Analysis of Woolworth Samples for Students †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Financial Analysis of Woolworth. Answer: Introduction Now-a-days every investor perform the investment analysis before making an investment in the organization and it is important as failure to make such analysis will lead to undue risk and less return as required on the investment. Analysis or interpretation of the financial performance of any company requires reporting on the financial condition of the company in regards to profitability, liquidity, asset efficiency and other important market conditions that impacts investors decisions. Every investor wants that their investment provides them maximum returns with minimum risk but it must be noted that good returns are possible where there are some risk associated. In this particular report, financial performance of the Woolworth Limited has been evaluated in detail and this report has been provided to the directors of the company who want to make investment in the rapid growing Australian economy. For this purpose, ratio analysis has been performed for Woolworth Limited and in order to make the industry analysis, the competitor of Woolworth limited, The Reece Group. The main purpose of this financial performance report is to help the directors of the company in taking the wise decision regarding investment in the Woolworth Limited. Financial Performance of Woolworth Limited and comparison with Reece Limited Group In this segment of the assignment, various ratios have been calculated and their trends for year 2015 and 2016 have been noted to understand the increase or decrease in the performance during the year 2016. Profitability Analysis Profitability is the most important criteria for any investor to choose any company because if company profitability is in increasing trend than it will provide good returns and market price of investment will also increase providing required return on the investment. In this category, ratios like gross profit ratio and net profit margin ratio has been calculated to understand the profitability performance of the company (Sagner, 2010). Gross Profit Margin Ratio Gross profit margin refers to the revenue left after meeting all the expenses related to the cost of goods sold. Generally this profit is not the profit that has been hold for the equity share holders as there are other expenditures that need to be paid before arriving at the actual profit. All the ratio calculations are provided in the appendix section of this assignment. According to the calculation made the gross profit margin ratio the company has earned gross profit of 27.29% in year 2015 and it has been decreased to 26.85% in year 2016, reflecting the downfall of 1.60% in year 2016 (Annual report of Woolworth Limited, 2016). The profitability position of Woolworth is acceptable but it is important to look over the change sin the trend and also requires to be compared with the competitor, The Reece Group. The cost of sales of Woolworth in year 2015 was 42,950 million dollars and reduced to 42,676.7 in year 2016. Same has also happened with the sale revenue of Woolworth Limited that causes the decrease in gross profit of the company in year 2016. Gross Profit margin ratio of Reece Limited in year 2015 was 32.98% and it got increased to 33.34% in year 2016 that shows an increase of 1.09% in the gross margin ratio in year 2016. So it can be said that profitability position of Reece Limited was better as compared to Woolworth or Vice Versa (Annual report of Reece Limited, 2016). Net Profit Margin Net profit margin can is termed as the revenue left after meeting all the expenses related cost of sold, operating expenses, administrative expenses, selling and distribution expenses and other expenses. It is calculated as net profit before tax divided by the net revenue of the company in the same period (Sagner, 2010). In year 2015, the net profit of the Woolworth Limited was 5.61% which was reduced to 2.34 % in year 2016. This overall decrease in net profit ratio is about 58.24 % in year 2016 as compare to year 2015(Annual report of Woolworth Limited, 2016). So it can be said that there is decreasing trend in the net profit ratio of the Woolworth Limited. It can be seen that there was increase in operating and administrative expenses despite of decrease in revenue in year 2016 when compared with figures of year 2015. The net profit ratio of Reece Limited was 11.43 % in year 2015 and has increased to 12.30 %in year 2016 that show the 7.60 % positive trend in net profit ratio. So it can be said that level of profitability of Woolworth is not acceptable for the investment purpose because both the profitability ratios shows decrease in profit and increase in expenditures that will lead to more negative trend in profitability of the company (Annual report of Reece Limited, 2016). Liquidity Analysis Liquidity analysis means short term capability of the company to pay the liabilities of the company. Current ratio and quick ratio are two important ratio used to calculate the liquidity of the company (Sagner, 2010). Current ratio Current ratio measure the normal liquidity position of the organization as it tells level of current assets to pay off the current liabilities. The current ratio of Woolworth Limited was 0.84 times in year 2015 and it remained almost same in year 2016. Calculations show that there is overall 1.12 % increase in the current ratio in year 2016. It can be seen that company was not able to meet up all the current liability expenses in both the years (Annual report of Woolworth Limited, 2016). Current ratio calculations in regards to Reece Limited show that company has current assets of 2.02 times in year 2015 and it has increased by 1.20 %in year 2016 to 2.04 times. So it can be said that overall liquidity position of Reece Limited in much better than the Woolworth Limited in both the years (Annual report of Reece Limited, 2016). Quick Ratio Quick ratio is absolute measure of liquidity position of the company as it measures liquidity through ignoring the assets that are not easily convertible into cash. Quick ratio of Woolworth was 0.30 times in year 2015 and it has increased to 0.33 times in year 2016 resulting increase of 7.29%. The short term liquidity position of Woolworth limited was worth in both the years as company has only 30 % of real cash to pay the current liabilities (Annual report of Woolworth Limited, 2016). On the other hand, the liquidity position of Reece Limited was very strong as company has quick assets of 1.04 times in year 2015 and 1.08 times in year 2016 (Annual report of Reece Limited, 2016). Analyzing overall liquidity position of Woolworth in year 2015 as well in year 2016 it can be said that liquidity position of the company is not acceptable despite of increase in trend. It is because as per ideal current ratio the current assets of the company must be between 1.5 to 2 times the current liabilities but it is less the current liabilities. Asset Efficiency Analysis Asset efficiency means how efficiently the resources of the company are being used to earn the revenue (Bull, 2007). Inventory Turnover Ratio Inventory turnover ratio indicates the how many times the average inventory has been sold to earn the revenue. The inventory turnover ratio of Woolworth Limited was 8.82 times in year 2015 and 9.36 times in year 2016. It indicates inventory has been properly utilized by the company in year 2016 as compare to 2015 showing the increase in trend of 6.20 % (Annual report of Woolworth Limited, 2016). On the other hand, Reece Limited has poor inventory turnover ratio in both the years that reflects that company was unable to utilize the inventory to earn the revenue (Annual report of Reece Limited, 2016). Days Sales in Inventory This ratio provides inventory turnover ratio in days of year. More precisely it provides how many days company needed to turn all inventory into sales. In year 2016, Woolworth has taken 39.99 days to convert the entire inventory into sales whereas Reece Limited has taken 97.63 days to convert all inventories into sales (Annual report of Woolworth Limited, 2016). Overall analysis of asset efficiency it can be said that Woolworth has utilized its assets more precisely as compared to Reece Limited (Annual report of Reece Limited, 2016). Long Term Solvency Analysis This analysis helps to check the capital structure of the company as well as it also check the leverage position of the company (Bull, 2007). Debt to Equity Debt to equity ratio shows the presence of overall long term debt as against the overall equity. Debt equity of Woolworth was 0.28 times in year 2015 and it further increased to 0.44 times in year 2016 that indicates company has become more leverage in year 2016 as compare to year 2015. On the other hand the debt equity ratio of Reece Limited was 0.17 times in year 2015 and it reduced to 0.12 in year 2016 reflecting payment of debt loan in year 2016. Debt to total assets This ratio provides level of debt as against the total assets. Overall analysis indicates that Woolworth contains satisfactory level of debt as against the total assets of the company. In year 2016 there is some increase in debt capital of the company. It can be said that long term solvency position of the company is acceptable despite of increase in debt capital in year 2016 because the level of debt was below 0.50 times of equity that indicates company is not highly leverage (Annual report of Reece Limited, 2016). Recommendations and conclusion On the basis of overall analysis I did not recommend to the company to invest in Woolworth Limited due to bad profitability position in year 2016 and poor liquidity position in both the years. References Annual report of Reece Limited 2016. [Online]. Available at: www.reecegroup.com.au/assets/Uploads/F2016-Reece-Limited-Annual-Report.pdf [Accessed on: 5 May 2017]. Annual report of Woolworth Limited 2016. [Online]. Available at: www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/investors/our-performance/reports/Reports [Accessed on: 5 May 2017]. Bull, R. 2007. Financial Ratios: How to use financial ratios to maximize value and success for your businesses. Elsevier. Sagner, J. 2010. Essentials of Working Capital Management. USA: John Wiley Sons.

Lenses experiment Essay Example

Lenses experiment Essay I will set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram above. To decide which lens I am to use I will find the focal lengths of different lenses and us the lens that gives the easiest focal length to work with, this will be found out in my preliminary experiment.In this experiment I will be trying to prove my hypothesis, to do that the results that I obtain have to help me find the magnifications of different lengths away from the focal length. The object will be put on the focal point for the first result then I will measure the diameter of the object, this should always be 2.0cm, and then I will measure the diameter of the image. I will record my results into a suitable table; all of my results must be to 1 decimal place apart from the results for the magnifications, which will be to 2 decimal places.I will obtain results every 2.0cm and take four results so that I can take an average result for the object distance (U), for the width of the image and the magnification. I will obtain r esults every 2.0cm because the image size drastically changes at the beginning when moving it away from the lens just a little bit and less so later on when got past 2F(twice the focal length), therefore a small gap between results is vital or else when coming to make a graph of the results will cause major parts of the magnification change to be lost.I will choose a suitable range of results from performing the preliminary experiment.VariablesMy independent variable will be moving the object.My dependant variable will be the lens.There are two common types of lenses convex (converging) lenses and concave (diverging) lenses.As you can see by looking at these diagrams a convex lens can make a real or a virtual image and a concave lens can only make a virtual image. I am using a convex lens in this experiment so that I can measure the size if the image and to be able to do that my image needs to be real, but only a convex lens produces a real image. My image needs to be real because o ne cannot touch or project a virtual image on to a screen and to measure the image one would need to touch the image.Concave lenses are lenses that are thinner at the center than at the edges, bend light rays so that they diverge, and so produce only virtual images. The image is formed on the same side of the lens as the object; it is upright and is always diminished. The distance of the object from the lens controls the size of the image: the closer the object is to the lens, the larger the image.A convex lens is thicker at the center than at the edges. When an object is placed beyond the focal length of a convex lens, the lens bends the light rays from the object so that they converge and form a real image on the opposite side of the lens. If the object is placed within the focal length of the lens, however, an enlarged virtual image is formed behind the object, on the same side of the lens. In general, in this case, the closer the object is to the lens, the less the image is enla rged.These are descriptions of the two lenses and how they work, this will hopefully explain why I am using a convex lens and why I am not taking any measurements between the focal point and the lens, if not this is because it gives a virtual image and a virtual image cannot be measured.So I have hopefully explained why in my experiment I will use a convex lens, but I have not yet said why I believe the convex lens will cause the magnification of the image to decrease as the object moves further away from the focal point of the lens. So now I will do that.Here are some ray diagrams, the object in each is 2.0cm tall and the focal length of the lens in each diagram is 4.0cm.In the first ray diagram the object is between the focal point and the lens this giving a virtual image. This is of little use to me for I would not be able to measure the image in real life but I can explain why, the reason being one cannot touch or project a virtual image onto a screen, therefore I would be unabl e to measure the image for I would not be able to touch it. This is also a diagram of how a magnifying glass works.Ray Diagram 2 shows the object on the focal point, when constructing a ray diagram of this 2 parallel lines are given this then means that the image is magnified, but to an amount that one would find it immeasurable.Ray Diagram 3 shows the object between the F (focal point) and 2F (double the focal length). This gives a real, magnified and inverted image this is smaller that the previous one but one could easily measure it.Ray Diagram 4 shows the object on 2F this then gives a real, same size and inverted image. This should now indicate that as the object has been moved further away from the focal point the size of the images have decreased and when the magnification is worked out the magnifications should also decrease. This should now mean the any images after this should not be magnified or the same size but diminished.Ray diagram 5 shows a real, diminished and inver ted image, as I thought. Now if I work out the magnification for each of the diagrams they should gradually decrease.There are two ways of working out the magnification one simple way and one more complicated way, which is supposed to be more accurate. A ray diagram is not required for the complicate method but a ray diagram is required for the simpler method, so if the ray diagram is inaccurate then the answer for the magnification using the simpler method should in theory be as inaccurate also.Simple MethodMagnification = size of imageSize of objectComplicated MethodU = object distanceV = image distancef = focal length1=1+1f U V1-1=1f U VU-f=1Uf VUf =VU-fMagnification=VUUsing the Simple MethodRay Diagram 14.2=2.12.0Ray Diagram 2Unable to work out for I have no result for the size of the image.Ray Diagram 33.8=1.92.0Ray Diagram 42.0=1.02.0Ray Diagram 51.5=0.752.0As you can see from my results the further the object was from the focal point the smaller the magnification got.Using th e Complicated MethodUf=VU-fMagnification=VURay Diagram 12.04.0=-42.0-4.0Magnification=-42.0=-2Ray Diagram 24.04.0=04.0-4.0Magnification=0Ray Diagram 36.04.0=126.0-4.0Magnification=12.06.0=2Ray Diagram 48.04.0=88.0-4.0Magnification=88.0=1Ray Diagram 510.04.0=6.710.0-4.0Magnification=6.710.0=0.67From 2 different methods of working out the magnification I have got virtually the same results, which show the same trend that proves the hypothesis, moving the object further away from the focal point of a converging lens will decrease the magnification of the size of the image.Preliminary workApparatusIn the preliminary work I have to find out which lens I will be using and why I have chosen to use that particular one. I will want the one with the most easily manageable focal distance. I know that once that I have chosen which lens I want, I cannot change half way through the experiment without retaking the result that I already have with the new lens. It is crucial for my lens to stay the same and for my object to be the same size, or else the results will not work out because the images will be of different sizes not following with the trend. Therefore my dependant variables will be the lens I use and the object that I use. My independent variable will be the object distance because that will be the only thing as part of the experiment that I will be changing.MethodTo find out which lens I want to use I will have to find out the focal lengths of them, because I want the one with the most easy to work with and of a reasonable size.When I find out which lens I will use I will be able to find a suitable range of results and a suitable distance between each result.I will need the apparatus as shown in the diagram above. The reason I am using the sun as a light source is because the rays of light from a light source are not parallel until the rays of light have travel a very far distance and because the light source being the sun is very far away the rays of light will b e parallel. Only parallel rays of light will converge in a convex lens to give a focal point.When the light converges in the lens I will try to get a sharp dot of light on the wall, I will measure the distance from the centre of the lens to the sharp dot of light this will be the focal light of the lens. This is because the sharp dot of focused light is the focal point and the distance from the centre of the lens to the focal point is the focal length.I will record the result and decide which lens to use.Results from Preliminary ExperimentLens (thinnest-fattest)Focal length137.0cm224.0cm310.0cm49.8cm59.0cm65.5cm75.0cmI will us the 3rd lens with a focal length of 10.0cm, I am using this because it is an easy number and I can get a reasonable amount of results between F, 2F and 3F. So I will go up to 30.0cm and in intervals of 2.0cm. I will take at least 4 records per measurement and then be able to work out all the magnifications the work out the average results.Obtaining evidenceEvi dence obtainedThe object has a diameter of 2.0cmFocal length of lens/cmObject distance/cmDescription of imageDiameter of image/cmMagnification10.010.0IndescribableImmeasurable/10.010.0IndescribableImmeasurable/10.010.0IndescribableImmeasurable/10.010.0IndescribableImmeasurable/10.012.0Real, magnified inverted9.14.5510.012.0Real magnified inverted8.94.4510.012.0Real magnified inverted8.84.4010.012.0Real magnified inverted8.94.4510.014.0Real magnified inverted4.42.2010.014.0Real magnified inverted4.62.3010.014.0Real magnified inverted4.32.1510.014.0Real magnified inverted4.52.2510.016.0Real magnified inverted2.91.4510.016.0Real magnified inverted3.11.5510.016.0Real magnified inverted3.11.5510.016.0Real magnified inverted3.11.5510.018.0Real magnified inverted2.11.0510.018.0Real magnified inverted2.31.1510.018.0Real magnified inverted2.11.0510.018.0Real magnified inverted2.31.1510.020.0Real same size inverted2.01.0010.020.0Real same size inverted2.01.0010.020.0Real sam e size inverted2.01.0010.020.0Real same size inverted2.01.0010.022.0Real diminished inverted1.50.7510.022.0Real diminished inverted1.60.8010.022.0Real diminished inverted1.60.8010.022.0Real diminished inverted1.70.8010.024.0Real diminished inverted1.20.6010.024.0Real diminished inverted1.30.6510.024.0Real diminished inverted1.30.6510.024.0Real diminished inverted1.30.6510.026.0Real diminished inverted1.10.5510.026.0Real diminished inverted1.10.5510.026.0Real diminished inverted1.20.6010.026.0Real diminished inverted1.10.5510.028.0Real diminished inverted1.00.5010.028.0Real diminished inverted1.00.5010.028.0Real diminished inverted1.10.5510.028.0Real diminished inverted1.00.5010.030.0Real diminished inverted0.80.4010.030.0Real diminished inverted0.90.4510.030.0Real diminished inverted0.90.4510.030.0Real diminished inverted0.80.40Average ResultsAverage focal length of lens/cmAverage object distance/cmDescription of imageAverage diameter of image/cmAverage magnifi cation10.010.0IndescribableImmeasurable/10.012.0Real, magnified inverted8.94.4510.014.0Real, magnified inverted4.52.2510.016.0Real, magnified inverted3.11.5510.018.0Real, magnified inverted2.21.1010.020.0Real, same size inverted2.01.0010.022.0Real, diminished, inverted1.60.8010.024.0Real, diminished, inverted1.30.6510.026.0Real, diminished, inverted1.10.5510.028.0Real, diminished, inverted1.00.5010.030.0Real, diminished, inverted0.90.45AnalysisIn performing this experiment I have found that the larger the object distance the smaller the magnification became which was what I had hypothesised. Therefore my hypothesis was correct and I have proved it.I can see from the graph that as the object distance increased the magnification decreased. The magnification dramatically dropped from 4.45 at 12.0cm al the way down to almost half of that at 14.0 cm and the magnification being 2.25. This was at the beginning of the experiment but as the experiment progressed the decrease in magnific ation every 2.0cm became less dramatic.To see if there was any erratic behaviour between 12.0cm and 14.0cm I could have took a few more readings in this gap. And if there were no erratic behaviour in this dramatic drop this would then again confirm my hypothesis to be correct.From looking at my graph the only thing that surprise me was that there was such a dramatic drop in the first few results then they started to even out as the experiment progressed. I personally thought that the results would give an even decline in magnification between them but after the first result but it took about three results until they evened out.I got these results for several reasons. I know that a convex lens causes the magnification to decrease as the object is moved further away from the lens. This is because the size of the image decreases as the object distance is increased and when the magnification is worked out (V/U) the image distance decrease as the object distance increases giving a gradua l smaller answer when using the equation and the answer being the magnification.At the beginning of this experiment I had a prediction being, I hypothesise moving the object further away from the focal point of a converging lens will decrease the magnification of the size of the image. From getting the results that I did I can say that my hypothesis was correct and by looking at my graph I can easily tell that this is a true statement. I backed up my hypothesis as to why I thought it would be correct and now I can say that increasing the object distance will decrease the magnification when using a convex lens.EvaluationThe procedure used in this experiment was safe for nobody got hurt and it was fair because I kept my variables the same throughout the experiment.My results are of a reasonable standard it seemed pretty pointless to go any further in range, because all the results thereon would continue to decrease and from what I had done in the experiment I had proved the hypothesis , which was the aim of the experiment. No anomalous results are evident which improves the accuracy and reliability of my results.My results are reliable in the sense that there are no anomalous results, but how accurate are they? There is a way that I can work out how accurate my results are that is by a process called percentage difference.I will work out the percentage difference of the magnification for each different object distances.Object distance is 10.0cm% DifferenceCannot work out for I have no results.Object distance 12.0cm% DifferenceAverage magnification, 4.45Furthest value away is 0.1 bigger0.1/4.45 x 100=2.2My results for 12.0cm are inaccurate to 2.2%Object distance 14.0cm% DifferenceAverage magnification, 2.25Furthest value away is 0.1 smaller-0.1/2.25 x 100=-4.4My results for 14.0cm are inaccurate to 4.4%Object Distance 16.0cm% DifferenceAverage magnification, 1.53Furthest value away is 0.08 smaller-0.08/1.53 x 100=-5.2My results for 16.0cm are inaccurate to 5.2%Obj ect Distance 18.0cm% DifferenceAverage magnification, 1.10Furthest value away is 0.05 bigger or smaller+-0.05/1.10 x 100=4.5My results for 18.0cm are inaccurate to 4.5%Object Distance 20.0cm% DifferenceAverage magnification, 1.00Furthest value away is the same0.00/1.00 x 100=My results for 20.0cm are inaccurate to 0%Object Distance 22.0cm% DifferenceAverage magnification, 0.80Furthest value away is 0.05 bigger or smaller+-0.05/0.80 x 100=6.3My results for 22.0cm are inaccurate to 6.3%Object Distance 24.0cm% DifferenceAverage magnification, 0.65Furthest value away is 0.05 smaller-0.05/0.65 x 100=-7.7My results for 24.0cm are inaccurate to 7.7%Object Distance 26.0cm% DifferenceAverage magnification, 0.55Furthest value away is 0.05 bigger0.05/0.55 x 100=9.1My results for 26.0cm are inaccurate to 9.1%Object Distance 28.0cm% DifferenceAverage magnification, 0.50Furthest value away is 0.05 bigger0.05/0.50 x 100=My results for 28.0cm are inaccurate to 10%Object Distance 30.0cm% DifferenceA verage magnification, 0.45Furthest value away is 0.05 smaller-0.05/0.45 x 100=My results for 30.0cm are inaccurate to 11.1%As you can see my results become increasingly inaccurate as the experiment progressed but was completely accurate when the object distance was 20.0cm, which was in the middle of the experiment.I could have done this experiment with different sized convex lenses instead of just using the one type, but for this I would have needed a lot more time. I could have done the entire experiment on the same day because the weather on different days can affect the accuracy of the results and dependant on how focused I was on different days could have affected the results but by looking at the results I believe I was on the ball throughout the experiment. Instead of having results in intervals of 2.0cm I could have decreased this to 1.0cm or even 0.5cm. I would not go any lower than this for my accuracy to decimals would not be very accurate. Having a smaller gap between res ults would allow my to have more results to help me in my graph for at the beginning I do no know what is exactly happening in between the dramatic decline in magnifications.Two more possibilities when using the same basic equipment would to do more repeats because you can never have enough repeats and to have a larger range in results to possibly see if the magnification is ever equal to 0 or if the magnification eventually goes so far that the magnification stops decreasing.As far as the use of the apparatus goes I could have changed the odd thing realistically. I could have changed the light source from a lamp which is not a light source that gives off parallel rays of light I could have used a light source that gave off parallel rays of light for example the sun, but that would not be a very good thing to use in England because the amount of sunlight given off always changes according to typical English weather.

A Peoples History of the Us Chapter 5 Summary Research Paper Example

A Peoples History of the Us Chapter 5 Summary Research Paper Example A Peoples History of the Us Chapter 5 Summary Paper A Peoples History of the Us Chapter 5 Summary Paper A People’s History of the United States Chapter 5 Abstract Chapter 5 continues to cover the American Revolution, illustrates different views on the war, the American’s expansion into the West, and the continued inequalities of the poor and rich in the United States. At one point, in an attempt to draft men for the war, Americans promised soldiers distribution of land. This was very ironic and non-beneficial to the sailors, also known as seamen, a class of men they were trying to enlist. Zinn talks about differing views of the American Revolution throughout chapter 5 which, to and extent, divided the colonies. To explain how America was breaking their bondage from Britain, but only creating a new bondage between the upper and lower classes of the colonies, he states a quote from Richard Morris, â€Å"Everywhere one finds inequality the revolution did nothing to end and little to ameliorate white bondage. † (Zinn pg. 4) The lower class felt as if they were being treated unequally compared to the upper class because they were forced into participating in the war, while the rich were not. Edward Morgan sums up the class nature of the American Revolution this way, â€Å"The fact that the lower ranks were involved in the contest should not obscure the fact that the contest itself was generally a struggle for office and power between members of an upper class. † (Zinn pg. 84) The men who established the revolt were mostly members of the ruling class. For example, â€Å"George Washington was the richest man in America. † (Zinn pg. 85) The colonial elites used the Constitution as a means to solidify and legitimize the already established social ranks as the Constitution did nothing to create equality between whites, blacks, Indians, rich and poor. The American’s expansion into the West was continually met with opposition by constant conflict with the Indians. The colonists were trying to settle in lands that had already been promised to the Indians. These conflicts led to many disputes between the whites and the Indians.

History and Purpose of the Commonwealth of Nations

History and Purpose of the Commonwealth of Nations As the British Empire began its process of decolonization and the creation of independent states from former British colonies, there arose a need for an organization of countries formerly part of the Empire. In 1884, Lord Rosebery, a British politician, described the changing British Empire as a Commonwealth of Nations. Thus, in 1931, the British Commonwealth of Nations was founded under the Statute of Westminster with five initial members - the United Kingdom, Canada, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland, and the Union of South Africa. (Ireland permanently left the Commonwealth in 1949, Newfoundland became part of Canada in 1949, and South Africa left in 1961 due to apartheid but rejoined in 1994 as the Republic of South Africa). Commonwealth of Nations Rebrand In 1946, the word British was dropped and the organization became known as simply the Commonwealth of Nations. Australia and New Zealand adopted the Statute in 1942 and 1947, respectively. With Indias independence in 1947, the new country desired to become a Republic and to not utilize the monarchy as their head of state. The London Declaration of 1949 modified the requirement that members must view the monarchy as their head of state to require that countries recognize the monarchy as simply the leader of the Commonwealth. With this adjustment, additional countries joined the Commonwealth as they gained independence from the United Kingdom so today there are fifty-four member countries. Of the fifty-four, thirty-three are republics (such as India), five have their own monarchies (such as Brunei Darussalam), and sixteen are a constitutional monarchy with the sovereign of the United Kingdom as their head of state (such as Canada and Australia). Although membership requires having been a former dependency of the United Kingdom or a dependency of a dependency, former Portuguese colony Mozambique became a member 1995 under special circumstances due to Mozambiques willingness to support the Commonwealths fight against apartheid in South Africa. Policies The Secretary-General is elected by the Heads of Government of the membership and can serve two four-year terms. The position of Secretary-General was established in 1965. The Commonwealth Secretariat has its headquarters in London and is composed of 320 staff members from the member countries. The Commonwealth maintains its own flag. The purpose of the voluntary Commonwealth is for international cooperation and to advance economics, social development, and human rights in member countries. Decisions of the various Commonwealth councils are non-binding. The Commonwealth of Nations supports the Commonwealth Games, which is a sporting event held every four years for member countries. A Commonwealth Day is celebrated on the second Monday in March. Each year carries a different theme but each country can celebrate the day as they choose. The population of the 54 member states exceeds two billion, about 30% of the world population (India is responsible for a majority of the Commonwealths population).

Soda tax in the US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Soda tax in the US - Essay Example Statistics show that more than one third or 35.7% of adults in the US are obese and suffer from obesity-related conditions such as diabetes and coronary diseases. Obesity prevalence varies across different states whereby, in 2002, all states had a prevalence of more than 20% with the prevalence ranging from 34.7% in Louisiana to 20.5% in Colorado. Furthermore, the federal’s annual medical expense of obesity as of 2008 was $ 147 billion dollars (CDC, 2013). Prompted by the rise in obesity in the country, different researchers have hypothesizes different causes and suggested solutions aimed at mitigating the harmful social and economic effects of obesity. The soda tax is one such suggestion; however, not all agree on the possible benefits likely to result from the taxation of soft drinks. Whether or not adopting the soda tax in the US proves sufficient in reducing the obesity rate in the country remains a controversial issue for those for and against the tax policy. Proponents for the tax base their argument on credible research findings, which indicate that taxing soft drinks reduces high caloric intake minimizing an individual’s probability of developing obesity. First introduced as an abstract idea by the Director of Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity (RCFPO) Kelly D. Brownell in 1994, the soda tax aimed to improve public health while simultaneously raise revenue in the US economy. Later studies done in Yale University by the RCFPO in 2011 indicated that a penny-per-ounce levy on soft drinks would function to reduce consumption by 13%, which resulted in the elimination of 8,000 calories from a regular, American’s diet annually.... inancial implication of obesity as a reason for taxing soft drinks, which many researchers have hypothesized as one of the leading causes of obesity in the US. Revenue generated from taxing soft drinks proves beneficial for the federal and state governments whereby, governmental officials can use the funds to offset financial deficits in the budget. A survey done by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services in 2012 indicated that taxing soft drinks would generate revenue of $ 14.9 billion dollars within the first fiscal year alone (Fletcher et al, 2010). Conversely, those against the tax policy sight poor lifestyle habits such as living a sedentary life and poor nutrition (high cholesterol diet) as major causes of obesity, which if not addressed would render taxing soft drinks inefficient in minimizing the obesity rate within the country. Research done by Fletcher and colleagues in 2009 aimed at examining the impact of fluctuating soda tax in different states on body mass index (BMI) revealed that soft drinks consumption accounted for 7% of total energy intake. They concluded that if taxed at the average taxation rate of tobacco (58%) the mean BMI of the US population would only decrease by 0.16 points reducing obesity in the population by 0.7% (Fletcher et al, 2010). This showed that soft drink taxes’ influence on BMI is minimal and does little to decrease obesity in the population. Furthermore, those against this policy are of the opinion that taxation of soft drinks does not limit their accessibility because many are willing to spend more money for their preferred luxury items such as soft drinks. In conclusion, it is apparent that both the public and the government stand to benefit from the soda tax. Taxing soft drinks generates revenue for the government,

Case Study Discuss the pathpyysiology of Myelofibrosis Essay

Case Study Discuss the pathpyysiology of Myelofibrosis - Essay Example This disease is characterized by fibrosis and sclerosis of bone marrow. To compensate for the hematopoietic cell population, extramedullary hematopoiesis takes place in the spleen, accounting for the massive enlargement of the spleen. This disease occurs predominantly in subjects over the age of 54 years. The bone marrow fibrosis is the hallmark of pathological findings in such cases, where extensive fibrosis with resultant peripheral blood leukoerythroblastosis is expected as a typical histopathologic picture on bone marrow biopsy (Tefferi, 2000, p. 1255-1265). This clinically heterogeneous group of diseases stems from clonal proliferation of stem cell origin and is characterized at least initially by marrow hypercellularity with varying degrees of marrow fibrosis and an increase in the production of one or more terminally differentiated cell types. These differentiated elements may accumulate in the bone marrow, in the peripheral blood, and in other organs, such as, spleen. All these diseases demonstrate a variable tendency to undergo disease progression that may terminate in bone marrow failure or in transformation to an acute phase malignant disease. The evaluation of bone marrow histology holds an important role in defining the pathology of this disease, by mainly ruling out unsuspected pathology. The pathologic changes are subtle until the disease has progressed, and therefore, classification of these disorders benefits from the integration of the morphologic features with clinical, hematologic, and cytogenetic findings. Of major impo rtance is the presence or absence of Philadelphia chromosomes (BCR/ABL or translocation9;22). This group of diseases constitutes the classical group of BCR/ABL-negative chronic myeloproliferative disorders. The disease is regarded as one of the chronic myeloproliferative disorders. Recently considerable progress has been made in understanding its pathogenesis, although this has yet to result in significant therapeutic advances. Indeed, its prognosis remains poor when compared to other BCR-ABL-negative chronic myeloproliferative disorders with death resulting from cardiac failure, infection, hemorrhage, and leukemic transformation (Barosi, 2003, p. 1211-1226). Hemapoetic Components It has been appreciated for many years that MF is a clonal disorder and that the disease arises from the proliferation of malignant pluripotential stem cells. Recently, using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), there is evidence that both B and T cells can be involved, while karyotypic analysis has shown that the stromal proliferation is polyclonal, or reactive, and not part of the underlying clonal hematopoiesis. An increased number of circulating hematopoietic precursors, including pluripotent and lineage restricted progenitor cells is a feature of MF and is likely to result from the proteolytic release of stem cells from the marrow. It is also possible that the spleen and liver contribute to the circulating progenitor pool as splenectomy temporarily normalizes levels. The high level of circulating progenitor cells is reflected in the significantly increased peripheral

Cat in the Rain Essay Example for Free

Cat in the Rain Essay Cat in the Rain is a short story about an American couple on vacation to Italy. They are in their first year of marriage. The husband has a dismissive attitude towards the wife and the wife always wants more. In the story the couple has a lot of selfishness going on in their relationship. The husband ignores his wife’s needs and the wife and the wife is not satisfied with her husband. The theme of this story has a lot to do with loneliness in the couples’ relationship. In this story the American couple is trapped in their hotel room with nothing to do because of the raining weather. The husband wants to read and ignore his wife. So the wife is looking out the window and sees a cat crouched from the rain. She wants to go downstairs and get the cat. She tells her husband about it and he shrugs it off. The wife goes down herself and the story talks a lot about how she likes the inn keeper. I find that this part of the story most affected me when the husband ignored his wife’s wants and needs. She really wanted that cat because it was something for her to do and feel good about. Her husband obviously doesn’t satisfy her which makes her feel lonely and the cat would keep her company. The wife in this story wants to feel appreciated and loved like any other woman would. Being married for their first year is beginning to be hard for them. Hemingway tries to tell about a first marriage of a couple he once knew and how hard it is for some to always keep that happiness. Couples always have disagreements but should never feel alone. A husband should not ignore his wife’s needs and in this story that is what he does instead of trying to satisfy his wife. Close to the ending of this story the wife was not able to find the cat. She came back in the hotel room very sad. She tries to tell her husband but he does not listen. She starts complaining about what she wants to change about herself. She wants â€Å"her hair to be long so she can brush it† and she wants a cat. The husband can only say that he likes things the way they are. He tells her to shut up. He does not care what the wife’s needs are or what she wants. He does not want to listen and he just wants to read which is what he wishes she would do. This part of the story really interested me because I could not get as to why the husband doesn’t respond to what she asks for. The wife desperately wants attention and he is not giving it to her. The story of the American couple explains a lot about how the wife tries to get attention from the husband. Hemingway talks about a cat but behind that cat this story means more. The lack of attention her husband gives her may make her feel that she is restricted on expressing herself and keeps most of her feelings inside. The cat stays compact to stay dry outside, which is how the wife feels she has to be with her husband to make him happy. She hides herself constantly from him. In this story it relates to her as American wife and never tells her name. This kind of says that she is nothing but an American wife which is exactly how she feels. Hemingway had a unique way of telling the story but the way he told it had a lot of meaning to it. He showed the couples loneliness in a different way.