Literary Analysis on Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Literary Analysis: The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis By Agatha Xaris Villa A. Introduction & Rationale It is said that among the major literary genres recognized today, the ‘novel’ is the most accessible to the majority of the readership. However, in terms of stylistic analysis, novels are the most difficult subjects to analyze. However, a trend that has been observed for the bulk of the twentieth-century is that literary criticism conducted on the genre of narrative texts (i. e. novels) have primarily focused on narrative point of view (Short, 1996, pg. 56) and this is not without cause. Among the literary genres, the novel, prototypically, has the most complex narrative discourse structure. In contrast to the prototypical poem and play, the novel has at least three levels of discourse –the author-reader, character-character level, and the narrator-narratee level (Short, 1996, pg. 256-257). The complexity of the novel’s discourse structure is why it has the most number of viewpoints and why it is believed to be the most ideal literary form in which to study viewpoint (Short, 1996, pg. 257)In light of this premise, I shall be attempting to objectively conduct a literary analysis on an extract taken from The Screwtape Letters (1942), the popular satire written by C. S. Lewis with a focus on point of view. When I first read The Screwtape Letters, one of the aspects which I found most refreshingly original and creative about the text was the way in which this age-old story of â€Å"good VS evil† was presented by the author. While there are certainly other creative aspect in the text, C. S. Lewis’ creative manipulation of viewpoint is what I believe provides readers with that distinct sense of creativity and originality.To support this thesis, I will be exploring viewpoint from both macro-level (describing the general discourse relations in the novel) and micro-level (giving an account of the linguistic indicators of view point that show how the author manipulates viewpoint through smaller-scale linguistic choices). B. Basic Information about the Story The Screwtape Letters is what is known as an epistolary novel –a narrative that is told through a series of documents (usually journal entries or letters) from the pen of one or more characters from the story.A characteristic of such types of novels is its ability to provide a very intimate and in-depth view of the writers giving the story a good dose of realness. In all, The Screwtape Letters is comprised of a series of 31 letters written by one of hell’s own ‘undersecretaries’ – a high-standing demon by the name of Screwtape, who is writing to his nephew, Wormwood, who has only just received his first ‘patient’. Throughout the letters, Screwtape passes to Wormwood techniques on temptation and basic devilry – all to secure the eternal damnation of this one soul in the courts of their â€Å"Father Below†.From his own morally-reversed ‘demonic’ perspective, Screwtape explains (to Wormwood) and unveils (to the reader) a new perspective on the spirituality of ‘everyday life’ – something that ordinary men and women are unaware of. He also shows a very vivid contrast between the ways of ‘The Father Below’ and ‘The Enemy’ (God). Of course, as a demon, he speaks of ‘The Enemy’ and his ways with disdain and disgust but to the Christian reader, these are mere affirmations of faith. The story ends as the worst of Screwtape’s own ‘bad scenarios’ is indeed realized – in the death of ‘the patient’ in an air-raid.As mentioned, there are often several levels of discourse to be considered to understand what is going on. In the case of The Screwtape Letters, I believe there are three: a novelist-reader level, narrator-narratee level and the character-character level (as illust rated below). Level 1 Addresser 1 (C. S. Lewis) –> MESSAGE –> Addressee 1 (Reader) Level 2 Addresser 2 (Screwtape: narrator) –> MESSAGE –> Addressee 2 (Narratee) Level 3 Addresser 3 (Screwtape: character) –> MESSAGE –> Addressee 3 (Wormwood: character)There are several interesting things to note in this story’s discourse structure. First of all, it can be argued that all 3 levels on the ‘Addresser’ side may collapse together whenever Screwtape speaks. As a demon, he obviously has a different purpose and aim with regards to the human race and his letters reflect that view. He even describes certain perceptions held by humans which are the direct result of demonic manipulation and propaganda. While he is not, in fact, addressing us humans, as narrator, it feels like he is talking directly to us – effectively fulfilling the role of narrator.Furthermore, even though he is a demon, he is able to give vivid and even impa ssioned descriptions of some of the Enemy’s (God) plans and intentions – to the point that it sounds like treachery on his part. This, I believe is a way in which the author’s own point of view may be heard through Screwtape himself. On the other hand, levels 1 and 2 of the ‘Addressee’ side collapse together. The role of narratee (the person who is addressed by the narrator) in this narrative is more an abstract rather than a solidified concept simply because of the very nature of the letters themselves – ‘private letters’ between uncle and nephew.As the reader reads, he or she takes up both book and role of narratee. In this way, the author is able to reel us into the diabolical mind. As the narrative continues, the more we know of how demons operate the more we ‘understand’ their side but it also further heightens our awareness of their perverseness and evil. For the most part, the book follows the discourse struct ure outlined above (first-person narration) but this is not always the case. However, the fact that a large part of the discourse structure is ‘collapsible’ further strengthens the argument that novels (and this particular story) are ideal for analyzing viewpoint.C. Analysis of the Extract Based on Short’s work (1996), there are several different linguistic means available to the author to indicate and manipulate point of view. In this portion of the paper, I will evaluate and account for significant instances of these indicators or lack thereof to substantiate the claim that viewpoint is a stand-out characteristic of this particular piece of text. 1 Schema-oriented language The study of cognitive science asserts that for comprehension to be achieved; relevant background knowledge must be available and activated. This ‘background knowledge’ is known as schema (i. e. generic information about objects, people, situations and events)(Semino, 2006, pg. 3 8). The author has the ability to manipulate viewpoint by choosing to describe things from one particular point of view – that is, schema-oriented language. The title of the book (The Screwtape Letters) as well as the continued use of the ‘letter’ format in each chapter would have clued the readers to the main viewpoint featured in the text – that of Screwtape. In our extract (the 28th letter), Screwtape himself reveals the disparity between our perception about how demons see things and how they really perceive things.The opening of the extract would have had readers activating and using their schema related to ‘demons’, ‘demonic activity’, ‘war’ and ‘death’. However as they continue reading, it becomes clear that the textual input actually deviates from their pre-existing expectations and causes schemas to be modified (Semino, 2006, pg. 40). This experience is what is referred to as ‘schema refres hment’ (Cook, 1994). The text begins to deviate from the norm when we read of Screwtape chastising his nephew for his naive way of perceiving ‘death’.In a strange move, he advises his nephew (lines 22-24) to pay close attention to the physical safety of his ‘patient’– because ‘if he dies, you lose him’ (line 25). Overall, this seems contradictory to our own conventional thinking about what demons think about ‘death’ and Screwtape is fully aware that it is. In lines 20-21, he explains to Wormwood that humans ‘tend to regard death as the prime evil and survival as the greatest good,’ and continues by citing that this is little more than the fruit of the devil’s own propaganda.Yet another part of the extract which seems to depart from our general assumptions regarding demonic activity is when Screwtape explains the opportunities that adversity, prosperity and long life bring to demons. Naturally, peop le are especially averse towards suffering of any kind – however, to think that prosperity lends an even better opportunity for the demon’s cause may come as a shock for readers – especially those that are not particularly verse in biblical teaching. Indeed, it is important to note that whether or not the reader experiences ‘schema refreshment’ is entirely dependent on his or her personal schemata.Perhaps one of the reasons why this book has been well-received by those in the Christian community is because they have the necessary schemata regarding demons and biblical teaching to help them grasp and appreciate the subtleties of C. S. Lewis’ satirical writing. One interesting thing to note is that Screwtape’s worst-case scenario does come to pass in the end—the patient does die and is thus forever loosed from the demon’s clutches in the same way that Screwtape had described – an air raid. Of course, Screwtape (the c haracter) was not actually intending to predict the future. Value-laden expressions Viewpoint may also be controlled and manipulated by the author through small-scale linguistic choices regarding how to describe particular elements of the story. A character’s viewpoint may be identified by highlighting their feelings or attitudes regarding something. For example, at the beginning of the chapter, Screwtape describes his nephew’s excitement of the oncoming air raids as being ‘infantile’ and that he is ‘singularly obtuse’ in not providing him with the data he really wants.He repeats, ‘do you not know’ (line 8-9) as if to further criticize his nephew for not referring to what should be common knowledge. Later, Screwtape says that he is ‘ashamed’ to even have to explain it (lines 7-8). In all, all these value-laden expressions indicate that Screwtape is upset over his nephew’s incompetence and lack of common sense. 3 Given VS new information In writing a story, the author must make certain assumptions regarding the type of schema or ‘common knowledge’ available to readers and use them to improve the communicative ability of his writing.Traditionally, whenever characters/1st person narrator/author want to introduce new information, they will need to use an indefinite article such as ‘a’. For example, in the extract, Screwtape mentions (for the first time) ‘a great human philosopher’ (line 53) into the letter-exchange. As the story continues, characters may make references to things and events that have already been mentioned in the past and thus refer to them using the definite article ‘the’ which is an indicator of given information.The extract, which is taken from the 28th chapter of the series, is actually a few chapters close to the end of the story and features a small summary of some of the things that Wormwood has tried. In lines 9-17, he refers to ‘the worldly friends’ that Wormwood has tried to introduce to his patients, ‘the girl’ (line 14) whom the patient has fallen in love with and ‘the various methods’ Wormwood has used to corrupt the patient’s spiritual life.All these refer to events and entities in earlier chapters of the book. It is possible that even events and entities that have not been mentioned earlier receive definite reference because the author believes it to be ‘general knowledge’ for readers or he is deliberately positioning readers in a position called ‘in medias res’ (or already ‘in the know’ (Short, 1996) – a technique which is used to further intensify the readers closeness to the events of the story.Take for instance, the references made by Screwtape regarding the characteristics that are being referred to as known characteristics of human mid-life crisis: ‘the long, dull, monotonous years of middle aged prosperity or†¦adversity’ (line 27), ‘the routine of adversity, the gradual decay of youthful loves and youthful hopes, the quiet despair of ever overcoming chronic temptations†¦, the drabness which we create in their lives and the inarticulate resentment†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (lines 27-32). 4 Indicators of character’s thoughts or perceptions The very nature of the extract’s format is indicative of whose thoughts and perceptions we are reading.However, this also means that everything that is told in the narrative is limited to the perceptions of one character. To this end, the author does give some clues as to the level of factivity of Screwtape’s views. In line 5, Screwtape writes that Wormwood ‘seems singularly obtuse’. While ‘seem’ is not a popularly recognized ‘factive’ verb, its inclusion in this sentences tell us that there is a level of uncertainty. In line 17, Screwtape says with some lev el of certainty that if the patient died on that night, ‘he will almost certainly be lost’ to them. And ironically, in the end, that is exactly what happened. Deixis One way in which the author may indicate particular or changing viewpoints is by using deictic expressions (i. e. , expressions which are indicative of the positioning of certain objects in relation to a deictic focal point – the speaker) which may come in the form of demonstrative determiners or pronouns (e. g. this and that), deictic adverbs (e. g. here and there), deictic verbs (e. g. come, go, etc. ) and even tense (e. g. now and then)(Short, 1996, pg. 269). There is relatively little use of deictic expressions to indicate changing viewpoints however, there are instances wherein deictic expressions indicate istance of certain objects from the position of the speaker. Consider lines 20-21 wherein Screwtape writes, â€Å"They, of course, do tend to regard death as the prime evil and survival as th e greatest good. † The use of the pronoun ‘they’ indicates Screwtape’s attitude and perception towards humans – that they are deictically remote from his ‘physical position’ and ‘psychological position’ (because they are not part of the conversation and do not share the same perception regarding death). However, this sentence may make readers feel a distinct sense that they are ‘eaves-dropping’.Furthermore, the author is talking about the readers (us), through the character/narrator in the third person – a round-about strategy that C. S. Lewis employs extensively for the purpose of teaching readers. Another type of deixis which may be found in the extract is the use of ‘social’ deixis which refers to the use of different naming terms that indicate differences or similarities in social status and standing. Just as in every chapter of the book, Screwtape insists in using the greeting ‘My Dear Wormwood’ and the closing remark ‘Your affectionate uncle’ which tells of the close relationship between the two demons.While he is superior in rank and does reserve the right to strongly criticize Wormwood, he seems to be doing so as a mentor to a beloved student – an uncle to a nephew. That is, if familial love is even possible between demons. 6 The sequencing and organization of actions and events In novels, the way in which events are sequenced and portrayed is a means through which we can see the impressions and viewpoint of a particular character. In fact, this way of psychologically sequencing events is often used to present the perceptions of the I-narrator/character during the time of the events.The extract does not attempt to recreate any moments but seems to either be recalling past events or giving the viewpoint of someone who sees the human life from a higher vantage point – allowing him to see a bigger picture. He cannot see the e ntire picture since he has neither hold nor distinct knowledge of the future. In conclusion to this segment, let us move from analyzing viewpoint simply from the point of view of spatial-temporal viewpoint onto examining viewpoint in terms of ‘ideology’ or ‘world-view’ – the generalized mind-set our outlook that a person, often a group representative, on the world. Ideological viewpoint In a way, there is no better, simpler or more logical way to be able to see simple complexity of C. S. Lewis’ use and manipulation of viewpoint in The Screwtape Letters than to analyze it from an ideological standpoint. It is interesting all in itself to find a human attempting to realistically enlighten readers about the truth behind human life from the point of view of a demon especially when that human is an unabashed and staunch follower of the Christian faith and makes no concessions regarding his own ‘ideological point of view’.Screwtape, in being a demon, obviously sees the world differently than humans or the good/God side. Human life is important to him only so far as it gives ‘his side’ the opportunity to secure yet another soul for the fires of hell. Also, being a higher-ranked demon with more experience on the field, Screwtape’s ideological point of view is different from that of Wormwood in that he has the benefit of resources and information that his inexperienced, first-time tempter nephew would not have access to. Thus, as was noted in the extract, he is not excited about the same things Wormwood is excited about – e. . the war, death, etc. and he is rather forthright with the evaluations, judgments and advice he passes onto his nephew. However, Screwtape does have the propensity towards describing the Enemy’s position in quasi-fashion. As a demon, he is supposed to be in opposition to the Enemy however whenever he describes the Enemy, he becomes a puppet for the author to spe ak of the truth thus sounding like a completely different person at times. It is ironic because Screwtape himself does not agree with all the things that he says. For example in the last two chapters of the etter (lines 40 – 65), he describes how the Enemy protects humans from the full brunt of demonic temptation by exercising His sovereign power over time and even them and his plan for humans in heaven. In his own demonic way, he sings praises to the work of the Enemy. D. Evaluations regarding literary analysis On the whole, it would seem that I have been able to support my initial interpretation regarding this piece of text. I have been able to describe the viewpoint of my extract from a macro and micro view as well as have found instances of most, if not all, of the linguistic indicators of viewpoint.However, there are limitations that I foresee both in my attempt and the practice and process of literary and stylistic analysis in general. First of all, for the purpose of m anageability, I could not carry out an extensive analysis on my chosen piece of text. I was restricted to the analysis of an extract. In addition, I had to choose to concentrate on only one aspect of the text which means that I could not take into account other aspects of the text that may have given me a more rounded interpretation of the text.There is a great possibility that my objectivity in analyzing the text has been compromised from the very beginning since I began with an initial interpretation regarding the text. Furthermore, my personal schemata regarding the subject matter affects the way that I interpret texts and therefore the output of my literary criticism and analysis; making it almost impossible to arrive at a completely unbiased and objective analysis. Being a Christian myself, I share the same ‘ideological viewpoint’ as C. S. Lewis and interpreted the text with the same assumption.This is not to say that my beliefs are actually on the same page as the author’s and truthfully, there is no way of knowing. This means that certain aspects of the text that appears outstanding to me may only be significant for me personally. Finally, an important thing to note is that stylistic analysis is in not a ‘static’ output but may be subject to change in relation to the availability and status of resources available to analysts at any given time. As Short admits, ‘no analysis is entirely objective it he sense that it is true for all time. ’ With new forms of analysis come new findings and new or modified interpretations (1996, pg. 58). E. Conclusions on literary analysis While some may argue that the systematic way in which literary analysis studies literary texts may hinder analysts from simply partaking of the joy of reading, this has certainly not been the case for me. The Screwtape Letters has always been one of my favourite books of all times. After having analyzed one chapter, specifically with point of v iew as a theme of analysis, I now have a renewed sense of respect and admiration for the narrative skill of its creator and with the complexity of the creation itself.Overall, I believe that I have done my best to attempt to systematically and objectively analyze the text and have managed to come to some conclusions that are both expected and unexpected. And while I am sure that there are certainly some aspects I have missed out on or even overworked, I am quite satisfied with my attempt and hope to continue putting the practices of literary analysis to practice to enhance and deepen my understanding of other literary works of interest. References Cook, G. (1994).Discourse and Literature: The Interplay of Form and Mind, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Lewis, C. S. (1942). Chapter 28 The Screwtape Letters. C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Semino, E. (2006). Reading C: Cognitive poetics. Chapter 1 Literature and creativity in English in Goodman, S. and O’Halloran, K. (eds) The art of Eng lish: literary creativity. Palgrave Macmillan/The Open University, pg. 37 – 40 Short,M. (1996). Chapter 9 Fictional prose and point of view. Exploring the Language of Poems, Prose and Plays, London: Longman. pg. 255 – 279 Short,M. (1996).Chapter 12 Fictional prose and point of view. Exploring the Language of Poems, Prose and Plays, London: Longman. pg. 354 – 358 Short, M. (2005). Topic 8 – Discourse structure and point of view. Ling 131 Language & Style is a Stylistics course. Retrieved on December 2008. Retrieved from: http://www. lancs. ac. uk/fass/projects/stylistics/topic8/begin8. htm ———————– Addresser 1 (C. S. Lewis) MESSAGE Addressee 1 (Reader) Addresser 2 (Screwtape: narrator) MESSAGE Addressee 2 (Narratee) Addresser 3 (Screwtape: character) MESSAGE Addressee 3 (Wormwood: character)

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New Articles from the New York Times about Mammograms - Research Paper Example New articles from the New York times about Mammograms are important in the addressing of various speculations related to radiation and cancer. In addition, the article helps to clarify facts that exist between the value of the screening test for women  suspected to have cancer and those with cancer (Dronkers, 2011). The news report also tries to enlighten the effectiveness of Mammograms in the determination of the existence of cancer at the early periods' stages especially in the development of this particular malady (Botha, 2014). The news article is significant due to its combination of various research findings in its quest to conclude the average effectiveness of Mammograms. Mammograms are heavily relied on for cancer therapy by most states. Despite its futility in the eradication of cancer cell from an ailing person, it is beneficial in reducing incidences of the disease’s severity when combined with the administration of other drugs like tamoxifen (Botha, 2014). The news article has been significant in clearing doubt on the value of mammograms. In addition to clearing such doubts, it has been significant towards enlightening the importance of the mammograms due to lack of appropriate methods meant to deal with this disease especially breast cancers.  The study has elaborated in depth on how ineffectiveness of mammograms results on its application towards cancer patients (Marchione, 2014). This is in terms of the number of deaths caused by this malady whereby a particular number of individuals that have undergone mammograms being high. According to the study, mammograms procedure is not effective in the prevention of deaths caused by cancer. This calls for the need to find out an improvised way of dealing with the predicament, which is an appropriate alternative.  The worth of this study is evident in its indication and elaboration of varied essential facts that entail relayed to the public as well as oncologists to note the increasing nu mber of deaths when using this particular approach.  

Report project for PepsiCo, INC Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Report project for PepsiCo, INC - Research Paper Example The company charged a depreciation expense of $ 1,500 million for the year ended December 26, 2009 on its property, plant and equipment while the depreciation charge for the year ended 2009 and 2007 was $ 1,422 million and $ 1,304 million respectively. These amounts do not include the amortization expense which is charged separately. The current ratio of the company gives an overview of the liquidity conditions of the company and is calculated as a proportion of the current assets of the company over the current liabilities of the company and is represented as a ratio. This ratio of the company expresses the sales that the company has generated through the use of the assets of the company and is computed by division of the revenue of the company with the total assets. This shows the efficiency of the company with respect to its assets. This ratio determines the proportions of the company debts over the availability of its equity in order to assess the company’s going concern and the performance of the company in the long-term with its reliance on debt as compared to equity. The company has a favorable working capital and liquidity ratio as the company has enough working capital as a surplus over its current liabilities to expand its business as well as a current ratio of 1.44 represents that the company is well off when it comes to meeting its short-term obligations as well as other needs. The authorized share capital of the company as at December 26, 2009 is 3,600 million shares while the company has issued 1,782 million shares to public and other stakeholders of the company as at December 26, 2009. The dividend payout ratio of the company for the year was 46.58% as company declared a dividend of $1.775 per common share compared to an EPS of $3.81 for the year 2009. This indicates that the company has distributed almost half of its profits to the common shareholders. The net cash utilized by the company for its

Education Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Education - Assignment Example Quality literacy learning happens when students are offered the opportunities to appreciate recreational and creative aspect of the entire literature and other kinds of texts (Nixon, Comber, with Grant, & Wells, 2010). The curriculum should therefore allow students to fully participate in the society. The program should involve among other forms of support an emphasis on independent reading and independent writing alongside critical literacy to achieve independent learning for diverse learners. This should be crowned by a proper ongoing assessment that involves the following: running records, observation surveys, observation checklists, rubrics, anecdotal records, and marking scales. Using an ‘inquiry stance’ permits teachers to analyze the dynamics and complexities of their classroom communities as well as to design curriculum basing on their knowledge/understanding of students in their circumstances (Nixon, Comber, with Grant, & Wells, 2010). This means, teacher-researchers in schools teaching diverse students bring social circumstance into the foreground; they take into social circumstance to be more than the ‘background’ to the lives of their students’. This approach makes the cultural and linguistic diversity of families a property rather than a deficit. The discussion here follows the work of a teacher who combines critical approach literacy with a property model of cultural diversity (Laura & Carol, 2008). This involves, foregrounding students’ cultural and linguistic resources in the curriculum to generate high quality literature results for diverse learners. The school I teach, it serves a diverse community of students. This includes significant numbers of languages speakers other than English in each classroom. This means that in there are collaborations between teachers to help linguistically and culturally diverse students to develop their literacy in English and other learning

Physical Development Essay Example for Free

Physical Development Essay Primary school children, aged six to twelve years old, will undergo a variety of developmental changes, both physical and mental, and as teachers it is imperative that we both understand and accommodate the physical needs of students in the learning environment. To fully comprehend these changes, one must consider the actual physical changes that occur, in particular the development of motor skills, as well as how to accommodate the physical needs and development of students during their primary school years. Supplementary to these broader topics are the benefits of physical activity as well as the consequences of prolonged inactivity, and how a student’s physical development can either facilitate or restrict development in other areas. Children between the ages of 6 and 10 (referred to as ‘middle childhood’) will experience a plethora of physical developments. Firstly, they will steadily gain weight and height, though their basic body structure will remain unchanged. Children will also lose their 20 primary or ‘baby’ teeth, which will be replaced by permanent teeth. Some of the most significant skills children of this age will develop are motor skills. Motor skills refer to a learned sequence of movements that combine to create an efficient action in order to become proficient at a certain activity. These can be divided into two subcategories: ‘gross motor skills’ and ‘fine motor skills’. Gross motor skills are â€Å"large movements of the body that permit locomotion through and within the environment† (McDevitt Ormrod, 2010) and includes such skills as walking and swimming, while fine motor skills are â€Å"Small, precise movements of particular parts of the body, especially the hands† (McDevitt Ormrod, 2010), and include such skills as writing and drawing. In early childhood, humans rely largely on reflexive (that is, unlearned and involuntary) movement patterns, and thus are lacking fine motor skills. As they reach middle childhood, children develop voluntary movement patterns, and begin refining both their gross and fine motor skills, gaining proficiency in a variety of actions. Children increase the speed and coordination of their running, kicking and throwing, and become able to integrate these movements into sports and other structured play activities. They also make advances in their handwriting, becoming smaller and more consistent, and their drawings, supported by further cognitive development, become more detailed. Finally, the functions of the brain are enhanced in a number of ways. The two hemispheres of the brain develop into more unique sectors, and groups of regularly used neurons are cultivated. The process of myelination, ‘the growth of a fatty sheath around neurons that allows them to transmit messages more quickly’ (McDevitt Ormrod, 2010), continues, permitting swift and sustained learning. In order to accommodate and encourage student’s physical needs and developments, teachers should first and foremost always ensure that the learning area is safe. The classroom should constantly be checked for hazards, such as sharp edges on desks, loose flooring, or potentially dangerous substances, and teachers should ensure that â€Å"Rooms, bathrooms, and hallways are cleaned daily† (Wilford, 2006). Children should also be educated on how to recognise situations or objects that could harm them, and how to deal with them effectively. As young children are especially vulnerable to illness, it is particularly important to do everything possible to prevent it, by keeping the area clean and sanitizing surfaces, and teaching children sanitary practices, such as washing their hands after toileting. This is a vital area of education; should a child suffer from a serious illness for a long period of time, their physical development may be permanently mired, having serious consequences on their entire lives. It is also important that students have access to healthy and nutritious food at school, and learn about sound eating habits. Certain foods or lack thereof, have varying effects on students’ physical development, and should children be malnourished for an extended period of time, their development may be permanently stunted. A child who is malnourished is â€Å"more prone to infections† (Brewster and White, 2002) which â€Å"further impair (their) nutritional state by depressing (their) appetite and increasing the demand on his reserves of protein and energy† (Brewster and White, 2002), leading to further diminished rates of physical development. For these reasons, it is imperative that primary school students’ learning environment be kept as safe and healthy as possible, through the teacher’s ensuring that the classroom is hazard free and sanitized, and that the children have access to nutritious and healthy food, as well as educating the children so that they may implement such skills themselves. By doing this, educators can accommodate the physical needs and developments of their children, and maximise the effectiveness of their schooling, both physical and academic. During primary school, students are â€Å"at an optimal age in terms of motor skill learning† (Anshel, 1990), and thus motor skills develop rapidly, allowing them to perform skilled tasks. In order to help students develop these motor skills, it is important for teachers to incorporate physical activity into their curriculum. This assists in the development of both fine and gross motor skills. Firstly, they should provide frequent opportunities for students to participate in physical activity throughout the day; these activities would ideally allow the participation of children, regardless of their respective skill levels. For example, when guiding children through skipping rope, the teacher could at first have them use a long rope and simply step over the rope; children who find this easy could then try actual skipping. Should this prove relatively easy, they could skip at a faster pace, and children who showed proficiency at this higher level could try crossing the rope over while skipping. Educators can also integrate physical activity into academic lessons, which will not only shorten the length of time between physical activities, but also keep the students more engaged in the lesson. Conversely, it is also important to give students adequate time to rest. If they spend too much time exercising and overexert themselves, this will only lead to decreased concentration during the rest of their lessons, causing their performance to suffer. Additionally, children progressing through middle childhood still have relatively soft bones, so additional caution should be taken if they perform any high impact exercises, such as lifting heavy weights. To reiterate, young students’ physical development can be accommodated through the utilisation of physical activity at school, however this must be done in moderation, otherwise it may be detrimental to the child’s education and general wellbeing. Finally, educators should be aware of how a child’s physical development can assist with or hinder their development in other areas. For example, a child who has developed at a faster rate than their peers will likely be more proficient at sports, and the strengthened neuron pathways will increase the rate at which they learn and become proficient at academic subjects. The self-confidence this gives them may then be expressed through the child’s interest and application in school, which in turn will make their entire learning experience both easier and more pleasurable. Increased participation in both sport and academic activities will in turn make meeting and befriending other students easier, allowing the student to expand socially, again giving them a more positive outlook on school and further increasing their focus and determination to succeed physically and academically. On the other hand, students who have not physically developed as quickly as others in their year group may not perform as well in either academic or physical activities, and subsequently suffer from ‘learned helplessness’, a situation in which a child’s experience leads them to believe they will always fail, and thus they do not try, acting â€Å"as though they (are) helpless to do better† (U. S. Dep Education, 1992). This lack of confidence and learned helplessness can cause students to become â€Å"listless and inattentive and sometimes disruptive† (U. S. Dep Education, 1992), and â€Å"may be prevent (students) from fulfilling (their) potential† (Seligman, 1990). This is why it is essential to implement scaffolding into the learning environment, to support less physically developed students and assist them in succeeding, building their confidence. Therefore, it is important that teachers carefully monitor the progress of students individually, and provide support and encouragement appropriate to their developmental stage to facilitate the learning experience for them. Children completing their primary education will experience many new things; socially, mentally and physically. It is the role of teachers to make this experience as beneficial as possible, and a key element of doing so is the understanding of the physical developments they undergo during this time. To fully appreciate these developments, educators should consider the benefit of physical activity, as well as the consequences of prolonged inactivity, how a student’s physical development can assist with or hinder their development in other areas, motor development in children and how this is influenced, and finally how to accommodate and support the developments and needs of their students.

Effect of Robot Technology for Post Stroke Gait Improvement

Effect of Robot Technology for Post Stroke Gait Improvement Introduction Stroke is a one of the most severe health problem worldwide; it is a syndrome characterised by signs and symptoms that develop rapidly resulting in focal and global loss of cerebral functions. These sign and symptoms resulting from vascular insufficiency last for over 24 hours eventually results in severe physical and functional disability or may also cause death. It has been also found that per year prevalence rate of stroke is high i.e. 2/1000. However, the mortality rate of stroke is reduce in past few years but it is still the second most cause of death worldwide following chronic heart disease and third-most leading cause of death in New Zealand following cancer at first and chronic heart disease at second. Moreover, because of the poor functional outcome in majority of post-stroke patients, makes stroke as an utmost cause of disability worldwide; as one-third of post stroke population suffers with severe functional disability even after five years of stroke. Besides, over 7000 stroke incident reports per year in New Zealand; 3/4th of this post stroke population have to live dependently on others for their Activities of daily living. Eventually, post-stroke functional disability and rehabilitation cost of post stroke victims results in increase holistic socioeconomic burden; in conjunction with victim and their respective family member, i ncreases the worldwide economic burden at 4% (Barker, 2010). According to previous studies; neuroplasticity mechanism plays an imperative role in post-stroke functional improvement. In an endeavour to achieve effective functional recovery, it is mandatory to use neuroplasticity mechanism effectively is an essential goal to include during the stroke rehabilitation (Pekna, 2012). Whilst, multidisciplinary treatment approach and task specific training embellish with consistent repetition or high intensity task practice are also vital for functional recovery after stroke1. Therefore, it is essential to include these fundamental principal during the goal setting of stroke rehabilitation (Langhorne, 2011). Furthermore previous studies reveals; coordinated reciprocal movements and pastoral tone is reduce or lost subsequently post-stroke. Therefore, gait alteration is one of the most common disability among post-stroke patient; as 30% of the stroke survivors have impaired walking ability i.e., slow walking velocity in conjunction with decrease endurance and poor ability to adopt constrains during walking (Tilling, 2001). Eventually, in an endeavour to improve activities of daily living and functional independence among stroke victim; an independent ambulation is an important goal to achieve during stroke rehabilitation. Kwakkel (1999), suggest the imperative role of motor control in improving the ability to control and regulate normal pattern of movement. Besides, it has been also found from studies that for an efficient motor relearning programme it is important to emphasize on the three essential components: Neural; Muscular and; Biomechanical . Therefore, it is essential to focus on high intensity and diversity of specific tasks during the post stroke relearning of skilful movements. Consequently, multidisciplinary approach is supposed to be more beneficial and important for the motor relearning of the stroke patients. Evidently it has been conclude from the previous studies; although innumerable of stroke victims reported worldwide; besides a huge variability in treatment approaches for post-stroke rehabilitation also exists. Therefore, in manoeuvre to reduce post-stroke disability, it is essential to have a reliable and effective rehabilitation treatment. In the recent years a new technology with the help of advance computational approaches and sophisticated electromechanical components has been developed and named as Robot. A robot is develop and design in such a way that it can be re-programmable and perform multi-functional tasks by moving specialize devices. Therefore, it can be used to accomplish a specific task by programming it to produce variable specific motion movements (Pignolo, 2009). As it has been already conclude that the utmost requirements are the consistent repetition or high intensity task practice in stroke rehabilitation; because of the available advancement in technology, it is advantageous to use robot as an effective intervention in stroke rehabilitation (Stein, 2012). Majority of studies have been done to determine the effect of conventional rehabilitation approaches on the variables (function and walking speed) associated with gait training of stroke patients. In most of these studies conventional physiotherapy treatment was included to rehabilitate the gait of the stroke patients therefore; the results of these studies is mainly based upon single treatment approach. Apparently, results of these single treatment approach studies may not be that much beneficial because of the diversity in post-stroke functional loss. Eventually, as soon as robot technology is accepted as an effective intervention for the rehabilitation for stroke; majority of studies are now focus on effectiveness of therapeutic rehabilitation robots surge dramatically. As it has been already found, that the high dosage intensive training and high intensity functional task practice plays an imperative role in stroke rehabilitation. Besides, it has been also reveal that robotic technology has the advantage of delivering this high dosage intensive training and consistent practice of specific functional task. Therefore robot technology as an intervention can play an imperative role in minimizing the adverse post stroke disability effect. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to compare the effect of robotic technology as an intervention on the functional improvement and gait training in the insight of evidence that; a robotic technology as an intervention enhances functional and gait improvement among post-stroke people. METHODS Search Strategy In the present study, a variety of electronic database were search for the initial literature search: EBSCO and Medline health database, Elsevier, PubMed, google, Pedro, AUT library database. Extensive key word were included for the initial search: Stroke; post-stroke disability; neuroplasticity; motor disorder; functional impairment; gait dysfunction; stroke rehabilitation; conventional treatment approach, robot intervention . In the manoeuvre of standardized approach during the search procedure; the list of keyword and all their combinations were used uniformly for searching the literature. Furthermore, additional keywords were added to the main keywords list included review,critical,meta and systematic review when searching for past review articles on stretching and exercise interventions. Study Selection Inclusion Criteria: There was not limitation on the date of publication but search was limited to articles publish in English language. The studies having randomized controlled trial and quasi-experimental studies; comparing either the experimental group with another intervention or with a control group were eligible to include in the present study. The study was restricted to those post-stroke patients who are in sub-acute or chronic stage, fully cooperative and able to follow command, having robot assisted rehabilitation for gait impairment and functional disability. Participants included in studies should not have any; pathological restricted ROM, amputation of any lower limb joint. Furthermore, pilot studies and single case studies were excluded in the present study. Data extraction Data from included studies were extracted for the variables of interest: Gait improvement and functional independence. Then for the tabulated presentation of data; it was then presented in the table 2, under the headings: Author; Study design; Intervention; Outcome measures and; Main findings. Internal validity of the studies The internal validity of the included studies for the appraisal and grading of intervention were checked through a modified version of the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Injuries Group (CMIG) scoring system that comprises of eleven items covering aspects of study design. A final overall score or quality rating (out of a possible 11) for all the included studies was then awarded to each intervention paper. Data synthesis In all the included studies; effect of the robot assisted intervention on post-stroke patients was analysed through gait improvement and functional independence. However, most of the studies included in this literature review also have a diversity in the variables of interest therefore, in an endeavour to check quality of the included studies; a pattern of evidence approach was thus used and marked accordingly on the basis of their design and consistency of finding: low quality if it scored 5 to 6; moderate quality if it scored 6 to 8 and; high quality if it scored 9 or above. Among the included eight studies; one found to be of high quality with score at 9 and remaining studies were of moderate quality with an average score at 6 to 8. RESULTS Initially after searching various database, two thousand articles were identified and out of these articles only twenty articles were found to be appropriate for the abstract review. Thereafter, only 10 papers were found to have the full paper review, and then out of these 8 intervention studies were selected on the basis of the inclusion criteria and were further subject to critical appraisal and scoring. The primary reasons for the rejection of papers were the intervention other than Robot. Secondly, remaining non-included studies were focused on the population having either acute phase of stroke, restricted rom and amputation of the lower limb. The information relating to each paper included in the review is shown Figure 1. Figure 1: Flowchart Efficacy of robot intervention in Stroke rehabilitation Selected variables – Robot intervention; Gait improvement and Functional independence Two thousand paper were found 100 articles identified, 20 were suitable for abstract review, 10 papers were selected for the full paper review 8 intervention studies were selected on the basis of the inclusion criteria and were further subject to critical appraisal and scoring Inclusion criteria-RCT; Quasi experimental; English language; Robot intervention; Stroke patients Exclusion criteria Restricted rom; Amputation, Pilot studies, Single case studies Results – One study include is of high quality score at 9 and seven are of moderate quality score at 6 to 8 Quality The scores related to the quality of the papers (QS) varied from 6 to 9. One paper attained a strong quality score each at 9, while all others were at moderate quality score at 6 to 8. The key elements associated with the quality of each paper (blinding of subjects and treatment providers etc.), that were not addressed well are presented in Table 1. Table 1: Internal validity of the studies S.N Author A B C D E F G H I J K Quality score 1 Bandy, W.D. (1994) Y Y Y Y Y N N Y Y Y Y 9 2 Bandy, W.D. (1997) Y Y Y N.P N N N.P Y Y Y Y 7 3 Baranda, P. S. (2010), Y Y Y N.P N.P N N.P Y Y Y Y 7 4 Feland, J. B. (1999). Y Y Y Y Y N N Y Y Y Y 9 5 Feland, J. B. (2001) Y Y Y N.P N.P N N Y Y Y Y 7 6 Ford, G. S. (2005) Y Y Y Y N N N.P N Y Y Y 7 7 Odunaiya, N.A. (2005) Y Y Y N N N.P N N.P Y Y Y 6 8 OHora, J. (2011) Y Y Y N N N N N Y Y Y 6 9 Zakas, A. B. (2013) Y Y Y Y N.P N.P N.P Y Y Y Y 8 Participants From the overall prospective, there were a total of 327 subjects in all the included studies. All the subject included in the studies were stroke patients, having gait impairments and functional dependency. Firstly, it has been found that in all the included studies; an informed consent form was gathered from subjects for their ethical approval. Moreover, in order to keep subjects blinded to the interventions; a randomization of subjects in different groups was done by an appropriate manner. Furthermore, in all the included studies Robot intervention was used as an intervention for the rehabilitation of gait and functional independence. The Robotic device used in all the included studies for the intervention was Lokomat.

Cynicism in Works of Ambrose Bierce Essay -- Cynic Author

The style and motives of Ambrose Bierce are those of a great intellect and cynic. Ambrose Bierce used graphic images to get his message across in a lot of his stories such as "Chicamauga" and "The Affair at Coulter's Notch". A good portion of his short stories were stories of innocent people and soldiers and their experiences. He also wrote a book called "The Devil's Dictionary," which reinterprets a few terms in the English language. Ambrose Bierce's cynical perspective, which can be seen within his literary works, actually masks a sensitive idealist, who wants to create an awareness in the readers of the horrors of war as well as the injustices and insensitivities in people and society. To start off, Ambrose Bierce used a lot of graphic images to deglorify war. There were many graphic images in the story ?Chicamauga?, for example, ? - lacked a lower jaw - from the upper teeth to the throat was a great red gap fringed with hanging shreds of flesh and splinters of bone?. ?The unnatural prominence of nose, the absence of chin, the fierce eyes, gave this man the appearance of a great...

Essay on Luck and Fate in The Rocking Horse Winner -- Rocking Horse Wi

Luck and Fate in The Rocking Horse Winner The Rocking Horse Winner, by D.H. Lawrence, is an informative story about luck and one's own fortune. In this story, Lawrence attempts to illustrate how one can guide one's own fate, instead of allowing things to happen by chance. He believes that the only person that affects what happens to someone, is really that person himself. "Everything is what you make of it," is Lawrence's message to the reader. By his use of characterization, instructional images, and irony in The Rocking Horse Winner, D.H. Lawrence attempts to convey to the reader that success and luck are not something that one simply waits for to arrive, but things that one must works to achieve. Lawrence uses to contrasting characters to help convey his point, namely those of the boy Paul, and his mother, Hester. Paul, according to the story, is lucky, whereas his mother is not. It was not simply decided upon that it would be this way, but each character had a hand in how they would end up. Paul's mother allowed herself to be resigned to the fact that fate had dealt her an unlucky hand. Though she had three wonderful children, she could not love them. Though she had a roof over her head, she was not content, and yet she did nothing to change this besides wait for the difference that never came. The story says that Hester "wanted to be first in something, and did not succeed," and when she did not succeed, she moved on instead of working towards her goal. Paul, on the other hand, learned very quickly that if he is to succeed, he must have dedication. Paul applied him... ...mple, and death. She discovers the poor boy rocking himself into unconsciousness on the horse, and only understands the significance and importance of his exertion upon his death. Paul's mother, the inadvertent teacher, becomes the student, only to lose her teacher. Lawrence wishes for his reader's to understand the significance of working towards your goals before enjoying the fruits of one's labor. He instructs that waiting for good things to just fall into your lap is a lost cause, and the odds are hugely against you. If however, this does happen to you, that you should "take your gold and sit on it," before making any kind of decision about its proper use. Chances might be that the products themselves might depict their use, as in Paul's case.

Meaning of life †Happiness Essay

By Occasionally, there comes a time in everyone’s life when they ask themselves if they have a purpose. This question is not easy to answer, but can only be answered by the person themselves. I once asked myself this very question. My purpose in life is simply to live. My answer to this question may be wrong, may look simple, and you may even laugh at it, but it means much more than it seems. The term â€Å"to live† has many meanings to me. Love, happiness, charity, and justice are just a few meanings I feel are parallel to this term. Love is a constant reminder of why I would want to have a purpose in life. When a person loves with their heart, the feeling they have is like no other. Anyone can love with his or her mind or body, but love of the heart and soul is hard to come by. I have loved with my mind many times before, but its not the same. I believe I have been struck with love, because it hit me like a freight train. The swift perfume and luscious looks of a girl are usually only temporary and I forget about it after the essence is gone. Although I believe I found the perfect combination of perfume, looks, and personality. Her name is Jodi Block. She is the the coolest person I know. She likes me for who I really am and doesn’t laugh at me for mistakes I make, or ever criticizes me for anything I do. She is always there with a compliment or telling me how good of a job I did on something. She is always there to listen to me when I have get something off my chest. I don’t know what I would do with out her. At the current moment, the only people I love with my heart are Jodi, my mother and father, and my two siblings Jordan and Erin. I don’t like to admit it, but its the truth. Like any son or daughter, I would be devastated if anything ever happened to them before their time. They are my main reason for wanting to succeed. The world has come to know that being happy is better than being sad. I believe the reason for this can never have an exact answer, but happiness is good and sadness is bad. Almost everyone agrees with this statement. The dilemma we must face ourselves with is what makes us happy and sad. There is no universal constant that makes everyone happy or everyone sad. The factors are for everyone. For myself, going hunting, fishing, driving, and being with Jodi are fun and make me happy. These factors associated with myself are for the most part positive activities. Surrounding myself with positive reflections comes by nature. Many people these days are materially well off, but are unhappy. We surround ourselves with clever toys, movies, and fashionable clothing, but in reality we are as mortal as any other is. Like most, I feel infringed upon when negativity is present. Though happiness is the goal of most, being sad is necessary. To be always happy in life would be as useless as having Christmas day everyday. We would soon begin detesting it. The question we must ask ourselves is what do we need to have that perfect balance of happiness? True happiness can only come from the understanding of that individual’s environment and nature of existence. Charity is a virtue that is deemed torturous by some, prosperous by others, but a necessity by most. Helping the fellow man has been known to happen since the dawn of time. Think of how many charitable acts have been committed throughout our many years of existence. Some of us would not be alive today if it were not for the fact. Think of when that soldier helped his comrade out of the trench or when that businessman spared a few coins for the homeless man on the street. These few examples show that when a person is in a time of need and they are not helped, grave dangers lie ahead until they are helped. Personally, I feel it is a duty to commit a charitable act when possible. If volunteer work is needed and I do not sign up without good reason, I normally feel guilty. I put myself in the position of the needed. If I were that person in need, would I have someone to help me? I answer yes through volunteer work, donations, or charitable acts. Charity is a necessity to those who receive, a simple act to those who give, and blessing to us all. Some have said that you can measure a person’s worth by how successful they have been. I beg to differ because of other factors, but prosperity is a virtue deemed important. I want to prosper in the future not only because I would like to make my parents proud, but because I was born for success. For years it has been engraved into my sub conscience that if I work hard, I will be prosperous. I plan on leading a successful life, but prosperity is not limited to long-term future actions. Anyone can be successful in just setting a worthwhile goal and accomplishing it. In the past two years I’ve sat through numerous business lectures and career workshops that were designed to broaden my intellectual thinking of the job market. Quite frankly, I’m sick of hearing about statistics with this technology field and how much money I can make in that one. I’ve learned plenty of skills to make myself prosperous and even learned â€Å"the art of verbal manipulation†, which is supposedly going to help me get a higher salary. Prosperity has its importance, but I say you can measure a person’s worth by how happy they are and have been. Knowing your personality is an aspect of life that I feel is important. You must be able to judge yourself before you can judge another. Personally, I have a moderate preference for emotions and impressions, but prefer my own familiar traits because that is where I feel most at ease. I don’t like being in strange places or having numerous relationships. I prefer having a small number of friends that are deep and important, rather than a ton of friends that I see every once in a while. An important component of my personality is reflected in my lifestyle. My preference is for that of a spontaneous and flexible life, rather than a set and fixed one. Taking things as they come is intriguing to me and surprises in life are even better. Feeling good about oneself is vital to survival. Without it, extreme measures, including suicide, may be taken. Though I do have my occasional letdowns, I am happy with who I am and with what I have become. Next to love and happiness, I feel drive and dedication are the most important virtues a person can have. Because I live my life from goal to goal, achieving and having other virtues come that much more easily. My most recent goal was to make sure I get to work and back home safely. My current goal is to try and write over four pages for my philosophy of life essay. Though I’m not quite there yet, setting goals comes natural to me. I do not prefer to write my goals down and keep track of how I’m doing on them. I rather keep them in my head and refer to them when needed. This is a previously stated aspect of my personality. Whether everyone knows it or not, setting and thinking out our goals is the basis for achieving them. Drive and dedication achieve goals for any hardworking individual. Above love, happiness, and dedication is my relationship with God. Though I have not visited his home on a consistent basis, I know when to pay my respect. I feel praising Him is necessary, but I choose to do it in my own way. I tend to pray when least expected. My relationship with God may not be to full scale, but I believe Him, love Him, praise Him, and respect Him. The rest is just details. I asked myself if I had a purpose in life during my junior year of high school. At the time, I had almost no idea of what I was asking myself. Though I still do not know the meaning of life, I know my purpose in life is to live with happiness, love, prosperity, charity, justice, and determination. My relationship and praise of God is the most important factor. In summary, I long to love, but do not love to long. Happiness and contentment are thrived on by all, but not all realize that it is charity which will bring these virtues. Besides these, drive and determination will also bring a person to be prosperous and happy. My philosophy is to live life to its fullest with no virtuous restrictions on yourself. Always taking another chance, exploring the boundaries, fighting my limitations. Always wanting more than I can have, opening doors that are better left closed, and wounds that should have long since healed. Accomplishing little in my endeavors to fulfill my life and trying to make sense of it all. Always trying to make the impossible a reality, attempting to fix the unrepairable. Doing things the hard way is how I make my way, thriving on stress and attempting the impossible. Some say I take great pleasure in self-affliction, I ask if there is any other way.

Wikileaks – Is America being imprisoned by free speech?

Julian Assange, founder of whistle-blowing global organisation Wikileaks, is accused of ‘threatening America with the cyber equivalent of thermonuclear war’ by publishing government documents online with louring intent. These leaks contain eight of the biggest leaks in history. Some of which include lists of members from racist political parties, and Afghan war logs. Exposing the transgressions of the powerful is a lasting and honourable tradition, often the primary purpose of free press. However, many of the ‘life endangering’ leaks that are being sited as due cause for prosecution are insignificant and of the ‘Did you know the Pope is a Catholic? ’ variety and have yet to prove that they pose any manner of threat to civilians of military operations and national security. As many citizens of the US desire transparency, elected officials of public servants and services have no defence for continuing to guard its information from public scrutiny. Transparency promotes accountability and reduces government corruption and in extreme cases military dictatorship as it often allows citizens of a democracy to have degree of control over their own government. With little transparency there are fewer opportunities for political influence between elections. Citizens can only elect accordingly and for governments to withhold any relevant information would manipulate the voting system. Therefore Assange opened America’s government on behalf of its citizens revealing government deceptions and political domination to promote a participative democracy and improve the overall quality of decision making for the country. However, for a democracy to exist it requires constant vigilance of the people and their representatives. These leaks were published in violation of the US law and without authorization. This unprocessed information was released without context leaving it exposed to misrepresentation. Assange has aided terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda largely by given them the â€Å"gift† of diplomatic cables in thousands. The threat of this is that they are exposing the weaknesses within countries governments and security making them subject to ‘easy’ terrorism. Such negligence at the scale of the World Wide Web could significantly endanger the lives of US citizens. Assange’s defence for this not being his intention is contradicted however. Whilst leaking information from America, Australia, and the UK; he is not leaking information from countries such as North Korea, Iran, Russian or even China. This alludes to Assange targeting particular governments and whilst he cannot be tried for treason, should he be tried for terrorism? Despite this, American’s have no constructional right to privacy therefore free speech tends to trump privacy. As both are fundamental rights, they cannot be protected when in conflict. Naturally the governments are in favour of privacy to prevent the misdeeds of their past being exposed. For example, there is a leak that states George Bush, in building a case for war against Iraq falsely claimed than Iraq where attempting to purchase Yellowcake (a chemical used in fuel for nuclear reactors) from Africa. Frankly this is not true. Another leak exposes that America has killed five times the number of civilians killed on 9/11. This ultimately contributed to the increased number of Jihadists. To outlaw Wikileaks would be ironic in a democracy as it would restrict freedom of speech and people’s right to communicate their opinions and ideas. It is argued that the leaks provide no threatening data to the public, rather their governments. With thanks to Assange, citizens of America are now aware of polices their government are perusing, polices that place the people at immense risk. Wikileaks is an act journalism and Assange is a journalist therefore Assange and his organization should have the right to freedom of press without exploiting the media. Thus the real threat does not lie with the citizens, but rather the fundamental right to free speech and press and whether as a result of Wikileaks, it will be limited. Though, is it possible that Assange’s right to freedom of press when leaking could negatively affect America in war? Could it have caused more people in the Middle East to enlist with local armed forces? Information in leaks has the potential to destroy their relationships with other countries even if they are not allies. Other countries may now be reluctant to share information with America in fear of it being leaked. This on top of America’s desire from transparency could ultimately strip the government of even more power exposing them to even more threats. George Bush once said â€Å"If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear† As of yet no deaths have been directly attributed to the leaks initiating in 2006. Bradley Manning – a soldier of the American army, has accepted 10/22 charges against him. When in court Manning stated that he will plead guilty to sending documents to Wikileaks in violation of the US military regulations, but denies â€Å"aiding the enemy† and may still be prosecuted. It is expected that manning will receive a 20 year sentence and dishonourable discharge. Why is Manning being tried so hard? Is it to make an example, to remind us of the consequences when exposing those is control? To conclude, I have outlined that as few leaks have the potential to risk lives; many more have little significance in this respect. Both privacy and freedom of speech cannot be protected when in conflict. However, in a case of democracy freedom of speech should outweigh privacy greatly. Citizens have a right to be aware of their governments and without this awareness democracy cannot exist. But, in doing this do they have the right to disregard the privacy of others?

A life of designs

Like many children growing, I was in a quandary on the career path that I would take once I entered college. Looking back, many paths seemed to open for me, all as enticing as the others. But in hindsight, I guess I wanted to follow in the footsteps of one man, my father. His vocation was that of a designer.Since I could remember, I could see myself with him in his office as he worked at his job as a software designer. It wasn’t easy for me, but my mom kept telling me how integral my father was to the company. My father taught me the value of enterprise and industriousness in the job that he was going to do.That was one trait I would ever give credit to my father for teaching me that one value. I believe that passion is not acquired; it is the result of endless hours at honing one’s craft and looking for ways to improve oneself.But my father was not all work; he taught me also to be versatile in life.   To my surprise, my father also had endeavors in a variety of acti vities. Among them were guitar playing, sketching images of still life and rendering designs for furniture.He taught me that one’s life needs to find a sense of balance, not that he didn’t enjoy his work, but I guess that his creativity needed to have release valves, if you will, so that he can work at his â€Å"day† job.Once I arrived in college, finally knowing my life’s vocation to be a designer, one could feel a sense of being awestruck with it all. The pressures of meeting deadlines, accomplishing all the projects and the homework, and then some, tend to take the wind out of one’s sails. Fortunately for me though, I met another influential figure whom would aid me in my quest to become a designer. His name was Professor Joseph Velasquez, or simply â€Å"Pepe†.Professor Velasquez, or Pepe, was very influential in the cultivation of my talents as a future designer. He patiently worked with me in all my subjects and projects, like a guidin g, and sometimes stern, hand to bring out what was inside me, all that passion I had inside of me. In all of the three years I had stayed in college, I would say that not even my non major subject mentors had had such a profound effect on me as Professor Velasquez.In fact, many of the students always sought a meeting met with him after class and studio that I had to wait an average of two hours just to get to talk to him. I hope that one day I will be able to impart the knowledge he graciously and sacrificially gave us to future designers if I get the opportunity to teach at this learning facility.As with all students in college, we all dream of becoming like our icons someday, people who we admire and wish to imitate even in the slightest way. For me, that was my all-time favorite artists, Craig Mullins. Mullins would be for me the embodiment of what I strive for as an artist and as a designer.Mullins, in my opinion, has the capacity in inducing that emotion in his concept arts wor ks and his paintings that make him a cut above the rest.   His medium in provoking that emotion is born out of his choice of colors and his composition of his work. Sometimes, when I encounter a â€Å"block† in my artistic flow, I would consider what Mullins would do for the piece.

Financial Analysis of I.T Ltd.

Company background I. T Limited (0999. HK) is an investment holding company based in Hong Kong. It was listed on the main board of The Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 4-March-2005. The company offers a wide range of apparel products. It sells its products as well as offers a variety of national and international brands through its network of retail stores. As of February 28, 2011, it operated 392 stores in Hong Kong and Mainland China. Objective To undertake a comprehensive analysis on the financial performance of I. T. Limited. Detailed financial ratio analysis will be performed.An estimation of the firm’s cost of equity capital and weighted average cost of capital will also be provided. Horizon of analysis We will focus on its performance in the latest 5 fiscal years. A) Detail financial analysis The financial analysis will be conducted in two ways. First, the major accounts on financial statements will be inspected in order to derive a general picture on the healthiness of the business. Second, PERL (Performance, Efficiency, Risk, Liquidity) framework will be used to further analyze the financial performance of the company. I.Going through the financial statements We can get a glimpse of the healthiness of the business by looking into the trend of accounting items in income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement respectively. Consolidated income statement (Referring to appendix A – table 1 and 2) 2008/09 was a special year, financial tsunami happened. Therefore there was a huge profitability impact in that year, resulting in a large decrease in operating profit. And since the market recovered in 2009/2010, the profitability suddenly increased a lot in that fiscal year. Other than these wo special years, the overall growth trend in sales turnover, costs, and profit is healthy. (Referring to appendix A – table 3) Standardizing the income statement can extract extra information. All the accounts are expressed as a percentage of turnov er. The company has done a good job in cost controlling, since the cost of sales as a percentage of turnover is in a decreasing trend, hence the gross profit margin is in an increasing trend. On the other hand operating expenses fluctuates at about 50-51% of turnover, but since cost of sales has a greater decrease, the net effect is operating profit is in an increasing trend.Consolidated balance sheet (Referring to appendix A – table 4) In general, total assets experience an increasing trend. This is reasonable since the business is at a growing stage. One notable point is the growth of non-current assets look greater than current assets, especially property, furniture and equipment has a very significant increase in 2010/11, this is probably due to the rapid expansion of retails stores in Hong Kong and China. And as a result, there is a significant increase in inventories in 2010/11 too. (Referring to appendix A – table 5)Similar conclusions can be drawn by viewing th e same accounts in a standardized balance sheet (all items are standardized by total asset value in the fiscal year). Property, furniture and equipment, and inventories make up most of the total assets. (Referring to appendix A – table 6) Liabilities also grow a lot with total assets as the business expands. Notably there is a significant increase in both short-term and long term bank borrowings. In addition the payable accounts also increased more than 100%, meaning that the company bought stocks or services from suppliers on credit more than before.This growth of liabilities is fine as long as the company can generate consistent operating cash flows, as we will see in the next section. (Referring to appendix A – table 7) Similar conclusions can be drawn at standardized balance sheet, bank borrowings and payables increased significantly, especially for longer term bank borrowings. (Referring to appendix A – table 8) The growth of the business was mainly funded by growing liabilities, as we can see that the growth of equity is not so significant, the company has not issued new shares to get funding. The company has simply retained some of the profit in each year into reserves.Consolidated cash flow statement (Referring to appendix A – table 9) The company has improved its cash flow generation as its business grew. The profitability of the company increased, and so as the cash generated from operation. And since the company has increased in size, it has increased its ability to finance from banks, therefore it also increased its cash generated from financing activities. Although the company has increased investment in fixed assets and hence the cash outflow from investment, this is offset by the increase in cash flow from operation and financing.II. PERL (Performance, Efficiency, Risk, Liquidity) analysis (Referring to appendix B and C) 1) Performance Profit margins (Gross, operating, net) Gross profit margin keeps increasing. The la test figure is 63. 35%, which is a very high margin. This is probably due to the increased brand image of the company, hence the company can increase the selling price of the products. Also, the company shifted the focus on selling products of its own brands more than imported brands, this also increased the gross profit margin.Both operating and net profit margin are also in an increasing trend (despite year 2008/09, a special year which financial crisis happened). But it is worth noting that the current margins are 12. 08% and 10. 12% respectively, which show a great difference from gross profit margin. This indicate the operating expenses are very high, eating up more than 50% of profit margin. The company should think ways to further reduce operating costs. Return on Equity (ROE) The company has increased its ROE along the years despite the special year 2008/09. The latest ROE is actually a high return, 21. 6%. So what are the main drivers of such high return? By utilizing DuPon t analysis, the reason for return growth can be found: ROE = Net Profit Margin x Asset Turnover x Financial Leverage The net profit margin is increasing throughout the years. At the same time, since the financing ability of the company has increased, the financial leverage also increased. These two factors drove the ROE up, offsetting the diminishing effect on ROE by asset turnover. The asset turnover actually decreased in last two fiscal years, indicating the efficiency of turning asset to revenue decreased.It is a bit worry to see the ratio decreased from 1. 6 to 1. 17 in these 2 years. It may indicate that the asset size of the firm is too large, further expansion may not bring further increase in revenue. This may be an indicator of the firm has passed its optimum point and management must take extra care in evaluating whether the company should invest in expanding more retail stores or not. Extended DuPont analysis breaks down net profit margin into tax burden, interest burden, and EBIT margin. Tax burden of the company is actually increasing, i. e. it has to pay more effective tax hence impacting the net profit margin.But it’s still fine as the effective tax rate is still at about 20%, which should be quite low when compared to effective tax rate outside Hong Kong and China. Interest burden also experiences an increasing trend. This is reasonable since the company has increased financing ability and financed through more bank loans. EBIT margin is increasing, offsetting the negative effect of tax burden and interest burden. 2) Efficiency Fixed asset Fixed asset turnover is in a decreasing trend (from 16. 08 to 7. 98 in last five years). This indicates the efficiency of generating sales revenue from fixed assets investment is lowering.This confirms with the decreasing asset turnover ratio mentioned above. However the ratio is still at a high level, the management should still invest in fixed asset and expand the business, but extra care should be t aken to determine the amount and scale to be invested. Inventory Inventory turnover is decreasing (from 3. 72 to 2. 48 in last five years). This indicates that in general, the speed of stocks selling has slowed down as the business expands. When this ratio is converted to days of inventory on hand, the meaning can even be clearer. The days increased from about 98 days to 147 days in these 5 years.Overstocking, importing or producing products which are not popular, or insufficient marketing efforts are all possible reasons to this decreasing efficiency. Receivables Receivables turnover is decreasing. To get a clearer meaning, the ratio is converted to days of sales outstanding, and this ratio is increasing (from 1. 97 to 11. 49). This ratio means on average how many days the company’s customers who buy on credit will pay their bills. This increasing ratio means that it takes more time to collect the bill from customers, meaning that capital has to be tied up for longer period. However the number actually is not large, it’s about 12 days and therefore an acceptable value. Payables Payables turnover decreased from 11. 14 to 5. 51. The ratio can be converted to number of days of payable. This ratio increased from 32. 76 to 66. 23. This ratio is the average amount of time it takes to pay its bills. The time has increased significantly. It showed the advantage of the growth of the company, i. e. when the company went listed and expanded, the ability to pay on credit increased. This increased time to pay bills increases the flexibility to manage working capital and hence benefits the operation of the company.Working capital The effectiveness of the company in using working capital has increased since the working capital turnover increased from 2. 72 to 4. 46 in last five years. This means that more sales revenue is generated for each dollar of working capital which funded the sales. This is probably due to increased size of the company, so that the compa ny can get more funding by short-term bank loans, and increase its payables to different creditors. These increased funding are used to purchase inventories to generate sales revenue. 3) Risk Gearing All debt-to-equity, debt-to-asset and financial leverage ratios are in an increasing trend.As the company grows, more funding is needed. Financing by debt issuance is better than equity issuance since the required return by debt is lower, and there is possible tax advantage on debt payment. These three ratios are still in a healthy range and further increase in the ratio is still possible. Debt-to-common equity ratio is 0. 32 and debt-to-asset ratio is 0. 18, these two numbers are fairly low. This indicates that the company has a considerable capacity in debt financing if needed. Coverage Interest coverage ratio maintains at a high level (159. at 2010/11), although the company has increased financing by bank loans. That means the operating profit is more than enough to cover the interes t expense and indicate that the business is healthy. Cash flow coverage ratio is also at adequate level despite it has fallen a bit (50. 54 at 2010/11). This is also a healthy signal because net cash flow is positive and adequate. 4) Liquidity Cash conversion cycle Cash conversion cycle is the days the company takes to convert its investment in inventories back into cash. The company has an increased cash conversion cycle, due to the increase in days on inventory on hand.This is still an acceptable length (92. 15 days), but the company should try to lower the days in inventory on hand as mentioned above. Current and acid test ratio Both current and acid test ratio are decreasing, but they are still at a healthy level. Current ratio is at 1. 85, meaning the current assets are 1. 85 times of current liabilities, which is sufficient for its short-term obligations. Acid test ratio is 1. 12, meaning the cash-like current assets are 1. 12 times of current liabilities, indicating that it i s sufficient to cover its short-term liabilities by short-term cash.Operating cash flow to maturing obligations This is also a measure of the company’s ability to meet short term liabilities from cash flow. Although the overall cash flow has improved, the current liabilities has also increased considerably, therefore this ratio is not at a high level (0. 44). The major cash outflow is from purchasing fixed assets and repayment of bank loans. Management should control the cash outflow in these two areas in order to improve the overall liquidity. III. Summary The company has a healthy business. It has an increasing net profit and positive cash flow.The ROE and profit margin are at good levels. It utilized bank loans to further expand its business, while the leverage ratios are still in a healthy range. There is no liquidity problem associated with the company as seen in liquidity ratios. However the management should focus on improving the efficiency of the company while expand ing the business. The major concern here is reducing days of inventory on hand, in order to reduce the length of cash conversion cycle. To sum up, this is a company with good financial performance, and therefore it is worth to invest in this company.B) Cost of equity capital Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is used to determine the cost of equity capital. There are three major inputs in CAPM equation: risk-free rate, beta of the company stock to a benchmark market, and equity risk premium of the benchmark market. Since I. T. Limited is a Hong Kong based company, therefore the input parameters mentioned above should come from Hong Kong. Risk-free rate Hong Kong government do not issue bill or bond (despite the newly launched ibond, but that is a floating rate bond which its purpose is for general public to protect inflation).Therefore risk-free rate should be the yield on Exchange Fund Bills issued by Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Risk-free rate should be the yield on short-term bi ll, therefore the yield on one-month bill is selected, which is 0. 05%. Stock beta Hang Seng Index (HSI) is the benchmark index in Hong Kong. 5 years of monthly return stock of I. T. Limited and HSI were obtained. Stock Beta of I. T. to HSI can be calculated by using Slope function of Excel, or regressing both return series. The estimated beta is 1. 399, meaning that the stock of I. T.Limited is more volatile than the index. R2 coefficient is 0. 2261, meaning that about 22. 61% of the variability of the stock returns can be explained by variability in the index. Equity risk premium According to Zhu & Zhu (2010), the equity risk premium of Hong Kong is 8. 19%. Applying CAPM: Cost of equity capital = (0. 05 + 1. 399*8. 19)% = 11. 51%. C) Weighted average cost of capital (WACC) The company has not issued any debt. The â€Å"debt† of the company is in the form of bank borrowings, so the effective interest rate of borrowing will be treated as cost of debt.In the latest annual repo rt, the effective interest rate is 1. 4% (from notes 23 of annual report). Total bank borrowings is HKD594. 145M, total equity is HKD1846. 961M, therefore: WACC = 594. 145 / (594. 145 + 1846. 961)*1. 4% + 1846. 961 / (594. 145 + 1846. 961)*11. 51% = 9. 049% References: Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Exchange Fund Bills and Notes fixing (http://www. info. gov. hk/hkma/eng/press/index_efbn. htm) Zhu & Zhu (2010) – Estimating the Equity Risk Premium: the Case of Greater China, Jie Zhu, Xiaoneng Zhu (http://citeseerx. ist. psu. edu/viewdoc/download? doi=10. . 1. 175. 7333&rep=rep1&type=pdf) Appendix A – Selected figures from financial statements Table 1 – Excerpt from summarized consolidated income statement 201120102009200820072006 HK$'000HK$'000HK$'000HK$'000HK$'000HK$'000 Turnover3,834,422 2,995,952 2,733,256 2,021,283 1,530,763 1,314,443 Cost of sales(1,405,482)(1,176,707)(1,121,570)(819,423)(640,442)(540,243) Gross profit2,428,940 1,819,245 1,611,686 1,201,860 8 90,321 774,200 Other income – incentive income0 13,200 0 0 Other (loss)/gain(7,544)3,791 (11,123)1,900 (4,395)(273) Impariment of goodwill0 (4,217)(59,569)0Operating expenses(1,958,255)(1,524,760)(1,468,877)(1,002,046)(749,898)(642,553) Operating profit463,141 307,259 72,117 201,714 136,028 131,374 Table 2 – Growth trend of turnover, costs and profit, calculated based on consolidated income statement 20112010200920082007 Increase/Decrease (%) Turnover27. 99%9. 61%35. 22%32. 04%16. 46% Cost of sales19. 44%4. 92%36. 87%27. 95%18. 55% Gross profit33. 51%12. 88%34. 10%34. 99%15. 00% Operating expenses28. 43%3. 80%46. 59%33. 62%16. 71% Operating profit50. 73%326. 06%-64. 25%48. 29%3. 54% Table 3 – Excerpt from summarized and standardized consolidated income statement 01120102009200820072006 Turnover100. 00%100. 00%100. 00%100. 00%100. 00%100. 00% Cost of sales-36. 65%-39. 28%-41. 03%-40. 54%-41. 84%-41. 10% Gross profit63. 35%60. 72%58. 97%59. 46%58. 16%58. 90% Other income – incentive income0. 00%0. 44%0. 00%0. 00%0. 00%0. 00% Other (loss)/gain-0. 20%0. 13%-0. 41%0. 09%-0. 29%-0. 02% Impairment of goodwill0. 00%-0. 14%-2. 18%0. 00%0. 00%0. 00% Operating expenses-51. 07%-50. 89%-53. 74%-49. 57%-48. 99%-48. 88% Operating profit12. 08%10. 26%2. 64%9. 98%8. 89%9. 99% Table 4 – Excerpt from summarized consolidated balance sheet 20112010200920082007HK$'000HK$'000HK$'000HK$'000HK$'000 ASSETS Non-current assets Property, furniture and equipment727,022 233,395 229,124 179,850 93,191 Current assets Inventories736,717 394,520 411,145 323,724 196,299 Table 5 – Excerpt from summarized and standardized consolidated balance sheet 20112010200920082007 ASSETS Non-current assets Property, furniture and equipment22. 13%11. 83%13. 44%11. 59%9. 38% Current assets Inventories22. 42%20. 00%24. 12%20. 85%19. 77% Table 6 – Excerpt from summarized consolidated balance sheet 20112010200920082007 LIABILITIES Current liabilities Bank borrowings (214,911)(47,400)(47,400)(10,000)0Trade and bill payables(360,545)(149,488)(155,993)(121,840)(66,805) Accruals and other payables(349,524)(178,245)(135,677)(140,200)(71,648) Non-current liabilities Bank borrowings(379,234)(35,200)(82,600)0 0 Table 7 – Excerpt from summarized and standardized consolidated balance sheet 20112010200920082007 LIABILITIES Current liabilities Bank borrowings-6. 54%-2. 40%-2. 78%-0. 64%0. 00% Trade and bill payables-10. 97%-7. 58%-9. 15%-7. 85%-6. 73% Accruals and other payables-10. 64%-9. 04%-7. 96%-9. 03%-7. 21% Non-current liabilities Bank borrowings-11. 54%-1. 78%-4. 85%0. 00%0. 00%Table 8 – Excerpt from summarized consolidated balance sheet 20112010200920082007 EQUITY Capital and reserves Share capital119,725 115,504 115,504 115,468 103,950 Reserves1,727,236 1,362,219 1,096,205 1,105,369 722,803 Non-controlling interests(3,749)0 0 0 0 Total equity1,843,212 1,477,723 1,211,709 1,220,837 826,753 Table 9 – Excerpt from summarized con solidated cash flow statements 20112010200920082007 HK$'000HK$'000HK$'000HK$'000HK$'000 Net cash generated from operating activities450,446 366,025 135,589 243,939 91,589 Net cash used in investing activities(508,347)(137,011)(156,242)(110,300)(101,843) Net cash generated from/ used in) financing activities204,453 (47,400)22,668 (76,497)(49,807) Net increase in cash and cash equivalents146,552 181,614 2,015 57,142 (60,061) Appendix B – Ratio formula Performance Profit margins Gross profit margin = Gross Profit / Turnover Operating profit margin = Operating Profit / Turnover Net profit margin = Net Profit for the year / turnover Return ratio Return of equity (ROE) = Net Profit for the year / Averageyear, year-1 (Share capital + Reserves) Decomposition of ROE ROA = Net Profit for the year / Averageyear, year-1 (Total Assets) ROE = ROA x Financial Leverage DuPont Decomposition of ROEAsset turnover = Turnover / Averageyear, year-1 (Total Assets) Financial leverage = Averageyear, year-1 (Total Assets) / Averageyear, year-1 (Share capital + Reserves) ROE = Net profit margin x Asset turnover x Financial leverage Extended DuPont Decomposition of ROE Tax burden = Net profit for the year / Profit before income tax Interest burden = Profit before income tax / (Operating Profit + Share of profit of jointly controlled entities) EBIT margin = (Operating Profit + Share of profit of jointly controlled entities) / Turnover ROE = Tax burden x Interest burden x EBIT margin x Asset turnover x Financial leverageEfficiency Fixed asset turnover = Turnover / Averageyear, year-1 (Property, furniture and equipment) Inventory turnover = Turnover / Averageyear, year-1 (Inventories) Days of inventory on hand = 365 / Inventory turnover Receivables turnover = Turnover / Averageyear, year-1 (Trade and other receivables) Days of sales outstanding = 365 / Receivables turnover Payables turnover = Cost of sales / Averageyear, year-1 (Trade and bill payables) Number of days of payable = 36 5 / Payables turnoverWorking capital turnover = Turnover / Averageyear, year-1 (Net current assets) Risk Debt-to-common equity ratio = (Short term + Long term bank borrowings) / (Share capital + Reserves) Debt-to-asset ratio = (Short term + Long term bank borrowings) / Total assets Financial leverage = Averageyear, year-1 (Total Assets) / Averageyear, year-1 (Share capital + Reserves) Interest coverage ratio = Operating profit / Interest expense Cash flow coverage ratio = Net increase in cash / Interest expense LiquidityCash conversion cycle = Days of sales outstanding + Days of inventory on hand – Number of days of payable Current ratio = Current assets / Current liabilities Acid test ratio = (Current assets – Inventories) / Current liabilities Operating cash flow to maturing obligations = Operating cash flow / Current liabilities Appendix C – Calculated ratios 20112010200920082007 Performance Profit margins Gross profit margin63. 35%60. 72%58. 97%59. 46%58. 16 % Operating profit margin12. 08%10. 26%2. 64%9. 98%8. 89% Net profit margin10. 12%8. 77%1. 56%8. 46%8. 0% Return ratios ROE23. 35%19. 53%3. 50%16. 70%15. 55% Decompsition of ROE ROA14. 76%14. 29%2. 61%13. 43%13. 05% ROA*Financial Leverage = ROE23. 35%19. 53%3. 50%16. 70%15. 55% DuPont decompistion of ROE Asset turnover1. 46 1. 63 1. 68 1. 59 1. 63 Financial Leverage1. 58 1. 37 1. 34 1. 24 1. 19 Net profit margin*Asset turnover*Financial Leverage = ROE23. 35%19. 53%3. 50%16. 70%15. 55% Extended DuPont decomposition of ROE Tax burden80. 65%83. 29%53. 97%81. 23%82. 63% Interest burden100. 46%100. 86%103. 66%106. 90%112. 12% EBIT Margin12. 49%10. 44%2. 8%9. 74%8. 63% Tax burden*Interest burden*EBIT Margin*Asset turnover*Financial Leverage = ROE23. 35%19. 53%3. 50%16. 70%15. 55% Efficiency Fixed asset turnover7. 98 12. 95 13. 37 14. 81 16. 08 Inventory turnover2. 48 2. 92 3. 05 3. 15 3. 72 Days of inventory on hand146. 89 124. 95 119. 58 115. 82 98. 19 Receivables turnover31. 76 31. 98 5 1. 12 81. 59 185. 10 Days of sales outstanding11. 49 11. 41 7. 14 4. 47 1. 97 Payables turnover5. 51 7. 70 8. 07 8. 69 11. 14 Number of days of payable66. 23 47. 38 45. 21 42. 01 32. 76 Working capital turnover4. 6 3. 91 4. 24 3. 39 2. 72 Risk Debt-to-common equity ratio0. 32 0. 06 0. 11 0. 01 0. 00 Debt-to-asset ratio0. 18 0. 04 0. 08 0. 01 0. 00 Financial Leverage1. 58 1. 37 1. 34 1. 24 1. 19 Interest coverage ratio159. 70 119. 70 29. 64 646. 52 45342. 67 Cash flow coverage ratio50. 54 70. 75 0. 83 183. 15 (20020. 33) Liquidity Cash conversion cycle92. 15 88. 99 81. 51 78. 28 67. 40 Current ratio1. 85 3. 00 2. 80 2. 93 4. 66 Acid test ratio1. 12 2. 08 1. 70 1. 91 3. 42 Operating cash flow to maturing obligations0. 44 0. 85 0. 36 0. 77 0. 58