Corporate finance 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Corporate finance 2 - Essay Example Last but not the least the third group lauds large dividends as positive signal to shareholders that all is well. So where does the modern shareholder satisfaction stand in relation to dividend policies? Another query which relates to this discussion is how signaling models attempt to explain the proportion of equity retained by an entrepreneur, the type of financing used for an investment and the amount of equity issued or repurchased. The issue then pertains to information asymmetry (availability of information).Firstly if we look at Dividend policy it was well put by Black 1976 (cited by Frankfurter 2002), â€Å"That the nearly universal policy of paying substantial dividends is the primary puzzle in the economics of corporate finance.† Thus the proposition leads us to the query whether shareholders should be paid sufficient dividends whether or not they are making sizeable profits on the stock market. Over the last half century academics have spoken in great depth over this issue and suggested conflicting theoretical frameworks to explain their point of view.(Frankfurter 2002).The problem is that these assertions often lack empirical depth to the criticism and stumble upon self contradictions in an attempt to explain corporate dividend behaviour.(Frankfurter 2002).Today academic opinion is divided as to whether dividends are attractive to shareholders and will have a positive impact in stock prices.(Fran kfurter 2002 )Another school of thought contends that prices are negatively correlated with dividend payout levels.(Frankfurter 2002).The third view is that firm dividend policy is irrelevant in stock price valuation. (Frankfurter 2002).My paper will discuss and try to reconcile all these views towards a better theory and understanding of this issue.These views are best summed up as being based upon,the tax effect ( Litzenberger and Ramaswamy

Discusses the current state-of-the-art in an area of electrical Research Paper

Discusses the current state-of-the-art in an area of electrical engineering and computer science that you are interested - Research Paper Example nd mobile software, however, every mobile application has specific mobile software that defines its characteristics and requirements depending on the data processing need at hand. Generally, with the availability of the Internet, intranet or any other respective communication links, mobile devices enable a user to take a computer and all crucial files, folders, and software out into the field and to work as if he/she were in the office (Masco et al, 17). Mobile computing relies on the principle of mobile voice communication whose technology has been recently extended to include the ability for one to send and receive data across cellular networks. A number of hardware that support mobile computing are available and include mobile devices and device components like Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), Smartphone, tablet computers, ultra-mobile PCs, and wearable computers to name but a few (Mascolo et al, 19). With these devices, there is efficiency in communication and for business people who are constantly on the move, the concept of mobile computing serves to solve the problem of mobility through the transmission of data from remote locations. The dominant technology in the mobile data communication market today that enables mobile computing is the Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), though; a number of alternative technologies are available such as the Circuit Switched Cellular, Specialized Mobile Radio, and Wireless Data Networks. The basic principle of the CDPD technology is the usage of idle time that is available in between existing signals sent across the cellular networks. This technology usually comes with the advantage of low cost of data transmission since the idle time is not chargeable. Fixed users are provided with a fixed physical link to the CDPD network allowing them to connect to the network while mobile users connect to the network using a packet-switched system. In case the CDPD facilities do not exist, this technology utilizes the concept of

Law of nature Essay Example for Free

Law of nature Essay There are several books that deal with philosophical questions of liberty, social restrictions, pursuit of property and freedom versus enslavement. I have selected six related to these themes to be reviewed and closely analyzed to understand those themes better. The second treatise of Government by John Locke has been ever since its first publication in 1689 an influential source of political and social interpretation. The USA constitution is based on the principles and themes John Locke deals with in this master piece of philosophical reasoning. His main argument in the book is that the sovereignty is in the hands of the people and that the government is in their service. Locke underscored the importance of being aware as people of our natural and fundamental rights but that we have had to relinquish certain aspects of this human freedom to be able to coexist peacefully within a society regulated by laws established to maintain the order. People are thus originally endowed with certain inalienable rights in a state of nature where freedom exists in absence of laws or rules to abide to. This law of nature does thus not require people to obey each other but instead people are free to be themselves. The state of nature is defined by Locke himself as: To properly understand political power and trace its origins, we must consider the state that all people are in naturally. That is a state of perfect freedom of acting and disposing of their own possessions and persons as they think fit within the bounds of the law of nature. People in this state do not have to ask permission to act or depend on the will of others to arrange matters on their behalf. The natural state is also one of equality in which all power and jurisdiction is reciprocal and no one has more than another. Locke deals thus with the topic of civil society in this book and how we can politically coexist together as people. To understand the true and best form of a civil society we need to comprehend the fundamental right we are born with as humans which is simply freedom in its complete sense. Taking this into consideration we have also to acknowledge the full meanings this brings along with it for everybody despite color, ethnicity, religion or race. Since all people are born with this right then it follows that all people are equal and deserve to live in a system that secures this equality and freedom of pursuit of ones dreams. Lockes second main argument is how governments should only rule with the consent of the people and that any government that does not becomes as a result illegitimate and deserves to be overthrown by the people through their right to revolution. He also deals with the themes of conquest and slavery, property and representative government. Property for instance lead to the creation of the civil society as men sought to protect his property through the law. People exchanged some of their natural rights in order to achieve this form of civil society where they could coexist peacefully with other people in a safe and secure atmosphere. The representative government on the other hand is only legitimate if it is acknowledged by the people and serves the needs of the people. It is this way that Locke established the rule that governments should be there for the service of the people rather than vice versa. Lockes ideas about slavery on the other hand are that it is essentially a form of involuntary servitude and the only way slavery could be justified as a system that goes against the order of the natural state is through the absence of the state of nature and the presence of the opposite which is the state of war during which exceptions were allowed. The discussion of slavery leads us to another major work concerned with the subject: The Life of Olaudah Equiano which is an autobiographical work that was first published in the 18th century and recounts the story of slavery and its horrors. The story of his enslavement, acquired freedom and pursuit of work as a seaman and merchant is a very fascinating tale of forward movement and determination at achieving success, despite the hardships encountered along the way, in order to earn the natural right of freedom back. Olaudah, like Locke, was a fighter for a cause. Lockes book helped revolutionize the ideas about government and shaped the USA constitution the way we know it now. His defense of the rights of the human continues to influence the discourse on democracy, human rights and politics. Olaudah’s journey and struggle for freedom has also left tremendous impact in the literature of slavery and he also helped in the process of abolishing slavery later on. Those two prominent men had a social vision of what a society was supposed to be like and fought to achieve it. The book starts with the recount of Olaudahs personal life before enslavement when he used to live in an African region called Assaka. He was kidnapped and forced into slavery(something that enforces Lockes opinion about the forced status of slavery as an institution) at the age of ten and transported to the New World or to be more specific the plantations of Virginia. He was purchased by a lieutenant in the Navy called Michael Pascal who named him Gustavus Vassa, a name he also came to be known by. His life as a slave was a continues struggle and suffering. He could not tolerate the idea of deprivation of his right of freedom and chose to rebel through denying the new name his owner gave him which lead to his punishment as if he was a mere dog whose job was to obey without reluctance. Being deprived of his freedom reduces the human being into an animal. The life of the slave was really hard according to the journals of Olaudah. He was later sold in the Caribbean and acquired by a Philadelphian Quaker who taught him how to read and write better and educated him in the Christian faith. He allowed him to trade to earn the money required to buy his freedom as young man in his twenties and traveled to England where he fought for the cause of slavery abolition. Olaudah observed in his book how slaves were treated as inhuman subjects with no feelings. It was almost as if the masters considered them to be a different specie or an alien creature. Our third book or novel is concerned with a creature that displays those characteristic: Frankenstein. Frankenstein by the author Mary Shelley refers to the scientists within the book Victor Frankenstein who knows how to create life and decides to create a creature that is like man but with more powerful characteristics. The novel is made up of the correspondence between the Captain Robert Walton and his sister. Walton happens to know about Frankensteins creature and recounts the story to his sister in his letters. The story starts with Walton traveling to the North Pole where he will be trapped by a sea of massive ice rocks. This is how Walton meets Victor Frankenstein and this is also how he comes to know about the monster Victor had created. Victor is himself terrified by what he has created and runs away thereby allowing the monster to be released. The troubled scientist feels sick with guilt and his depressed state only worsens when he hears about the murder of his brother. It appears that the monster was who murdered his brother and this was explained by the monster himself as an attempt at taking revenge of Victor who had treated him with horror and disgust. He begs Victor for a companion since he cannot stand the loneliness. Victor does decide to oblige but later on regrets it and destroys his second creation to which the monster vows revenge that he soon fulfills through killing one of his friends. The monster manages to also kill his bride and Victor decides to follow the monster which led him to meet Walton and dies a few days later on. Walton concludes his letters by recounting how surprised he was to find the monster weeping on his body in agony and loneliness. It turns out that the monster had feelings like any other human being and could be good or evil like any other normal person. But Victors fear and prejudice blinded him from seeing that. The same thing happened with the white owners of slaves in the era of Olaudah. They stopped seeing the slaves as human beings and regarded them as mere properties to be feared and doubted if they acted differently the way Olaudah did through educating himself. The fear of the unknown is a characteristic of the human psyche but what is also a common aspect between the white and black man and the monster of Frankenstein is the need of freedom. Our fourth book is the Communist manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The first publication of the book took place in 1848. Just like John Lockes The Second Treatise of Government the Communist Manifesto is a very influential political manuscript. The main theme of the book is the class struggle and the weaknesses of the capitalist system. The Communist Manifesto is what the communist party strengthened the ideology of the Communist party. The Manifestos main aim was to make communism more understood by a larger number of people since the party was feared and doubted by many. Karl Marx continues then to mark the differences between the bourgeois and proletariat class since his main focus will be throughout the paper on how the proletariat has been victimized by the capitalist system and bourgeois class. He states in the first section that: The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary re-constitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes. Marx arguments of class struggle resemble those of Locke to a certain extent. He also echoed the claim that the human need for property is what leads to the creation of civil society as we know it today. Marx acknowledges this human need for the acquisition of property but seeks to regulate it more through establishing laws that do not allow for a minority of rich people to subject and benefit from a larger group that is the real driving force of any society: the proletariat class. The proletarians will, according to Marx, rise to power through class struggle. The bourgeois continues exploiting the proletarians but the latter will use their right to revolution (Locke again) to throw this form of social establishment and create a new reality more fit for the general and larger public. This vision was eventually realized by the Bolsheviks in the former Soviet Union. Our human need for freedom equality and development is according to Locke, Olaudah, Marx and Shelly a fundamental aspect of our psychological nature. This leads us to the fifth book to focus on: On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin who explains in this work how humans have developed from their natural state to their current one and how they have been able to survive. The natural state described by Darwin in his book is different from that of Locke in that he focuses on how we developed physically as people from the shape of monkeys to that of humans. It is needless to say that his book has caused the necessary controversy in the religious circles. Darwin presents a very interesting evolutionary idea in this particular book to explain the process of human evolution: the survival of the fittest. The idea of the transmutation of the species was however not welcomed by the Church establishment of that time and is still not looked at with favor by several even nowadays and despite the many scientific data that has been supplied to enhance his theory. Natural selection or to use the other phrase, the survival of the fittest, has been described by Mr. Herbert Spencer as: Owing to this struggle for life, any variation, however slight and from whatever cause proceeding, if it be in any degree profitable to an individual of any species, in its infinitely complex relations to other organic beings and to external nature, will tend to the preservation of that individual, and will generally be inherited by its offspring. Charles Darwins book has also helped in reshaping the human thought regarding its origin and nature and developed the notion of the necessity of strength and relentlessness to succeed and earn the right to exist since only the fittest survive. Our last book is also closely related to the themes we have seen so far in relation to human rights and natural states and the preservation of an efficient civil society. Civilization and its discontents was first published in 1929 and became one of Sigmund Freuds most renowned works. Freuds main theme in this book is the state of conflict between the individual and his society. Just like with Lockes book we come to wonder how much the relinquishment of our fundamental right of total freedom affects our psyche and therefore our performance within the civil society we created. The primary source of conflict, according to Freud, is the individuals desire of freedom and the clash that creates with societys expectation of the individual to conform to the general rules. The majority kills with this the individuality and our natural states are denied for the sake of preserving the general picture agreed upon by the majority of the citizens. Humans have certain desires and characteristics that are hard to control. The desire for sex is the most prominent one which has lead to the creation of many laws to regulate sex conduct in public and punish the acts of rape and sexual aggression. The natural instincts come to be subjected to laws and regulations to allow for the peaceful existence within a society. The six books that we have seen so far all deal with several issues related to humanity’s primal needs that can clash at times with society’s expectations of the individual. Our quest for freedom and property creates conflict all along but we never are able to let go of one of the two. Humans have always wanted the two together and the need for more property led to the enslavement of millions to satisfy the need for cheap labor thereby violating the natural human state of being free by birth. But humans are creatures who seek pleasure and understanding and bonding with the other. That is also another reason why we co-exist within a society and try to abide to the rules to sustain the civil form. Works Cited Darwin, Charles (2002). The Origin of Species. W. W Norton Company. Equiano, Olaudah (1999). The life of Olaudah Equiano. Dover Publications. Freud, Sigmund (1989). Civilization and its discontents. W. W Norton Company. Locke, John (2002). The Second Treatise of Government. Dover Publications. Marx, Karl (1998). The Communist Manifesto. USA: Oxford University Press. Shelley, Mary (2004). Frankenstein. Pocket.

Modernismo in Spanish-american Poetry of the 20th Century

Modernismo in Spanish-american Poetry of the 20th Century Abstract This research analyses Spanish modernismo in Spanish-American poetry. The paper investigates in depth the impact of Ruben Dario and Leopoldo Lugones, the most influential modernista poets of the twentieth century, on the development and spread of modernismo in Spain. The received results demonstrate that Spanish modernismo was new for Latin America and differed much from European Modernism. Due to the spread of nationalism, modernista poets experienced rejection and criticism from the members of Spanish society that regarded their literary works as the imitation of European poetry. However, Lugones and Dario opposed the existing restrictions and implemented new forms of poetic expression. In this regard, some findings of this research are consistent with the previous studies, while other results provide new valid data to the issue of Spanish modernismo in the twentieth century.   Ã‚  Ã‚   1 Statement of the problem Spanish modernismo is considered by some researchers and critics to represent a real revolution in Spanish-American literature of the twentieth century. The fact is that by the end of the nineteenth century the poetry of Latin America began to decease, thus innovations had to be implemented to revive it. Modernismo was new for Latin America, and the poets who greatly affected the formation of this movement were Leopoldo Lugones and Ruben Dario, as they were the first persons who implemented European poetic traditions into their writings, transforming the linguistic basis of poetry. However, this viewpoint is sometimes challenged by literary scholars who make attempts to eliminate the impact of modernismo on Spanish-American poetry. Gwen Kirkpatrick suggests that such a biased vision is explained by the fact that â€Å"many discussions of modernismo are stereotypically describing a ‘rubenismo’, the hackneyed copies of Ruben Dario’s style , while forgetting the movement’s audacity and its sweeping display of subject matter and styles†1. The conducted researches aggravate the issue by drawing a parallel between Spanish modernismo and European modernism. As a result, they provide ambiguous and invalid findings in regard to modernismo in Spanish-American poetry, instead of clarifying various aspects of the twentieth-century Hispanic literature. 2 Introduction Spanish modernismo as a crucial literary trend of twentieth century Hispanic poetry was initiated by Leopoldo Lugones and Ruben Dario and achieved its peak in the years of 1888-1915. It had the major impact on Spanish poetry, but also affected other literary genres, such as short stories and novels. Modernismo appeared as a successful combination of the Symbolist and the French Parnassian literary movements and was especially widespread in Argentina, Mexico and Cuba2. Modernismo in Spain reflects various social and economic changes of the late nineteenth – early twentieth centuries. It is mainly characterized by the substitution of the former structural and thematic components for new elements that include experiments with meter and rhyme and the utilization of such themes as landscape and eroticism. Thus, modernismo possesses three principal features: 1) novelty in rhyme and meter; 2) new appreciation of poetry’s role and 3) increase in subject themes. Social changes influenced the poets’ understanding of their roles and made them adhere to the literary traditions of such European poets and writers as Edgar Allan Poe, Baudelaire and Whitman. Latin America differed from other European countries because of the fact that it made constant attempts to maintain the principles of national identity. As a result, Spanish literature used to adhere to conventional values, and any withdrawal from these particular traditions was regarded as a real danger to the issues of nationality. Modernist poets such as Dario and Lugones were usually considered as escapist s and Spanish-American poetry – as the imitation of foreign ways of expression. In view of these complex social and cultural restrictions, the rise of modernismo in Spain signified the elimination of the older stereotypes and the establishment of new models for poetry. The beginning of the twentieth century was also characterized by the spread of sciences and industries that contributed much to the formation of a rationalistic vision on life and universe. However, due to the existing restrictions, modernista poets of that period could only unite European values with traditional ideals in their literary works. In this regard, modernismo in Spain collided with more complexities than Modernism in other countries. These complexities resulted in the fact that Spanish poetry of the earlier twentieth century revealed much ambiguity and inconsistency. Various attempts of Spanish poets to utilise modernista elements in their works were regarded as the imitation of European literary sources, and modernismo in whole – as the trend of dependence. However, recent criticism on Hispanic poetry of the twentieth century challenged this viewpoint, providing valid data to prove the uniqueness and importance of Spanish modernismo. The themes and innovations of modernismo gave rise to many aesthetic and cultural tendencies of Spanish-American poetry of the twentieth century. The aim of the research is two-fold: 1) to analyse how modernismo represented a revolution in Spanish-American poetry in the 20th century; 2) to evaluate the importance of Ruben Dario and Leopoldo Lugones in the formation of modernismo. The paper is divided into sections. Chapter 1 provides a statement of the problem that uncovers the principal thesis of the dissertation. Chapter 2 conducts a general overview of modernismo through social and historical contexts. Chapter 3 observes the critical works that are written on the issue of Spanish modernismo. Chapter 4 discusses the theoretical tools that are applied for the analysis. Chapter 5 evaluates in detail the impact of Ruben Dario and Leopoldo Lugones on modernismo and the way they changed Spanish-American poetry. Chapter 6 provides a summarization of the received results, while Chapter 7 demonstrates the limitations of the research and gives the suggestions for further analysis of Spanish modernismo. 3 Review of the literature Various critical works are written on the issue of modernismo in Spain, providing rather contradictory findings. Cathy Jrade considers that modernista poets regarded the world as â€Å"a system of correspondences†3. Thus, they were in search of the ways to uncover the concealed truth about Latin America and the universe in whole. Some critical works on Spanish modernismo are aimed at analyzing modernista poetry through social contexts, including Noà © Jitriks Contradicciones del modernismo, Franà §oise Perus Literatura y sociedad en Amà ©rica Latina and Angel Ramas Rubà ©n Darà ­o y el modernismo4. According to Ricardo Gullon, â€Å"What is called modernismo is not thing of school nor of form, but of attitude†¦ That is the modernismo: a great movement of enthusiasm and freedom towards the beauty†5. Discussing Spanish modernismo and the poets who contributed to the formation of this movement, Gwen Kirpatrick points at Leopoldo Lugones as â€Å"a true precursor of what might be called the dissonant trend in Spanish American poetry†6. The researcher considers that Lugones greatly influenced other poets of the subsequent generations by rejecting the traditional poetic norms and implementing new modernista elements. Lugones’ legacy is especially obvious in the works of Cà ©sar Vallejo, Alfonsina Storni and Ramà ³n Là ³pez Velarde. Octavio Paz points at the fact that Lugones’ and Dario’s poetry is the beginning of â€Å"all experiences and experiments of modern poetry in the Spanish language†7. However, Paz also differentiates between Lugones and Dario; although he regards Dario as the initiator of modernismo, it is â€Å"Leopoldo Lugones who really initiates the second modernista revolution†8. On the other hand, some researchers criticize Lugones’ poetry and his impact on Spanish-American literature. For instance, Roberto F. Giusti claims, â€Å"What is Lugones’ literary personality? It is a difficult question to answer due to the simple fact that he lacks one†9. Amado Nervo contradicts this viewpoint by pointing at powerful aspect of Lugones’ poetry, especially Las montaà ±as del oro. Although Nervo acknowledges the impact of fo reign thinking on the works of Lugones, he nevertheless identifies many individualistic features of this modernista poet. As Nervo puts it, â€Å"Lugones’ personality is powerful, the most powerful in our America†¦ The outside influences, the variety of reminiscences, the trivial and intimate suggestions of sages, poets, anti artists clash in his soul with his own and diverse ideas†10. However, Ezequiel Martà ­nez Estrada suggests that Lugones’ poetry lacks real sincerity, he considers that â€Å"We see him [Lugones] change and contradict himself, but we never see him express himself with absolute sincerity†11. The different perception of Lugones’ poetry can be explained by the changes within Spanish society that shaped people’s understanding of poetry throughout the twentieth century. According to Manuel Pedro Gonzalez, those poets who directly succeeded Leopoldo Lugones greatly admired the poet’s excessive language and powerfu l verse12, but later generations of Spanish poets failed to rightfully perceive Lugones’ innovations, although they also borrowed some elements of his poetry. In view of such contradictory criticism on the issue of Spanish modernismo, the following analysis makes an attempt to solve this controversy and demonstrate a considerable impact of Ruben Dario and Leopoldo Lugones on Spanish-American poetry of the twentieth century.   Ã‚   4 Research methodology The research utilises two theoretical research methods – a qualitative method and a discourse analytical approach. These methods provide an opportunity to investigate the issue of Spanish modernismo through various perspectives. The qualitative method is applied to the research to observe different views on the discussed issue, while the discourse analytical approach is aimed at analyzing cultural and social contexts that contributed much to the formation of modernismo in Latin-America. The discourse analytical approach explains the reasons for regarding Spanish modernismo as a revolution in Spanish-American poetry and the qualitative method interprets literary works of modernista poets. According to Ricoeur, â€Å"interpretation†¦ is the work of thought which consists in deciphering the hidden meaning in the apparent meaning, in unfolding the levels of meaning implied in the literal meaning†13. As appropriate methods for investigation, the q ualitative method and the discourse analytical approach demonstrate Spanish poetic traditions and the ways modernismo implemented new poetic forms.     Ã‚   5 Discussion 5.1. Background In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Spanish-American poetry experienced its prosperity due to the occurred historical and political events. However, gradually the poetry of Latin America exhausted its potentialities and reflected only illusionary visions of reality. At the end of the nineteenth century Spanish-American poetry almost completely rejected the poetic traditions of Romanticism, because it was impossible to adhere to these traditions in view of quick changes in values and modernization of life in many places of Latin America. As Octavio Paz rightfully points out, â€Å"Modernity is our style for a century. It’s the universal style. To want to be modern seems crazy: we are condemned to be modern, since we are prohibited from the past and the future†14. It was in that period when some Latin American cities began to inherit European ideals on culture, science and art. As Kirkpatrick puts it, â€Å"New immigration, varying degrees of industrialization, and labor-oriented social movements changed the maps of Spanish American cities in the early twentieth century†15. Thus, Spanish-American poets began to gradually reject the romantic representation of reality, instead revealing their interest in certain objects such as the female body and machines. Leopoldo Lugones was one of the first poets that applied to these themes in some of his poetic works, like Las montaà ±as del oro. Overall, modernista poets demonstrated great obsession with the principles of modernity and made constant attempts to increase the role of a poet in Spanish society. They withdrew from their participation in political affairs, instead transforming writing into a profession. In view of various innovations modernismo was aimed at creating a novel reality and styles of expression. According to Gordon Brotherston, the modernista poets, such as Ruben Dario, Manuel Machado, L eopoldo Lugones, rejected the material obsession that emerged as a result of industrial and scientific achievements, instead revealing true moral and cultural values16. As Paz puts it, â€Å"it has been said that modernismo was an evasion of the American reality. It would be truer to say that it was a flight from the local present reality†¦ in search of a universal reality, the only true reality†17. Spanish modernista poets reveal an idealistic treatment of poetry, paying a particular attention to the innovations of poetic forms and themes. The values of these poets appeared in contrast with the existing social norms and were reflected in their poetry. Modernismo represented a real revolution in Spanish-American poetry, because it was aimed at destroying the isolation of Latin America and at creating a novel discourse that could uncover the concealed truth about social and political situation of the country. However, the spread of modernismo was different in various part of Latin America. In particular, in Buenos Aires and Santiago of Chile, the South regions, modernismo was developed in a fast way, while in the area of Hispanic Carribean the process was considerably slow. In general, modernista poets were in search of the ways to create a language that would reflect social and spiritual discourse, making them closer to European poets. In this regard, the language of modernista poets is ambiguous. Applying to the qualitative approach it is possible to reveal this ambiguity, because this method provides an opportunity to rightfully interpret the controversial literary texts. According to Taylor, â€Å"Interpretation†¦ is an attempt to make clear, to make sense of an object of study. It aims to bring to light an underlying coherence or sense†18. Thus, on the one hand, the language of modernista poets appears as a visionary tool that uncovers reality changed as a result of various scientific innovations, while, on the other hand, it shapes national identity. Due to the fact that these two aspects are closely connected with each other, modernismo manages not only to reveal reality, but also to change the political and social courses established in Latin America. As Gonzalez puts it, modernismo introduces various aspects of modernity and alters Spanish poetry in whole19. According to Ricardo Gullon, â€Å"t he modernist writer is in first term modern man, and as so he becomes aware of himself as a citizen and believes in the possibility of the political and social reform†20. Ruben Dario and Leopoldo Lugones were the first poets to reflect social modernity and the negative consequences of scientific innovations in their literary works. In their modernista poems they made attempts to combine national identity with foreign features. The following sections provide a more detailed discussion of Lugones’ and Dario’s impact on the formation of Spanish modernismo.   5.2. Ruben Dario as the initiator of Spanish modernismo At the end of the nineteenth century Ruben Dario (1867-1916) implemented the concept of modernismo to reflect a new period in Spanish-American poetry. Dario identified modernismo as the trend that corresponded with the essence of his time, when modernity began to influence various aspects of reality. Although Dario is regarded as a nationalistic poet, he is individual in his poetry, bringing up both social and national issues. Ruben Dario rejects the traditional elements of poetry by changing the conventional norms of verse and by introducing smooth rhythms into his poetic works. Simultaneously, Dario challenges and criticizes the reality that is presented in many literary works of Spanish-American literature of the nineteenth century. Through his poetry Dario rises against the materialization of Spanish life and against the wrong scientific ideals that prevailed in Latin America in that period of time. He also maintains individualism and independence, eternity and dream world; Dario is especially obsessed with beauty, demonstrating that beauty can be found in many displays. He moves beyond traditional portrayal of beauty, paying a particular attention to females’ sexuality as one of the principal images of beauty. For instance, in his poem Rhymes Dario claims, â€Å"Out on the sea a swift boat rowing, / rowing: the lover with his beloved, / flying to the land of dreams. / In the sunset light and the million glints / that flashed on the sea, those streaming oars / seemed made of burnished gold†21. This simple verse reveals the beauty of nature and the beauty of a loving couple; nature seems to correspond with their feelings – it is bright and clear, tender and light. However, by the end of the poem nature is changed, as Dario expresses uncertainty as to the future of these lovers: â€Å"Their fate? I do not know. I remember / that after a pallid twilight, the sky / darkened and the sea grew rough†22. Thus, nature conveys despair of Dario and the inability of lovers to change anything. Similar to nature that is exposed to constant changes, love also has the beginning and the end. This modernista poet pays much attention to language and he is in constant search of perfecting it. Musicality of Dario’s poetry and his exotic images inspire other Spanish poets, despite the fact that Dario is more interested in words than in the expressed meaning. Dario’s poetic language acquires power and symbolism; he gives new meaning to simple words and forms his unique rhetorical lexicon that reflects the spirit of Hellenism and Versailles. Applying to various poetic experiments, Dario increases the amount of metrical forms, either transforming classical forms or creating new ones. Dario’s first literary work Azul (1888) reveals musicality and sensuality of his sonnets. It was a real break in Spanish-American poetry due to the fact that Dario managed to substitute a complicated poetic verse of Spanish poets for a simplified and expressive form. In this collection Ruben Dario masterfully combines the symbols taken from ancient literary sources with his own symbols. Some of Dario’s symbols are the swan that symbolizes eroticism and chastity or centaur that embodies both human and animal features. In this regard, modernismo depends on various influences and literary trends; it manages to combine vulgarity and delicacy, reality and illusion, beauty and violence, extremes and simplicity. Ruben Dario’s modernista poetry introduces many elements into Spanish-American poetry of the twentieth century. In particular, in many poems of Blue Dario applies to the theme of escapism, that is, he escapes reality and involves his readers into the dream world. Dario’s escapism is refined and full of classical illusions. In response to various scientific inventions and reason, Dario creates poems that are closely connected with nature and passions. Although the poet usually depicts such negative feelings as sadness, disappointment, ennui and despondency, they are so expressive that they evoke powerful emotions. In the poem Melancholy Ruben Da rio states, â€Å"Brother, you that have light, please give me light / I am like a blind man. I grope about in the dark. / I am lost among the tempests, lost among torments, blinded / by fantasies, and driven mad my music. / That is my curse. To dream†23. Another element of Dario’s poetry that is widely adopted by all modernista poets is the tension between love and sexuality. In his later collection of poetry Songs of Life and Hope (1905), Dario brings up more profound issues of a man and universe, life and death, utilizing irony and bitterness. This is especially obvious in such poems as The Fatal Thing and Youth, Divine Treasure. In this regard, Dario and other modernista poets are often accused of inspiring anarchy in the country, but in reality Dario contributes to the creation of a certain ideological structure in Spanish-American poetry that is closely connected with culture. Applying to classical allusions and cultural images, Dario implicitly demonstrates his cultural tastes. Thus, Jean Franco suggests that â€Å"modernismo comes to imply not only a literary renewal under the influence of France but a certain exaltation of taste†24. In some of his poetic collections, including Songs of Life and Hope, Ruben Dario demonstrates his obsession with classical symbols and the images created by Dante in his epic poem. Dario is in constant search of combining these images with the aesthetic values of modernismo, the poetry with the whole universe. In other poems Dario, similar to Lugones, draws a parallel between natural phenomena and humans’ emotions; for instance, in the poem Nightfall in the Tropics Dario portrays nature through emotions: â€Å"Bitter and sonorous rises / The complaint from out the deeps, / And the wave the wind surprises / Weeps. / Viols there amid the gloaming / Hail the sun that dies, / And the white spray in its foaming / ‘Misere’ sighs†25. This verse reveals Dario’s experiments with language and form; and, according to Kirkpatrick, it is in these â€Å"experiments, ironies, discordance, and ambiguities, later poets will find the legacy from which they will construct new poetic languages†26. In this regard, Leopoldo Lugones borrows some modernista elements from the poetry of Dario, but he also implements many new elements of modernism o.  Ã‚      5.3. The influence of Leopoldo Lugones on Spanish-American poetry Although Leopoldo Lugones’ earlier poetic works are characterized by the adherence to romantic ideals, he gradually rejects these elements, bringing up the issues and values that are closely connected with modernismo. Despite the fact that Lugones’ patriotic tunes and concise rhyme are not the explicit features of modernismo, his changes in themes and the depiction of certain ideologies through poetry demonstrate the poet’s important role in the transformation of Spanish-American poetry of the twentieth century27. According to Kirkpatrick, simultaneously combining some genres and moving from one extreme to another in his poetic works, â€Å"Lugones dramatizes the conflict between modernismo’s formalism and the shift into the twentieth century’s more private sense of poetic language†28. Similar to Dario, Lugones maintains the idea of language perfection, but he regards language as a tool that should be refined. Lugones considers that poetic language should be as much expressive as possible, but â€Å"by directing attention to language as a technical instrument, Lugones initiates a dissonant trend in modern Spanish-American poetry†29. With the help of expressive language Lugones manages to combine various elements in his poems, such as ironical eroticism and the portrayal of landscape, colloquial speech and unromantic scenes. Lugones takes his images from outward things, depicting the changed urban and rural scenery of Spain. Simultaneously, Lugones’ modernista elements reflect his obsession with French literary poetic traditions; however, â€Å"Lugones discounts the American setting as being too primitive to allow for the development of a complex and refined expression†30. Although in his early poems Lugones only implicitly reveals modernista elements, he intensifies them in his later poetry. This especially regards Las montaà ±as del oro (1898), where Lugones makes an attempt to combine rather contradictory elements through an allegorical form. It is in this poetic collection that Lugones introduces such innovations as enormous excesses, undisguised exaggeration and bizarre humour that are utilise d in his later poems. Introducing various thematic opposites in Las montaà ±as del oro, Lugones manages to achieve integrity of expression. The structure of the book resembles Dante’s poems, revealing that Lugones applies to some classical allusions in his poetry. This is especially obvious in the following words: â€Å"I was alone / between my thoughts and eternity. I was / crossing with Dantesque steps the night†31. In the poem Metempsicosis Leopoldo Lugones combines the powerful images of landscape and animal features to reveal the opposites between two elements: â€Å"An evil moon was loosing itself – with its yellow skeleton face / in distances of dream and problem; / and there was a sea, but it was an eternal sea, / asleep in a suffocating silence / like a sick, fantastic animal†32. Metempsicosis is followed by other poems, such as A Histeria, Rosas del Calvario, Oda a la Desnudez, Antifonas, Nebulosa Thule and others that are full of erotic images and the theme of darkness. In his female images Leopoldo Lugones combines both calm beauty of a woman and fierce portrayal of femme fatale. Applying to such conventional symbols of female images as moon, apples, flowers, breast and others, Lugones demonstrates that these images are beautiful, but they embody darkness and destruction. As a result, Lugones’ female images reflect the desire for possession and desecration: â€Å"I want a golden crown to encircle / your heart†¦ and I want you to triumph, naked like a host, in the ideal Easter ceremony of my pleasures†33. Similar to Dario, Lugones’ sexual images are usually connected with various religious images and Greek mythology, the feature that is characteristic to modernismo. However, Lugones’ images are more turbulent and definite, like in the poem A Histeria: â€Å"And so your embrace was like the knot of a noose, / and like glacial floes were your lips, / and bitter wires were my tendons, / and so the enormous stallion was a black wind†34. Thus, Lugones draws a parallel between violence and females’ sexuality; this connection is evident in Los Celos del Sacerdote: â€Å"desired crucifix of the weddings / and the triumphant grace of your waist. / like an amphora filled with magnolias, / and the impenetrable iris of your sex, / iris fool of blood and anguish†35. In another poem Oceanida Lugones applies to specific sexual images of Vista that symbolize eroticism and beauty. Some poems of Lugones’ poetic collection Las montaà ±as del oro reflect the sadomasochistic components that constitute one of the most important themes of Lugones’ poetry. In particular, the poet combines the images of violence and punishment with the images of females’ sensuality: â€Å"I shall praise the affection of your embrace, / just as the lecherous ascetic in his battles pulls tight the hairshirt around his kidneys†36. The images of sexuality and violence are repeated several tines throughout the poems, thus repetition is one of the most crucial poetic tools of Lugones. These repetitions, mainly taken from Poe’s literary style, provide Lugones with an opportunity to move from one extreme to another, maintaining the necessary integrity of expression. For instance, in the poem Oda a la Desnudez Lugones constantly repeats the word ‘nakedness’: â€Å"Look at the nakedness of the stars; / the noble nakedness of the savage panthers of Nepal, the pure flesh / of the newborn; your divine nakedness which shines like a lamp†37. Leopoldo Lugones implicitly brings up the tensions between nature and scientific discoveries, between reason and myths, between people and environment. In this regard, Lugones is similar to Ruben Dario who criticizes science and material obsession of his era in his modernista poems. Lugones combines ancient elements with new discoveries of the nineteenth century, evaluating both positive and negative sides of the present. Thus, according to the discourse analytical approach, Lugones’ and Dario’s poetic language is closely connected with the components of social and political contexts38. The poem Hymn to the Moon from Lugones’ Sentimental Lunario reflects French adoptions and is characterized by irony and new metric form. The poem The Cicadas from The Book of the Landscapes is belonged to one of the most modernista poems of Leopoldo Lugones; applying to daily images, the poet portrays them through ironical vision. However, one of the best modernista poetic collections of Leopoldo Lugones is certainly Los crepà ºsculos del jardà ­n (1905), where the poet intensifies sexual and erotic elements. In this collection Lugones not only utilises many modernista structures and symbols, but he also implicitly criticizes modernismo’s technicality. As Lugones constantly experiments with his poetry, he implements new elements taken from different literary movements and classical literary sources; thus he manages to observe both strong and weak sides of modernismo. Exaggeration appears the principal tool of expression in Los crepà ºsculos del jardà ­n; as Kirkpatrick puts it, Lugones â€Å"exaggerates certain themes by extending their development too far, or points out certain techniques by explicitly commenting on their use within the poems themselves†39. Thus, the poet creates not one swan in his poems, but several swans; portraying the image of a woman, he does not restrict himself to some features, instead he describes every aspect of her appearance, even the colour of her clothes. Although Leopoldo Lugones initiates the second wave of modernismo in Latin America, he moves away from it in his later poetic works, because he feels that he has already researched this new area and continues to experiment with other literary trends40. Utilising all modernista elements in his Los crepà ºculos del jardà ­n, he begins to study the archetypal elements of Jules’ Laforgue’s poems. However, Lugones’ later withdrawal from modernismo does not minimize his crucial role in the formation of modernismo. As Kirkpatrick rightfully claims, â€Å"Although Ruben Dario is the undisputed master of the movement, many later poets have found the complex, sometimes troubling, poetic experiments of Leopoldo Lugones to signal openings for a renewed poetic practice†41. The fact is that Lugones’ constant changes of forms and styles, turbulent eroticism and the portrayal of common life attracted attention of many Spanish-American poets. Tensions and ambiguity that are slightly seen in the works of other modernista poets are considerably intensified in Lugones’ poetry42. 5.4. The Legacy of Modernismo Ruben Dario and Leopoldo Lugones as the major contributors to the formation of Spanish modernismo left a considerable legacy to other poets who began to utilise modernista elements of Lugones and Dario in their poetic works. Some of these poets are Ramà ³n Là ³pez Velarde, Cà ©sar Vallejo, Jorge Luis Borges, Octavio Paz, Alfonsina Storni, Julio Herrera y Reissig, Federico Garcis Lorca, Pablo Neruda and Vicente Huidobro. Their poetry is characterized by expressiveness and freedom, perfection of language and search of new forms, classic allusions and new themes, simplicity of syntax and musicality of words, free verse and powerful visual images. For instance, in his poetic works Ramà ³n Là ³pez Velarde follows Leopoldo Lugones, combining the elements of eroticism with various prosaic elements. Other modernista poets also utilise prosaic components in their poetry, including Baldomero Fernà ¡ndez Moreno and Enrique Banchs. These poets implicitly appl y to Lugones’ method to create opposites; however, they differ from Lugones, using simple colloquial language. Besides, the tone of their poems is quiet in contrast to excessive and exaggerated tone of Lugones. Julio Herrera y Reissig, another modernista poet, greatly resembles Lugones in his representation of sexuality and

Essay --

Las personas tenemos que pasar por varios procesos a lo largo de nuestras vidas. Probablemente el mà ¡s crà ­tico de ellos, sea nuestro proceso educativo. Pasamos 12 aà ±os aproximadamente, dentro de un sistema educativo con el que no siempre estamos de acuerdo. Nuestros padres suelen ser los que toman la decisià ³n acerca de nuestros colegios en base a lo que ellos consideran mejor. Quizà ¡s tomen esta decisià ³n por tradicià ³n familiar, por cuestiones econà ³micas, o porque està ¡n convencidos que en aquella institucià ³n vamos a recibir la educacià ³n que ellos creen que es la mejor para nosotros. Esperemos que al momento de tomar una decisià ³n tan crucial para el desarrollo de la persona, los padres en verdad analicen cuà ¡l es el tipo de educacià ³n que su hijo va a recibir en aquel lugar; quà © y cà ³mo va a aprender, bajo quà © mà ©todos y tà ©cnicas. En este ensayo, exploraremos el modelo constructivista de la educacià ³n, y como puede beneficiar a los estudiantes que lo utilizan frente a aquellos que no tiene este tipo de metodologà ­a en su formacià ³n. Ademà ¡s, se analizarà ¡n cuà ¡les son los modelos de enseà ±anza mà ¡s comunes en la educacià ³n de hoy en dà ­a y por quà © se han vuelto populares entre los educadores,  ¿son estas las maneras mà ¡s apropiadas de llegar a los alumnos? Como fin principal, queremos que al leer esto se entienda la diferencia entre simplemente enseà ±ar algo y enseà ±ar a pensar.  ¿Es preferible que el alumno solo memorice hechos, o despertar en à ©l cierta curiosidad para que siga aprendiendo sobre ciertos temas? Por medio de experiencias tanto personales como de allegados, o casos famosos, podemos adentrarnos en las distintas maneras de enseà ±ar y las repercusiones que tienes sobre los alumnos que por su forma de ser, no vienen... ...la pasan ni siquiera en supletorios. Esto causa no solo que se sienta inservible o con capacidades limitadas frente al resto cuando sus capacidades son solo distintas; si no tambià ©n provoca que se atrase un aà ±o completo por culpa de una sola cosa que no es lo suyo, o que no le han sabido dar las herramientas correctas para comprender ese tema. Por experiencia personal, podemos decir que los alumnos que trabajan mayormente con su memoria y no siempre con su razonamiento propio, son a los que les va bien en las secundarias tradicionales. En estos lugares solo se debe cumplir cierto tipo de examinaciones que son de dar respuestas exactas para demostrar que està ¡s apto para el siguiente nivel. Quizà ¡s, una opcià ³n mà ¡s interesante hacerle al alumno preguntas que le hagan analizar sobre lo aprendido en clases, no solo completar con fechas y nombres exactos.

Expectations Fulfilled (cheating) :: essays research papers

Expectations Fulfilled When one hears stories about cheating, automatically the first response that the individual will have is that the person who cheated is heartless. Oftentimes people have mistakenly misjudged the person who has cheated on their loved one. There is always another disclosed side of the story of the deceitful person. For instance, in â€Å"The Bridges of Madison County,† Francesca Johnson is a woman who has encountered a non-intimacy life and lacks exoticness in her marriage with Richard. Unintentionally, one day she utterly falls for a stranger name Robert Kincaid. Despite an instant attraction between them, Francesca Johnson let herself be unchaste because Kincaid fulfilled her expectations, provides intimacy, and stimulates romance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to keep a relationship alive, one’s expectations must come through. Johnson is a woman who lives in a sheltered life. She does not do many activities nor do anything appealing. It might seem as though she lives a plain life, but in her heart she has expectations that needs to be fulfilled. â€Å"And women were starting to have expectations about their allotted place in the grander scheme of things, as well as what transpired in the bedroom of their lives. Men such as Richard-most men, she guessed-were threatened by these expectations† (108). The fact is true, a woman’s expectations are needed to be acquired or else the woman will go else where to consume it. In other words, Francesca Johnson found everything that she wanted in a man that is disguise in Kincaid. Therefore, because of Kincaid’s understanding of her, she cannot help it but to fall for him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In addition, intimacy is needed in the relationship in order to have a close bond. Johnson is a woman who loves to be intimate with her husband, Richard. Unfortunately, Richard’s lacking of intimacy has taken a toll on Francesca. In other words, â€Å"She was more of a business partner to him than anything else† (80). The emotion that Johnson is feeling is not mutual. She wants to encounter affection but however, Richard is not aware. Subsequently, â€Å"Richard was interested in sex only occasionally, every couple of months, but it was over fast, rudimentary and unmoving, and he didn’t seem to care much about perfume or shaving of any of that† (80). Thus, Richard makes Francesca feel like a loveless person who needs to break free from the life that she has. Nevertheless, the intimacy that she wanted does not lie in Richard but lies in Kincaid.

Starbucks Corporation & Tully’s Coffee Corporation

Starbucks Corporation & Tully’s Coffee Corporation MBA 522: Financial Management December 9, 2008 Tully’s Coffee Corporation Established in 1992, Tully’s Coffee Corporation is a Seattle based coffee retailer and wholesaler. The main products offered by the company are baked food items, coffee products and pastries. Additionally, their coffee beans have exceptional sales in regional supermarket and grocery stores. The company currently operates over 100 stores in the western region of the United States and they have embarked upon a business venture in Japan where Tully’s is creating quite a coffee presence, they are also investigating expansions into other foreign markets. The Corporation started generating profits in the year 2006 (About Tully’s, 2007). Starbucks Corporation Seattle-based Starbucks Corporation is the leading coffeehouse chain in the world. The company currently has operations in more than 44 countries. The main products offered by Starbucks include a wide variety of beverages, coffee beans and brewing equipment, and a wide assortment of snacks and sandwiches. The company also branched into marketing music and books (The Company, 2008). Ratio Analysis RatiosStarbucksTully's Coffee Current Ratio0. 790. 51 Quick Ratio0. 300. 30 Debt Equity Ratio1. 345. 22 Proprietary Ratio0. 430. 24 Solvency Ratio0. 571. 24 Inventory Turnover Ratio12. 1311. 27 Gross Profit Ratio (%)23. 3444. 96 Net Profit Ratio7. 1515. 76 Return on Proprietors' Funds29. 45- Earning Per Share0. 910. 004 Current Ratio Current ratio may be defined as the relationship between current assets and current liabilities. It is also known as the working capital ratio (2: 1 ratio). It is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities. Current assets of a firm represent those assets which can be, in the ordinary course of business, converted into cash within a period not exceeding one year. Current liabilities are those obligations which are to be paid within a period of one year of current assets or by creation of current liabilities (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). Current ratio of the Starbucks Corporation and Tully’s Coffee Corporation is . 79 and . 51 respectively, during the year 2007. There is a difference in the current ratio of both companies, reflecting the weak liquidity position of both companies – and it illustrates that neither company has short term solvency. Liquidity position can be improved to some extent and can be made equivalent to industry average. The industry average of current ratio is . 90: 1. The current ratio of Tully’s is unsatisfactory and reflects weak position of the company. Quick Ratio This ratio is also helpful in analyzing the short term financial position of a business. Quick ratio is the measure of the instant debt paying ability of the business enterprise, hence, it is called quick ratio (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). A quick ratio of 1:1 is considered as an ideal ratio. If the liquid ratio is more than 1:1, the financial position of the firm is deemed to be sound. On the other hand, if the ratio is less than 1:1 the financial position of the firm is unsound. Quick ratio of Starbucks is . 30:1 and Tully’s ratio is . 30:1. There is no difference between the quick ratios of Starbucks & Tully’s Coffee. Overall, the short term liquidity position of both firms is quite poor because the ratios are less than the desired norm. For instance, current ratio should be 2:1 whereas, it is less than 1:1. Similarly, the liquidity ratio is much less than 1 as compared to ideal standard of 1:1. Therefore, the companies will face difficulties in paying current obligations on maturity. Debt Equity Ratio This ratio indicates the relative proportion of debt and equity in financing the assets of a firm. Debt Equity ratio reflects the relative claims of creditors and shareholders against the assets of a firm. The industry average of ratio is . 42:1. Debt equity ratio of Tully’s is 5. 22:1. This figure is not at all satisfactory; the ratio of 1:1 is considered within norms and reasonable. The Starbucks ratio is 1. 34:1, which is quite reasonable. A high debt equity ratio has serious implications from the firm’s point of view. A high proportion of debt in the capital structure leads to the inflexibility in operations of the firm as creditors would exercise pressure and interfere in management. Tully’s has high debt-equity ratio which is unfavorable for the company. Proprietary Ratio Proprietary ratio establishes a relationship between proprietors or shareholder’s funds and total assets of the business. This ratio highlights the general financial strength of the firm. It is of great importance to creditors since it enables them to find out the proportion of shareholder’s funds in the total assets used in the business. The ratio of Starbucks is . 43:1 and for Tully’s it is . 24:1. The proprietary ratio is low for both companies. Although there is little difference in performance of both corporations, it is Starbucks that is in better position. Solvency Ratio This ratio measures the long term solvency of the business. It reveals the relationship between total assets and total external liabilities. This ratio measures the proportion of total assets provided by the creditors of the firm, i. e. what part of assets is being financed from loans (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). The total assets of Starbucks are more than their total liabilities, which indicates that the company is solvent. Tully’s liabilities are more than their total assets, reflecting that the firm is not solvent. In this instance the higher the ratio, the greater the amount of creditors that are being used to generate profit for the owners of the firm. The difference in both the companies’ ratio is very high, although Starbucks has better performance than Tully’s in terms of solvency. Inventory Turnover Ratio The ratio indicates the number of times inventory is replaced during the year. It measures the relationship between the cost of goods sold and the inventory level. The inventory turnover ratio measures how quickly inventory is sold (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). The inventory turnover ratio of Starbucks is 12 times while Tully’s ratio is 11 times. Starbucks and Tully’s both have similar ratios, below that of the industry average. Thus, both corporations have inefficient inventory management. Generally speaking, a high inventory turnover ratio is better than a low ratio. A high ratio implies good inventory management. A very low level of inventory has serious implications, as it adversely affects the ability to meet customer demand. Gross Profit Ratio The ratio expresses the relationship of gross profit on sales to net sales in terms of percentage (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). Goss profit is the result of the relationship between prices, sales volume and costs. Gross profit margin of Starbucks Corporation is 23%, whereas the ratio for Tully’s is 45%. Tully’s ratio is high as compared to Starbucks, which is a sign of good management. It implies that the cost of production for the firm is relatively low. Tully’s has reasonable gross margin which ensures adequate coverage for operating expenses and sufficient return to the owners of the business, which is reflected in the net profit margin. Net profit Ratio This measures the relationship between net profits and sales of a firm. The net profit margin is indicative of management’s ability to operate the business with sufficient success not only to recover revenues of the period, the cost of merchandise or services, the expenses of operating the business and the cost of the borrowed funds, but also leave a margin of reasonable compensation to the owners for providing their capital at risk (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). Net profit ratio of Tully’s Coffee and Starbucks is -15. 67% and 7. 15%, respectively. Starbucks Corporation is generating adequate returns for its owners. On the other hand, Tully’s net profit margin is negative. The company is suffering from huge losses and has incurred net losses in the year 2007. Overall efficiency and profitability of Starbucks is higher than Tully’s Coffee. Return on Proprietary Funds The ratio expresses the percentage relationship between net profit and proprietors funds or shareholder’s investment (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). It is used to ascertain the earning power of shareholders investment. Return on proprietors’ fund for Starbucks is 29. 5%. The ratio could not be calculated for Tully’s Coffee as net profit and shareholder’s funds, both are negative. Starbucks has better performance and a higher return than Tully’s Coffee. Earning Per Share The rate of dividend on shares depends upon the amount of profits earned by the firm. Whatever profit remains, after meeting all expenses and paying preference share dividend, belongs to equity shareholders (Van Horne, Wachowicz & Bhaduri, 2005). These are the profits earned on equity share capital. The earning per share is calculated by dividing the profit available to equity shareholders by the number of shares issued. This is a popular ratio as it measures the profitability of a firm from the owner’s standpoint. Starbucks EPS is higher than Tully’s, which shows that the market price of the firm would be greater. Earning per share of Tully’s Coffee has no value, it is almost negligible. Higher EPS helps the company to raise additional capital without difficulty. This ratio plays an important role in comparison of the two companies from an investment point of view. Investment Decision It would be my choice to invest in Starbucks Corporation, as the overall performance and productivity is higher. The liquidity analysis performed through current ratio and quick ratio reveals that the Starbucks is positioned better in terms of liquidity; the company also has superior position in term of long-term solvency. Though gross profit ratio of Tully’s Coffee is high, overall Starbucks has a favorable financial position in that they would be able to quickly convert various assets into cash. Starbucks Corporation is generating adequate returns and reasonable profits which are sufficient for effectively running their operations. The corporation is generating higher returns for their shareholders, illustrating that the resources are effectively utilized. EPS is very high at Starbucks, which is necessary for the investment. Thus, I feel that an investment in Starbucks Corporation is a better choice, as it would yield higher returns for this investor. References About Tully’s. (2007). Retrieved November 21, 2008, from http://www. tullys. com/company/ Starbucks Corp: Financial Statement. (2008). MSN Money. Retrieved November 21, 2008, from http://moneycentral. msn. com/investor/invsub/results/statemnt. aspx? Symbol=SBUX&lstStatement=Balance&stmtView=Ann The Company. (2008). Retrieved November 21, 2008, from http://www. starbucks. com/aboutus/overview. asp Tully's Coffee Corporation. (2008, November). Hoovers. Retrieved November 21, 2008, from http://www. hoovers. com/free/co/secdoc. xhtml? ID=58100=6157151-141335-231989 Van Horne, J. C. , Wachowicz, J. M. , & Bhaduri, S. N. (2005). Fundamentals of Financial Management (12th Ed. ). (pp. 130-133). United Kingdom: Pearson Education