Using dehumanizing terms that historically mean something else Research Paper

Using dehumanizing terms that historically mean something else - Research Paper Example Once people start using a word in a certain way the new usage becomes widespread and with time, becomes an official adaptation. Although the word has various meanings, it is usually within a similar concept. The word â€Å"queer† is one of the words used for various meanings today. The word has evolved over time. With every passing generation, a new interpretation of the word has risen. The Oxford dictionary states that the word can be used as an adjective to mean strange or odd, as a noun to mean Homosexual, or as a verb meaning spoil or ruin. However, the dictionary puts emphasis on the overall usage of the word as a homosexual reference. There is an observation of the reference in many cultures in the world over a long period. â€Å"In recent years, however, gay people have taken the word queer and deliberately used it in place of gay or homosexual, in an attempt, by using the word positively, to deprive it of its negative power (â€Å"Oxford University Press,† 1).† In historical reference of the homosexual population, the word was brought forth in a derogatory manner. In the British world, it indicates that someone or something has a peculiar characteristic about them. The 1980s was the point in which the use of the word, in the sense in question, arose. This caused a big stir within the gay and lesbian community. This led to the formation of an action organization in the 1990s at the grass root level in New York with the aim of fighting against the occurrence of Homophobia and preserving the right of gay and lesbian persons (Eaklor, 72). It is then that the group took ownership of the word â€Å"queer† as previously stated to transfer its use to a proud sense rather than its previous derogatory meaning. Therefore, the younger generation in the 21st century regards the word as an expression of open-mindedness with regard to same-sex attractions. The mainstream media has also adopted the usage of the term in the same sense. The

Expected Frequency even in dessert Research Paper

Expected Frequency even in dessert - Research Paper Example It has also been observed that families with children have higher rates of consumption as compared to those without children. Various flavors of ice cream are found in the market today and these include chocolate, vanilla, cookie dough/ cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, butter pecan/ Swiss almond, strawberry, peanut butter, coffee, cherry vanilla and peach, among many others. According to a Harris Interactive poll conducted in 2013, chocolate and vanilla are the favorite flavors followed by cookie dough/cookies and cream. In terms of gender, a disparity exists in favorite flavor: for women, almost a third prefers chocolate flavor followed by mint chocolate chip and cookie dough/cookies and cream. However, for men, vanilla tops the list of favorite flavors followed by chocolate and cookie dough/cookies and cream. The dynamics of ice cream and frozen desserts consumption does not end with demographics and flavor, how the consumers actually eat their ice cream also varies from one group to another. Methods of consumption include eating it form a cup, cone, sundae, sandwich and others, including eating it as a topping on a cake. Disparities exist here too. It has been hypothesized that a relationship exists between gender and how they eat ice cream. For instance, according the aforementioned Harris Interactive poll, more men than women prefer eating ice cream in cups while more women than men prefer cone. This influence of gender on how a person eats their ice cream has not been well researched and this is the motivation for this research. The paper aims to investigate whether gender and ways of eating ice cream and other frozen foods are related, or whether the choice is independent of gender. For this study, data will be collected from students on how they eat their ice cream. Accordingly, data was collected from a sample of 40 students. To ensure that the data is not biased, efforts were be made so that the

How has US Immigration Policy been Criticized over Time?

How has US Immigration Policy been Criticized over Time? Directions: How has US immigration policy been criticized over time? Students need to consider public challenges to immigration policy. Write a paragraph using evidence from the sources that compares and contrasts the arguments made in opposition to three historical approaches to immigration policy. Use the Venn diagram to help organize your information Students will examine the actual legislation behind the three actions taken around immigration. Sources Used: Source A: Political cartoon, The Americanese Wall-as Congressman Burnett Would Build It Source B: Excerpt from a speech by Meyer Jacobstein Source C: 1965 Immigration Law Changed Face of America Criticisms Source A Source B Source C List the criticisms of each immigration policy before writing your one page paper Featured Source Source A: Raymond O. Evans, cartoon, The Americanese Wall-as Congressman [John Lawson] Burnett Would Build It, Puck, March 25, 1916 Public domain. Available from the Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b00563/. Featured Source Source B: Senator Meyer Jacobstein of New York, congressional speech arguing against immigration restrictions, Congressional Record (excerpt),1924 Perhaps the chief argument expressed or implied by those favoring the Johnson bill [the Immigration Act of 1924] is that the new immigrant is not of a type that can be assimilated or that he will not carry on the best traditions of the founders of our Nation, but, on the contrary, is likely to fill our jails, our almshouses, and other institutions that impose a great tax burden on the Nation. Based on this prejudice and dislike, there has grown up an almost fanatical anti-immigration sentiment. But this charge against the newcomers is denied, and substantial evidence has been brought to prove that they do not furnish a disproportionate share of the inmates of these institutions.   Ã‚   One of the purposes in shifting to the 1890 census is to reduce the number of undesirables and defectives in our institutions. In fact, this aspect of the question must have made a very deep impression on the committee because it crops out on every occasion. The committee has unquestionably been influenced by the conclusions drawn from a study made by Dr. Laughlin. This is not the first time in American history that such an anti-foreign hysteria has swept the country. Reread your American histories. Go back and glance through McMasters History of the United States covering the years from 1820 to 1850. You will find there many pages devoted to the 100 per centers of that time. So strange was the movement against the foreigner in those decades before the Civil War that a national political party, the Know-Nothing Party, sought to ride into power on the crest of this fanatical wave. In those early days, however, the anti-foreign movement, strangely enough, was directed against the very people whom we now seek to prefer-the English, the Irish, and the Germans. The calamity howlers of a century ago prophesied that these foreigners would drag our Nation to destruction. The trouble is that the committee is suffering from a delusion. It is carried away with the belief that there is such a thing as a Nordic race which possesses all the virtues, and in like manner creates the fiction of an inferior group of peoples, for which no name has been invented. Nothing is more un-American. Nothing could be more dangerous, in a land the Constitution of which says that all men are created equal, than to write into our law a theory which puts one race above another, which stamps one group of people as superior and another as inferior. The fact that it is camouflaged in a maze of statistics will not protect this Nation from the evil consequences of such an unscientific, un-American, wicked philosophy. Public domain. Congressional Record, 1924. Featured Source Source C: Jennifer Ludden, transcript of All Things Considered program about immigration policy, 1965 Immigration Law Changed Face of America National Public Radio, May 9, 2006 NOTE: Students should listen to the piece online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5391395. Transcript: 1965 Immigration Law Changed Face of America May 09, 2006 MICHELE NORRIS, Host: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. Im Michele Norris. ROBERT SIEGEL, Host: And Im Robert Siegel. As Congress considers sweeping changes to immigration law, nearly all the debate has centered on the problem of illegal immigration. Theres been very little talk about the concerns of legal immigrants, the estimated three to four million people who are, as its often said, already standing in line. NORRIS: Today were going to begin a three-part series about the process of immigrating to the U.S. legally. First, were going to step back and look at the history of our immigration law. The current system dates to 1965. It marked a radical break with previous policy and has led to profound demographic changes. As NPRs Jennifer Ludden reports, thats not how the law was seen when it was passed. JENNIFER LUDDEN: This is the kind of rally that was taking place back then. (SOUNDBITE OF CIVIL RIGHTS RALLY) LUDDEN: At the height of the Civil Rights movement, equality, democracy, freedom were the ideas that seized the nation. And against them, the way the United States decided which foreigners could and could not enter the country became an increasing embarrassment. STEPHEN KLINEBERG: I mean, the law was just unbelievable in its clarity of racism. LUDDEN: Stephen Klineberg is a sociologist at Rice University. KLINEBERG: It declared that Northern Europeans are a superior subspecies of the white race. The Nordics were superior to the Alpines, who in turn were superior to the Mediterraneans, and all of them were superior to the Jews and the Asians. LUDDEN: By the 1960s, Greeks, Poles, Portuguese and Italians were complaining that immigration quotas discriminated against them in favor of Western Europeans. The Democratic Party took up their cause, led by the new president. Heres John F. Kennedy speaking to the Italian migration in June 1963. JOHN F. KENNEDY: There are still a good many brothers and sisters of American citizens who are unable to get here, who may have preferences as members of families, but because of the maldistribution of quotas in the European area, we have this situation, which has become nearly intolerable. LUDDEN: After Kennedys assassination, Congress passed and President Lyndon Johnson signed the Immigration and Nationality Services Act. It leveled the immigration playing field, giving a nearly equal shot to newcomers from every corner of the world. The ceremony was held at the foot of the symbolically powerful Statue of Liberty. But if cable TV networks had been there, they probably would not have broken in live. Heres how President Johnson began his speech. LYNDON JOHNSON: This bill that we will sign today is not a revolutionary bill. It does not affect the lives of millions. It will not reshape the structure of our daily lives or really add importantly to either our wealth or our power. LUDDEN: Hearing that now, it is an amazing statement because it proved so wrong. So how could Johnson say that? Sociologist Klineberg says the governments newfound sense of egalitarianism only went so far. The central purpose of the new immigration law was to reunite families. KLINEBERG: So the Congress then said, well, nothings going to change, because were going to give preference to people who are already, who are related to people who are already here. Then it added another provision, if you were a professional of exceptional ability, if you have skills that are in demonstrably short supply, you, too, can come to the head of the line. Congress was saying in its debates, we need to open the door for some more British doctors, some more German engineers. It never occurred to anyone, literally, that there were going to be African doctors, Indian engineers, Chinese computer programmers whod be able, for the first time in the 20th century, to immigrate to America. LUDDEN: In fact, expert after expert had testified before Congress that little would change. Secretary of State Dean Rusk repeatedly stressed the issue wasnt the numbers. No more people were likely to come, it was simply the principle. Listen to this reading of an exchange between Secretary Rusk and a skeptical Senator Sam Irvin, Democrat of North Carolina. Unidentified Man #1: You have in India a lot of people who would like to get into this country, do you not? Unidentified Man #2: We dont have a long waiting list. Man #1: It is because they havent been able to get in. Even with a bleak opportunity to get in, as they have, they have 150 applications for every visa that could be issued. NORRIS: Yes, the present estimate, based upon the best information we can get, is there might be, say, 8,000 immigrants from India in the next five years. In other words, I dont think we have a particular picture of a world situation where everybody is just straining to move to the United States. OTIS GRAHAM: When I first started studying this, I thought, now theyre lying, because they want this thing to pass. LUDDEN: But historian Otis Graham, professor emeritus of the University of California at Santa Barbara, changed his mind. GRAHAM: I changed my mind because Ive found, in the research that Ive been able to do, that so many lobbyists that followed this issue, so many labor union executives that followed this issue, so many church people, so many of those involved said the same thing. So you find ignorance three feet deep. Maybe ignorance is the answer. KAREN NARASAKI: I often wonder whether some of the people knew, but perhaps werent sharing that with other people. Because it would scare them. LUDDEN: Karen Narasaki heads the Asian American Justice Center. She finds the 1965 immigration overhaul all the more extraordinary because theres evidence it was not popular with the public. NARASAKI: It was not what people were marching in the streets over in the 1960s. It was really a group of political elites who, I think, were trying to look into the future of the United States. And again, it was the issue of, are we going to be true to what we say our values are? MARIAN SMITH: Well here you are in the CIS Historical Reference Library, our history office and library. LUDDEN: Marian Smith is the historian for Citizenship and Immigration Services, one of the agencies that replaced the old INS. The files of documents here can be mundane, but the walls are framed with lovely older maps, population charts and demographic bar graphs. SMITH: Apparently we had money back then to actually pay for these kind of color lithographs that would be printed each year. LUDDEN: In 1965, the political elite on Capitol Hill may not have predicted a mass increase in immigration, but Marian Smith pulls out a little agency booklet from the 1966 that certainly did. It explains how each provision in the new law would lead to a rapid increase in applications, a big jump in workload and more and more so as word trickled out to those newly eligible to come. Smith says a lifetime of immigration backlogs had built up among Americas foreign-born minorities. SMITH: And so, they will petition for their family members and they will petition for their family members. And whether were talking about immigrants from Asia, Latin America, Africa, all these portions of the world where there is a demand for immigration. After World War II and with the post colonial status of many of these places, the shifting populations, the ability sometimes for people now to join their family in America, that maybe the only reason wasnt the inability to get a quota visa for the United States. Maybe they had trouble getting out before. LUDDEN: There were other things no one could have predicted, how immigration from Europe dropped off because of lower birth rates and higher standards of living. How Africa imploded and wars and famine there and elsewhere produced waves of refugees. And then the millions of illegal immigrants. But its the system of family-based immigration thats driven this countrys profound demographic transformation. Over time, in a process critics call chain migration, entire families have reestablished themselves in the U.S. Historian Otis Graham thinks the policy has been a terrible mistake. GRAHAM: Family reunification puts the decision as to who comes to America in the hands of foreigners. Those decisions are out of the hands of the Congress. They just set up a formula and its kinship. Frankly, it could be called nepotism. LUDDEN: In fact, President Kennedys original proposal made skills-based migration the priority. But Graham says a broad lobby pushed for the greater emphasis on families. It included churches, ethnic groups whose members had family in the old country and the AFL-CIO. Graham says the union worried about competition from too many highly skilled newcomers. For Karen Narasaki of the Asian American Justice Center, the family focus makes sense. NARASAKI: If you think about families and, you know, if you think about the roles that, say, your parents play when you have children. And how they help you, you know, take care of the newborns and provide support for you or how your brothers and sisters in the Asian community, what often happens is brothers and sisters get together and they buy a home together. They pool their money and they buy a business together. And so it, you know, family is very important to not just the social, emotional wellbeing, but also the economic well being of these communities. (SOUNDBITE OF NATURALIZATION CEREMONY) LUDDEN: At a recent naturalization ceremony, 32 immigrants gather for their oath in the ornate rotunda of Washingtons National Archives. Of them, three are from Western Europe. The rest of those gaining citizenship here are overwhelmingly from Africa, Latin American and Asia. At a basement reception, the new citizens pose for pictures holding tiny American flags and a gift bag that includes a refrigerator magnet of the U.S. Constitution and an ATT prepaid calling card. One older woman is radiant in her Sunday best with a broad-brimmed hat. HANNAH INDOVISI: Im from Nigeria. My name is Hannah Indovisi. And you know the meaning of Indovisi? It means life is first. LUDDEN: And Indovisi was sponsored by her U.S. citizen son, Samuel. SAMUEL INDOVISI: Everybody in the world I dont know if you know this wants to come to the United States of America. All you need to do is go to the embassy, any embassy, and see long, long, long lines of people who want to come here. LUDDEN: In fact, Indovisi has a long line of relatives still in Nigeria whod love to come. Its the same with a brand new citizen munching cookies nearby. AMA BALI: My name is Ama Bali and Im from Sudan. Yes, I have my parents. I have sisters. I have brothers. And Im going to apply for them to come here soon. I hope so. LUDDEN: Are they excited for that?    BALI: Definitely, definitely. I hope they will be here soon. LUDDEN: It may not be soon at all though. The immigration system set up specifically to reunite families is so overwhelmed with applicants, relatives who wait their turn must endure being divided for years. Thats tomorrows story. Used by permission of National Public Radio. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5391395.

Atmosphere in Shelleys Frankenstein :: essays research papers

Throughout the novel, Shelley uses a very gothic and gloomy atmosphere partly because she is reflecting her personal life into the novel and also to emphasis on the horror that come when men try to play God. â€Å"As I still pursued my journey to the northward, the snows thickened and the cold increased in a degree almost too severe to support.† (203, Shelley) In the quote, Victor tracks down the monster in the Arctic, Shelley uses such desolate locations to show the isolation of both Victor and the monster. Other desolate places such as the places described by Victor, (locations throughout Europe) were also used. Shelley uses the gothic genre to show the dark side of human nature. Victor became so carried away with his with his experiments that he did not consider that it would be evil to try to play God. â€Å"I had deprived myself of rest and health† (51, Shelley). It can be seen here that Victor what very involved In his studies of the reanimation of life, he does not think of the moral issues that might arise from his experiments. It is Victor that controls the technology and knowledge of life, but he insists on creating the monster. Shelley uses public prejudice showing the evil that society creates through the ever changing personality of the monster. â€Å"Who can describe their horror and consternation on beholding me?† (132, Shelley) The reaction of the De Lancy family towards the monster shows the horridness of the monster’s appearance, even though the monster was once described as â€Å"good spirits†, the De Lancys now detest him. In gothic novels, ideas about the supernatural and the mysterious are often mentioned, â€Å"the characters seen to bridge the mortal world and supernatural world.† (74, Coghill), Victor seems to have a mental bond with his creation, the monster seems to know the whereabouts of Victor wherever he goes. Shelley uses allusions from Rime of the Ancient Mariner to show man’s journey for knowledge through Walton’s expedition. This also links to Victor as he is somewhat similar to the Ancient Mariner, they both seek knowledge though the results of their acquired knowledge is different. The Mariner seeks spiritual knowledge while Victor searches for the secrets of life, Victor is cursed by his acquired knowledge unlike the Mariner who was freed by it. Through the Marina’s curse of killing the albatross, he learns to love all that God creates, Victor does not love what he has created causing the monster to want to kill his creator.

Assess the usefulness of functionalist theories in understanding religion today Essay

Assess the usefulness of functionalist theories in understanding religion today (33 marks) There are a variety of different definitions of religion including substantive definitions, which refers to focusing on the content or substance of a religious belief such as God, functional definitions, which refers to religion in terms of the social or psychological functions it carries out for the individual and there are also social constructionist definitions which focus on how members of society actually define religion. Functionalists hold a consensus view and argue that society requires both social order and solidarity in order for it to run smoothly, and religion is one way of providing this as it encourages shared norms and values. As previously mentioned, functionalists argue that social order and solidarity to run smoothly – Durkheim argued that there are four main ways in which religion maintains value consensus. One way is through the sacred and profane, he argued that sacred referred to things that are separate from society and create feelings of awe, wonder and fear whereas profane referred to things that were inferior with no real significance. Durkheim therefore argued that the only thing powerful enough to inspire people in the way religion does is society itself therefore meaning people are not worshipping their religion or god, but in fact society – this means that people unite under the same belief, spreading shared norms and values all over and therefore creating consensus within society. Another way in which religion helps to maintain value consensus is through Totemism – Durkheim argued that heart of all religions could be identified by examining its simplest form in the simplest type of society which he called a clan society. He carried out a study in Australia with a tribe with a clan system. (Arunta) This tribe consisted of a close knit community who carried out rituals together with involved the worshipping of a sacred totem, such as a plant of leaf that identifies the clan therefore creating a sense of social order and solidarity. Totemism is similar to the sacred and profane as it causes individuals to unknowingly worship society instead of a God or supernatural being, therefore again spreading shared norms and values. However, there are criticisms to this view; Worsley argues that there is no difference between the sacred and profane and his view of totemism would only apply to small scale communities with a single religion, but not larger scale communities with multiple religions as there are commonly conflicts between them, meaning there is no longer social order and solidarity. Malinowski argues that religion promotes social order and solidarity through it psychological functions, which helps individuals who are going through hardship therefore preventing them from going against society’s shared norms and values. Malinowski suggested two different types of situation in which religion helps to perform this role. One way is when the outcome is important but is uncontrollable – he compared the differences between two different ways of fishing when carrying out a study in the Western Pacific, he argued that lagoon fishing is predictable, safe and has a more successful method of catching fish meaning there is no ritual. However, when the islanders were ocean fishing, he identified it as more dangerous and uncertain which required the islanders to carry out rituals in order to ensure their safety whilst fishing. Malinowski argued that the ritual gave the islanders a sense of control and more confidence, again highlighting solidarity. The other situation was at times of life crises, this meant events that cause significant change such as birthdays, weddings, and death religion is useful as it helps bring little disruption. Similarly, Parsons argues that religion helps individuals to handle unforeseen events and uncontrollable outcomes. He identified two ways in which religion does this – one way is by creating and legitimising society’s central values but making them sacred. For example, in the USA, Protestantism helped make the American core values of meritocracy, individualism and self-disciple sacred. This therefore helps to promote social order and solidarity as the vast majority of Americans would have the same norms and values, creating little conflict and greater social cohesion. The other way is by answering people’s ultimate questions, such as who created the earth, and why do some people die young. It gives individuals a sense of security and makes people less likely to rebel against society. However, not all sociologists agree with the functionalists and their view of religion and its role. Feminists argue that the role of religion is to oppress women and help maintain patriarchy within society. One way in which religion maintains patriarchy is through religious organisations – these are significantly male dominated, for example, Orthodox Judaism and Catholicism do not allow women to become priests. Armstrong argues that this is evidence for the marginalisation of women in religion and society. Places of worship often separate the sexes, placing men on more holy ground with women sitting behind a screen. Women are also not allowed to preach or read from sacred texts. Additionally, menstruating women are not allowed to touch the Qur’an, this therefore reinforces patriarchy as women are forbidden from doing important rituals within their holy ground and are also discriminated against. Sacred texts are often focused on the actions of male gods and prophets and are commonly written by men. Women who are featured in sacred texts are commonly portrayed through stereotypes such as Eve, who caused the fall of humanity and expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Lastly, religious laws and customs ensure that women are given fewer rights than men, such as access to divorce, how many spouses they can have, decision making etc. In conclusion, there are a variety of different theories as to the usefulness of lack of in regards to religion.

Ba Finance

7BSM1006 Managing Financial Value Drivers Coursework Semester A 2012 Assessment weighting 60% Bellingham plc Arthur Scroggs was a farmer. His family has owned and farmed 500 acres of prime land in the Vale of Aylesbury for four generations. In the mid 1980's small farms were finding the financial climate difficult with falling farm incomes and much talk of putting farm land to â€Å"alternative use†. By 1985 Arthur had already sold his dairy herd to focus on cereal production when a fortuitous meeting with Lucy Bellingham at a business conference led him to reconsider the future of the family farm.Bellingham is a designer of bespoke fitted kitchens who had a business plan but little capital. The plan was to manufacture top quality fitted kitchen furniture and establish design studios/showrooms in high income areas. Having recently sold his dairy herd, Arthur had enough capital to fund the new business and also a number of large barns and outbuildings suitable for manufacturing the kitchen units subject to refitting and planning consent being obtained. Lucy's business plan was so convincing that Arthur decided to get out of farming altogether (by leasing his arable land to a local co-operative) and focus on developing the new business.From this small beginning grew the now publicly quoted company of Bellingham plc. Initially, showrooms were established in Beaconsfield and then Kensington. Demand for their kitchens was brisk and â€Å"Bellingham Bespoke Kitchens† expanded rapidly but remained a partnership. The firms clients are mainly celebrities from the entertainment world and the cost of a Bellingham Bespoke Kitchen is now ? 40,000 – ? 150,000 or more. The firm was restructured as a limited company in 1990 and subsequently experienced rapid growth until 1999. In that year the then directors decided that the business had reached the limit of development in it's present form.Future development required large-scale expansion of production fa cilities in order to provide the range of materials, furniture, quality and prompt delivery required by their discerning clients. This in turn needed an injection of capital that the directors were unable to generate themselves. The conviction that there was much money to be made from â€Å"quality fitted kitchens† † had been vindicated. They investigated a number of possibilities deciding eventually to expand production facilities by purchasing a modern production unit on an industrial estate in Aylesbury.The expansion was funded by a stock market floatation and raising the necessary capital in the name of Bellingham plc. As the market grew and to keep abreast of new production technology, the directors agreed to reverse the maxim so dear to the heart of the founders, Arthur and Lucy; â€Å"neither a (long-term) borrower nor lender be. † They financed updating of equipment and premises by means of issuing debentures. It is now October 2012 and the present direct ors of Bellingham plc believe that the long-term success of the company lies in future international diversification and expansion.They consider that the most beneficial action they could take is to investigate the acquisition of a subsidiary in the USA. The newly-appointed finance director, Bill Moneypenny, agrees with this opinion but insists that the company must first appraise its own current position and if necessary, make changes to strengthen its existing financial situation before embarking on new plans. He is particularly concerned that the company should preserve adequate liquidity and finance its assets in a beneficial manner.He is also concerned that too much emphasis has been placed on â€Å"pandering to the whims of the rich and famous† and not enough on running an efficient business operation. Lucy and Arthur still retain 30% of Bellingham's equity and other long-standing directors own a further 20%; a change of control is unlikely to be welcome. During the las t two years, the company has updated it's design, production and showroom assets and, in what has been a difficult year, has been able to maintain sales and profit growth (see Bellingham's accounts in appendix 1).There has been a great deal of uncertainty about world economic growth and stock markets have been extremely volatile resulting low returns. However the firm’s ordinary shares have made good progress during the year. Ordinary share dividends have achieved substantial growth over the last two years although this rate of increase is not expected to continue. Ordinary dividends have grown at an average rate of 14% per annum over the past 10 years and this rate is a more realistic growth rate for future dividends. The present market prices for Bellingham's shares and debentures are: ?1 Ordinary shares? 7. 02 ex div ?0. 50p, 6% Pref shares? . 55 ex div 7% Debentures 2016? 100. 51 ex interest Any new venture would be expected to achieve a return on capital employed in line with that experienced recently by Bellingham plc. The finance director favours a payback period of 5 years. Bellingham would therefore need to agree a realistic acquisition price for such a new venture and its future cash flows in order to determine whether these criteria could be met. Although a number of investment projects are being considered, the main proposal currently being investigated offers an expansion into the US prime-property market which is forecast to grow faster than the UK market.Bellingham's finance director has already calculated the trends in the financial ratios of American Creations, an unquoted US company, from its unaudited annual accounts (see appendix 2) and has concluded that the proposal is now worthy of further investigation. American Creations is a family-owned venture requiring further capital to repair it's balance sheet after making losses on a property development in Nevada from which it has now withdrawn. Profits have suffered in the last two yea rs due to write-offs associated with this development.The existing owners feel that the firm’s future lies in establishing wider international links and the retirement of senior family members, leaving the younger members active in the management of the firm. They are therefore considering selling a controlling interest of 60% to a suitable company. The firm has been established for 23 years, and is well respected in business circles. The average age of its fixed tangible assets is 3 years. The directors have indicated that they may accept part payment in Bellingham shares subject to negotiation. The firm’s nominal share capital is $2. m, and the directors have indicated that they value the firm at five times the year 2010 net profit. They consider this to be the firm's â€Å"normal† level of profit excluding the â€Å"extraordinary† effects of the Nevada development. As the firm is at present family owned and run, there is no available price/earnings rat io. P/E ratios for the only two publicly-owned companies in the same business sector, Harvey Wilkinson Designs plc and Cucci Lifestyle plc, are currently 10 and 8 times respectively although both of these firms, unlike Bellingham, operate internationally. Wilkinson has grown at a similar rate to Bellingham.The dividend yields of these companies have been as follows: WilkinsonCucci Year to 31 December 2011 8. 1% 7. 25% 2010 7. 2% 6. 9% 2009 5. 3% 5. 95% American Creations has its own manufacturing facilities and operates throughout the USA and Caribbean with design offices in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Colorado Springs. Their main business, which is thriving, involves complete home furnishing and interior design for wealthy clients. In addition, the firm has a real estate office in each location and is thus able to offer a complete property service.The value of properties handled by the real estate offices is typically $5m – $20m. Bellingham is interested not only in ext ending its operations internationally but particularly in the possibility of diversifying into the real estate business. Whilst well aware of the existence of a number of competitors, the directors feel that there is a ready market in the US for their established name in terms of design flair, service and products. After discussions with the directors of American Creations, Bill Moneypenny has produced the following forecast.Under average economic growth conditions, the American Creations operating forecasts (in $*1000) for the next five years are based on the following: Income:from Sales: $7500 in 2013, rising by 12% per annum for the foreseeable future. from real estate sales commissions: $2850 in 2013 increasing by 15% per annum for the foreseeable future. Manufacturing variable costs: Labour: $1250 in 2013, expected to increasing by 8% per annum. Materials: $3800 in 2013, expected to increasing by 5% per annum. Fixed costs excluding depreciation:Manufacturing O/H: $2065 in 2013, increasing by 5% per annum. General O/H: $1850 in 2013, increasing by 2% per annum. Depreciation:Factory, machinery & vehicles: $500 per year. Office/Design Studio fixtures: $200 per year. The beta of Bellingham plc is believed to be 1. 65 , the risk-free rate of return is 5. 5% and the return for the last year on the FT All-share index is 2%. UK corporation tax is currently 32% payable 9 months after the end of the accounting year in question (you may assume for the purpose of this case that accounting profit and taxable profit are identical. )Bellingham's directors estimate that the after-tax profits of American Creations could be allocated as follows: 70% as retained earnings and 30% as dividends. This has been the pattern under the under the present ownership. There would be no restriction on the transfer of the appropriate share of these dividends to the UK. The US corporation tax rate applicable is 20% payable in the year in which the profit arises. There is no double taxatio n of profits of US origin in the UK. (For the purpose of this case, ignore the possibility of any withholding taxes and the effects of foreign exchange risk. It is considered possible that, as the US economy develops further, even higher wages than those forecast may be demanded by the workforce. Required: Evaluate the American Creations proposal on behalf of Bellingham plc, supporting your arguments with relevant theory and calculations and indicating any non-financial matters you feel should be taken into consideration. Your report should consider the following areas: 1. An analysis of Bellingham's current position using relevant financial ratios. You should show the calculation of the ratios and provide interpretation of the results. . Calculation of Bellingham's cost of capital, using alternative methods and arriving at the most appropriate figure. 3. An investment appraisal of the American Creations proposal assuming the valuation suggested in the case, using a variety of metho ds and evaluation of the results. 4. A sensitivity analysis of the proposal and interpretation of the results. 5. Calculation and discussion of alternative valuations for acquiring the share in American Creations and how these would impact on the investment appraisal. 6.A discussion of the various available methods of financing the acquisition and consideration of which is the most appropriate. Your calculations and arguments should be supported by relevant theory, with evidence of wide reading around the subject. You should provide a complete bibliography with appropriate referencing in your report. Submission requirements: Your answer should take the form of a written report of approximately 2500 words excluding appendices and the reference list. Deviations from the word count exceeding plus or minus 10% will attract a penalty of 5%. The hand-in deadline for submission is 23. 0 on 25th November 2012. Submissions up to 24 hours late will attract a 10% penalty whilst those beyond 24 hours but less than 1 week late will be capped at 40%. Reports submitted more than one week late will attract a mark of zero. Submit one electronic copy via Studynet. This is an individual assignment and the report submitted should be entirely your own work. Appendix 1:Bellingham plc| | | | | | | Abridged Trading, Profit & Loss Account for the year ended 30th June 2012:| All amounts are in thousands of pounds sterling| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2012| | 2011| | 2010| |Sales| 9606| | 7564| | 6100| | Production Cost| 4034| | 3101| | 2240| | Gross Profit| 5572| | 4463| | 3860| | | | | | | | | Selling Expenses| 1467| | 1250| | 1080| | Installation Expenses| 1689| | 1300| | 980| | Administration Expenses| 960| | 630| | 597| | Operating Profit| 1456| | 1283| | 1203| | Debenture Interest| 53| | 53| | 53| | Profit Before Tax| 1403| | 1230| | 1150| | Corporation Tax| 449| | 394| | 368| | Profit After Tax| 954| | 836| | 782| | Dividends| 341| | 280| | 220| | Retained earnings| 613| | 556| | 562| | Balance Sheet at 30th June 2012:| | | | | | | | | | | | |Fixed Assets (net):| | | | | | | Land & Buildings| 2300| | 2400| | 2500| | Plant & Machinery| 1700| | 1186| | 552| | Fixtures & Fittings| 700| | 600| | 402| | Motor Vehicles| 185| | 140| | 105| | Office equiptment| 250| | 185| | 100| | | 5135| | 4511| | 3659| | Current Assets:| | | | | | | Stocks: Raw Materials| 216| | 208| | 182| | Work in Progress| 200| | 205| | 190| | Finished Goods| 150| | 128| | 97| | Debtors| 1775| | 950| | 595| | Bank/Cash| 230| | 136| | 104| | | 2571| | 1627| | 1168| | Current Liabilities:| | | | | | | Trade Creditors| 1190| | 788| | 270| |Corporation Tax| 449| | 394| | 368| | Final Dividend| 171| | 140| | 110| | | 1810| | 1322| | 748| | | | | | | | | Net Current Assets| 761| | 305| | 420| | Net Assets| 5896| | 4816| | 4079| | | | | | | | | Long-term Liabilities:| | | | | | | 9% Debentures 2016| 750| | 750| | 750| | | | | | | | | | 5146| | 4066| | 3329| | | | | | | | | Shares & reserves | | | | | | | ?1 ordinary shares| 1000| | 1000| | 1000| | 6% Preference shares of 50p ea,| 500| | 500| | 500| | Retained pr for yr| 613| | 556| | 562| | Profit & loss| 3033| | 2010| | 1267| | Shareholders funds| 5146| | 4066| | 3329| |