and increasing traffic issues can turn out to be a hindrance to a large infrastructure project like the Delhi Metro Rail Project. Funding of the Project Usually such large infrastructure projects suffer from funding shortcomings. In a developing country like collection of fund turns out to be a major barrier to the execution and completion of such projects. In the case of Delhi Metro rail project, the funding process of this project was without much fuss. During the different phases of the funding project, the project faced many limitation and shortcomings since the borrowed to equity capital ratio was estimated at 70:30. The majority portion of the fund was of borrowed fund and this increased loan repayment burden on the project and also impacted the depreciation aspect of the materials used in the project. Initial and Planning Stage Elevated vs Underground metro corridor One of the major hindrances, which the project faced, was the evaluation between elevated or underground establishment of the metro rail corridor. The metro rail project included many stakeholders and it is very critical to assess the stakeholder management concept in this project. According to this concept, the stakeholders refer to all this entities that hold a substantial or some amount interest in a particular endeavour. Therefore, during the initial stage of the project it was vital to notice that the stakeholders were not only the creditors of the project but a major portion of it represented the social community that would reap the benefit of the project. According to the stakeholders theory, it is a vital aspect regarding the management and safeguarding of the interest of the stakeholders, because they hold a major key to the successful implementation of the project. In the planning stage, it was noticed that the project received strong resistance and complaint from the stakeholders and it led to an incessant debate regarding elevated and underground metro rail. Initially the idea and plan of an elevated metro rail received strong clash and resistance since the elevated metro rail would pose as a threat to the privacy in their lives and it was also a potent cause of noise pollution. It was also opposed by the town planners and engineers since the elevated metro rail would hamper and severely affect the aesthetic of the city and also cause major hamper to the sight of the monumental buildings. These were the arguments against elevated construction of the metro rail corridor. The visibility blockage was not acceptable to the social community. It was also cited that there would be irrevocable micro climatic change and it would lead to heating issues. It was also stated that there could be major technical difficulties during the construction phase an d it was strongly opposed by a major section of the stakeholder (Gutierrez and Hussein 2013). However, the government lashed out regarding the concept of underground metro rail. The government were the fund provider and a member of the joint venture. Therefore, it was observed that the government strongly dissuaded from the fact and opposed the idea of underground metro rail corridors. The government stated there were ample and significant techno-economic benefits with the construction of the elevated metro rail corridor. The cost of underground metro rail would seem as an irrational option since it would cost twice as much compared to the construction. There were financial and safety concern with the underground construction of the corridor. The cost of constructing an elevated metro rail was $235 billion, compared to the underground cost, which was $635 billion. Therefore, these arguments formed a major hindrance in the construction of the metro rail project (Gutierrez and Hussein 2013). Improper estimation and forecast traffic demand The Delhi Metro Rail is a transportation project. The financial feasibility of any transportation project is the degree of approximation from the traffic demand estimation. These forecast and estimations provide the justification and the rationales of the decisions taken in the project. These forecasts and estimation form a vital tool in the planning stages of the project. However, it can be viewed that these forecasts are hardly correctly and suffer from various deviation in the reports. It has been seen in the project, that the forecast of traffic estimation was suffering from a lot of deviation, which gave an unfair picture of the project and also led to loopholes in the decision making process of the project (Meng 2012). It led to creation of flaws in the decision making aspect of the project and also derailed the project to a degree. In the case of underestimation of traffic estimation, it would lead to chaos and inefficiency and would also lead to further investment of capital and unstable financial condition of the project. In the Delhi Metro Rail project, there was wrong estimation in the traffic forecasting (Crawford 2014). The Delhi Metro Rail was found to be suffering from overestimation and inflated estimation traffic forecasts. There was difficulty in estimation the passenger figure. It was initially estimated that the passengers per day would be 1.5 million per day, which was later revaluated to 0.7 million per day. It was revised and reassessed during every phase level and this fluctuation in forecasting of the demand of the services led to difficulty in estimating the feasibility of the project and the future prospect of the project according to the demand received from the public. After the end of phase 1, the demand for the service was only 20% of the estimated demand forecasting. The traffic forecasting and demand estimation was one of the most difficult and tricky tasks during the planning process (Meng 2012). Land Acquisition Issues Land Acquisition issues are a conventional and one of the most common issues received by any mega transportation projects especially in the metro rail projects. One has to keep the stakeholders theory in mind while evaluating and studying The Delhi Metro Rail project. The project has to keep the socio- economic benefits of the project that the project. The project could not afford to implement the project at the cost of the social community. One of the most common issues during the planning and pre-execution stage was land acquisition issues. The economic concept and definition of scarcity and demands needs no introduction. The demand is incessant and insatiable but the resources to feed it are scarce. Delhi is a heavily populated city, which increasing trend of population and busy life schedule. The availability of land in such a densely populated is scarce and therefore, land acquisition in such scenario is usually resisted from the public. The high scale land acquisition is a feature of metro rail projects and in the case of this project the high scale land acquisition would not have met positive remarks. The project manager had to make evaluations and assessment, which would keep the land acquisition as minimum as possible. This would not disrupt the socio-economic benefit that would be important to the social community. The Resettlement and rehabilitation impacts had to be considered and special considerations had t o be made to the fact that how the project affected families (Leach 2014). There were decision taken in which the metro corridors were prepared alongside a road or at the centre of it. This was planned keep the lack acquisition issues in mind and to keep the land acquisition minimum as possible. Excess land acquisition led to excess material and property use, which not only led to a hike in the overall cost of the project but also led to social unrest. This was one of the main major constraints in the project. Execution Stage According to the project management concept, the planning stage is followed by the execution stage. The project received a considerable amount of constraints in the execution stage. This is the stage, where the implementation of the plans and schedules of the project are carried out. Metro rail projects have faced serious issues and difficulties in the execution stages and it creates a snag and a hindrance to the progress of the project. Deforestation Growing environmental awareness in the current age leads to constraints in the project implementation stage. In the Delhi Metro Rail project, one of the issues faced during the construction phase was deforestation. According to sources, the project led to more than 25,000 trees being felled. The loss of tree cover was one of the issues circulating facing the project. The social activists and environmentalist strongly condemned this activity. The large scale infrastructure project required cutting down of trees for the metro corridors and the selected landscape was devoured of trees for the constructing process (Heldman 2013). In the current age, where environmental issues are escalating at a rampant pace, deforestation received strong resistance from department of forests regarding the strategies and tactics of the Delhi Metro rail Corporation Limited. As a measure to offset this adverse practice, it was decided that afforestation would combat the deforestation method adopted for the project. It was decided that for every one tree cut there would ten trees planted. This was a hectic practice that needed to be followed to maintain social rest and to reduce the detrimental effect on the environment. Thus, the deforestation issue was an impactful and important issue that the project had to face during the execution and construction phase (Crawford 2014). Noise Pollution Noise pollution was on one of the main issue that the project had to face. The construction sites were near commercial and residential sites and the noise pollution was one of the significant issues that the project had to face. The use of bulky and construction equipment and machineries led to increased noise pollution and strong vibrations. The vibrations caused severe discomfort and also the severity of the vibrations led to cracks being developed in building. This caused deterioration of the building and monument structures. The sound of rails on the wheels during the construction period caused major noise pollution and hampered the ambience of the social community (Heldman 2013). Generators, cooling fans and engines contributed majorly to the noise pollution level in the city. The vibrations and noise pollution disrupted the ambience and the social setting of the local community and gathered strong backlash from the community. As a result of this, new methods and technologies were applied to curb the noise pollution level and the vibration effect. This was a major issue circulating the project (Schwalbe 2015). Property Development One of the criticisms given to the project was the development of properties along the metro corridor. It was viewed that the land acquired during the metro rail project was provided to them at a concessional rate. However, the public strongly reacted to the issue of development of property on the given land by the governing body of the project. It was seen as shift from the primary focus of the project to a total commercial outlook. The construction of metro rail project is a major public infrastructure projects and the development of property was viewed as typical real estate business outlook and was strongly condemned by the public. The grounds of criticism were circulating the fact that the attention would shift from the project to mainly developing the properties. In this scenario, the project was strongly criticised with the development of property on the acquired land, which were purchased at a rebate value for the purpose of the construction of the project (Leach, L.P., 2014) . However, it was pointed out by scholars that with the lack of fund in the longer run, these real estate activities were the source of fund for the project to keep it technically feasible in the long run. Controlling and Completion Stage Traffic Disruption The construction sites in the project were mainly near the road sites and it acquired major portion of the land leading to major traffic disruption. The total usable areas of the road were narrowed as a result of the project and it led to chaos and disruption of traffic. Frequent traffic jams were noticed at peak office hours and the traffic disruption was a major concern for the project as there were high chances of accidents occurring in this process. The monsoon season further compounded the issues with water logging at the construction sites and chaotic scenes at the traffic scene (Pemsel and Wiewiora 2013). Maintaining Strong Work Culture and organizational behaviour One of the key concepts that need to be understood is team management and strong team force. In order to induce this, it is important that a strong work culture is developed. Managing a team is a difficult task and it underlines the various aspects of different individuals working together as a group. The project suffered from visible constraints in the form of punctuality. The workers, who were a part of the project, were barely punctual and it led to delay in the different phases of the project. Instilling strong discipline and quick decision making skill turned out to be a major challenge in the project. Work culture and organization behaviour have a major impact on the successful implementation of the project. Maintaining physical fitness of the workers was a tricky thing. The efficiency regarding the understanding of the stakeholders needs including the public and contractors among the employees was not an easy task (Meng 2012). Conclusion On concluding this report, it can be inferred that the Delhi Metro Rail, India was one of the biggest infrastructure project. Like every other real life project, this project had derived concepts of various primary concepts like stakeholders theory and team management and theory management. The project functions on the basic concept of project management. Various issues in different stages are observed in the project. Demand forecasting and the deviations in the estimation were one of the biggest shortcomings of the project. It can be seen that the project suffers from issues in the form of land acquisition, deforestation and noise pollution, which occurred during the executive and implementation stages of the project. Maintaining work culture and avoiding disruption in traffic were some of the issues during the controlling stages. However, it can be viewed that the project did overcome the challenges and the Delhi Metro Rail project was a successful endeavour in term of transportati on project. Reference List Burke, R., 2013.Project management: planning and control techniques. New Jersey, USA. Chia, R., 2013. Paradigms and perspectives in organizational project management research: implications for knowledge creation.Novel Approaches to Organizational Project Management Research: Translational and Transformational. Copenhagen Business School Press, Copenhagen, pp.33-55. Crawford, J.K., 2014.Project management maturity model. CRC Press. Gido, J. and Clements, J., 2014.Successful project management. Nelson Education. Gutierrez, C. and Hussein, B., 2013. An extended literature review of organizational factors impacting project management complexity Norwegian Unversity of Science and Technology.Trondhiem, Norway. Heagney, J., 2012.Fundamentals of project management. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Heldman, K., 2013.PMP: project management professional exam study guide. John Wiley Sons. Kerzner, H.R., 2013.Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Leach, L.P., 2014.Critical chain project management. Artech House. Marchewka, J.T., 2014.Information technology project management. John Wiley Sons. Martinsuo, M., 2013. Project portfolio management in practice and in context.International Journal of Project Management,31(6), pp.794-803. Meng, X., 2012. The effect of relationship management on project performance in construction.International journal of project management,30(2), pp.188-198. Mir, F.A. and Pinnington, A.H., 2014. Exploring the value of project management: linking project management performance and project success.International Journal of Project Management,32(2), pp.202-217. Olson, D., 2014.Information systems project management. Business Expert Press. Pemsel, S. and Wiewiora, A., 2013. Project management office a knowledge broker in project-based organisations.International Journal of Project Management,31(1), pp.31-42. Phillips, J., 2013.PMP, Project Management Professional (Certification Study Guides). McGraw-Hill Osborne Media. Raymond, L. and Bergeron, F., 2015. Impact of Project Management Information Systems on Project Performance. InHandbook on Project Management and Scheduling Vol. 2(pp. 1339-1354). Springer International Publishing. Schumann, C.A., Gerischer, H., Tittmann, C., Orth, H., Xiao, F., Schwarz, B. and Schumann, M.A., 2014. Development of International Educational Systems by Competence Networking based on Project Management.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,119, pp.192-201. Schwalbe, K., 2015.Information technology project management. Cengage Learning. Turner, J.R. ed., 2014.Gower handbook of project management. Gower Publishing, Ltd.. Turner, J.R., 2014.The handbook of project-based management(Vol. 92). McGraw-hill. Unab, W. and Kundi, M.F.A., 2014. Review of Project Management (PM) Practices in Public Infrastructure Development Organizations of Pakistan.Journal of Strategy and Performance Management,2(4), p.144. Verzuh, E., 2015.The fast forward MBA in project management. John Wiley Sons. Walker, A., 2015.Project management in construction. John Wiley Sons.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

A Dolls House essays

A Doll's House essays Henrik Ibsens, A Doll House, is a realistic play written in the mindset of realism. Throughout the play, lines of mockery and emphasis are present, giving the audience the feeling of fakeness and showing them a particular depiction of women in the 19th century. It is apparent that Ibsen set out to give a specific character, Nora, a role to play as the stereotypical 19th century woman, continually showing her need for individuality and lack of dependency. This is the main theme in A Doll House. From the first lines of the show, it is clear how Ibsen wants the audience to portray the role of women and continues to use this theme throughout the remainder of the show. As the show progresses, we see a parallel progression in the character of Nora. She has been babied her entire life, not only by her father but now by her husband, Torvald, whom only treats her as a pet, not as a wife. Her main struggle through the play is to find her independency and freedom as an individual. This is difficult for her, however, for she has never had to strain to get anything. Shes always had things handed to her and has always lived an over-comfortable lifestyle. Even through her dialogue, its easy to sense that all of her happiness is fake because she feels like a trapped animal, just living life as its given to her, instead of her taking the initiative to do things for herself. As a result of this upbringing, Nora is materialistic and impulsive. Over the duration of the play, however, the development of Noras character shows the audience that her ways are only a cover for the emptiness she feels each day. In the play, we find out that she secretly negoti ates a loan with Nils Krogstad, in order to pay for a trip to Italy for her husbands illness and recovery. Everyone thinks that Noras father funded the trip, but the audience finds, to their surprise, that it was she who actually paid for it. This...

Monday, November 25, 2019

Umberto Boccionis Futuristic essays

Umberto Boccionis Futuristic essays The creative engine of Italy was running low on fuel at the end of the 19th century. The Italians seemed to be still holding on to the pompous arrogance of the times and indulging in self-involvement. There was no other country at this time that was so subjected to the past, paralysed by lack of distinctive ideas, and deprived of a unique cultural identity1. The Italian public was fine with protecting tradition, and following naturalistic formulae and absolutely refused to notice the changes in art, literature, and drama. By the early 1900s technological inventions were becoming a crucial part of everyday life. Electric lighting, domestic appliances, and communications media were publicly known items that reinforced the sense of the impending future. Little did people know, that this integration between man and machine was the inspiration for futurism, which rumbled into the early 20th century. In 1909, when futurism was introduced to Italy, it was greeted with hesitation. Fu turism rejected all the splendor and decadence of Italys cultural past, in favor of new advances in science and technology. It enthusiastically embraced the concept of change as a fundamental aspect of its activities and ideology2. It was affected by the possibilities that new technology could bring, and the perception of modern city life. The futurists vision unfortunately upset many of the Italian public. Even though the public was eventually introduced to technology, many of them at that time could not understand the vision of these lovers of machines. Many of the manifestos, which discarded conventional morality and traditional values that were regarded as timid, nostalgic and sentimental, were not accepted with loving arms3. The readings of Futuristic poetry often ended in riots with several members of the audience in the hospital, and several Futurists ending up in jail. Umberto Boccioni was one of the Futurists that ended...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Position of OPEC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Position of OPEC - Essay Example OPEC has found its geopolitical strength and has realized its power suddenly and has become an important force playing an important part in regions like Asia and Africa. It has brought the huge multinational oil companies under control who could have done so many wrong acts otherwise, but now they all are on their knees, OPEC has made them merely impotent in the decision-making process, which is a good sign as there aim of profitability can disturb many other economies. It has forced the Western nations to have its favor on numerous occasions. There is a growing recognition in the Western world that the industrialized countries cannot solve the problems of chronic inflation and economic stagnation permanently unless they force OPEC to abandon its stand of raising oil prices ever higher and disrupt supplies to the oil consuming nations, but imagine what they could have done if OPEC was not there. The dependence on OPEC increased considerably in the United States during the last decade and a half. According to a study by the Federal Energy Administration (FEA), U.S. oil imports raised 150 percent between 1968 and 1973, from about 2.5 million barrels a day in 1968 to 6.3 mb/d in 1973. Imports from the Arab oil producing countries were raised to 31.9 percent in 1976 from a negligible 2 percent of total U.S. oil imports in 1970. On the whole, the reliance of the United States on foreign oil had increased disturbingly. In 1970, the United States depended on foreign oil for 23 percent of its total oil consumption, which was quite clearly showing what could have happened in no oil situation. In 1974, the figure was raised to 37 percent, and in 1976, oil imports were about 44 percent of total U.S. consumption. In 1977, the oil imports reached the pinnacle at an average of 8.7 mb/d. That represented approximately 48 percent of the total domestic supply, which averaged 18.4 mb/d in th at year. The FEA's figures also showed that the consumption of oil in United States was raised by 3.7 percent in 1976 as compared to 1975, with gasoline use advancing at 6.7 percent and distillate by 7.9 percent. At the same time, the domestic production during 1975 and 1976 had decreased from 8.24 mb/d of crude oil to 7.93 mb/d. The nation's refineries ran at 86 percent of capacity in that period compared to 87.1 percent in 1975, which is a considerable difference in the short run. It has also been identified that the Arab nations and Nigeria were increasing their share of the U.S. market while the nation's traditional suppliers such as, Venezuela and Canada were contributing a smaller share, fundamentally because of the high price of Canadian oil and the restricted output of Venezuela. It was for the first time in 1976 that Saudi Arabia had overtaken Venezuela as the United State's chief overseas supplier of crude oil. On the other hand countries like Algeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have all increased their shipments, while Canada is pointing out its shipments to the United States. The conditions took a big change during 1979-1981. Suddenly, the oil crisis gave a rise to the oil surplus, it was perhaps due to the remarkable changes in the balance between demand and supply which is the base of economics and also famous for changing any country's fate.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

In what ways would you characterize Las Vegas as a 'western' city Essay

In what ways would you characterize Las Vegas as a 'western' city - Essay Example We can also look at the world â€Å"western† as it refers to the locations of Las Vegas as in the western portion of the United States and referring to the western part of Nevada. Finally, we can characterize the word â€Å"western† as linked to the Old West, with a rich history of how Las Vegas began. This essay will attempt to characterize all three concepts of the word â€Å"western† and how it applies to the city of Las Vegas both now and linked to its broad history. The term â€Å"western culture† is used as a reference to a background of social normality’s, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, accepted political systems, and identified artifacts and technologies. The term has generally come to apply to countries whose history is strongly marked by Western European immigration or settlement, such as the settlement of the Americas. This can be applied to and characterized to Las Vegas as the settlers moved West in the Americas to settle new lands. The first settlers to enter the land now called Las Vegas were the Mormons. They traveled from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas mainly to protect the Los Angeles to Salt Lake City mail route in 1855. The first settlement consisted of a square building of sun-dried bricks, clay and grass called adobe. The Mormons planted fruit trees, planted gardens and mined lead for bullets from the mountains. Unfortunately, the settlement was abandoned in 1858 mainly due to Indian raids. A portion of the Mormon Fort still stands in Las Vegas near Las Vegas Boulevard North and Washington Avenue. Members of the Church of Christ of the Later Day Saints dedicated a Mormon Temple in Las Vegas in 1989, which is visible to the east of the city. The Mormon religion has been a very big influence in the historic roots of Las Vegas and its early beginnings. This characterizes the religious western influences that still remain. Las Vegas was discovered by accident by Rafael Rivera and the exa ct date is unknown. Rivera was a very experienced scout who rode west in search of water. He ventured into the unexplored desert, and by accident discovered Las Vegas Spring. Given the name â€Å"the Meadows† in Spanish, it was an abundant area of marshlands and vegetation. This discovery was able to shorten the trail from Los Angeles, and lent a positive aspect to hasten the rush west for California gold. Just 14 short years after Rivera’s discovery, John C. Fremont led an overland expedition to Las Vegas Springs in 1844. His name is present today in the city of Las Vegas with the Fremont Hotel-Casino and Fremont Street; the main thoroughfare in the heart of the city, another link to the western influences that began in Las Vegas. Any connection to the western world started with the mail routes and the pony express. In 1863 an Ohian named Octavius Decatur Gass began buying land and ranching it. He fell into financial disaster and mortgaged his land to Archibald Stewar t. The ranch did really well for around five years, but Stewart died and his widow Helen was left to run the ranch. She worked the ranch with hired hands and provided a stopping point for travelers and provided postal services for the area. And today the name Gass is honored with a street name in Las Vegas. Railroad developers determined that the water-rich

Monday, November 18, 2019

Reality and Knowledge in Plato's Myth of the Cave Essay

Reality and Knowledge in Plato's Myth of the Cave - Essay Example Therefore, analyzing philosophic ideas of the rationalists and empiricists, dualists and monists, idealists, materialists and pragmatists begins with perception or rejection of Plato’s ideas of reality and knowledge. The expression that philosophy is a footnote to Plato does not necessarily mean that the philosophers continue Platonic traditions or agree with Plato’s ideas. However, in my opinion, it is Plato who we think of first when we start dealing with philosophic issues. The tendency to incline to the ideas regarding the nature of knowledge and reality can be found in thinking of many European philosophers. Furthermore, it would be wrong to associate every philosopher with Plato, as there are many great thinkers whose ideas were not based on Plato’s teaching or are contrary with them. Of course, Plato is one of the greatest philosophers standing in line with Aristotle, Socrates, Hume, Locke, and Kant. Nevertheless, power of Plato’s thought like nobod y else’s is so great that his ideas can be traced in others thinkers’ philosophy, especially when to speak about European philosophy. Intellectual tradition started by Plato has never ceased to prosper. Europeans are the first and the most frequently said to be referring to Plato’s philosophy, because his thinking seems to be the closest to this particular group of people. The meaning of the statement that philosophy is a footnote to Plato is nothing else, but a metaphor which means that power of his thinking can be neither denied nor rejected, because it has been interwoven into the philosophical tradition of many other great philosophers. Therefore, today it is difficult to discern the ideas regarding, for example, knowledge and reality and classify them into Platonic and non-Platonic. It is difficult to say exactly which philosopher was influenced by Plato and which was not. My understanding of knowledge and reality is that reality is limited to the point wha t we can comprehend and see on basis of our senses usage. To put it simply, if we see a beggar on the street, we conclude him to be a poor and miserable man because of his real physical appearance. However, this person can be a great thinker the same as the worst conman, but we do not know as our knowledge is limited by what we can only see on the surface. The knowledge about this man as well as about different things in the world is hidden. We can discover the knowledge only when we strive for such discovery and keep searching even at times it seems pointless. I agree with Plato that people must try to rise above their limited knowledge to learn more and to attain the highest form of knowledge. At the same time, I think that one type of knowledge can be perceived and explained differently as we have ability to compare things. Our experiences and knowledge of something is relative: for example, if we’ve tried a very delicious cake, we tend to think it’s best in the wor ld. But when we continue tasting more and more delicious cakes, we understand that the first one was not the best one. The same can be claimed about anything which exists in reality. Besides, I’d like to conclude that real knowledge and true wisdom comes with life-long learning. To start, the allegory of the cave also referred to as Plato’s Myth of the Cave is the allegory used by the Greek Philosopher Plato in his work The Republic. Plato basically uses this allegory to illustrate the nature and wanting of education. He describes the interacting phenomena of

Friday, November 15, 2019

The Importance Of Acoustic Treatment Music Essay

The Importance Of Acoustic Treatment Music Essay Sharp tools make good work!(Chinese Proverb, online) To have a nice recording, we must choose the nice recording studio. To have a nice recording studio, acoustic treatment is the most important progress while building the studio! Why acoustic treatment is so important? Acoustic treatment does make the actual recordings sound better, it is just as important to the mixing process. The purpose of acoustic treatment is to improve the quality of sound in the room. Acoustics Treatment of the studio is very important than the used of the equipments for record the track on. Yet there are still many people they just allocate only a tiny portion of their budget to acoustic treatments when building a recording studio or home studio. It is very important to choose the right type of room and after that we have to testing the acoustic in that room, make sure that everything like the soundproofing of the studio is good. Let say, we can listen to the tracks that recorded in the studio, if we can he ar something like reverb or echo on the track, or the sound is rather flat, that is mean the treatments of the studio have wrong. External interferences, such as the outside noise of people talking or transportation noise, are due to insufficient sound isolation. People always think they can or able to overcome acoustics with equipments but you just cant. Russ Berger, the president of acoustic and audiovisual consultancy firm, Russ Berger Design, told Carolin Heinz in an article for the website Electronic Musician. Beside that, there is another common mistake that people always make, according to Berger, is to confuse sound isolation with the acoustic performance in a room. Sound isolation is simply the process of stopping sound entering or leaving the room. It has no bearing on how sound is absorbed and diffused in the room itself, which are the key determinants of how a recorded track sounds when listened to. Every studio building needs to be acoustically treated as standard professional music or audio studio requirement for professional sound quality. So when building a recording studio, we have to pay much attention to this avoid any frustrations in future during recording and monitoring, without overdoing it to preserve certain amplifying qualities of the room. Page Contents: A) Acoustic Treatment Overview B) Acoustic Treatment C) Construction Details D) Conclusion E) References Treatment Characteristics Acoustic Treatment is so important to the studio it is because we want to prevent standing waves. When the standing wave occurs, it will affect the frequency response of the listening rooms and the recording studio. Beside that, by using the right acoustic treatment, we can absorb or diffuse the sound in the room to avoid the flutter echoes and improve the stereo imaging while the recording and keep the sound from leaking into or out from the room. A correct way of acoustic treatment can lower the reverb time in the larger space or room and reduce the modal ringing in the small room. There are few things and problems that we have to concern while building a studio such as absorption, diffusion, reverberation and isolation. Sound absorption can be defined as when sound that strikes the materials and it doesnt reflected back. An open window is the good example for the absorption because the sound goes through the open window and never reflected back. The more fibrous materials have more absorption; oppositely the denser materials are less absorption. By using the absorption materials in the studio, it can minimize the reflections while the recording going and it can also prevent the standing waves and flutter echoes. But, the control room is treating to be more diffusive than absorptive with the LEDE (Live End Dead End) concept for the monitoring purpose. On the other hand, the recording studios are more likely to be acoustically dead and distributive. In general, low frequency sound has a very bad absorption because of their long wavelength. High frequency is very effective in absorption, essential for reducing the flutter echoes. Product like bass trap is a material for absorption, but is specifically designed in order to absorb the low frequency energy. The good bass trap is the combination of the hard, soft, thin materials. By the way, the back of the trap and the gap between the walls can make it even more effective. Diffusor is used to reduce the reverb or echoes that will be occur in the room that has parallel walls and the flat ceiling. Through the research and books that I have read, all the professional studio designers they agree that periodic reflections caused by parallel walls are best avoided. So, diffusion is always used into absorption to tame these kinds of reflections because diffusion is handful of sound energy using multi-faceted surfaces. Diffusers are commonly made of wood, plastic, or even polystyrene. Jorge Castro (2004, online) explains: diffusion helps in energy control and improves the sound quality in frequencies throughout the middle and high range of the spectrum, and also improves sweet-spot should be sitting to get the best stereo image (imagine that your head and the two speakers form an equilateral triangle). Isolation is to block sound from leaking out from the room and is also to soundproof the room from the vibrations or from the external sound. The good noise controls room can retain the sound within the listening area. Isolation is a very critical question, but the most important is still about the room treatment. Even you will feel something going wrong while you are in the quiet room if its acoustic treatments are wrong. And what can you do for the isolation if your studio is going to build nearby the highway, or beside the train track? Only two things we can do to isolate the sound that are mass and space. This is meaning we have to mass the airborne sound but we still need to space so that the structure borne sound cannot be transmitted. By the way, what about the noise that generated by the HVAC (Heat and Air Conditioning system? So, we have to determine all the noise problems and make everything under the control. Reverberation time will be affected by the absorption. The lower the reverberation time, it is mean there is more absorption. By adding the porous absorber is the easiest way to make the good absorption. Beside that, placing the acoustical foam on those reflective surfaces until the reverberation time is suitably reduced. On the other hand, by removing the absorbing materials will lengthens the reverberation time. Materials With good and correct materials in building a studio, it can help you to recording and mixing your music correctly. A good room, good acoustics can defined as we can get the sound from the speakers in the room and listen through your ears as unchanged as possible. A good studio should have a very good isolation but still as neutral as possible for you to hear the details such as stereo positioning properly. So, the music we have mixed and equalized can sound good and has the good opportunity of sounding good in other rooms as well. Controlling the sound in a room is achieved by selective acoustic treatments. Materials are the source out for the best acoustic characteristics in terms of isolation and diffusion, but since there are many ways and different materials to do this, we try not to go overboard with specialized materials as they can break the budget. Instead to use effective construction methods with typical materials, and whatever that works fine as well as cost-effectiveness. The most important aspect of any studio or home theater probably is the using of acoustic foam. Even the listening room, it can also make or break a project studio. It doesnt matter how much money you will spend on the recording and monitoring equipments. If the room itself doesnt has a good acoustic treatment, the result of the recording will never as good as it could be. Usually the room in which the customer plans to record or perform in is not specifically built with acoustics in mind. If this is the case then acoustic treatment is all the more important. Rooms have their own sound already within the room. While the sound is traveling around the room it will come into contact with different surfaces and other sound waves moving around the room. This means that the room can suffer from a lot of acoustic problems. These could include reflections, reverberation, slap echo, flutter echo, inadequate frequency response, standing waves and modal problems. When all of these frequencies s tarted bouncing around, the sound waves can change because they are clashing into each other. This will absolutely affects the last result for the negative. That is meaning you will start to off with one sound and end up with another sound while in the recordings. When there are two parallel walls, or two parallel ceiling and the floor, it will create standing wave. So the distance between the walls, ceiling or the floor will reinforce some of the frequencies, we can call it by boundaries. This mean the sound will makes exactly one round trip in each cycle of the speaker and the pressure fronts pile up. So, this is why people like to sing in the bathroom while taking the shower because the low frequency of the voice are greatly amplified by the standing waves and it will sounds nice. The installing of the acoustic foam can improved the response of the room and the sound of the room can be under control. The use of the acoustic treatment is the only way that can tell you the accurate while you are doing your recording, mixing, editing, or monitoring as well as not to affected by the room you are in. Whatever you want your room to stay live or dead, good acoustic treatment is the only way to help you to tame the beast that in your room and keep everything under the control. So, you have the ability to record and monitor your stuff accurately. Polyflexà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ ProFoamà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ is fabricated from a UL94 2 lb./cu. ft. polyester urethane, which should only be used in Class B or C spaces. Since Polyflexà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ is flammable, extreme care should be exercised in its use as interior finish the industrys first patented nestable foam. It can be used in any critical listening space. It mounted in a 1 x 1 checkerboard pattern to provide a variable impedance surface, offering moderate passive surround sound. By the way, it will attenuate and disperses specula reflections, as well as scatters 1000Hz and above and control comb filtering arising. In the meantime, it offers a new look in acoustical foam and an attractive and flexible wall treatment for controlling first order reflections. The ProCornerà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ is an effective way to increase low frequency absorption (minimizing low frequency room modes and speaker boundary interference distortion) by increasing acoustical foam thickness in the corner, while visually extending and seamlessly integrating with the Profoamà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ wall design. RPG ® Diffuser Systems Studio in a Box Diffuser and Absorber: Additional panels may be layered to any thickness offering unlimited absorption. The using of ProFoam because its absorption and diffusion properties are sufficient for the studios surface, as its stackable, and for a uniformed look. FIGURE 1: Gypsum board (http://www.bombayharbor.com/productImage/0578747001219286428/Gypsum_Board.jpg) Gypsum board is a typical material used for layering walls, holding insulation fibers, providing a certain amount of damping and as wall surface. It is also used for floors, doors and ceilings treatment. FIGURE 2: Plywood (http://www.stockporttimber.co.uk/st_cms/data/upimages/Plywood.jpg) Plywood to separate gypsum and studs and adhere with soundproofing mat. Chip wood (recording room floor) is an ordinary chip wood for flooring. FIGURE 3: Sound Blocker Membrane (http://www.soundservice.co.uk/images/PRODUCTS_gallery/ACOUSTIC_MEMBRANE/1.jpg) Sound Blocker Membrane have excellent sound insulating qualities and it can be used as a sole sound barrier layer, or as part of a multilayer composite with other materials such as sound absorbing foam and carpet. It acts, as a thin, dense sound barrier layer in walls, ceilings or floors and its most effective when used as one component of a multi-layered construction scheme. It extremely effective at improving the sound and insulation properties of lightweight plasterboard partitions, floors and almost anything else. 2-3 layers used on wooden floors can reduce airborne noise transfer dramatically. Spray adhesive is ideal for sticking these mats to walls, floors, and. FIGURE 4: Mineral Woll (http://www.domesticsoundproofing.co.uk/soundproofing/amw_slabs1.jpg) Acoustic mineral woll is use for the reduction of airborne noise between flooring joist, suspended ceiling and in partition walls, it is a good sound absorbing infill. It consists mainly of silicon-oxide together with a number of other metallic oxides. By using the acoustic mineral woll, it will has more efficient for the purpose of soundproofing than a lightweight thermal insulation, chemically and mom-flammable insert. By the way, this will not adversely affected by any substance. To be ensures there is no water penetration in any direction; it may come into contact with a random of fibres. It does not sustain vermin and will not encourage the growth of fungi, bacteria or moulds. Beside that, it will not react with metal wall ties and wired plastic, masonry or brickwork. While using in a standard stud wall, it can increase the sound insulation performance by up to 150%. It normally will provide a reduction in the reverberant noise level up to 200% when fitted under the roof constru ctions. Besides, it will provides a reduction in air bone noise levels by up to 100% when it fitted in-between the ceiling or the floor joists. FIGURE 5: Resilient Bar  ¼Ã‹â€ http://www.soundservice.co.uk/images/clip_image001.gif ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° Resilient Bar is a thin metal channel, which is designed to substantially improve the sound insulation of the plasterboard ceilings and walls. It can easily isolate the plasterboard from the studworks, and it will contact directly to dissipate sound, which is normally being transfer through the frame. Because of the improvements in both impact and the airbone noise, so the sound will normally act well in excess of 300%. On walls the bars should be mounted at right angles to the frame with the narrow mounting flange at the bottom and the wider flange at the top. This allows the plasterboard to draw itself away from the studwork. For ceilings the flanges should be pointing in alternating directions. Mount the bars parallel at a max of 600mm centers. The bars should be screwed to all of the battens with 36mm drywall screws. Bars should be joined by overlapping them by a few centimeters directly over a batten with the corrugated webs nested together and both base flanges screwed through to the batten beneath. FIGURE 6: Gasket (http://www.customaudiodesigns.co.uk/seals/neoprene2.jpg) Gaskets/ Cushioning, self-adhesive EPDM / Neoprene blend expanded foam rubber sealing strip. This is ideal for exposed sealing, damping and cushioning. It age resistant and chemically neutral against the most commonly used lacquers and Plastics and resistant to most caustic chemicals, resistant against ozone, moisture and UV radiation. This is good for isolating and decoupling battens attached to walls and ceilings When a room is soundproofed, builders create sound barriers using specialized materials that easily absorb sound or redirect it toward proper areas. This keeps sound generated in the room from exiting, or gives normal walls acoustical properties so that sound bounces off instead of being absorbed into the wall itself. In soundproofed areas, outside noises are also absorbed, keeping the room quiet, which is ideal for recording studios and similar establishments. Acoustical caulk is a product used in the creation of these rooms. It primary function is to achieve and maintain the specific STC (Sound Transmission Class) value of the system designed to remains permanently flexible and adheres firmly to wood or metal studs, concrete, gypsum board, AudioSealà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ Sound Barrier, and most other types of building substrates. It unique formulation is non-drying, non-hardening, non-staining, and non-migrating and can be used for unexposed applications at perimeter joints, floor and cei ling runners (either wood or metal), cutouts in gypsum board, veneer plaster systems, and other areas where a sound rated assembly is required. By the way, it can also be applied or buttered around all electrical boxes and outlets, air returns, heating and air conditioning ducts, and other utility equipment penetrating wall surfaces for increased acoustical performance. Studio Design Room mode or natural resonant frequency, which is related to the length, width and height of the room, is one of the most important properties in the studio design and it determines its natural resonances. Let say the rectangular room has 3 sets of primary modes, which are length, width and height. So, if you have got a irregular room shape or irregular angled walls, then you have to average the dimensions and get the rough idea of the mode frequency. The larger room it has the better acoustically than the smaller room because larger room because the modes are spaced more closely. Studio Layout Construction Details Dry Walls is a Simple single stud design sufficient for wall because the dry walls are doubled, one on the existing outer wall and one as inner wall. We make the double walls to minimize structural linking. Studs spacing are 24, on center instead of the usual 16 spacing, this yields a slight increase in TL (transmission lost). The walls are angled but room shape symmetrical to provide even dispersion and prevent flutter echo. Diameter approx 5 to 6 Total estimated wall area : Total wall perimeter x Average Ceiling height 239.5 ft * 12.125 ft = 2903.9 2903.9 * 2 = 5807.9sq ft. (http://www.ethanwiner.com/BTPlans.gif) (http://www.ethanwiner.com/BTParts.html) Ceiling angled upwards at 12 degrees from the front to the middle of both rooms and then back down at 12 degrees.10 ft ( 3.05m) min height for optimal drum sound recording. The diameter approx 10. Total estimated ceiling area: 289 + 305.15 + 238 + 295.87 = 1128.02 sq ft. Diameter of floor is approx 10 Total estimated floor area: 280.7 + 296 + 231 + 287 = 1094.7 sq ft. Acoustic Timber Door ¼Ã…’STC 30-35 each leaf. It has a same construction as walls using timber and narrower studs. The dense yet lightweight mineral fiber for more STC and it including gaskets to seal sound, hinges, knobs Total : 6 doors with dimensions of approx 6.5 x 2.7 x 3 Acoustic Window Double Glazed The space between glass panels sealed. Use two different thicknesses of glass to prevent resonant frequencies and sealed enclosure up to STC 47. The distance between the panesis about 150mm. Total: 2 double glazed acoustic window with 6 x 2.5 panes The use of sound lock can reduce -3 dB. As sound insulation by air volume and air sealed by door gaskets. Air-conditioner Duct Damping About the noise-reducing enclosure of air-conditioning by using plywood baffle and installed into the opening of the air-con duct with simple plywood baffle held together with strong and moisture resistant adhesive. The plywood maze slows down the airflow or the air-con, thus reducing noise. The absorbent foam lined/covered on plywood baffle to absorb airflow noise as well as noise from generator. Its 4 ft in length. Example Example of a self-made duct baffle Conclusion: Overall, are acoustics really that important? Even though the quality of the instruments, speakers, recording gear and amps are expensive, but without the good acoustic treatments, all the recording will be bad and it will take you even more time to get your track done. We can noticed that why professional recording studio they spent so much time and money in order to get a good acoustics design but why there is still a lot of people they dont take this seriously and record in their house without doing any acoustic treatment? For an example, MIDI (Musical Instrument Interface), there is countless plug-ins, synthesizers, samples and loops available in the market, and all these elements have become the major elements of music production and major arrangement of popular music nowadays. So with this new popular culture, many people can produce their music or track in the house just only using their computer. Another example such as disk jockey, they have an expensive DJs sets so they gain more flexibility of their creating and producing music with only a laptop computer as such a convenience rise of a fact, they can make satisfaction, high quality music in a more efficient and cost-effective way by using samples, plug-ins, they can perform unlimited var iation of sound, instrument, techniques that without any acoustic treatment needed. But is it possible if a rap artist or vocalist they want to record a good quality track without any good environment? The answer is no. Let say if the rap artist or vocalist they record their song in their house by using a very expensive microphone and gear but without any acoustic treatment, in the result of the recording will be too much room noise on the track such as the ceiling fan in your room, outside traffic and etc, all of these will produce the low frequency rumble. So it will take you a lot of time and it is very hard for you to do the mixing. Equipment is useless if sound is recorded badly. This is why professional recording studio they will spend so much money on the acoustic treatment. Beside to give you the good environment to recording your music and track, and it also because you can get the good quality on your final production. we still need to pay a lot of attention to the space in which we use them. The acoustic treatment of recording studio is very tricky because of the construction materials used and the size of the studio. Restate original argument (are acoustics important) State your findings Compare expensive and cheap home solutions

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

The Whole Towns Sleeping and Terribly Strange Bed Essay -- English Li

The Whole Town's Sleeping and Terribly Strange Bed In this essay I will be comparing two (2) short stories 'The Whole Town's sleeping' by Ray Bradbury (1950) and 'A Terribly Strange Bed' by Wilkie Collins (1856). Both stories are about fear and they make us feel fear or are supposed to; they make the reader scared or frightened. Both stories have the same purpose, which is so scare the reader. I am going to compare the way Ray Bradbury and Wilkie Collins create tension, suspense, mood and tone. In the first few lines of 'The Whole Town's Sleeping', the author describes the setting for the story, "the little town was deep far away from everything, kept to itself by a river and a forest and a ravine", but before that he mentions that it is nighttime. Both stories are set at nighttime. This is because if it were set in the daytime it simply wouldn't be scary. The whole town wouldn't be sleeping and the narrator wouldn't need a terribly strange bed to sleep in. Collins has a different approach for the beginning of 'A Terribly Strange Bed', he describes the characters and what they were doing, which gives a different impression of the story, it doesn't seem like a scary story at first, because there's no obvious signs like in 'The Whole Town's Sleeping'. Ray Bradbury uses recreation to create interest to the story "In the downtown drugstore, fans whispered in the high ceiling air" He also use metaphors and similes such as "There were two moons: a clock moon with four faces" while 'A Terribly Strange Bed' doesn't have any recreation, metaphors or similes in its opening but still manages to maintain interest. Mood and tone are very important in both stories. Using certain adjectives, like "warm summer n... ...appens next. In Collins' story, you are told what happens next, and you finish the story quite pleased, like the narrator would be, instead of still scared like you are in the other story. Both stories are similar and different; the authors use different methods to make the reader scared. The stories have some similarities and others have differences. Ray Bradbury describes the scenery whereas Wilkie Collins describes the characters. Setting seems to be more important in 'The Whole Town's Sleeping' than it is in Collins' story and tension and suspense is used very differently in the both stories, Bradbury uses a sharp shock and then a steady buildup, then a false relief before a final cliffhanger and Collins uses a strange buildup to what seems like somewhat of an anti-climax and then re establishes the tension, for a gentle relief and a settled ending.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Wal-Mart Financial Statement Analysis

The Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine| Financial Statement Analysis & Reporting: Earnings Quality and Asset Analysis | Company – WALMART| Kian BolooriHee Jun ChungDaejune Min| 1. Qualitative Analysis for the environment and the company (1) INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Walmart is in the discount retailer industry. This industry started in the 1950s, grew in the 1960s, and matured in the 1970s. With exception to a moderate growth period in the 1990s, the industry had remained stagnant since the 1970s. Today, three major players in the industry are Walmart, Target and Costco. The state of the discount retail industry is best understood through the Porter’s Five Forces analysis. * Competition: HIGH Competition among discount retailers resembles that of an oligopoly in that Costco, Target and Walmart hold a vast majority of the market share. In past decades, competition among the firms was minimized because they each targeted a different market segment. For example, Target focused on higher end neighborhoods while Walmart focused on rural locations. However, as the firms began to grow, they had to expand beyond their original targeted segments. As such, the firms started competing in the same locations, which intensified competition. This condition remains a dominant issue in the discount retail industry. * Barrier to New Entrants: MEDIUM-HIGH Unlike other industries, the discount retailer industry does not require a particular set of technical knowledge for new entrants. However, the major players in the market have established strong procurement and distribution networks that prevent new entrants from easily establishing their own. As such, new entrants would find it difficult to establish procurement and istribution networks while keeping costs competitive with those of Walmart, Costco and Target. * Bargaining Power of Buyers: LOW–MEDIUM Buyers have different levels of power depending on their location. In rural areas, buyers have less power. There is usually one discount retailer for each rural region. As such, that retailer has a virtual monopoly in that region, which allow it to increase prices, and thus increa se margins. On the other hand, buyers in suburban and urban markets can easily switch between discount retail competitors; as a result, each discount retailer must keep its prices competitive in those markets. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: LOW Suppliers to discount retailers hold little to no power. When the major discount retailers initiate relationships with new suppliers, they typically request contracts for the new suppliers’ whole inventory. As a result, the suppliers become entirely reliant on the discount retailer for their business. The discount retailer then leverages this reliance by demanding lower prices on the inventory. As a result, suppliers typically have to sell their inventory at low prices that result in small profit margins for them and lower inventory costs for discount retailers. Threat of Substitutes: LOW Current existing substitutes to discount retailers include supermarkets, traditional retailers, and boutique shops. However discount retailers are ab le to leverage their strong distribution networks to offer lower prices than many of the substitutes. As a result, discount retailers are able retain business despite the existence of substitutes. (2) ECONOMIC CONDITIONS The fact that there are fewer opportunities to expand in the United States has made it difficult for discount retailers to continue growing profits. In fact, discount retailers’ attempts to enter new markets have resulted in community resistance. In Watts, CA, community members successfully lobbied to prevent Walmart from opening a new store in the neighborhood. Despite these challenges, discount retailers have found new opportunities to increase profits. For one, discount retailers have started converting their stores into â€Å"supercenters. † These supercenters feature traditional discount retail products and grocery store products in one location. Also, discount retailers have begun expanding their international operations. For example, Walmart has partnered with companies in South Africa, China, and Brazil in order to expand into those markets. These opportunities have already proven profitable and continue to be a focus for the major discount retail firms. (3) WALMART STRATEGY Walmart’s business strategy is to keep costs low and pass the savings down to the customers. Walmart accomplishes this strategy through several means. First, Walmart cuts costs in its procurement channels. Walmart cuts out the manufacturers’ representatives and works with suppliers directly. In doing so, Walmart saves 3-4% on costs. Also, Walmart is able to use its IT networks to make sure the company orders the right about of inventory from suppliers so that the Walmart stores experience neither overstock nor stock-out. Second, Walmart keeps its labor costs low. Walmart maintains a frugal culture for all employees. For example, executives at the company are prohibited from accepting meals and gifts from third parties. Additionally, Walmart provides store workers with wages and benefits that are below those given by competitors. Third, Walmart invests in ways to cut distribution costs. For example, Walmart mastered the large-scale â€Å"cross-docking† to transfer merchandise directly from inbound trucks to store-bound trucks without storing the good in its distribution centers. Through these innovations, Walmart has been able to save 3-4% on its distribution costs. Through these means, Walmart has significantly lower its costs when compared to competitors. This point of difference helped Walmart grow to become the leading discount retailer in the world. . Quantitative Analysis for the company and the peers (1) CASHFLOW ANALYSIS From fiscal year 2007 to fiscal year 2010, Walmart recorded solid growth in both sales and net income; however, net increase in cash and cash equivalents does not have the same growth pattern. Net cash flow is the aggregate of cash flow from operations (â€Å"CFO†), cash flow from investing activities (â€Å"CFI†), and cash flow from financing activities (â€Å"C FF†). As is expected, CFO does trend positive in correlation with the increases to sales and income. On the other hand, CFI and CFF experienced sharp decreases. According to the common-size statement of cash flow, net CFI portion out of net CFO shows a generally decreasing trend during the period (-71%, -76%, -46%, -44%, respectively for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010), on the other hand, the portion of net CFI increased constantly (-25%, -36%, -43%, -54%, respectively for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010), which implies that War-Mart has become paying equal attention to investment for the future growth and shareholder value recently. Having solid CFO, Walmart had cash for investing and financing without borrowing a short-term debt As a result, while Walmart experienced 9% growth in sales and 13% increase in net income in 2008 compared to the previous year, net cash decreased almost 400%. Target shows a similar cash flow pattern to that of Walmart. Target has been reducing investment level and focusing more on shareholder return and the debt repayment. On the other hand, Costco has been managing the cash flexibly over the past four years in order to meet the firm’s needs for investment. Costco still concentrates on investing activities, which can be evidenced by the portion of net CFI (-72% of net CFO in 2010). According to 10-K of the year 2010, Costco opened 13 new warehouses in 2010, which was directly related to the huge negative CFI. For Walmart, the accounting adjustment accruals, which is measured as the gap between net income and CFO, is at 40%. The accounting adjustment accruals are one of indicators for earnings quality. While 40% is significant, it is smaller than that of Walmart’s competitors. Changes to current assets and current liabilities have a large impact on the accounting adjustment accruals. For instance, Walmart had accounts receivable increased by $297 mil in 2010, which negatively impacts on cash flow, but its inventory decreased by $2,213 mil in the same fiscal year, which had a positive influence on cash flow from operations. Despite these changes, CFO has still maintained a growth trend. Consequently, Walmart shows a steady upward trend of free cash flow, which is the difference between CFO and capital expenditures, during the past four years ($4. 6 bil, $5. 7 bil, $11. 6 bil, $14. 1 bil, respectively for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010). The cash spent on CFI went to purchase of PPE in order to expand current operations. The firm used to invest approximately 80% of CFO in PP&E in 2007 and 2008, however decreased the investment to 45% level recently. A significant level of CFF went to shareholder return, including dividends and share buybacks (e. g. $11. 4mil or 77% of net income in 2010). As such, Walmart appears to provide value to its shareholders. Similarly, Target and Costco also invested highly in PP&E and return more than 70% of net profit to investors. To sum up, we can see a certain pattern in cash flows of the three firms as follows, which shows that Walmart, Costco and Target are matured and generating healthy cash flow. Walmart| Target| Costco| Accrual (NI/CFO)| 58% (Gap: 42%)| 54% (gap: 46%)| 53% (gap: 47%)| CFO| Positive,Constantly Growing| Positive,Growing Trend| Positive,Growing Trend| CFI| Negative (for PP&E)| Negative (for PP&E)| Negative (for PP&E and short-term investments)| CFF| Negative   (for shareholder returns)| Negativeexcept in 2007 ($7. 6mil long-term debt in 2007)| Negat ive (for shareholder returns)| One cause of concern from Walmart’s cash flow is a contradiction between Walmart’s growth strategy and CFF. The high levels of dividends that Walmart gives its shareholders may limit the amount of cash the company has for expansion. CFO has remained high enough to cover CFI, but this might not always be the case. As a result, Walmart may have to cut the amount of dividends it pays if it wants to continue growth during a period when CFO is decreasing. (2) EARNING QUALITY ANALYSIS Walmart’s earnings have been positive and growing each fiscal year from 2008-2010. The increase in earnings is primarily due to the fact that revenue had also increased in that timeframe. There has been a 7. 5% increase in revenue from 2008 to 2009 and a 0. 95% increase in revenue from 2009 to 2010. A large majority of Walmart’s revenues come from its core operations—the net sales of products that Walmart had procured from suppliers and sold at its retail locations. The Net Sales figure is computed as the sales less sales tax and estimated sales returns. Less than 1% of total revenue is based o n membership revenue. Membership revenue is from customers who purchase yearly Sam’s Club memberships. There are several important features regarding the relationship between Net Income and CFO. First, the Net Income and CFO both trend positive, growing at a comparable rate. Second, CFO is larger than Net Income each year. This is primarily due to the adjustment to depreciation and amortization. Third, the adjustment due to an increase in accounts receivable is fairly constant, and is not a significant portion of the total CFO. These features suggest that the Net Income is a good indicator of cash inflow from operations, which would be expected from a company that collects cash at point of sale. Walmart recognizes revenue at point of sale when customers purchase products at the retail locations. Walmart recognizes revenue from gift cards only when the gift card is redeemed. Walmart recognizes revenue from services when the company performs the service; however, revenue from services is a small portion of total net sales. For membership, Walmart recognizes the revenue over the period of the membership. For example, if a membership cost $120 upfront, then $10 revenue would be recognized each month of the 12-month membership. Until it’s recognized, the cash collected is accounts as a liability (Deferred Membership Revenue). Expenses are divided into various categories. Cost of sales is all costs related to the attainment and transport of inventory. Any money received from suppliers, such as reimbursements for markdowns, is reduced from the cost of sales figure. Furthermore, Walmart does not include its costs of distribution facilities in its cost of sales, which can make its gross profit seem disproportionally stronger than its competitors. However, these costs can be found within SGA. SGA, Advertising and Pre-Opening costs are all recognized the same period that they are spent. Walmart does not seem to participate in any earnings management. The small account receivable account suggests that sales can be seem in cash inflow, meaning there is little chance that Walmart fabricated sales figures. Furthermore, Walmart did not make any significant changes to its depreciation cycles and PPE purchase patterns, which suggests that Walmart did not try to inflate its earnings to disguise unfavorable operating performance. (3) RATIO ANALYSIS Financial ratios are a measurement of the company’s overall health. In general, the financial ratios of a company are compared with those of its major competitors (cross-sectional and trend analysis) and to the company’s prior periods (trend analysis). Profitability Ratio The ability to generate profit on capital invested is a key determinant of a company’s overall value. Profitability is the net results of a number of policies and decisions. Here, the key ratios, ROCE and ROA, were calculated to judge the profitability in general. Return-on-assets (ROA) has been increased to 9. 6% in 2010 from 8. 4% in 2007 (See exhibit 10-2). This high ratio indicates that Walmart generated high income with given level of its assets. Return-on-capital employed (ROCE) has also increased to 21. 3% in 2010, from 19. 1% in 2007 (See exhibit 10-1). Compared to the competitors, Walmart has the highest ROA and ROCE, which illustrates that Walmart is the most profitable company in its industry. * Activity Ratio Activity ratio measures how efficiently a company utilizes its assets. These ratios are analyzed as indicators of ongoing operational performances; on other words, how effectively a company uses its assets. Walmart’s inventory turnover in days was 40 days in 2010, which is a modest improvement from 45 days in 2007 (See exhibit 11-1). The lower holding days of the inventory indicates that Walmart has made progress over the period in terms of inventory management. Considering the Sales growth, which increased over the periods, Walmart has effectively managed its inventory, avoiding any shortage or inadequate inventory levels. Walmart continued to set their goods in fairly low price in order to have its inventory move faster. Even though inventory turnover ratio of Walmart is less than that of Costco, Walmart’s improvement in its inventory turnover is better than that of Costco or Target. Additionally, account payable turnover gradually increased from 9. 9 days to 10. 22 days (See exhibit 11-1). The longer period of holding the Account payable indicated it has made good use of available credit facilities. * Liquidity Ratio (Short-Term) A liquid asset is one that trades in an active market and can be quickly converted to cash. A firm's liquidity position determines whether a firm has enough resources to meet its current obligations. Walmart’s current ratio deteriorated from 0. 9 in 2007 to 0. 87 2010 but then is improving from 2010 to 2011 exceeding 0. 88 in 2009 level. Also quick ratio and cash ratio improved from 2009 to 2010 (see exhibit 12-1). Nevertheless, it can be a negative sign for the company to have a current ratio less than 2. 0 and a quick ratio less than 1. 0. In fact, Walmart’s current ratio and quick ratio are lower than that of Costco and Target. A lower ratio indicates less liquidity, implying a greater reliance on operating cash flow and outside financing to meet short-term obligation. However, a reason for the troubling liquidity ratios is that Walmart has been using its cash for fixed assets as part of its effort to expand. As such, Walmart can generate cash by slowing growth if it has an urgent need to pay off current obligations. Additionally, Walmart’s cash conversion cycle was greatly decreased to 4. 8 in 2010 from 8. 5 in 2007 (See exhibit 11-1). It is the shortest operating cycle of its industry. A shorter cash conversion cycle indicates greater liquidity. The short cash conversion cycle implies that Walmart only needs to finance its inventory and accounts receivable for a short period of time. Its cash cycle is optimized, meaning it is able to sell inventory quickly also have less time capital tied up in the business process thus better for the company’s bottom line. * Solvency Ratio (Long-Term) Solvency refers to a company’s ability to fulfill its long-term debt obligations. Solvency ratios provide information about the relative amount of debt in the capital structure and the adequacy of earnings and cash flow to cover interest expenses and other fixed charges as they come due. This is important for assessing the risk and return characteristics such as its financial leverage. Walmart’s total liabilities-to-assets ratio was 0. 57 in 2010, slightly decreasing from 0. 58 in 2009 and 2008. This means 57% of total asset are financed with debt . Long-term debt-to-equity ratio was 0. 0 in 2010, again slightly decreased from 0. 52 in 2009 (See exhibit 12-1). This means 50% is the Walmart’s capital represented by debt. Although the size of asset and debt far exceeds the size of its competitors, but the ratios did not show significant proportional difference between Walmart and its competitors. Interest coverage ratios, calculated by using EBIT divided by total i nterest expense, can be viewed as good if the number exceeds 2. 0. For Walmart, the interest coverage ratio was 11. 8 in 2010 that was improved from 10. 5 in 2007 (See exhibit 12-1). This increase indicates that Walmart has become stronger in solvency, offering greater assurance that Walmart can service its debt from operating earnings. As for evidence, Walmart’s CFO-to-total liability was calculated to be 54. 5% in 2010, increasing from 48. 4% in 2007 (See exhibit 12-1). This is relatively high compared to its peers such as Costco and Target. 3. Conclusion Based on the aforementioned analysis, including qualitative and quantitative, we would like to conclude that Walmart is a company that can be highly recommended for investors to buy. First, the industry is still attractive when it comes to high barrier to entry, low power of buyers and suppliers, and low threat of substitution. Also for the company level, Walmart has differentiated itself successfully by focusing on the lowest price. Second, Walmart’s cash flows show a typical pattern for a healthy and matured firm; that is, Walmart has a constantly growing positive CFO, a negative CFI for the investment in PPE, and a negative CFF for shareholder returns such as dividend and share repurchase. Also, the strong CFO generates a increasing trend of FCF (Free Cash Flow), which indicates that the company has a potential for flexible cash management whether for the growth investment or shareholder returns. Third, Walmart appears to have quality earning. Further, there are close ties between net income and CFO; in other words, both net income and CFO show positive trend and increase at a comparable rate. Also Walmart is engaged in neither manipulating earnings nor making substantial changes in accounting methods. Fourth, Walmart’s ratios look good. ROA and ROCE are strong when compared to those of Costco and Target. The liquidity ratios are relatively low, but can be addressed if Walmart chooses to retain cash instead of using it on growth. Finally, Walmart’s P/E ratio on May 19, 2011 is 11. 5, which is relatively low when compared to that of Walmart’s competitors (Target: 11. 9, Costco: 26. 3). As such, Walmart appears to be undervalued. Ultimately, the analysis on Walmart’s financial statements indicates that investors would be well advised to buy Walmart’s stocks.