Explication Of The Cogito Essays - Ren Descartes, Thought

Explication Of The Cogito In his Meditations, Rene Descartes attempts to prove the existence and reality of himself and things external to himself. In order to fulfill such a feat, Descartes decides to doubt all that he knows, for he knows not whether that can be relied upon. He doubts his knowledge for three main reasons. For one, he accounts that in dreams, many times he had thought that things external to himself were real. Also, he had heard people declare pain in limbs that they had lost long ago. After pondering these two experiences he declared, the chief and most common mistake which is to be found here consists in my judging that the ideas which are in me resemble, or conform to, things outside me (Descartes 16). These two accounts proved to him that he should doubt the existence of his own body. Next, he realizes that even when he is awake, he cannot trust his senses. Descartes says that the senses do sometimes deceive us when it is a question of very small and distant things (14) A perfect example of such would be how a stick that is straight might appear bent when immersed in water, or might mistake the height and shape of distant towers. This makes him further realize that he cannot trust experience. Finally, he is then forced to question his mind, when he realizes that there might be an Evil Genius that controls his every thought. If there were an Evil Genius doing such, his thoughts would mean nothing and his questioning would mean nothing, because he is constantly being deceived. With this in mind, he is able to stumble upon an epiphany, that the very fact that he is questioning, means that he exists. His reasoning is one that is quite logical. By questioning something, he knows that there has to be someone that does the actual action of the questioning, and if there is someone that questions, that someone must exist. It is a subject-object relationship. In order to question something, there must be something to question, therefore a questionable object exists. And in order for there to be questioning, some thinking thing, i.e. Descartes, must be doing the questioning, therefore, he exists. Even if the Evil Genius is constantly deceiving him, that fact that he is being deceive d means that he exists. For this reason, Descartes could not doubt that he was doubting, and thus was able to conclude that this proposition, I am, I exist, is necessarily true whenever it is put forward by me or conceived in my mind. (17). To completely prove his point to the skeptics he had to go further, for how could one realize that he/she is doubting? Descartes answers that this is possible through natural light- intuition. By establishing that he is a thing that, doubts, questions, thinks, affirms, denies, imagines, and perceives, through examples, he is able to prove how one could realize his/her doubting. Descartes gives us the example of the wax that is melted, and the people on the street with coats. If the wax melts, one still perceives such as wax because the wax is merely something extended, flexible, and changeable (21). On the street, one could see coats and hats, but one determines that one is seeing people. This, like the wax, is done through judgement alone, by the intellect alone. With this, Descartes posits that an object can be grasped even when stripped of its outer form and perceived by the mind alone (21). He follows that by arguing that the awareness of ones self is more certain than that of wa x and coats, for one understands ones self more clearly and distinctly than anything else. If one is able to do such, than, through nature of light, one is able to realize that one is doubting. The main qualm that I have with Descartes argument, is with his nature of light argument, that he is only sure that he is doubting from judgements solely based on perception. In order to grasp a concept, one must do such only through perception because the body has to be doubted, so the mind must act alone. Like the wax, one can tell that it

What to Bring to the SAT and What Not to Bring

What to Bring to the SAT and What Not to Bring SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips After months of planning and prepping, test day is finally upon you! What exactly do you need to bring to the SAT- and what should you just leave home? We’ll talk about what to bring to the SAT for certain and some not so obvious things that might come in handy. Make sure your bag is packed and ready to go so you can focus on performing your best- and not on tracking down a pencil sharpener! What to Bring on SAT Day: The 4 Essentials First things first: what must you bring to the SAT? Here are the four essentials you cannot afford to forget on test day: #1: Admission Ticket You must print out your admission ticket and bring it to the testing center. A paper copy of your ticket is 100% necessary for admission- you can't show it on your cell phone, tablet, etc. To print it out, log into your College Board account and click on "Print Admission Ticket." #2: Photo ID Your photo ID should resemble the picture you uploaded to the College Board website when you registered for the SAT. Below is a list of acceptable and unacceptable forms of ID: Unexpired government-issued IDs (e.g., driver’s license, passport, military ID, national ID, etc.) Current school ID card Student ID Form, if you don’t have any of the other forms; this form must be prepared by the school you currently attend or by a notary if you are home-schooled Unacceptable IDs include IDs that are expired or damaged or do not match your College Board photo. Some unacceptable forms of ID include the following: Credit or debit cards (even ones with photographs) Birth certificates Social Security cards Employee ID cards ChildFind ID cards Other temporary ID cards #3: At Least Two #2 Pencils and an Eraser Pens, highlighters, liquid paper, or any other writing utensils are not allowed,not even for the essay (if you're taking the SAT with Essay). Check your erasers to make sure they work well. #4: An Acceptable Calculator You'll need to bring your own calculator for the Math Calculator section. Acceptable calculators include graphing and scientific calculators. A basic four-function calculator is also allowed but not recommended. Learn all about the uses and limitations of your calculatorwith our guide. Unacceptable calculators and devices include the following: Laptops Tablets Cell phones Calculators that make noise or use a keyboard-like (QWERTY) keypad, an electrical outlet, or a paper tape Basically, don’t bring anything that could be disruptive or has communication capabilities. As long as you have these four items- your admission ticket, your ID, pencils/erasers, and an approved calculator- you should have no trouble being admitted into the SAT. Now that you know things to bring to the SAT, let’s consider a few other materials that might help you out during the test. Other Items You Might Want to Bring to the SAT In addition to the four essentials, what other items can you bring to the SAT? Here are some of our recommendations for things that might come in handy on SAT test day: Extra #2 pencils and a small handheld pencil sharpener. Since time is tight and talking is prohibited, you definitely don’t want to find yourself in the middle of the SAT with nothing to write with! So bring some backup writing utensils and a sharpener. Extra batteries for your calculator, just in case. It’s also a good idea to put in new batteries the day or two before the SAT- and definitely make sure that your calculator works! A drink and snacks for your breaks. These will likely have to stay in your bag, in a locker, or up at the test administrator’s desk and will have to be consumed outside of the testing room. The SAT is a long test; drinks and snacks will help you stay hydrated, energized, and focused. A watch,as long as it doesn’t have any audible alarms or noises. If it'll help you keep track of time, bring one along. If you just find it distracting, though, leave it at home! These extras and backup materials might prove helpful the day of the SAT. Now, whatshould you definitely not bring on SAT test day? What NOT to Bring to the SAT There are lots of prohibited items when it comes to SAT test day. We’ll list a few below, butyour best bet is to avoid bringing anything that’s not recommended on the above lists: Any other technology besides your calculator, especially anything with communication or recording capabilities. This means no cell phones, laptops, tablets, timers, cameras, or audio recorders. The College Board takes security very seriously, as you can tell from these high-profile cheating scandals. Any other notes,cheat sheets, dictionaries, translators, books, or papers. To reiterate, if you must bring your cell phone, turn it off well before the test. If it beeps even just once, your proctor will confiscate it and cancel your test immediately. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! Getting Ready for SAT Test Day: 5 Key Tips Now that you know exactly what to bring (and not bring) to the SAT, how can you ensure that you are prepared to do your best on the test? Read on to learn how you can have a great SAT test day: #1: Prepare Ahead of Time Get all your materials gathered and packed the day before your test. You definitely don’t want to be scrambling in the morning trying to track down pencils and batteries for your calculator. This would cause a whole lot of unnecessary anxiety and could make you late (and therefore ineligible) for the test! So get everything taken care of at least the day before. #2: Test Your Calculator Before the SAT, check that your calculator is working properly. Test out the different functions, and put new batteries in it so that it won't have any chance of dying during the test! #3: Print Out Multiple Copies of Your Admission Ticket It's a good idea to print out a few copies of your SAT admission ticket, just in case. If you don’t have a printer, you can get this taken care of at school, your local library, or another printing center such as Staples. Remember that you will not be admitted on test day without this ticket. As mentioned above,don’t wait until the morning of or late the night before the SAT to print out your ticket. It’s a strange and inexplicable rule of printers that they tend to malfunction right before a big test or due date. So print out two or three copies early and save yourself the hassle! #4: Practice Self-Care Self-care is important in general but especially in the days leading up to the SAT. The morning of the test, eat a healthy breakfast. Exercising the day before (and in general) might also aid in easing your stress levels and clearing your mind. Don’t underestimate the power of diet and exercise in feeling good and thinking clearly! #5: Double-Check That You've Got Everything You Need Finally, make a checklist and double-check your bag one last time before you head to your testing center. After all your preparation, your focus should be wholly on the SAT. By having all these materials taken care of, you'll be poised to perform your best! What’s Next? One of the biggest challenges of the SAT is to perform under strict time limits. Learn the best strategies for managing your time on the SAT,and get the rundown ofwhat to expect on test day. The best test prep is customized to your individual strengths and goals. What SAT scores are you hoping to achieve? Define your target SAT scores by learning what good, bad, and excellent scores look like. When do SAT scores come out? Learn all about when you can expect your scores. It sounds like your test is coming up, and we hope you don't have to take the SAT again. But want to improve your SAT score by 160points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Influence of Oil Price on Non-Oil Sector Stocks in Saudi Arabia Research Paper

Influence of Oil Price on Non-Oil Sector Stocks in Saudi Arabia - Research Paper Example The intention of this study is oil as one of the most important economic resources in world’s economy today. Fluctuations and shocks in oil prices have been studied intensively by many leading economists and several theories in economics point to the impact of oil price changes in world economies. The context of oil is even more important in the Saudi Arabian economy as it is has one of the biggest reserves of oil (one-fifth of world’s total) and is the second largest producer (behind Russia) of oil in the world. Saudi Arabia has proven oil reserves of 264.52 billion barrels of oil and was only recently surpassed by Venezuela who claimed their oil reserves had risen to 269.5 billion barrels of oil. In terms of oil production, Saudi Arabia has a quota allocation of just over 30% of production among Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) countries. The Saudi Arabian oil production in 2010 was 9.1 million barrels per day which accounted for 13% of worldâ €™s total oil production. Oil is also a major driver of economic activity in Saudi Arabia. Oil related activities accounted for 47% of the GDP in 2010, and petroleum products exports amounted to $193 billion and accounted for 84% (by value) of total exports in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, oil prices play an important role in the Saudi Arabian economy. However, from the perspective of an investor or an enterprise in Saudi Arabian market, it is also important to know whether oil prices have a major role to play in stock prices of non-oil sector companies too. If there is a high positive correlation between oil prices and non-oil sector stocks, an investor can used these stocks a hedge on their investments in oil. The outcome of this study could therefore be very useful for investors and enterprises already present or planning to enter the Saudi Arabian market. II. Literature Review Stock markets are largely dependent on economic activity in the country. In Saudi Arabia, as oil is a major component of the economy, stocks in Saudi Arabia are expected to indirectly depend largely on oil price movements. The influence of oil is however not limited to Saudi Arabia or other OPEC countries alone. Oil supply and price shocks have been a field of study for many economists globally. Therefore, a lot of research has been previously done on understanding the effect of oil prices on stocks. Where some studies have focussed on impact of oil price shocks on the stock market others have focussed on the general impact of oil prices on stocks. Most of thes e studies are focussed on the US market and there are only a few studies look into this aspect in Saudi Arabia. Because detailed study of oil shocks is out of scope of the current research, the literature review will focus only on studies that have been done on regular influence of oil prices on stock markets. Several studies have been done to understand the impact of oil prices on stock markets. Some of the notable ones among these are Sauter & Awerbuch (2003), Sari and Soytas (2006),

Management and Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Management and Leadership - Essay Example In addition, they are expected to communicate ideas clearly to their staffs, use time efficiently and reach informed and sound decisions (Smith, 2014). In order to carry out all there, they are required to employ aspects of human side of management and leadership. Such aspects help them to be able to recognize their duty and responsibility for the wellbeing of all of their employees as well as other stakeholders. They need to put more focus on character rather than technical proficiency in order to be great managers (Mayer & Center for Creative Leadership, 2000). The paper explores aspects of human side management and leadership and why they should be valued. The readings present several aspects of human side of management and leadership that I value. Such aspects help in ensuring that managers and leaders put more focus on character and not technical proficiency. They need to behave like great managers by acquiring capacities like integrity and courage. They need to understand the importance of human element in their course of managing and leading stakeholders because they are responsible for their happiness (Odiorne, 2010). Managers and leadership should understand that managing and leading are a set of human interactions and not a series of mechanical tasks. These aspects of human side management and leadership include: Leaders and managers are often responsible for leading and motivating the employees and other stakeholders. I value this aspect because the success of the organization depends on the ability of the managers and leaders to motivate and influence employees (Teal, 2006). Companies need to train and develop the skills of their employees because they cannot survive if the employees are not doing their jobs well. This type of support should be done on a continuous basis for the employees may feel wanted and cared for by the organizations (Smith, 2014). It is the

The Impacts of Managerialism on Human Service in Hong Kong Essay

The Impacts of Managerialism on Human Service in Hong Kong - Essay Example The paper tells that the public sector adopted different strategies like quality audit, strategic management, quality assurance, internal audit, and performance pledges linking performance with outputs in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of working institutions in Hong Kong. For the past few years, the management system on human service in Hong Kong underwent unprecedented transitions due to the challenges presented by the worldwide tides of human resource management and market trends. Analytical suggestions depict that, these transitions have negatively affected the quality of human service management and given rise to the increasing consumerism as well as intense institutional competition. Worst of all, these changes have led to the diluted sense of commitment and purpose of employees towards their working ideas. With this sense, management on human service and marketing trends has presented advent opportunities for organizations to use these experiences and encoun ters to demonstrate how they can turn crises and threats in this sector to positive opportunities for development and growth. With reference to this journal, Hong Kong institutions can use good management positive perspectives to increase choices and opportunities to motivate human service, increase employee efficiency, enhance performance, generate additional resources for experimentation and innovation. It should be borne in mind that, as people must be cautious about the negative impacts of management on human service in Hong Kong, they must also conceive this as an opportunity to strengthen organizational capabilities of human service in order to revitalize the core values of good management and strive for social justice and betterment. A review of education and market reform in Hong Kong From the year 2009 to 2010, the government of Hong Kong had presented a review of implementing a new system of senior secondary education. This section will give a review of educational and soc ial service organizations reforms and discuss issues arising from good management approach incorporated in the reform. The growing impact of globalization affected educational development worldwide. Due to the need to maintain the countries’ competitiveness in the global marketplace, governments around the globe start reviewing their systems of education and policies and initiated different educational reforms in order to enhance the global capacity of their countries’ manpower and thus improve their competitiveness. Such reforms affected Hong Kong’s educational system due to economic rationalism and management. The economic rationalism focused on promoting productivity and growth of the economy and pursued greater efficiency as well as the development of a competitive production culture. On the other hand, the managerial approach focused on objectives of achieving maximum efficiency in educational reform by creating impacts of change that required the governmen t of Hong Kong to bear the costs of good management within the education sector.

Study On British Airways And Iberia Airlines Merger Management Essay

Study On British Airways And Iberia Airlines Merger Management Essay This case study seeks to explore why MA is taking place between British airways and Iberian airlines, taking into consideration globalisation, rationalisation and modularisation. Introduction British airways are U.K incorporated airline firm and is known for its world-class services in the airline industry. It was formed in the 1970s as the result of a merger between BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) and BEA (British European Airways).From the past three decades British airways has been the flag career airline of the United Kingdom. The main headquarter is located near to  London Heathrow Airport. British airways is the largest airline in the UK based on the size of its fleet, international flights and international destinations. On the other hand Iberian airlines are Spain based airline firm and are the countrys largest air transport group and the fourth-largest in Europe. Iberia is listed in the Ibex 35 of Spanish stock market. It is the only European Airline to report a profit continuously till past 13 years and one of the three airlines to be listed in Dow Jones Stock index. In addition, the company carries its social responsibility in a better and a distinguished manner. From the year 1927 the airline is operating its business successfully and conducts mainly three operations: Transport of passengers  and  cargo Aircraft maintenance Handling  services in airports Both the airlines firms have had their share of success but are now facing a number of industrial problems due to recession and globalisation. Problems of the companies There used to be a time when British airways (BA) was said as the worlds favourite airline, as its banners conceitedly confirmed. However, taking the present economic scenario BA is undergoing a number of problems in the industry. British airways are still struggling with the legacy of state ownership even after it has been privatised for last twenty years. Even recession has hard-hit the airline industry and to overcome the losses that British airlines had faced during recession; it had decided to cut down on its cost by reducing cabin crew and by discouraging an increase in the salary. However this acted as a catalyst in the industrial disputes and the effect of which is still very much felt in the daily business of BA; there have been a number of deadlocks and strikes within the airlines which have left passengers to decide on for other airlines.(ECONOMIST, 2009). Due to economic crisis business coming from North American routes was hard-hit due to a fall in the business-class travel. However, this could be recovered with the recovery of American economy as well as reviving the long-haul travel which makes a major part of BA profits. One of BAs major problems is Pension Deficit. BA has also been facing tough competition from low-cost airlines that have been providing customers with cheaper fares on short-haul travel. So, the only cure to overcome such losses is seen in creating or teaming up with a low cost partner. (ECONOMIST, 2009) Iberian airlines have been suffering from lower air cost travel demand as well. It has reported a trouncing of 16.4 million euro in the third quarter compared to revenue of 30.4 million euro earned in the earlier quarter. The standard fares of this airline have declined by 14% and even the load factor i.e. how filled the air-crafts are, declined to as much as 1.1% points to 82.1%. To cope up with the credit crunch it has decided to freeze the wages for 2010 and 2011 thus enhancing annual savings up to 37 million euro by 2011. It also plans to create new airline to cater to the needs of the traffic of Madrid Hub. (MENAFN, 2009) British airways decided to join hands with Iberian airlines as a result of credit crunch. By coming together they would come in the league of big European airlines. The merger with the Spain based airlines was looked upon as an appealing blend a year ago. However, taking the present state of affairs it seems to be worth a joint rescue process. This is so because both of their airlines economies are still under the influence of financial crisis; struggling with costs higher than the income. Iberia is still not moved by Mr. Willie Walshs, chief executive of BA, disagreements with the union. It still holds optimistic view towards BAs major problem of Pension Deficit. However if we consider the articles or the memorandum of the merger which was signed in November 09 between the two companies, Iberia has the right to call of the contract if BA is unable to meet up to the requirements of the trustees concerning the two pension funds. As recalculated on December 14th 09 by the trustees, the shortage of the two funds was declared to be at  £3.7 billion, based on March 31st 09 valuation. Presently BA is putting in cash worth  £131m a year. The Pension Regulator is helping to conclude whether the valuation performed by the trustees is satisfactory or not and what further actions are required to overcome the credit crunch. In this context, Iberian airlines say that it can decide to call of the deal if BA lands up paying more cash. (ECONOMIST, 2009) Airlines mergers and acquisitions are based upon strategies which involves several conditions. Airlines MA is beneficial for both travellers and airline employees. The issues which are considered while aviation MA are time, approvals, efficiency, competition, passenger benefits, and conflicts. Mergers and acquisition in airline industry is an emerging development across the world. But such MA are extremely planned and several important factors are considered. Such important factors are: The area covered by the airline The services and image of the airline Partnership of the airline with a rival group of airlines. Merger: A strategic plan The BA and Iberia pact will create a carrier of $25 billion, for instance. This deal makes a lot of sense and will cement the leading positions of the big three European network players. The merger seems to take place when the airline sector is badly hit by the decrease in number of passengers and cargo traffic. Apart of that the merger became the need of the hour, British airways reported a 20% decline in revenues to 4.1 billion pounds resulting in an operating loss of 111 million pounds in the six month period ending at September 2009. According to analyst Tony Shepard at the British brokerage firm Charles Stanley, the company is likely to report a 400 million pound loss for its full fiscal year ending in April 2010. British airways important North American routes and business have been hard hit by the collapse in business-class travel. This could bounce back quickly with economic recovery in America and, provided that cost increases from environmental measures are not too onerous; the long-haul travel on which BAs profitability depends should revive in time. But, like all former national carriers in Europe, it is facing devastating competition on its short-haul flights from low-cost airlines. .On the other hand the merger is definitely in need by Iberia also as the airlines faces hardships because airline sector in Spain is facing exceptionally difficult conditions amid the economic crisis and competition from high-speed rail. Iberian airlines financial position is quite weak as the company had plunged into the red in the second quarter of 2009, recording a huge net loss of 72.8 million Euros. Afterwards the company declared its third quarter results where it reported a loss of 16.4 million Euro s (24.4 million dollars. Due to such extreme losses and no signs of recovery in the market, the merger was seen as a best strategic move by Iberia. The planned merger with Iberia, the Spanish airline, looked as if it would be a winning combination a year ago when it was first mooted. Today it seems more like a mutual rescue operation. Both airlines national economies are still in the doldrums; both firms are struggling with costs greater than their revenues. It is also reasonably sanguine about BAs other big problem: its enormous pension deficit. But according to the merger memorandum signed, Iberia can call off the wedding if BA cannot reach a satisfactory agreement with the trustees of its two pension funds. As on 9th November 2009 there was an official announcement that both of them (British airways and Iberian airlines) reached an initial agreement for a merger which is planned to be completed by late 2010.As per the market this merger, which will need the European Commissions s eal of approval, will lead to the creation of the worlds third biggest airline. The deal would see the new company being split with Iberia being allocated a 45% stake and BA the remaining 55%. The new business would have 419 aircraft and over 200 destinations. In their last financial years, their joint revenues are approximately à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬15 billion. The airlines believe there is a compelling strategic rationale for the transaction, which is expected to generate annual synergies of approximately à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬400 million, and benefit both companies shareholders, customers and employees. The new group will combine the two companies leading positions in the UK and Spain and enhance their strong presence in the international long haul markets, while retaining the individual brands and current operations of each airline. In July 2008 there was news of pair being in talks for an all-share merger. But, because of issues such as the balance of control and the size of BAs pension-fund deficit the discussions were put at a stop. Market situation As per the current market scenario passenger traffic appears to have stabilized, and airlines have been able to convince their workforces that the industry is in crisis, pushing through some labour concessions and reducing capacity. BA is making genuine progress in lowering costs, says analyst Nick Cunningham of Evolution Securities. As per the British airways ongoing activities it seems the situation of the company has started improving after announcement of the merger, the company has recapitalized; following a convertible bond offering over the summer last year and now has a cash balance of 1.5 billion pounds. In addition the company has seen an increase in long haul flights which is one of the major areas where airline companies make most of the profit. But still after all the positive changes British airways still face a number of issues related to their workforce. Competitors in the market have a very mixed reaction towards the merger of both the airline. Virgin Atlantic which as per the market view faces the biggest competition from this merger its official said in a statement that the merger will increase BAs dominance at Heathrow with 44% of takeoff and landing slots this winter, and added its impossible for any other airline to replicate their scale. Other airline companies have the view that the deal could actually help them win business. Michael OLeary, CEO of discount Irish carrier Ryanair, told CNBC that the deal was like two drunks holding each other up on the way home. All you get when you put two high-fare, loss-making airlines together is even higher fares and even bigger losses. Mr. Leary operates a regional carrier and doesnt compete on long-haul flights against carriers like BA. Though these statement can be said as speculation in one sense as the true effect of this merger is still to be seen. But as per in a public announcemen t by BA chief executive Willie Walsh The merger will create a strong European airline well able to compete in the 21st century. The deal would create Europes second biggest airline by stock market capitalisation, and third biggest by income, with around 60 million passengers per year, As per market experts. The Times quoted various news on different dates regarding job cuts which were likely at existing head offices in London and Madrid, in maintenance facilities and the merged sales forces. In review of news Mr. Walsh will be chief executive, and Iberia airlines chairman Mr. Antonio Vazquez will be chairman of the new company to be based in London and listed on the London Stock Exchange. MR.Vazquez hailed the agreement, saying they were laying the foundations of what will be one of the most important airlines in the world, a real global airline.It is said that if the merger results fruitful and the economy begins its recovery in 2010 or maybe 2011 then it will be a major boost to both of them. One thing can be predicted that If the deal gets successfully executed the customers are going to have a wide variety of destinations as BA customers would gain access to up to 59 new destinations, of which 13 will be in Latin America, while Iberias customers would gain up to 98 new destinations across the BA network. In addition to it the effects of merger will result in combined stock market capitalisation of some 4.9 billion Euros (4.3 billion pounds, 7.2 billion dollars). Ways to deal with problems British Airways, the UK flag-carrier pension deficit was revealed and it was found that the deficit was more than double amounting to 3.7 billion pounds at the end of March, which was higher than analysts expected but it is not a bug enough to be a reason for ending up of the merger with Spanish airline Iberia. As told to Reuters by a source in Iberia airlines Were not surprised by this figure. It falls within the expected range, As it is already implied before, BAs pension deficit is the crucial area in the negotiation of merger and Iberia has the right to pull of the merger if the payment of this deficit turns to be too big. Moreover, there are chances that the deficit figure could arise till the time the valuation process is completed in next year in June because as per Britains Pensions Regulator the assumption which is used to calculate the deficit are too optimistic. In view of this BA said in a statement The regulators provisional view is that the technical provisions may be m aterially below a level it feels appropriate, As per the problem the British airways management is trying to figure out different ways to solve the problem. As per in one of the announcements BA said that the company and the pension trustees will work together to develop a recovery plan, a process through which the company will consult its employees and their trade unions and will try to take out a decision from it by the end of June 30, 2010. The strategy which is employed now is to change the nature of any pensions deal BA can strike with its staff and calculating the proportion of gap which can be covered by the company. As said by Deutsche Bank The Company may be forced to renegotiate pension benefits with employees if it is to avoid using more shareholders cash, Merger: Theory Practice The reality that only 20 per cent of the acquisitions actually succeed and the rest erodes shareholder wealth (Grubb and Lamb, 2000) can highly contravene with examples of successful takeovers like Swiss by Lufthansa in 2005.Talking about mergers, they create shareholder value with most of it accruing to the resultant company. One of the important reasons behind merging a company is that it helps in increasing shareholders value much above the sum total of the two companies.(Watson and Head,2007) The optimistic impact of mergers extends to and involves economies of scale or synergies, helps to gain power in the markets by creating monopolies, manages agency costs and manages risk for undiversified managers ( Gregor Anrade, Mark Mitchell, Erik Stafford, 2001). Mergers create synergies, reduce operational costs and enhance market share. On the other hand it results in the genesis of agency problems as the managers can cause mergers for their own benefit. It also results in decentralisation of power that reduces responsibility and accountability. Merger which can be defined as when two (or possibly more) business combine. In other words one can say that merger is defined as a situation when two companies/firms decide by mutual agreement to combine the businesses. The term takeover holds a different meaning in comparison to merger. It means when a larger business takes over control of a smaller business and the smaller business gets immersed by the larger business. But in todays era it is not cleared that whether the business has been merged or it has been taken over. According to the relationship between the businesses being merged, mergers and takeovers can be divided into three parts and they are : Horizontal merger occurs when two businesses in the similar industry, and at the Same point in the production process decides to combine. Vertical merger occurs when two businesses in the similar industry, but at different points in the same production process decide to combine. Conglomerate merger occurs when two businesses in unrelated industries decide to combine. As it can be implied from the academic studies supporting the article the merger between British airways and Iberia airlines is Horizontal type of merger as both the companies are from the airlines sector leading to same production process and they have got high presence at international level. According to research, the last few years werent an acceptable period for the air line industry as a result of rapidly increasing fuel costs and due to economic downturn. Airline mergers and acquisitions have clustered and most of the airline bosses exclaimed consolidation is inescapable. The prominent examples of merger and acquisition in the industry are Air France KLM in 2003, Swiss- Lufthansa in 2005, US Airways-America West in 2005 and Delta- Northwest in 2008. The Europeans lead the way in establishing mega-carriers. By revenue Air France-KLM is the world leader with $34 billion, followed by the Lufthansa Group at $30 billion. (The Mating Game.  Airline Business, 02687615, Jan2009, Vol. 25, Issue 1). At the same time, US Airways and America West merger drained their expenses by over $250 million a year and created a company better able to weather $100-a-barrel oil. US  Airways, the nations fifth-largest carrierearned $427 million on revenue of $11.7 billion. (A Cautionary Tale for Airline Mergers, Palmeri, Christopher, Business Week; 3/17/2008) Therefore it can be determined that mergers and acquisitions had sustained airline industry during the economic downturn achieving significant synergies and economies of scale. Although the mergers and acquisitions prevented air lines from liquidation, adverse impacts can also be emphasized. Even US Airways exists bankruptcy; the expanded company still face the internal struggle of affiliating two separate airlines. The main obstacles are employee dissatisfaction and customer complaints (A Cautionary Tale for Airline Mergers, Palmeri, Christopher, Business Week; 3/17/2008 ) However the worlds airlines are forming themselves into huge alliances. Does this matter? Yes: the risk is that the airline industry is moving from one extreme and its time to worry about the competition. Conclusion According to our studies and research it can be seen the airline industry has been hit by the economic downturn. They struggled with the cost hikes higher than their incomes. Both the airlines have been faced by the problems of industrialization and globalization, the competition of other airlines such as low cost airlines and rail services like Euro Star. Most of the airlines restructured and merged and gave them a competition as well. Pension black hole is one of the main current problems occurring in the British airways and some of the analysts say that they need more time to recover from the deficit than their estimated time of 2016.(in practice)Longer time is required for the closure of the deficit according to some analysts. But in the situations of cash in hock the company can consider making non-cash contributions such as non-monetary incentives instead of cash. If the company utilizes its assets for pension funds it might cripple the company with the same forces reducing its net worth. The impeccable size of the deficit is not known by the BA and at the same time they have released before announcing the recovery plan the size of the deficit effectively. However, airline and trustees are now working together to develop a recovery plan to negotiate with employees and trade unions. Unless and until BA manages come up with a solution to determine the pension deficit the merger will remain unsettled.

The Nature of Love Explored in A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay

â€Å"The course of true love never did run smooth,† comments Lysander of love’s complications in an exchange with Hermia (Shakespeare I.i.136). Although the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream certainly deals with the difficulty of romance, it is not considered a true love story like Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare, as he unfolds the story, intentionally distances the audience from the emotions of the characters so he can caricature the anguish and burdens endured by the lovers. Through his masterful use of figurative language, Shakespeare examines the theme of the capricious and irrational nature of love. As the play opens, Theseus, Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, his fiancà ©e discuss their upcoming wedding. With the introduction of Theseus and Hippolyta, Shakespeare presents the backdrop for the multi-faceted love relationships which take place in the play. In an effort to celebrate the occasion with â€Å"pomp, triumph and reveling†, (Shakespeare I.i.20) Theseus instructs Philostrate, Master of the Revels, to â€Å"stir up the Athenian youth to merriments† (Shakespeare I.i.13) as well as to provide entertaining distractions for him and Hippolyta until their wedding. These simple, innocent instructions for merriment and entertainment set the stage for Shakespeare to intricately weave the young lovers, the fairies and the rustics into the story. Introducing the main conflict, Egeus, an Athenian citizen seeking the wise counsel of Theseus, arrives. Egeus’ complaint is against his daughter, who refuses to wed Demetrius, the suitor he has chosen. Although Demetrius loves Hermia, she has given her heart to Lysander and therefore refuses to obey her father and Athenian law. Interestingly, Demetrius not too long ago professed his love for Helena,... ...ss of love. The audience must wonder if Demetrius will have another change of heart or if he has truly matured. Thomas Marc Parrott asserts of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, â€Å"It is his use of language, as in so much else in this play, that Shakespeare shows himself the master† (Kehler 22). Through Shakespeare’s intricate weaving of figurative language throughout the play, he leads the audience on an imaginative, melodramatic, and enchanting parody of exploration into the complexities of love. As Parrott contends, Shakespeare’s true expertise lies in his artful handling of the complexities and subtleties of both the written and spoken word. Work Cited Shakespeare, William. â€Å"A Midsummer Night’s Dream.† The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition, 2nd ed. Eds. Greenblatt, Stephen et al. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2009. Print.