French Total company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

French Total company - Research Paper Example 16,075,861 debt ratio 0.131018748 0.102274444 0.09628153 The above trend shows an increase in the debt ratio, this means that companies creditworthiness is improving but this increase in the ratio indicates a reduction in the usage of assets. Debt equity ratio: The debt equity ratio indicates whether a company finances more using debts or equity, this is an important ratio in that it helps in decision making whereby a company may want to raise more capital either through debt or equity, the debt equity ratio is calculated by dividing total debt by total equity, the following is a summary of the debt equity ratio debt equity ratio 2007 December 2006 December 2005 December Long Term Debt 21,910,860 18,790,510 16,075,861 Total Stockholder Equity 66,071,348 94,908,445 86,526,342 debt ratio 0.331624231 0.197985648 0.185791525 From the above table it is evident that the debt equity ratio has increased over the years, this ratio shows that the company finances more through equity than debts, the trend also show that there has been a reduction in finance through equity and an increase in debt financing. Gross profit margin: The gross profit margin is a financial ratio that indicates the gross profit earned on sales, this ratio is calculated by dividing gross profits by sales, this ratio considers the costs of goods sold excluding other cost, the following table summarises the company gross profit margin: gross profit margin 2007 December 2006 December 2005 December Gross Profit 72,197,139 40,102,792 58,740,318 Total Revenue 233,825,821 175,189,287 145,228,759 gross profit margin 0.308764612 0.228911212 0.404467534 For the year 2007 the gross profit margin was 0.3038 which is an increase compared to the 2006 ratio. This ratio shows the proportion of gross profit in... The debt-equity ratio indicates whether a company finances more using debts or equity, this is an important ratio in that it helps in decision making whereby a company may want to raise more capital either through debt or equity, the debt equity ratio is calculated by dividing total debt by total equity, the following is a summary of the debt equity ratio. It is evident that the company fiancà ©s more suing equity, this is evident from the debt equity ratio, however, the trend of this ratio over the years show that the company equity level is declining and an increase in debts. The other observation is that the return on equity has improved over the years and this shows that this return ratio will increase in future. The other observation is that the return on assets has improved and shows an improvement in asset utilisation efficiency. The gross profit margin has declined over the years; this ratio was highest in 2005, declined in 2006 and slightly increased in 2007. This shows tha t the profitability of the company is expected to rise although the trend shows a decline in profitability.

Construction Law resit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Construction Law resit - Essay Example The doctrine of the responsibility to care develops significantly in the case of Donoghue vs. Stevenson (Card, Murdoch & Murdoch, 2011 p. 12) The duty of care arises precisely when an individual or a group of people carries out an activity that may cause any reasonable harm to the other party. The harm from such activity may be physical, economic or mental injuries. The activities such as driving and dispensing of the medications that lead to substantial harm can be subjected to the duty of care as provided for in the Common Law (Anson, Beatson, Burrows, & Cartwright, 2010, p. 219). The legal obligation of care is the first element of negligence. The element describes the relationship between the claimant and the defendant. The defendant in all circumstances must take critical care to prevent any possible injury or harm to the plaintiff. The duty of care is established in two significant cases. These include where the defendant and the plaintiff are operating within a relationship in which the duty of care was precedent set. In the second instance, in case the relationship is outside the provisions, the duty of care is achieved through given principles developed by the law in the case. There are three chief principles delineated in the Caparo s. Dickman that precisely specify a clear tripartite test for the duty of care. The test entails three governing question that facilitate discerning of the legality of the claim by the plaintiff to the duty of care. First, the principles confirm whether the harm was reasonably foreseeable. The second principle evaluates whether there was any degree of closeness between the claimant and the concerned defendant. The third principle questions any fair play in the implantation of the duty of care and whether there is any precluding policy of the public concern (Anson et al 2010 p. 224) According to the principles, guiding

Bladerunner - Humanity and Nature Essay Example for Free

Bladerunner Humanity and Nature Essay The central theme of Bladerunner is the relationship between humanity and nature. More specifically it has a purpose in showing how science can negatively influence this fragile relationship. Set in Los Angeles of 2019 we see the decadence of western society into an inhumane harsh impersonal, technology-dominated realm. The inhabitants who fight for their daily survival are in desperate want for nature, contact with which is denied to them by the unrestricted scientific progress and the consequent exploitation of the natural world conducted for the sole purpose of profit. Humanity is also losing touch with its own nature. The compassion, the empathy, the love and the emotion are all rare or absent. This ailing relationship between humanity and nature is conveyed through the means of scene setting, dialogue, plot, camera techniques and other film features. All these elements of cinematography synthesise to create an effective portrayal of the unifying theme. In Bladerunner the most prominent element of cinematography is mise en scene. It generates a context for the film and therefore makes the plot and themes acceptable. To set an appropriate scene different variables need to be controlled. These variables include location, props, lighting and colour. In general the location of the plot is in the vast urban canyons of 2019 LA. The imposing dark buildings, the dirty fog, perpetual rain and the crowded dark streets devoid of vegetation make up the backdrop of most scenes. All this is filmed in dark lighting, which complements the effect produced by the fog in obscuring the living details. From this the responder acknowledges the deterioration of society, the harsh conditions that the humans are subjected to and the way the human spirit itself is progressively destroyed under such conditions. Filming such a location at night provides the director with the opportunity to use chiaroscuro (a technique of strong contrast) to further convey the dominance of technology over humanity. For example in outdoor scenes the garish flickering neons are obtrusively visible but they fail to illuminate the obscure, dark, fogged surroundings, including the multitudes of faceless people. The prominent visibility of artificial things over human presence together with the qualities of the location indicates the degradation of human life under the rule of science. The clothing worn by characters is an important choice made as part of setting the scene. Most of the street people wear hooded dark clothing covering their whole body. This is possibly to protect them from the rain but it also hides their faces and their eyes from the camera and from us, creating an impersonal atmosphere in conjunction with the harshness of the surroundings. We get a feeling that everyone hides from everyone else and human interpersonal interaction is limited to the bare necessity. Sometimes the style of clothing worn by characters tells us something about the characters themselves. For example the trenchcoat style garments worn by Deckard are a throwback to the ? 20s and ? 30s detective genre in film, and the responder instantly sees Deckard as such. There are times when the clothing worn gives us an insight into the themes of the film. When we first see meet Racheal (and we think she is a human), her outfit with geometric power dressing shape, the black hues and the perfect hair create an impression of power and efficiency, qualities that are valued in androids. The next time we meet her we see her in a fur coat and underneath, a soft white blouse. Then when she lets her hair down the transformation is complete. By now we know that she is a replicant and for a replicant to be so human is ironic when the ? real humans dont show such qualities. This irony elucidates the deteriorated nature of humanity very effectively. The film is not only able to show the way humanity has lost contact with nature but also how much they appreciate and want it back in their society. The unicorn dream-scene conveys this effectively. The soft back lighting, the low tonal contrast, the colour and the lush vegetation create a setting that is very different to the usual scenes. It is contrasted with real world to further reinforce the lack of nature in society. The short length of the scene, and the fact that the scene is only Deckards dream, conveys the elusiveness of nature and shows us that humans still ? dream of having the presence of nature back in their world-weary lives. Another method used by the cinematographers to show the want for nature is through the presence of artificial animals. While the artificiality of the animals shows the destruction of nature the way humans still keep them as pets conveys their yearning to bring back nature. The decay of human spirit is also shown through the dialogue. In Bladerunner the scarcity of the dialogue itself potrays the lack of human interaction and consequently the lack of empathy or emotion. Characters only speak when it is necessary for their own survival and comfort but not for the sake of emotional involvement. However, the replicant slaves, who supposedly feel no emotion, interact more sensitively with each other. This irony again has the effect of showing the dehumanisation suffered by this society. The absence of nature and the way society deals with this is revealed through the way they refer to nature. For example at Tyrells office Decker asks Racheal if the owl is artificial, to which she replies of course it is. A similar conversation that occurs later between Salome (Zhora) and Decker about artificial snakes, further reinforcing the sad truth. Another common literary language feature that is used in Bladerunner is symbolism. The film is filled with visual symbolic codes. The unicorn, a mythical creature, which, according to myth, is a fragile and elusive being of beauty known for its rarity. In the film it symbolises the rarity of nature and its beauty and fragility. There are other symbols that signify the elusive presence of nature in human life. One is the unnaturally weak and indistinct sun. The sun is the source of all life on earth and natures sustaining energy. The weakened presence of the sun is possibly due to the fog but the importance lies not in the cause of the weakness. The dim sun is an indication that nature is being destroyed or is already destroyed. Another symbol is the motif of the human eye. Close to the beginning of the film we are presented with an ECU of Holdens eye reflecting bursts of flame. The fiery human spirit. The motif carries on throughout the film, the close up of eyes during the Voigt-Kampff tests, Mr Chews eye shop, the glowing eyes of the owl and the gruesome death of Tyrell. In many cases we encounter human figures whose eyes are hidden. The important example is Tyrell whose eyes are hidden by the thick glasses, but this is also true for the little people or the street people. If the eyes symbolise the human spirit then it is also true that the concealment of the eyes represent the destruction of this spirit. The characters and the way they respond to events in the plot is the most significant way through which the creators of the film express their concerns about the relationship between humanity and nature. It is through the characters and the way they are influenced by the society in which they live that the audience are able to receive the majority of information about that society. To make up a character the director (Ridley Scott) has to synthesis the acting, the physical qualities of the actors, the costume, the lighting and the camera work. Harrison Ford plays Deckard; a Detective who is forced to put up in insensitive wall around him so as to carry out his job properly, but with the help of Racheal and Batty his soul comes through. The seriousness, the no-nonsense speech and the mechanical execution of his tasks all contribute to this image of a tough guy cop. It is also sad to see that he is forces hide his emotions and sentiments for the sake of survival in this harsh world. By the end of the film we sense that if Batty and Racheal had not saved him his spirit would have been lost under the pressure. Rutger Hauer has possibly the most appropriate natural qualities to play Roy Batty (robot? ). The ? Aryan look, a western cultural assumption of superiority and the Swedish accent with the concise overtones which is particularly effective in a quiet voice make him the perfect super/sub-human replicant. To enhance the effect the hair is died white, his body and face is always lit up to prominence, and almost always the image is shot from underneath making him look surrealistically handsome and at the same time imposing. However the way he responds to the events in the plot show that he has more ? humanity in him that the people who consider themselves human. The most memorable instance is they way he moaned for the death of Pris. He is not ashamed to return to the most basic instinct of openly showing emotion. This beautiful scene along with other such human responses from a replicant serves to convey the suppression of human nature in the society. Rachael is played by Sean Young as the replicant who doesnt know she is an android. The characters function is similar to that of Batty. To show the deterioration of everything ? human in the world of 2019. Her transformation itself carries the message. When she thought she was a human her conduct was much like a robot; the emotionless soulless state of mind everyone is in. But once she begins to realise that she is replicant her appearance becomes increasingly ? human. This humanisation is portrayed through the use of costumes, the use of varying light and the use of ECU. Tyrell is the other character who has an important function in conveying the themes. Genuinely lacking emotions or empathy, his main objective is the profit margin. He is part of the corporate dictatorship that has suppressed the spirit of the people and destroyed the natural world. His character is the total antitheses of Batty. The overconfidence in his intelligence, the impersonal way in which he addresses other characters, the opulent surrounding in which he lives show him as powerful tyrant. The irony is that he holds the status of God when he is not even fit to be a human. Thus through the development of characters and their response to the events of the plot, Ridley Scott and the actors communicate the way relationship between humanity and nature has evolved (deteriorated) into the world of 2019 LA. In effect all the techniques mentioned above portray a society of individuals who are weary of the world they live in. They are rejects who lead a pitiful existence in a wasteland called earth because they are not fit enough to go the out-world colonies. Suppressing their own natural instincts for the sake of physically surviving they really the walking dead. Scientific progress conducted not for the best interests of humanity but for the best interests of business has effectively brought about the progressive degradation of society. By exploiting and destroying the natural world human can no more find solace or beauty so as to recuperate their weary minds and rekindle their dying spirits. In summary the techniques that are unique to film such as camera, lighting, costuming, colour and location works in conjunction with common literary techniques such as visual symbolism, irony and characterisation to effectively convey the relationship between humanity and nature.

Sole trader and partnership business

Sole trader and partnership business http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sole_proprietorship http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98214,00.html http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCESitemId=1073789609 http://www.myownbusiness.org/s4/ http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/19/19_1/what-is-a-sole-trader.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/aims/partnershipsrev1.shtml http://www.company-wizard.co.uk/Glossary/Private_Limited_Company.htm Among the similarities between a sole trader and partnership business is that they both have unlimited liability. Unlimited liability means in the event that the business becomes insolvent, the owner will have to be responsible for paying all the debts of the business even if it means selling off his personal assets to settle the debts. In a partnership, a partner will also have to pay off all the debts of the business if other partners become insolvent but if only the business becomes insolvent the debts can be shared among partners. This however is not applicable to the sleeping partner. The way both businesses are financed is also similar. For example, they are financed with bank loans, personal savings and contributions from friends and family. The two businesses need to be registered under the Registration of Business Act and operates in the private sector. This means that none of this structure of businesses is owned by government. The owner of a sole trader and partners in a p artnership are taxed at a personal tax rate according to the profits the business makes. Dealings of both types of business are confidential and only need to be revealed to the government. Both are easy and cheap to set up. Among the differences between a sole trader and partnership business is a sole trader business has only one owner whereas a partnership has 2-20 owners. The sole trader is fully responsible for the running of the business from day to day so, the success of the business is limited to the abilities of the owner. In a partnership, business decisions are made by casting votes among the partners and they assigned specific work in the business. There are more people to contribute skills and expertise. All profits gained in a sole trader business are received by the owner whereas in a partnership the profit is split according to the ratio which was previously agreed in the partnership agreement. When dissolving the business a sole trader can dissolve by himself whereas a partnership needs consent from partners. One of the similarities between sole trader business and private company is that both of them are created to generate profit for the owners. Also both are private companies. Both need to be registered as private entities. Therefore they do not have to make reports on their business to be released to the public. Such reports need only be disclosed to the government. This maintains confidentiality in the business. Among the differences between the two business structures are the number of owners. A sole trader has only one owner while a private company has 1-50 owners which are called shareholders. A private company is a different person from the owner. This means the owner and management of the company is separated. The liability of a sole trader business is unlimited whereas in a private company its limited. This means that in the event that the company goes bankrupt the maximum shareholders of a private company can lose are the amount they have invested in the company. A sole trader business has limited life whereas a private company has perpetual existence. This means that the company will still exist even if there is a change in ownership. A private company business is taxed at a fixed tax rate of 30% whereas the sole trader can get a personal tax rate of 30% or more. Decisions of a sole trader business is made by the sole trader whereas in a private company they are made by the managemen t group. It is easier and cheaper to set up a sole trader business compared with a private company. The Sole Trader can have unlimited borrowings subject to the limit of its financial standing but for the Company, its borrowings are guided by articles as contained in their Memorandum of Association. It is easier for a Private Company to raise finance compared to a Sole Trader. I would advise Lydia to convert the business into a partnership. Assuming that the business hasnt been doing well for the past three years, extra capital that can be raised by potential partners can help the business to acquire better equipment and teachers. Also assuming that the potential partners are experts in the IT field or good businessmen they can bring in fresh ideas and expertise to help the business grow. Fresh ideas will help because a business has to always adjust according to the ever changing needs of consumers and because. Other similar businesses are always improving themselves. Therefore Lydias business has to improve too in order to stay competitive. Extra capital, expertise, and ideas from potential partners will help the business in that way. Not only that, work gets done even faster when there are more people running it. Therefore the running of the business is more efficient. Furthermore it does not take a lot of money to convert the business to a partnership. Assuming that Lydia is a friendly person, personality clashes between partners would be rare. The partnership is not likely to bankrupt assuming that Lydias potential partners have a solid financial background. It is not advisable for Lydia to form a company because it is costly to set up. Since the business has only been running for three years it wouldnt have generated enough revenue to be converted into a company. Moreover turning it to a company will increase government regulation on her business. This will greatly decrease the businesss flexibility.   It is also not advisable for her to stay as a sole trader because she needs new capital to upgrade equipments that have been in use for 3 years now and that is hard to do if she stays as a sole trader. Also assuming that she is married, the business wouldnt have to shut down temporarily because of her taking a maternity leave. This is because her partner would be able to take over the business for the mean time.

Living with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome :: Personal Narrative Health Essays

Living with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) The end of 2002 and the beginning of 2003 was a very trying time for my loved ones and I in Guangdong Province. I didn't know what was happening in my town. It started with people getting fevers. My father told me that the flu was spreading, that everyone is getting sick and I better stay inside if I don't want to catch it. Little did we know that what we were trying to avoid was not a mere flu outbreak, rather the coming of something much worse. My father's early dismissal of this disease only kept us comfortable a few months. By February of 2003, over 300 cases of this disease were reported just in our province. The fevers turned into respiratory problems and finally pneumonia. The Chinese Ministry of Health said this was atypical pneumonia. As conditions worsened here, it came to be known that a local doctor treating the pneumonia visited Hong Kong. Some how his contact with our infected citizens led him to infect 12 others on his hotel floor in Hong Kong. After the outbreak in Hong Kong, people started to take the disease more seriously. An outbreak occurs in Vietnam, tracing back to a man admitted in a Hanoi hospital for a high fever and sore throat. He goes on to infect 20 staff members at that hospital. At every hospital where these symptoms were present, the staff kept getting sick. The disease was termed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS for short. By March, there was even a case of a flight attendant from Singapore who contracted the disease from a stay at a Hong Kong hotel. It was later found that through contact she had spread her case to 100 others in Singapore. During this ordeal life in our province became extremely difficult. I was told to always stay indoors. I couldn't leave the house to see my friends or even go to the store. The farmer we got our eggs from became very sick, and soon after his whole family shared his illness. People were afraid to go anywhere. We didn't know how this was getting around, all we had were the hundreds of people getting sick. The disease grew to huge proportions in Hong Kong.

The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka Essay -- Lion Jewel Soyinka Ess

The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka The three main characters in ‘The Lion and the Jewel’ are called Sidi, Lakunle and Baroka the Bale. Each character has different thoughts about one another and each views the society in a different way. This essay introduces and describes each character and analyses their role in the play. Sidi ==== Sidi is the first character that the audience meets. She is a very attractive woman, known as the village ‘belle’. Her attractiveness influences her personality, by making her quite vain. An example of her vanity is when she receives photos through of her that featured in a global magazine, taken by a western man. The photographs, also affect Sidi’s perception of Baroka, by making her believe that she is a better person, judging by the picture size difference in the magazine. Sidi is heavily influenced by tradition, which is outlined more than once throughout the play. The opening scene shows how Lakunle offers to carry Sidi’s load. Sidi refuses, because it is traditionally the woman that carries the load and if other people saw, then Sidi is afraid that people may start to shun or mock her. The relationship between Lakunle and Sidi is clarified when Sidi asks for a Bride Price. Lakunle is reluctant to give her money and insists that she take his token of love and loyalty instead. Due to Sidi’s heavy belief in tradition, she has to decline his offer and demand the bride money. If she accepts his offer, then her value and status in the village can potentially be diminished. Sidi tries to be quite intelligent by making remarks that counter act another persons. However, Baroka and Sadiku trick Sidi into marrying Baroka and becoming his youngest wife. Even Sidi’s... ...n any way (this is true in Sidi’s case). Baroka is an intelligent man and can use his words to fool people. Much like the railway track story and Sidi’s case. Baroka uses more words/ psychological flirting moves, rather than active moves. In the play Sidi comes to Baroka because of the news given to her by Sadiku, note that Baroka does not physically seduce her. He is able to analyse Sidi and her thoughts and then produce an effective seducing tactic. These 3 characters all have similarities and differences. Once we find out these differences, it is easier to see why the characters react in the way that they do. We are able to see why Lakunle is an outsider, why Sidi does not like one aspect of Lakunle, and how the Bale finally seduces Sidi. The Lion gets the Jewel and the outsider is left standing there watching for other women ready to go for the bait.

The Devil in the Shape of a Woman

The Devil in the Shape of a Woman by Carol Karlsen (1987) astutely focuses attention upon the female as witch in colonial New England, thus allowing a discussion of broader themes regarding the role and position of women in Puritan society. Karlsen's work, which has been well-received, focuses on the position of accused witches as largely females placed in precarious social and economic positions, often because they stood to inherit, had inherited, or lost an inheritance in property.Karlsen departs from the idea that women accused of witchcraft were boisterous beggars, a depiction â€Å"tantamount to blaming the victim† (Nissenbaum) and instead points to these â€Å"inheriting women† as being socially vulnerable in a patriarchal culture. Karlsen's work is not merely of historical significance to the Salem outbreak of 1692. In fact, â€Å"that year remains something of an anomaly† (Nissenbaum) as one-third of the accused witches then were male compared to less tha n one-fifth of accusations made otherwise in colonial New England.Instead, Karlsen's study brings â€Å"women strongly back to center stage, locating them in a rich patriarchal matrix that integrates it with class and family. † (Nissenbaum). One reviewer notes that within this context, Karlsen offers significant insights. The first is a look at the â€Å"ambivalent assessment of women within New England's culture. † (Gildrie). Karlsen finds a scenario marked by its time and place in which women embodied the â€Å"Puritan ideal of women as virtuous helpmeets† (Boyer).In an odd duality, women were both the new stewards of God's spiritual leadership on earth, while subservient to a Medieval, misogynist gender role which largely placed their fate at the hands of men. Secondly, Karlsen focuses attention on the accusers and finds that they were engaged in a â€Å"fierce negotiation†¦ about the legitimacy of female discontent, resentment, and anger. † (Karl sen; see Gildrie). Accusations of witchcraft were often an outlet where this negotiation boiled over into violence, as men persecuted female neighbors who threatened an established, but precarious, social order.The crucial thesis on which much of the book rests is that witchcraft accusations were most often made against women who threatened the orderly transfer of land from father to son – a process at best fraught with tension and anxiety and at worst marked by the shift of scarce, valuable properties from one family to another by way of an intervening woman in a patriarchal inheritance system. The possessed girls played a dual role in this â€Å"symbolic cultural drama† in which they rebelled against the social role to which they had been predestined at birth by simultaneously acquiescing in that role by resisting the â€Å"witch. If nothing else, Karlsen's recent work proves that there is still room for substantial study and scholarship surrounding witchcraft, gend er, and other issues in colonial New England. One commentator writes, â€Å"Karlsen's study is provocative, wide-ranging, accessible, and frank. † (Lindholt). Another, that the book's â€Å"descriptions and analyses stand on their own as valuable contributions to our knowledge of witch lore and the ambiguous status of women in early New England. † (Gildrie).Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, whose Salem Possessed set the standard for social histories of the outbreak in Salem, find that Karlsen's work is one of â€Å"formidable intellectual power† and â€Å"a major contribution to the study of New England witchcraft. † It places the central role of women as witches under the microscope and â€Å"for the first time as the subject of systemic analysis† a considerable 300 years after the events transpired. Karlsen's work is required reading for the student, scholar, or general reader seeking to understand and interpret the broad picture of colonial wit chcraft in New England.