The Hobbit Book Report

This is a story about the adventure of a delightful little hobbit and how he found out who he was and what he really valued. At first, the little hobbit Bilbo was just a normal Baggins (a family name which stands for routineers and homebodies) who lived a peaceful life in a comfortable and quiet hobbit hole full of fine furniture, delicate ornaments and a lot of food. However, everything changed when Gandalf, an old wizard, gave him a visit and held and unexpected party in Bilbo’s hobbit hole with 13 dwarves who Bilbo had never met before. Gandalf invited Bilbo to a journey to the Lonely Mountain and to help the dwarves get back their treasure from the wicked dragon. The more Took part (Bilbo’s mom was a Took) of Bilbo’s characteristic was awaken and he, after a lot of hesitation because of being a Baggins for more than 50 years, decided to go with the dwarves. During the journey, Bilbo gave up all the things that he was used to and took granted for. Everyday, he slept on rocks and ate things like dog food; he rode on horses that was too high for him and tried his best to follow the dwarves’ pastes. At the beginning, the dwarves had many complains about bringing a hobbit with them as Bilbo always slowed down the whole group. However, clear transformations can be seen on Bilbo as time flouted. Even though he, sometimes, still missed his cute little hobbit hole and his afternoon tea, he learned to be an adventurer and to perform his duties as a member of the group. He saved the whole team by shouting to Gandalf and he even escaped from the Goblins by himself. He won the respect from the dwarves and finally fixed in. No one is unchangeable and that’s why we keep on trying new things. During this process of trying, we discover new interests, new goals and new capabilities. In this case, Bilbo transformed from a domestic little hobbit into a clever burglar and a resourceful companion. He found out that what he really valued was friendship, adventures and braveness but not an unchangeable life. Sometimes, we think we are satisfied with what we have right now because all the people around us all live identical lives. Whenever changes occur, we’ll start I believe that in somewhere deep inside us, we all crave for adventures, different lives and a brand new world.

The Impact of Inflation on Capital Budgeting and Working Capital

A major impact on both financial theory and the practice of financial decision making has been the economic instability, especially in prices, evidenced in the U. S. economy since the mid 1960’s. Inflation in the past few years has not been a major macro economic problem, but its spectere, as demonstrated by the Fed’s recent increases in interest rates, is never for the agendas of financial decision makers. Macro economic instability has necessitated that expectations about the future rate of inflation be taken into consideration in making decision(s) about which capital projects will be undertaken by a firm. Nominal cash flows determine its degree of profitability. However, in making the capital budgeting decision both real and nominal concepts must be considered. The purpose of this paper is to continue the discussion of the role of inflation in capital budgeting, and to focus on the individual components of the process to draw specific conclusions with respect to the interaction between the cost of capital, inflation, and the cash flow variables within a DCF – IRR framework. Much research has been published examining the impact of inflation on the capital budgeting decision making process, and, although inflation is not currently a serious problem, bitter lessons from the 1975-1985 period of rapid price increases, coupled with the potential of future inflation, argue for continued research in this field. In a famous article, Rappaport and Taggart [14] examined various methods for incorporating the effect of inflation into capital budgeting. They provided an analysis which showed the differential impact of using a gross profit per unit approach, a nominal cash flow approach (where individual forecasts are incorporated into each component of cash flow) and a real cash flow approach in which a general price deflator is used to deflate nominal cash flows. In another early article dealing with the subject, Van Horne [16] showed that to be consistent, inflation in forecasting cash flows must also be reflected in a discount rate containing inflation; that is, a bias was introduced if nominal cash flows were discounted at the real and not nominal cost of capital. Cooley, Roenfeldt and Chew revealed the mechanics by which inflation adjustments can be incorporated into the capital budgeting process [6]. At the same time, Nelson [12] demonstrated the theoretical impact of inflation on capital budgeting and showed how inflation would shift the entire NPV schedule of a capital budget downward for a set or projects. Bailey and Jensen [1] have analyzed how price level adjustments affect the process in detail and specifically how various price level adjustments might change the ranking of projects. Rappaport and Taggart attempt to combine the simplicity of a gross profit per unit methodology of adjusting for inflation with the more realistic nominal case flow and real cash flow approaches. A gross profit per unit focus on Revenues – Cost of Sales divided by units, and can treat inflation by simply inflating this gross profit per unit as opposed to measuring inflation for both revenues and cost of sales. This is done by making the simplifying assumption that gross margin as a percent of sales is constant over time, [14, p. 2] which they point out is the same as assuming that EBIT is a constant percentage of sales over time, or that revenues and costs increase at the same rate. In this paper we examine a number of issues raised by Rappaport and Taggart in the area of inflation and capital spending. Specifically, we will analyze the following areas: 1. What is the relationship between the cost of capital and inflation? 2. What is the relationship between inflation in the ag gregate and the price a firm places on its specific product that results from a capital budgeting decision? Assuming costs rise at the aggregate or average rate of inflation, what can we say about expectations of the price of output of the firm? 3. What role do depreciable and non-depreciable assets play in the interaction of the variables? How does the presence of plant and equipment as a depreciable asset and the presence of net working capital as a nondepreciable asset impact on the role of inflation in the capital budgeting process?

Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Plan - Essay Example This may include private sector, non-governmental organisations and the federal government. Scope of the plan in the emergency operation plan includes the actions to be taken to support the local and state government efforts in protecting public health and property at the same time saving lives. It further contains a detailed description on the coordination of the federal and other states resources to mitigate the effects of the emergency. In the emergency operation plan, the concept of operation is outlined to ensure that there is smooth action. It prevents confusion at the time of emergency hence increasing effectiveness of the members of staff involved in the operation. Lastly organisation assignment and responsibility, are outlined in the plan to ensure that there are adequate resources available to mitigate the effects of an emergency. It outlines the resources to be released to the emergency area under the order of respective leaders. The release of resources, depend on the extent of the emergence as assessed from the initial received information from the area of the incident (Barr, 2008). The plan contains a well-defined emergency support functions that include transportation, public works and alerting, communication and alerting fire fighting, information planning among other support functions. They ensure that all the hazards are dealt with timely with adequate resources in case they occurred. The plan contains a hazardous material response plan, radiological emergency response plan and response to harsh weather changes. Thus the an covers all the most potential and disastrous emergency The plan has a well-designed emergency operation plan within the operation centre. This is aimed at ensuring that there are minimal collisions between people working at the centre. Thus it increases the effectiveness of the emergency response team. This is possible since

Ethics reflection paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics reflection paper - Essay Example Application or action enables one to implement ethical decisions in one’s daily personal and professional life. This A3 approach makes a leader understand the needs of the stakeholders and cater to them with heightened vision. My ethical perspective has evolved throughout the program as I have been able to know what ethical standards I follow and where I need improvement. I have been able to decide between right and wrong and decide among alternatives. I consider that person to be good who wants to do good deeds on a consistent basis. The moral standards of right and wrong are the guidelines that tell us how to take steps toward the betterment of the whole society. Ethical conduct is improved by developing a basic respect for others. Organized ethical attempts addresses the needs of the whole society whose fulfillment is better for the majority of people. My future ethical perspective tells me that I look forward to respect all people from all backgrounds without making any discrimination of color, cast and creed. I have also learnt that rational thinking is important to achieve best ethical results. Treating people at equal basis is all about giving importance to those who have not been listened to in th e past. A person should know how to give respect to others and their decisions and should have the ability to involve others in decision-making process. This is important to conduct oneself ethically. This ethical conduct defines the ways a person ought to live in the society and work toward the betterment of the whole society where all persons are treated on a fair basis. All ethical policies have the same objective to maintain the integrity of the whole society rather than focusing on one individual person. I believe that today’s adolescents need such role models that teach them how to make ethical decisions and live such a life that is respectful to

Developing a Research Hypothesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Developing a Research Hypothesis - Essay Example 804). The study design that these researchers used was to review a series of research articles that described this phenomenon. They conducted cross-sectional empirical literature study. In doing so, they scoured PsycARTICLES database using a variety of keywords and then used two major databases, the Society of Personality and Social Psychology listserv and the Quality of Life Studies listserv. They found 225 articles that was comprised of 293 samples with over 275,000 participants. The results of their study found that happiness is â€Å"positively correlated† with â€Å"superior† mental and physical health. Essentially, they found that people who kept a positive affect were happier than those who did not. This suggests that there is truth in the idea that happy people are more successful in all aspects of their lives including family, work and health. In fact, there was a positive correlation with the immune system and happiness that showed that people who were happy w ere healthier most of the time. Research Hypothesis: People who are naturally happy are more successful in life than those who are not happy. Independent variable: Happiness Dependent variable: Positive affect There is a lot of talk about people who are happy having more in life than those who are unhappy.

History and Social Sciences Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History and Social Sciences - Term Paper Example Provide a detailed description of the hunter-gatherer societies while including the development of early tools and the subsequent use of fire.  Provide a detailed description of the hunter-gatherer societies while including the development of early tools and the subsequent use of fire.  1.2. Question 2Provide a detailed description of the evolution of language and written forms of language.  1.3. Question 3Why was slash and burn agriculture practiced by the Stone Age people?A. To fulfill spiritual beliefs. To ease irrigation. To scare away wild animals  D. To clear land in readiness for farming  2. The constitution of the United States of America and the Early Republic2.1. Question 1Analyze the manner in which the American Revolution affected France.  2.2. Question 2Compare the lives and different opportunities for the free black Americans living in the north to those of free black Americans that lived in the south.  2.3. Question 3On what did the writers of the constit ution base their ideas while writing the legislative branch?A. Congress of Vienna. Council of Trent  C. English Parliament  D. French Estates General3. The civil wars and their aftermath  Provide a detailed discussion of the abolition of the slave trade in the United States of America.Provide a list of the original objectives of reconstruction and give a detailed description of the effects it had on social and political structures.  During the periods following the American Revolution, the constitutions of most Northern states called for†¦A. Adoption of a state religion. Gradual elimination of slavery  C. Obliteration of state property taxes  

Is Wind Power Really Green Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Is Wind Power Really Green - Essay Example Search for sustainable alternative sources of energy for development on a commercial scale has thrown up several options like the wind power, solar power, geothermal, tidal wave etc. and among these, wind power (and solar power) is coming to the forefront in view of its long history of development and scalability. However, there are distracters, mainly from the traditional fuel suppliers, who find fault with the environmental credentials of windmills. These misgivings are ill-founded and it is quite clear from its growing popularity and rapid technological strides of the industry, that wind power is a sustainable and commercially viable option, which has minimal adverse impact on the environment in comparison with nuclear or fossil fuel power. The current total global energy demand per year, put at 400 x 1015 British Thermal Units (400 quadrillion BTU or approximately 117.2 million GWh), of which 41%, 24% and 22% are the respective shares of oil, coal and natural gas; the share of hydropower and other non-conventional energy sources is just about 13% (US Department of Energy, as quoted by McLamb, 2010). According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), electricity production has risen by about 250% over a 30 year period and this growth has far outstripped the growth of production of coal and natural gas, and was facilitated by vast investments in nuclear power plants, especially in the 1970s and 1980s (World Energy Statistics Manual, IEA, 2005, p.46). IEA points out that during this period, the ‘share of oil decreased from 25 to 8% while the share of nuclear increased from 3 to 17%’ (ibid). Thus while the total energy demand has been rapidly rising and would continue to do so in the foreseeable future, dependence on nuclear power is also increasing. The reasons for increased dependence on nuclear power are not far to seek – firstly, a realization that fossil fuels are not an inexhaustible