Theories of Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Theories of Philosophy - Essay Example In this theory, Hume proposes that some of the questions that philosophers asked did not have any absolute answers; meaning that they could not have a logical proof or be proved through reasoning only. Hume mentioned that either, the individual’s empirical experience of existence or their choice of axioms could influence the knowledge of reality. I perceive Hume’s theory help to make a construct of reality by establishing that since we cannot conclusively pinpoint a common stand on reality through reasoning, then there are factors that influences an individual’s perception of reality; that is experience and axioms. The philosophical concept of ethics draws a perspective of what is good or bad in the society in aid to help in drawing an understanding of disputes that encompass moral diversity. Philosophers have advanced various theories in an attempt to describe a morality. I think the Aristotelianism (Virtue ethics) is the best theory that helps describe moral ethics. It observes that a morally right action is one that a virtuous agent would do under the same circumstances. This means that the individual executing an act will do it in a virtuous manner. The Aristotle’s moral theory is the most appropriate because it is focused on promoting virtues irrespective of the prevailing circumstances. This theory is appropriate because it helps an individual point out some of the habits they ought to exhibit based on the need to be virtuous. In addition, in an attempt to be virtuous an individual endeavors to be the best they can be while also ensuring that they do not infringe on the rights of others. In other words, they execute every deed with virtue. Freedom encompasses the free will by people to do whatever they want. It entails the aspect of unpredictable future since there is the leeway to do whatever an individual wants. On the other hand, determinism observes that every event or deed in life can be predicted and it

Computer Task Group, Inc vs Brotby Essay Example for Free

Computer Task Group, Inc vs Brotby Essay In 1995 William Brotby was hired by Computer Task Group, Inc. (CTG) as an information technologies consultant. Upon hiring, Brotby had to sign an agreement stating that he would be restricted to work for any CTG customers if he left the company. No more than two years later, Brotby left CTG and began to work for one of CTG’s customers known as Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. CTG, plaintiff, filed a suit against Brotby, defendant, in a federal district court alleging breach of contract. During the production of discovery, Brotby refused to fully respond to CTG’s interrogatories, never gave truthful answers, filed unwarranted motions, made flimsy objections, and never disclosed all of the information that CTG sought. Brotby was fined twice by the court and was issued five separate orders ordering him to cooperate. Because of Brothby’s continuous refusal to cooperate, CTG eventually filed a motion to enter default judgment against him in 1999. The court granted the motion; however, Brotby appealed to the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Is continuous refusal of the defendant to produce discovery enough to warrant a default judgment by a federal district court? The federal district court granted CTG’s motion to enter a default judgment. The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the judgment of the lower court. Therefore, the appellate court held that â€Å"in light of Brotby’s horrible record of discovery abuses† and his â€Å"abiding contempt and continuing disregard for the court’s orders,† the lower court properly exercised its discretion in entering a default judgment against the defendant. The Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37 allows the district court to enter a default judgment against a party who fails to comply with an order demanding discovery. In addition, the district court must weigh five factors in order to appropriately decide if a sanction of default for noncompliance with discovery is grounds for dismissal. These five factors are: â€Å"(1) the public’s interest in expeditious resolution of litigation; (2) the court’s need to manage its ocket; (3) the risk of prejudice to the opposing party; (4) the public policy favoring disposition of cases on their merits; and (5) the availability of less drastic sanctions. † When a court order is violated, the first and second factors will favor sanctions whereas the fourth will challenge the order. With regards to the first factor, Brotby’s actions were deliberate; he intended his actions to be as they were. Moreover, in determining whether abolishing sanctions are appropriate in Brotby’s case is reliant on the third and fifth factors. Brotby violated court orders by failing to produce sufficient and factual documents, and by failing to pay one of the fines. These deceitful tactics delayed the litigation process while burdening the court, and prejudiced CTG. Brotby failed to produce documents ordered by the court, and most of what he did submit came after discovery. The withholding of important information and the time delay is sufficient prejudice towards CTG. There are three factors considered in deciding whether the district court adequately considered lesser sanctions: â€Å"(1) explicitly discussed the alternative of lesser sanctions and explained why it would be inappropriate; (2) implemented lesser sanctions before ordering the case dismissed; and (3) warned the offending party of the possibility of dismissal. † The district court judge appropriately considered the alternative of lesser sanctions by ordering Brotby to comply with CTG’s discovery request five times and imposing two lesser sanctions against him. However, Brotby never responded and therefore it is appropriate to discard lesser sanctions if the court anticipates continuous false misconduct. Brotby also had continuous awareness that his unwillingness to cooperate would eventually result in a default judgment against him; the judge warned him to â€Å"stop playing games† if he wanted to stay in the game. Therefore, the two monetary sanctions, five orders ordering him to cooperate, and repeated warnings proved enough notice that Brotby’s continued failure to comply would result in default.

Deviance :: essays research papers

Being labeled and institutionalized as a social deviant proves to be stigmatizing in life. In Dina Temple-Rastons A Death in Texas, she chronicles the murder of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas during the summer of 1998. The author suggests in Chapters 1-4 that suspected murder Billy King is more than a case study of abnormal psychology and that his actions may be explained as a career criminal who has been marginalized by society. While most authors fixate on the psychology within killers, she also includes the town’s historical background and the social context in which the murder took place. Sociologist, Kai Erikson would applaud his style as he postulates that deviant behavior becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Erikson states that once a person commits an act, they are labeled and treated as deviant and they have little opportunity to act any differently.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Billy King was labeled and treated as a deviant this maltreatment had the greatest influence on King. On page 44 of the text, Kylies mother refers to King as â€Å"an ex-con† and does not want her daughter to hang around with someone â€Å"like that.† When labeled as a deviant, people are suspicious of you and begin treating you with a lack of respect and see you as different. Even though â€Å"he had kept his nose clear, Sheriff Rowles made a mental note when he saw the picture of Bill King† (Pg. 45).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The prison where Bill King was remanded was at the end of a wooded road and hidden behind shabby homes and a trailer park. Billy was a man of small stature and had to act with bravado to not be injured while in prison. He was jammed into a facility with â€Å"3,00 young toughs† (pg 70) who â€Å"wielded a lethal combination of intimidation and one upmanship.† The men were segregated and survived by making (like) racial alliances. King was called a peckerwoods – he would fight but he was not tough enough to fit into the prisons many gangs for protection† (pg 71). The author suggests that Kings nose was broken and that he may have been sodomized.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On page 77, the author states that Billy was the adored center of a dysfunctional family and that his step-mother may not of held him accountable for his actions. It may be that Billy felt traumatized by his real mother abandoning him and it put him â€Å"off stride for life† (pg 77).

Environmental Impacts of a Cement Plant Unit

Decision The building activities will ensue in minimal loss of flora and surface soil in the works country. Maximum possible extent tree cutting would be avoided. No important inauspicious impact on the dirt in the encompassing country is anticipated. During building stage, dust will be the chief pollutant, which would be generated from the site development activities and vehicular motion on the route. The impact of such activities would be confined within the undertaking boundary and restricted to the building stage. To extenuate these impacts regular scattering of H2O will be done at the building site. The attack roads will be black carpeted and vehicles will be kept in good order to minimise car fumes. The coevals of domestic sewerage discharge from labour settlements and lavation of building stuffs stockpiled and concrete batching works will hold some impact on surface H2O and to a smaller grade on groundwater. To turn to possible impacts on H2O quality, disinfected latrines ( with regular liming ) will be used as chief constituent of the sanitation system.Construction procedure would include fiction of steel constructions, concrete and related H2O use. The possible impact is considered minor as it will be largely happening during building period and will hold no long term impact with position to relentless pollution. The overall impact on H2O environment during building stage due to the cement works would be of short term continuance and insignificant. The major beginnings of noise during the building stage are vehicular traffic, building equipment like dozers, scrapers, concrete misers, Cranes generators, pumps, compressors, stone drills, pneumatic tools, proverbs, vibrators etc.the operation of these equipment will bring forth noise runing between 70-85 dubnium ( A ) . The noise produced during the building will hold important impact on the bing ambient noise degrees. The major work will be carried out during the daylight. Most of the land identified for the bing undertaking contains bare land with limited figure of trees. Trees will be cut merely if required and as per functional demand. The remotion of flora from the dirt and relaxation of the surface soil by and large causes dirt eroding. However such impacts will be confined to the works site and will be minimized through pavement and H2O scattering. Therefore no major loss of biomass is envisaged during building stage. The non workers in the constitute more than 60 % of the entire population in 10 kilometers radius survey area.This indicates the handiness of ample work force required for the building activity in the vicinity. The works will supply either direct or indirect occupation chances to the local population every bit far as possible. There will be some migration of labour force from outside the survey country during building stage, which may set some force per unit area on the local colonies and resources. So the demographic impact is envisaged to be fringy and impermanent in nature. However, the flow of work forces, money and stuff will impact the socio-economic position of the people in the country. The positive impact may be the addition of employment chances for unskilled and semi-skilled workers. Ancillary development such as stores, hotels and other allied services will besides open up avenues for employment. The subsequent betterment in the position of the people will besides assist in increasing the wellness and instruction position of the people. Diseases matching to labour influex and their impact on local community will be regulary monitored. Health position monitoring of labors and its environing population shall be carried out with the nomadic wellness attention installations. During building of any big undertaking, there is ever opportunity of traffic congestion on nearby roads due to heavy vehicular motion. However it was observed that the route web next to the cement works has medium traffic and have a mix of fast moving and decelerate traveling traffic. Thus add-on of the awaited vehicles during building stage will non hold much impact on the traffic scenario. Literand demand for the cement works is 120.626 hour angle, which is already in ownership of the company. With execution of the works, the land usage at the site will be for good changed to industrial class. Impacts on dirts will be restricted during building stage, which will acquire stabilized during operational stage. The impact on the top dirt will be confined to the chief works country. The air borne fleeting dust from the works is likely to be deposited on the surface soil in immediate locality of the works boundary. However, the fleeting emanation are likely to be controlled to a great extent through control steps such as H2O sprinkler systems and dust extraction and dust suppression systems shall be installed. All the solid waste generated will be to the full re-used either in the procedure or in accessory activities ; therefore no impact of solid waste is envisaged on dirt quality of the country. Adequate stack highs have been provided to scatter gaseous emanations over a broad country. In order to command emanations of particulates adequate control equipment are installed.Prediction of impacts on air environment has been carried out by utilizing land degree concentration at a distance of 1.0 kilometers on southeast way. The impact on air quality is assessed based on emanation of the cement works. Particulate affair will be the of import pollutant breathing from the cement works, the maximal attendant land degree concentration that the maximal short term 24 hourly land degree concentrations for PM, SO2and NOx during normal operations of the works composite are likely to be 2.48 & A ; micro ; g/m3, 12.85 & A ; micro ; g/m3and 9.75 & A ; micro ; g/m3 severally occuruing at a distance of 1.0 to 1.5 kilometers during station monsoon season. Fleeting dust emanations from the bing works would be important as there will be air pollution due to activities like conveyance of limestone, coal handling, cinder handling, and oppressing unit and by and large due to the motion of vehicles on the roads. The limestone conveyance is being carried out by covered conveyer system from the limestone crusher unit to the works, therefore fleeting dust in non envisaged. Number of smaller sized bag dust collectors/bagfilters for de-dusting at tasfer points and other fleeting dust emanation countries are installed. Hence the impact due to fleeting emissuions would be undistinguished. All the internal roads within the works premises will be metalled ; hence dust originating from the internal roads will be in important. The greenway and regular H2O sprinking will foster aid decrease in fleeting emanations. The bing cement works contains figure of points of heavy equipment such as fans, engines, generators and cement grinding works. There will be associated route or rail traffic including truck motion and loading equipment. Consequently cement fabrication is likely to bring forth noise and quiver. Noise and quiver is greater from heavy truck traffic associated with quarry operations and conveyance of natural stuffs and finished merchandise. The chief noise bring forthing beginnings from the cement works will be crushers, ball Millss, ice chest fans, pumps, compressors, turbines along with chilling tower and boilers. The noise degrees at the beginning for these units will be maintasined below 85 dubnium ( A ) . Hazardous waste in the signifier of used and godforsaken oil is generated from autoworkshop, different subdivision of cement works. No risky waste will be generated either in the procedure or pollution control equipment installations. There is no solid waste generated from the cement works. All the dust collected in air pollution control equipment ( APCEs ) will automatically be recycled into the procedure. Flyash use will be as per MoEF flyash use presentment. Flyash will be 100 % for production of pozzolona cement devising by the cement works. Solid waste in the signifier of sludge is generated from the sewerage intervention works. The waste will be used for maintain the assorted lequire suspended solids ( MLSS ) in the activated sludge procedure of STP and the balance waste is used as manure for greenway development. Since the unit will be runing on zero discharge procedure, no inauspicious impact on surface H2O organic structures is envisaged. The works drainage system will be ap propriately designed such that the storm H2O does non transport any pollutants. The impact from the air emanation is non expected to be important since the stack tallness design and the atmosphereic conditions are such that the ambient air quality at present every bit good as in hereafter after the present installation will be within the prescribed ambient air quality bounds set Forth by CPCB. Comprehensive control steps have been incorporated as elaborated under Environment direction program ( EMP ) . The discharge of waste stuffs ( stack emanation, waste H2O and solid wastes ) from works operations potentially could hold impact on public safety ad wellness if proper extenuation steps are non taken. The impact from the discharge of waste merchandises is non expected to be important since, the inauspicious impacts on ambient air, H2O and dirt quality are predicted to be low. It is predicted that the impacts on public safety will be really low, due to the effectuive safety system and safety direction available in the works. Overall, the impact on public safety and wellness from the cement works activities are likely to be undistinguished. Govindgarh modesty wood is 0.2 km north-northeast waies 10 kilometers radius survey country. But there are no ecologically sensitive countries like wildlife sanctuaries within 10 kilometers radius from the works and besides no migration path to avi zoology is observed or recorded in the survey country. Son gharihal sanctuary is located at a distance of 9.0 kilometer towards south east direction.similarlly as per the wood section, no endangered or rare species of vegetations and zoologies are reported or observed in the survey country. Development of a thick greenway and besides application of limestone injection in AFBC ( Atmosphric fluidized bed burning ) boilers, transit of stuff through closed conveyer system still further cut down of pollution tonss in the environing countries and contain the negative impact on wood and tellurian ecology. Hence the impacts on the tellurian ecology will be undistinguished. The wastewaters are non envisaged to be discharged into any watercourses. Hence no impact is envisaged from the bing works on aquatic organic structures. The impacts on the ecology will be due to the incremental gaseous concentrations and noise generated during operation of the bing power works. The demand of unskilled work force will be met from nearby small towns during building and operation stage. The works will besides assist in coevals of indirect employment apart from direct employment. This will be a positive socio-economic development for the part. There will be a general upliftment of criterion of life in the part. The discharge of waste stuffs ( stack emanation, effluent and solid wastes ) from procedure operations is expected to be undistinguished and may non hold possible impact on public safety and wellness. The inauspicious impacts on ambient air and dirt quality are predicted to be undistinguished. Primary wellness study was carried out to measure the wellness position of the people in the survey country in the small towns of Majhigawan, Sarda, Jurmani, Hinauti and Gorhatola small towns which are autumn in 2 kilometers radius from mines lease boundary. The survey reveals that in general the country is prone to malaria in monsoon season and icterus before and after monsoon season. Therefore is no disease form which can be attributable to any industrial pollution. The incidence of any lungs related wellness upset are chiefly due to the wonts such as smoke. The cement works unit together with confined power works will ensue in betterment of substructure every bit good as upliftment of societal construction in the surrounding small towns. The people shacking in the nearby countries will be benefited indirectly. The major benefit due to the cement works will be in the domain of bring forthing impermanent employment for significant figure of forces. During the enlargement of building stage about 1000 people on an norm will be employed. The work force during operational period is estimated to be about 350 individuals. Employment will be provided to eligible undertaking affected individuals both during building and operational stage. Impermanent employment for people from the adjacent small towns during building stage. The instruction and substructure installations such as development of ply land for childrens, noon repasts, computing machine preparation for the children/youth of weaker subdivision, scholarship for pupils of college/ITI, upg radation/renovation of bing schools, H2O supply, furniture, computing machines, library, books, school bags, athleticss kits, healthful installations etc. will be provided. Supplying primary wellness centres and ambulance installation. Conduction of vaccination/immunization programmes including infantile paralysis cantonments, oculus cantonments and medical assistance, reding and rehabilitation installations for drug addicts.Assistance/encouragement to self aid groups and income coevals strategies. Community development activies such as building of new community/panchayat halls. Provision of solar energy to community/panchyat edifice. Rennovation and modernisation of bing community/panchyat halls. The budget estimated under CSR activies is about Rs. 55 crores as on one clip capital outgo and Rs. 11 crores as repeating outgo per annum for 10 old ages.

Photography in Social Media Essay

In theory, social networks can be used to boost confidence and make a person feel closer to his or her peers in their social lives. Teenagers in this day and age no longer live in a world of handwritten notes passed back and forth in class. They are living social lives on a completely public forum. The youth of this generation have the access to take a picture of anything they wish and have the ability to post the picture to any social networking site for the world to see. With technology advancing, it is becoming easier and easier to document life through technology and can be done as simply as a flick of the wrist. Photography has had a significant impact on the social lives of today’s youth. To understand this impact on the youth, people have to look at the evolution of photography. The history of photography dates back to 1000 A.D., when a man by the name of Alhazen invented the pinhole camera (Bellis). Ever sine this marvelous invention, the art of photography has grown. When the ability of taking pictures was first introduced to the world, few people could afford it so in the beginning it wasn’t very popular. Today, it is seldom heard of that a household does not own one or more cameras. The way technology has advanced over the years, most cell phones today even have cameras built in them. As a result of the growing popularity the physical camera advanced to meet the demands of its new found audiences (Bellis). Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are guaranteed to have millions of visitors daily. With all of these visitors, advertisors have an excellent place to do what they do best; advertise. They do this by selecting a photo that is appealing to a particular audience and providing a brief description on how that photo relates to their product or services and how the reader could benefit from this. How the picture is displayed is crucial to the overall benefit of the advertisement so it is imperitive that a good photographer is used in order to make sure the photo is as attractive as possible. Advertising is the best way for businesses to reach out to the youth in order to make a profit and keep the economy flowing as smoothly as it can. Although advertising through social media is not the only way to do it, it is the most common and most effective (â€Å"The Social Media Advertising Ecosystem Explained†). Clearly picture advertisments are needed on social  networking sites to keep the sites funded while selling a product to keep the businesses funded. Photo editing is a crucial step in the creating of the final photograph. It is required that a photographer has basic knowledge of photo editing if one wants to be successful. The most important part of a photo shoot is the work it involves after the photos have been shot! Post processing photo editing has become the anthem for many professional photographers (â€Å"What Is Photo Editing?†). To achieve above work standards, the photo editing professionals have to use the correct software. There are many different kinds of software that have been introduced for professional editors. Photo editing gives people the ability of re-sizing and cropping their picture, changing the exposure and contrast of their picture, special effects and many more features depending on the editing software. Photo editing is a beautiful process that can remove unwanted blemishes and any unwanted objects from digital photos (â€Å"What Is Photo Editing?†). A photo editor is in charge of what th e final photograph will look like. If the editors are successful, the photo will appear to be un-edited, but will display a beautiful flawless image. Photo editing is an essential part of photography. Once the photos have been edited, it opens up many possibilitys on the web. There are multiple social networking sites that use photography and photo editing as their main purpose. Snapchat, Instgram, and Tumblr all include photography in social media. All of these social networking sites impact the social lives of today’s youth. The users of these sites are allowed to judge the other users photos by virtually â€Å"liking† them or writing their own opinions on the photo by leaving a comment on it. This can be subliminally considered a social ranking to teens who are looking for positive attention. This is one way that Social Media impacts the lives of today’s youth. A big impact on today’s youth is snapchat. Snapchat is a new way to share moments with friends. Snapchat is a photo messaging application developed by Stanford University students. In addition to photos, a short video can be sent. Snap an ugly selfie or a video, add a caption, and send it to a friend or maybe a few. They will receive it,  laugh, and then the snap disappears forever. The captions in the videos and pictures can only be as long as the screen is wide. If a user would like to fit more text on the screen, they would either tilt the device sideways so the text bar is longer, or write the words using the draw tool on snapchat. The color of the pen can be changed. Account users take a photo, send it to someone and ten-seconds later it has disappeared forever. No saving them, no forwarding them on. The app is designed to capture a moment and share it in an impermanent way, like speech. The image might be a little grainy, and users may not look their best, but that’s the point. It’s about the moment, a connection between friends, and not just a pretty picture although in the newest udpate filters were added so now editing is even allowed on Snapchat. On average, about 20 million snapchats are sent a day. Snapchat has a big impact on the social lives of today’s youth. There are multiple types of social networking sites that deal with photography and impact the social lives of today’s youth significantly such as, Instagram. Many teens and adults post images to a social networking site called Instagram. Instagram is an online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos, apply digital filters to them, and share them on a variety of social networking services, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr. Many teens and adults post pictures to Instagram using simple editing tool s such as filters to give their photos more of an â€Å"artsy† feel (â€Å"Picture to Pedophile†). â€Å"Instagrammers† post any photo they wish to display in the hopes of getting a multiple number of â€Å"likes† on that particular photo. It is almost like a social ranking in the teen social life. Sometimes photos are of the places they have been, or the things that they desire, or the food that they are consuming, and sometimes of themselves. Pictures on Instagram of the account creator are called â€Å"selfies†. The problem here is that the photos are very publicly available and are assigned to their user account (Picture to Pedophile). With teens living their social lives on a completely public forum, parents need to inform their children about privacy settings and internet safety. Instagram greatly impacts the social lives of today’s youth. Simply put, Tumblr is an image blogging site. With over 15 billion page views a month, Tumblr is a very addicting site to teens and youth in this day and age. Tumblr users post interesting photos, videos, and other  media to their followers, who can then share it with their followers as well. Tumblr has played a signiï ¬ cant role in shaping an individual’s identity and personality towards themselves and society via photo representation. The Tumblr environment has remarkably transformed the perspectives of adolescents’ own appearance and is one of the main contributors for the desire of teenagers to conform and stick to what is supposedly the norm of the status quo. Tumblr’s heavy emphasis on visual media, therefor, Tumblr is a photography based site that significantly impacts the social lives of today’s youth. Seeing as these personal photos are being publically broadcasted across the cyber world, many dangers come into play. â€Å"Catfishing† is a form of identity theft in which an online user is not who they claim to be. They steal pictures and try to represent the displayed person in order to gain something. This has become such a big issue recently that producers at MTV have made a TV show about noticing the signs of a person claiming to be someone they are not. As soon as a picture is posted online, it can be stolen and used by anyone who can view it. Once a picture is online, it is no longer private, even if the owner is unaware somebody else is using it. Online safety is a big issue when it comes to personal photographs (â€Å"Picture to Pediphile†). As the prevalence of online social networking grows so do psychologist’s concerns aboutInternet communications and its overall effect on adolescent social development. For example, while positive feedback on a photo would most likely cause a boost in self esteem, a negative type of feedback would contrarily do the opposite and cause a decrease in self esteem. Although a self esteem boost seems like a good thing, it can also have a negative effect on a teenager. â€Å"Too many compliments can all go straight to their ego and eventually it will be so big there will not be any room for their original personality.† A harsh case of criticism will also end up with negative effects as well. Cyber bullying is a major contributor to depression in young social networkers. The publicity and freedom of judgment on these uploaded photos can have major effect on how a young person feels towards themselves and how they act. This  is one of the most important ways that photography im pacts the social lives of the youth. While social networking does indeed have an effect on the youth of today, the photography that is involved with social networking plays an even bigger role in how the youth is effected. What would Facebook be without profile pictures and photo albums and the critics who judge them in the comment section? Would there even be Instagram or Snapchat? How would a teenager get the much needed self-esteem boost from a friendly compliment on a recently uploaded photo? Photography in social media and it’s effect on the youth is much larger than what most people realize. Works Cited Bellis, Mary. â€Å"History of Photography and the Camera.† About.com Inventors. About.com, 05 Mar. 2014. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. â€Å"The Social Media Advertising Ecosystem Explained.† Business Insider. N.p., 8 June 2013. Web. 6 Apr. 2014. . Munni, Rokaiya Y. â€Å"What Is Photo Editing?† Photo Editing and Photoshop Clipping Path Services What Is Photo Editing Comments. N.p., 1 Aug. 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. . Birdsong, Toni. â€Å"Picture to Pedophile: The Danger of Instagram and Kik Messenger.† McAfee Picture to Pedophile The Danger of Instagram and Kik Messenger Comments. McAfee, 4 June 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. .

Jetblue Ipo Pricing Essays

Jetblue Ipo Pricing Essays Jetblue Ipo Pricing Paper Jetblue Ipo Pricing Paper 1. Introduction An initial public offering (IPO) is defined as the first offering of shares by a private company to the public. A share is one of a finite number of equal portions of the capital of a company that entitles the shareholder to a proportion of distributed, non-reinvested profits known as dividends, and to a portion of the value of the company in case of liquidation. Shares can be either voting or non-voting, meaning that the shareholder may have the right to vote on the board of directors and thus the corporate policy (Draho, 2004). The money the private company raises through the issuance of shares is either transferred to the original investors of the company, used to pay-off existing debt, used to finance operating expenses, or, is used to fund future company projects. The ability to conduct an IPO efficiently and effectively encourages entrepreneurship and economic growth through increasing the availability of equity and lowering the cost of equity finance (Kleeburg, 2005). The following report introduces a generic process of an IPO without detailing specifics for an individual country or region. The advantages and disadvantages of choosing an IPO to raise capital is then discussed followed by an examination of the various pricing and allocation techniques that are commonly adopted in the IPO. The final section uses the 2002 IPO of JetBlue as a case study to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the discussed pricing techniques. 2. The IPO Process Jenkinson and Ljungqvist (2001) define 5 generic steps that are required to be undertaken in the process of raising equity through an IPO: Figure 2. 1 – Five generic steps undertaken in the process of an IPO Each of the 5 steps are briefly discussed in the following section paying particular attention to the role of the investment bank and the pricing and allocation decision. 2. 1. The Choice of Market It is important to note that the act of ‘going public’ has two distinct requirements: Investors who are willing to purchase the shares Exchange regulatory conditions that companies must meet Historically, the first aspect of finding investors has not been of great concern, however, given the increasing levels of integration of global financial markets companies are able to select the market that best suits their requirements. The choice of market is therefore essentially focussed on ensuring that there is enough depth within the market so that the company can raise the amount of equity required and that the company is able to comply with the regulations imposed by the stock exchanges and their regulatory bodies (Jenkinson and Ljungqvist, 2001). . 2. Producing a Prospectus The second stage of an IPO is the preparation and lodgement of a prospectus with the market regulatory authorities. A prospectus sets out the terms of the equity issue and provides information on the financial and management performance of the issuing company. It is used to ensure adequate information is provided so that investors can make an informed investment decision (ASX, 2008). Investment banks ar e usually engaged to assist in the preparation of the prospectus to ensure due diligence has been performed. Due diligence refers to the process of providing reasonable grounds that there is nothing in the prospectus that is misleading, and typically involves reviewing company contracts and tax returns, visiting company offices and facilities and interviewing company and industry personnel (Draho, 2004). This prospectus usually includes either a fixed price for the offer (where a predetermined price has been established) or an initial price range (a first ‘best guess’ on the price) that have been determined by the investment bank. With the latter technique the initial price range is usually modified throughout the remaining stages of the IPO (Brau and Fawcett, 2006). 2. 3. Marketing Having produced a prospectus, the next stage is marketing the issue to investors. This marketing can take place in a variety of forms and usually involves a road show, where the issuing firm and the investment bank conduct presentations to a high concentration of institutional investors. Where the offer price has already been established (i. e. fixed price offering) the main purpose of the marketing stage is to elicit bids from investors. Where an indicative price range has been given, the key purpose is to produce expressions of interest and thus begin the process of book building. Book building encompasses the collating of non-legally binding offers of price and quantity that is used to develop a demand curve and thus a more accurate price range for the subscription (Geddes, 2003). An important aspect that influences the marketin g technique is the role of the investment bank as the underwriter. Underwriting can be in the form of a firm commitment, where the investment bank accepts the risk of the issue by agreeing to purchase any securities that had not been subscribed, or on a best efforts basis, where the investment bank agrees to only use its expertise to sell the securities to the best of their abilities (Jenkinson and Ljungqvist, 2001). 2. 4. Pricing and Allocation Where a fixed priced is initially established, it is typical for either heavy over or under subscription to occur. In these cases, allocation methods such as pro rata allocation, retail investor bias allocation or random allocation are utilised depending on the policies imposed by the market regulators (Jenkinson and Ljungqvist, 2001). Where book building has occurred, if the issue is oversubscribed the allocation is typically based on either a common strike price (where a single price is quoted and allocation is based on the amount of information contained in the bid and/or the investor reputation), or, allocation and pricing starting from the highest bid downward until the issue demand is fully met (Draho, 2004). . 5. After the IPO Once the final pricing and allocation decisions have been made, trading in the shares usually commences within a few days. In some countries it is typical for the investment bank to be involved in a price stabilisation process where the principal purpose is to protect the downward price pressure once trading begins. This process of price stabilisation is usually linked with the granting of an over-allotment option (typically 15% of the total number of shares issued) which have usually been sold during the marketing process (Geddes, 2003). 3. Advantages / Disadvantages of the IPO Decision There are considerable advantages with obtaining equity through the IPO process. There are, however, some drawbacks that also need to be taken into consideration. Table 3. 1 outlines the key advantages and disadvantages as outlined by Fishman (1993). AdvantagesDisadvantages The partners can obtain a true value of the shares they possess in the companyThe market is extremely unpredictable and an unsuccessful IPO can result in a great loss of time as well as money for the company Partners can remove their signatures from the lines of credit and thus, are no longer personally liable to the creditorsThe ownership of the partners is dissolved and they become mere employees who are responsible to the shareholders and Board of Directors The overall financial condition of a company is improved as it brings in non-refundable moneyContinuous dealing with shareholders and the press is a time-consuming process A broader capital base gives the company more access to credit which gives the company an option to venture into new business opportunitiesShareholders judge the performance of the company on the basis of the profits and stock price and may cause managers to overlook the long-term strategic objectives Capital raised in an IPO can be used to pay off debt and t hus reduce the interest costs and enhance the company’s debt to equity ratioThe company needs to make nation-wide presentations about its performance to the interested shareholders, brokers and the investment bankers The value of the stock may see an upward trend thus increasing the initial investors financial wealthThe company’s continued success may bring a lot of close scrutiny by the public When a company goes public, it attracts the attention of the media and financial community thus providing free publicity and helps in creating a better corporate imageLarge amounts of fees and expenses are associated with a public company on a continual basis commissions, advertising costs, securities exchange fees etc. By going public and listing on a stock exchange it can directly foster public reputation in general Table 3. – Advantages and disadvantages of going public through the IPO process 4. IPO Valuation Techniques Deriving a value for an IPO is the critical par t of the process. In both fixed price and book building offers some form of initial price must be determined by the investment bank. The key methods that are used to determine the value of a company and thus the initial IPO price include (Geddes, 2003): Discounting Methods – based on a firms intrinsic value (future cash flows) Comparable Multiples Method: value based on similar publicly traded companies 4. 1. Discounting Methods Theoretically, the price of a share is derived by discounting all future cash flows that accrue to shareholders. These techniques are used throughout industry, however, they do suffer in practical application due to the risk associated with forecasting both revenue and expenses (Draho, 2004). The two most frequently used discounting methods include the discounted free cash flows (DCF) and a residual income model (RIM). 4. 1. 1. Discounted Free Cash Flows Free cash flows are defined as the cash flows from operations after investment in working capital and any capital expenditures. These cash flows are considered more appropriate than accounting earnings which include non cash items such as depreciation that cannot be used to pay shareholders. Cash flows are used to pay dividends and thus capture true value for the investor. These cash flows are then discounted using a risk adjusted rate. The rate is estimated either by using the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) for a 100% equity company or by calculating the weighted average cost of capital of the firm’s debt and equity (Geddes, 2003). 4. 1. 2. Residual Income Model The DCF model requires accounting earnings to be converted to cash flows. This is considered inappropriate as accounting values do not take into consideration the time value of money and may be subject to manipulation by way of accounting methods. The RIM is similar to the DCF method in that both methods use a risk adjusted discount rate. The RIM model, however, utilises the difference between the realised earnings and the expected earnings, where the expected earnings is the cost of equity multiplied by the start of period equity book value (Draho, 2004). 4. 2. Comparable Multiples This is the most common method used by investment banks to value IPO’s. Its fundamental approach is the comparison of ratios of companies that operate in similar businesses that possess the same characteristics of risk, current and future profitability and growth prospects (Geddes, 2003). There are number of ratios that can be used under this method, the most common being: Price/Earnings multiples Price/EBIT Market value/Book value Price/sales The successful application of this method lies in choosing an appropriate comparison company. One method used by practitioners is to select up to 10 company’s operating within the same industry and to use the group’s median multiple to value the issuer. The second and most common method is to select 3-4 companies that are direct competitors within the particular industry to the issuer. The third method is to use multiples of firms that have recently gone public assuming all issuers share common valuation multiples (Jenkinson and Ljungqvist, 2001). Comparable multiples is a popular method to value an IPO due to its simplicity and accuracy (Richardson and Tinaikar 2004). With the use of multiples there is no need to estimate the cost of capital, neither is there a need to depend on forecasted earnings and assumptions of valuation models. The use of multiples is supported by the idea that relevant ratios capture the markets estimate of risk and growth (Zarowin, 1990). 5. JetBlue Pricing Table 5. shows the results of utilising the techniques discussed in the previous section for determining the share price for the 2002 JetBlue IPO (for complete calculations see Appendix 1 and 2). The initial subscription price of the IPO was given by th e investment bank (in this case Morgan Stanley) at $22-$24 and this was revised to $25-$26 during the book building process. MethodShare Price ($) Discounted Cash Flow Free Cash Flows$94. 00 Industry Averages Price / Earnings Multiples$40. 38 Market Value / Book Value$115. 22 Price / EBIT$33. 13 EBIT Multiple Leading$38. 92 Competitor Averages Price / Earnings Multiples$97. 06 Market Value / Book Value$274. 54 Price / EBIT$88. 33 EBIT Multiple Leading$65. 10 Recent IPOs EBIT Multiple Leading$40. 37 Table 5. 1 – Share prices for the JetBlue IPO using the different techniques It should be noted that the JetBlue opening share price, this being the price of the stock at the end of the first day of trading, was $50. 30 demonstrating that the IPO was heavily underpriced. The price peaked in September 2003 at just above $90. 00. JetBlue’s current trading price is approximately $17. 21 (after adjusting its actual price of $5. 10 for the three 3:2 share splits and dividends distributed). This shows that there has been a significant loss since the shares began trading in April 2002 (for historical monthly stock price data see Appendix 3). This could reflect either changing market conditions since the IPO or inadequate pricing techniques used at the time of the IPO. Table 5. 1 demonstrates the wide range of share prices that can be achieved depending on the technique that is adopted. The free cash flows technique utilised Southwest Airlines data, assumptions for the airline industry and cash flows given from JetBlue management (see Appendix 1). This value was quite high but reflects high investor demand which took the share price above $90. 00. Of the comparable multiple techniques, the industry average and recent IPO methods reflect the first day closing price, whereas, the competitor average technique reflects similar results to the discounted cash flow technique. Recognising that the discounted cash flow method utilises data for Southwest Airlines that may not accurately represent JetBlue’s conditions, a sensitivity analysis was conducted (see table 5. 2). The four variables that were examined were the horizontal growth rate, the beta (a measure of company returns relative to market returns), the credit rating and the debt to equity ratio. VariableShare Price ($) Growth Rate Forecasted4%$94. 00 Optimistic5%$133. 44 Conservative3%$64. 18 Beta Forecasted1. 3$94. 00 Optimistic1. 1$149. 74 Conservative1. 5$52. 78 Credit Rating (spread) ForecastedBa (3. 00%)$94. 00 OptimisticBaa (1. 50%)$96. 37 ConservativeB (5. 0%)$90. 90 Debt / Equity Ratio Forecasted5. 0%$94. 00 Optimistic10. 0%$108. 03 Conservative2. 5%$86. 96 Table 5. 2 – Sensitivity analysis of share price for fluctuations in the growth rate, beta and credit spread Changes in the value of beta, the perpetual growth rate and the debt to equity ratio provide considerable variatio n in the calculated share price. Credit rating had little influence over the final value. As the premise of the discounting cash flow method is the forecasting of data, this sensitivity analysis demonstrates that caution should be used when relying on this technique given the uncertainty of forecasting information. 6. Conclusion In conclusion, the initial public offering (IPO) process involves a decision on which market is used to raise the funds, the preparation of a prospectus to meet regulatory conditions, marketing of the issuance to institutional investors and a pricing and allocation decision based on the type of subscription that is being offered (fixed price or book building). The key challenge for both the issuing firm and potential investors is the pricing of the shares. The two key techniques of discounted cash flows and comparable multiples, demonstrate that considerable variation in value can occur depending on the technique used. The reliability and accuracy of forecasted and historical data is also of considerable importance in ensuring accurate pricing. In order to overcome many of the disadvantages of an IPO, accurate pricing is paramount to ensure ongoing investor involvement. To draw any conclusion on the accuracy of techniques from this case study would be inappropriate, however, the complexities of the pricing decision has been quite clearly demonstrated. 7. Reference List Australian Securities Exchange. (2008, February 29). Listing on ASX. Retrieved April 23, 2008, from asx. com. au/professionals/listing/index. htm Brau, J. Fawcett, S. (2006). Initial public offerings: An analysis of theory and practice. The Journal of Finance, 61(1), 399-436. Draho, J. (2004). The IPO Decision: Why and How Companies Go Public. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. Fabozzi, F. Modigliani, F. (2003). Capital Markets: Institutions and Instruments (2nd ed. ). New Jersey, Prentice Hall. Fishman, L. (1993). Going public: The pro’s and cons. The Secured Lender. 49(4), 58-60. Geddes, R. (2003). IPO’s and Equity Offerings. Oxford, UK. Butterworth-Heinemann. Jenkinson, T. Ljungqvist, A. (2001). Going Public: The Theory and Evidence on How Companies Raise Equity Finance (2nd ed. ). United States: Oxford University Press Inc. Kleeburg, R. (2005). Initial Public Offering. Ohio, Thomson. Richardson, Gordon D, and Surjit Tinaikar. (2004). Accounting based valuation models: what have we learned? Accounting and Finance, 44(2), 223-255. Zarowin, Paul. 1990. What determines earnings-price ratios: Revisited. Journal of Accounting, Auditing Finance, 5(3), 455-457.

102 Critical Reading and Integrity Professor Ramos Blog

102 Critical Reading and Integrity Quick Write Quick Write What is Integrity? Integrity: 1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty 2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished. What does it mean to be a person of integrity? Are you a person of integrity? Integrity and Hypocrisy What is hypocrisy? Hypocrisy: the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform; pretense. Rep. Tim Murphy resigns from Congress after Allegedly asking a Woman to have Abortion. Member of the Pro-Life Caucus Research Any questions on research? We are researching not to find a ready made answer to our problem, but to find evidence to examine and support the answer we come up with. There is no perfect source, but sources that will help us to learn about the topic/point/problem we are researching. It is up to you to come up with a solution to the problem and support it using reliable evidenc.e Chp. 2 Critical Reading Active Reading Previewing Author: You can discern information from the author or the author bio. Place of Publication: may reveal subject, style, and approach. Title: May give an idea about the text. Context: Consider the situational conditions the text was produced. Context of production Content of consumption Skimming: Pay close attention to headings and subheadings. Look for the Thesis. Thesis: The main point or major claim The First and Last Rule Authors place main points of emphasis at the beginning and ending of essays, paragraphs, and sentences. Reading with a Careful Eye Underline, highlight, or annotate the text. Read for the main points, or important points. Do not highlight everything. Read with a purpose. Read to understand, question, and analyze the text. â€Å"This; Therefore, That† To arrive at a coherent thought or series of thoughts that will lead to a reasonable conclusion. Follow the text you are readings thoughts as well as your own before reaching a conclusion. Define Terms and Concepts Read carefully to how the terms and concepts are used in the argument. Define words and concepts. Summarizing and Paraphrase Summary: Say briefly what the whole adds up to. Paraphrase: a word-by-word or phrase-by-phrase rewording of a text. A translation of the author’s language into your own. Why summary and paraphrase? validate  the basis of your argument. clarify  the complex ideas contained in a text. support  your argument lend authority  to your voice help you build new ideas  from existing ideas on the topic. Paraphrase, Patchwriting, and Plagiarism Quoting: Copy word for word Paraphrase: reword a point or idea. Summarize: the main idea of a text. Patchwriting: produce a medley of borrowed words and original words. Plagiarism: Submitting the work of others intentionally or unintentionally as your own. To avoid plagiarism, carefully track your notes, paraphrases, and summaries. Strategies for Summarizing Summarize paragraphs so you can follow the threads of the argument. A summary can be a sentence, a paragraph, or a page long. Depends on how much room you have and how much you need to include. Summary does not include your own thoughts. Summary does not include your own thoughts. Summaries can be for reading comprehension, but in essay writing the point is to assist your own argument. Remember when writing a summary you are putting yourself into the author’s shoes. Critical Summary A longer summary that you intent to integrate into your own argument, and with your own ideas interjected. Introduce  the summary. Explain  the major point or argument the source makes. Exemplify  by offering one or more representative examples. Problematize  by placing your assessment, analysis, and questions in the summary. Extend  by tying the summary to your argument.