Data mining titanic dataset Essay Example

Data mining titanic dataset Paper Titanic dataset Submitted by: Submission date 8/1/2013 Declaration Author: Contents Dated: 29/12/2012 The database corresponds to the sinking of the titanic on April the 15th 1912. It is part of a database containing the passengers and crew who were aboard the ship, and various attributes correlating to them. The purpose of this task is to apply the methodology of CRISP-DMS and follow the phases and tasks of this model. Using the classification method in rapid miner and both the decision tree and INN algorithms, I will create a training model and try apply the class survived or didnt survive. If I apply a decision tree to the dataset as it is, I get a prediction rate of 78%. I will try various techniques throughout this report to increase the overall prediction rate. Data mining objectives: I would like to explore the pre conceived ideas I have about the sinking of the titanic, and prove if they are correct. Was there a majority of 3rd class passengers who died? What was the ratio of passengers who died, male or female? Did the location of cabins make a difference as to who survived? Did chivalry ring through and did Women and children first actually happen? We will write a custom essay sample on Data mining titanic dataset specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Data mining titanic dataset specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Data mining titanic dataset specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Data Understanding: Describe the data: Figure Class label: Survive (1 or O) 1 = survived, died. Type = Binomial. Total: 891. Survived: 342, Died: 549 Attributes: 10 attributes 891 rows The dataset have primarily a categorical type of attribute so there is low information content. This might indicate a decision tree would be an appropriate model to use. I can see that the number of rows in the dataset is indeed 10 to 20 times the number of columns, so the number of instances is adequate. There doesnt seem to be any inconsistencys in the data. Pappas: 1st, 2nd, or 3rd class. Type: polynomial. Categorical, 3rd class: 491, 2nd class: 216, 1st class: 184 0 missing Name: Name of Sex: Male, female. Type: binomial. Male: 577, Female: 314 0 missing Age: from 0. 420 to 80. Average age: 29, standard deviation of 14+-, Max was 80. 177 missing Sibs (Siblings on board): Type: integer. Average less than 1, highest 8. This suggested an outlier, but on inspection the names where there were 8 siblings corresponded. (The name was sage, 3rd class passengers, all died. ) O missing Parch: number of parents, children onboard. Type: integer. Average: 0. 3, deviation 0. 8. Max was 6. O missing Ticket: ticket number. Type: polynomial. To me these ticket numbers seem quite random and my first inclination is to discard them. O missing Fare: Cost of ticket. Type: real. Average: 32, deviation +- 49. Maximum 512. There seems to be quite a disparity in the range of values here. Three tickets cost 512, outliers? O missing Cabin: cabin numbers. Type: polynomial. 687 missing From looking at this data I think I can discount one of my initial questions about cabin numbers. If there was more data it might be an interesting factor as regards cabin locations and survival. As it stands the quality of the data is not good, there are Just o many missing entries. I. E. Greater than 40%. So I will delete (filter out) the cabin attribute from the dataset. The age attribute could cause a problem with the amount of fields missing. There are too many to delete. I might use the average of all ages to fill in the blanks. Explore the data: From an initial exploration of the data, I was able to look at various plots and found some interesting results. I have tried to keep my findings to my initial questions that I wanted answered. Was there a majority of 3rd class passengers who died? You can tell from Figure 2 that this was true. This graph Just shows survival by class, 3rd class fairing the worst. Again this is shown with a scatter plot but with the added attribute sex. You can see on the female side of the first class passengers, only a few died. Interestingly it shows that it was mostly male 3rd class passengers who perished, and it is demonstrated that more males then females died. There is a clear division in classes demonstrated. This graph answers my other question. What was the ratio of passengers who died, male or female? From this we can see that mainly males did not survive. Although there were more males on board (577), about 460 perished. From the females (314), about 235 survived. Another attribute that needs attention is the age category. I wanted to find out if the women and children first policy was adhered to, but there are 177 missing age values. This is going to complicate my results on this. From leaving the 177 as they are, I get this graph: but this is not conclusive in Figure 5. I thought that the fare price might indicate a childrens price and therefore allow me to fill in an age, but the fare price doesnt seem to have much pattern. Another idea I thought might help would be to look at the names of passengers, I. . Miss might signify a lower age. (In 1912 the average age of marriage was 22, so anyone with title miss could have an age less than 22. ) Names which include master might indicate a young age as well. Figure 5 also indicates possible outliers on the right hand side. From this graph I could easily see the breakdown of the different class of passenger and where they embarked from. It is obvious that Southampton had the largest number of passengers get on board. Question had the highest proportion of 3rd class passengers compared to 2nd and 1st class at that port, and its also interesting o note that this was an Irish port. This graph further explores the port of embankment and shows the survival rate from each, as well as the different classes. To me it seems that the majority of 3rd class passengers were lost who came from Southampton port, although they did have the highest amount of 3rd class passengers. A closer look at Southampton port. The majority who didnt survive were 3rd class (blue), also noted is the handful of 1st class passengers (green) who died, yet Southampton had the highest number of 1st class passengers to board. See figure 6. Verify data quality There were a number of missing values in the dataset. The highest amount of missing data came from the cabin attribute. As it is higher than 45% (687 missing) I decided to filter out this column. There are also 177 missing values from the age attribute. This amount of missing data is again too large a percentage to ignore and needs to be filled in. I can see that the dataset contains less than 1000 rows, so I think that sampling will not have to be performed. There doesnt seem to be any inconsistencys in the data. There are still 2 missing pieces of information from the embankment attribute. I see that they are 1st class passengers so from my graph on embankment I think I can put her embankment from Churchgoer. The other passenger is a George Nelson, which I will add to Southampton. I decided to filter out names also. I dont see how it can help in the dataset. It may have helped with age, by looking at the title as I said, but for this I Just used the average age to replace the missing values. Another approach to filling in the missing age fields might be linear regression. Remove possible outliers? I can see that there may be some outliers. For instance in the fares attribute, there re three tickets which cost 512 when the average is 32. They were first class tickets, but the difference is huge. Data Preparation: Here is the result of using x validation on the dataset before any data preparation has taken place. I will now sort out the problem of 667 cabin numbers missing. With it being higher than 40%, Vive decided to delete the attribute entirely. Vive also deleted the name attribute, as I dont see how it will help. By deleting cabin, name and ticket, here is the result I get: I replaced the missing age fields with the average of ages, this increased the accuracy lightly and gave these results with x validation: I used detect outliers and picked the top ten and then filtered them out. This gave this result: The class recall for survived has not improved much. Increasing the number of neighbors in the detect outliers operator improved things, also limiting the filter to deleting 5 made a better accuracy. I decided to use specified binning for the ages and broke the ages into three bins. For children aged up to 13, middle aged from 13 to 45, and older from 45 to 80. I tried different age ranges and found that these ranges yielded the best results. It did increase the accuracy. I also used binning for the fares, splitting them into low, mid, and high which also improved results on the confusion matrix. I used detect outlier to find the ten most obvious outliers, and then used a filter to get rid of them. I have decided to remove cabin from the dataset, and also there are 177 missing age values which I have tried various approaches in changing. I changed the ages to the average age, but this gives a spike in the number of ages 29. 7. Example of average age problem: Modeling: I tried to implement both the decision tree and inn algorithms, seeing as the dataset as primarily categorical. I found that inn yielded the best results regarding accuracy. This was set at k=l . The accuracy was not great at 73%. The parameter of K is too small and may be influenced by noise. INN: 5 worked the best at 82. 38%. This seems to be the optimal value for k, and the distance is set right. Class precision is about even on each class. Decision tree: The decision tree algorithm didnt give me as much accuracy, and I found that turning off pre pruning gave me a better accuracy. From the decision tree, the age binning seemed to predict middle aged males (13 to 45) with a low fare well. The class recall for survived was not great at 67. 85%. Generate Test Design I used x-validation to perform cross validation on the data. I initially used 20 for the number of validations, but then found 25 achieved a better result. I used the apply model and performance operators as these are best used for classification tasks and work well with the polynomial attribute. This then presented me with a confusion matrix where I could measure the accuracy of my model by comparing the accuracy, recall and precision. I found that throughout my various testing of operators and valuating the confusion matrix, raising the class recall on true 1 (survived) most difficult. After all my efforts I managed to raise it to 73. 6%. I. E. 91 were incorrectly predicted as surviving. Figure Final result Workspace: From my initial objectives I was able to determine the answers using rapidness. I wanted to find out if those who perished were in the majority 3rd class passengers. I found this to be true, and also that the majority who died were male 3rd class passengers. Female passengers and children fared better than most which leads me t o believe that the rule of women and children first applied. This may have been sighted more to the first and second class passengers as demonstrated in Figure 3. Because the dataset had such a large amount of data missing concerning age, this was more difficult to determine. I found the embarked attribute to be interesting in the graphs I could generate from it. There seemed to be a large number of 3rd class passengers who died that had embarked from Southampton. If all the cabin numbers were present I wonder if Southampton 3rd class passengers had cabins close to where the iceberg hit? Did this have a bearing on their survival? From the different algorithms I used I found that Inn yielded the better results.

The Hardest ACT Science Questions and Strategies to Solve Them

The Hardest ACT Science Questions and Strategies to Solve Them SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In every section on the ACT, there are some questions that are more difficult than the others.Science is no different.However, unlike the math section, where the questions progress from easy to hard in a linear fashion, each of the 7 passages tends to have 1-2 hard questions that can appear at any point in the passage (though they tend to be the last questions of the passage). These problems may seem challenging at first glance, but they're really just slightly more challenging than the others if you use the right ACT Science strategies and tips that we'll be covering in this guide. Here's what distinguishes easy from hard questions. Most of the easier problems on the ACT Science section are data grab problems, where you simply find the one data point or the single line in the paragraph, and you have your answer. Occasionally, you have to interpret that data, but not in a complicated way. In contrast, themostchallenging ACT Science questions ask you to use multiple data points to come to an answer. They'll take you longer to answer and are harder to get right. Here are the question types I'll cover: Sneaky data grab questions Using multiple visuals to answer the question Using multiple data points within a single visual to answer the question Questions that require outside knowledge Hopefully by the end of this article, you'll feel able to conquer any hard question! Difficult Type #1: Sneaky Data Grab Questions Some sneaky data grab questions will require you to look in strange places for the answer to your question, such as the introduction! ACT makers assume that with such a short time frame (35 minutes to answer 40 questions) students will skip the introduction. If you have time management issues on ACT Science, my recommended strategy is to answer the questions without reading the passage, using the visuals alone, skipping the questionsyou can’t answer with visuals and saving them for the end of the passage.Read more about thestrategy by learning about the 3 types of ACT Science passages. However, when you do go back and skim, includethe introduction in your skimming.The introduction typically holds nuggets of gold. Check out this sneaky data grab ACT science practice question: There was nothing in the visuals to help you answer the question.You had to read this short introduction to find the answer: All four substances are carried down by precipitation, and the process is known as wet deposition.The question is still phrased in a slightly confusing way.In the introduction, it tells you what happens if there is precipitation; it fails to mention what happens when there is no precipitation. It's safe to assume since it wasn’t mentioned that what normally happens during precipitation will NOT happen without precipitation.So, there will be no wet deposition of the 4 substances since all 4 are normally carried down by precipitation. NOTE: Do not get tricked by the flip in relationship. The ACT Science section often asks these questions to trick you. Don’t rule out any part of the passage!Sometimes the answer will be where you least expect it. Difficult Type #2: Synthesize 2 or More Different Graphs While most questions on the ACT Science section only require you to use one data point within one visual, some of the more difficult questions require you to find more information.Like this question below: Start by analyzing the question. What is it asking you to find? When you look at a question, and it asks you about 2 different values, you should realize that this means you will need to grab and compare at least two different pieces of data.In this case, the question asks you about the pressure exerted by O2 at 6 L and at 3 L at 22 degrees Celsius, two different values, so you should be looking for at least those two pieces of data. The question specifically asks you to compare the pressure in 6 L vessel to the pressure in the 3 L vessel at "a given mass of O2." That phrase, "a given mass of O2," is code for at ANY mass of O2added. In order to find this data, you will need to use Figure 1 and 2 (as the question told you). Your next step should be to figure out the difference between Figure 1 and 2 (see what I did there?). Figure 1 represents the results from the 3 L vessel, and Figure 2 represents the results from the 6 L vessel.Knowing this,we now need to compare the pressure across all masses of O2added in the 3 L and 6 L vessels, since as I said above that is what the question is really asking. To do an appropriate comparison, I recommend grabbing 2-3 data points, preferably widespread. Zero is always a safe place to start. In this case, in both the 3 L and 6 L vessel the pressure at 0 g of O2added is 0 torr, which makes logical sense since no O2added means nothing to exert the pressure. Note: it is not important to understand the units. Next data point: let's look at 2 g of O2added. In the 3 L vessel, the pressure is 400 torr, while in the 6 L vessel the pressure is 200 torr. I recommended spreading out the data points, so for our last point, we will look at the maximum mass of O2added, 10 g. In the 3 L vessel, the pressure is 1800 torr, and in the 6 L vessel, the pressure is 900 torr.Below I have synthesized all of the data into a table, this way we can clearly see the comparison of the pressure in the 6 L vessel to the pressure in the 3 L vessel: So for any given amount of O2added (outside of 0), the pressure in the 6 L vessel is half the amount of pressure in the 3 L vessel.So, the answer is A. Do you get the gist here? As a recap, our strategy for solving this practice question was: we understood what the question was asking for (comparing pressure in 6L vs. 3L containers) we found the two graphs representing the 6L and 3L containers we found the O2 line for each graph we picked the same mass of gas added for both graphs and compared the O2 pressures to find that the ratio between the 6L and 3L container was 1:2 Let’s attack one more of these, taking it step-by-step: Let's first figure out what the question is asking of us. The phrasing of this question is slightly more confusing than the last one. It mentions Figure 1 and 2, so we know that we will need to look at both. However, this question doesn't ask for a specific number to look at on the graph, like 10 meters or 550 wavelengths. When this happens, it's harder to pick out the data. When no numbers are mentioned, look for words indicating value such as highest, lowest, biggest, smallest. These words imply numbers and comparisons and give you a hint on how to read the graph. Reading the question closely, we see the question is asking us to find the wavelength with the highest rate of photosynthesis and then see what its relative absorption of chlorophyll a and b are. Let's take this step-by-step. Start by figuring out the difference between Figure 1 and 2. Figure 1 shows the relative absorptions of chlorophyll a and b by wavelength. Figure 2 shows the rate of photosynthesis for a variety of wavelengths. Since, the question first mentions the wavelength with the highest rate of photosynthesis, we will start by using Figure 2 below: You need to find the graph’s maximum.The maximum is where the rate of photosynthesis is highest.The highest peak in rate of photosynthesis is at about 108% at a wavelength of 440 nm. Now, we have completed the first step.The next step is finding the relative absorption of chlorophyll a and b of a wavelength of 440 nm.Looking at Figure 1, it is a little tricky because the intervals of wavelength measure are different.Figure 2 begins at 400 measuring in 20 nm intervals until 720, whereas Figure 1 measures in 25 nm intervals from 400 to 750. Finding 440 nm on Figure 1, in between the second tick mark and 450 mark, we see the dotted line is at it’s maximum and the solid line is low but not at the minimum.Reading the key, we see the dotted line represents the relative absorption of chlorophyll a. The solid line represents the relative absorption of chlorophyll B.So, the relative absorption of chlorophyll A is at a maximum, and the relative absorption of chlorophyll B is low but not at a minimum. Thus, the answer is C. When you are looking at multiple visuals to answer a question, take the problem step-by-step: Start by finding what the question is asking you. Next, figure out the difference between the figures. Find one data point, then move to the next. Take your time and use process of elimination to help you. Difficult Type #3:Analyze Multiple Data Points Within a Single Visual This is one of the trickiest question types on the ACT Science section. And here is one of the hardest tough questions I’ve seen.Not only is the graph crazy, the question requires you to analyze four data points within the graph. Here is the question: Let's break it down. The question is asking you which of the answer choices has the highest intensity at a given frequency. As we discussed above, whenever a question states "at a given X," it means across all values of X.In other words,this question is asking you to pick the answer choice with the highest intensityacross all frequencies. There is a lot of information in the graph below, but the answer choices only require us to consider four conditions:in air or in water, and at S of 100% or at 10^-8%. Looking at the graph below, you may have no idea where to begin: Start by finding the locations of S 100% and S 10^-8% (it is completely fine that you don’t understand what these mean).I don’t even think the passage helped you understand what these mean.I don’t know what they mean, but I can still answer the question correctly. You see S 10^-8% is represented by the two vertical lines at the far left of the graph.S 100% is represented by the two vertical lines at the far right of the graph. Now, you need to locate intensity, since the question asked specifically which has the highest intensity.Intensity is measured on the x-axis.Both lines for S 10^-8 % have a measured intensity between -20 and 0 db (again, understanding the units is not important). Both lines for S 100% have a measured intensity between 180 and 220 db. The S 100% are at a higher intensity, so we can eliminate both S 10^-8% answer choices, G and J. Now, to decide between F and H, we need to figure out whether the intensity was greater in water or air.To do this, we need to distinguish which S 100% line represents water and which one represents air. According to the key, the small dotted line represents water, and the thicker line represents air.The small dotted line is just to the right of the thicker line, so it is at a higher intensity than the thicker line.S 100% in water has an intensity of approximately 205 db and S 100% in air has an intensity of approximately 195 db, so the answer is F. Look how far we've come since the beginning of this section? This graph looked indecipherable, but step by step we were able to break it down. This question is very do-able, you just need to be diligent in your graph reading (if you need more help with this skill check out our article on Factual Questions).Take the problem step-by-step, use process of elimination and check every part of the graph for information (every axis and key). Difficult Type #4:Questions That Require Outside Knowledge There are around 4 questions per test that you will not be able to answer correctly without outside knowledge.Check out our other article for an overview of the topics the ACT expects you to know.Without memorizing these topics, it will be nearly impossible to score between 33 and 36. Recap Hard questions are not that hard.They require the same skills as the easy questions, but you need to do more steps.These questions take longer because they're more complex. ACT Science Tips toremember for these hardest questions: Don’t rule out any part of the passage! Sometimes the answer will be where you least expect it such as in the introduction. Do not get tricked by the flip in relationship. The ACT Science section often asks these types of questions to trick you. When you are looking at multiple visuals to answer a question, take the problem step-by-step. Figure out what the question is asking you. Figure out which figures you need to use. Find one data point, then move to the next. Take your time and use process of elimination to help you. When pulling multiple data points from one visual, also take the problem step-by-step. Start by analyzing the question. Figure out which figures you need to use and the difference between them (one last time!). Use process of elimination. Look at every piece of the graph. Make sure to read keys and scan every axis. Study the topics that the ACT Science section expects you to know. What’s Next? I hope you feel ready to tackle any hard question the ACT Science section throws at you!As your next steps in studying for the ACT Science section,learnthe 3 types of ACT Science passages,the only actual science you need to know for ACT Science, andthe best way to study and practice for ACT Science. Like this article? Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Sciencelesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Gathering Research Data Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gathering Data - Research Paper Example The paper will focus on the ways at which the lives of these policemen are threatened and also the way they, the policemen feel about their jobs. Most of the policemen have different feelings about the nature of the jobs that they chose to take as their professions. The feelings that they have significaantly depend on the ways at which they have lived their lives while in the line of duty. The methods that are to be used to collect information in this research are interviews, questionnaires, ethnography, and secondary data which include papers that have ever been written and relate to the same topic. These questions are to be asked in the open ended interviews and questionnaires. Open ended questionnaire were used in qualitative research because it facilitates better knowledge of the nature of issue at stake. There is also the fact that open ended questionnaires give room for self opinion without influence since the questioning is done in private (Patton, 2002). How do you see your p rofession? Do you enjoy what you are doing? What problems do you face at work? How do you solve the problems that you face? How do you manage to balance between family and work? Do you know of any friend who has in the past been impacted by the stresses of work? Written sources from the past have shown that a majority of policemen feel that they have faced grave danger in their works or near death experiences. These show that what they do to protect the common citizen is by a far extent a great threat to their lives and the welfare of their loved ones. Despite the fact that every police officer is conscious of the physical and mental dangers that they may face, or they are already facing in the line of duty, most of them have been greatly impacted on by these danger or hazards to the extent that they become mentally disturbed. The pressure of being on the law enforcement sectors puts many police officers on the risks of getting diseases such as high blood pressure, increase in destr uctive stress hormones, heart problem or even sometimes the risks of committing suicide. This shows the dangers that police officers encounter while in the line of duty. Some of the officers get killed while trying to enforce the law while some end up getting mental problems since they have encountered stressing situations while in the line of duty (Bano, 2011). Most of the policemen that have been questioned in past interviews expressed the fact they get out of their homes with the fear that they might never get to return since they may end up being killed by gangsters leaving their families to suffer if they were the sole bread winners in the family. Others stressed on the fact that they make mistakes when they are trying to execute their work, and these mistakes in the end cost them their jobs, rendering them jobless with no ways of catering for their family needs. In some cases such as job accidents where individuals get hurt, it is up to the police officer to take responsibilit y for the damage. In this case, the officer who might have shot the person is then taken into custody or gets fired despite the fact that he or she had no intention of committing the mistake. The officer gets to pay for the mistake that he or she made in the line of defending innocent civilians. A research conducted by Bushara Bano showed that the factors that contribute

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 9

Management - Essay Example Economic rewards were known as primary and sole motivators for employees and hence improving worker efficiency. Traditional approach assumes that people are rational and would work harder for higher pay.1 However, this is not a true case for most employees. Contemporary theories2 explain higher needs of employees that are met by different incentives. This is problem should be recognized because ignoring other factors that influence motivation can cause an organization’s productivity to fall or remain stagnant/indifferent to incentives.3 Motivation is defined as the arousal, persistence and direction of behavior.4 The factors that may lead to motivation are subjective. These are relative to values and priorities of the employee who is working towards attaining a goal. When these priorities/needs are met, this develops motivation for an employee for work. In the study of Management, Human Relations approach recognized that there are needs greater than money, from the experiment known as Hawthorne Studies. Hawthorne Studies were a series of experiments to check changes in worker productivity and brought an unexpected outcome. The experiment involved tests that changed environment factors and also a group of people were assigned to check other possible reasons for change in worker behavior. The change did indeed improve worker productivity, but due to unexpected factors. Human relations were the strongest factor that was influencing an increase in worker productivity, because the attitude of supervisors had improved.5 This test, although no longer part of contemporary theories, it proved that people have greater needs than money, and also at one point monetary compensation becomes ineffective for improving labor productivity. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory is one of the contemporary approaches to understanding motivation that introduces a host of new factors that influence motivation. Abraham Maslow detected that all

Business law 'corporate personality' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business law 'corporate personality' - Essay Example o such existence the right of the company to sue and be sued in its own name, hold its own property and liable to any debts that are accrued(Rose et al 2009). The main provision of this concept is limited liability (that is the liability of the shareholders is restricted only to the unpaid amount of their shares) for shareholders and therefore the debts of the company are restrained to the legal entity of the company. (Ridley 2009) The concept evolved when small businesses began to avail the use of such corporate form and this was done in the landmark decision of Salomon v Salomon1 where Mr. Salomon, a leather merchant formed a company which included his wife, five children and himself (this was done to fulfill the requirement of shareholders as per the Companies Act prevailing at that time). He appointed himself as the managing director of the company and subsequently purchased the sole trading business. However the valuation placed on the business being purchased was not fair, but this was due to his confidence in the business and not due to any mala fide intentions. The business was valued at 39,000 pounds of which 10000 were paid by issuance of debentures plus 20,000 shares at 1 pound each and 9000 pounds in cash. After a certain period the company went into insolvent liquidation and a liquidator was appointed by the court. The liquidator evaluated that the company was a sham and a mere agent of Mr. Salomo n and went on to conclude that he should be held personally liable to the debts of the company. The House of Lords reversing the decision of the Court of Appeal, which was a moralistic approach, stated that the fact that some of the shareholders were holding shares so as to fulfill a technicality was irrelevant and so the procedure which had been laid down by the Companies Act could be used by any person who in reality wanted to carry on what was in reality his own business. The Court further went on to state that if a company had been formed in accordance

Impact and Application of Nanotechnology

Impact and Application of Nanotechnology Isayah Wedderburn The wonders of nanotechnology       Abstract This project is going to inform you on the wonders of nanotechnology and how it can improves our lives in the future. Also, the different ways in which nanotechnology is assessed as an entirety in regards to it being a benefit for the future or harmful. We will explore the purpose of the researching into nanotechnology. Identifying and evaluating the purpose of the research In the next week read a book on nanotechnology to gain a foundation on how nanotechnology works and what it is. Within the first two weeks of the project read 2 journals on the medical application of nanotechnology and the theory of nanotechnology to understand nanotechnology is and how to it could impact on our future to generate a great insight on nanotechnology. In the next 5 days using the information gained throughout online research and reading a book construct a plan of different analytical techniques that can be used to evaluate nanotechnology ( i.e. methodology, evaluation and summary) and come to a conclusion. Overview A nanometre is a billionth of a metre. (Report in co-operation with the OECD International Futures Programme 2016,p 6) Nanoscience is the study of phenomena and manipulation of materials at atomic, molecular and macromolecular scales in order to understand and exploit properties that differ significantly from those on a larger scale. (Report in co-operation with the OECD International Futures Programme2016) [DS1]Nanotechnology is any design, structure, systems of materials or materials when working from 1-100nm. Nanotechnology involves an array of scientific disciplines such as chemistry, physics, biology and electronics and engineering. It has been around since the ninth century. However, modern technology enables us gain an insight and thus be able to exploit the working of nanotechnology. Additionally, it has many advantages that may able to develop civilization and improves our lives or may be a drawback to society and cause more harm than good. Nanotechnology would be paramount to future of humanity due to the fact that it has many desirable applications, not only that, it is used in a vast amount of different fields. Therefore, itll help the world develop and make improves the well-being on a global scale. The up and coming field has many potential contributions to medicine. (Report in co-operation with the OECD International Futures Programme 2016,p16)[DS2] have said Nano devices could be used for encapsulation: there are Nano capsules that are used for cancer patients. The capsule (quantum dot) travels to the site of the tumour without damaging healthy cells then diffuses and releases the toxins at an appropriate rate, killing the target tumour. A similar method could be used to detect diseases in patients at the most primitive stage to prevent any detrimental progression. Nonetheless, in the clinical field extensive trials have to be taken for the drug to be deemed suitable. This means that all the medical applications of nanotechnology will take the longest to come to fruition. Drug delivery is would be the most profitable application of this technology. Thus billions or trillions of dollars should be invested into this. The most popular use and potential part of nanotechnology is the Nanotube. It is made of carbon and a carbon nanotube is a cylinder of carbon atoms covalently bonded together. The nanotube popularity stems from its properties and structure. (Richard Booker, Earl Boysen 2005,P 68) A sheet of graphite is very strong because of the interlocking carbon-to-carbon bonds. The graphite sheets can slide across each other easily, which makes graphite useful as a lubricant. The tensile strength of the nanotube is close to 100 times greater than that of steel of the same diameter. According to Report in co-operation with the OECD International Futures Programme (Report in co-operation with the OECD International Futures Programme 2016,P10) Therefore, carbon nanotubes could be used for car to absorb a significant amount of damage due to its high tensile strength or gurder that bend instead of rapturing in an earthquake. (Report in co-operation with the OECD International Futures Programme 2016,P 9) However, there are problems with the nanotube, one of which is it is difficult to interact with different materials. For instance for functionalisation (changing the properties of nanotube by chemically binding it with other chemicals) to occur the nanotubes need to be reacted with a polymer. But this reduces the effect of its properties. Nonetheless, Scientists are trying to discover a way to overcome this process without inhibiting the properties of the nanotube. Social applications of Nontechnology (Richard Booker and Earl Boysen, 2005[DS3])Nanotechnology is still in its infant stages. Nonetheless, itll blossom slowly and become intertwined into most fields; nanotechnology will become an integral part of our lives like mobile phones. (Richard Booker and Earl Boysen, 2005[DS4]) Albeit, nanotechnology has a lot of potential to pave the way for the next revolution to become something great. However with new technology there are always social, economic and ethical issues that we have to consider, to allow commercialization for the new product. As nanotechnology is still progressing humanity is unaware of the detriment to the environment or the damage to the people of the future generation that may transpire. Unfortunately, there have been recent studies to that show toxicity exist through the result of using nanomaterials. Additionally, government and corporations are observing the effect on nanotechnology with gm crops to human health due to the fact that itll affect the chain, ultimately it may bring forth damage to humanity. Furthermore, there have been experimental results that cause major concern: single-walled nanotube can cause lesions in the lungs of rats. 15 percent died from suffocation! A plethora of people have trepidation for the division that will become more apparent between rich and poor countries nanotechnology will cause; exclusively developed countries will be benefiting from the reward of research due to having sufficient money to mass produce and distribute the products stemming from nanotechnology. (Richard Booker and Earl Boysen, 2005) Countries with less-educated works would be unable to compete in the nano technology-related future due to a lack of knowledge. Benefits in medicine will be focused on financial issues and wont be shared equally. Therefore, poor countries wouldnt be able to improve their medicine to improve peoples lives and/or wellbeing. Some governments had the privilege to invest money into nanotechnology with genetically engineered foods in the super market shelves. Which causes controversial quarrel and an uproar due to the dangers if nano foods and pesticides that may impede on the health of others. (Richard Booker and Earl Boysen, 2005) Poorer countries. To conclude there are many negative aspect of nanotechnology to consider. Humanity should ask the question; does the positive of nanotechnology outweigh the negatives? Evaluation There many benefits of nanotechnology. The advantages are that it can be used in many different disciplines and scientific fields. Because scientist are learning more about nanotechnology everyday there are more discoveries that could be made to benefit a lot of people. The options are limitless. On the other hand nanotechnology has concerning disadvantages. The disadvantages are scientists dont know the damage that could be caused to the environment and peoples health. Poor countries may face the most difficulty[DS5]. Overall, the benefits of nanotechnology outweigh the disadvantages because scientists could find various ways to overcome to the difficulties as they could make more instruments to understand how atoms and materials work. Nanotechnology will cause a great paradigm shift because itll be involved in many fields[DS6]. There have been trillion of dollars invested into to nanotechnology and an astronomical time put into it. Therefore, it would be wise to put our time to good use and allow nanotechnology to come to fruition. Summary[DS7] More time should be time and money should be invested into nanotechnology so we can develop it further. It has great potential and it should not go to waste. Ethicality of research[DS8] The researcher should always bring integrity, fairness and honesty to ensure anyone involved in an experiment is safe and it give you a piece of mind as you are being honest. Integrity in tells no coercing or deceiving the people involved. This means the participant should be willing to volunteer information; they have the right to withdraw from the research at any stage. Honesty involves considering the impact on people lives and environment to judge if the research or experiment will be pragmatic and will be more beneficial than a hindrance. In addition, is the experiment morally right? Because there could me more benefits than harm but the lives of test subjects may be put at risk or harmed. That is the most significant aspect to take into account. The scientist carry out primary research must always be explicit in what they tell the participants of what will occur so they dont have a failed understanding. For example they should be aware of the possible outcomes of the research, the associated demands and discomfort people may experience. If the experiment may cause danger to a persons life the experts conducting the research must have strong justifications of why it is necessary. It is vital that there is academic integrity. Thus you must have permission to use intellectual property such as journals. And you shouldnt assume you have automatic permission. Being ethical is crucial because it protects the scientist from losing their job, losing money or in some cases being arrested; it protects anyone involved in research to be protected as well. Methodology[DS9] The method used to collect data was by reading books to gain an insight as to what nanotechnology is. Looking at different journals online and thinking which one is the most relevant to the subject. At each stage the way information was collected is by writing down ideas and knowledge obtained from secondary research to think of a logical order to structure the findings. This allows the project to be coherent. The role of the researcher is to find important a sufficient amount of information to implement into the project. There isnt much way the personal behaviour of the researcher can be effect because the research is secondary. The best research method for gaining textual data was by reading it thoroughly and observing as which data will be relevant. Then extracting and compiling the relevant research. For the project numerical data wasnt needed to understand nanotechnology, although it could have been used to observe and think about the subject on different angles. (April Klazema ,june 12,2014[DS10], )The main difference between objectivity and subjectivity is in the way that these arguments are presented. Subjective information whether it is in written or spoken form is generally considered to be a single persons opinion. It has a viewpoint, or possibly a bias, regardless of the information it provides. Remember to reference Budgeting[DS11] Borrowing books were free because they were borrowed from the library. This means there was no need to purchase any books. The journals were free; however the library paid approximately  £20 for the journals viewed. The journals used were free as they came from a free source on Google. There was no need to print any resources as you can access the journals online. It cost  £2 to purchase lines and plain paper from the shop to write ideas down and make a plan. Appendices References[DS12] Nanotechnology for dummies Richard Booker and Earl Boysen 2005 Opportunities and risks of Nanotechnologies , Report in co-operation with the OECD International Futures Programme 20016 April klazema. 2014. Objective vs. Subjective Writing: Understanding the Difference. [ONLINE] Available at: https://blog.udemy.com/objective-vs-subjective/. [Accessed 12 June 2014]. Word count Words: 1,952 [DS1]Incorrect referencing style. [DS2]Incorrect referencing style used. [DS3]This need to be at the end of the sentence with the period after the last bracket. [DS4]Another way you could have used this reference is: Albeit, broker and Boysen (2005) suggestsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Also, in-text reference used is incorrect. [DS5]A reference would be needed to support this statement. [DS6]Such as? [DS7]You could have added further context to your summary. You raised a lot of good points in your body. How could further research impact/improve nanotechnology? Which area of nanotechnology could use further research during this stage in its development? You could have brought some of these questions into context at this stage. [DS8]What ethical constraints would this field of study face? And how would you address them? [DS9]Good. [DS10]No the format for in-text Harvard referecing [DS11]Good [DS12]This is not the format for Harvard referencing.   Ã‚  

How Mildred Taylor uses the Characters and Events to show the Prejudice

Mildred Taylor, the author of 'Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry' clearly depicts racism in her novel. She skillfully uses the characters and events in the novel to show prejudice in Mississippi in the 1930s, when the book was set. At the time Mississippi was renowned as one of the worst states for racism. Taylor has created many situations in her novel were several of the characters are victimized as well as discriminated against. Throughout the novel white people form an irrational judgment on the black race, innocent people are burnt and lynched. 'Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry' is a novel which ventures on how hatred, humiliation and degradation fill the gap between the two races that are separate from each other, the races of the black and white. Taylor uses one of the main characters in this novel, Cassie Logan to show how racism impacted on their everyday lives. When Cassie goes to Strawberry for the first time, she is put out of her comfort zone and into the real world. Through these episodes Taylor shows us that Cassie had to grow up, and learn that being defensive cannot always solve the problem. As Cassie angrily confronts Mr. Barnett as she has not been served, he angrily ?recoiled? and told her to get her ?little black self? away from the counter to wait. As Mr. Barnett tries to get rid of Cassie he bellows, ?whose little nigger is this? leaving Cassie feeling ashamed and confused. Taylor uses this incident and characters to show that black people were considered, by some, to be less important than whites, since Cassie had been waiting for nearly an hour. The language spoken by Mr. Barnett is strongly patronizing, and it expands the portrayal of racism. Another point where Cassie is complete humiliated is when she bum... ...hool every day, whilst the white school bus goes past and sprays them with red dust. This also shows segregation, whites and blacks had to be as far apart as possible according to the whites. In the novel we see segregation many times: when Big Ma parks the wagon the other side of the field, the different schools and different buses. Taylor does use strong and powerful language through her characters and events to portray the racism. She also had a clear structure, some may find it confusing at times, but overall it does not affect how prejudice is portrayed as events follow each other. I think that the final message of the novel, perhaps, is that survival is possible, but that there are inevitable losses along the way, and that whatever race we are should not matter. Taylor uses memorable characters and big and small events to show prejudice in 1930?s Mississippi.

Specisism

In this essay I will try to clarify Singers essential argument and defend it against some common objections. According to Singer, Speciesism is a position similar to racism and sexism. Just as race discriminates against other race, and sexism against the opposite sex, speciesism discriminates against non-human species. Specisists hold that only humans have intrinsic moral worth, and anything that is non-human has no rights and so for Singer, speciesism is not an acceptable position.He argues that because animals are capable of experiencing pain, and therefore have an interest in preserving themselves, they deserve to be respected and given rights. Singer is a utilitarian which means for him the capacity to feel pleasure and pain is the most important factor for moral consideration. If a being has the capacity to feel pain and pleasure, then Singer thinks we have a responsibility towards them.He rejects moral rights as inherent to every species and proposes that sentience is a require ment for status since he maintains most animals do not care about whether we kill them and use them for our own purposes: they care only about how we treat them when we do use and kill them. Just like humans, animals have interests of their own, a capacity for enjoying things and also for suffering.And â€Å"if a being suffers, there can be no moral justification for refusing to take that suffering into consideration† (Singer 1975:79) Given the principle of equal consideration of interests, it follows that equal moral concern should be given to the suffering of animals as that of humans. â€Å"If only x and y would be affected by a possible action, and if x stands to lose more than y gains, it is better not to do the act† (PE, p21).If this is the case, then suffering caused to animals as a result of their treatment when we regard treating humans in the same way most count as ‘specisist` behaviour : the only difference between humans and animals is their species, and that has the same moral significance as race i. e. , none. Singer argues for this by pointing to variation among human.Of the characteristics that we say only humans share we always find that there are humans who lack those characteristics: â€Å"†¦ Humans come in different shapes and sizes; they come with differing moral capabilities, differing intellectual abilities, differing amounts of benevolent feeling and sensitivity to the needs of others, differing capacities to experience pleasure and pain.In short, if the demand for equality were based on actual equality of all human being, we would have to stop demanding equality. † The only one characteristic all human beings share that animals do not is membership in the human species. It is important to note that Singer does not mention animals when he speaks of the principle of equality or equal consideration of interests, but reminds us the principle is interpreted as giving equal consideration to the interests of al l people.Firstly reminds us of the challenges we have overcome throughout history with racism and sexism have expanded our moral horizons which eventually includes the whole human race, and secondly, that following this to its logical conclusion, morality itself demands this extension since the basic principle of equality is a principle of morality. Once we go beyond a self-interested stand point to a moral one, we are bound to adopt the principle of equality and the logic of universality inherent in it. Singer is a utilitarian thinker.A basic objection to this is that the whole structure of Singers view is utilitarian, that on the one hand, it demeans our existence by saying happiness is the only thing of value in it, and on the other hand, it aims to maximise the total happiness, which allows the sacrifice of the happiness of a minority for the sake of the majority. So there are really two objections here, one to Singers account of value (that reduces all value to happiness), and the other, his account of morality (that makes the ends justify the means).Both of which are mistaken, the maximising theory of morality in Singers view does not depend on a maximizing account of morality at all, it depends on ‘the principle of equality` where he does not talk about value but only says that all sentient beings interests should be considered equally, and that the interests of a being in this case is in the reduction of its suffering, and that its total suffering is to be weighed against the benefits of all beings involved. He does not actually claim that animal lives are equally valuable.Singer holds that animals suffer and like us they have interests, he views the specisist as holding a similar position as a racist or sexist. He considers them equal in the sense that they all think that they have a higher moral status simply in virtue of their sex and race. Each of the instances he describes when drawing parallels between sexism, racism, and spieciesism, the d ominant group exploits or excludes outsiders indiscriminately in favour of its own members. It develops an ideology that justifies treating outsiders in ways that are to its benefit.Form this point of view, the analogy between sexism racism, and speciesism directs our thoughts to the human being as the dominating group that uses other beings for its own ends and not only beings that matter. The analogy is useful because it leads us to humans, not as the only beings who matter, but a dominating group that uses other beings for its own ends, furthermore, it raises questions about mere differences as the justification for differences in how much consideration to give others.Bernard Williams, however, defends speciesism in â€Å"The Human Prejudice† objects to Singers analogy, that speciesism is not like racism or sexism, and gives some reasons why this is so. The differences between normal humans and other non-human animals, let’s say, of equal size or shape, are much gre ater than the differences between people of different races, or between men and women.But Singer has mentioned this, in his first edition of animal liberation he wrote: â€Å"There are many areas in which the superior mental powers of normal adult humans make a difference: anticipation, more detailed memory, and greater knowledge of what is happening, and so on. † So therefore the claim that speciesism is morally objectionable still remains unchanged by such arguments, because Singer defines speciesism as discrimination on the basis or species, not as discrimination on the basis of superior mental powers, even if those powers are processed by members of our species and not members of other species.According to Singer, Williams’ argument denies the analogy and resorts to â€Å"which side are you on? ’’ – Which is a question that echoes racial, religious or ideological conflicts which have arisen in times of war? This kind of question divides the wo rld in to â€Å"us’’ and â€Å"them’’, the fact of this division demands us to us to transcend ethical issues about what the right thing to do is.Singer mentions another argument that has been made in connection to this in defence of speciesism: the claim that just as parents prefer their own children over others as a special obligation, so we have a special obligation to other members of our species in preference to members of other species. Again, the obvious case lying between the ‘family` and our ‘own`, points to race, ethnicity, etc. Singer gives a good example by referring to Lewis Petrinovich who says that our biology turns certain boundaries into moral imperatives- and lists â€Å"children, kin, neighbours, and species. If the argument works at the smaller sphere of family and the larger sphere of species, then why not for the middle case: race. If race is not a morally relevant boundary, why should species be? It is tautological th at the principle of equality should apply to sentient beings. There is much debate over what qualifies as sentient. What I mean sentient to be, can only be worked out in practise as with any other moral boundary. Man here has to be thought of as a moral agent as well as a moral object.I don’t believe we should justify our having a bias or prejudice in favour of human beings over other animals, I would consider it specisist to consider the interests of my own over other species, only in the strictest sense, but if this is the case, I would also favour my own race, religion, class, etc†¦ Our values are necessarily human values but we are not necessarily the only beings worthy of consideration. Nature sustains both animals and humans and for me, complimenting nature, at the very least, preserving it, is more worthy of consideration.Bibliography Practical Ethincs, Peter Singer The Human Prejudice, Bernard Williams

Financial analysis of J Sainsbury PLC and Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC

Financial analysis of J Sainsbury PLC and Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC Introduction The law in most countries requires public companies to publish audited financial statements. These statements are used by various groups in making decisions about their interaction with an entity. Published financial statements provide the potential users with a narrow insight into the financial strengths and weaknesses of a business.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Financial analysis of J Sainsbury PLC and Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Such a comprehensive view of a business is important as it would influence users’ decisions on whether to continue their association with the business. Ratio analysis is an important tool for analyzing the financial position of a company. The results of ratio analysis provide adequate information for evaluating the performance of a company. Choice of company and justification for the choice J Sainsbury PLC and Wm Morrison Supermarke ts PLC, based in the United Kingdom, are public limited companies that trade on the London Stock Exchange. Both companies operate in the United Kingdom’s retail industry. J Sainsbury PLC takes about 17.7 percent of the market share in the UK supermarket. Besides, it is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the industry after Tesco. The company has about 1,106 stores. The company employs about 152,000 employees in their stores (J Sainsbury PLC 2014a). On the other hand, Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC ranks fourth among the top five supermarkets in the UK retail industry with a market share of 11.3%. The company has presence in over 600 locations. The company engages about 132,000 employees (Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC 2014a). Retail industry in the United Kingdom is quite competitive and the top players engage in aggressive competition so as to increase their market share. The table presented below shows the recent statistics of market share of the United Kingdom’s retail industry. Company Market share 1 Tesco 30.1% 2 J Sainsbury PLC 17.7% 3 Asda 16.4% 4 Wm Morrison Supermarketss PLC 11.3% 5 Co-operative group 4.4% Others 20.1% The information on the market share can be presented in a pie chart as shown below. Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The two companies are a suitable choice for analysis because they are among the top five in the UK retail industry. Besides, the companies have operated in the retail industry since 1800s. This implies that they have experienced and survived the swings in the economy over a long period of time. The paper seeks to carry out a comparative financial analysis of Sainsbury and Morrison Supermarkets for a period of five years, that is, between 2008 and 2012. Critical analysis of the ratios Profitability ratios J Sainsbury PLC 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Net Margin % 1.5 3 2.93 3.03 2.68 2.63 Return on Assets % 2.87 5.6 5.75 5.04 4.91 Return on Equity % 6.21 12.52 12.32 10.82 10.81 Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC Net Margin % 3.17 3.88 3.84 3.91 3.57 Return on Assets % 5.8 7.04 7.06 7.26 6.35 Return on Equity % 10.34 12.63 12.19 12.76 12.18 Source of data Morningstar, Inc. 2014b; Morningstar, Inc. 2014a; J Sainsbury PLC 2014b; Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC 2014b The net profit margin of Sainsbury increased by a small percentage during the five years. The net profit margin increased between 2008 and 2010. However, in 2011 and 2012, the company reported a decline in the value of the ratio. The same trend was observed in the values of return on assets and return on equity. In the case of Morrisons, The profitability ratios increased between 2008 and 2011. In 2012, the company reported a decline in the value of profitability ratios. Further, it can be noted that the profitability ratios for Morrisons are higher than those of Sainsbury. This implies that Morrison Supermarket is more efficient in managing pricing and the cost of operations. It also implies that the Morrison Supermarket is more efficient in using assets and shareholders’ fund to generate sales and net profit than Sainsbury (Atrill 2009). Further, both companies reported a decline in profitability in 2012. This may indicate that there was a decline in profitability within the industry. The graph presented below shows the trend of profitability ratio for the two companies. In the graph above and subsequent graphs, ‘J’ represents line graphs for J Sainsbury PLC while ‘Wm’ represented line graphs for Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Financial analysis of J Sainsbury PLC and Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Liquidity ratios J Sainsbury PLC 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Current Ratio 0.55 0.66 0.59 0.65 0.61 Quick Ratio 0.26 0.36 0.27 0.31 0.25 Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC Current Ratio 0.53 0.51 0.55 0.57 0.58 Quick Ratio 0.25 0.19 0.21 0.21 0.2 The liquidity ratios for Sainsbury fluctuated during the five year period. The current and quick ratio for the company increased between 2008 and 2009. However, in 2010, the company reported a decline in the liquidity ratios. The values improved in 2011 and later declined in 2012. In the case of Morrison Supermarket, the current and quick ratio declined in 2009, the values later improved in the subsequent years. The liquidity ratios for Sainsbury PLC are higher than those of Morrison Supermarket. This implies that Sainsbury is more efficient in paying current debt than Morrison Supermarket. The information in the table also reveals that the current and quick ratios for both companies are less than one. This implies that the current asset of both companies cannot adequately pay the current liabilities (Brigham Houston 2007; Brigham Ehrhardt 2009). This can be attributed to the industry in which the companies operate. Companies operating in retail industry often have low liquidity ratios due to the nature of their businesses. The graph presented shows the liquidity ratios for the two companies. Gearing ratios J Sainsbury PLC 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Financial Leverage 2.29 2.19 2.1 2.19 2.21 Debt/Equity 0.5 0.47 0.43 0.46 0.46 Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC Financial Leverage 1.82 1.77 1.69 1.83 2.01 Debt/Equity 0.23 0.21 0.19 0.3 0.46 The gearing ratios focus on the amount of debt in the capital structure of a company. A high value of gearing ratio implies that a company has a high amount of debt in the capital structure. The financial leverage for Sainsbury ranged between 2.1 and 2.29 during the five year period while the value of debt to equity ratio ranged between 0.43 and 0.50. It can be observed that there was a general decline in the value of the gearing ratio. In the case of Morrison Supermarket, the financial leverage ranged between 1.69 and 2.01. It can also be observed that the company experienced an increase in the financial leverage over the years. Debt to equity ratio for the company ranged between 0.19 and 0.46. The two companies reported a decline in the value of gearing ratios between 2008 and 2010. However, in 2011 and 2012, the value of the ratios increased. The trend can be attributed to the economic meltdown that was reported in late 2008. The companies required external funding to finance operations (Brigham Houston 2007; Brigham Ehrhardt 2009).Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It can also be pointed out that the gearing ratios for Sainsbury are higher than those of Morrison Supermarket. This explains the low profitability of the company. It also increases the risk of the shareholders’ fund (Collier 2009). The graph presented below show the trend of the gearing ratios. Investment ratios J Sainsbury PLC 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Price/Earnings 19.7 11.9 9 10.8 11.6 Price/Book 1.4 1.4 1 1.2 1.2 Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC Price/Earnings - 12.9 13 9.7 10.6 Price/Book - 1.4 1.5 1.2 1.2 The investment ratios are used as a measure of valuation of shares of a company. The ratios compare the price of shares and various attributes such as earnings, book value of assets, cash flow and sales (Haber 2004). The investment ratios for Sainsbury declined between 2008 and 2010. There was a decline in the value of the ratios between 2011 and 2012. In the case of Morrison Supermarkets, the value of the investment ratios increased between 2009 a nd 2010. There was a decline in the value of the ratios in 2011. In the table, it can be noted that the investment ratios for the two companies are relatively equal. Therefore, an investor may be indifferent about which company to invest in based on the investment ratios. The price/earnings ratio measures the market value per share in relation to its earnings while price to book ratio measures the stock price of shares of a company in relation to book value of the assets (Holmes, Sugden Gee 2005). The graph presented below shows the trend of investment ratios over the five years. Weaknesses of ratios There are a number of weaknesses of ratios. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account some of these weaknesses when using ratios as the main tool for comparing the financial performance of two companies. First, it is difficult to use a set of industry average ratios when analyzing large companies that have different business segment which fall in different industries. This creat es a major challenge when using industry average ratios to compare performance of such companies. The second weakness is that inflation distorts the financial statements of companies. Thus, using ratios to analyze the performance of a company or a group of companies in different regions may be a challenge (McLaney Atrill 2008). In such cases, an analyst may need to use personal judgement to evaluate the performance of a business. The third weakness of ratios is that it is highly distorted by seasonal factors. It is quite difficult to incorporate the impact of seasonal factors when analyzing the financial performance of a business using ratios. For instance a company may report a sporadic increase in sales of a certain product during a one season such as winter. This will distort the ratios calculated. Therefore, an analyst may be required to have prior knowledge of the seasonal factors that affects a business before using ratios to analyze the financial performance of such a busine ss (Siddiqui 2005). The fourth weakness of ratio analysis is that the use of different accounting practices hinders the ability to use ratios to analyze the performance of a company using ratios. For instance, when carrying out inventory valuation one company may decide to use FIFO while another company may use weighted average. This may make it difficult to use ratios to compare the two companies. The fifth weakness is that different ratios under the same category may give differing positions on the performance of a company. Thus, it may be difficult to give a generalized view of the performance of a company. For instance, under profitability ratios, net profit margin may indicate that the profitability of a company is declining over time while return on assets may indicate that the profitability of a company is increasing over time. This makes it difficult to give a conclusive decision on the performance of a company. Finally, some ratios may be difficult to interpret some ratios as to whether they are good or bad. For instance, high liquidity ratios may be interpreted as good or bad (Vance 2003). Conclusion and recommendation The paper carried out a comparative financial analysis of J Sainsbury PLC and Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC for a period of five years, that is, between 2008 and 2012. Analysis of market share indicates that Sainsbury has a larger market share than Morrison Supermarkets in the UK retail industry. Further, analysis of profitability indicates that Morrison Supermarket is more profitable than Sainsbury. Based on liquidity, it can be noted that Sainsbury has a better liquidity position than Morrison. Further, the gearing level of Morrison Supermarkets is lower than that of Sainsbury. Finally, the investment ratios for the two companies are fairly equal. Thus, analysis of the two companies shows that they have a fairly equal financial standing. In terms of market share and liquidity, Sainsbury is superior to Morrison Supermarket. However, in terms of profitability and gearing, it can be pointed out that Morrison Supermarket is superior to Sainsbury. An investor is likely to base his decision on profitability, gearing level and investment ratios. Thus, Morrison Supermarket will be the most suitable company to invest in. The paper also discussed the various shortcomings of use of ratio analysis. Even though it is a suitable for comparing the financial performance of various companies, a lot of personal judgment is required when using the tool. References Atrill, P 2009, Financial management for decision makers, Prentice Hall, USA. Brigham, E Ehrhardt, M 2009, Financial management theory and practice, Cengage Learning, USA. Brigham, E Houston, J 2007, Fundamentals of financial management, Cengage Learning, USA. Collier, P 2009, Accounting for managers, John Wiley Sons Ltd, USA. Haber, R 2004, Accounting demystified, American Management Association, New York. Holmes, G, Sugden, A Gee, P 2005, Interpreting company repor ts, Prentice Hall, USA. J Sainsbury PLC 2014a, About us, j-sainsbury.co.uk/about-us/. J Sainsbury PLC 2014b, Annual report and financial statements 2013, j-sainsbury.co.uk/media/1616189/sainsburys_ara.pdf. McLaney, E Atrill, P 2008, Financial accounting for decision makers, Prentice Hall, USA. Morningstar, Inc. 2014a, Sainsbury (J) PLC, http://financials.morningstar.com/income-statement/is.html?t=SBRYregion=gbrculture=en-USownerCountry=USA. Morningstar, Inc. 2014b, Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC, http://financials.morningstar.com/income-statement/is.html?t=MRWSFregion=usaculture=en-USownerCountry=USA. Siddiqui, A 2005, Managerial economics and financial analysis, New Age International (P) Limited, New Delhi. Vance, D 2003, Financial analysis and decision making: Tools and techniques to solve, McGraw-Hill books, United States. Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC 2014a, About us, morrisons-corporate.com/About-us/. Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC 2014b, Financial reports, morrisons-corporate.com/ Investor-centre/Financial-reports/.

Euthyphro Concept of Holiness and Piety

Euthyphro Concept of Holiness and Piety Introduction The dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro in front of the King Archon’s court presents two individuals in an argument on how to define and comprehend holiness. The two were to attend court hearings on different cases. During their discussion, they reveal to each other reasons why they are to appear in court.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Euthyphro: Concept of Holiness and Piety specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Burrington (n.d.), Socrates was to attend a court hearing in which Meletus accused him of distracting the attention of young people from believing in the gods that the state religion recognized. Instead, Socrates was propagating the belief in new gods. On the other hand, Euthyphro was at the court to file a case against his father, who, he argued, had caused his family and friends be unkind to him. The father had placed a servant who murdered one of the slaves in isolation t o prevent the sin from spreading around. Later, the servant died even before the messenger could report on what religious steps could be taken against the servant. Euthyphro explained that it was wrong, in line with his accepted beliefs, to protect a manslayer. In addition, he said that his actions would prevent poisoning his father’s associates. According to Socrates, it was a taboo to lodge harmful proceedings against one’s father. However, Euthyphro claimed that family relationships were not important when a man was unjustly murdered (Geach, 1966, p.369). This paper examines the attempts at providing a logically sound and universal definition of piety as they are presented in Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro. Socrates’ aims Socrates wanted to understand the interpretation of the term holiness from other people’s standpoint. This step could help him in defending himself at the court (God, 2009). Socrates wanted to gage whether his action of preaching t o the youths to accept foreign gods could be viewed as holy or not. He also wanted to know whether his act was appeasing or annoying all the gods, and whether it was right or wrong. The concept of holiness also took major position, as Socrates wanted Euthyphro to evaluate his decision of accusing his father of murder. In the dialogue, Socrates aimed at making Euthyphro back his actions with solid religious premises. According to Socrates, many people have confused religious actions that are wrong or right, as they argue from archaic religious contexts. Remarkably, these two characters were faced with cases, which required deep philosophical explanations and comprehension. The first definition Socrates requested Euthyphro to define what is meant by piety. In his first response, Euthyphro defended his ‘religious’ actions by alluding that even Zeus punished his father the same way.Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your f irst paper with 15% OFF Learn More Socrates refuted this response by saying that even though it can be genuine, the exemplification cannot be part of the definition. Therefore, Euthyphro needs to understand the difference between what he considers religious, and what he considers moral. Further, Socrates adds that he had difficulties in comprehending how misunderstanding arises among the gods. The second definition In the second definition, Euthyphro suggested that pious is what pleases the gods (God, 2009). Socrates finds that this definition is much more logical since it appeals to generalization, rather than one particular example (Koukl, n.d.). He mentions that he needs to find a formulation that could serve as a standard against which people could measure all their acts, and see whether they have acted piously or not. The idea that Socrates presents is a very important one, and it lies at the core of the method that we try to use when governing our society. We n eed an objective formulation of our laws and regulations to be able to tell with confidence if someone has broken them. However, despite the fact that the definition is logically more valuable, Socrates responded by indicating that what is appealing to one god could be unappealing to another god. Therefore, this definition tells us little about the essence of piousness. The third definition Euthyphro felt frustrated and defined piety as that which pleases all the gods. This definition prompted Socrates to ask Euthyphro the question, â€Å"Is what is pious loved by (all) the gods because it is already pious, or is it pious merely because it is something loved by them?† (Burrington, n.d.). Socrates is aware that if an act is pious just because gods love it, then we know nothing about what piety in itself is. This idea is a bit difficult to grasp, but it might help if it is viewed through examples. For instance, Socrates mentions that there is nothing in the essence of a carried thing that is determined by that particular condition in which it temporally finds itself. Similarly, gods may love an action, but that action is not in its essence pious for that reason, it is rather in a state of being loved and nothing more. One might think that Socrates is chasing unimportant nuances here, but what he is really doing is indicating how precise we have to be in defining our laws and morals if we want to be able to condemn someone of breaking them. The fourth definition In an attempt of providing a better definition, Socrates appeals to logic and the relations between notions. He tries to define the notion of piety as belonging in its entirety to the notion of justice. He and Euthyphro agree that piety belongs to the domain of justice, but this does not mean that every just action is at the same time pious. They locate several types of behaviours that can be regarded as morally right, but do not belong to the domain of piety; for example, caring for other human be ings. The next thing that is necessary for a good definition, in Socreates’ view, is to differentiate pious acts from other just or ethical acts. However, he does not seem to be able to find such a characteristic that makes pious acts stand apart (Burrington, 2012, p.3). What I also find necessary when defining piety in such a way is to provide a formulation of justice or moral rightness which is an incredibly difficult task in its own right; however, Socrates and Euthyphro do not try to accomplish that.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Euthyphro: Concept of Holiness and Piety specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Final attempts at definition In the end , Euthyphro makes two more attempts at giving Socrates a satisfactory answer. Firstly, he argues that when acting piously, people look after the gods. Socrates immediately spots that such a definition would imply that in each particular action people contribute to o ne particular god which makes him stand out from the rest of the gods, which is something that gods forbid. Secondly, Euthyphro also mentions that humans act piously in order to satisfy gods so that they could pray to gods, and expect them to grant their wishes in return (Burrington, 2012, p. 3). Following Kant’s deontology, I would say that if this were true, it would move the notion of piety from the domain of morality to the domain of rationality. This is because if one performs an action in order to profit from it, then it is a merely rational action, which involves no moral value. Kant says that an action counts as moral only if a person performs it because they feel that it is their duty to act in that particular manner (Kant Pluhar 2002). When finally pressed to present overtly what is at the core of piety, Euthyphro again puts forth the idea about piety being intrinsically connected to what gods love, which means that the conversation ends with a version of the third definition. Conclusion Socrates’s objective in this dialogue was to show Euthyphro that there are different perspectives of viewing or understanding a concept. In that light, he wanted to understand the religious expert’s argument, and widen his points of argument. This was Socrates’ intention because he assumed the role of a student or learner in the dialogue. From this scenario, Euthyphro was fully  able to give his understanding of piety and morality. In the dialogue, Socrates played a passive role, so he could allow Euthyphro to respond to his questions, and then he offered suggestions to provoke further response from Euthyphro. There is no point at which Euthyphro asked Socrates questions. In my opinion, holiness refers to a state or an act that is morally right in itself and that the gods love. The definition fails to give the level or point at which an act qualifies to be morally right. Who qualifies an act as morally right? Is it not the people? Is wh at is morally right loved by gods precisely in order to make it morally right? On the other hand, is it morally right because people have accepted it to be so? In most cases morals are defined differently as each person has their own set of standards they govern themselves by. There are individual differences in people’s arguments, cultures, perceptions, and understanding.Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Summary In the dialogue Euthyphro, Socrates tries to reach a universal and logically sound definition of piety which could stand as a standard against which people could measure all their actions, and be able to tell with absolute precision whether the action is pious. He does so through his famous dialectical method in which he only asks questions, and together with the interlocutor tries to arrive at truth. He points out that it is wrong to define notions through examples because such definitions are of little use in different situations. Socrates also mentions that a definition needs to be universal, and that claiming that an action is pious just because it is appreciated by one god is not enough to define piety since the same action can be hated by another god. After that, in the second definition, he claims that defining notions through their external states is also wrong since a good definition needs to capture the essence of the thing itself. The idea that one can appeal to t he relationships of superiority and subordination between notions as in the case of saying that piety is subordinate to justice is also presented in the dialogue. In the end, final definition is not reached, but the reader has learned a lot about all the different factors that have to be taken into account when trying to define an abstract concept. References Burrington, D. E. (n.d.). Guides to the Socratic Dialogues: Platos Euthyphro. Hartwick College. Retrieved from http://users.hartwick.edu/burringtond/dialogues/euthyphro.html Geach, P. (1966). PLATOS EUTHYPHRO: An Analysis and Commentary. The Monist, 50(3), 369-382. God, F. (2009, April 23). Socrates versus Euthyphro. No Double Standards. Retrieved from http://impartialism.blogspot.com/2009/04/socrates-versus-euthyphro.html Kant, I., Pluhar, W. S. (2002). Critique of practical reason. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co. Koukl, G. (n.d.). Stand to Reason: Euthyphros Dilemma. Stand to Reason: Stand to Reason Homepage. Retrieved from h ttps://www.str.org/

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